Salockin's Story

Chapter 1

Elk again? I thought to myself as a juvenile elk stood, slowly grazing on the a small patch of dried grass which looked like it hasn't had a drink in weeks.

With this drought going on, the forest and game wont be able to survive much longer,

this was the twenty second day of what is seeming to be the longest drought in years. The villagers were becoming dehydrated and weak, and need the more food and water it can get. Drawing my roughly made hunting bow, which consisted of a long and thick piece of wood, cut from the branches of a Abrackole tree, and a plated string.

It was an okay bow, good for a slowly drawback that is, but a fast drawback, it would probably snap. It does its job for hunting and thats good enough for me,

I think knocking a stone tipped arrow onto the bowstring. Suddenly the Elk stirs.

Its head shoots up and peers around, searching the trees and bushes for any possible predators. Ducking my head amongst the bushes, and hold my breathe as the creatures gaze passes over me,

if that Elk sees me, it'll bolt and those things run, and don't spot. This is the first decent game I've seen all day, all week even, but if it sees me it'll run and I probably won't be eating tonight.

Not seeing any visible danger, and Elk slowly lowers its head and continues its grazing on the ever shrinking grass, phew. Raising my head, I re draw my bow and aim. Aiming is always terribly hard task, you have to position the bow at the right angle so that it actually hits your target,

because the arrow never goes straight over long distances, and you can't really hunt at short distances.

Then you have to pull the string back at the right distance to give it enough power. Hunting usually takes and number amounts of shot to actually take out the target, and one miss, the prey runs.

Just wait a little bit longer... just a little bit more,

suddenly my two fingers holding the bowstring release the string from the exhaustion built over the day. The arrows flying from the bow and zips through the air towards the unknowing Elk,

it better hit.

The Elk screams as I see the arrow jutting out of its torso, about a metre from the chest. Acting fast, I draw my moderate sized hunting knife from my Elk hide belt, and leap over the bush and rush towards the shrieking animal. A stone hard hoof,

I know from past experiences

lunges towards me, passing inches beside my head as I leap out of the way into the way onto the ground. The Elk is panicking, as you would if you'd just been stuck with a stone and wooden shaft and being attacking by a weapon wielding attacker. The chances are even lower of me killing this one now, unless... Unless. I been learning this move that has only been performed a few times. Not because its hard, it is though, it's because if you miss you'd loose you knife and possible your life, but if it hits, well thats a story I'm sure anyone can guess the ending to. Why not give it a shot?

Leaping to my feet, a start approaching the Elk's left side, causing its attention to focus on me again. Suddenly as I start to get closer, it raises its front leg ready to strike my with its deadly hoof, but as its about to strike, I leap to ground, out of the hoof's way, and chuck my knife towards the uncovered underbelly of the Elk, just below the chest. As the Elk's hoof whammed into the air just above, the stone knife penetrated the soft underbelly of the Elk. Screaming in pain and agony, it crumpled to the ground. Slowly regaining my feet, and walk of to the Elk and slowly pull the now bloody knife from its flesh.