TW: kind of gory?(hoomans attempting to k!ll a large boar, hoomans getting k!lled by the boar) Closing my eyes, I waited in calm darkness. Finally, forest sounds began popping up around me. I open my eyes as the forest unfurls around me; it's a bamboo forest. A panda ambles across the path with a bundle of the tough plant in its mouth. "Now initiating Calydonian hunt." a smooth yet robotic female voice says, the words echoing in this vast space. A spear materializes in my hand and a dozen men appear by my side. 'So this is the trial. Beating the Calydonian boar.' I think. "May the odds be ever in your favor." the voice says; there's a sliding noise as whatever speaker that had projected the voice leaves the premises. There is only one boar, but there are ten kids in here, each with their own group of AI helpers; only the one who k!lls the boar will move on to the next round. The other nine, well...either they survive or they don't, and even if they do, they're banned from coming back to the camp. From then on they're Soloists, stuck in a lonely life away from civilization. I start down, along the path, the AIs following me. Hopefully I'll come across it after it has already been wounded, ensuring it will be slightly easier to defeat. A loud noise erupts across the arena, causing flocks of birds to take flight, away from whatever made the noise. 'The boar.' I think. "Come on! Towards the noise!" I bark, moving faster. The AI don't respond, but they begin moving quicker as well. With a thunderous crash, the boar appears right in front of us. I jump back to avoid being impaled by its tusks. I scan its hide for any injuries, but don't see any. My father's words run through my head; 'The boar goes for the weaklings first. You'll be gone by the first minute, I guarantee it.' He never did believe in kindness. The AIs charge blindly at the boar, each quickly getting vaporized. I have only this one spear, so I have to use it wisely; I roll it in my hands, searching for the best place to throw it. If I have to go down, I'll go down fighting. The beast comes running straight at me, so I crouch down, hopefully out of the way of the tusks, and position the spear so that the boar will hopefully run into it head-on, piercing itself through the heart. Unfortunately, being an advanced AI, it sees this coming and alters its route just enough so that its tusk is aimed straight for me and it will avoid the spear completely. My heart drops to the ground at the gleaming white tusk that is rapidly approaching. I close my eyes and wait for the end. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I survey the classroom, drinking in my classmates' expressions. They ranged from vaguely interested to full-on horrified. My teacher landed on the full-on horrified side of the spectrum. "Jackson Chase! What kind of informational essay was that?" she says sharply. Wait. It was supposed to be informational? And an essay? "Um. It wasn't? You said, and I quote, 'to write something-anything-about the Calydonian boar and the myth surrounding it.' You never said anything about it having to be informational or an essay." I say. There are a few muffled snickers from the back of the class. "That was supposed to be assumed! We have literally been working on informational essays this entire quarter!" Ms. Smith shrieks. "Well, maybe next time you should say it's supposed to be an informational essay." I say. More snickers. "Principal's office. Now." Ms. Smith says, shaking her head. "Alright!" I say, more cheerfully than you'd really expect from someone sent to the principal's office. I knew him; he'd probably side with me, to be honest. Taking my things, I leave the classroom, already on the hunt for inspiration for my next tale.
story by me bg done on canva a tiny lil sentence("May the odds be ever in your favor") is from The Hunger Games-I couldn't resist inspired by that one greek myth where they hunt the Calydonian boar that Artemis set on them because they forgot to give her an orange or some other fruit Bet you didn't expect that ending:)
