Hunter
A Beautiful Darkness
Key Zero: Hunter:
I’ve been looking forward to this day. September 4th was bloodshed day. We could finally commit murder one time in our lives.
I already knew who I wanted to use it on.
So, here I am. I’m in the Murder Intent Bureau, as we call it. We have to use it wisely. Everyone is fair game. The police will turn a blind eye as long as you have a red card to show that you have filed your paperwork and everything. That’s another thing. You can’t go out and kill willy-nilly. You have to state your intent. There are six categories to choose from.
I am going for revenge.
I clenched my fists at my sides. The blood rushed in my ears. This wouldn’t take long. Walk up to the lady, state my intent, fill out the paperwork, and happy hunting. I rolled my neck. For eighteen years, I’ve waited for this. I couldn’t forget that snake tattoo on the hand if I tried. Once that man was dead, I could finally have peace. Everyone around me has tried to talk me out of it.
“It won’t bring your dad back,” my girlfriend said. I’ve heard this before. Her family, our friends, and our teachers keep saying the same thing. I gritted my teeth in line. They don’t understand. They say that they do, but that’s a lie. He was all that I had left. Without him, I would’ve been dead a long time ago. This was the least that I could do to repay him.
Okay, maybe them lying might be a bit much. They’re not trying to be mean. They’re just trying to help. Everyone in my life means well. That might be the worst part, though.
Hm? Did somebody call me? I looked left and right. Was I going crazy? I turned my head to the person in front of me.
The only thing I could make out was a long, thick black coat. The big fedora hat blocked out any other features. From what I could see, it didn’t look like he was talking to anyone. I got a good look at the paper in his hand. What did that say? I narrowed my eyes.
“Otto… Gabor…”
Oh crap, that’s me! Somebody has a hit out on me. My first instinct was not to draw attention to myself. Just keep still and stay calm. I don’t have the full details yet. I need to wish to know how this was going to play out.
I hate how long this line was. My eyes stay on the person in front of me. I couldn’t stop staring at my name on the paper. The way he held it convinced me that it wasn’t by accident. He wants me to know that I could be his target. Was that a man in front of me? I hadn’t seen their face. I bit down on my lower lip and breathed through my nose. Calm down. Don’t think the worst. Play everything cool until you make your intentions known. If I do have a target on my back, I will have to fight to live long enough to get my revenge.
It doesn’t feel like the line is moving. Did time stop? I closed my eyes for only a second.
“Next, please!”
I open my eyes and realize that the stranger is at the front desk. He and the receptionist talk business. Without trying to look nosy, I listen in.
“Please state your name.”
(I don’t quite catch the name.) The receptionist writes down the information.
“Intent?”
“Bargain.”
“Target?
“Otto Gabor.” There it is. I freeze. Who is this person? How did I miss the name? Did my target know what I was onto him? I shake my head. That can’t be possible. I don’t have any enemies that I know of. What the hell was going on? I watch as the receptionist finishes up the paperwork.
“Approved. Good luck on your hunt.”
“Thank you.” The stranger bowed their head and left the line. I lower my head and hide my face as they walk by. At the same time, I try to get a good look at the face. No features stand out. I could make out a pale cheek and a small nose. It happened so fast.
“Next, please!”
I lift my head. The receptionist had a dull expression on her face. She didn’t want to be here. Maybe it was time for her lunch break. I push it from my thoughts as I walk up to the desk. She straightened up her glasses.
“Please state your name.”
“Otto Gabor.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Otto Gabor?”
“That’s right.” I try to show no emotion on my face. Don’t give anything away. Don’t give anything away. The receptionist doesn’t say anything as she writes down my name.
“Intent?” she asks. My body tenses with resolve. That’s right. I remember why I came here. I shouldn’t have let myself get distracted like that. I lift my chin.
“Revenge.”
The receptionist writes down my intent.
“Target?”
“Unnamed.” Giving an exact name wasn’t necessary for making your intent known. The receptionist finishes my paperwork before stamping it.
“Approved. Try to stay alive for your hunt.”
“What?”
The receptionist doesn’t say anything else as she looks past me. “Next, please!” Okay, then. I turn and walk away.
Now I had to do three things: get revenge, stay alive, and find out who is trying to kill me and why. Okay, the why might make four things. Still, I need to get to the bottom of this before I get stuffed into a body bag.
I walk out into the parking lot in front of the Murder Intent Bureau. I take a quick look around. Nobody in sight. As far as I could see, at least. Still, I wasn’t stupid enough to come unarmed. I held my breath as I reached for my knife.
Suddenly, I freeze when I felt a blade to my neck. What the…
Against my better judgment, I look out of the corner of my eye. I don’t think I’ve seen eyes so blue before in my life. I breathed through my nose as I stiffened up.
“Have you come to kill me?”
“That will depend on you.”
“What does that mean?” I take advantage of the pause to weight how I was going to get out of this the best way possible. There are no other people around. If there were, would they try and help me? My hand was still reaching for my knife.
“Come on, don’t do anything stupid. Just hear me out. I have a job for you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh? What kind of job?” My would-be killer hands me a green folder.
“Go on, open it.”
Like I have a choice. I take the folder and open it. A puzzled look washes over my face as I look at the file underneath me. The words look like gibberish and so badly written that I don’t know what I am looking at. However, I notice a photo attached to the upper right corner. The guy looks about my age with spiky red hair and a black eyepatch over his right eye. I look out of the corner of my eye.
“Why are you giving me this?”
What my would-be killer says next makes me shiver. “You have two options. Work for us or die.”
Well fuck. This is all it took.
What do we have here? Is this the first sign of things turning worse in the Wasteland? How is Otto going to get out of this one? He can either comply or die.
And it looks like he’s not the only one with the same problem.
