“If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?”
“For longer than you can possibly remember, you’ve been struck by arrows, CJ. The first struck you when you were sent to Deathrow, but it wasn’t the last. It wasn’t fatal, though it could’ve been. It dug deep into your shoulder, missing vital organs and causing a minimum amount of damage, considering the possibilities. With it burrowed deep inside you, you fought tooth and nail to survive.”
“Was it painful?”
“You were struck once again when you learned that your best friend had been manipulating you because he sought revenge on your brother. That one hit you in the head, did it not? How could you have been so obtuse?”
“Was it painful?”
“And then, thanks to Malakai Midnight and your family, another arrow struck you down this past Saturday Night at Chain Reaction. It struck you in the heart. The people you love had betrayed you. Their lack of trust and faith in the man you’d become led them to feeble minded plans that backfired heavily.”
“Was that painful?”
“The answer is yes, it was. It always is.”
“It does not matter where the arrow strikes you, it strikes you. Each and every single one is painful. When The House of Judgement put your entire family down, we fired an arrow for each member of the Cade Family – but it’s you that felt it most. It’s you that had been struck the most.”
“And if you were to be struck by yet another arrow, would it not be even more painful?”
“That next arrow is always the most painful, isn’t it? The next one that sinks into your skin is always more painful than the last. It’s always the most raw, most fresh and most agonizing. You can dig out the others, snap them off, yank them from within and find a way to handle the pain. But when that next one strikes, it’s searing agony once again.”
“You cannot always control the arrows coming at you, CJ. Sometimes they’re a bombardment it’d take a miracle to escape or avoid. Sometimes, you get a warning….”
“…A warning of the shot that brings you down.”
“The next arrow is always the most painful and next week at Vendetta, I stand before you with a bow in my hand and an arrow the size of Olympus tucked tightly in my string. You were unable to avoid the arrows sent your way before.”
“But this one will be the last one.”
“This one can be optional. Avoidable. Get out of my way and I’ll aim in a different direction. Continue to stand before me with that paper Championship wrapped around your waist and… well…”
“The archer of infamy will be your end.”
“And you should never fear your end, CJ Thorpe.”
“The end is where we meet…”
“And I will send you on your way.”