Hunter

Chapter 8

   The only out of the ordinary situation I've experienced has been seeing the mayor at my mother's funeral. My dad was close friends with him though, so I guess it wasn't too farfetched.

   The mayor's attendance to a family related engagement was nowhere near this though. Everything I've ever known was suddenly diminished by the pile of human remains breezing through the night's sky. That beats anything; everything.

   "Mae," Hunter sighs, moving towards me cautiously. "Hear me out." He stops when I hold out my hand, nodding lightly.

   "What did you-" I shake my head, closing my eyes to take a deep breath. I'm trying to collect myself, silently wishing this was all just a strange dream, that Hunter didn't just completely obliterate someone. "H-how did you-"

   "Honestly? I don't know." He says, pacing from right to left. He looks anxious; he looks anxious? He's the one who did it. How could he be worried?

   I should be screeching off my head, running away from him while screaming out "monster" or something. Maybe even "murderer." But, I don't.

   He didn't just erase anyone. He killed someone who had their mind set on killing others. Hell, if it wasn't done, Hunter would've been the one on the ground and wouldn't have been the last. Probably not in the way the other man was, but on the ground nonetheless.

   "Did you know?"

   "Did I know what?"

   "Did you know you could do... that?!" He nods and anxiety rushes through me. "Holy shit." My hands run themselves through my hair and I find myself pacing as well. "This can't be real."

   "I-it is," His statement interrupts my pre-hyperventilation as my head snaps toward him. "I can show you again?"

   "You're going to do that to me, too?!" I scream and he takes a step closer to me. His finger rests on his lips in attempt to quiet me down, but I could care less. This was a situation in which staying calm was impossible.

   "No!" He sighs heavily, shaking his head. He stares down at the floor, rubbing his neck nervously. This seems to calm me down a bit. Why, I'm not sure, but it does and I'm too busy freaking out to care for the reason.

   After about a minute of silence, he speaks again. "I can do a lot more."

   Initially, I was cautious. If complete annihilation wasn't the end of it, how dangerous could he be? I should be terrified of him; utterly and extremely petrified.

   But, I'm not.

   The look in his eyes tell me to stay, reassuring me that everything was okay. Deep down, I know he wouldn't hurt me. The way his hands were shaking and the way he nervously took his lip between his teeth gave me confirmation of that.

   "Show me." I say, taking a step back just in case. He nods, holding out his hand in front of him. His palm faces the sky and the deep breath he lets out makes a cloud of white air appear.

   Within seconds, smoke emits from his hand, dancing with the wind. That was just before the flames emerged, tangling themselves with the strips of smoke.

   I stumble back, eyes widening. His hand is on fire. No, his hand is creating fire. This is real. He's really doing this. This isn't staged or anything. Real fire is ejecting out of Hunter's palm.

   He takes his other hand and throws the fire into it. He does this continuously, tossing the ball of heat into the opposite palm.

   I can't believe this is happening.