Ten Arrows by Redkinoko

"You too?" asked the huntress.

The priest fixed the nosepiece of his glasses, patted his side pocket, gave out a weak
smile, and replied,"Yep."

The huntress took out ten silver arrows from her stash. "This is it, I guess. The last
ten."

The priest looked around the place. Countless zombies were closing in on them from all
directionsaround the mound and the graveyards didn't look likethey were going to run out of
bodies to exhume any time soon.

The huntress aimed for the closest ghoul and fired an arrow. It took only one hit to die.
Its rank, however, was replaced by more zombies coming from behind him.

Nine Arrows.

The huntress readied her next shot. "Say Ron, do you remember why you came with me on this
mission?"

The priest gave out a laugh while busily casting holy light on the undead. "Yep. I came
because I said I could use some more exercise."

The huntress let go of the arrow. Another zombie fell flat on the ground.

Eight Arrows.

"Well, it looks like we got more than what we bargained for this time around."

"I've always wanted to live on the edge. My fate here fits well with my lifestyle. Here's to
the Priest who hated the undead so much that he joined them in the process!"

More zombies fell from the attacks of Ron, a priest who exorcised for a living.

The huntress fired another shot at one of the undead who was able to survive Ron's holy
light.

Seven Arrows.

"Hah! Joking in the face of danger. You've always been like that. That's what I liked about
you," said the huntress while pulling out another arrow from the quiver.

The priest chuckled a bit. The distance between them and the circling mob of zombies was
growing smaller by the moment. The huntress released another arrow on one of the larger zombies.

Six Arrows.

"Ana, would you do me one last favor?" asked the priest whose exhaustion was more than
visible in his dirtied face.

"If you're gonna ask me to kiss you, I still won't. Not even if that would be our ticket out
of this mess!" responded huntress in ajoking tinge.

"It's not that. I just want you to wear something for me. I figured it would be of no use
for me now anyway."

The priest tugged off his cross necklace and threw it towards the huntress.

Ana, the huntress, let go of the cocked arrow and caught the shining object. She nimbly put
it around her neck, turned to the priest for a brief moment, smiled, and said, "Happy?"

Five Arrows.

Ron nodded. "It looks better on you. Keep it."

The sea of ghouls was slowly swarming in on the two. The huntress cocked in the silver arrow
that she was holding and fired away at one of the closer zombies.

Four Arrows.

"So Ana, are you scared if dying?" said the priest.

"You can say that. But somehow, the feeling that I have right now feels a bit
anti-climactic. This really isn't what I would call going out in a glorious blaze of fire,"
replied the huntress as she fired another missile at the endless mob.

Three Arrows

"Hahaha! Somehow, I already knew this was going to happen."

The two were starting to feel uneasy with the situation. They were simply too close to their
enemies now for comfort. Decaying flesh was slowly overwhelming the mound.

Ron killed off another set of undead and looked at Ana head on. "You know, I lied about two
things to you today."

Ana shot a zombie who nearly got close enough to attack. She hopped two steps backward and
ended up leaning at the back of the also cornered priest.

"Two lies?"

Two Arrows.

"Yep. Firstly, I didn't come here to get exercise," nervously uttered the priest. "I came
here to make sure you're alright."

The huntress smiled back. "I think I already know about that one. Nice job in protecting
me by the way." She gave out a short laugh afterwards.

Another arrow fired. Another fallen zombie.

One Arrow.

"Well, I only gots one arrow left. It looks like we're gonna die anyway so I can't really
stay mad at you, can I? What's the other lie?"

The priest turned around, put his hands on both her narrow shoulder blades, and passionately kissed the
huntress. The kiss was promptly ended when the zombies reached out to him and
forcibly dragged him away with their bony arms.

Ron gave out a weary smile. "I'm not out of gems yet."

WARP PORTAL!

The huntress reappeared in the middle of the bustling, lethargic Pronteran plaza. With tears
in her eyes, she clutched her new necklace with one word inscribed on the pendant:
"Live".

----

Many people still ask me why the priest refused to go with the huntress, why he chose to die. After reading it again and again, I found myself asking the same question. Why unnecessary heroism? Why? One last piece is missing in this story. And the same can be said of mine.

Ten Arrows by Redkinoko

What happened to the last one?