“Yep, you can drop us here”
We got off our super luxury escort right in front of our house’s courtyard. Lay before us 40 stone stairs, after crossing which, you would be met with a glorious East Asian style building 3 stories tall.
Well, it wasn’t a house per se. First, it was the shrine temple of a very special deity. It was our home because my father was the head priest of that very temple.
Hiro also lived with us. “Hey! Shouldn’t you have gotten something for a celebration! You’ve just gotten promoted.”
Could you really call it that? I was on borrowed time.
“About that…. Heh, it never occurred to me…,” I scratched the back of my head, “I don’t think Father would mind though, he isn’t one who enjoys celebrations that much anyways.”
“Hmm, Uncle is like that…but you gotta get something tomorrow. His 25-year-old son just got promoted to director of a large company, he deserves a celebration.”
“Oh yeah…Isn’t Emma going to be arriving tomorrow as well?” Emma was Hiro’s older sister.
“Mm! Yeah! Sis is coming tomorrow, I had forgotten!” I smiled at him and added to the atmosphere: “Theres many things to celebrate huh, even the anniversary festival is in a week.”
“Yeah!”
The conversation reached an abrupt stop as we arrived above the 40 stairs we climbed; the giant building could now be seen in all its glory. I noticed some suspicious men patrolling the grounds in black suits and glasses. Looking closer, I think I saw them carrying guns.
‘Humm,’ I thought to myself, ‘That’s weird’
I walked towards one of them —careful to not alert anyone— and read their nameplate.
‘APT, the Advance Protection Taskforce’, I shuddered at the name, ‘I thought a day like this would come.’
I quickly turned my gaze away as I noticed the officer turning his head.
‘Do nothing suspicious…’
I had truly started thinking like a criminal…
⸤ S-S-She…was-! ⸣
As I entered the main door, I was met with a short hallway. I took my shoes and socks off and walked towards my room.
"Now about the condition, Mr Scott, how's it coming along?" Along the way, I could hear my father speaking to some man.
"Yes...It's underway. It'll be done by the 20th." It was from in the room next to mine, the guest meeting area.
"I see, then you may leave."
The man got up and opened the door and left, giving me a stare on the way out. His eyes carried the emotion of despair, as if he had just lost a loved one.
I looked at the man’s drooping back for a second before advancing forward to my destination.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
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The lush forests outside the borders of the city were mostly unexplored, no one knew what lurked in them.
Reports of people hearing loud voices from the jungle was a common occurrence. But this time it was different...
"Hey, get away from me!"
A giant 0-legged creature was chasing something, rather someone up towards a (ruined)two-story building —Okay, maybe that was a bad way to put it—It was a giant floating eyeball, self-explanatory.
The monster’s body had of multiple bulging veins, all of which exceeded the thickness of a HDMI cable. They warped around its main—eyeball—body. It felt like an eye with an acute infection.
The monster flew without ever flapping the jet-black wings attached to its side, as if they grew just to inject fear and angst into its victims.
"AH!"
Inside the ruins you could hear the screams of a young girl. As scared as she was, she displayed some quick thinking by climbing to the top of the building in time and taking shelter.
But her victory was shorted lived, —to be honest, it wasn’t a victory in the first place— her hunter could fly, and fly it did, straight to where she was hiding.
The girl shrieked in fear as the monster kept getting closer. She wished someone would come save her, but no one did.
As her imminent death got in close, her life flashed before her.
⸤Mother, Father. I wasn't such a good daughter after all, ⸣ she muttered as her eyes were trying to find solace in the hellish situation by closing themselves. Yet, tears kept flowing from them out to no end.
She could hear a voice behind her at the same second. […St-]
The next instant, She, —Inika—lost her life.
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{A little while later, 05:00 hours}
“Ray…!” Sitting on a bench in the temple grounds I was, when I heard my best friend calling out to me.
After the temple closed at 4:30 pm, the grounds were dead silent, since the sun was still out, it was the perfect time to catch up on some good literature.
“What happened? Hiro, you look worn out” I put my book down and asked him. He was holding a laptop in his left hand and sat down beside me in a rush. He takes a deep breath and begins to speak.
“So, like…There are some people in the west part of the city who are scheduled to be attacked! “he continued, “We should go save them! They’ll be eaten by man eaters!”
“And where did you find this information?” I thought that it was just another one of Hiro’s un-funny pranks. When I looked towards his screen, a page with a picture of some individuals and a bounty prize were mentioned. I also noticed some comments on the side.
“I found this tip on the Dark Web,” He explained, “Some people have held a bounty to kill this family. And... Brace yourself, some assassin has sent a man-eater after them. Like they can even control them!”
I could see he was dead serious, but I still couldn’t bring myself to believe it. I mean who would be able to?
‘Sent a man-eater? So, they can control it? Or did they capture one and set it free on the family?’
“Ray! We don’t have time to think! Come on let’s go quickly.” Hiro was very eager to go save them, but we couldn’t go unless the director approved. Director of our company that is.
“But like, have you asked a director for permission?”
“Aren’t you a director yourself?”
Oh shit, I forgot all about my promotion.
“Well…”
“Its not a professional mission, anyways! No one will bat an eye.”
I was kind of(very) interested in the case myself.
As a fan of fantasy thriller novels, I thought the theme was interesting.
But, it was my duty.
“No, Hiro. No can d-”
—TRING!!!—
The phone in my pocket rang a bell. Pausing the conversation for a moment, the phone stood as a savior. Once I opened it though, what I saw would cancel out that positive.
[
Sender: Your Benefactor Phone Number: 0#23-24-52-63
Good Evening! I hope you had a nice evening nap…well its work time now! Your second assignment is: ‘Head to the west part of the city and check out what happening there!’ That’s it for this message, sorry if it’s too short! I look forward to your report tomorrow!
]
Normally, I would protest this saying they couldn’t make me work outside the designated hours, but now I wasn’t just an employee of the company…
‘I was a criminal, who would be living a free life by only the grace of his master overlords’
I replied.
“Um...W-Well I am free till 8:00 pm.”