STORY STARTER
Submitted by Occam’s toothbrush
“Take your shot, stranger. You’ll only get one.”
Start or end a scene with this line of speech.
Newcomer
“I see you don’t know how things work around here. Let me have the privilege of explaining it to you.” The man said. “Prove yourself, you move on, fail, and you won’t see the light of tomorrow.” He then stepped aside to reveal a rack. I internally cried when I saw the weapon of choice. I had always been at the bottom of my bracket in archery. I stepped forward, trying to have utter confidence with my head held high. I grabbed the bow from the rack. It was unlike any I had ever seen. I ran my hand over the smooth metal of the bow. It bent back easily as I fit the arrow in the notch. My deep breaths did little to calm my nerves. I have to pass. There is no where else to go. Slowly I walked back to my place. Pulling up my bow I froze. The target was nearly 150 yards away. There was no way I can shoot that far, let alone actually hit the target. I panicked in my head. There must be a way out of this. Or some other test. When I could not find any, all I could do was stare. All I could hear was the sound of my heart and the impatient tapping of the man’s foot. “Take the shot, stranger. You’ll only get one.”