Spirit Hunter

Chapter 4: Training Is A Blast... Literally

After we had all done our best to take down the Spirits summoned by Kana'ti, he evaluated all of us, kinda like grades in school, except I was being graded on killing. "Alright you three, you all did decent without proper training. It seems that the weapons I recommended will work just nicely for each of you. But there's more to hunting then just the killing; you gotta learn how to sneak up an your target quietly, you gotta learn to get away from the people chasing you better, and you definitely need to learn unique survival situations. The problem with bringing spirits back into this world, is that there are going to be evil spirits that came from other eras and places. You might see World War 1 soldiers, maybe old bank robbers from the west, etc. You need to learn how to handle each situation properly. I'm not gonna waste my time with babying you to get you to learn, but rather I'll constantly be pushing you with things that constantly get harder. The first thing I'll have you guys prepare for: getting away from pursuers. I will give you guys, say... 15 minutes on my mark to go get anything and everything you need to survive, and once the 15 minutes are up, I'll come after you. I'll be putting a heavy weight at the end of my arrows instead of normal heads so I don't kill you, but it will hurt, so treat it like a real threat. Your time starts... now!" I rush into the house and look for vital supplies; I found a compass, a canteen with a built in water purifier, and a first aid kit. Mara looked in the fridge for some food to bring, and Al grabbed us each one weapon. I got a hatchet, ha got a bow, and she got a blow dart. Al only had about 20 arrows, and Mara only had 20 darts. About 8 minutes were left, so we bolted for the forest. When we made it about 500 ft away with only 2 minutes left, I offered up a strategy: "Why don't we hide up in a tree; who knows, he might not see it coming. Plus, he won't see us if he checks, the leaves will cover us." We thought about it for a few seconds, and then we all agreed. By the time we all got to the top of our own individual trees, we knew he was on his way, even though he didn't warn us. I open up a slight crack in my cover and see him walking past, looking everywhere, including in the trees. I close up my cover. Alright Quentin, I think. You can do this. Just be still and quiet. If he finds you, you're dead. Well, not actually, but in a real situation you will be. I hear a thud and a grunt; I think Al just got found out and hit. Then another, this time Mara. All that's left now is to pray that they don't tell him where I am. "Come out Quentin! I have your friends!" I'm about to leave the tree when I realize that it was probably a trick, to catch me. I grab a stick, wait for him to turn around, and throw it at a tree far enough away to sneak out of the tree quietly. I get down on the ground, and I sprint. One of his arrows flies right past me, and I think I'm scott-free. All of a sudden, I get hammered in the chest I fall flat on my ass. "Ah, shit! I think I pulled something!" There was no one even there; he had set up a trap. It was a hard to see the wire tied between two trees. It even cut into my chest a little. "Decent job with the distraction, Quentin, but I'm afraid you died anyways. Now let's get that wound tended to."

"Don't feel bad, it was your first time, all of you. It'll take a little time to get used to it, I mean it doesn't happen instantly." I know he's right, but what I don't get is how he managed to catch us when the horde of spirits couldn't. I don't really have time to worry about it though, because the next test is going to be both very obscene and very difficult; we have to dodge some explosive arrows. Yes, arrows . I don't know why he's having us do these things, but I really don't care, as long as it helps. We all line up, and as he summons some spirits to help him. Dodging arrows is already going to be hard, but explosive arrows?? Come on, it's unnecessary! Who even uses explosive arrows?! Then again, I think he's going with the whole "If you can dodge a train you can dodge a ball" thought process. Either way, we're seconds away from running from a barrage of them. "Ready..." I tense up. This is it. I mean not it, but it. "Aim..." We all nod at each other and get in position. We couldn't even see what Kana'ti was doing; he had cover from the trees. "FIRE!" I bolt instantly. I wasn't going to look up at the arrows, it would distract me. All I do is shut everything from my mind except running and where to stop. I look over where Al was, and he's not there. Mara's pretty much right next to me, but a little farther. I look back, which was a huge mistake. I just see a whole tidal wave of arrows raining down, with Al just barely ahead of them. "Run faster! You're gonna get--" A stray arrow hits me in the arm. Weird thing though; it came from the side, not above. Also, it didn't explode, other wise I'd be in a lot more pain (the explosions were relatively small). I look to my right and see an arrow peeking through the bushes to my right. I get to the so-called "finish line" that we had set up and yelled "Ambush!" Immediately, a flurry of randomly dressed people wielding various weapons stormed from cover. I yell for Kana'ti, and rather than come to us, he must've given us weapons because all of our respective weapons materialized in front of us. He must be busy fight on his own to help us, so we do what we can. I'm slicing through hordes, meanwhile Al and Mara pick them off from a distance. We're about halfway through when even more come. At least we have weapons that can kill them with extreme ease. Their advantage is they've out numbered us. Mara get's taken down, not without a fight, then me. Al is the last to go. We're all getting held down and beaten, but not killed. Suddenly, they all vanish, and Kana'ti emerges. "Once again, you all did a mighty fine job, but you all still died. At least it's only been a day." I stand up, a little ticked off. "That was a test? Again? I thought we were going to die!" He chuckles "That's why it works! It gives you real fear, prevents you from taking it for a joke. I've always had a student walk out of here a warrior, and I'm not about to break that streak. Don't worry; you'll be prepared for this." I grunt and walk off. I wasn't about to become a puppet to some guy I don't know, immortal or not. He may be my ancestor, but he's not my master.

You know, for a guy who's supposed to prepare me, I don't feel prepared. Just paranoid. As I walk into the woods alone --or so I hope-- I keep checking around me. I hear a rustle above me and immediately draw a hatchet and chuck it, nearly cutting the thing in half; it was a squirrel. I do this after every daily routine: more hand-to-hand combat, archery lessons, extreme hide-and-go-seek, you name it, we've done it. It cools me down, and eventually I ignore it. I know it's for the best. I suppose it was supposed to prepare us both on the field and on the run, but still. It comes down to the last day of training, three days before he leaves, which will directly recreate the real thing. "Alright you three, listen up. This will be the real thing, and I won't stop anything, no matter what. Here's how it's going to go down: You will be pitted in an arena I built in the spirit realm awhile back. It resembles the forests here, so that you won't get confused. There are boundaries, therefore there's no getting out unless you defeat every spirit. Also, you only have up to 48 hours. Now, it's you three versus five hundred of them. That is a huge disadvantage on your part, so I recommend that you do this strategically, I did show you a few things. If you die, I am sorry, but it's all or nothing, and we can't afford to hope on nothing. Before we start, I will give you weapons, but you will find your own food and supplies." He pauses for a second to get out a sack of items. "For you, Quentin, is two small hatchets, a club, and a dagger. Oh, and you will be keeping these when it's over. You Al, get one of three most powerful bows that I have made. It is imbued with an enchantment that doesn't require arrows, because it makes it's own. All you need to do is pull back the string. Lastly, but certainly not least, I give you ten throwing daggers and a blowgun that shoots poisonous obsidian darts. The poison won't do anything to spirits, but some spirits have the ability to find suitable hosts out there, so use them wisely. I don't exactly have a farewell, or even a good luck to give you. But I do have words of advice: Time is not your friend in this, but do not rush it. It may be your final mistake." Those were the last words I had ever heard him say.