When Everything Burns {Mianite/CaptainFoxx} ✔

Chapter 18: Finality

A/N - Decided to post this a day early in celebration because I GOT MY DRIVER'S LICENCE (Class 7L)!!!

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Chapter 18: Finality

(Tom's POV)

*Fwoosh!*

     My sleep-filled eyes shot open at the all too familiar sound of an arrow whizzing past my head. I couldn't smother the gasp that escaped my mouth when I realized where that arrow had landed. It was centimeters from my face. Shooting up into a sitting position, I kicked Tucker awake from the sleeping bag beside me.

     "Wha-" I shushed him, and pulled the arrow from the ground before tossing it to him. His eyes widened, and he crawled over to wake Wag and Andor while I did the same to Jordan and Sonja. It was as though our waking was the signal to begin the hailstorm. Red arrows with bright orange accents rained down, never close enough for us to notice before they struck, but never far enough that it wouldn't hurt us in some way.

     Another arrow sliced a cut on my cheek. I cursed and pressed on it with my fingertips, trying to slow the bleeding until we were safe. "DAMN IT, RUN!" The beauty of the forest and wildlife was lost on me as we pelted through the underbrush, the arrows always following. Either this was an angry god, or lots of people were good at following running people while shooting arrows. Neither of which were good for any of us. Arrowhead after arrowhead breezed through the air towards us, some hitting their targets and others just shy. My suit was in tatters, and my tie was in shreds. 'Whoever is doing this, the bastard owes me a new tie,' I thought bitterly.

     Vibrant green, unlike the rest of the forest, caught my eye. Emerald vins swayed peacefully in the wind, unaware of the utter chaos around them. "Hey, guys," I called to the rest of the group in front of me. They slowed down and turned their heads towards me, eyes still trained on the skyline. I made a mad dash to the vines, and they followed. Moments before I could shove through the vines, a blast of magic screamed over my head and landed in front of me, sending all of us backwards in the air and encompassing the cave entrance in what looked to be a force field. I grunted as I collided with a tree, spots covering my vision as I hit my head against the hard bark. Smoke poured from the now magic enclosed cave opening and rolled over me, causing me to cough, and squint to see what was going on. The assaulting arrows had ceased to threaten us since the blast, as if whoever or whatever was shooting either got scared and ran off, or was called off of us.

     A figure's shadow became apparent through the haze, but he, she, or it was too blurry from the fog to identify. They were somewhat tall, with a medium build. It came closer, close enough to tell that it was male. Standing up from where I was slouched against the tree, my hand instinctively went to the handle of my sword. Though I couldn't see them, I could sense my friends close by. There was a certain tension in the air that was both unsettling and too thick to cut. That was, until Wag used a spell to blow away the haze, and we could see the man behind the mist.

     The tension dissolved, and a collective sigh rose from our group. "Declan?" He didn't reply; only nodded. A thump came from behind us, and I turned around to see... Declan. Confused, I swivelled my head back around to see the first Declan still there. Another thud, and we were joined by three Declans. 'How is this possible?'

     Four more appeared, and I could no longer tell which was the real one. "What's going on," Sonja asked tentatively.

     "You see," Declan's voice was lower than usual, and gravelly. It was barely him. "I'm afraid that I can't let you pass. I was hoping the arrow storm would do the trick, but you sky people are faster than you look." Six of the Declans, all of which appeared to be clones or whatever, took out rapiers. From the corners of my vision, I could see my friends take out their weapons and assume defensive stances. We were too tightly packed into a circle to play offensively- not until we can draw an opponent away to where we can fight in open space.