Aye, JWD here. This is Chapter 11 of my book, Prove It. If you want to read the full book, you can follow me on Wattpad @ jwd813. Note: If you haven't read any of the other chapters yet, there are links on my information page. Enjoy c: Chapter XI I was doomed from the start. Four swords against one? No chance. Also, it didn't help that those damn voices were still ringing in my head. Failure is inevitable. Maybe I would die here. But I had to save Avianna. I couldn't just leave her here to die. If she was dying, I was dying with her. "Cmon, octopus arms!" I shouted. My insult game was not the best. He charged at me, swinging two of his swords. I ducked under them, only to be swept off my feet by the other two. He raised all four to stab me, but I rolled out of the way just as he thrusted them into the ground. I got up quickly and blocked strike after strike, surprisingly able to keep up. He thrusted all four swords at once, and I was forced to use two hands to block them. He gave me a hard kick, right where the sun don't shine. I doubled over in pain. "Oh, go ahead." I groaned. "It's not like I was planning on having kids." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Avianna, even though she was gagged, trying her best not to laugh. I regained my ground and blocked some more sword strikes. He was not giving me any room to attack. All I could do was keep blocking his strikes. We kept fighting, the sounds of our swords clashing echoing throughout the forest. He kept striking. However, the tables finally turned when I countered one of his strikes, and his first sword broke in half. "You fool!" The creature bellowed. "These swords are one of a kind!" "Because whoever made these quit making them because they were so easy to break?" I snickered. "Silence!" He roared, as he gave me another blow to the leg. He raised his swords, ready for the kill, but I rolled out of the way. Before he could recover, I ran behind him and sunk my sword into his back. The creature bellowed in pain. But I was in trouble. I couldn't get the sword back. He was still alive. He may have had a sword in his back, but I was defenseless. The creature glared at me, his nightmare black eyes filled with rage. He put all three of his swords on the same arm, and reached back with the other. I knew what he was doing. Screaming in pain, he pulled my sword out of his back. My own sword was about to be used against me. The creature grinned. He had some nasty teeth. Crooked and yellow. "Now, I'll use your own weapon to destroy you!" He shouted. "I think a better use for it would be to clean those teeth of yours. Then again, you probably don't know much about cleaning." I could hear Avianna laughing even through her gag. Then, I realized she had gotten the gag off, and was working on the ropes. She gave me a look that said, Just hold him off. I nodded. All I had to do was buy time. The creature was mad now. He charged, and I ran. I dodged tree after tree, using my small size and quickness to my advantage. The creature was forced to knock branches out of his way, and had trouble fitting through some of the gaps I could get through easily. Eventually I came back to the clearing where the fight had started. Avianna was making serious progress on the ropes. I grabbed a sharp rock and began to hack at them. In no time, Avianna was free. "Thanks." She said hurriedly. "Now let's get out of h-" She was cut off by a roar behind us. The creature was back. He noticed Avianna was free, and snarled. "Give it up." I said. The creature only laughed. "Do you not think I can take both of you on? Besides, you still have no weapon." I looked at the rock in my hand. Without thinking, I chucked it at him. I hit him right in the mouth, which probably made his teeth even uglier, if that was even possible. He yelled in pain, and Avianna drew two arrows at once. She fired, and one arrow sunk into his chest, another into his forehead. The creature was dead. "Seriously? I did all that, and you just easily kill him with two arrows?" Avianna shrugged. "You did most of the work. Just be glad we beat him. You realize we both could be dead by now." "Isn't that basically what this whole quest is about? 'I could be dead right now' moments?" Avianna sighed. "You're impossible." "How'd you learn to shoot two arrows at once?" "Very carefully. Cmon, let's keep going," "Actually, I could use a rest." Avianna thought for a minute. "Alright. I'll clean your sword. You go ahead and sleep, or whatever." I set up a little sleeping area, and lied down. After tossing and turning for a bit, I eventually fell asleep. ~~~~~ I was in a dark cave. Vines and webs littered the walls. Precious gems and other shiny jewels glowed on the high ceiling. Torches were hung everywhere, but giving little light. I tried to move. I couldn't. A deep, booming voice echoed in the cave. "I've warned you many times, Ethan Floyd. Your death is inevitable. Give up while you still can." I finally found my voice. "A-Are you what's guarding Potastatem?" I asked. "This little trinket?" A glowing blue sphere no bigger than a baseball appeared in front of me. I felt drawn to it. It radiated energy and power. "I've come this far." I said defiantly. "You can't stop me now." "Oh really? Tell me, Ethan. How many times have you nearly died so far." "More than I can count..." I muttered. "All that? Luck. You're just lucky. Eventually, your luck will run out. You will perish like everyone else." "You can't stop me!" I shouted. "I will stop at nothing to defeat you!" A laugh echoed throughout the cavern. "Such bravery. But bravery will not save you. Prepare yourself Ethan Floyd. The worst has still yet to come." The entire cavern lit up, and I saw it. I saw what I was up against. I realized why they said this quest was impossible. ~~~~~ I snapped awake. My breathing was heavy. My heart pounded inside my chest. I saw Avianna a few yards away. She whirled around. "Ethan? You okay?" She asked. "I-I saw him.." I stuttered.
