As the night came near and as the sun disappeared into the horizon. Mark waited. He rested against the wall with his rifle firmly placed on his shoulder and the barrel neatly rested on his right boot while he slept. Though while he rested, his body was aware of his surroundings and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. It was an old trick he was told by his adopted father when he was fighting during the twilight years of the Second Sudanese War. The trick was how you can rest while still being aware of your surroundings and prepared to fight back, a constant state of alertness and vigilance while sleeping on the battlefield. Perhaps one of the few skills Mark was thankful for being drilled into him when he was 11.
Mark knew he never had a childhood, but he was aware there was no use looking back into the past and hoping for something different. Though he always wished things would be different. Like if he was born somewhere else, if his biological father was alive, or if he was never dragged into a war as a child. He couldn’t avoid the eventual daydreaming of a world he was never granted, though he wished his work with the Order, besides being a gun for hire, would wash away some of his guilt and shame. Give him meaning and purpose to skills that were forced upon him at such a young age.
Ding!
Mark jolted himself awake as the sensors went off. But before he could jump into action, he saw the creature. Its pale skin and long limbs entered through the door. Its jagged three fingers touched and felt the room like the monster was trying to find something. The creature had to crouch into an uncomfortable position to fit its lanky body inside the entrance of the cabin. It was there Mark saw its face. The creature’s head looked like a human's, but it had no eyes or nose, its mouth was tiny for its size, and its ears were shrunken and disproportionate for its head.
Mark slowly readied his rifle, using his foot to raise the barrel higher so it was aimed at the creature that was searching for its prey. This is going to hurt, Mark thought to himself as he had to place the butt of the gun near his face so he could have a better angle.
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The moment he pulled the trigger, the kick of the rifle smacked against his jaw. However, the bullet of the rifle slammed against the creature’s leg which caused it to face plant into the floor. As it was dazed, Mark readied his rifle on his shoulder and fired again. Striking the left side of the monster’s face. Black blood splattered at the entrance of the cabin as it let out a pained screech while it retreated into the forest to hide.
In triumph, Mark rose from his spot to shout to insult the monster in Swahili. ‘Come back here and suck my dick and lick my balls, white boy!’
As the adrenaline lingered in his system, Mark reached for his earpiece to speak with Frank. ‘Frank, this is Mark. Got the creature.’ He said with a smile, but he heard no reply from the other end. Believing he made a mistake and had broken protocol, he spoke again. ‘Omicron, this is Oscar Mike Echo. Message over.’
‘It is good to know that you can do your callsigns.’ Frank laughed from the other end of the intercom.
‘Fuck you!’ Mark spat. ‘Still, did you get the message, or do I have to repeat it?’
Frank chuckled, ‘no, it is all good. I heard you loud and clear. What is the next step of the plan?’
‘Well, I injured the bastard, and it is on the run. I’ll track it in the morning.’
‘Good plan,’ Frank commented. ‘Do you need any additional resources?’
‘No, I only fired twice. I still have enough ammo to take it down.’
‘In that case, good hunting.’ Frank responded before he finished their call. Leaving Mark alone to prepare how he would chase the monster that terrorised Alaska.