The Red Pike

Siyu's story Chapter 5

Siyu sat perched in the branches of a tall tree. He watched an Ichthyornis fly in circles, diving occasionally to snatch a fish out of the water. He looked down at the compound bow in his hands. To defeat Nerva, he would have to upgrade not only his army, but his arsenal as well. He lifted the bow and aimed at the bird. The compound bow boasted strength, but was much heavier than the wooden bow he favored. Before he could loose the arrow, the tree shook beneath him. He looked down. A carno was ramming the tree. It attacked again. Siyu tried yo shoot it, but the added weight of the bow threw off his aim. The tree shook again and the branch Siyu was crouched on broke. He crashed to the ground and writhed, trying to catch his breath. The carno swung its head down at him, but its teeth were stopped short of Siyu's face by a set of metal claws. Christopher continued to stab at the creatures neck until it fell, bloodied. Christopher reached to help Siyu to his feet, his claws still out of the gauntlets. "Oh right," Christopher said, causing the claws to retract. "What are those?" Siyu asked.

"Made them myself. If these don't get Nerva talking, I don't know what will."

Siyu got to his feet climbed back into the tree. "What are you doing?" Christopher asked. Siyu lifted the bow again, accounting for the weight this time as he aimed at the bird. "Training." He waited for the next dive and then fired. He hit the bird in the side, and it fell into the river. He lowered his bow. "I've got to practice. Last time I underestimated Nerva's power. This time, I'll be prepared."

"If you just planned on shooting Nerva from afar, I don't see why we had to tame all these creatures."

"I'm not going to kill him. We still need answers. But it would be wise to even out the numbers a little first."

"Well in that case, Christopher said. He pulled something from his back. "Use this." Siyu leapt down from the tree to get a closer look. It was a rapid fire rifle. Siyu shook his head. "I don't use guns."

"You'll shoot with a bow, but not a gun?"

"Bows are nobel. They were made to hunt, to survive. But guns were born of hatred and violence towards others."

"You know, bows were used as weapons too."

Siyu ignored him and took aim at another Ichthyornis, picturing it as Nerva.