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Here they come...
I promptly took command. "All right, I don't know who we're up against, but we've got to pull together to protect ourselves. This is an act of war! This is a day we will always remember! I am Captain Esie and you are my faithful troops. We may be in for the toughest battle of our lives, but are we warriors or are we wimps?"
"We are warriors, Captain!" they saluted.
"Good. Now, here's what we'll do first-"
My sentence was cut short by a new, unwelcomed voice coming from outside of the fort. "Hey, Esie! I know you got that gold cookie tin; I seen it with my own eyeballs! We've got you surrounded, so come out with that cookie tin and your hands in the air, and we won't hurt you- much!"
Matthew jumped like lightning had just worn his boots. "That's Tristan out there! We're up against him and his gang!" he shuddered. The others followed suit.
"Come on everyone," I urged. "Are we warriors or are we wimps?"
"We are wimps, Captain!"
Now, to be honest, I felt just like they did. But I gave a promise to my mom. Somehow, I had to get those cookies to grandma's house. Matthew interrupted my train of thought.
"Yipes! Here comes Tristan!"
"Wait, he's waving a white hankie! Hold your fire."
Tristan called from outside the fort. "Look everybody, I'm a reasonable guy. All I want is that cookie tin. And well, if we don't get it, we'll pulverize everybody, okay? We'll give you guys a minute to think it over."
Joshua chimed in. "Okay, Esie-"
"Captain Esie."
"Captain Esie," he sighed. "Why don't you just give him your cookies?"
"Because I've got to get these to my grandma! Besides, if we give in to the enemy now, we'll have to keep giving in."
"But we're outnumbered!" he pressed.
I looked at him evenly, and then at the whole group. "Remember, we have nothing to fear except being afraid.. of.. itself- or something like that. We will fight them on the beaches, on the-"
"Uh, Captain Esie?" Matthew pointed out. "We don't have any beaches."
Zoe flinched impatiently. "Time's almost up!"
"All right, here's the plan. First we secure as much ammunition as possible. Zoe and I will be the shooters. Matthew and Joshua, you're the ammunition handlers."
Tristan came into view again. "How about it, Esie?" he called. "Are you going to surrender peacefully, or are we going to have to come in and get ya?"
I glared at him. "We will never surrender our homes, our lands, or our cookies!" I then turned around so I could see the group. "Don't fire until you see the whites of their pupils.. or something like that! Very well. You asked for it, Tristan! Troops, commence fire!"
