Coopers Family (Cooper)

“Natalie?” I say, trying to talk to her.

“Yes, I was just thinking.” She says randomly, I chuckle at how stupid she just sounded. She roles over and winces from what I believe is pain.

“We need to do something about your injuries are you comfortable enough with me to let me do it.” I ask she looks me in the eye and nods.

As I check over her body I notice that she has a sprained ankle or twisted ankle and might also have a broken rib. She also has several bruises adorning her body, especially over her back. She ask me what time it was that I found her, but I have no idea what time that was because I didn’t have a watch so I just make it up. Her face seems to pale from the information I give her; I wonder how long she had been lying there before I had found her.

“When I found you at the bottom of the hill, my first thought was that you were dead. Then I noticed that you were breathing, so I calmed down a bit then I started wondering what you were doing in the mountains, that’s when I noticed that you had a bow and quiver, so I guessed you were hunting, but most people don’t hunt by themselves.” I stop talking to see if she will fill in the blanks, but she just stares at me blankly I ask
“Were you here with someone?”

Her face seems to light up for a second then it is gone
“Yes I am up here with my friend Ash Samuels.” As she says friend I think the person she is with might be a girl but when she says Ash my stomach drops. I know that name from somewhere but it has been so long that I can’t remember where the memory comes from and who this Ash person is.

“What are you doing up here?”

“I was hunting, but not the same things you are.” That seems strange so I ask

“What are you hunting.” She looks at me before shaking her head.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She says. I am about to ask more about, but decide against it.

It gets later into the day and night will shortly be upon us so I ask

“Would you prefer to stay with me tonight, or leave?” She looks at me not exactly trusting but willing to test me.

“Staying with you is probably safer then going out there into the wild, when I can hardly stand.” I nod in agreement this girl is not dumb and it’s at that moment that I first notice the colour of her eyes, they are beautiful, just a beautiful bright green that seems to shine in the daylight and will probably glow during the night. This girl is a strange but beautiful creature.

Its dark outside now and there isn’t enough room for the two of us to sleep yet because all my stuff is just lying around. I move the small mattress that Natalie is laying on the far side of the tent, and then I put all the stuff down the middle of the tent giving her some privacy. Then I lay out a sleeping bag for me to sleep on, on the other side of the tent, it’s closer to the door because I feel like hunting tomorrow. This is done so I won’t wake Natalie up when I get out of bed.

I turn the little torch off so the tent becomes dark and I can’t see a thing. I start to drift off to sleep but her voice whispers across the tent.

“Cooper?” she says softly.


“Yes?” I mumble, unsure of what she is about to ask.

“Why are you in the mountains?” of all the questions, she has to ask that one.


“I come up here every year and go hunting, most of the time I am with my family, but my family was killed a few weeks ago, so I decided to come up alone this year.”

“Oh.” She says quite softly. I was expecting her to say something but nothing would have prepared me to hear what she had to say.

“I am sorry, I just lost my family a few weeks ago too and I miss them so much.” I hear her start to cry but I don’t know if there is anyway I can console her so I just close my eyes and pretend that I can’t hear her.

“Goodnight Cooper.” She says in between sobs.

“Goodnight Natalie.” I say before drifting into a deep slumber.

I open my eyes and I am no longer in my tent, I am in the woods surrounded by trees and as I turn around I see a bright light coming from behind me, I start to run towards it hoping it is the clearing were my tent is. As the spot grows I notice it is a clearing but not the same clearing I was hoping for. I finally reach the edge of the forest and step out into the light. I glance around the clearing and what I see is horrifying. There is a boy with a sword and shield, he has jet-black hair and has a very muscular appearance. I also notice a girl with a long mane of golden hair that is tied back into a ponytail.

She has a bow and quiver with several arrows left and also seems to be holding a knife. I glance around and see that these enormous monsters that must be at least three meters tall are attacking them. The girl up on the hill is still to far away from me to be able to see what she looks like. Suddenly she reaches into her coat and pulls out several shiny looking objects, she places her bow back into her quiver and starts running towards the mayhem down below her. A dozen or more monsters lay still on the ground while the rest continue to battle with the brilliant swordsmen. As the girl gets closer I make out several features and I am suddenly struck by a weird feeling, it’s Natalie. As the fight continues it is quite obvious that the two humans are good with their weapons. Finally after what feels like hours, there is only one monster left.

Natalie grabs her bow and puts an arrow on the string, then without warning the monster swings its arm down and hits Natalie. She is thrown about one hundred meters away from them and lands just a few meters away from me. I notice the arrow she had been holding shot away while she had been flying through the air and had hit the monster in the eye. Suddenly I am over come by a strange urge to walk towards her, and then I see I am holding a knife. Finally I stand over her, she is still lying on her back like she was when I found her yesterday morning. I hold the knife a few centimetres away from her chest and aim at her heart. That’s when it hits me. I am about to kill Natalie, I am about to plunge a knife into her heart and I don’t know if I want to see the beautiful light that is in her eyes drain away, as well as her life. Just as I start to bring the knife down I hear a sharp yell then a really loud twang, then it is only milliseconds before an arrow plunges into my heart, at first I don’t realise then suddenly I drop the knife onto the ground and slump sideways my whole body in agony and just as I am about to be pulled into the darkness, Natalie moves her face and looks at me with shock and hatred in her eyes.