TRIGGERFINGER (ORIGINAL STORY) - SEASON ONE

S01E03 A Creature In The Caves! Shade the Shadowmaster! (Part Two)

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500. That's how many push ups Kore and Elder Chatka were making Ash and Shade do. This was even after the 500 sit ups they had to do, and the 500 jumping jacks before that. Shade could feel his arms start to wobble, this was intense training even by Chatka's standards. He looked over at Ash who was sweating but despite the perspiration dripping from his forehead, he kept a smile the entire time.

"Four-fifty-seven!" Ash said out loud. "Four-fifty-eight!"

Shade had to catch up, he was still 20 push ups behind. He sped up, push up after push up. He no longer cared that it felt like his arms were going to fall off, he had to catch up by any means necessary. This only made Ash speed up however, and now the two boys were racing to see who could reach the 500 first. As they neared the end, they both started to slow down, their bones aching, forearms ready to snap.

"500!" They called out in unison.

Ash fell down on his stomach, and Shade rolled over onto his back, both breathing heavily. Kore congratulated them for hitting the 500 then said something Shade nor Ash were expecting. Now 500 more. The two boys stared at each other dumbfoundedly. Then with an eager look in their eyes, they both got back in position and started racing once more.

***

That night Shade was woken up not by the sounds of roaring but instead shouting. He sat up in bed and looked over at Ash, he was fast asleep, a bubble of snot exhaling out of his nose. He heard the shout again, this time more like a scream. He quickly got out of bed and started rushing around, putting his robes on and getting his bokken. Ash woke up, rubbing his eyes. Then he heard the shouting too, and quickly got up.

"What is that?" He asked.

"I think Elder Chatka might be in trouble," Shade replied, attaching his bokken to his belt.

The two boys rushed out of the sleeping chamber and out into the caved halls. They turned down a couple, and there stood Kore, Scabs, and Marianne, all congregated. They looked confused. Kore turned and noticed the boys, and swiftly approached Shade.

"It's time to tell us what's truly going on here," he demanded.

"Have you seen Elder Chatka?!" Shade asked in response.

"I checked his chamber, he isn't there. Shade, you need to tell us what's happening in this place."

Shade didn't want to... But he knew he had to. For Chatka's sake. He quickly explained everything, what the roaring the previous night really was, about the time he was attacked, how Chatka would go hunting the creature every night. Kore appeared frustrated at first but turned and led the way, everyone else in tow. He followed the sounds, rushing down halls, turning corners and eventually, they came to fork in the caves, three different ways to follow. They couldn't make out which one the shouting was coming from.

"Which way do we go?" Scabs asked Kore, peering through each of them.

Kore took a moment to think, then went down the center cave, Scabs following suit. Shade paused, he knew these tunnels well and could tell from the echoes that the center path was not the right call, and instead went down the left. Ash followed him, and Marianne warned them not to stray from the Spades but the boys didn't listen, so she followed. The caves were getting darker with each step, not as many torches here. They reached a large chamber, and inside a beast was hunched over, it's back turned towards them. As they entered, the beast turned to look at them, then let out a massive roar, indicating an attack.

"It's a bear!" Marianne shrieked. "Boys, run!"

Except they didn't. Shade looked over to the right side of the chamber, Elder Chatka's robes crinkled up on the floor. He screamed with tears in his eyes and unsheathed his bokken, sprinting forward and whacking the bear in the face. It barely budged however, and viciously swung its claws. Before the claws were able to scratch Shade, Ash shot out a bullet and got the bear in the paw, causing it to retreat its claws. This only caught the bear's attention however, and it ran towards Ash, headbutting him in the chest and sending him flying in the cave wall.