Some Guardians really draw the short straw when the reality warp changes how they look. I got lucky. If anything I got more handsome from it. But I’ve heard stories of other guardians getting shot because someone thought they were a demon.
Charles ‘Topgun’ Jones; Eastcoast Mornings (talkshow); July 2215
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When Robert arrives at the edge of the market street people are setting up their wares on blankets, small carts and in a few small shops. It's still possible to see through the narrow street but its already filling with people and soon it'll be hard to get through without bumping into people. He quickly moves past the people, keeping an eye out for his target.
After a few meters he steps over a dark wet spot on the ground. Spark must have come through here. He weaves through the people and carefully looks out for any more signs of the guardian.
A few moments later he spots Spark’s bright hair disappearing behind one of the small food carts.
Robert follows him into the alley behind the cart that leads away from the market street. At least this way he doesn't hurt any people when he throws his flames around again.
When he sees the injured guardian a few meters in front of him disappear around the next corner a loud cracking sounds in his ears and the blood moon gives everything a red hue.
A fracture? Here? Now? Doesn't matter. Just means i need to find a shelter when I'm done. Robert thinks as he pulls the revolver back out. And i don't have to worry about him being found when the demons eat him.
When he comes around the next corner he is greeted by the scorching heat of flames shooting towards him. Luckily he already had his arm up with the gun so the jacket shields most of his face as Robert ducks back behind the corner. His hand however took some nasty burns and his ear feels a bit too hot for comfort as well.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want?"
Instead of an answer Robert does a somersault and empties the last three rounds of the revolver in the direction of the guardian. One bullet ricochets off the wall next to Spark the other two hit him in the thigh and the chest.
The guardian slumps to the ground with a groan that quickly turn into a gargling sound. Robert gets back up and says "I want you to die. Because she is gone."
In that moment a crow appears over the dying guardian. Not flying down from the rooftop but just popping into existence a meter above him, clapping its wings together instead of using them to fly which somehow creates a slow clapping sound.
"Well done, Robert. This was rather impressive."
Robert pulls his blade out again but doesn’t move closer.
After a second of silently staring at the bird Robert asks "Are you his fae?"
The fae had never shown themselves to him. He knew about them from the research on his targets of cause and with some he even saw images or videos of them. But this was the first he saw in person.
The crow, that had somewhat cartoonish proportions with an oversized beak and feet, looked down at the bleeding Spark and then at Robert again.
"No. But I'm here to offer you a contract." it has a smug tone in its voice. After a small pause it adds "Seeing how you spend your free time I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about?"
"Oh, i know what you are talking about. You want to make me into a guardian." Robert replies while letting the empty shells drop out of the revolver before pulling out a small cylinder to reload it.
"Do you really think I'm interested in that?"
"Yeah, i was told you might be hard to convince. But just think about how hard it was to go after this one. And he was just a lower class I. The real dangerous guardians you have no chance of going after as you are now. But if you were one yourself..." the crow blinks out of existence the moment Robert points his gun at it only to reappear again right above Robert.
"You should know that doesn't work on us. Well, at least not permanently."
"Get lost. I'm in a bit of a hurry." Robert starts moving towards the slumped down body of Spark.
"You know. If you were to form a contract with me you wouldn't have to hide in a bunker just because of a class I fracture."
“Still better than becoming one of them.”
“From what I was told this wasn’t the first one you killed. Don’t you know the guardians are the only ones capable of defending your world from the demons?”
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Robert crouches down next to Spark and looks him directly in the eyes.
Sparks eyes show fear. A quiet hissing sound can be heard from his chest as he tries to cauterizes the wound to stop the bleeding. But his wheezing breath makes it clear that the internal injuries are too much.
“Yes, that’s the justification they always have. They are the saviours of humanity. But all they really do is hunting everything they can for their next level. And if any people get in the crossfire than that’s just ‘acceptable casualties’. The only reason this one here stopped is because he ran into something stronger than him. Then he was too afraid of the fractures and hid here in a third tier city.”
Robert uses his knife to finishes the dying guardian off. No need to let him suffer and no taking chances with these guys.
“And you think you are changing that by killing of the weakest of them?”
“I’m doing what I can.”
"And now think about how much more you could do."
"Being one of your pets?"
"Pets? Do you think we fae can control what you do we make contracts with you? I’m not gonna lie that would have been helpful with the last one.” a level of destain swung in the crow’s voice during that last sentence. “No, we can't control what you do. The contract only allows us to get a small part of the life force of what you kill in return for giving you access to the System. And some advise on how to use it."
"And you wouldn't stop me from hunting down the others?"
"Why would I? We fae have been ordered by the royal family to stay neutral. And even if I wanted to. There isn’t much I could do here on earth in the first place."
"Hah, neutral. Is that what you call sending the initial knights to earth?"
The crow shrugs with its wings. "I guess the king wanted to give you humans a fighting chance?"
“Yes, would have been a real shame if this new food source got wiped out right away.” This stinks to high heaven. Robert thinks. Why would this thing want to make a contract with me of all people? There must be lots of people in this fracture alone who would jump at the chance. Aside from the skills it’s basically a guaranty to be able to live in first tier city.
"You should probably not stay here for too long. The demons around here will smell his blood. We are at the edge of this fracture and it’s only a class I, but still" says the crow ignoring Robert’s last comment.
Robert takes out his phone to check for the next bunker. The closest one is already marked as full. But there is one a few hundred meters through the market street.
A squawking sound from the alley behind draws his attention. A bird in a fracture? A glance at the crow shows that it is looking at the dead body of Spark with sad expression. Sad like it lost something it really wanted to have.
Getting to the bunker isn’t gonna be easy now. There is no chance this thing around the corner is a normal bird. His phone tucked away in a pocket Robert prepares himself for whatever comes around that corner.
When it shows itself Robert is stunned by surprise. The creature looks like a weird goose. The long neck is covered in scales that are shimmering in a multitude of colours, instead of feathers. The pointy beak is lined with a row of needle like teeth and the side of the tongue seems to have an extra row of those teeth. The rest of the body is covered in patchy feathers that shimmer in the same colours as the scales. Except for the feet which are missing the webbing but instead have sharp claws on them.
Robert never bothered to learn much about the demons. Back in school he always thought he would either be in a bunker or couldn’t do much about them anyway. And when he moved to the a third tier city he didn’t expect to end up in a fracture any more. Now he wishes he knew what this thing in front of him can do.
As soon as it sees Robert it lets out a loud squawk that goes through Robert’s bones. Despite it’s size this thing is dangerous. Robert gets a sinking feeling in his stomach and is stunned by sheer terror.
“Nasty little things.” chimes the crow in “Get into your head and make you think they are more dangerous than they really are. You aren’t scared of a little chicken like that, are you Robert?”
This breaks Robert out of the terror that had him stiffen up. Just in time to realize the demon is running straight towards him scratching the ground with it’s claws.
Robert kicks the approaching creature in the side. It’s teeth tearing into his trousers, but luckily they are more sturdy than normal thanks to the additional material for the fireproofing. While it is off balance Robert stomps on it a few times to make sure it stays down. As terrified as this creature made him feel, it’s still not much bigger than a normal goose.
“This thing just seemed more dangerous to me than Spark for a second.” Robert mumbles.
“Yes, that’s what the noise does. It also calls for the rest of it’s flock so you shouldn’t wait around here for the others to come. It’s just a shame you didn’t get anything from killing it.” The crow looks almost longingly at the dead demon. “I mean you could be getting stronger from them.”
“I told you. I’m not interested in a contract.” he replies. Now that the Guardian is dealt with Robert feels an impulse to put the ring back on and reaches for the closed pocket. But a stinging pain of the burned skin on his hand makes it clear that he won’t be putting it back on for some days.
Robert takes a last look at the dead guardian before he gets moving.
Getting through Sage-Tree-Market would be the fastest way to the get to the bunker. But that’s also where this demon came from and if the crow is right then it wasn’t the only one.
Robert looks around the corner back into the alley and there are two more of those demons. Can’t be helped. I need to get to the bunker before it closes as well. With that thought he starts running. Away from the market Robert is heading for the long way around. But first he needs to get away from those demon-birds.
Behind him he can already hear them squawking and even though he expected it he can still feel the fear rise that those squawks instil in him. In his mind it conjures the image of dozens of the birds overwhelming him and ripping him to pieces.
But this time instead of freezing up he is using the fear those birds are causing him to run faster.