Chapter 5: Chapter 5 (Arc 1: One Last Job)

(Trigger Warning: Gore, Intense Violence)

“AHHHHHHHHH!” Screamed Ghost with her hands raised up pointing at all the men eating.

As each gang member began to explode their blood began to flood the room. It was to the point where the blood and guts were starting to reach our shins in a room so big. There had to be at least a thousand people in the entirety of this room. And by the time Ghost had stopped screaming all of them but one were killed. The other guy ran off as Ghost turned these gang freaks into ground-up meat. After the whole ordeal, I grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her trying to get her attention.

“Ghost we need to leave right now,” I said looking back at her as she looked back at me.

Her childlike demeanor, attitude and look had all but vanished leaving a woman with dead eyes and an even deadlier grin.

“Pretty sick huh, I love seeing each and everyone one of them explode. Now they won’t hurt anyone else.” She said with the smile of a demon.

Her voice even sounded different. Instead of a voice with child-like innocence, she sounded like a more mature woman. A light tone of voice was replaced by a deep and demented-sounding one. 

“We need to leave right now, come on,” I said walking through the piles of flesh and mountains of blood in the room.

Ghost followed suit with Angela looking as if she was holding back tears.

As the area turned from various different rooms containing leftover boxes, rooms with guns, rooms with beds, and even rooms stocked with food one thing was clear. The exit had to be here somewhere or else we'd end up stuck here forever with all the rotting bodies.

“Grim, look here, there’s a map of the building in this office.” Ghost said pointing to one of the broken office windows with a map of the place.

I was honestly beginning to fear for my safety the more I was around her considering the dire situation we were in. And even worse the smell was starting to get worse. With every smell that was in this building, I was starting to have a hard time breathing. 

I’m starting to regret the decision of not leaving her to die.

But now I must live with the consequences.

I was next to a monster. 

A monster that could turn me to mush if she wanted to.

God, just what the hell was going on?

“Right, looks like we need to take the doorway to the right and then make a left. Looks like they marked their vehicle zone with a marker. We need to head there now.” I said running in that direction.

The more hallways we passed the dirtier they were. The green paint on the wall was beginning to chip away as the tiles on the floor were beginning to fall apart. The walls were spraypainted with various strange imagery and religious symbols. Even one of them was just labeled “Carl is a bitch”, I couldn’t help but laugh. 

And with that, we entered the vehicle room and our exit. It was wide and looked to be like another loading zone except its doors were wide open. A multitude of vehicles remained in the area but most of them were barebones. Some even didn’t have doors, most if not all were either scrapped or barebones recreations.

All except for one. A large RV that was left intact with all its parts. It looked brand new…or new enough when the world ended but perfect nonetheless.

“Hop in girls we’re going for a ride,” I said opening the door to the RV.

Inside the RV was pretty empty with nothing in it. No bed cushions, blankets, or any kind of food. Placing the knife, machine gun, and ammunition belt that I never used on the kitchen counter. There was no need for them to be on me right now. All that mattered was getting out of here, not fighting.

Looking for the keys one could only hope they were in the sun visor. Opening it revealed…

CLINK!

“Looks like it’s my lucky day.” I said starting up the RV with everyone inside.

VR…VROOM…VROOOOOOOOM!

And just like that, we were off from this hellhole of a factory. The drive turned back into the abandoned town and then back onto the desert road. 

I couldn’t take Angela to her father just yet. We were all covered in blood and gunk. My clothes ripped apart and burnt. All of us smelling like piss, shit, and blood. We needed a stop but out here there really was only one place where anyone like me could stop no questions asked.

Long Town, or should I say its true name, The hornet’s nest. A town for mercenaries run by mercenaries guarded by mercenaries. I swear to god Al better keep that promise and not fuck me over. I really don’t need that in my…

SLAM!

“I’ll kill all of you…I swear I’ll kill all of you!” Said a gragely voice that sounded just like one of the gang members we had left behind. 

Immediately stopping the car jolted everyone forward but the man I was now seeing was on top of Angela choking her. But right before I could pull out the revolver I still had on me something else had just taken course.

SLASH!

“ACK! ACK…Acccckkkkkk…sigh.” 

THUD!

Angela had grabbed the knife that had fallen off the kitchen counter and slashed that fuckers throat.

“Get him…get him off me!” She exclaimed as she tried shoving the now dead rotting corpse of the last gang member of whatever gang Ghost just killed.

Ghost didn’t bother to help for she knew her arm strength wouldn't and couldn't help Angela leaving me to lift the body still oozing blood from the fuckers neck. She could use her telekinesis but I could see that whatever back there left her winded.

CLACK! 

PLOP!

“And stay out!” I said right after throwing the body out of the RV.

SLAM!

VROOOOOOOM!

Silence was all that was left in the RV. Ghost didn’t say anything. Angela didn’t say anything. And neither did I. But concerning everything that had happened, I would say that was in Angela’s best interest to ask if she was okay.

Then again, one hour had passed. Then two, then three, and then four.

Sigh…

…just say something dumbass.

“Are you okay Angela?” I said finally breaking the awkward silence as she sat up on the RV’S couch.

She did not like that.

“DO I LOOK OR SOUND LIKE I’M OKAY!” She shouted as she shook her head out in anger.

“Oh…uh…well I…” 

 I didn’t know what to say. She had been through a lot considering her age. Kidnapped, plugged up to a machine being harvested by god knows what, and even worse kidnapped by an apocalyptic gang and could have possibly been used for…things. God that traumatized even me and I've tortured people for money. And even on top of all that she killed someone. Sure he was scum but he was a living breathing human being. 

I still remember when I killed someone for the first time after waking up in that alley.

It changes you.

Permanently.

“I have had it up to here with all the bullshit I had to deal with today! I’m starving, I’m in pain, I have a massive headache, I feel dizzy, I’m thirsty, I smell like shit and even worse I’m covered in FUCKING blood! So stranger…DO I SOUND OR LOOK LIKE I’M FUCKING OKAY, HM, HMMMM!” She proclaimed as she smacked the couch harshly repeatedly.

“Well, at least you are alive, Y’now,” I said in a serious yet at the same time sarcastic tone.

“Yeah, reeeeeeeaaaaal happy that I’m here!” She said rubbing the sides of her head.

“Well, due to us looking like this the best thing we can do is eat, drink and shower. Luckily I know a place that can help us with that.” I said looking at one of the billboards up on the side of the road.

Of course, whatever was there had faded with time but now what remained was the board itself. The board had been spray painted on with the words “The hornets nest up ahead” which I knew was our stop.

“I hope you like diner food cause that’s all we’re going to get right now.” I said turning to the exit on the side of what was now a grassy plain.

After traveling for a long time the desert setting had changed to grassy plains very quickly. What used to be farmland now were just empty pieces of land with animal gates on them. All the cows, chickens and pigs had all escaped captivity but had all survived out in the wilderness. So food was plentiful as long as you knew how to use a gun and hunt.

As we turned to the exit the vibes of a small town resonated in the area. From the looks of it, it looked like any ordinary small town. Especially with the design of the small dark brown wood buildings with small signs saying what things were. Various cabins and motels filled the streets with cars parked everywhere. The whole place felt very relaxed but the guards patrolling the area with machine guns said otherwise. After all, if you needed a place like this to be guarded against gangs and supervillains. 

Cause if you didn’t know the people living in this town were all a front.

Civilians were paid to live here. 

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Cause deep down underground literally and metaphorically was not a town of civilians.

It was a resting spot for mercenaries.

And I knew everyone personally.

“We’re here,” I said parking in a parking lot in front of a cabin-like motel.

“So where did you take us now Hmmm Grim.” Said Ghost looking outside the window at the lively town of Long Town.

I.E. The Hornet’s nest.

“This where we’ll get freshened up, eat, and drink and the very next day we’ll be going out to drop you off at your dad’s house, sound good?” I said yawning and stretching as I got out of my seat.

“Sounds better than just going back home, sigh, I better at least get the food I want,” Angela said getting up from the seat.

Ghost kept silent but stood up alongside Angela as all of us left the RV. 

The outside was no longer hot and humid, instead, a nice breeze came over the land as the sun began to set. 

The cabin motel was the fanciest motel around Long Town and was often the main hub for every single mercenary that had a good amount of money to spend. On the usual occasion, I had enough money to get anything I wanted in this town but my pockets had been burned off when I fought those demons. And of course, all my money had been stolen by reckless teenagers. Fan fucking tastic.

But I had one trick up my sleeve.

A favor. A simple favor I could cash in from the man who ran the place. Good old Al Hancock. Yeah I know, weird name for someone of the modern age but it was his name and I had to deal with it even though it made me laugh.

Luckily no one was waiting at the front desk and low and behold good old Al was at the front desk reading a comic book. 

Guess today’s luck went into later today rather than earlier.

Lovely.

DING!

“Al, you son of a bitch, how the hell you doing?” I said raising my arm the moment I walked into the front desk.

“Not much…holy cow! What the heck happened to you, and who are these people you are with…and what the heck happened to them?” He said looking us both up and down.

Even though Al had the deepest, gruffiest, and lumberjack-sounding voice I had ever heard in my life…he refused to swear. Even with his giant muscly body, tall frame, and the face of a battle-torn warrior with face scars he indeed had the biggest smile out of everyone. His white almost pinkish skin contrasted with his dark brown hair and beard making him stand out when anyone was in the room. Even when he wore his work clothes he always had the vibe of someone who just wanted to give you the biggest hug imaginable.

 And right now he looked incredibly concerned at the situation at hand.

“Well Al, You see, I’m going to need to cash in that favor,” I said rubbing the side of my head.

“How come?” He said taking a sip of his water mug.

“Well for starters my van got stolen with all my money, guns, and clothes in it that I…” I said right before being cut off.

“You mean that van out there?” Said Al pointing to the outside.

Turning back around I could see that my van was indeed outside having just parked in the parking lot. 

Now, there could be two explanations for this. One, the teens who stole my van either were killed and the van got stolen by a mercenary, and now they’re here. Or two, which was the most likely one, those teens came here to rest as they wait for their friends whom I beat up in the hospital nearby.

And as soon as someone came out I could tell it was the ladder.

A boy who looked like the boy who was holding his hand like a gun from before and a girl who was most likely the one who killed me with the wrench.

“I’ll be right back, mind if I borrow this paperweight?” I said lifting the paperweight from Al’s desk.

“Yeah, go for it,” Al said handing me the paperweight.

“Thanks, you are a great pal Al, you know that, anyways, be right back,” I said grabbing the paperweight and leaving the front desk.

DING!

“God, what are we going to do Jessica? Do you think whatever was in that briefcase would be enough to take care of the hospital bills?” Said the teen boy talking to the girl next to him.

“I hope so or otherwise it's going to be…what…HOLY SHIT!” She proclaimed looking at my bloodied, burnt, and angry self.

“Shit, no, we killed you, we killed you, how are you…?” The boy proclaimed aiming their fingers like a gun at me but it was too late by then.

SMACK!

THUD!

As the paperweight hit their head directly it was complete lights out for him. His head began to bleed as he hit the floor with one large thud. He had a twenty-five percent chance of waking up without any serious damage just a concussion. Another twenty-five percent with brain damage. And fifty percent not waking up at all.

Leaving the girl shocked and afraid for her life. She wanted to run but she knew I would chase after her. I didn’t like the fact that I would have to hurt a teenage girl but my blood was pumping, my teeth clenching, and even worse was that I could feel myself moving without even thinking.

Not the best combination for me.

Or rather for the person that wronged me.

“Alright, Dumb SHIT! Where the hell is the briefcase?!? Who did you give it to you?!?” I said grabbing the girl by the throat.

“I ain’t…telling you…Shit!” She exclaimed spitting in my face with a smile as she looked directly at me.

That was enough to drive me over the edge.

SMACK!

“Grim.”

SMACK!

“Grim!”

SMACK!

“GRIM!”

SMACK!

“GRIM FUCKING STOP!” 

A hand grabbed my arm with my bloodied fist raised up in the air.

I was on the floor, on my knees, holding the collar of the girl who stole my van and my money with her gang.

The world turned silent. I could hear no one over the sound of the ringing in my voice. All except for one person. One person whom I hated more than anyone in this world.

Myself.

“Grim, she’s had enough, it’s over…just stop please, for our own sake.” Other me said crying as they let go of my hand.

Looking down at her I could see her face was smashed inwards. So much blood, broken teeth, and their skull showing signs of being broken. There was no way she would wake up from that injury alive. As I checked her pulse it was clear to me that she had already passed by the first smack of the paperweight.

Looking back up I could see other me sobbing on their knees. They wouldn’t even look me in the eye. All they did was sob. They sobbed so much I wanted to tell them to shut up.

But I didn’t say that.

Instead, I said something much worse.

“Other me, there’s no point in trying to make me do good things,” I said as I swallowed my saliva.

“I’m beyond saving.”

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