In a cold and dark evening, a tremendous rain is pouring, flickering street lights, flood is going in the drainage systems, and the strong winds are dancing with the trees and curtains of buildings.
In a small tavern, a man with a black hoodie suddenly entered the wooden door while everyone inside the place, at the same moment, is laughing and chatting. The scent of alcohol and smoke linger around the area. The barkeeper saw him enter and asked,
"It's very cold out there, isn't it?! What's your poison?!"
The man went in and sat at the chair near the counter.
"I don't know what to pick. What do you recommend?"
The barkeeper smiled and laughed.
"Well, how are you feeling right now?! Each person who comes in here has different reasons whether it be to celebrate, to mourn, to pass time, or to just walk away from everything."
The man in a hoodie let out a sigh,
"Well, I'm new here and I'm kind of unfamiliar with the place. I came here to visit a friend and his place is still quite far from here so maybe, I could enjoy some fun time even for a while."
The barkeeper suddenly took out a glass and started making a drink.
"It seems like you are really stressed out, that sigh told me everything so I would give you a simple Brandy, it would help you relax, take a deep breath, and feel some warmth."
The barkeeper passed the drink to the man in a hoodie.
"You know, visiting a friend has a different meaning here. This place is chaotic and rotten at its core but vices keep everyone sane. Therefore, I would like to ask, why on Earth a foreigner like you would come here? Are you here for some good dealings?!"
The man in a hoodie took a sip of the Brandy and replied,
"I know the reputation of this place but I would like to know, have you heard of the man commonly known as the 'feral bounty hunter'? I've heard he is quite famous around here."
He then took another sip and the man beside him suddenly spoke,
"Why are you looking for that vile man? You want to take the bounty on his head?! If I were you, I would stop right here and right now! The more you get near to him, the more you bring yourself into danger! Moreover, that man does not reveal his whereabouts, oftentimes, we see his victims lying on the ground, lifeless! However, if you are that stubborn, you can try to go to the underground village of this town! A village filled with rotting people, madness, and sufferings!"
The barkeeper suddenly interrupted him,
"You better stop talking or I'll let you to leave this place! If he is actually here for that morbid death-dealer, let him be! If he falls down, we should not care that much!"
The man in a hoodie suddenly stood up and took the last sip of his drink.
"That was a nice drink! Here's my payment! Underground village? Is that right?! Okay then, I'll be going now! Thank you for your time!"
The man who just joined their conversation decided to light a cigarette but it appeared like his lighter is not working anymore.
"COME ON! I NEED SOME SMOKE!"
The man in a hoodie suddenly let flipped his fingers and somehow, the cigarette was lit up.
"HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!"
The man in a hoodie then went out of the tavern and started his journey. While he was at it, a sudden loud scream triggered the whole area. Everyone in the tavern went out and they saw the horrifying scene on the outside.
"A lifeless soldier is lying on the ground, eyes open and his organs are out of his body, it seems like he was mauled by a wild animal."
The town guard went into the scene smoking a tobacco pipe and said.
"It must be him again! Anyway, boys! Inspect the whole area! Citizens! No one touches the body! We will get to the bottom of these horrific killing spree before the Army finds out! A soldier this time huh?! He literally does not choose his victims! He just does his thing whenever he feels like it! A chaos incarnate!"
The man in a hoodie smiled.
"This is indeed exhilarating! I might even enjoy participating in this investigation or maybe follow this monstrous being's trails!"
He then looked at the upper corner of the buildings.
"Of course! He behaves like a wild cat! There's no doubt about it!"
The town guard suddenly noticed the man in a hoodie and asked,
"It seems like you know something. Would you like to tell us about it? Also, I haven't seen you here before, are you a newcomer?"
He then let out a smoke and continued,
"You know outsiders are quite uncommon here because this place is not a tourist spot and the media already said it, it is truly dangerous here so what brings you here tonight? Are you an inspector or something?"
The man in a hoodie smiled and replied,
"I know nothing about the suspect of this heinous crime but I heard that he is known as the 'feral bounty hunter'. If we would find him through regular means like fingerprints or any kind of tried investigation, we would go nowhere but if we would think like him, we might get into something remarkable!"
The town guard breathes heavily and sighs.
"My name is Lucas Radford, if you would like to help us, here is my calling card. We have to bring this body to the hospital and have the doctors examine it. I have had enough of this madness actually. Also, I have a feeling that it is not just pure vacation or coincidence that you are here, you have been following that beast before you even reached this place, am I right?!"
The man in a hoodie suddenly felt nervous, it was his first time meeting this man and it felt like he already knew everything about him and his motives.
"Well, I appreciate the offer! I'm not an investigator though!"
He then held his head and laughed.
"I'm not sure if I could be of help to you Sir! However, it is really nice meeting you here!"
The town guard stared at him in a serious manner.
"It seems like you had some training in warfare, espionage, and even surveillance. You might not be part of any law enforcement organizations, maybe you are in the military, and if not, that might be even worse. Honestly, I would never expect to meet an unconventional warrior here. Plus, I haven't asked for your name so will you mind telling it to me?"
The man in the hoodie laughed and replied,
"You must be overthinking things too much Sir! I'm certainly not a cop, a soldier, or a detective, and of course, I'm definitely not some kind of underground operative or a guerilla fighter! About my name, you can call me Rust, short for Rusteze Fridge!"
"Okay then, sounds credible! We will be leaving now! Take care of yourself!".
The man in a hoodie breathed heavily.
"That was close. Is he really just a town guard? His logical skills are beyond remarkable! I was almost caught!"
Lucas Radford, while transporting the corpse inside their van told his assistant,
"Keep your eyes on the man with the hoodie. He seems different, I never said anything about underground operations, guerillas, or anything like it but he knows those things. It feels like he is an experienced soldier or something like it."
The assistant felt confused and replied,
"Sir, he is just a foreigner. A lot of soldiers come here to search for that beast, am I right?! We should not worry that much!"
Lucas Radford stared at the road and said,
"His skills are beyond the skills of a regular soldier. If he is indeed searching for that beast, he would definitely have a hard time with it but he reached this place. That beast has no clear picture at all but everyone knows he is wanted and dangerous, a civilian would not be able to find this place at all with just wanted posters, he might have done his research already! In order to do that, he needs to go to investigative services in other countries and that is not an easy task but somehow, he did it!"
The assistant felt a sting inside him and replied,
"Okay then, sounds like we are dealing with a special forces operative here and if not, a revolutionary warrior!"
"Revolutionary warrior, huh?! That's the most plausible case and it is even worse than I thought!"
Meanwhile, Rust started walking around the town, observing the people, and looking at the road signs.
"Just where is this underground village?! Where am I supposed to go?! It's really dark here! Should I just spend the night in a hotel?!"
While he was wandering around, an old man suddenly spoke,
"Hey, young man, what are you doing out here?! It's already late! Someone just got killed! You should go home now!"
Rust heard the voice and turned around.
"Oh, well, I'm new here and I'm looking for an underground village. Could you help me Sir?"
The old man scratched his head, took out his rifle, and replied,
"Why would you go to that rotten village?! If you are new here, you picked the wrong place to go!"
Rust noticed the old man was holding a rifle. He then looked around and nothing felt suspicious at all.
In his mind.
*Did this man see me as a threat?! Well, everyone is a threat here! I should be more careful!*
He then smiled and replied,
"I'm sorry Sir but my friend told me to go there, I'm here to visit him but it seems like I'm lost here!"
The old man sighed,
"Do you have money with you?!"
Rust felt confused and asked.
"I'm sorry Sir but why are you asking me that? Are you going to offer something?"
The old man looked down,
"I would let you stay here if you will give me money. It's about time before those douchebags come out!"
Rust was intrigued and asked,
"What are you talking about Sir?"
The old man looked around,
"Come inside! If you want to stay alive!"
Rust then just went inside the old man's house. He looked around and the house was clean and the television was on.
The old man put down his rifle and looked at Rust,
"It's war-time! There's no curfew out here but during these late hours, they come out to hunt people! They love going to houses to extort people or force them to work!"
Rust felt nervous and asked,
"What exactly is going on here Sir?!"
The old man breathed heavily,
"I think it's better for me to show you."
Suddenly, a loud gunshot reached the whole town and loud screams came out!
Rust froze and stared at the window and saw some armed men took out a woman, her son cried and begged the men to stop while calling his mother, and her husband is beaten up to the ground.
The old man pulled Rust and said,
"REMEMBER THIS! YOU SAW NOTHING!"
All of a sudden, another wave of gunshots lurked around the town. Rust suddenly turned back and stared at the window for another time and saw that armed men were already gone, the woman was nowhere to be found while her husband and son were both lying in the ground, lifeless!
Rust stepped back and froze.
*Who are those men?! Did they just shoot a helpless family?! Where's the mother of that child?! Did they take her?! Why?!"
The old man patted his back and said,
"Let's go to sleep, young man! It's getting late!"
Rust replied nervously,
"That family! What's going to happen to them?! Who are those men?!"
The old man went up the stairs to go to his bedroom,
"Young man, there's bread and cheese on the table, help yourself! If you don't feel like sleeping, the television is right there! I have books there too, you can read those! There's coffee in the upper closet and the hot water is below it! Have a good night! I'll sleep now!"