by Tom Harem
The next day we woke up early. We almost slept together but there wasn't enough space in the bed. We got dressed, ate the doughnuts that Tom had left again in the living room, entered the black jeep and hit the road. I still tried to look for him before we left, but no sign of him.
I don't know what ointment they had put on, but the effect was perfect. It reduced her swelling and she could move her hand as if nothing had happened. Maggie no longer had any bubbles and there were only a few marks and scars left that would fade with time. We had maintained the same seats as last time. Elisa next to me and Victoria and Maggie in the back. We had taken advantage of the previous day to talk and she seemed calmer. At least she had gone back to apologizing and saying that she had to find other ways to release her anger. We all forgave her, even Elisa, who went even further and said she could give her some boxing lessons.
"That's what I did after Ashen took me out of the group. It helped me to calm down and improved the way I fought." She told her.
The invitation was made, and Maggie said she'd think about it. It was still 10 am and the sky was already clear. The thunderstorms of the previous day were now replaced by the pale clouds and the yellow of the sun's rays that dried the streets, lawns and even the damp windows of the city buildings where the headquarters was located. We were already arriving and the differences between the day I went there to register and now were remarkable. There was only one Hunters ad about new shields for sale, and the rest were anti-Hunters ads. One had the face of the radio woman and the following sentence underneath,
"If they fight each other, how long will it take them to fight us?"
I parked the jeep in front of the main building. Someone had graffitied one of the walls with a hatred symbol. A cross with an X on it, the sign of someone who rejects Hunters. There was also a sentence saying that we should all burn and another one, quieter and of a different color, saying that we should clean up the shit we were doing. The differences didn't stop there. The door, which before never stopped turning, with people coming and going, was now standing still, almost as if time had been frozen only in that area.
As we entered, we were greeted by the same girl I had innocently flirted with on my first day as Hunter. She had a sad look, her cheeks orange in contrast to her white and snowy face, and she wore brown pants and a transparent white sweater that let people see the black bra she had underneath.
"Oh, I remember you." She said to me, "Things have changed a little bit around here. With so many protests around the building, a lot of Hunters stopped showing up. The administration gave us orders to look more professional while they plotted a plan to return to the public's good graces." She answered, as she walked us to the stairs.
Apart from two groups in opposite corners of the room, there was no one else there. The walls had lost their vivacity and even the lights seemed weak and filled with insects that liked the heat around them. A sweet perfume lingered in the air. I inhaled in order to try to perceive what smell was, but it was different, new, even for me whose mother worked in a perfumery.
"The smell? It's the woman who works downstairs, the saleswoman, who sprays it every day. I think she did it. I've already asked her, but she says it's a family secret," the girl answered me as she listened to me take successive breaths, "But, well, be my guest. You can take the elevator to the fourth floor. It will take you to your rank floor. Don't be surprised if there aren't too many people over there."
We thank her and headed for the elevator. It was spacious enough for the four of us, had all the buttons and a transparent door. We could all watch as he went up, passing through the two floors below, each one with its own color, and different groups of Hunters talking, some walking towards the rooms.
"I haven't been here in years." Elisa said, ''Before it didn't have all these colors, you know? It was unusual for groups to hang around talking. We just stopped by to accept quests."
The elevator stopped. At the exit of the elevator was a group of three boys, all with red fur coats, two swordsmen and an archer. Their eyes fell on us and, not a minute later, they walked away.
"Is it me, or did they leave because of us and now they're talking about us?" Vic asked us.
"I'm going to go ask them why. Who do they think they are?" Elisa said and started walking towards them before I could grab her leather jacket.
We followed her down the hallway, and within meters of the living room, she caught up with them. She asked them why they were talking about us in that aggressive way that characterized her. They didn't dare answer her. They probably weren't expecting to be challenged, let alone by a girl with deathly drawn eyes, a frightening look and a black skull T-shirt. She stood out from all the other Hunters. There was no professionalism, respect or decency in her and yet no one could say that she did not belong there.
"But will you take long to answer? Do I need to freeze your body and leave only your mouth uncovered?" She continued, and they looked at each other, opening and closing their mouths as if they were looking for the right words.
"We...ah, it wasn't out of spite. We recognized you from the video... fighting other Hunters. You've ruined everything for us. Now we're hated wherever we go. The police avoid helping us. Even the people we save complain about us." One of them, the slender one, with a bowl-like hair, beaked eyes and denim pants, told us.
"We weren't fighting against..."
"Maggie. Doesn't matter. They're right. We made a mistake and we apologize." I interrupted her before she talked too much.
"Don't expect our sympathy. You should have thought of that before you fucked up." Another of the boys said, lifting his chest and drawing closer to Elisa.
I walked in between her and him and shoved him before he touched her, "Don't go near her. We already apologized. Settle for that." I said to him, "the best thing to do is for each of us to go our own way."
They grumbled, snorted even, but went the other way, returning to the elevator. Elisa calmed down and we headed for the living room. Missions were popping up on the interactive board on the opposite wall to the entrance. The translucent blue light swirled around the room, coloring the yellow walls, the black ceiling and the brown floor with thin stripes. The trash can in the right corner was packed and balls of paper surrounded it. No one had cleaned the room for days, maybe a week now, and neither the lavender sweet smell that originated from a girl with a purple encharpe or the metal smell of the boy who was wearing a trench coat, from her group, dazzled a dead aroma that flowed through the room. The girls covered their noses and complained about the smell.
"It's coming from there," the girl from the other group said and pointed to the ventilation, "some rat must have died there. Since the cleaning ladies haven't shown up in days, no one's taken him out yet." She added. She had a sweet voice, and her teeth scraped off her thick lips when she spoke.
"You are..." One of the boys started it, but Vic interrupted it.
"Yes, we are. What is it?"
"No reason. I didn't think you'd show up here after all. I'm just surprised."
Nobody answered him. We just went ahead and sat on one of the couches in a corner. A couple of missions were disappearing, being accepted at other Hunters' homes elsewhere, and being replaced by new ones. Most of them were level 3 and 4 monster missions and some level 8 missions. After a few minutes, there came a level 7 and we accepted it immediately. The other group watched everything but didn't even move. They didn't seem interested in the missions. They were still talking about Shimmer being on television the day before, complaining that the rest of the Hunters' administration was lost. Apparently, he'd gotten ahead of us. If he were arrested now everyone would think it would be retaliation and without tangible evidence, they could not accuse him of anything. Things weren't going well for us and they were only getting worse.
We went back to the elevator. The boys' group was no longer there. We descended to the first floor, where the same girl bowed when she saw us, and we left.
Chapter III<
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As soon as we stepped on the first ladder we were greeted by whistles and a dozen people with posters slandering Hunters. They kept sending us away as we walked down the stairs, some of them throwing banana peelings at us and others trying to calm them down, saying it was just a peaceful protest.
"If you don't stop, I'll freeze you all," Elisa screamed and raised her hand.
"Elisa, damn it, let's just get in the jeep and get out of here as soon as possible," I said before the situation got worse.
People backed off and lowered their posters, as well as their fists, and none of them dared to talk. They shivered from fear of her, and even though I knew it was not the best time, I did not have the patience to put up with them or even to try to disarm the situation.
We got into the jeep and I got out of there, arriving at 80 per hour in a few seconds, and putting ourselves on the road, on our way to the city of Itaka.
"See? People don't even value our effort. The whole being a good person thing is exhausting." Elisa said, "Acting in the shadows is much more fun. If it weren't for you, James, I wouldn't be here anymore." She added, leaning against the bench and yawning.
"I know, but nobody said being a good person was easy either. If it were, everyone could be." I said, "Any idea how to stop this monster? From the images, it doesn't look like it's going to give us a lot of trouble, but you never know."
"Didn't it seem very... small?" Maggie talked. She was calmer than last time and already looked us in the eye, and yet the light behind the green appeared extinguished. She was missing a part of herself. Something had come off when her father called her as we ran away from the party. In other words, the flame she had, burned with the fire that consumed our house, and they both dissipated into the air.
"I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if it was the distant images but compared to what we faced last time it looked minuscule." Vic said and paused before continuing, " Nevertheless, we better not underestimate him. He's still a level 7 beast."
"You're right. Keep your eyes open and work as a team. We have a long day ahead of us." I told them. Maggie's words still lingered in my mind. We couldn't stick to one beast a day. We had to want more, do more, fight to save people, climb the ranking, all this while we were waiting for new developments. Almost a week had passed, and no one had told us anything; not even about Shimmer, not about Maggie's father or the albino, not even if there had been new sightings of human beasts. I still had the paper I had picked up in Tom's living room in my trouser pocket, but we weren't seeing each other.
Itaka was almost an hour away. It was a fishing town in the province. I immediately recognized the name; a few years ago, they were on the news after a beast had burned all their boats. The state financed the reconstruction of all that had been left in ashes and provided better weapons to the local police whose station was 20 minutes away. The further we moved away from society, the more the buildings and small slopes were replaced by faraway mountains, arid terrain along the narrow road, and the brightness of the day was grayed out. We were still at least 20 minutes away. On the radio, a hoarse voice sang a song from the old 90's in celebration of the seventy-five years since a classic album had been released. We enjoyed the melancholic view from outside; a light green rose on the horizon and some cows and oxen strolled through the meadow.
"It's the first time I've seen anything so beautiful," Maggie said, breaking the silence.
"You were rich, and you never traveled to exotic places?" Elisa asked her.
"Haven't I told you before? My father was always paranoid. I've always been able to explore our garden, but that's all. Apart from a dog I had when I was younger or the fish, I never saw other animals except in pictures and videos."
"That doesn't sound very healthy to me," Vic answered.
"Probably not. Don't you think the people here are happier? They probably have fewer worries and problems," she added, looking out the window, her forehead brushing against the glass.
"Maybe, but do they live like we do? To what extent do they not get so used to the tanning life that their life is just this infinite boredom?" Vic answered her.
"We are going to fight. What the hell are you talking about?" Elisa told them, running over their philosophical conversation.
"Let them be. I like to hear these thoughts. Life can't just be about fighting." I said, and in a way, it was strange to hear it coming out of my mouth. All my life I had wanted that, the fight and the high ranking, to meet new Hunters and other cities, but, now, I just wanted to take a few days to rest. I no longer saw hunting beasts as a diversion but as a necessity.
"Is it there?" Maggie asked, leaning forward and pointing to a piecemeal road that flowed near some straw buildings.
There was only the sea on the horizon and the waves were bursting against the already reddish sand. The blood blended with the light brown color before being swallowed by the water. As we approached, we noticed that some buildings were already undone, the wood that supported the dry straw broken to pieces and some of the trunks were naked.
"There!" Victoria stormed out of her seat, "the beast!" and pointed to a nook, meters away from us, a star-shaped shadow coming out of the wreckage of what was once a house.
I stopped the car at the top of the hill, and we walked downhill. It was a path of boulders and solid sand blocks only.
"Is it me, or does the beast look like a starfish?" Elisa asked.
"Now that you mention it... His body's all orange, five tips, the only difference is it's made of metal." Vic answered her, carrying the sachet with the arrows on one shoulder and the bow in the same hand, "What's the plan?"
"Isn't that what we have you for? For plans and choosing missions?"
"Knock it off. Come on, hurry up. He's heading towards those people." I told them, as I watched the beast move, using the two feet with four toes each, that supported the metal star that was his whole body.
He advanced forward, the black sphere in the middle of the body acting as a revolving eye, focused on the two women and three children who had hidden behind a rock.
We got between him and the people. I ordered Maggie to lead them to our jeep, away from the battle, where they could be safe while we fought.
The beast jumped and began to spin amid the air, hovering on it until it gouged off, the five horns becoming a single sharp that pierced the sky and whose pressure was so great that the grains of sand arose as it passed.
"Walk away!" I screamed, seconds before the beast rushed past us at high speed, cracking the ground and crashing into the boulder.
It spun continuously until it lost its strength and one extremity got stuck on the rock. Still, it didn't stop. The metal grazed the rock and it tried to fracture it.
"Actually, these beasts are not at all intelligent." Elisa said, "And as if that wasn't enough for her, she doesn't even have a decent body. Doomed to fail" she said and raised her hand.
Particles of ice filled the air, cooling the atmosphere until they reached the beast and froze not only the sharp point that was already hanging as well as part of the rock.
"Are you done?" Maggie asked as she went back down the ravine, "they told me that the rest of the population either fled or hid in the lighthouse" she added and pointed to a white and red lighthouse a meter away from us.
"At least that. Let's finish this and get out of here." I said it, but suddenly I heard a strange noise, almost as harsh as a chalk scraping on a blackboard. The noise increased, and the bifurcation grew until we could hear the rock cracking.
"He got out!" Maggie screamed.
We all stared at the rock. The beast had detached and hovered over the air one more time. The second round was about to begin. Before she even moved a gust of flames swept over her. Maggie, meters away from her, had her hand raised and, once again, the flames were out of control, flying in several directions, nearly like a whip that battered the ground, the wall, the beast and almost hit Victoria.
"MAGGIE!" I yelled, "Not agai
n."
"This time I can control it. I know I can." She said, and as she closed her fist, the fire acquired delineated contours.
"She's doing it!" Victoria said, "Just a little more."
A vein popped up on her forehead, her thin skin wrinkled, and her nose frowned as her hand trembled and the flames finally focused only on the target. The fire sparks scattered across the air, burning it and behaving like fireworks.
"It's about time," Elisa said, and for a fraction of a second, she smiled.
We were happy. Everything seemed fine at that moment. Not even the strong wind blasts removed the fire from its course. Maggie's hand had stopped shaking. Water was splashing all over our faces. The truth is, we had gotten ahead of ourselves. We were so distracted, we didn't even see the beast spinning again. The speed at which it was moving led it to create an air barrier between her body and the fire. It fired off towards Maggie, digging a tunnel in between the fire, leaving her only a few seconds to throw herself to the floor and dodge. She fell to the ground, skinning her arms and knees, dirtying her hair with muddy, damp soil, and struggling to reach us.
"Damn it. We underestimate him," Elisa said. She tried to freeze his feet, but he leapt, gave a mortal and pierced the ice until it broke.
Victoria still fired 3 arrows, but the monster simply deviated, only one of them scraping him at the upward extremity. Maggie finally caught up with us. Blood flowed from her shoulders and knees.
"After all, this isn't gonna be as easy as we thought." She said and curved the corner of her mouth. She had that sassy, excited smile that Elisa had, too. They were getting more and more alike and that scared me.
"We need to paralyze him. As long as he can move that fast and spin, we don't stand a chance." Vic said, looking around, looking for anything to help us, "I should have thought of this before. We must get him to the beach. The sand should be enough to bury him," she added.
