A Short Story

Chapter 1

I awoke to the sound of Scatha chopping wood. I got out of bed, slipped my boots, and went out to join her.
"You're up. Good. You have to do something important today." she said.

"What am I doing?" I asked her nervously.

"There's a wild boar that's been bothering the villagers in the forest."

"Huh. A pig. Alright, shouldn't be so bad."

"Don't relax yet. This isn't an ordinary boar. It's the size of our cabin, and its hide is almost impenetrable. Track it and kill it. Consider it a test."

"What? The size of our house? How?!"

"With this." Scatha passed me a sheathed sword.

"Hrunting? You're giving me your most beloved sword?"

"Of course. Just don't break it." She said with a stern look. Then she smiled, as if nothing ever happened.

"Get yourself ready." she said, and walked back into the cabin.

"Ugh. I hate when she does that."

We walked down from the mountain where we lived on and into the forest down below. I started looking around for something that could give a clue on where the boar could be.

"What else do you know about this boar?" I asked Scatha.

"Not much. The thing's a rouge. Meaning it attacks everything with no reason. Or remorse."

"Fantastic." I said sarcastically.

I kept scouting the area for any signs. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a tree. But it was knocked down. Then I saw another. And another. It was as if a cannonball had been shot through the forest. Then I saw the hoofprints. About the size of a table. I looked up back at the trail of destruction.

"It's headed for the village again!"

I started following the trail quickly, when Scatha grabbed me and pulled me down into the undergrowth. I looked at her angrily. She had her finger to her lips, and then she pointed in front of me. I looked in the direction she pointed at. I saw it. The monster boar. She was right. It was the size of our cabin. Its reddish-brown fur waved in the cold wind. Its tusks were long, the tips were dark red with, what I assume was blood. I felt like an idiot. Scatha had saved me and I just scowled at her. I turned back to her and mouthed out, "Now what?"

"You tell me." She mouthed back.

I started thinking of possible ideas to bring down the boar. But I had no time. I looked back up; the boar was slowly making its way to the village. I turned back at Scatha.

"We need to bring it back to the forest. So we need a distraction." I whispered.

"Go hide somewhere. I'll lead it back."

She slowly walked in the boar's direction. I climbed up a sturdy tree and positioned myself for the attack. Scatha was slowly approaching the boar. She bent down and grabbed something from the snow. A rock. Then she whistled loudly. The boar's ears twitched, and the beast turned in Scatha's direction. Its eyes narrowed, and it slowly walked to Scatha. She seemed unphased, and, without hesitation, she threw the rock at the boar. The rock shot like a bullet and hit right in between its eyes. The boar roared in pain and anger. I looked back and saw that the rock was lodged in its head, blood running down its face. The ground shook as the boar charged at Scatha.

"Get ready!" She yelled as she neared the tree I was in.

I unsheathed the sword and jumped down as soon as the boar was close. I brought the sword on the boar's back, but it didn't go through. The boar started bucking, trying to get me off of its back. I lost my grip and fell into the cold snow. I looked up to see the boar charging. I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes again, and my jaw dropped. Scatha stood in front of me, grabbing the boar by the tusks and pushing it back.

My mind didn't know what to make of this. I knew Scatha was pretty strong, but never strong enough to wrestle a creature the size of a house.

"Get down!" She yelled. Her grip on the tusks tightened, as she lifted the boar off the ground, spun it around, and threw it across the forest. Scatha turned around and pulled me up from the snow.

"You alright?"

"How..?" I asked, pointing at the direction where the boar went.

"We'll talk about it later" She said.

The ground started shaking again. We looked back, and saw the boar charging again. Scatha ran to the it and slammed into it with her armored shoulder. She pushed the animal back with great force, but the boar wasn't giving up, and it pushed back as well.

"Any other ideas?" She yelled.

What else could I do? Stealth had failed, and I couldn't stab the boar with the sword.

Wait. the underbelly. Maybe that its weak spot? Only one way find out.

"Think you can bring it down?" I yelled back.

Scatha just smiled. She let go of the boar's tusks and rolled out of the way. The boar charged through a row of trees. The monster came to a halt and turned around. It stared menacingly at Scatha, blood still running from it's head. Scatha ran towards the boar and full speed, and the boar charged back too. Then, when she was close, she shouldered the boar again, this time, into its right tusk. The tusk broke like crystal, and the boar grunted in pain, but Scatha wasn't done. She jumped on top of the boar and slammed her elbow on its neck. The boar collapsed to the ground, weakened, but still struggling. She grabbed the boar by its remaining tusk and turned it on its side.

"Now Grace!" Scatha yelled.

I ran towards to the boar, sword unsheathed, and pushed the blade into the beast's heart. The boar roared in pain once more, but then its breathing slowed and silenced. I took a deep breath and pulled the sword out of the boar. I looked at the bloody weapon, realizing what I had just done. Scatha put her hand on my shoulder and pulled me over to her. I looked at her, tears slowly forming in my eyes. She put her hands on my face.

"Your first kill is always a hard thing to comprehend, because it's something you never expect to do in your life. But this is a harsh and terrible world, you are forced to do things that you would never do." Her voice was so calm and soothing.

"What was your first kill like?" I asked her.

Scatha looked out into the distance, solemnly.

"Terrible." She said with a sigh. She stood back up and offered me her hand.

"Come on. We should probably show the village that their tormentor is dead."

I got up and followed Scatha as she grabbed the boar's leg and dragged it across the snow.