The Guild

Chapter 1

{POV~ Johnathan Conners}

My legs stung with every single step and every other stride. With my lungs burning every time I tried, I was short of breath. Everything on the sides of my vision was going black. Fatigue was consuming my body by the second, it hurt to keep going. I should stop, just give in.

No! No, never.

If I stop that means death, no doubt about it, I need to continue on. There were tall, bright buildings to both my left and right. Ads flashed, displaying many different brands of anything you can imagine. Many people were on the streets, and I pushed through them all. Some screamed obscenities directed at me, but I payed no attention. I couldn't afford to do that.

Turning right, I ran into one of the many dank back alleys that house criminal activity in several forms. I passed a couple grinding on one another, drunk off their asses. Taking a left, I kept running in a hope to lose my pursuer. I knew the entire region like the back of my hand, so I was confident.

Or at least I was, until I heard a small thewp sound behind me. My right foot began to sting like a motherfucker, but I still couldn't stop. Limping, I kept running as fast as my body could possibly manage. Suddenly, a figure jumped down right in front of me, landing on their feet. They stood up straight and stared at me, I could feel their eyes bore into me.

The night sky combined with the pale moonlight gave everything an eerie look. A feeling that caused the figure in front of me to seem even scarier. I knew of this person, but I had never met them. They're feared across the large territory of Lukesbury Bay. A ruthless bounty hunter known by one name and one name only; Soulsplitter.

Their suit is certainly something to behold. It's kind of tight fitting, but not enough to be very revealing. Of their body type or anything else. Connected to there are some thin, yet strong, pieces of armor. The only parts that didn't have armor, besides his hands, were the parts that he needs to move easily. On the border of each piece of armor were silver lines, not bright, but enough to glint in the moonlight. Finally, there's their mask. It was made of the same material of the armor, but just a little thicker. Running on the borders of the front, sides, and back are silver lines. Those lines crossed the face in an X formation. Interrupting the upper lines of the X, were two blood red eyes. Obviously they weren't their actual eyes, rather robotic eyes or something of the sort. Nonetheless, they showed no emotion at all, adding even more into the fear factor.

I began to back up and put my hands in the air to show I didn't have any weapons.

Me: "H-h-hey. Please don't do this. I'm your biggest fan!"

Suddenly, I fell and landed on my ass, I began to crawl backwards. I was terrified, even then that would be a massive understatement. My heart was pounding, to the point I could hear it. Sweat was running down my face and hands. As the bounty hunter stomped forward, I knew it; this was the end.

{POV~ Edward Quinn}

Pathetic; that's what this poor excuse for a man is. I wasn't given a rundown of why the client wanted this guy dead. Frankly, I couldn't care less about why, as long as I got paid. Drawing my sword, I picked the dog fur up by his collar.

Me: "I shouldn't have fans."

My voice was much deeper due to the enhancer thing I added to my helmet. His mouth opened slightly to protest his own death, but I wasn't having it. Plunging the sword into his stomach, I twisted it and made him scream. Before anyone could come to investigate, I grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the wall to my right. After repeating that action a couple times he was dead, and I dropped the corpse.

Lifting my left wrist and holding my pinky on it for a second, a hologram popped up. It was a picture of my former target along with some of his information. I swiped left, and scanned the now dead body. A second or two later, a red bar reading "[TERMINATED]" appeared on the hologram. Shaking my wrist a tiny bit, it shut off and I walked away, re-sheathing my sword.

I aimed my right wrist at the roof of a nearby building, and a cable fired. Once it connected to a solid part, I tugged twice in quick succession. It started pulling me, and in under four seconds, I was up on the roof. The cable retracted all the way and I began my walk over to the Club Paramount. It's the Guild's main outpost, down in the Underground. Okay, you probably need some context.

During the "Great Leap" as everyone likes to call it, anthropomorphic animals called furs took over. That time brought a ginormous boost in technology, and life became like a real life cyberpunk story. Cities, states, and all of that were almost completely replaced. Now, there's what are called territories, and I grew up in the North Raywark territory. It takes up the area of what used to be New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The very north part is what's called the "Ealacor region," which is where all of the richer families live. Just under that is a massive city called Leeca, which is filled with mainly middle class folks. Under that is the region known as the Slums, where the poorest of the poor live. Finally, last but certainly not least, is the Underground. The Underground is where the most crime is, don't get me wrong crime is very common everywhere but Ealacor. It's just MUCH more mainstream in the Underground and Slums. In fact, the Underground is pretty much devoted to crime at this point.

A/N: The top is a map so it's easier to visualize.

Now, I am a bounty hunter and part of what's called the Guild. It's a HUGE organization of bounty hunters, mercenaries, assassins, merchants, and more. There are over 20,000 members across the United Territories. North Raywark's Club Paramount is merely the so-called capital of the Guild's operation.

So, that's all you really need to know I believe. Buckle in, because this story's gonna be one bumpy ass ride.

To Be Continued