by Mark Mulle
Chapter Eight
“Steve, you look terrible,” Wendy said as Steve entered.
Steve didn’t exactly sleep well. He had tossed and turned all night with the only thing on his mind being the doppelganger and what he had said. Steve was also in pain. It was a little bit better than last night, but he could still feel the punch.
“I stayed up a little late,” Steve lied. Why didn’t he just tell her what had happened? Was it because he thought that she would laugh at him, or was it because he was afraid to tell anyone? Wendy looked skeptical but smiled.
“You can go home and get some rest if you want to. You deserve it after taking out Bartholomew and his gang. Don’t worry about me because all I have to do is ship a few weapons to all of the guards. The king’s initiation ceremony is tomorrow at ten, and he wants the guards to be extra armed.”
“I could deliver some of the weapons to them,” Steve said.
“It’s fine. Get some rest, really. You’re a hero. And I should be able to pay you tonight for all you’ve done.”
Suddenly, Steve thought of an idea. “Hey, instead of paying me, could you give me a diamond sword?”
Wendy chuckled. “I’m going to pay you a lot but not that much. I might reward you with one further down the line, but the sword you have now should suffice, right?”
Steve didn’t want to tell her that his sword was in many pieces right now, and instead he sighed. He wanted to help her out, but all he could think about was getting some sleep. His body needed it, and he kept thinking about just going to bed.
“I’ll take you up on that sleeping offer,” Steve said as he left. He made his way to his home and plopped down on his bed. A few hours passed, and he managed to get some sleep. He could always use more, but he had enough fuel to make it for one day. So he went back to Chance and into the weapons shop. Wendy smiled. “I delivered the weapons, so all should be done for today. Just take the day off.”
“Wendy, I,” he began, but he didn’t want to tell her what had happened, not yet anyway. For some reason, he didn’t want her to be wrapped up in this doppelganger business. Instead, he just left before she could question what he was about to say. He went and got some food at the restaurant, and the same two old men were talking.
“Hey, I heard that security is going to be extra tight at the ceremony tomorrow.”
“Why is that? No one would attack the king, and besides, the king is usually the kind of guy who never needs protection. Who is this new king?”
“I don’t know, but the world feels like it’s going downhill.”
This was depressing, but Steve thought the king had a point. The doppelganger said that something fantastic was about to happen. Was Steve’s doppelganger going to attack the new king? No wonder the king wanted security.
Steve decided that he was going to the ceremony tomorrow, and he’d go as early as possible. He needed to protect the king from this person, and he’d make sure he was close to the king so he’d be able to defend him. He didn’t care if he was unarmed; he’d find a way.
Steve spent the rest of his day trying to figure out where he could buy a weapon. He then ran into a vendor near the entrance, who was selling a bow with a few arrows included.
“Discounted for the ceremony tomorrow,” the vendor said. Steve noticed that they were extremely cheap, and bought himself a bow. For this doppelganger, maybe he’d need a good long-range weapon, as a sword wouldn’t suffice unless it was made from diamonds. He also went to the armor shop and bought himself some steel armor. Not the best protection, but it would do for now.
Steve, once he had gone back home, slipped the armor on and decided to practice a little. The armor felt surprisingly lightweight, and all Steve had to do was figure out how to use a bow. He found himself a stump next to his house and put a tin can on it. He had done some archery before when he was a child, but his skills weren’t exactly fresh in his mind. Steve made sure that the tin can was resting perfectly on the stump, and then he pointed his bow toward it. He drew it and then fired. It pierced the bottom of the stump. He closed one eye and made sure that his sights were set straight at the can. He fired, and it soared above it. He needed to just concentrate! He aimed again, and this time he kept his position as he stared the can down. He fired it, and the arrow flew through the can. He congratulated himself, and he began to do other activities with the bow, including throwing targets in the air and shooting them down, aiming toward small objects in the distance and drawing a target on a tree. He pretended that they were all his doppelganger. He didn’t want to kill him, but he at least wanted to stop him. He missed more times than he could hit, but he still was improving by a lot. By the time that the sun began to set, he wondered if he could do this. All in the while, he wondered what his doppelganger was doing.
He went back to Chance and explored a little bit but couldn’t find him. He assumed that maybe he could find him and put a stop to his plans, but no one even remarked that someone who looked like him had passed by. He eventually threw in the towel and went home. He needed plenty of rest, especially if he was going to take out his doppelganger tomorrow. He approached his house, and that was when he saw something on its side. He went to there, and in big red letters, something was painted on the wall.
“IT’S GOING TO BE FUN TOMORROW!”