No Second Chances: The Beginning Of The End - Chapter 33

On the outskirts of one of the cities of Delcyt called Carca, Hisato tried to hide his friend and attempted to wander around in the search of a job that could help him survive as an affiliate of the guild. He managed to get a couple of tasks in order to gain some money but he knew he had to find another way of income to avoid starving and letting the dragon break havoc. I don’t really want to stumble upon people that could be as strong as those 3 I met a couple of weeks ago… So I better not stand out too much.” –He thought while working in a small food establishment as a part-time worker.

Hisato’s life became calmer as he kept working hard in feeding periodically the dragon he was supposed to take care of. Day by day he tried to not draw the attention of the government or the guild so he dedicated the most to his part-time jobs. He kept living closer to the outskirts so he would be able to meet with the dragon every time he could. However, there were people always watching him strolling in the night, eventually bringing them closer along with authorities to ask where he was going.

“Good night officer, how can I help you?” –Hisato shyly asked while two uniformed approached him and suddenly began to beat him up for some minutes until they got bored and took his belongings. A couple of hours later the two policemen threw him out of their car in a public dumpster located at the entrance of an alley and hurried away from the place to avoid any midnight stroller.

Hisato woke up hours later after some people began to walk around the street, slowly coming back to his senses and remembering what happened several hours ago. At least they left me alive…-Hisato thought while clenching his fists and making his way back to where he was staying in order to rest properly.

Days later, Hisato received a particular task from the guild to help a certain chairman candidate of the city as a bodyguard and so he did, but the security was rather lacking since there were other few who accepted the task, so the worst happened as in the public meeting the candidate held an armed group of terrorists took the life of the chairman, placing in a very bad spot the security team assigned for it.

Hisato was called upon interrogation but the two officers who happened to carry said interrogation were the same two that assaulted him in the night, several days ago. I can’t believe it, so everything was just a trap? Why? How? Was their target the candidate? Is that why almost no one else showed up? –He quickly asked himself in terror as the two officers smiled and sat in front of him, with malicious intentions.

After a couple of hours of personal questions and blackmailing, the officers managed to get the information they wanted and even forced Hisato to lie in order to get a fake testimony, promising him safety and anonymity. However he was told to drop all his belongings since they are all some sort of evidence and they are needed for the investigation, so he would have to get them back later on that week and after paying the recovery fee.

Hisato was simply marked as an easy target, inconveniently tumbling upon more and more unfortunate situations that slowly drove him closer to mental breakdowns. Now that dream where everything is in chaos doesn’t seem that bad. –He kept thinking to himself as he slowly pets and tried to hide the dragon he was taking care of when suddenly a sort of mist began to surround the outskirts of the city and faint steps could be heard approaching Hisato.

“Who would’ve thought I would find another one in such a small period of time? First in Pandora’s forest and now in Carca…” –Lawrence said as he slowly made his way out of the mist, resting his scythe against his shoulder and walking towards Hisato while the dragon was glaring at Lawrence, sensing the danger he represents. “Oh, I am deeply sorry. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Lawrence Kaiser, a former military worker who, like you, is being oppressed and chased by the government for crimes I have not committed.” –He lied while bowing down in fake respect, expecting a positive response from Hisato.

Hisato who had a bad feeling about this situation quickly left with the dragon, mixing themselves with the mix in order to avoid Lawrence. However, Hisato couldn’t see where to go and the dragon kept glaring in a certain direction. Naturally, I wouldn’t be lucky enough to lose this guy just like that. –He scoffed to his own luck in his mind and tried to keep his guard up despite the difference in strength he didn’t know they had. “What makes you think we went through the same situations? Isn’t it a bit bold of you to appear out of nowhere and big talk a guardian?” –He spoke out loud trying to find a way to get out of the mist, which was getting denser as he kept moving. At some point, Hisato ended up walking back to the same place where Lawrence first appeared in front of him.

“Well, that certainly wasted our time don’t you think? However, I must admit I am most certainly a patient man.” –Lawrence announced as he bowed and gestured as a way to politely dismiss Hisato’s attempt of escaping. “Also, to answer your questions, I am delighted to announce that I, under normal circumstances, would have already captured you or silenced you as a part of my job.” –He continued while he had a calm look with a smug smile.

“Then, what do you want from me?” –Hisato asked as soon as Lawrence paused and began walking closer to him.

“Your cooperation of course, hopefully, it won’t be an issue since we might have gone through similar difficulties, right?” –Lawrence lied again in order to appeal to Hisato’s approval. However, Hisato keeps trying to find a way to get out of this situation without having to fight.

A couple of minutes of silence later, a patrolling police vehicle was passing by and its lights could be seen in the mist, without thinking twice Hisato began to scream in order to call the police attention. After screaming for help, the dragon managed to make his way back to Hisato, but he lost sight of Lawrence as the police vehicle was approaching them. “Hah! He got scared and decided to escape, finally, police did something right.” –He exclaimed while cheering for this stroke of luck.

The mist slowly dissipated nearby Hisato, showing him the police car stopped but the policemen happened to still be in the car. Hisato quickly instructed his dragon to hide and attempted to approach the vehicle, with the hope of getting help. I didn’t expect myself to be so happy to see these two pieces of- -His train of thought was cut off as he realized the officers were the same two but their faces were full of horror while their throats were sliced and bled off along with missing limbs which were scattered around the opened doors of the vehicle.

Horrified, Hisato stood there in silence as Lawrence slowly came out of the mist to stop behind him, moving the scythe in front of Hisato and closing it to his neck. “I might as well ask for your cooperation once again, or perhaps you would like to end up quartered like them.” –Lawrence calmly stated while throwing one arm towards the co-pilot seat of the vehicle where the blood was still gushing out of the dismembered body.

After such a gruesome event, Hisato passed out from fear and Lawrence walked into the police car to then call for reinforces as there was a twisted murderer that attacked the police officers in charge of patrolling around mysterious mist. The receiver on the other end instantly asked for the location of the patrolling vehicle but Lawrence already fled while carrying Hisato with him.

Several patrols were dispatched but the mist already dissipated and the police car was left there, blood everywhere and several trails of steps around that lead nowhere, the police opened a case and the guild was also informed about the situation so there were conjoined patrols between police and freelancers and heroes that worked for the guild.

Once Hisato woke up, he found himself tied up on a chair and inside a dark room with a strong smell of blood and chemicals that began to damage his nose, making it bled lightly. After panicking for a couple of minutes, Hisato tried to look for a door while trying to break the ties with just cheer force but notice his arms began to bleed as well due to the thin strings restraining him. “It is not a good thing that you damage yourself even before I get to do anything. That wouldn’t work for me, Mister.” –Lawrence suddenly appeared through the door which was right behind Hisato. Instantly, Hisato froze and stood quietly while Lawrence had preventively brought surgical equipment, as his face drew a wicked smile. “Now then, shall we begin with our small conversation?” –He jokingly asked before grabbing a pair of scissors and interrogated Hisato while cutting his fingers one by one.

Meanwhile, the police department of Carca sent a request to Delcyt in order to receive help from the military and tackle this situation faster before there are any other casualties that would lower the public morale. The general in charge of the public safety department received the request and sent a letter to the Minister of defense to carry out a quick sweep on Carca in order to find the one responsible and to clear the doubts that were rising across the department.

The Ruler also heard about the situation and allowed the mobilization of a small team with veterans to get clues and quickly find the location of the target before it flees the city. The operation took place within hours and a lockdown was transmitted through the media, advising all citizens to stay at home earlier than usual.

A news broadcast team followed the operation squad while narrating the situation. “And here we reached the area of the gruesome scene which was already tagged and investigated as a mysterious mist happened to rise around the time of the fatality. The forensic corps analyzed the bodies of the deceased and said this was the work of a creature with a high threat category leading to the dispatch of this tactical team as commanded by the Ruler Yan Hernandez.” –A beautiful and experienced news reporter stated while looking at the camera, holding her microphone and following the operation squad along with the cameraman. “After the Pandora’s forest incident, ruler Yan has been leaking the information about biological weapons that might have escaped; this became a subject of observation by several cryptozoologists and veteran guild workers. The uncertainty of believing in Ruler Yan after the massive leak of information and the ignition of a whole area preserved by the Elves, resulted in a lot of panic when the arrival of the tactical team took place around 7 pm in the terminal of the Carca District.” –The reporter concluded before several eyewitnesses called for help after an unknown man carrying a long weapon disappeared in a strange mist after leaving an apartment in the vicinity. The closest witness which was a middle-aged man who lives in the same apartment complex began to explain how he heard several screams from a boy in the room where the unknown man came out from.

Quickly, the team headed into the apartment evacuating the people living in it and asking for backup from the police and the guild to keep order and safety. Once they reached the room, groaning was heard from inside and the door was carefully opened by one of the soldiers as a next one situated on the next side of it. When the door opened, they silently went in, inspecting all the surroundings and the possible victims, but there was only one person inside of one of the rooms as well as there was blood everywhere on the floor of that same room and a machine attached to the body. The person in there was Hisato and his limbs were missing; his torso exposed a large wound which was badly stitched and the team found out he was the source of the groaning, which suggested he was still alive but, his eyes were removed and his mouth was also stitched. The body cam of one of the soldiers recorded the whole situation and broadcasted the video to the research department, filming all details.

One of the soldiers in the operation team was a doctor and requested mercy-killing the victim. The research department approved the request and a single bullet was shot to end Hisato’s misery. After a couple of minutes of silence, a beeping noise came from the machine attached to his body; shortly, the soldiers took action in case it was a bomb and attempted to flee as fast as they could but it was too late for them. An explosion was seen from the outside as it engulfed the nearby apartments killing the soldiers and destroying the place.

Twitter: @Sbrcbleh12