Ranger's Apprentice - The Afterwards

Ch. 25

It had taken him a while to find the clearing, but Will now stood in the shelter of the trees, unmoving. His cloak wrapped around him, making him nearly invisible to the men in the large clearing before him.
The bandits had already elected a new leader after Jerold hadn't come back. This new leader was much larger than Jerold, with bulging bicepts and a nasty scar over his face.
Will slowly notched an arrow.
You're first, he thought. He raised the bow, drew, and...
The man moved just as the arrow flew past him. The arrow caught another man in the shoulder instead of the heart of the leader, where Will had aimed.
He didn't have time to curse. Chaos erupted in the camp. Some of the men stared in horror at their fallen comrade. Others (clearly the smarter men of the group) grabbed their weapons and began searching for Will.
In seconds, five more men dropped. It gave Will better odds, but it also reminded the bandits which direction Will was.
He notched more arrows and dropped as many men as he could. But he knew it was only a matter if seconds before they overtook him. He was one person. They were many. It was hopeless.
There was nothing I could do. Will thought. Is it possible it was just...my time?
Will kept shooting until he ran out of arrows. Then he drew his knife.
He stepped into the clearing, holding up his throwing knife. He was prepared to die fighting. Four, five, six men surrounded Will. He lifted his knife and threw it, killing one man instantly. Two more took his place.
Then, a large burly man stepped closer to Will. It was the leader.
"Why, hello there!" He cackled. Will didn't answer.
"If you wanted to join the party, you should've just asked!"
Will stared at the man with cold eyes.
"It's too bad, really. You could've been a valuable addition to our group."
Suddenly, the man reached out and clamped his hand around Will's arm.
"Stand up," he said. "Die like a man."
Will was yanked to his feet. He prepared his Saxe knife. His last weapon.
But he never got the chance to use it.
Because just then, eight arrows rained down, one after the other, dropping the rest of the bandits before Will's eyes.