Blood And Thunder

The Start Of Something New

The fresh running water from the rainfall was nice, but it didn't help with the rotting stench of the sewers. Honestly, it would be bearable had it not been for the lifeless corpses of dead rats and mice that call this their home.

It was eerily dark, the only light came from fluorescent lights used for workers to know where they are. The silhouettes of pipes and the general shape of the bricks lining the walls was the only thing I could see, not that I wanted to see anything in here anyways. I leaned against a partly dry wall so as to not get my jacket dirty with god-knows-what lining the walls while I waited for him to arrive.

He'd better get here soon, I thought to myself, I didn't come here for the scenery.

I felt a cold spot on my back and immediately knew my jacket was ruined. It didn't really matter though, it wasn't mine. It did help with the cold atmosphere the sewers had for being underground. I felt the spot grow and couldn't take it anymore. I heaved an aggressive sigh and fidgeted uncomfortably as the damp spot grew larger and larger.

I ripped off my jacket, throwing it to the ground in anger. It landed in a puddle and splashed water on my shoes. During my episode, I saw something out of the corner of my eye that made me instantly stop what I was doing and freeze up. A light stretched from one end of the sewer to shine on what was making the noise.

I was found out, and I can't move. Not from some outside source, but my body refusing to move for fear of being noticed. I just stared at the light getting closer to me like a deer.

"Rai?"

The voice calmed me down and my muscles relaxed. I dropped to a slouch with my hands on my knees to support myself. I let out a sigh of relief.

"You're a jerk"

"I know I am." he replied with what I could only assume was a grin on his face.

"Why did I agree to this?" I asked rhetorically

"Well, you made it very clear the pay was the major reason"

"Listen, 15,000 credits can pay for, like, half a years worth of food" The credits weren't what they used to be. When I was a kid a few hundred was enough to afford food for a couple weeks. Im not sure how it got this bad, but it's only slightly made things more difficult and people have adapted to it fluctuating a ton.

"We never agreed on the exact number," he started, "Listen, we need to be quick with this"

"I know, I know. What do you want me to do?" I asked while crossing my arms. It always leads to this exact moment, the people and the setting changes, but they always arrive to the same conclusion. And that conclusion is...

"I need you to capture someone" he responded while peering over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't followed.

"I must say, this is new. Why not a hit?" I asked curiously.

"No no, no killing. This is strictly a capture contract"

I made my way to the top of the underground contract ring mostly by being a mercenary for hire. it got to the point if anyone needed someone dead they'd come to me. A kidnapping is certainly something I can do, but others do it better.

"Any reason why you decided on me instead of someone 'more qualified' for the job?" I asked

"A multitude of reasons, none of which I want to talk about. Can you do it or not?"

"I never said I couldn't, what am I getting myself into?"

He started to walk around aimlessly as he placed his hands in his jacket pockets, kicking the random items into the water.

"A man by the name of okansen. I'm sure you're aware his ideals clash with everyone else's in the prime. He's the only large leader who still allows mutants to live within his walls," He stopped and turned to face towards me, "someone wants him dead, and I want you to keep him from getting killed."

"Sounds easy enough, where am I headed?"

"to an island off the coast of the Asian territory, they called it Japan before the war."

I had heard stories of what everything was like before the war. The schools taught us it was filled with bitter strife and constant war, but my father said it was mostly calm for people not involved in it. I never really understood how their answers were so different. They also told us places like 'japan' were dangerous and 'the enemy'.

"I'll be there in no time, I bid you farewell." I started to walk out of the sewers until he grabbed my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

"No, you need to blend in. If they find out what's going on..." he bowed and shook his head "something will happen, and it won't be good."

I let out a long and annoyed grumble. It is so much easier to just get in, do the thing, and get out before anyone even knows what's going on. Taking things slow was never my thing, it's easier to do it my way. 'A plan is only as good as the person making it' is a saying I live by for that exact reason.

I walked away taking what he had said into consideration. Different scenarios and problems raced through my head, but I tried to shove them away as best as I could. The light from the city illuminated the giant tunnels and I could see small rodents scatter as I walked.

Pretty soon I reached the entrance and finally saw the city I called my home, Mier city. The night sky shone brightly with the lights from buildings and signs. A thick fog covered most of the city making it almost impossible to see anything 5 feet in front of you. I walked back to my apartment in the slums of the city, it was all I could afford. Mercenaries were allowed in the city, but everyone treated them almost as good as infestations. It was a quick and easy way for making some credits, but it's hard to make a business out of it.

As I walked towards the entrance of the decrepit apartment complex, I saw the gate blocking the doorway was locked. I sighed in annoyance and started to examine the lock. It was rusted to the point of fusing together, no amount of tugging would unlatch it.

"Having trouble?" Asked someone on the other side of the gate.

"No, I'm fine." I replied through gritted teeth.

"You know there's a curfew, anyone not inside by then gets locked out."

"Come on, Dave, we're friends," I reasoned, "can't you let it slide this once?"

"I'd love to, but..." Dave trailed off. I heard footsteps walking away and the lights outside shut off, "we have rules, it's not my fault if you can't follow them."

I stood there in disbelief as to what just happened. After a few moments of just staring at the gate, I kicked it hard. I started to storm off and shove my hands in my pockets when I felt something sharp cut my hand. I recoiled in pain and grabbed what had cut me to see it was a letter.

I opened it to see it was not just an letter, it was the contract, It had all the information about my current job. Not only that, it also had a blue slip of paper attached to the contract by a paperclip.

From: Mier city (American Territory)
To: Kawa No Owari (Asian Territory)
1-way flight

It was a plane ticket. It lead right where I needed to go. I don't know how he got the credits for this, but now I know my next move. I stuffed the ticket back into my pocket and started for the nearest airstrip.

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As of right now, this is my longest work yet at 1,349 words and I'm pretty proud of that.

I'll get to work on the next chapter soon. Feel free to comment any ideas you may have for this story, any and all are welcome :>

Bye now