Chapter 1

Riverwielded an arrow in the string of his bow and fired. The arrow sailed 20 meters forward and hit the target with a satisfying thump!

Since he had found an old bow and some arrows in the downstairs basement two years ago when he was 12, River was determined to become the best archer around. Even though the weapons in this day and age were mostly based on technology, River found it very cool and stress-relieving after school just to shoot arrows at targets.

He picked an arrow blindly from the pile on the ground next to him and almost pierced his hand. Swearing softly, he reminded himself that he really needed to get a quiver of some sort from EBay.

After aiming four more arrows into the target, he decided to take a break and check out the hit points on the round target. His first four arrows* had hit right in the middle of the target, but the fifth arrow had hit the 20-mark section.

"Too rushed." He observed, looking at his fifth arrow in all directions. It was lodged deeply into the target and slightly leaning off to the let instead of straight in.

River took all of his arrows out of the target and started to walk back to his shooting area again when something shiny caught his eye. It was a small and circular discus-shaped object that was a little bit smaller than his palm.

River's first reaction to the mysterious object was to freeze. The metal round object was not his, which meant that someone else must have dropped it. That meant that someone knew about River's secret archery spot, which then meant that he could get into a lot of trouble if the person who dropped it either rats him out to the city, or trains there as well. And THAT could well lead off to a couple years in jail or someone accidentally shooting him since River and the mysterious person have never met before.

After the moment of silence, River laughed out loud and shook his black hair around, clearing his head. "Maybe I should refrain from reading so many mystery and horror stories at night." River said out loud to the forest. The forest replied with a soft wind blowing lightly against his face.

That was one thing that River liked the most about his secret archery spot: The forest. It was so peaceful and being in it felt like there wasn't another care in the world.

Placing the interesting piece of metal into his pocket, River decided that it was probably time to get back home.

The forest in which he was practicing in was, very efficiently, behind his house. To the north of the forest was a small hill. And then the beachside if you continued northward. If you continued East through the forest, you will probably find yourself lost as the forest area increases. Towards the south was the city, and to the west was a road that lead to the beach as well as River's house and other houses.

"Mom! I'm back!" River called as he let the front door slam behind him once he reached his house. He ran up the stairs to his room and placed his arrows in a drawer next to his bookshelf and his bow in a special box in his closet.

*River had marked each group of arrows (he split them into piles of ten) with a different color and always shot them in the same order so he knew which arrow was shot first, second, and so on.

A fruity smell wafted up to his room from the main floor and River breathed a deep breath in as he charged back downstairs. "Mom! What'cha doing?"

"Mommy's baking and I helped her!" River's younger brother, Scott announced proudly. "We made mango pudding, strawberries and custard, apple pie, and our favourite..."

Scott paused for the effect.

"…Cake with whipped cream!" River's younger brother cried in delight.

"Yes!!" River pumped his fist into the air. "Mom, you're the best!"

"The cake has fruits in it…obviously." River's older brother, Tyler said coming out from the room next to the kitchen with his finished homework in hand. "Scotty, you have whipped cream on your nose, by the way."

"Don't call me 'Scotty'!" Scott replied, quickly whipped his nose on his sleeve.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "What ev. You guys will always be my younger bros, so that means that I can tease you guys whenever I want." He said as he messed up River and Scott's hair a little bit.

"Hey, don't you bring me into this." River shot back.

"Too bad you're in it already." Tyler smirked.

Their father laughed as he came from the dining room table on the other side of the kitchen. "Now boys, there will be no arguing in his house when Mommy bakes." He took another bowl-full of mango pudding.

"Tyler started it!" Scott said quickly, pointing at Tyler.

"Only because you were talking about mother's baking." Tyler went into defensive mode.

"But that's only because he asked!" Scott argued, now pointing at River.

"Hey, yo! I only asked because I wanted to know what's cooking!" River replied. "And besides, Scott demanded to be called 'Scott' not 'Scotty'!"

River's mother came out from the interior part of the kitchen and stuffed some plates of apple pie and whipped cream cake in their hands. "Alright, alright now, do you guys know how distracting it is to hear you guys argue? Eat."

"That's because…" Scott informed his mom with his mouth full and then swallowed. "…because we're all of the male gender!"

"Are you sure all of us are?" Tyler teased.

"HEY! Dad, Tyler called me a girl!!" Scott whined.

"Oh shut up, will you?" River growled. "I'm trying to eat my pie in peace. Is that so hard to understand?"

River's mother watched them scarf down the baked goods and tried to hide her laughter. "Alright, alright now, do I hear a thank you?"

"Thank you-" River's dad, and sons all started.

"-Mommy!"

"-Mom."

"-Mother."

"-Honey."

The whole Tide family laughed together as they continued to stuff their faces with whipped-cream cake.

With fruits of course.