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THESE ARE THE RULES. MAKES SURE YOU READ BEFORE PARTICIPATING.
Those Who Follow. Pt. 1
"Sure you don't need me to take the shot, Aiden?"
Lauren... the smug bastard. He knew as well as I did that I was one of the best damn Hunters in the tribe, if not the best. But one time, when we were kids, I tripped and missed a shot that might as well have been point blank range. He hasn't let it go since, probably never will. Oh well.. chalk it up to his charm, I guess.
"Do you want to eat tonight? Smart ass." I quipped back, making sure to keep my voice down as to not scare away the game.
"Ha, not like you're the one who gets to choose where the food goes. You know the rules Aiden.. all for the tribe-."
"Because the tribe is all we have. Yeah, I know the rules. Now shut up and let me focus."
"Do your thing man. You got this."
Such a pain in my ass... but still, he was the best friend I had. And on top of that, we made a damn good team.
We had a bit of a system in place, I guess you could say. We'd been working on it since we were kids and it was nearly down to a science with how much we had perfected it.
Lauren was a big dude. Something like 8 heads tall and nothing but pure, tanned muscle. I was 7.5 heads tall myself, so I wasn't small by any means, but I had nothing on Lauren... at least not when it came to brute force. But I was fast, and accurate... and thats what made us work well together.
See.. I never miss. Ever. Not anymore, at least. But sometimes, my shots don't get to be fatal and the game runs. I'm fast enough to catch it, but not always strong enough to stop it. And that's where Lauren comes in. He could probably take down a Grizzly if he really felt like it.
But I had a feeling I wouldn't need Lauren to intervene today.
I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, focused.
Inhale... exhale... repeat.
Time seemed to slow like it always did, the world collapsing around me until it was nothing but the and the prey. I mumbled what I always did before taking the shot.
"I thank you for your body. Now return to the Stars."
One more breath in, I hold it.
I notch the arrow and draw-back the bowstring. My muscles tense, the tips of my fingers turn white from the pressure.
Not yet. Hold it.
The deer looks up.
"Aiden.." I hear Lauren whisper. I ignore him.
Hold it.
The deer is getting ready to move and it's getting late. There won't be another chance tonight if this one gets away.
But it won't get away.
"Aiden" there's an intensity in his voice this time. He's concerned.
The deer looks straight at us.
Now.
The bowstring snaps from my fingertips and my arrow zips through the air before striking the buck right between the eyes, stealing his life and collapsing him to the ground. Smooth, painless, instant.
Exactly how I prefer it to be.
I exhale, and so does Lauren.
"Why you gotta do that to me, man" he lets out with a relieved chuckle.
"Even after all this time, you still doubt me, big guy? I knew it was gonna look."
"You don't know anything, kid." I hate it when he calls me kid, I wasn't even that much younger than him. I decide to let it go.
"It's getting late" Lauren said, watching the orange glow of the sun start to peak low between the trees.
"I think I'm gonna stay out for a bit longer, you go ahead of me."
"Come on Aiden, you know Dad doesn't like it when-"
"Oh right, wouldn't want to upset The Chief. I can't wait until you're chief, I'll be able to get away with whatever I want. Besides, you're his blood son. He won't care as much as long as you get back safe."
"Don't joke like that, you know he loves you just as much as me. Now let's go back together."
"No, I'm gonna stay just a bit longer.."
"Aiden... don't. You remember what happened last time..."
Should Aiden:
Ignore Lauren, and Stay in The Woods.
Listen to Lauren, and Go Back to the Tribe.
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