by Larik Sonfar

Created on: May 18, 2008

A gigantic leech latched onto my heart and greedily drained my courage. I sagged and became an empty tank, defenseless, and just waiting to be swept away in a tide of cowardice and panic.
After almost a year of open warfare between two groups of first graders, mine's and Miguel's, defeat seemed inevitable for us. In every battle, whether at recess or lunch, before school or after, we had played by the rules, but now, Miguel's group had stopped abiding by them. Instead, they had created their own.

They had entrapped us in a ghoulish scenario with no way out. Any action, any movement we might make had unforeseeable ramifications. All of us were doomed. John, Tony, Jasper, Bob, the whole lot of us. It was like a horror movie with its cast of characters and a climatic plotline always leading to a gory close.
A circle of menacing giants enclosed us in a small, secluded space. They had us out-positioned, outnumbered, and out muscled. The bulk on my arms that I had once considered to be glorious weapons of war now seemed nothing more than a pitiful cluster of cells. Our captors weren't content to crush us quickly. Instead, they chose a more winding path. They paced around and shot malicious stares at us, piercing our whimpering exteriors and spreading seeds of insanity within our souls. We were cornered mice who had resigned ourselves to the will of the predator.
Miguel's connections, the fifth graders, were all but jumping with anticipation at what was to come. I briefly wondered what it would feel like for their long muscular arms to sink into my little body, but the thought was absolutely terrifying. I couldn't bear to think about it anymore, in fact, I couldn't bear to think about anything anymore.
It was at that moment, in that pause between past and future, that I saw a gray blur zip by me. At first I was sure that it spelled my doom, and I braced myself. 1 second, 2 seconds, I felt nothing. 3 seconds

I heard the most terrible cry of pain release itself from someone's throat.

Who was it? I wondered. Who in my group had taken the first blow?

"AHHH! Ow! You little!"

I dared myself to peek out of the corner of my eye. I gaped in shock. It wasn't John who had been hit. It wasn't Tony, or Jasper or Bob. It wasn't anyone in my group! It was the fifth graders. Jasper had thrown the full ability of his training at the Shaolin Temple in China into smashing high kicks directed at the crotch of two fifth graders standing between us and freedom.

"RUN!"

Jasper had bought us our way to liberty, but he had paid a terrible price. The giants were hardly content with lying around and caressing their injuries. No, they dragged Jasper to the floor and closed in. One can only guess as to what happened next.
It was in that experience that I first truly saw an instance of the purity of mankind. Jasper had done much more than save me from a beating. He had taught me the value of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice. And today, as I reflect on this event, I realize how much of an impact it has had on the course of my life, and the difference it has made in my character, and in my choices.

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