The Hybrid's Assassin

Τωο

~

I needed coffee. Asap.

I yawned, looking around for any sign of a 24 hour diner. There was nothing that even suggested civilisation. Trees surrounded me, disappearing into the darkness of the sky, and endless road was set before me.

For a short while I continued to drive on, looking for a sign, anything really. The silence felt uncomfortable, and before long I found my hand reaching to turn the radio on. Some cheap pop song blared through the speakers and I rushed to turn it down, before changing my mind and just picking a different radio station. It was a news station that took my attention.

"Five victims were claimed in an explosion that took place in an apartment block in Caribou, Maine. Countless other people were injured when part of the building collapsed. Police are on the scene investigating the cause of this explosion, and so far the leading explanation for this tragic incident is a gas leak. We will keep you updated on the matter as we receive more information."

I turned the radio off, exhaling. Look for a bloody sign and just get the coffee. I tapped my fingernails on the steering wheel, looking left to right. Pushing everything I had just heard to the back of my mind.

It's not that I couldn't feel, but in my line of work it was best if I simply didn't think of what I had just heard. Of the devastation that I had inflicted.

I was so deep in thought that I nearly missed it. A sign hidden beneath the branches of overgrown forest.

I slammed on the brakes, then slowly reversed the car until the sign was back in my line of vision and I could see it clearly.

Verde Falls
Three miles
->

It was a small, faded sign. If I wasn't used to noticing minor details I probably would have missed it completely.

I turned to look right, where the arrow seemed to be pointing. It's true that the space between the trees was wide enough to be a road, but it was that covered in dirt and leaves that it was extremely unlikely it was actually used. I looked back at the condition of the sign and looked back at the road before coming to a conclusion. It was probably an old back way into the town, no longer used because of a new road.

Momentarily, I pondered over whether or not to take this road before coming to a conclusion. It would be better if I travelled this way, there would be less traffic so it would equate to a faster trip. And besides, it was only three miles. What could happen?

I turned onto the road and instantly all moonlight disappeared, blocked out by the huge tree canopies that hung above me. The forest felt empty, an eerie aura surrounding the local vicinity.

The road was rough, but of relatively good condition. I drove for a few more minutes, the radio silent. I exited into a clearing.

Instantly the road was clean, dark cobblestone underneath the car and not a single leaf in sight. I had emerged in the small town of Verde Falls, driving down a long and narrow road with small shops on either side. Park benches and dull street lights lined the pathways, with small moths fluttering around in the sky, drawn to the light emitted from the street lamps, yet dancing around cautiously. The town was very picturesque, with old fashioned houses on top of the shops. It reminded me of the villages that I had visited during my time in Europe.

It eventually became evident to me that they did not experience visitors often, when a few windows opened and a couple people looked down and stared at me as I went by. It was a foreign feeling, I felt as though under the brutality of their gazes, I was the prey. Never had I felt weak under the eyes of strangers.