Bounty Hunter

Chapter 16

Upon awakening, the sound of complete silence greets me. I roll out of bed and my initial thought is that I need to tame my hair. The sight of my unruly mane in the mirror causes me to cringe. I run some water through it in attempt to tame the frizz. The buzzing sound of something flying alerts me to Gizmo's presence. "Hey boy! Do you know where Kai is?" I ask while scratching his ears. His silver tongue hangs out as he pants. The sound of something printing ensues and a piece of paper emerges from his mouth. Curiously, I take it and wonder what it could be. I've gone out to buy some food. I'll be back in a few. –Kai. "Well I'm not going to sit around waiting for him. Why don't you show me how far this cloaking device extends?" I say to Gizmo.

Gizmo barks excitedly and begins to fly away. I follow him out of the house to the backyard which is filled with overgrown weeds. Along the way my sneakers pick up sharp green burrs. Inwardly, I groan knowing that later it'll be a hassle to pick them off. I follow Gizmo's path and wade through the sea of grass. He leads me to a small shed like structure. A trace of light emits from his chest. "You want me to open the door?" I ask. Eagerly, he wags his tail. I push the door open to find a dark and dusty interior. The shed is fairly empty, apart from a rake and a few tools. A low groan utters out from the dark. The steady rhythm of my heart begins to speed up. "Kai?" I call out questioningly. Gizmo flies beside me slowly and furiously barks. I pull my gun out from its holster. I raise my hand and point the gun into the darkness. "Who's there?!" I shout. All of a sudden, a pair of glowing golden eyes flashes before me. Screaming, I leap back and Gizmo barks even louder.

A figure emerges from the darkness. At first all I can see are his molten gold eyes similar to that of a demon's. The gold completely overwhelms any trace of his sclera or pupils. The gold begins to shrink revealing the whites of his eyes. The color remains visible but now it has shrunk to encase his pupils. He rises and steps into the light unveiling his body. Unusual golden patterns mark the skin around his eyes and are inlaid across his forehead and cheek bones. The gold patterns that travel across his dark skin seem to flicker like a dying light. His shaven head is also marked with the golden patterns. Thin yellow bracelets are wrapped around his bare muscular arms. The bracelets extend to his shoulders and completely encase them. He opens his mouth and a garbled language emerges. "Don't come any closer!" I scream. My eyes dart down to his brown combat boots, then up to his tight black bodysuit. Carefully, I back away from him. I make sure to keep my gun pointed at him. Gizmo runs up to him and begins to circle him excitedly.

The man opens his mouth again giving me a glimpse of his golden and razor sharp canines. "I mean you no harm," he says. His hands are raised in a sign of surrender. He continues to approach me. "Don't move!" I scream again. My hands tremble in terror. A bead of sweat rolls down my cheek. The terror grips me further as I watch the bracelets around his arms swirl up and down. "My name is Kahari. I am a friend of Kai's," he says in an accented voice. A light appears around Kahari from Gizmo's body. The light illuminates him revealing red lacerations spiraling around his arms. The brightness enables me to discern his expression. His dark brows are set in a deep line and his jaw is tightly clenched. "What happened to your arm?!" I ask without lowering my gun. "I was attacked. I am a bounty hunter like Kai. We've known each other since we were kids. I came here for help," he says breathlessly. His gold eyes glisten pleadingly.

Gizmo beeps loudly the way he does whenever Kai is around. "MAY! Put the gun down!" I hear Kai's voice call. "Not until you tell me who he is!" I insist. "He's a friend," Kai states. Slowly, I lower the silver gun. Still shaking, I tuck it away. "Kahari! What are you doing here?" Kai runs to the alien's side and his green eyes widen in shock. "What happened?" he asks. "Well I was chasing a bounty..." "Who were you chasing?" Kai asks suspiciously. Kahari's golden eyes lower in defeat. "Naekato," he replies. Kai's green eyes flash in anger and disbelief. "You never should have gone after him alone," Kai scolds. "You're one to talk. Word around the street is you're after Anson," Kahari says accusingly. Kai shakes his head knowing Kahari is right. "Let's just get you fixed up," Kai says.