Two Worlds (Written by a 10-year-old author, 62,000 words, 72 chapters)

Chapter 3: Training to fight

After the Fighter incident, both Jake and Tara insisted that Lily goes to the combat room to train. "Besides," Jake added. "We don't want you being attacked so many times. At least you should be able to defend yourself."

One trip to the P.O.O.P. and voila! Lily was in front of the combat room. Tara watched in silence as Jake led Lily through a small door.

There was nothing much to train with, just a human/elf-sized target and a table topped with assorted weapons. Lily picked up a dart gun. "Ah, the dart gun!" Jake exclaimed. "Only for emergencies, they are very easy to use. Just aim and shoot. No loading or cocking necessary." Whoosh! Lily managed to clip the shoulder of the target. She put the weapon down and picked up a human pistol, along with a bunch of ammo. "Where did you get this?" she asked. Jake didn't answer. Lily aimed the gun at the target and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Lily swore under her breath and loaded the gun.

BANG! The shock of the discharge traveled down Lily's arm, causing her to miss the target entirely. The bullet punched a hole in a wall. Jake coughed nervously. Lily tried again, cocking the gun and bracing her arm. This time, the bullet hit the target.

Lily set the pistol on the table and picked up a small grenade. Deciding not to ask Jake what the weapon was, she tossed it at the target.

ZAAAAAAAAAAPFWOOOOOM!! A bolt of crackling light shot out of the grenade and slammed into the target, setting the whole thing on fire. "Be careful!" Jake shrieked. "That's a lightning bomb!"

One hour later, Lily walked out of the combat room carrying a bag filled with one dart gun, the human pistol and fifteen lightning grenades plus ten explosive grenades and five sleep bombs. Tara looked at Lily's new bag. "Did Jake tell you about the ogre?" she asked. "What ogre?" Lily said. "Yes, the ogre!" Jake exclaimed. "I suppose you humans would call it that. I forgot! So, every combat trainee has to fight an ogre on their first day. You know, to test their skills. If the ogre likes you, maybe you don't have to fight it. And no, you may not kill the ogre." Lily shuddered at the thought of a friendly ogre prancing around her. She decided to keep that image to herself.

Soon Lily found herself in front of a giant room made of stone. Next to her, Tara smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll be able to watch you from that window. She pointed to a small thick piece of glass secured in the stone. "Good luck!" Jake said. Lily took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

The inside of the room was littered with scraps of metal - the ogre's toys, perhaps. Lily faced a twelve-foot tall creature with large sandaled feet and an evil, hungry look on its face. The ogre wore nothing but a tattered loincloth. Yuck. Seriously, it was the 21st century.

It roared and slowly approached Lily. She rummaged around in her bag and grabbed an explosive grenade. Lily experimentally tossed it at the ogre's feet.

BOOM! The explosion was enough to send Lily tumbling across the floor and to knock the ogre off its feet. A dazed Lily managed to stand up while a very angry ogre ran towards her. "Uh, I don't think the ogre likes you!" Jake said. He had opened the window and was leaning through to get a better look. "I KNOW!" Lily yelled. The ogre roared and lobbed a clump of metal at Jake, who slammed the window shut just as it crashed into the thick glass, which cracked. The ogre now stood five feet in front of her. The creature slowly rose one sandaled foot. Lily's fingers closed around the dart gun. She aimed and fired a dart into the bottom of the big foot.

ROAAAAR! The foot came down and Lily rolled to one side. The ogre charged her again, but its movements were more sluggish. The ogre swung its arm at Lily, but the strike was ridiculously slow. Lily jumped over the arm and fired the dart gun three times, knocking out the ogre. The door opened. Jake and Tara rushed to meet Lily. "Congratulations!" Tara said. "You are now ready to fight just about anything that's really stupid." The words weren't very encouraging, but Lily smiled anyway.