Imagine: A Writing Contest {Closed}

《 When in Doubt, Stay Still 》

A Short Story Written by 37YearsLater

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The first time that I saw him, I didn't freeze, I shot. I've been told stories of a tall man with split black and white hair. The one with the crossbow, no name, and different coloured eyes. I had never met him before. Until now.

My brother Micheal and I were outside, I was watching him chase geese. He was 17 and still chased geese. Micheal and I had been living alone and together for the past 7 years, in a cottage in the middle of the woods. He was my best friend, Micheal. Well, he was the only person I really knew. I had had some friends back when I went to school, but then I stopped going, when my mother was taken away. Thus, I stopped seeing my friends. I don't even remember their names anymore. Micheal and I took care of each other. Neither fully relied on the other, the way it should be. Micheal had about medium length darkish brown hair, which crashed magnificently with my red-gold-brown hair. But our eyes were the same colour. We also crashed in what we offered to our two some. Micheal was an excellent gardener, and he grew all of the vegetables. While I was really good with a long bow, so I hunted.

I was leaning against a tree, restringing my bow, and sharpening my arrows. I always carried it with me. I liked to think that I held the lives of 24 men on my back at all times. 

"Well well well," I heard from right above me, and a figure jumped down from one of the tree branches above my head. 

It was a boy. Half of his hair was black, half of it white. I couldn't see his eyes but I didn't need that amount of conformation. I whipped an arrow out of the quivver always on my back, knocked it, and lifted, aiming the tip at the man. 

"Oh come on now," He had his crossbow out, an arrow already in place, "Shoot. I dare you." 

His voice was just barely gravely, and about as deep as Micheal's. 

"You are not welcome here." I said, not releasing the tension in my bow, despite the fact that the arrow would lose power the longer I held it tense. 

"I know. But this is a special case." 

"I don't see how it is." 

My eyes didn't move from his -now visible to me- and out of my peripheral vision, Micheal stood. But the man must've seen him too, because he moved his crossbow to aim at Micheal, and released. Pulled? I never use crossbows, only longbows. I moved the direction of my bow, and released my arrow hitting his out of the way.

It had taken me years to be able to do that. "Well done," The man said, "You'll do nicely." 

The man walked straight to me, I had another arrow knocked, and shot. But he just ducked out of the way. He grabbed my arm, and before I could do anything, hit me over the head with the butt of his crossbow.

When I opened my eyes again, I was... well on a horse. My arms were around someone's waist, tied together with a length of rope. My head was in the crook of their back, and I didn't move, just looked around. We were on a brown and white speckled horse, trotting down some road I didn't recognise. 

"I know you're awake love." The person I was tied to said, chuckling. 

But I didn't reply. 

"Oh come on, say something. I know you're awake." 

"Where are we? Where are we going?" I asked, sitting up, and trying to get my hands out from around him as subtly as possible.