back to the real world: Hunter part XII

2 days ago-

Hunter is walking on the streets with a cookie on his mouth. he eats peacefully. Hunter receives a call from Ed White. it turns out that he couldn't meet with him. Hunter doesn't felt affected by anything anymore. Hunter is only waiting for all to end.

Hunter receives a message from Ryker. at first he was suspicious of the old man. now he has learned how cool is that man. Ryker is a bit eccentric, is a bit mysterious, and he is super nice & friendly. Hunter smiles as he looks at the sky.

he used to feel intoxicated with the pressure of society. he use to feel harassed by the need to belong somewhere. he now understands how meaningless it is to belong, if he is not himself. he can just be happier as long as he can be himself.

it is true that he is running out of time. it is true that he can die at any moment. but it is also so freaking wonderful to feel at peace with life. to be okay even with death. because everything has to end, for something to begin.

Hunter doesn't feel anxiety or nervous. he is okay with it, and that is it. he laughs and makes jokes about death. he can walk without feeling the need to know the time. he has finally accept it. it doesn't mean that everyone has to accept death, when it comes knocking on your door. it just means that is okay to accept what is meant to be.

there are few plans Hunter made. there are few surprises he left out there before dying. he is laughing like crazy. to think that he was unstable two weeks ago. Hunter can see the beauty in everything, even in the most mundane things of life.

he goes out to watch movies. he reads books. he goes to some places he always dreamed to be. he is doing things he always wanted to do. he has to enjoy a little before the time comes. there is no harm in a little bit of fun.

Hunter receives a message from someone he needs to meet. there is something he left unsolved before. the Ferryman hasn't been around. he knows that he will meet the Ferryman a last time before his death.

1 day ago-

Ryker is eating with Hunter. they talk about different things. they try to avoid the topic about Hunter's upcoming death. Ryker felt sorry for not knowing how to help.

Hunter understood how Ryker was feeling. it isn't easy to be next to a walking corpse. Hunter made some jokes. he wanted to tell Ryker that everything is going to be fine. he didn't fear death. Hunter was eating with so much joy.

Ryker silently blames himself for not being able to help at all. Hunter tells him that his help will begin after Hunter's death. he told him to enjoy of life. Hunter laughs. he even sings some old songs.

Hunter takes a bottle of liquor. he serves some on a glass. he serves some to Ryker. for Ryker it was hard to accept the drink. Hunter drinks like if it was water.

Ryker drops the glass. he wanted to pick the little pieces. he cut some of his fingers. he looks at the blood. he licks the blood off his own fingers. he cleans that. he washes his hands with cold water. he puts some band-aids.

"don't worry, it is fine. it is natural. I can go out with a damn smile. I can go out knowing I did something that can make me feel good with myself."

said Hunter peacefully.

Hunter can see the sadness on Ryker's face. Hunter keeps drinking tequila. he stands up trembling. he thanks Ryker before leaving. Hunter takes a jacket from the chair. he walks out of there. he puts a cigar on his mouth.

"tomorrow is going to be my last. for some reason I am actually awaiting for that day to come more than anything. I avoided thinking of that day for too long. is time to let it happen as it is meant to be."

said Hunter to himself.

Ferryman takes a shadow like figure. he follows Hunter like if he was his shadow. the time is ending. Ferryman looks at the hourglass. work is work even when it doesn't feel right to him. it was Hunter's choice to die like that.

Hunter calls Stewart. he talks with him some time. he then says goodbye to him. Hunter knows there is one last thing for him to do. he receives a message. he smiles. he throws the cigar on the ground. he steps on it.

before the car crash he received a letter. the letter was from someone anonymous, at first he suspected of Ryker. he was wrong. whoever send that letter. that person told him about a warehouse that belongs to Son of Sun industries.

if what was on the letter is right. he needs to find & destroy it. he has until tomorrow. Hunter was searching for the location. yesterday on another letter, he received the location of the warehouse. he fears that it is a trap. jet he has no other choice.

a red car stops in front of him. Ned Kelly gets out of the car. Ned tells him to get inside of the car. it is true that he is okay with becoming an 'Offering.' but he never said anything about not helping Hunter.

Hunter gets inside of the car. Ned drives with a huge smile. Ned tells him this is his first time driving without his father at his side. Ned is happy to feel independent & grown up. Hunter tells him the location of the warehouse. Hunter makes some calls. he sends some messages to some friends.

Ned is drinking strawberry milk. he feels pride, because he is old enough to drink milk with sugar. his parents didn't let him drink anything with sugar before. drinking strawberry milk is his little rebellion against his parents.

Hunter is trying to not laugh. he feels some pain. he takes a beer from his pockets. he drinks the beer. the pain on his back is really bad. he tries to hide the pain. Hunter smiles as he sings the songs on the radio.

Ned asks Hunter if he is feeling okay. Hunter nods. Ned is surprise to see Hunter drinking on the car. Hunter asks him if he wants some. Ned tells him about his father and his hate for alcohol, religion, lust, politics, & society as a whole.

"you know something boy? you are living your life. not your father's life. it is your choice to decide what to hate and what to love. is your father's job to guide you to a path free of danger, free of regret and more than anything full of support & love."

said Hunter as he observes the streets.

Ned felt moved by those words. Ned felt like someone was listening to his worries for once on his life. tears of joy fall from Ned's eyes.

Now (last day)-

Hunter is on Ed White's home. they are talking. Ed White didn't believe a single word. even when he didn't believe it, he tried to be nice. he never acted rude towards Hunter. after the first five minutes Hunter knew, he knew he was nothing less than a sick man on Ed's eyes.

they drank hot chocolate. Ed never talked about anything personal. Hunter thanks him. then he leaves. while he was walking away he looks at a chair. he saw a sad lady sitting on the chair. he saw her sad eyes. he knew then, she is Willow.

for a moment she looks at him on the eyes. he is frozen. he feels nervous. it is like if she has recognized him. she looks away. Hunter leaves with teary eyes.

Hunter gets inside of a taxi. he leaves with direction to the warehouse. on the road Hunter calls Ned. the taxi driver looks at Hunter's backpack on the seat. the taxi driver asks if he is a nature photographer. Hunter nods.

Hunter laughs. he looks at the watch on his wrist. he can feel it. he has some hours left before the end. Hunter swallows saliva. he feels a bit nervous. he can't picture his own death even now. and who can picture something so grim.

Hunter ends the call. Martha calls him. Hunter ignores the call knowing how weak & vulnerable he can be, by just listening to her sweet voice. she is his weakness. now isn't the time nor place to be emotional.

Hunter talks with the driver for some time. the driver seems familiar for a moment. Hunter ignores his crazy head. maybe he is overthinking everything. he has read about how the mind plays games. Hunter keeps talking with the driver.

he takes his phone out. he looks at some apps. he search for Martha's social media. he looks at a photo of her with her new boyfriend. he turns the phone off.

"sir do you really love her? do you love the woman who is the cause of your broken heart? don't mind the words of an old man."

said the driver.

"no, you are right. I am in love with a broken heart. I can't measure my love, because it can be arrogant to measure something that doesn't have size. only someone selfish will think about how much they give or take. that is why my love has no size."

said Hunter smiling.

the driver was silent. Hunter felt weird talking about this stuff with a stranger. he did feel good to be able to admit it. to admit that his emotions are real. then he felt an emotional pain on the chest.

after two hours he is finally in front of the warehouse. Hunter is trembling. he didn't bring any weapon nor objects to protect himself. he came with empty hands. being in front of the warehouse is more scary of what he believed it could be.

step by step Hunter is getting closer to the warehouse. before coming here he was on Ed White's home, and before that he visited Beau's gravestone. he gave a last goodbye to his friend. he also made a last promise to Beau.

Hunter is holding a backpack. he takes a gasoline canister out of the backpack. he has a lighter on the pocket on the ass of his pants. Hunter feels a light of safety. he receives another call from Martha. he was going to ignore it. somehow he answers the call.

"hello is this you Hunter? why did you run away? did I commit a mistake or something. I don't know how to say it, but I really want to help you, are you in any danger?...."

'bang.'

Hunter falls on his knees. behind of him is the taxi driver. Hunter looks at him. he finally understood why he seemed a bit familiar. he was the guy on the pictures. the pictures of Martha's new boyfriend.

Martha yields worry asking if he is fine. she is scared. she heard the gun shot so clearly. she is desperate to know if Hunter is alive.

Hunter opens the gasoline canister. he throws it at the taxi driver. the man shoots a second time, this time the bullet hit the ground. Hunter turns on the lighter.

he throws the lighter on top of the taxi driver. the man shoots at Hunter a third time. this time the bullet hits him on a leg. the lighter falls on top of the man. he is rapidly eaten by flames. he screams in agony.

Hunter runs as fast as he can. he is holding the phone with his right hand. he is bleeding out at a fast speed. he tries to cover the wound with his hands. he looks at the phone. he puts it on his ear, to listen to Martha's voice a last time.

"sorry about that. I didn't wanted to scared you. I just wanted to say how important you are on my life. you meant a lot. but it was necessary for me to stay away. something small was meant to happen tonight."

said Hunter with clear sadness on his voice.

'bang.'

'bang.' bang.' 'bang.' bang.' bang.'

some men dressed as gangsters from the 40's are shooting at him. Hunter keeps running with all his energy. he finally is in front of the warehouse. he opens the doors slowly afraid of what can be on the other side. he sees what the letter promised.

there where armed man inside of the warehouse. they start to shoot at him. Hunter keeps running aware of something, there was no exit from here. he sees the Ferryman holding his book. he points at Hunter's name on the book. Hunter laughs hysterically like if someone had told him a joke.

"fuck, I can't argue against you. this is much bigger of what I expected. you guys went out of your way to gift me, this motherfucking great goodbye party."

whispers Hunter to himself.

people keep shooting at him. they slowly are getting closer to him. two bullets hits him on the same leg. Hunter is now dragging his leg. then a bullet hits him on the right arm. the phone falls from his hand. with the left hand he grabs the phone.

outside of the warehouse is the taxi driver. the henchmen helped him to turn off the fire. he was badly burn. more than half of his face was badly burn. it was so bad that he barely had any skin left on that side. he yields furiously. with help of the henchmen he walks towards the warehouse.

inside is Hunter trying to last the more he can. he found the warehouse. he found what he wanted to find. and it was mostly meaningless after the attack from those killers. he recognized one of the many henchmen. it is no other than Ed White.

Hunter is finally tired. he can't keep moving for all the blood he lose. his body is covered in many wounds. he knew it was pointless to run. but he wasn't going to fall that easily.

"sorry, nothing personal."

said Ed on an emotionless tone.

Ed White shoots multiple times at Hunter. there were some bullets that didn't hit him. there were many bullets that hit him. Hunter falls on the ground. he is barely breathing. he is bleeding a lot. Martha screams asking Hunter if he is okay. you can hear her desperation to help.

"fuck, you are such a sick bastard."

yields the taxi driver.

he enters on the warehouse with help of the henchmen. he looks at Hunter on the floor bleeding out. Hunter can see those evil eyes.

"Hunter please tell me that you will come back."

said Martha crying.

Hunter laughs one last time. Hunter spoke to himself quietly. he kept talking for five-ten more minutes. it took fifteen minutes for Hunter to finally die. Ferryman finally collected the soul. it all ended like that. the assassins left quietly. it is over.

far from the warehouse; Ryker is having a meeting with the members of the club. the club that wants to take down the Deities.

"welcome be all my brothers."

said Ryker.