Six brothers sat in their home, not realizing that their worlds were about to change forever. They were known for being uncannily tall, as well as being remarkably active, leaving most of them on the skinny side. This particular evening was common in their home. It was Friday, so their parents would be leaving shortly, and the brothers were allowed to entertain themselves. “Hey Grant, do you want to play Minecraft? Aden said to his older brother. “Yeah, let’s do it!” Grant replied. They both rushed to grab their laptops from the shelf and logged into the survival world they had been working on. Aden was the youngest of the six brothers at home, with blond hair and green eyes. He could easily give off a subdued demeanor most of the time but was passionate about certain subjects. The six brothers tended to gravitate towards two distinct appearances, half being brown-haired, and the other half being blond. Grant, the next oldest, fits the other mold. He has brown wavy hair and brown eyes. Grant was unique in that he had uncannily long arms and that unlike the rest of his brothers, had a disdain for athletics, though in his own right, was particularly good at them.
“You know you guys aren’t as good at that game as I am right? I’m number 1 on the leaderboards.” Their second-oldest brother Devin said as he walked by. Devin fit the brown-haired mold in the family and had green eyes instead of brown. He was the nerdiest of the brothers and could have an in-depth discussion about basically any fandom. That being said, he enjoyed sports passionately and had been diligent about basketball recently.
“Nu-uh, they don’t have leaderboards in Minecraft. If you’re so good, how do you make a cake?” “I don’t need to bother myself with such trivial matters in Minecraft, I don’t make regular cakes.” Devin proclaimed. “My cake making would simply surpass your understanding.”
“You’re just saying that because you don’t know” Aden replied
“Pfft, no, of course I know”
“Let him be Aden, he’s just lying. You’re not supposed to lie Devin.” Grant interfered.
“I’d just code it up. That’s why I study Computer Science in the first place.” Devin objected.
“That doesn’t make you good at Minecraft,” Aden said.
Grant and Aden ignore Devin and continue to play Minecraft.
“Hey Chase, do you want to practice throwing the football in the front yard for a bit?” Devin asked Chase as he was walking by. Chase was most aptly described as studly. He was the last brown-haired brother, and was meticulous in his appearance, and was nice and easy to get along with. Chase liked to grow his bangs out so he could style his hair.
“Uh, not right now, we’re about to eat dinner, but after sure,” Chase said, pulling out his headphones.
“You need to work on your hands if you ever want to make Varsity,” Devin told him.
“My hands have been getting a lot better recently, last game I didn’t drop a pass.
“That’s good! You still need to work on your over-the-shoulder catches though. I saw you drop a few of those in practice.”
“Yeah, after dinner.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Hey everybody! Pizza’s here!” Dad calls from downstairs. Bryce gets up from looking at stocks on his phone. Bryce’s ambition is to be a pilot and make a lot of money. He’s already made preparations and would be rich one day. He knew that time was one of the most valuable assets that he had, and the earlier he started the better. He was the third oldest home and fit the blond-haired mold in the family and was freckled from too many sunny days outside. The brothers all came to gather around the dinner table.
“If everyone here is all set, we’ll be gone for the night. It’s fine if you guys want to rent a movie or something.” Mom said on her way out the door.
The brothers each grabbed a slice of one of the four large pizzas that had been provided for them. The brothers were not known for their small appetites. The last and oldest brother, Joshua, started to speak.
“Hey everybody, guess what. the firefighting department in Utah is allowing firefighters to start investing their pensions early. It’s really nice, I’ll be making almost as much as my salary just from my pension, and that’ll be invested. It basically doubles my career pay. It’s kind of a big deal. I’m looking forward to when Devin and I finish school up next Spring. It might sound a little cheesy, but I’m really looking forward to the next stage of my life. I’ve worked so hard. It’s kind of nice to see something on the horizon.”
Joshua was exceptionally compassionate. He valued the connections he made in this life exceedingly and would be a friend to anyone who needed it. He was also blonde with green eyes. Acquaintances of his would often describe his behavior as puppyish.
“Yeah, it’s easy to think back on when we were so much younger. We all had silly nicknames. Dad still calls you guys by those names sometimes, right?” Devin asked.
“Yeah, he makes me do the dance too,” Chase said. “Super embarrassing. I’m a little too old to say I am huckleberry and do a little dance.”
“I like my name,” Aden said. “It’s sweet pea”
“Where did Chickadee come from, Grant? Brown Rice makes sense for Bryce, but Chickadee seemed a little random”
“I think it came from that turkey documentary that he liked,” Devin said
Suddenly, Devin hears a rattling sound outside, followed by riotous laughter. The front door bursts open, and the hallway is filled with a horde of little green men, around three to four feet tall, carrying small spears and dressed in leather. “Are those Goblins?!” Devin exclaims.
The goblins surround the boys. Bryce gets visibly angry, and they all get ready to fight. Then through the front door comes a taller goblin dressed in silk, purple, robes and carrying a magic staff. A short goblin to his side announces “You have the honor of addressing the great Bartok, the mightiest goblin wizard in the whole world. The great one has noticed your world and decided to grant you, humans, the glory of serving him.”
“That’s dumb!” Bryce exclaimed, “Get out of our home! You’re pathetic! I’ll beat you all up”.
“Now that’s no way to talk to your new master, human scum!” The shorter goblin protested. “Now, now Gobta, that’s no way to treat our new guests now, is it?” Bartok says, “Weaklings can’t see power. You have to show it to them”
“You have some nerve, calling us guests barging into our home the way you are,” Devin said. “This isn’t going to end well for you. This is a populated area, people will notice if you try anything. Just back off and think about it.”
Bartok says nothing in response, and motions to the surrounding goblins to move towards the brothers.
Joshua and Bryce suddenly leap from their seats, charging at the wizard.
Bartok gently places his staff on the floor. Bryce and Joshua are stopped mid-leap by an unseen force. Bartok then taps his staff on the floor again. In an instant, all the brothers are immobilized and fall to the floor.
“You will learn that resistance is futile,” Bartok says. “Let me show you to your new home”
The goblins, laughing, carry the boys away, through a circular, blue, portal where the front door used to be and into the unknown.