The Bombastic Archer
-
Lucas Zheng, Grade 5
-
Short Story
-
2021
Swish! As Sam shot at the target, the arrow sank its teeth into the unsuspecting bullseye. After allowing his other hundred arrows fly, Sam collected then methodically and placed them in his leather quiver, noticing the puddle of sweat that pooled around him.
Eventually, as the sun began to prepare for slumber, Sam trudged home and wrapped himself in a bath before jumping into his bed to rest. Before long, a blanket of darkness coated the cerulean sky.
A few weeks later, Sam was travelling to the temple of Apollo when his envy gripped him like a snake around its prey. Why wasn't he revered and honoured the way Apollo was? Outrage flowed hot through his blood until he suddenly shouted.
"I am superior to Apollo!"
A furious bull, Apollo came down to Earth and bellowed,
How dare you insult the gods? For your recklessness, I command that you must defeat the hazardous Hydra and the catastrophic Chimera whose inferno is hotter than a supernova!"
Terrified, Sam nodded, staggering backward to retrieve his arrows, brilliant bow and quiver. Quickly, he scurried to the Hydra's sinister swamp and hid among the trees beside it. Shaking like a leaf, Sam pondered how he would possibly defeat the deadly beast: when you sliced one of the Hydra’s head, two more would emerge to replace it.
Breathing deeply, Sam charged, shooting at the Hydra's heads until it fell, A roar escaped Sam's lips as he sprinted to the limp body and stabbed an arrow into the stump where the head got cut off. Repeating this over and over, he eventually slayed the wretched creature, but his body was an old rag, torn and cut and scarlet with blood.
Without a moment to rest, Sam began thinking of how to defeat Chimera. Eventually, he devised a plan, but first he needed something dangerous to defeat the monster. Suddenly, the answer came to him like a whale reaching the water's surface for air.
Hydra poison! Dipping his arrows into the puddles of poison encircling him, Sam ventured to Chimera's cavern.
Stealthily, Sam crept forward and shot at the Chimera's hide. Just as he had suspected, the arrow merely woke the creature, unharmed. Patiently, Sam waited for its silhouette to appear and when it did, he lunged towards the colossal Chimera. Roaring, its jaw snapped open as it bore its fangs and immediately, Sam shot a hail of arrows as sharp as daggers into the chimera’s mouth.
After waiting to be certain the lion head was dead, Sam instantly sent another hail of arrows towards the snake tail as well as the bull head. Shuddering, the beast took its last breath as Sam lay on the ground, adrenaline and exhaustion running through his veins.
A deflated balloon, Sam trudged back to the temple when Apollo appeared before him in a flash.
“I have seen you kill the Hydra and Chimera courageously. For that, I will not curse you, but never insult the gods again or I will not be so generous next time.” The god warned. Relieved, Sam returned to his cottage and fell asleep as the stars smiled in the sky.