Chapter 1 – what a way to die.

“Wow impressive” Alice snickered as Kato attempted and failed a backflip for the third time.

“I told you I’m getting better.” He grinned back at her blood running from his split upper lip. “Looks like it.” Alice replied voice full of mirth. “How’d you even cut your lip, you landed on your back.” Alice asked. Kato spat blood on the floor. “Bit it when I hit the ground” he admitted warily. Laughter interrupted him, Alice was doubled over and clutching her side.

“If I had to point to one event to sum you up, this would be it” she gasped wiping tears from her eyes.

“Hey, I aim to impress, and you can’t tell me you expected even that.” Kato quipped.

“As you already know my foresights not good enough for much, else I wouldn’t be kicking around the backstreets of Redusk with a lowlife like you.” She smiled brightly at Kato, but it wasn’t returned. “Yeah” he muttered, kicking the ground absentmindedly, Alice Stormwhisper was the latest in a long line of forecasters accurately predicting and preparing the city against the sandstorms that regularly ravaged the 20ft solid stone walls encompassing the city.

As Alice’s laughter faded into the warm evening air, her smile dimmed slightly. Her eyes betrayed hints of sadness as she gazed at Kato she knew a ‘lowlife’ like him wouldn’t stay a lowlife for long and it wasn’t because he was likely to suddenly get a respectable job.

“Kato, you don’t have to go back there you know that, right” Alice looked at him her eyes already resigned, “You know I do a man’s got to eat.” Kato said softly his head turned to the side, repeating the same sentence he’d had to each time he met with Alice for the last 6 months.

“I know what I do is frowned upon” he started his voice catching at first but becoming more resound as he continued, “but this is who I am”.

“A thief” Alice spoke bluntly.

“Maybe, who can say I've never been caught” he smiled at her so wide you would have thought his cheeks would break.

“Yet” Alice said teasingly.

Kato stood unsure of how to make his leave. “Romero’s expecting me” he paused “I've got to go, don’t want to keep the old crook up” he grinned at her and winked, Alice softly chuckled, a warm blush spreading across her features and raised her hand palm out towards him in silent farewell.

Kato turned, leaving the well-lit city streets and in favour for the darker less patrolled and neglected areas that he called home.

…

The streets of Redusk were not a fun place to be at night, if any more proof of this was needed then Glorb was the one to give it. A fat, portly man, he knew others looked down on him for where he came from, who he worked for and the work he actually did.

He was both feared and scorned by others, but he took it all on both of his waggling chins. After all it was more than justified, to say it was not would be a blemish on Glorb’s character. He had worked very hard to earn his reputation.

It was in the way he spoke and the way he acted. Even in his choice of garbs. His signature ensemble of a dark heavy overcoat was one he had chosen specifically to portray him this way. It was why he was never spotted without it.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Meeting Glorb at night was never a pleasant experience, but usually a small covert nod and he would ignore him. In theory there was no reason for why Kato’s heart was beating faster. He met Glorb all the time, admittedly they weren’t on the friendliest terms but who was these days.

No something else had set Kato on edge. Glorb was smiling, he never smiled, and he especially never smiled at him.

“Howdy Glorb” Kato said his stride increasing slightly.

“Stop” a rough guttural noise accompanied the command breaking the silence of the night. Kato turned to face the speaker, meeting Glorbs intense gaze.

“What’s up man, long time no see”. Kato tried to de-escalate even as his body tensed, preparing for conflict.

Glorb began walking over to Kato, slowly the lumbering brute shaking the ground with his sheer mass. He towered over Kato. Kato looked at him warily and was only greeted by a thin smile.

“Too short if you asked me” Glorb stated, a thin blade emerging from his right sleeve glinting in the moonlight.

“Wow that is really cool, any idea where I could get one of those, I've always really wanted something like that, I mean who wouldn’t and may I say it really fits the whole broody vibe you’ve got going on, good on you man, I mean I for one- “

Glorb hacked up a wad of phlegm and spat it on the ground, the throaty noises interrupting Kato’s yammering. His smile widened ever so slightly at Kato’s look of disdain; a cruel amusement taken in his discomfort.

“You’ve gone too far this time kid” Glorb muttered his voice laced with venom, he took a step closer. His words palpable in the midnight air. “Stole from the wrong people and if you weren’t one of Maya’s you wouldn’t even know why.” For the first time in their interaction Kato wondered if Gorb had gotten a bad rep. He didn’t give reasons, it was part of his whole broody vibe.

“Know why what?” Kato began slowly pacing backwards a bead of sweat running down the left side of his face.

Glorb shook his head mutely, his silence words enough.

“Maya doesn’t want me to die” Kato blurted, desperately trying to bargain with the man; seizing the the thread of compassion Glorb had displayed as hard as he could.

His words fell flat. Glorb remained unmoved, his earlier consideration all but forgotten, and without even a sneer, he lunged.

Kato threw himself back acting on pure instinct. “Wow nearly got me there,” Kato quipped with false bravado. He waggled his finger, mockingly at Glorb before deftly pivoting on his heel and breaking into a sprint.

Only to immediately feel searing pain. It was pure agony radiating from his abdomen. His body convulsed as he staggered back, toppling over his hands coated red as they tried time and time again to pull the shaft of a spear out. But all he accomplished was painting the wood red, his hands slipping futilely.

“Ahh the arrogance of youth” a voice rapidly fading began to mock him, Kato strained to catch his appearance but couldn’t find the strength to even turn his head. “To think they would only send one and it be Glorb.” A short harsh laugh and Glorb’s darkening expression were the last thing Kato saw before his consciousness slipped.

Kato rapidly jolted awake a man’s hand clenched his shoulder. His bones were being slowly crushed in the vice like grip he could hear them cracking. Tears filled his eyes. Kato turned to regard the man; and was greeted by nothing.

Not to say nothing as if there was nobody there it was just the mans face, if that was what he was, was entirely blank, no eyes no mouth, completely devoid of any features, the only similarity between him and a human was the shape.

It was as if the thing was a hollow shell, its personality erased. There was no way to communicate with something like this it might as well have been a hammer for the humanity it possessed. The perfect soldier it would never falter in its goal because there was no way to convey that it could do otherwise.

The man-creature-thing picked him up no care to Kato’s now awakened status and proceeded to dump him unceremoniously around eight feet into the ground.

“Eugh” the impact knocked a sharp breath of air out of Kato’s lungs. He gasped for air and tried to stand. His legs chose this moment to betray and collapsed under him. His strength sapped and blood pooled underneath him, more pain the only reward for his effort.

He was in deep hole; he couldn’t move, and a strange creature was tossing him around like a sack of potatoes. He took a breath trying to force his mind to think rationally, there must be something he could do! As he laid sprawled on the damp bloody ground, he thought angrily to himself, ‘how did it come to this? At least it couldn’t get any worse.

A clump of dirt hit his face, before he even registered it, a second did. “Why” he managed to exhale looking up at the creature above him. Its expressionless gaze rested on him for a second, or at least he thought so for who could tell? Then another clump of dirt hit, his eyes were covered, and the world went dark.