In the lonely Agency tower, the steps sounded louder. Clap, clap, clap. Against the cold floor. Taking everything into account, the events of the election, and everything that happened in the city. It was a miracle that there were still hunters working inside the building. Most of them had to deal with things outside, some of them even away from the country, as they tried to avoid a bigger crisis.

  A lonely hunter, Otis, observed as the morning light crossed the crystals from the windows. In the silence of the moment, it created a peaceful image. But he knew things were quite the opposite.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” A fellow hunter appeared.

  “I’m not assigned to any mission, surprisingly.”

  “Well, I guess there must be someone here. They wouldn’t leave the Tower unprotected.”

  “You’re right. And there’s something I need to see too. Maybe you could help me.”

  “Oh, tell me what it is.”

  “There’s something strange happening. Well, that’s nothing new; any Base Hunter could tell that. But this is different, it’s happening at the Casino.”

  “At the Casino? Really?”

  “Yeah, I was assigned to review some documents and forms. And it looks like there was a mistake. Or at least it’s what it appears to be.”

  “A mistake, how so? Is there a mission ongoing there?”

  “Oh, I can’t say for sure. But there was… How can I explain it? It seems that we received a report asking for backup. And it requested at least a B-Hunter. But when I checked the documents about that mission, it appears that two base Hunters were sent.”

  “Wow, that’s crazy. But what made you check that?”

  “It’s because… I don’t know, call it intuition. I mean, with everyone in missions and all that stuff, it gets really empty here. Because of that, the magic here wasn’t so convoluted. And for a second, I was able to catch a flicker of a sinister energy coming from the Casino. I can’t explain it precisely, but I’m sure I felt it.”

  “I don’t doubt you, it’s simply odd. Taking into account everything that happened and the politics. I fear we will have tons of extra work in the next few weeks or so.”

  “Yeah, but the work is fine compared to what can happen next. I fear this city, or dare I say, even the entire country… I don’t like where this is going.”

  “Me neither. Let’s hope everybody here will be able to solve it as soon as possible.”

  The two hunters kept their discussion while they walked to the archives. The room, like the others, was empty.

  “You know, it’s really strange, no one’s here. I’m used to seeing this place buzz with people.”

  “Right? There’s always at least a dozen hunters looking for some old document that nobody has seen in the last decade.”

  “That’s a part of the job that no one tells you about. It’s always the fighting, magic, monsters and creatures, the deities. No one ever says, ‘Oh, and there are tons of documents and stuff like that. But it’s fine, now that it’s empty here, I kinda miss it.”

  The hunters searched for some of the documents and reviewed together a lot of papers. After a few hours, the table in the center of the room was completely covered with paper and folders.

  “Well… It seems to be a mistake, after all. But what I can’t find is any records about the agent that assigned them the mission. This is suspicious.”

  “Yeah, I mean, how someone would be assigning missions left and right, and not having any record of that person? We know how things work around here.”

  “I will make a requisition for it to be further investigated. But I mean, I don’t think we’re going to find the person here today.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it too. But now that we know it, this mission might be compromised. And not even taking into account the thing you felt. Do you think they’re in danger?”

  “Well, considering everything, if the request wasn’t wrong or exaggerated, I guess it’s safe to believe that. I hope it was… I don’t know, maybe they have a chance.”

  “Do you know them?”

  “Not really, as I said, they’re base Hunters.”

  “If you were to estimate, how likely is it for them to return alive, you would say…”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Taking all the aspects into consideration, if the mission wasn’t wrongly assessed. I would say it’s close to zero. There are no records of base Hunters going on missions that would be more suited for B or even C hunters and surviving.”

  “That’s harsh, I mean, shit, I don’t know them, but I feel a little compelled to cheer for them. Imagine being assigned to something like that… It must be scary. Back when I was a base Hunter, a lot of creatures would scare me. I wasn’t so confident in my magic.”

  “You’re right, I guess every hunter has that phase. I remember being like that, too. I’ll also be cheering for them. Even if I don’t think they stand a chance.”

  “It’s a little morbid, but… What do you think the Agency will do with the bodies? I never heard of agents dying in such a… crowded space like a casino.”

  “Well, to my mind, there will probably be a mission for that. They will need a lot of hunters who are able to manipulate memories and perception. It will be a total headache; there are only a few of us who can do that.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. But I can’t deny that I’m kinda curious, what the hell are they fighting there? Please, try explaining the feeling you had. I’m super curious.”

  “It’s hard. Because it was for less than a second. But it’s evil, and it’s very powerful. I would say that I’m surprised no one was able to detect it before. The person or creature behind it… It’s skillful at hiding its own presence.”

  “Yeah, I would bet my money on it. Man, I hope they get it. I feel like that, whatever’s there, if it gets out… It might be a complete disaster.”

  “You’re right, if it’s the energy I felt… I don’t even want to think about it.”

  The two hunters talked for a while before they parted ways as the sun set on the horizon.

  ---

  Walking alone again, Otis took notice of the last rays of sun that crossed the panels at the Agency. The view was as beautiful as the one in the morning, if not more. The orange glow made everything look stunning, even the lonely halls.

  “Now that I think about it, I didn’t even ask the name of my fellow hunter. Strange.” Otis said to himself. “But that’s fine, I’ve done a lot more thanks to him.”

  And with that thought in mind, Otis went on his own way, back home.

  ---

  From the top of the building, Clement admired the city. As big as it was, that view made it look like a playground. Full of mysterious places and hidden things. There was something beautiful about it, to watch the world from the top. The chilly breeze didn’t bother him. It was almost soothing, and Clement needed that, especially if he considered everything that had happened.

  It wasn’t like he wanted it to happen; it came naturally. Like a force that came from the inside, and made everything feel more lively and colorful. But on the night that it happened, it felt scary to him.

  His parents fought, like every other night at his home. At this point, he was already accustomed to it. But that night in question, it felt worse than ever, as he tried to keep focused on the book he was reading.

  “Why don’t they just divorce?” He asked himself, but the answer was obvious to him: “They’re so familiar with the fighting and screaming, that they probably don’t know a life without it.”

  Distracted from the book, he went downstairs where his parents fought. The screaming was ten times worse now that he was close to it.

  Clement knew he wasn’t able to stop his parents in the middle of their fight. He had tried it before, only to end up being the focus of their screaming and nasty words. He hated it. But something about that night and how the moon looked outside, something he couldn’t quite explain about it, made him want to try.

  But as he got in front of his parents, the task, like always, seemed impossible. And he tried to ask them to stop. Without realizing it, he screamed too, because he felt like they weren’t listening to him. He wanted them to stop; he wanted them to be at peace. And something inside him snapped. Clement felt a surge of energy, and like that, his parents dropped to the floor.

  His eyes wide open, he was scared. What did he do? He was afraid of getting close to his parents and discovering the worst.

  A few minutes had passed before he gathered the courage. And as he looked closely, he felt relieved. His parents were sleeping in a deep sleep. But his relief was short-lived, as soon as he discovered that he couldn’t wake his parents up no matter how much he tried. He shook them, screamed at them, and even poured water on his father. But nothing worked. To his despair, their sleep lasted for three whole days. After that, when they woke up, they didn’t remember anything. In fact, their mood had improved a lot, although their fights didn’t stop at all.

  That happened a few weeks ago, and now Clement found himself on the top of a building. He decided to spend most nights alone and go back home only after he was almost sure his parents were already sleeping, a normal sleep. He was afraid of doing the same thing again, but this time, making them sleep forever. So he wanted to find answers and to discover what he was doing. Maybe if he could control it, it would be a very useful tool against their constant fighting. But for now, it was better to keep his distance.

  The strangest thing was that now, he could feel the same energy almost all the time. It boiled inside him. And he felt it in other places too, all over the city. Almost like threads. Some felt good and calm, others had a mysterious aspect about it, like facing a predator in nature: it wasn’t necessarily evil, but it was dangerous. But others… They always made him want to throw up. They felt pure evil and malefic, like all the good in the world had been drained. Having those feelings made Clement feel that that were some other people like him out there. He needed to find the right ones.

  The boy looked up at the moon and the stars. He couldn’t explain why or how, but something about them made him feel calm. It helped control the anxiety and keep the energy focused. He didn’t know how to use it properly, at least not yet, but it felt better when it was focused like that.

  “I don’t know how, but this feels like a big responsibility. Look what I did to my parents… I need to learn more about it, as soon as possible.” Clement talked to himself, having only the sounds and noises of the city at night as his answer.

  The boy breathed in, and once again, he tried thinking about the energy and how it was moving inside of him. Did it have a shape? Did it have a color? He couldn’t know for sure. The only thing he was able to tell was about the sensation it brought to him. And it was good, albeit a little scary.

  “How should I test it? I don’t know what I can do with it.” Clement said to himself. “Other than putting people to sleep. There must be more to it, I’m just not getting it. Not yet.”