Chapitre 65: Arrowhead
Olive, Isaac, Koa, Teddy, and Darnell hid in the bushes.
In the distance, the valley of green grass dissipated and what replaced it was a pit of dirt smack-down in the center of the forest. The pit was lifeless.
It lacked trees and bushes. Even weeds refused to grow from the dry soil that encapsulated the silver ore deposit.
Speaking of, the silver was in the center of the pit. It had a glossy sheen and reflected light every which way. The silver poked through the ground in large clumps, like bricks.
At the moment, seven green brutes hammered away at the silver. They struck it with an identical material, their hands filled with smaller pieces of silver lazily tied to thick sticks.
Meanwhile, the three Orc's above, who kept an eye on the pit's perimeter, wielded nothing more than the cracked nails they harbored and the black streaks that covered their bodies.
The three guard Orc's were situated evenly around the crater. None of them were side by side.
As such, Olive and Darnell needed to be quick and precise. In the event they slaughter two of three, and the third runs off, their lives and their journey in this world could very well end today.
Olive and Darnell separated. One traveled left and the other right.
They circled the pit and readied themselves.
At the same time, Teddy and Koa's anxiety spiked. Their palms were wet and their legs shook.
They had never killed before.
Through the bushes, Olive saw the back of the Orc she needed to kill.
Black tattoo's marred his figure. Across his back and over his shoulders, down his forearms and over his chest — tribal markings coated the beast.
On the other side, Darnell too prepared himself. He reached into his pants pocket and grabbed a small stone. The stone was not impressive.
It was dark brown and matte. No shine accompanied it.
He had found it in the forest, however, and due to his Ability — it was the most durable thing he could get his hands on thus far. Next, he eyed the silver itself.
Olive could not see Darnell and Darnell could not see Olive, but their attack needed to be simultaneous. Knowing that, Isaac instructed the two of them to count from the moment they separated.
When their minds reached two minutes and thirty seconds — they needed to strike.
Olive, especially, prepared herself in a manner unlike the others. Without a suitable weapon, a blade of some sort, Olive lacked a path into the Orc's flesh. Her nails couldn't pierce their hide and her strength fell short in a direct competition. She knew that all too well from her last encounter with the bestial species.
Suddenly, Darnell exploded from the bushes. He clenched a small stone in his fist and conjured forth his Ability. Within an instant, his chocolate colored arm changed shades.
What was once dark brown shifted lighter and now carried an orange tint.
Nevertheless, Darnell sprinted towards the Orc before him.
He clenched his fist and, with all his might, rammed his stone fist into the nape of the Orc.
Darnell hit bone. The back of the Orc's neck, his spine, his vertebrae and when he did so, Darnell felt something crack.
Crack, unfortunately, did not mean kill.
Meanwhile, Olive watched this happen from the other side. It had only transpired in a second and when it was finished, Olive too flew out of the foliage.
Low to the ground, Olive rushed across the grass and leaped onto the Orc's back.
She clung to his shoulders and shimmied her way up his back. At the same time, in Olive's hand, a glint manifested.
Reflecting the light above, a severed stone arrow meandered in Olive's grasp. She plunged the arrowhead into the side of the Orc's neck and rummaged it around.
Blood splattered. Adrenaline released. Instincts prevailed.
The Orc reached around its back and grabbed Olive's wrist.
He ripped her off his back and slammed her into the ground.
*thud*
On the other side, Darnell took another swing at the Orc's side, but the green beast's abs absorbed the blow. The Orc, now enraged, swung its arm around recklessly.
The Orc's forearm slammed into Darnell's shoulder and sent him spiraling through the air, but luckily, he landed on his feet.
Darnell clutched his shoulder in agony. He miraculously tasted blood and when he tried to raise his arm — he found it limp and unresponsive.
Thankfully, Darnell only needed that arm to keep hold of the rock he was channeling into his Ability.
The Orc charged first and barreled towards Darnell. Darnell spread his legs and prepared himself to evade, but the Orc's reach caught him by surprise.
The Orc's thick fingers wound into a ball and struck Darnell's chest. Darnell protected his torso with his stone arm in just the nick of time, but the force exuded from the Orc was enormous.
Suddenly, a crack spread through Darnell's arm.
Above Olive, a foot plummeted. She immediately rolled over and felt the wind rustle her hair as a gargantuan green foot crashed into the ground.
Olive rolled away quickly and pulled herself to her feet. She wiped a droplet of blood off her lip and observed the Orc in front of her.
The brutes' neck was gushing blood. The arrowhead remained lodged in its throat, but the beast didn't seem to care.
He slammed his oversized feet into the ground and charged forth. Olive unexpectedly did the same.
She ran straight towards the beast with fire in her eyes.
The Orc struck first. His fist exploded outward and barreled towards Olive's face.
Olive ducked underneath the punch and weaved herself even closer. From underneath the Orc's torso, Olive slammed her knee into the brute's jewels and for once — Olive felt something soft.
The Orc wailed in pain, but the violent screeching through its airways rattled the arrowhead still trapped there. More blood poured out.
The Orc tried to grab Olive, but she was so small and the Orc was so big.
Olive slipped between the Orc's legs and arrived at its back. She jumped up and grabbed the arrowhead, but this time she didn't hold onto the Orc.
No.
Instead, Olive allowed gravity to bring her back to the ground. The arrowhead in tow.
The roughly made stone arrowhead tore down the Orc's neck and widened the gash. All of a sudden, a wave of fresh blood swept onto the grass.
Gurgles and shrieks accompanied.
The Orc tried to grasp its neck. It tried to plug the hole, to clamp the wound, it went so far as to nearly choke itself — but the blood continued to overflow.
Meanwhile, Olive retrieved the arrowhead.
She considered this Orc good as dead and sprinted across the grass. The third Orc did the same.
When the battle commenced, the third Orc closely watched the two engagements. Although simple minded, Orc's understood battle better than anything else. This Orc knew it was wise to wait.
The Orc needed to gang up on the weaker of the two. That way, their victory would be more than likely assured, but Olive's swift tactics surprised the Orc.
Before the third Orc could even decide who to engage, one of its brethren was already near dead as blood painted its green skin red.
As Olive and the third Orc neared each other, Darnell's exchange grew grievous.
The Orc wailed on him. Massive blurs of green bludgeoned Darnell's body. In light of this, he kept his stone arm up and guarded his face as best he could.
Darnell was a boxer, but even in the ring — he had never been hit so hard.
Most of his muscles were unresponsive. He tried to move, to be light on his feet, but the weight of the Orc above him was too much for him to bear. Now glued to the grass, Darnell stood still and perpetually blocked.
The Orc across from him, meanwhile, was erratic.
Like a child beating their parents leg, the Orc merely slammed his fists down unto Darnell's head over and over. Again and again!
And all that protected Darnell was his single stone appendage, but even then, cracks began to spread. Small chunks of stone split off. Rocks — pieces of Darnell's arm — shattered.
Then, Isaac and Koa jumped out of the bushes and into the pit.
They slid down the incline and charged towards the seven Orc's who barely noticed the rambunctious activities around them.
"TEDDY!" Isaac roared as he charged, "HELP DARNELL!"
Teddy emerged from the foliage behind Darnell.
Teary eyed, flush cheeked, and red-nosed — Teddy panicked.
But he grit his teeth and sucked up his snot.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!!" Teddy wailed.
He charged into the Orc and threw his body into the beast's thigh. Something like a tackle, Teddy rammed into the brute to no effect.
The Orc momentarily stopped pounding Darnell, but in that moment, he launched his fist to the side and slammed it against Teddy's temple.
Teddy's feet raised off the ground. His body leaned back and he tore through the air.
Teddy crashed against the ground and rolled across the forest floor.
Amidst this, Darnell did nothing. His arm was still held above him. His legs were still stuck.
At this point, Darnell wasn't even sure if he could move if he wanted to. His body felt like mush. His brain felt dim. His thoughts came slower. Darnell's lights were almost out.
He tried to raise his eyelids, but they were so ungodly heavy. So instead, he settled for one.
Burning fumes, Darnell begged the God above to help him open his right eye. And luckily, at the pace of a snail, his eyelid responded.
When light burst into his cornea and color drowned his senses, Darnell saw green sweaty skin in front of him. But the light that he was seeing, the light that was practically blinding him, came from somewhere else.
And for just a moment, Darnell caught glimpse of it: a bubble, golden, rose from the pit in the distance.
The spherical, translucent, luminescent, buoyant, — the golden bubble stretched far and wide. It rose from the crater and toppled the Orcs in comparison.
About the same size as the tree's around, the bubble glistened underneath the sun.
Then, it popped.
And an inferno ignited.
Bright yellow flames soared towards the sky like lightning from the ground to the heavens. The explosion of flames draped the seven Orc's in fire and sent an overwhelming shockwave through the surroundings.
For everyone, Darnell, Teddy, Olive, and even the Orcs, a physical wave of heat crashed into them.
Darnell collapsed to his knees. He could no longer survive the pressure and the shockwave was the final tipping point.
His right eye still open, however, he looked up and saw the eyes of the Orc about to slaughter him. They were dark. They were oppressive. They were hungry.
Hopeless, Darnell let go of the rock. His arm returned to flesh, although many chunks of it were missing.
His fingers brushed against the grass. The grass was soft. It was malleable and delicate.
Then, the Orc's fist came crashing.
An instinct stirred Darnell's heart and he grabbed the grass. He squeezed mana into his arm and raised it to block the attack.
He waited, but the blow he was expecting never came.
Darnell forced himself to look up. An inch away from his nose, green knuckles halted. Wrapped around the Orc, entangled with its arm, grass held the beast at bay.
Then, the head of an arrow, stone, cracked the Orc's temple. The arrowhead pierced the brutes eye and shattered its orbital.
Olive ripped the arrow out of the Orc's eye and plunged it into the other.
She ripped it out again and slammed it up the Orc's nose.
"Die!" She panted.
She pulled it out again.
"Mother!"
Olive rammed it into the Orc's ear.
"Fucker!"
Olive's hand, dripping with blood, let go of the arrowhead. The Orc collapsed to the ground. A loud 'thud' accompanied it.
Olive looked at Darnell. He was beat black and blue. His arm returned to flesh and Olive could see the prominent chunks missing. In fact, she could see pieces of his flesh scattered through the grass.
Olive plopped on the ground beside him.
"Well?" She said, "That wasn't so bad, right?"
Darnell fell backwards.
He was unconscious.
Who knows for how long.
///LostNoteFound///
Hey moofin, thanks for the stones :) for realzies :D
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TheLostBoy
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
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