The Last Archer: A Green Ember Story by S. D. Smith

Author:S. D. Smith [Smith, S. D.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Story Warren Books
Published: 2017-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Three of the massive creatures surged toward them across the clearing. Their attack was covered by arrows shot from at least one more wolf in hiding.

“Run!” Captain Frye called, and the three younger rabbits quickly obeyed. There was no shame in a strategic retreat when the odds were this bad.

Jo risked a last shot into the forest, but he turned to flee before he could see if it had helped stifle the lupine archer in the darkness.

It was a mad scramble back up the mountain, and he had never run so fast. Nor ever had he felt so powerless to escape. The wolves were too big, and too fast, to just dart away from easily. And he kept slipping on the wet, muddy ground.

“Split up and get to the fort!” Captain Frye called, making a sideways leap into a thicket. Nate and Junder broke the other way, running in a wild panic. Jo saw that Junder had lost his bow and that Nate had no space to get a shot off. If he turned, the wolves would be on him. Jo dove into the thicket behind Captain Frye and rolled through a thorny tangle of brush before finding his feet again in a desperate terrified rush. He ran and ran, twisting through the forest, madly zigzagging back toward the fort. He couldn’t find Captain Frye, but he ran on and on until his breath came in short, painful gasps.

When he could run full out no more, he risked a backward glance.

Nothing.

Jo had been fortunate. The wolves had not found him, and he was, for now, out of immediate danger. He considered remaining where he was, trying to stay safe. But his orders were to return to the fort, so he moved on, doing his best to locate anything recognizable to guide him back that way.

He ran as quietly as he could, ears attentive for any noise. The rain had stopped and the clouds were breaking up. A full moon appeared, and the forest suddenly became much clearer. Jo began to run faster as he sensed he was getting nearer the fort. Seeing a familiar marker in a rotting tree, he broke through an opening and into a small clearing. What he saw there filled him with terror.

A wolf, jaws open, on top of Junder.

Junder wasn’t moving, and the wolf was poised to destroy him. A cloud passed in front of the moon, dimming what light there had been. Jo unslung his bow and reached for his quiver.

One arrow.

Was Junder alive? The wolf bore down on the young rabbit just as another wolf appeared and Captain Frye came bursting into the clearing. The scene was chaotic, and Jo felt his heart racing. He raised the bow and nocked his only arrow. He aimed. That wolf ’s so close to Junder! Jo was afraid he’d hit his ally. How could he live with himself if he killed a fellow soldier instead of saving him? He aimed, trying to ignore the other

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