Short Stories - A Collection of Achievement

One In The Quiver

~*~

Panting and exhausted, Gavin finally stopped running for what seemed like hours. He had one arrow left. His only hope. The Kingdom's only hope.

"Come here.. I won't hurt you." His voice rang out, Gavin's muscles aching horrendously.

Silence followed.

Gavin walked forward a few steps until he came into view.

Geoff.

He had his back against the rock face, trees blocking his left and only an open field expanding to his right. Either way would lead him to death.

"Geoff, I promise, this is for you're own good."

"Gavin, buddy, please.. Fuck. D-don't do this!" Geoff's eyes were wide, his voice panicked, his hair disheveled, his stance defensive.

"You're the only one who threatens my throne. You're the only one left." Gavin was emotionless as he drew his arrow. It was golden, glinting like the throne in the sunlight, shining like the one that pierced Michael's chest.

"Wha- They're all dead!?"

"Of course. They had to. They were a threat."

"They were your friends, you moron! Worse yet, they were practically /family./"

Gavin could see Ray's dead eyes as he leveled the arrow with Geoff's angry and fearful face. He could hear Ryan choking as blood spouted out of his mouth from the arrow in the side. He could nearly taste the metallic tang in the air from Jack's blood.

"You're no family of mine. You simply kept me alive. You raised me, and now it's time for you to lie down and let me take charge."

Gavin let the arrow fly with the last few words.

Geoff almost got out of the way. He moved, but the arrow struck it's mark. It hit his lung, judging by the way he coughed up blood the same way Burnie did. His eyes were haunted like Miles's at the idea of the betrayal.

Geoff's last word, like Michael's, like Ray's, like Ryan's, like Jack's, like his beloved Meg's, was his name.

His final breath was Gavin's name.

It wasn't said in adoration or with a lingering regret of things never said or betrayal, but with a true animalistic fear. They were all afraid of Gavin's power, from the moment he gained it to the moment they lost the light from their eyes.