Ranger's Last Walk

The sun shone brightly through breaks in the trees. The Forest of The Wilds was Melyssa's favorite place. She was born there, raised by her mother. She was taught how to be a proper Ranger, her mother trained her each day. How to fire a bow, use a blade, track, trap, everything she needed to know. She proved her worth when she turned fourteen, she had been on a walk and ran into a group of Lesser Fire Imps, not a big challenge but she was young, and still hadn't mastered her skills. She dispatched them quickly, or so she thought. She'd been gone for almost two hours, she was bruised and battered when she returned home, but nothing serious.

Now she's nineteen, and loved to walk the Forests. Today she walked the same path that she walked when she was five years younger. She admired the smells, the colors, everything eased her mind. It was as if she were in another world, her mind was clear as the breeze blowing through the trees. She was at peace. Snap! She turned in an instant, drawing her bow from her shoulder and nocking an arrow. She scanned the forest, trying to find the source of the loud crack, but to no avail. Probably a bird landing on a flimsy branch. - She thought to herself. She continued on, more cautiously this time, her bow still in hand. Her ears were focused now, she could hear the roar of a distant waterfall. Crack! She spun in the direction of the noise, looking back down the trail. She had an uneasy feeling about this, like she was being stalked, the hair on the back of her neck stood at the thought.

She still found nothing, she didn't know how long she'd been standing in that one spot, but it didn't matter. The thing, whatever it was, was following her, yet she couldn't see it. She heard a small sound, like that of sand sliding down a hill, yet she couldn't figure out what it was. Then she noticed a shadow on the ground, it wasn't hers. Suddenly it dawned on her, she spun to a crouch on one knee, pulled the string back, and stopped. Looming in front of her was the bulking shape of a Behemoth, the sound she heard was that of the beast rising from the earth. She had heard of Behemoths before but never seen one up close, it was frightening. It's blue scales glinted gold in the light of the sun. It's long snakelike tongue flickered in and out between it's fangs. Then it opened it's mouth, revealing long razors. Without thinking Melyssa released the string, the arrow giving a loud whistle before plunging into the soft flesh of the beast's underside. It seemed not to notice the sharp needle that just pierced it's flesh as it stared down at her. Then it bent it's head down, grasped the arrow in it's teeth, and yanked. The arrow gave a sickening sucking sound as it tore through the scales, a small flow of blood followed.

Melyssa reached back and pulled not one, but two arrows from her quiver. She nocked them and fired, each plunging into the beast, this time deeper. The Behemoth gave a rumbling growl and shake of it's body as the arrows hit it. Without pause she pulled two more and fired, each hitting beside the other two. This isn't working. Come on, think Melyssa, think! - She thought dramatically. The Behemoth lunged, it's fangs hitting dirt with a loud thud as it's target jumped to the side. In a flash it lunged again, almost catching Melyssa across the waist as she dodged again. In a desperate act to buy herself time Melyssa drew a single arrow, found her target, and fired. The arrow struck the Behemoth in the roof of the mouth as it lunged. The beast sputtered frantically as it tried to remove the arrow. In a flash two more arrows found their target in the roof of it's mouth. A steady flow of blood could now be seen. In an attempt to crumple the arrows the Behemoth bit down, only to have the arrows drive deeper into it's skull. It gave a low growl then fell to the ground with a loud crash. Melyssa smiled at her success.

In that instant she heard something, a familiar chirping echoed off the trees. It got louder as the familiarity approached. A group of five Imps appeared up the trail, they seemed eager to see what the comotion was. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Melyssa standing next to the dead Behemoth. Just my luck. She grumbled under her breath. The Imps chirped excitedly at their new find. One, looking much like a leader, bared it's teeth before charging her. They were far up the trail, far enough that she could take out at least two before they reached her. They were excellent runners. They each had wings on their backs, but these proved to be useless. She fired, one Imp down, another whistle, two down. She drew another arrow but there was no time. The leader lept into the air. She heard tales of Imps being incredible jumpers, now she had proof. The Imp slammed into her chest, knocking the wind from her lungs and sending her sliding a good ways down the trail. Her vision went fuzzy, her head pounded, and she suddenly couldn't remember why she was lying on the ground. Her vision cleared but the pounding in her head remained. She could hear the distand chirping of some creatures as she tried to get her bearings. She gasped and shot to her feet. A few yards in front of her stood the three remaining Imps, they were chirping at her. Her back hurt from landing on her shield and short sword, her quiver had fallen off somehow, her bow laying just behind the Imps, out of reach. She drew her sword and pulled her shield from her back. Her senses regained, she studied the situation. Three Imps stood in front of her, obviously happy about their new find. They were light purple, with the typical orange markings. Two of them had few markings, mostly on their faces and elbows, and a small bit down their legs, obviously Fire Imps. The other, however, displayed more intense markings on it's face, wings, arms, and legs. Raging Imp. This is going to be interesting. She scowled. Fire Imps weren't a problem, but the Raging Imps were slightly faster, stronger, and smarter. Her arrows wouldn't work very well, but even if they did she didn't know where they had gone, plus she couldn't reach her bow. Shooting an Imp was usually unchallenged, but they had a stronger resistance to arrows than the blade of a sword. Therefore it was to her advantage that she couldn't use her bow, but then again, getting close enough would be a problem. Imps tend to stay away from threats because it gave them a chance to cast a Fireball or two. I need to get to my bow. I hope these Imps are smart. - She thought as she stepped closer, sure enough the Imps saw this and stepped back. She took steps more freely, gaining ground on her bow. She reached it and, keeping her eye on the Imps, picked it up and slung it across a shoulder. She quickly took a glance around, searching for her quiver. She found it, it was laying in a ditch close to the trail. Keeping her eye on the Imps she started towards it. Suddenly there was a roar, followed by a burst of light. A fireball erupted in front of her, directly between her and the quiver. Oh this is not good. - She mumbled. These Imps were smarter than she thought, somehow they knew a bow without arrows was useless, therefore preventing her from reaching her quiver. She had to think, she had to get that quiver, otherwise she'd be good as dead.

Suddenly she heard a cry and looked towards the noise. One of the Fire Imps had charged. It gained distance on her in mere seconds, leaping into the air, lashing out with claws, feet, and teeth. It crashed into her shield and clamped on, snapping at her as she tried to fight it off. She swung with her sword, but to no avail, the Imp was brave enough to stay within the shields borders, preventing her sword from touching it. She tried harder, but no use. In an act of desperation she slammed the shield into the ground, the sound of snapping bones could be heard. She pulled the wooden shield away, the Imp lay limp on the ground, it was dead. The other two cried out at this, without hesitation Melyssa bolted for the quiver. Fireballs exploded around her as she dodged left and right, intent on reaching those arrows. All she needed was one, only a distraction. She reached them, just in time to crouch behind her shield as a fireball slammed into it. Smoke billowed from her shield, flame creeping over the edges. She dropped it, grabbed the quiver, and jumped to the side. Another fireball exploded in the spot she had just been. In a flash she had her sword in the ground, her bow in hand, and an arrow nocked to the string. She took aim and fired. The arrow struck it's target in the chest, the Raging Imp let out a cry and toppled over. With a cry the last Imp lept into the air. Melyssa dropped her bow, yanked the sword from the ground, and raised it in defense. In an instant the Imp hit her, knocking her flat. She heard a low growl and looked up, the Imps lifeless eyes stared back, she felt the warm touch of blood as it ran down the hilt of her sword and onto her hand. She pushed the Imp off of her, and drew the sword from it's now lifeless body. She sat gasping, staring off into the forest.

Thud - Suddenly she felt strange. Something had taken her breath, as if she had been lightly jabbed in the stomach. She felt an itch at her lower back and reached to scratch it, when she brought her hand back her fingers were dripping with blood. She stared at them confused, trying to understand the cause. She slowly turned and scanned the trail. She was struck by something just as she caught a glimpse of a black figure standing in the middle of the trail. She felt short of breath as she looked down. She stared in confusion at a stick like object jutting from her chest. She drew a quick breath as she ran her hand up and down the object, finally stopping at three rows of feathers. Suddenly it all came to her, she had been struck by an arrow. It had hit her in the right lung, explaining the shortness of breath. Suddenly things started to blur ever so slowly. Thud - She was struck again, this time an arrow jutted from her abdomen, just below her sternum, preventing her diaphram from expanding. She fell to her knees gasping, she coughed blood. The world blurred in a dizzying spin, she lost her balance and fell to the side, her head slamming into the ground. Her very essence drained from her in the form of blood running from her lips. This wasn't supposed to happen, all she wanted was a walk, one innocent walk. Why did this have to happen? Who could do such a thing, or why? A tear rolled down her cheek as the world darkened around her. She tried to hold on, to stay within the world of the living, but it was too late. This was the end, everything she had ever lived for, everything that she had done, was now seeping from her grasp. She tried to hold her last breath, to hold that last thread of life, but it slipped from her lips. There would be no more walks, no more days listening to the birds sing, or the roar of a waterfall. Only silence, only darkness. - The End.