"Yeah..."
Bane came jumping from a crater on the ground.
"I found something."
"We know and we have to go."
"Why?"
"Werewolves, ghosts, and demons exist yet you don't believe in aliens?"
"Got a point there, Amerlane."
We descended to the earth until we started to burn, I slowed our descent and after twenty-five minutes, we were at the junkyard.
"Good seeing you boys are back and alive."
"Love you too, Angela."
"Can you get the jelly?"
We were all preparing for the trip to get the troops when suddenly, Tieo came by.
"May I come in?"
He had spiky blonde hair and a white business suit. In his left hand was a handgun with a silencer. The man was standing at five eleven and in the doorway.
"Tieo, I won't kill you. I never will."
"No, you won't, but I'll tear down everything you ever built and make back again better for myself."
"Then you will be sent back to hell."
"See, I don't care for heaven or hell, I just want to get rid of my old life."
"Then what about the others?"
"In due time, but now I'll kill every beast you hunt and destroy all bonds you have."
"Come inside."
"Why, so you can kill me with your crew of slack jawed locals?"
"Yes, but I won't need them."
"Right, you got the goblins and the way of the world?"
"How do you know that?"
"Because my new friend had told me."
"Who?"
"The mother of all monsters."
"Now, I'm definitely going to beat you."
He walked into the open house.
"Try."
"Left."
He just sat like a car in idle. The feeling I got was that he was here to set a point, and that he was going to ruin me.
"Nice try."
"Well, put down the monsters and let's fist fight."
"I spent a year in hell, do you really think you can fight me?"
"I became a top monster hunter because I was bored."
"Nice to see that you are like me."
"How is that? I'm not killing people all over the world."
"Correct, but also wrong. I have struck a deal with the board."
"Let me guess, you are now a hunter?"
A smile went across his face.
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess, now let's fight."
The prosthetic right arm collided with my jaw. I was sent flying back with this hit and almost taken out of the fight.
"Ribb, what are you doing down there?"
"Change of plans, the army is coming to us."
"Fine, but I am gonna chew you out when I get down there."
"The lady seems nice, might settle down and start a family that looks like yours, but better in every way."
"We're not actually dating."
"Shame."
The creature I called friend came in closer until his knee was inches away from my face. The call was made, I needed to cheat.
"Up."
His knee went a little higher as it almost collided with my face. Tieo had hit me with his shin.
"Nice try, scamming the master thief."
"Just a little tweak."
"We should continue this beating."
"I'm just getting started, plus you were using her strength for those hits."
"Fine, no powers."
My hand caught the wall as it pulled me up to my feet.
"Are you sure you can handle this?"
His foot came forward to hit my chest, but this was not going to end the duel. My hands came together and caught his leg but pulled him closer, taking Tieo's foot out from under him. This battle will be short lived.
"Don't you feel a little nostalgic, Karter? Me sitting in my bed and the only person that I've ever trusted sneaking in and shooting me in the arm."
Tieo hit the floor.
"Do continue, listen to yourself, try to wrap your head around it."
The left hand went for my face. The collision sent me to the floor after the uppercut.
"It was both of our faults, not mine, not yours!"
"You killed the president of a nuclear power, how could you not call that your fault?"
My fall was met with seeing him on the ground in front of me. His new life didn't have a new lease or even living it. I crawled forward and he went toward me.
"Killing me made your part in the mistake, but killing the president was the only way."
Now he was on top of me. This was getting bad real quick.
"We had enough ammo to take on the entire world."
"How could I have known?"
"You were right next to it, you maniac!"
Now we were wrestling on the floor, his hand on my throat, my hands hitting and scratching at his eyes with my nails.
"Stop this."
The board president was standing in the doorway. Bald head and weird yellowish glow to show for it.
"Hey boss, just tying up a loose end."
"Ribb is not to be killed, now that the queen is in you."
His face made a truly disappointed show.
"Really?"
"Yes, now move for your president."
"But you said that this would be my first hunt."
"Not now, this is a sensitive time."
"Don't give me that bureaucratic bullshit."
"Get out of my crime scene."
"Why is it your crime scene?"
"This is a crime scene?"
They both looked at me and for the last time and most
likely the first time they agreed on something as they spoke at the same time.
"Yes, because you are going to die."
"I'm going to be a suspect in the murder of two men."
"Good to see you dreaming as usual, old friend."
"No, this is going to get some national attention, a so-called nuclear explosion going off."
This stalling for the way of the world to heal my face and help me get to the second floor and get my two frenemies.
"Then come on."
He pointed his hand out and curled his finger in a gesture to say, do it.
"Fine, goblins!"
The thirty of them teleported into my view as I felt my face finish reconstructing itself.
"This is going to send glass a half mile in every direction?"
"Back."
The president went flying back and then before Tieo had time to react, my fist which was enhanced by the way of the world, collided with him. The golden boy's face toughened as the force of a small handgun with the bullets that were a grown man's fist collided with him.
"I believe you owe me a dance."
"Goblins, one of you go and get the others out of here, as for the rest of you. I want you all to go and fight the president until I'm done."
"Got it boss."
The goblin that I first met ran up the stairs whilst the others took their wishbone swords and ran to the president as a feud between two old friends was ended.
"Enough strategizing, now fight me."
A kick came from the man and it landed between my legs. I fell to the ground in pain.
"This hurts so much. I guess everything goes?"
"Sure, just as long as it is the thirty three of us."
My hand supernaturally went up and into his face. This feud between me and Tieo wasn't just us using third parties for the power boost. This was a mother and son who truly hated one another. The way of the world was using me as a tool, a weapon to kill the creature that created it.
"My hands... they should be broken."
"Good to see that you can do that as well."
The prosthetic that Tieo was wearing exploded and a new arm came out. Was he shedding his skin? It was turning gold.
"Yeah, but can you survive this? Down."
He was forced down in his white suit, but this only made this worse. He was getting stronger by the second. My body flung forward again. This time, instead of being a hammer, I was a bullet. I exploded against him and felt my body rebuild itself. Blood cell by blood cell, skin piece by skin piece. Finally, my eyes, they came together to show that Tieo looked almost exactly like what I did while I was fighting in hell.
"Nice trick."
"Wasn't my trick."
Danny came down the stairs, the entire wall of which the door was at was gone.
"Son, this is bad."
"Just deal with the president, I got Tieo."
He stood against the remains of the wall and put his hands up. Now he was definitely shedding his skin. It was almost entirely gold.
"Now, let's stop taking turns."
"Good."
His eyes were going red. We ran and yet again I was used as a bullet, but this was two unstoppable forces going against one another.
"Boys, I believe this is my case."
"Not now, mister."
The goblins jumped on his face and continued beating on him until he stopped screaming. My drama watching was interrupted by Tieo, with both of his arms and golden skin. There was a kick to the side of my body, Tieo was there. He was getting stronger than the queen or Tieo could have ever gotten on their own.
"You are not going to win this, not ever again!"
"I will."
Our fists met as his hand hit mine and it repeated five more times. Our hands were breaking. The way of the world was also making me stronger with making my hands into bullets.
"Such fun, seeing that you have grown, my dear boy."
The top hatted magic man was here; this was the moment of truth. My Alamo, my battle of the bulge, my battle of the Kiev.
"Mind giving us a moment? This is my fight."
"No, I had reservations, getting him out of hell and all."
The magic man got me out of hell?
"Then come and join us."
"Thank you."
He appeared next to the golden Tieo and placed his finger on the man's head.
"What are you doing?"
"Sleep."
Tieo's eyes rolled back into his head and before either of the two of us could react, a horn shot from Tieo's skull and went straight through the hand of magic man.
"Adaptation, I can adapt."
"Good to know."
The magic man slipped a business card into Tieo's pocket and suddenly, his hand was healed.
"This is bad, up."
Magic man went upwards.
"Nice to see that you are working hard on controlling that beast."
"Not really."
The way of the world had complete control now. I was a meat puppet and had nothing to do to help or oppose the way of the world.
"Well, let's start exercising."
He moved his fingers and suddenly, he fell to the ground.
"Seems I've helped you yet again."
"Restrain."
Red ribbons went round his knees and elbows.
"You have certainly grown."
"Down."
He just stood, restrained as Tieo and I sat in disbelief.
"Nothing happened."
"Then how about I just rely on spells for this fight?"
"Yeah."
"Restrain."
Ribbons went around his wrist as he walked forward. The hands of his were reaching out to me as the magic did little to restrain him.
"Should we make this fight a little better?"
"Yeah."
My dagger was in my belt, like usual. It was cutting a little bit into my leg. The urge to rip it out got stronger.
"Then don't hold back, no outside forces."
Tentacles sprouted out of his back and flung at me, but my dagger was out immediately and in his tentacle.
"Hurts, doesn't it?"
"Those won't get rid of me anymore."
I wish I still had my chest sigil.
"Have any more tricks?"
"Fire."
A ball burst out of his golden chest, and it came flying in my direction. My hand went to take out my dagger as now I didn't have my single edge and had the weapon stop working, I'd be done.
"Stop."
The ball stopped in place as I looked forward and saw Danny. Both hands in his pocket and a smirk on his face.
"Wait, did the way of the world choose you? Standards really mean nothing."
Tieo walked towards Danny.
"There is no prison for me, this is a tool. I am in control from now on, mother. My first order of business as the new king, the stock market is up two hundred points."
"How pathetic."
"Trees, to him."
Trees from the forest lifted up into the air and slowly, the tip of the top pointed towards Tieo. They all launched at him and hit his body.
"Now, let's see how you do once I call an old friend."
He took out a phone and all of a sudden, a man with a scythe appeared.
"What do you desire of me, old fool?"
"I want you to take my friend somewhere special."
"Where?"
Tieo leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"Down."
Tieo went to the ground as did his knees. The magic man was gone and the scythe man was waving his scythe around like a madman.
"The act is done."
Scythe man walked towards the defenseless little old me and grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking control of the situation and neutralizing the threat."
A flash of blue light happened before I opened my eyes to see that this place was the junkyard but it felt off. The destruction from the fight was still around and not so much the fire. All of it seemed off.
"Hello? Danny, goblins, Angela?"
My feet started to wander, I eventually came to the conclusion that the way of the world had been controlling my body. This was off, I was going towards my old house.
"Ribb?"
In the remains of the burnt down house sat Bane, drinking soda and watching television on a charred sofa.
"What happened?"
"I should ask you the same thing."
"Well, you first."
"The way of the world has taken over."
"What?"
"He's in Danny's body but unlike you, he has no control. All of it is the way of the world."
"What day is it?"
"Saturday, almost five years after you went missing at the beginning."
There were armies of monsters on the loose, the queen, and the board existed so it was pretty safe to say that the world was a horrible place to live in and that's not even mentioning the apocalypse.
"Well, where is the way of the world?"
"Somewhere in town, we plan on taking him on at the diner. This place is now the monster capitol of the world. We kill as many as we can but it's a lot harder when all you have is a senile magician and a sassy witch."
"Angela is alive?"
"Yeah, she's probably the valuable asset we have."
How could this happen? I was in the future, and I was in the bad kind of future.
"Any other people in the party?"
"The board, all of them are tied up and filled with so many pharmaceuticals that they are just statues. Then, there's the cowboys."
"I hear they're great surgeons."
"Oh please, they don't have the guts to be hunters or medics. All of them are useless."
"Have you tried teaching them some magic?"
"No, their souls are too small."
"Well, doctors make models so have you taught them some sigils?"
"I completely forgot about that."
"Have any books?"
"No, but I can ask the mailman when he makes his route."
"Wait, the mailman still makes his route?"
"Yeah, it's like the universe bends around him so that way he can deliver mail."
"What kind of mail do you even get in the apocalypse?"
"Black mail."
"Did you do anything?"
"One time in Bangkok, I stabbed a lady thinking she was a vampire. Turns out she was a normal eight-year-old."
I walked into the basement and saw that there was the secretary Danny flirted with, along with the eight cowboys who all traveled in a single group.
"Hello, Mr. Apocalypse."
"This isn't my fault."
"Sure."
My dagger was still on me.
"But where were you?"
"I was at the junkyard when the way of the world possessed Danny. Then, a guy with a scythe showed up and I woke up here."
"Ribb, you met time."
"Time?"
"The god of time, or at least something along those lines. He just calls himself time."
"Then where can I find him?"
"You can't, there's no lore on him or anything, he's just a guy that launches people through time."
"Bane, how can I get back to five years ago? From the looks of this place, the population has gone down, largely."
"Correct, nineteen percent of humans are gone."
"Just nineteen?"
"Yeah."
"If my math is correct, there were this many people at the turn of the century."
"A billion people is a lot."
"If there are only nineteen percent of humans gone, then how does the town look completely abandoned?"
"The massacre started here."
"What?"
"He only has nineteen percent right now, he still hasn't completed the conquest."
"Where is he right now?"
"He returned for a little bit this week."
"Where in town is he?"
"The diner."
"Got a car?"
"Yes, I guess I'll give my landlord a ride."
He took me to a motorcycle and made me sit in the back as we rode through the remnants of the town before reaching main street and stopping at the diner.
"GET OUT HERE NOW, YOU TRASH!"
Remember, I was completely unarmed at this time and all I had on me was my dagger. The monsters pooled out, mostly golems. I remembered what I was told about golems by Danny, they are like normal people, they just are physically superior.
"Hello."
Danny walked out, or at least it wasn't the Danny I knew. He had a neatly trimmed beard and had traded in his hillbilly outfit for a white suit a lot like Tieo's.
"Nice seeing that the backstabbing monster has got himself a new flesh suit."
That wasn't like Tieo's suit, it was his.
"Now, why did I let you kids live again?"
"Bane, you chain him up. I'll take the others."
"Fine, but the way of the world is a lot stronger than when you last saw him."
"Just take care of him."
My dagger came out of my belt and I remembered that the sigil on it was gone.
"Seems you got nothing to actually fight with."
Bane and the way of the world walked towards one another whilst the golems moved towards me like a tank would an awaiting military base.
"This is going to hurt so much."
I felt the gloves on my hands get taken off before I started carving symbols into my arm. All of them hurt but the gloves were burnt and the sigils were still on. I didn't know how to recharge the sigils so I started to carve them into my arm. It would reheal when I activated it.
"Surrender."
Bane was on the ground and holes were in his body. They probably came from forcing the muscles inward or punching so hard they broke.
"I won't, the kid has it from here."
My head went back to the golems who were nearly next to me. I had two choices, die to the golems but recite an exorcism spell on Danny. The other option was kill the golems but Bane dies to the way of the world.
"I'm so sorry Bane."
My hand pressed against the sigils, they activated and the golems fell to the ground.
"You should be, you were a horrible student and an even worse person. Killing the president of Taiwan."
"That was Tieo!"
I rushed at him but before I could realize it, the way of the world's hand was on my neck.
"Ready to take me back?"
"Go to hell."
"Let's do both."
We flew through the sky at high speeds before the way of the world started taking me downward with him to the crater where the river Styx comes out of each year.
"What are you doing?"
I hit the crater but the false bottom activated as both of us went into the heat pit, or at least it was a heat pit.
"This is hell under my command, that city of monster hunters is gone, the forces of hell are gone, that moon army is gone, and the queen is gone."
"I should've thrown us off a cliff."
The land once known as hell was changed from an inside out volcano to a pile of dead embers. All the flames and fire were gone, no screaming souls or anything of sorts. The entire place was just quiet.
"Then I would just heal us."
"Get me out of here."
"No, take a good long look at what this place is a prison for. There is only a single soul in hell, and it rhymes with Engla."
He held me out with a single hand whilst we were floating just below the crater. The back of my neck was hurting. He was stronger than I ever could be and I knew it.
"Well, maybe you forgot about my special someone."
"Who?"
"GOBLINS!"
Sixty goblins appeared and started to attack the way of the world. His hands were struggling with the goblins and me. Some of them looked a little older than the others. This was an oddity as all of them looked the same.
"Away."
The sixty little creatures flew off into the hellish kingdom, or at least what was one.
"This isn't over."
"But it already is."
He flew us through the fake top and we were back on earth. The trees were dead and the world was quiet and dark, no grass or building's lights.
"I'm going to put you back in here and keep you there forever."
"This planet is doomed and the only way to save it is me. This vessel is a lot stronger than you and not so much in will. I am saving this world."
"Why do you say this, world?"
"There are more than one of me, all of which adore me."
"As soon as I get you back, I'm going to kill them and go back to my time."
"Guess I'll have to kill you."
He dropped me and I fell a hundred feet and felt my legs collapse under my weight.
"AGGGGHHHH, HELP ME!"
My ribs were also shattered. This was the end of the line. My days were always numbered but then again, it goes down when you're a hunter,
"May I?"
It was the sheriff who arrested me when I found the kid in the vents.
"Please?"
"Then admit it, you kidnapped that kid."
"I didn't do it."
"So, you don't mind if I leave you there?"
"I didn't do it."
The sheriff was a thin man, about five and a half feet tall and had a head covered in thick, uncontrolled hair.
"Then, I'll save you."
He dragged me through rocky ground covered in stone as we reached the old burnt up house.
"Hi Marshall, see you have my new best friend."
"Just making sure that a lost soul gets home safe."
"Can someone help with my legs?"
My eyes rolled back into my head as my body went limp.
"Seems the adrenaline wore off."
I opened my eyes to see that the cowboys were operating on my legs. All of them had one hand on a gun that was pointed at their patient's head.
"His pulse is dropping."
"I'm still alive."
They all turned their heads to look at me. They were probably thinking, how is he alive, none the more awake?
"The patient is alive, good to know."
A fist flew down from one of the doctors and hit me in the head. I was soon back to sleep.
"Wake up."
Bones were broken and muscles were torn. At the worst of it all, were my arms and legs.
"Goblins?"
"Good job, boss."
"What happened?"
"Well, we saw our past selves in the pit."
"I summon the past and present goblins?"
"Our guess is that you are from the past and are here now, so you get the fun of both ways."
"Nice theory, what happened to the old ones?"
"They are trying to get Angela out of hell."
"How is it going?"
"Using the monster link with myself, they should be revived near you in about an hour."
"So, why aren't you and the rest of the future goblins in the hole with yourselves?"
"Simple, we are smart enough to know that you were lucky to get out and there was no chance that we could have that kind of luck and firepower."
"Sorry, just take some of the guys and make some potions to get rid of those things down there."
"Very well, but for how long, master?"
"As long as you will be able to make it."
My residence was the basement of my burnt-up home.
"Should we all go in next time?"
"After the sanitation, yes. Bring Angela out alive."
"Yes sir."
He left towards the junkyard. I could tell because the road he was going down had nothing else that way.
"Will someone come and talk to me?"
My legs were hurting badly. That was until a cowboy came to talk to me. He was from somewhere I didn't know. Maybe he went to get Bane's corpse.
"Nice seeing you down and at it."
"Shouldn't the morphine be working?"
"Yes, but I saved a little bit for myself."
"What's your name?"
"Mark."
"I'm going to kill you when I get back to five years ago. That will stop your addiction."
A look of shock went over his face.
"I just saved your life."
"Doesn't matter, I'm in pain because someone needed some stuff to get the stress away."
He looked angry.
"I know all about you."
"Then explain to me who brought me here."
"That is one thing I don't know, but I do know that you are the one who freed the way of the world so that you wouldn't have to come to my hospital."
"The thing about that is, I didn't know there was a hospital."
He walked up to the stars before stopping.
"Have fun down here, we all sleep topside."
"Just wait till I'm out of here."
"Right."
And he was up and out of the basement. I sat for hours and hours before I could finally fall asleep.
"Are you sleeping?"
"Was."
The lady came down. What was her name, Cass?
"I just brought you some beet cookies."
"Nice to know that someone is willing to feed me."
Even though the doorway was my only source of light, I could never tell when it was day and when it was night.
"So, how has the last two days been in the basement?"
"I've been down here for two days?"
My hands went down to lift up my blanket, but I saw my hands which were muscular and hardened are now thin and soft.
"My sincere apology that this would happen to you."
"I got what I wanted."
"No, you never wanted this."
"The man wanted to give me adventure, this is what I got. This wasn't deserved."
"But guess what, you got it. Now all that matters about the adventures is how you use them."
"Like how?"
"Like killing that beast who has now invaded Europe and is about to take the last remains of Cuba."
"Thanks."
"We all have a purpose. Now what is the reason you wake up in the morning?"
"To get the day over with so I can lay back down."
She set her cookie tray down and slapped me. Which hurt a lot because I had the making of a starved man.
"This life of yours needs to be taken seriously, I'll train you and those surgeons until I can't. Maybe then you'll see what it is like to have a purpose."
"Maybe."
She placed the tray on my chest and left.
"Just realize you mean something."
"Can I have a book?"
"When you're well."
Just like that, she went up the stairs.
"Somebody, come and talk to me."
This was my physical prime, my thirties, for most it's their twenties or teens. My body was shattered and for a time I held the future of the world in my body.
"No."
The smell of fire was coming into the basement.
"What is that?"
"Heat."
The voice was one of the cowboys. Not Mark's, that was deeper.
"Can I have some?"
"We gave you the only blanket."
"Lucky me."
My eyesight went black as I fell asleep.
"Get up."
I awoke to see that Mark was standing over me. His face was scratched up and I think he was missing a finger.
"My legs are broken."
"Then I'm barring us in here, get out of the bed."
Words didn't come out of my mouth before he grabbed m y shoulders and threw me to the ground before grabbing the medical bed and throwing it over the entrance. There were screams outside, so many screams.
"What's happening?"
"The way of the world has found us."
"How?"
"You."
A tear went down my face as I listened to the screams. So
Many screams.
"I know you're here, Ribb."
"Don't respond."
"Up."
The basement flew up through the floorboards of the main house and onto the lawn.
"Why did I even pay for this?"
The wall that the steps were on went away into the road.
"You will never escape me; I will hunt you as your kind do. All of your plans will amount to nothing as the only one who knows where time is, is right here."
My dagger, it had to be here somewhere.
"Where did you put my dagger?"
"Under the bed."
I grabbed my dagger from under the bed and started to put some of my blood that I got at the end of the blade to recite a spell. The sacred sigil, red dirt, and the blood of the doomed.
"What are you doing?"
"Close your eyes."
The way of the world was blinded by a flash of light. This was followed shortly after by me grabbing the blade and stabbing myself in the hand before making a sigil in my own blood.
"What was that?"
"Temporary."
The way of the world was rolling on the ground screaming in pain as I grabbed onto Mark who carried me away.
"Why did you do that?"
"What are you talking about, this is war."
"He has friends and now they are coming after us."
"Well, I will teach you some spells."
After a couple minutes of running, he dropped me and fell to the ground.
"Can you teach me an invisibility spell?"
"There isn't one."
"How?"
I remembered that my spellbook was in my pocket and took it out to hand to the cowboy.
"This holds all of them."
"I can't read."
"Then learn to read."
He breathed for a few minutes before picking me back up.
"There must be some kind of exorcism spell. He is a monster right?"
"Well, I could have exercised him back with Bane, but I had a bunch of golems on me. All I had was a choice, him or me. Don't make me feel bad for it."
"My god."
"Yeah."
My hand flipped through the pages of the spellbook whilst my dagger was in my other hand. There were a few exorcism spells except no details on high profile monsters.
"We're here."
"Where?"
Vision was getting blurry, the drugs must have been taking effect.
"The old police station."
"Need some medicine."
My legs went to the ground and my shirt felt dragged through the halls of the police department before I had my toes dragged across the grout. We were in the bathroom.
"Found the first aid."
"Just make the pain go away."
A bomb went off beside me and the wall collapsed. A harry creature about the size of a linebacker tackle Mark.
"HELP!"
"Is this dagger silver?"
"Maybe?"
"Restrain."
The red ribbons went around the werewolf's wrists and sent him to the wall.
"Thanks."
"Just lock me in one of the cells."
"Why?"
"I need a safe place to sleep."
He picked me up and I was continuously dragged across the floor and eventually dropped on the ground.
"You should come see this."
I awoke to see that Angela was standing over my beat body. She didn't look that bad. She wore a leather jacket that was big on her and had bangs that went down to her eyebrows. Her eyes were brown and that isn't what I remembered them as. Along with dark blue jeans and steel toed boots.
"Where are the goblins?"
"Somewhere out there."
"How did you get out?"
"The goblins got me out, but I couldn't get them out."
"Can you heal me?"
"A little bit."
She recited a spell and felt my legs ease a little bit and my arm muscle come back little by little.
"Now, explain how you lost the most powerful creature in existence."
"I got a concept of a plan."
"What is that?"
"Find time and send me back through it."
"Like, the concept?"
"The person, I was sent here from five years ago, when you last saw me. My plan is going back and finding the person that sent me here, time itself."
"A good person to look at is the way of the world."
"You're right."
I tried to stand but my legs that were in casts gave out, and my body hit the ground.