Aye, JWD here. I think you all know what's going on at this point, so I'll just give you the chapter. If you haven't read any of the other parts yet, you can find the links on my profile. Enjoy! c: Chapter V "I've noticed something." Avianna said to me as we were walking. "You're not quite as.. big, as other people that have been on this quest." I looked down at my small frame. Standing at only 5'8", I was pretty short for someone my age. Avianna was shorter than me, she looked to be about 5'6". "Yea, I've always been shorter than most guys." "We're you're parents short?" "I never knew my parents." I said it like it was a normal sentence, like I said it everyday. "Oh.. I'm sorry." "It's fine. I'm just trying to survive." "Do you have a home? Family?" "I do have a home. Kinda. No family though, I live alone. I had a decent job, enough to allow me to keep my house. I don't look for the big, fancy stuff. I just want to live." "Oh. I'm sorry, I'm being nosy." She said quickly. I gave a slight smile. However, that smile quickly faded when I heard a strange sound nearby. I drew my sword. Avianna raised her bow. "Another lion-man?" I asked quietly. "I doubt it. Those are pretty rare. It's probably a weaker creature. Maybe an Aquirietem." "Say what?" "Aquirietem. It's like, a really big eagle, with ram horns." "So it can fly?" "Only for short periods of time." "One other question. Does every creature in this forest have a name over 25 letters long?" "Wow, someone's certainly feeling sarca-" Her response was cut short when the creature flew at us from the trees. Just like she described it. An oversized eagle with ram horns. We both ducked under its razor-sharp talons. It made a hideous sound as it grounded, and charged at us. Luckily, it was pretty slow. Avianna and I split, and the Aquirietem missed us completely. Avianna shot an arrow and hit the creature right in the back. It fell, but started to get back slowly. I took the opportunity, and charged with my sword. Right when it got to its feet, I thrusted, sending the blade deep into the creatures back. The creature fell limp. I pulled the blade out, but now it was covered in a slimy red substance, most likely the creatures blood. It smelled terrible. "Ugh.." I groaned, pinching my nose. "Yea, the blood of those things reek. You're gonna smell like that for a few hours." Avianna pointed out. "Great." I muttered. I heard the sound of a bird cry in the distance. I looked up into the trees. "Oh boy.." Avianna said, worry in her voice. "What now?" I asked. "It looks like we angered the whole flock." "Seriously?" "Yea. We should probably-" The trees above us rustled violently. "Run. Now!" Avianna cried. I took off, sword in hand. I looked behind me, and saw two Aquirietems swoop in. I wasn't going to stand much of a chance against them both, so I kept running. Avianna was getting way ahead of me. Not only was she pretty fast, she knew the forest well. I eventually lost sight of her. I let out a curse under my breath. I looked back over my shoulder. The Aquirietems were closing in. I slammed my feet into the ground, and too a sudden stop. The Aquirietems weren't expecting it, and the flew over my head. They circled around, and came back after me. The first one was coming in low. I leaped as high as I could, and stabbed the creature in the back midair. One down, three to go. The next one was coming in high. I slashed, and made a nasty cut over its heart. It fell to the ground, and couldn't move, but it didn't die. The next one was no match for me, as I just held out my sword, and it ran straight into it, stupidly. I now had Aquirietem Kebab for dinner later. Before I could react, the last one slammed me in the stomach with its dangerous horns. I let out a strange sound as I fell to the ground, in serious pain. The Aquirietem towered over me, ready to kill, but an arrow suddenly appeared in the back of its head, and it fell dead. Avianna had saved me yet again. "Saved your life twice now." She said as she pulled me up. I clutched my stomach. "Yea, thanks." I looked over at the last Aquirietem. It was bleeding badly due to the gash I made in its chest. There was no way it would survive much longer. I walked over to it, to put it out of its misery. It gave me a look. One of those looks of sympathy. I knew I had to kill it. It was an evil creature. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I sheathed my sword. "What are you doing?" Avianna asked. "Kill it!" I said nothing. Avianna drew her bow, and shot it right it the head. The Aquirietem was no more. "If you're going to survive this quest, you must kill anything that's an enemy. This place is ruthless. There's much worse to come. You won't survive with that mindset." I said nothing, and kept my head down. I started walking ahead. "Wait, we should probably rest." Avianna said. I suddenly realized how tired, and sore I was. "Yea. You're right." "We can't both sleep at the same time. I'll take first watch. You get some sleep. You must be drained." I yawned, confirming her statement. "G'night." I mumbled. "Goodnight Ethan." I felt myself drifting into a deep sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was in a dark room. I couldn't feel myself. It was like I wasn't even there. I could make out the shape of something large. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was big. "You'll never survive, Ethan Floyd." A deep, booming voice said. I tried to speak, but I couldn't. "Give up now. Go back home. Don't waste your time."
I figured somebody would say this at some point. Personally, I like using Roman Numerals because it makes the book look more mature. There's nothing wrong with chapter titles, it's just that I prefer Roman Numerals :p
