Spirit Hunter

Chapter 3: Our Violent Road Trip

"You WHAT?" They're both staring at me like I belong in a Mental Hospital. "Don't you guys remember what happened at the mall?! How else would explain something like that! People don't turn to dust from arrows, or just disappear. Like it or not, this is the most likely option." Al jumps in "I get that it was hard to explain, but spirit worlds? Gods? Kidnapped parents? This is drastic at least. At most: completely insane!" "I'm sorry Al, but I have to agree with Q here. My dad told stories about some guy called Camel-tie, or something." "Kana'ti?" I ask "Yeah, him. Listen, even if you don't believe in what he says, least you can do is come with us. It's either that or get chased by... whatever they are on horses." It's silent for a few seconds, when finally Al says "Alright, I'll go with you guys. But at the first sign of it being not true, I'm leaving, no matter what." I nod my head and say "That seems fair. Now, let's back in the car. Odds are, whatever's chasing is still--" *THUNK* An arrow lands on the picnic table next to us. *THUNK, THUNK* Two more in the slide. I look up in the air just in time to see a barrage of arrows fly upwards, soon to fall down on us. "RUN!!" I sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me, Mara ahead of me and Al behind. We barely made it to the car before the arrows completely scoured the entire playground we were sitting at. I didn't stop to see who did it or if they had caught up to us, I drove as soon as the car would let me. Lucky we decided to leave because we were still in the area when a bunch of spirits emerged from the trees, shouting as we made our getaway. They didn't appear to have horses, so we turned out to be very lucky indeed. Unfortunately, the Cabin was still another 75 miles away. It was going to be a very long drive.

75 miles is a hell of a long drive, and it seems to take longer when all you have to do is play I Spy, talk about things you didn't know about each other, or be completely silent. And as if this wasn't already a bad situation, my car ran out of gas. Knowing that the spirits would definitely catch up before we got to the cabin, I double checked my weapons and supplies, and we set out. We didn't have to walk extremely far, like 50 miles, but it was still 25 miles. We rested for an hour or two every 3 miles, and soon enough we were deep enough in the woods that we were A: sure that they were at the outskirts of the woods by now, and B: knowing that they were no longer on horseback because of the surroundings, so all we had to worry about was keeping our distance. Once in a while, we would find a stray arrow that someone had likely used for hunting. We didn't bother with hunting food, because we already had enough to at least get to the cabin. Plus the fire would give away our position. We only stopped when we were absolutely sure we a safe distance away. None of us were really sure what we would do once we got there, but it was better than standing around. Unfortunately, (I've had to use this word a lot, huh?) they sent a scout team forward while we were resting and they caught up with us. I grabbed my dagger and lunged. The first guy went down, but I wasn't going to be able to take down all three, but luckily Al woke up and cut the next guy nearly in half, also turning him into ashes. Lastly, I grabbed the bow off the tree trunk nearby and picked off the last guy before he could return and tell them where we are. Mara comes back at this point after going to see how close they were. "No more than a mile away. I see they had the same thought process, just more... aggressive. We chuckle, and nod. "I'd love to go back to sleep, but we have to keep moving now. We're only ten miles away, and I don't plan on doing all this walking for nothing. Let's move." We start jogging through, trying not to waste energy, but also trying to maintain a good speed. It's much like before, but with fewer brakes and more of me shooting behind me to kill the people who caught up. It's exhausting, but after about 6 hours, we finally made it to the cabin. The door's unlocked, which is weird, but we don't think about it too much. For the first time since the mall incident, I actually felt 100% safe. "Who's there?" asked a groggy voice from the left of us. We look over and see a tall, tan man sitting on the couch holding a beer. He sees us and stands up. "Marie told me that you were coming Quentin, but she never said anything about these two." He points to Mara and Al. "Oh, that's right. These are my friends Mara and Al. They weren't originally supposed to come with me, but we were chased while I was talking to them, and I couldn't just leave them behind. Don't worry, they're trustworthy." He looks at them, and then me again. "Alright then. Hello friends of Quentin, my name is Kana'ti, the original hunter. I hear that you may require some assistance in training. We only have 10 more days until I must leave, so we must get this done as soon as possible. Quentin, seeing as you are my grandson, you are a natural hunter, meaning we only need to give you a little bit of training to unlock that trait. As for you two... Al, your most likely weapon of choice seems to be the bow and arrow. I'll do what I can. You, Mara, seem to have a particular set of skills with blowguns." "Well, I was in Band." He looks at all three of us and says "This should work. Alright, you can go find something to eat in the kitchen and get ready to rest. I will take care of your pursuers." He leaves us in the house alone wielding a bow, but no quiver. I don't pay much attention to it and go look through his fridge. I open it and see some leftover Domino's in there. I don't know how he got Domino's to deliver here, but oh well. We chow down and as we're about to go get ready to sleep, Kana'ti walks back in, hangs up his bow, and sits back down on the couch. We find two extra rooms upstairs (other than Kana's), so me and Al have to share a room. At least there are two beds, though. We get settled in, and right as I laid down, Al asked me "Hey Quentin. I don't think I ever told you, but me and Mara are actually brother and sister." I wait a little bit before saying :I kinda figured. The two of you do look a lot alike." A few minutes pass and he asks another question. "Do you think Kana'ti is hiding something from me?" I look at him and frown. "Why would you say that?" "Well, for one thing, when he first saw me, he looked at me like he's seen me before. Then when he was looking at all of us to see if we would be fit for training, it looked like he was looking at me the most." Hmm, that is weird, I think. "Let's worry about it later. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Alright, you three. First order of business, you must change into much aerobic clothes. I'm afraid jeans and hoodies simply won't work to your advantage in a chase, although you should always have something warm with you during cold nights." We grumble as we change into shorts, and me and Mara take off our sweatshirts. "Secondly, you each have a particular set of skills in the field. I know this because it is my job to know. Quentin, you have the strength and hand-to-hand skills of a blades-man, so you will be working with clubs, hatchets, and large knives. Al, you seem to work best with ranged weapons, so you will be training with bows, throwing tomahawks and throwing daggers. Lastly, Mara, you will be working with more stealthy weapons. This would include blowguns, throwing daggers, and hatchets. Now, I want all of you to concentrate and focus. I am about to summon a spirit for you to attack. Quentin will go first." As I get ready for him to summon my target, I just hope those instincts will kick back in. Swoosh, a bow wielding spirit rises from the ground. He doesn't to seem to notice me at first, but when he does, he knocks an arrow almost instantly. The first arrow is launched towards me, but I deflect it with my club. Another, just barely skims pass me and I lunge, swing my club as hard as I can. He dodges the club, but doesn't see the hatchet hurdling in from behind. I catch him right in the back, and as he turns to dust, I hear Kana'ti say "Alright, Al, you're next."