Exᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ || Tʜᴇ Cʜᴏsᴇɴ Eɪɢʜᴛ Bᴏᴏᴋ Fɪᴠᴇ

Chapter ten// Steady On

Sabien
I've never been a good fighter.

But not for lack of practice, though. I grew up with a bunch of brothers, and we fought all the time. I was just usually the target, so it was never really fair. And I had learned very quickly that if I didn't fight back, then they'd give up. That wasn't the case this time.

No, this was war. If you didn't fight, you'd die. Which was something I was hoping to put off for at least a little while longer.

Okay, well, maybe I'm being dramatic. I'm not actually fighting. Tyler suggested that I stayed up on the ridge (camouflaged, of course), and use my crossbow. I'd been practicing with it, and my aim had improved considerably.

So that's why it's dramatic of me, I suppose. Not that I'm complaining! I'm quite alright with laying up here and shooting at Conquerors.

I shifted slightly, following a particularly large Conqueror with the bolt that was loaded into my crossbow. My finger tightened around the trigger and I narrowed my eyes to make sure, before loosing the bolt. It flew true, stabbing into their back. They collapsed to the ground, revealing Lucia and Tazi. I saw them glance up in surprise, trying to find their invisible ally. A smile grew on my lips at the sight.

Don't get cocky, Tyler's voice reminded inside my head. There'll be plenty of time for that if we win.

I blinked and returned to seriousness, scanning the writhing mass of black armour and green cloaks to try and find my next target.

A whoosh of air startled me. I looked up, and saw a buzzard swooping down toward me.

I dropped my crossbow on the ground beside me and shielded my eyes as the bird screeched and dove, talons extended.

But they barely scraped my arms before a low, guttural hiss sounded. I peeked uncertainly and saw that a large turkey vulture had snatched the significantly smaller bird in its talons and dragged it away.

The two predators fought viciously in midair.

Then I recognized the vulture. Arcell! I rolled back over, grabbing my crossbow. I searched the battle below and quickly found the Greencloak who had summoned the vulture. He was fighting two– no, three Conquerors at once.

My tongue poked out between my lips as I aimed, careful to stay as still as possible so Eldya's camouflage would be affective. A bolt flew through the air, taking down one of the Conquerors, closely followed by another, which just barely missed.

But it distracted the Conqueror, giving Vik the chance to take them out. The Greencloak paused to catch his breath and looked over.

Despite being pretty much invisible, I felt his gaze on me and resisted the urge to unmask myself and wave.

His gaze drifted further upward, presumably to where Arcell was tearing into the buzzard. A grin flashed on his face, and he turned back to his next opponent.

The buzzard let out a final shriek and soared away, pursued halfway back by Arcell. The vulture paused mid-flight and looked back. His sharp eyes pierced my disguise and he let out a keening whine, before wheeling around and diving back to assist his summoner.

"Yeah, thanks. And you're welcome, I guess." I mumbled.

Eldya made a sort of sighing-hiss sound in my ear.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled lightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not getting cocky. I'm just answering him." I readjusted my grip on the crossbow, scanning for a new target.

I got distracted for a moment, watching Sasha and Navia fight. I chewed the inside of my cheek as they took on a group of Conquerors, then remembered I could help. I aimed the crossbow and shot one of them in the back, grinning at Navia's startled little jump.

She returned to the fight as I took out another one with a bolt to the stomach. Satisfied that she and Sasha could handle the rest, I moved on.

Lucia and Tazi were fighting another group a little ways over, Elle aiding them. I watched with a slight giggle as the mare sent a smaller Conqueror flying with a kick. I loaded a new bolt into my weapon and shot a few down, two in the leg and one in the shoulder.

Lucia and Tazi barely had time to look around in confusion before they were overrun again.

I reached for another bolt and reloaded, taking aim again. This time I hit a zebra as it approached Elle from behind. The horse barely even startled as the bolt whizzed past her, focused on keeping the Conquerors in front of her at bay.

The number of Conquerors that they were fighting was dwindling. The Greencloaks were winning!

As if she'd heard my thoughts, Eldya hissed again.

"I'm not celebrating. I'm being realistic." I mumbled back, narrowing my eyes. It was a lame excuse, but I was busy!

My eyes finally found the rest of the group. Tyler and Niko fought side by side, identical expressions of determination on their faces.

It struck me how much alike they looked. And how easily they seemed to understand what the other was doing. There were no words exchanged between the two, they just fought together. Tyler's axe was merely a flash of silver in the air, Niko's quarterstaff a blur beside it. They were a great team.

So are we, I realized, looking back at Navia and Sasha as they fought together. And Lucia and Tazi. We trusted each other. The thought warmed my core, filling me with a new determination. I readied a bolt and released it, taking out one of the Conquerors by Tyler. He didn't even glance up, but he knew it was me.

Then I continued scanning, realizing I hadn't seen Lizzie or Zay in a while. The latter I found quickly, battling by a pair of Conquerors. She was surrounded by downed soldiers, most of whom appeared to be clutching their ankles. I frowned for a moment, then a flash of green on the red, sunbaked ground reminded me of Xavier and Olraz.

A little bit farther along, Lizzie was pushing through the throngs of Conqueror soldiers. She was trying to get to Zay!

I hurried to shoot some of the ones who were blocking her. Then I paused, realizing with confusion that they weren't trying to stop her. She turned her head and a glint of gold caught the light.

What? My mind raced, trying to decipher this. It wasn't making sense. Why would Lizzie have gold on?

And I'm ending it there.

Muahahahaha
Enjoy mi amigos
Remember to stay safe! xx