Micah's Fall - Part One (Little Micah) - Chapter One

Micah's Fall
Part I
Chapter One

The boy darted swiftly in and out of the trees, making hardly a noise. His long, black hair whipped behind him, blending with the night’s shadows, and his navy eyes searched ahead and to the right.

Focus, focus.

His father had taught him to keep a clear head on the hunt.

Coming to an abrupt stop, he lifted his bow and nocked an arrow with expert quickness, drawing the string back by his ear and holding his breath. His young vampire hearing picked up the approach of both the wild boar as well as the other hunters from the clan who were corralling it toward him.

Closing his left eye, he tracked with his right as he looked down the length of the deadly arrow to the tip. He slowly swept toward the left, following the crashing noises of the boar as it tore through the trees in the darkness.

As soon as the animal burst through a patch of undergrowth, the boy took a second to steady himself then released the bow. The arrow zipped through the air and penetrated the boar between the eyes.

A squeal peeled from the animal’s throat as it lurched and fell, and the boy rushed forward as the rest of the clan’s hunters broke into view.

One of the adult hunters buried his knife in the boar’s neck, ensuring the beast was dead, then another rushed forward to capture the blood that poured from the wound inside an animal-skin satchel. They would take the blood and the carcass back to the village so that the females could prepare the overnight feast for the newly-mated couple within the clan.

“Good job, Micah.”

Micah smiled proudly up at his uncle, Rory, his heart beating wildly with adrenaline as it always did after a kill.

“You’ve got some skill there, boy.” Rory sounded impressed and clapped him on the shoulder.

Micah panted and turned back toward the scene in front of him as the other hunters quickly prepared the boar for travel. If they had been humans, the pitch of night would have prevented them from seeing anything around them. As it was, Micah and his clan mates didn’t need light to see. Their vampire vision, heightened by the excitement of the hunt, easily delineated tree from shadow from beast.

Rory knelt down beside Micah, his own black hair falling over his face. “What do you think you’ll do with this talent, Micah? Hmm?”

Micah looked into eyes so much like his own and his father’s and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

His uncle arched an eyebrow at him. “You don’t know?” He wrapped his heavy arm around Micah’s shoulders and gave him a paternal shake. “You’re twelve years old, Micah. Almost an adult. I’d say you have the makings of a fine warrior, boy.”

Micah looked down at his bare feet, which were covered with dirt. Did he want to be a warrior? His father was. So was his Uncle. So were several other elders in the clan. He looked at the boar again, remembering the feeling of power that roared through him every time he hunted. His muscles reacted without thinking, and he instinctively knew where to aim and when to release his arrow. Even during training exercises and games back in the village, Micah excelled far and away over the other young. He was stronger, faster, and more cunning than all of them.

Nibbling the inside of his cheek, Micah grinned at Rory then nodded. “I will be the greatest warrior our clan has ever seen,” he announced confidently.

“Just our clan?” Rory roared with laughter. “Why not the world, lad?”

Micah pursed his lips then licked them before nodding. “The greatest warrior in the world!” He yelled and raised his bow into the air.

A couple of the adult hunters glanced over, shaking their heads and smiling at the young, overly-confident boy with the grand plan for his future.

“That’s my nephew talking.” Rory clapped him on the shoulder once more and stood.

The boar was ready for transport, so Micah spun on his heel and trotted back to the village to let the females know to prepare. Their meal was on the way.