A Contract’s End

The only place left was the roof. Everything led to this spot but the inside was bare. The roof access door was stuck. One full-body throw was enough to break through.

There he stood in the same clothes she last saw him in. The black suit, the red shirt collar showing, with his hands folded behind his back covered in those blood-ruby rings. His voice carried through the still air, "Of everyone I thought they would send to come stop me, I wouldn't have imagined it would be you." He didn't turn to face her. He kept himself looking out over the hellscape that the city had turned into.

"No one sent me. I came on my own." He lifted his head, turning it to his right, "Oh? You did? What is your end goal then?" Everyone kept asking her what her plan was. "I… I don't know."

He snapped around facing her full on, "You braved the deadly hellscape of another worldly power, riding in on a dragon no less, to come here with no plan. No direction. No end goal." He took a second to pause, "I thought I taught you better than that."

Juliet's face lit up with a smile. "You're still you!"

"I am." He looked down at the rings on his hands, "At least mostly. I'm not sure."

His facial expression didn't change. He kept the same bland look as he spoke as though he just wasn't emotionally connected. There was still a sense of safety with him though. Juliet stepped closer until she was in front of him. "What is this? Why is this happening?" And that was the million-dollar question.

"This is the result of a deal I made to come back. Trapped in the depth of a world I had no knowledge of for an unspeakable amount of time, a voice called to me to bring me back but I was not allowed to leave. A man approached me claiming to have dominion over the realm that I was in and offered me a deal. I had seen death in my life, what would more be? 10,000 wandering souls and my debt would be paid. I agreed in desperation to return, marking one of the many off as Cooper's grandfather traded himself for me. But I failed to pay before my debt was due."

His story didn't make sense. Pieces were starting to align but it didn't make sense. This isn't something that Hunter would do. "By wandering souls you mean…"

"Anyone whose life I take by any means. The Pig Man and his smuggling crew, the poor memory therapy girl who dug too deep, and I'm sure you remember the security guard who harassed our client."

He watched as she pulled back at his words. "I thought you saw. But because you never said anything, I was able to trick myself into thinking it was hidden. I guess that means that Hanson knew as well. He took it to the grave with him." This was the only sign of emotion that he had shown. It was subtle but he rolled his lips in as the muscles tightened. "Well, we're here now. You know for sure. What do we do about this?"

His words cut deep. He seemed to just not care. No amount of fighting herself would work. Her tears began to well up as her face began to show her pain, "We looked for a way to help you but we had no idea. We could have never guessed this."

"No, as far as I know, this is the first case ever. And look where we are."

He gestured out to the city covered in the crimson red. "I failed to pay my debt, so I became the catalyst for him to collect. You probably didn't see anyone as you made your way here, did you? Well, I have to say that was my doing. Not willing, however. And I'm still short. By a lot."

"Are you going to kill me too?"

"...No. I refuse. And I will fight to not. But I will need your help to do it."

"I'll do anything to help!"

His eyes blinked a few times, "Would you even kill for me?"

His request was out of the question. Juliet was not a killer by nature. Her love ran deep, her want to help him was strong but not that strong. She could not take a life. "Hunter, I…"

"It's a lot to ask. But if you could save me by taking the life of one other individual, would you do it?"

"Hunter, I… I can't…"

He stepped up to her wrapping his arms around her. He was cold, but deep down she could feel a hint of that warmth she had felt before. "I know you can't. You're too good of a person. But you have a job." He let her go and stepped backward giving them a good distance. "Juliet, what is it that we do?"

"We're contractors."

"We are. Tasked with ensuring that the laws and regulations of a hidden world are upheld. We hunt those who break these laws disturbing a very delicate balance of peace. To prevent those who are unaware of the world that lies around them from finding out that what they fear the most is in fact very real. The fallout has been seen throughout history. So we strive to protect that."

His words cut. She had been told this before but this time, it seemed much more personal than before. There was something welling up, ready to break as he spoke, "I prided myself on avoiding the hefty requirements of harsh punishments for those who broke those rules. I try to play a game where the problem is solved where no one is harmed. In my many years of working this job, I have learned where that line is. The line that says whether someone can be saved or not. Juliet. We hunt monsters."

"Hunter, no…"

"I know you can't kill on your own. You are too kind. And that's one of the many characteristics about you that motivated me to be better. That's why I have to order this."

The tears gave, rolling down her face with a whine, "Hunter, please don't."

"When we find a monster that refuses to cooperate, we put them down like the monster they are. I love you, and I am truly sorry I have to do this."

She grits her teeth holding back everything that wanted to burst forward. He spread his arms to open his body to her. With one breath, he sealed his own fate.

"Hisari, this is your final order. Kill me, and your contract is complete. You will be free."

The choker around her neck began to burn. Her mind fought with everything. She refused to move but her body refused to listen. She fought every step that she took to his body until they were toe to toe. Her eyes were streaming with tears as she was forced to look him in the eyes. He seemed determined. He seemed resolved. He knew what was needed even though the effect would be painful. He broke one smile as he gave her his last words. "In the end, everything is OK. If everything is not OK, it is not the end. Please, Juliet, free me. And save the others."

Her hands cupped his cheeks. They were cold, already lifeless. She hated it. She fought. The burning of her body and the screaming in her brain continued to push her body to follow the order she was given. She screamed out in a pain she had never felt before in the back of her mind as her lips touched his. She yelled at herself to stop. She screamed and pleaded for her body to give to her wishes and cease.

Hunter began to shake in her grasp. His open stance closed as he grabbed at her hands. Just like her, his body tried to fight. He scraped at her hands to try and release her grasp but she would not relent. His order was absolute. She had committed to the action under someone else's control.

His attempt to free himself began to weaken. His legs dropped him to his knees. Juliet kept herself glued to him as she could feel his life flowing to her begin to slow. "Juliet! Stop! No! You're killing him!" She screamed at herself, unable to maintain control.

His arms fell to his sides. His eyes rested peacefully as the last bit of flavor from him dissipated. Juliet was finally able to release herself. She was what was holding Hunter up. Without that support, he fell limp to the rooftop. One last hiss escaped in a puff of black smoke that dissipated in the air.

The rolling thunder slowed to a low rumble. The screaming stopped while the clouds began to break. Rays of sunlight began to pour out. The red started to fade out to the normal colors of the city. But even so, the real damage could be seen. Buildings were destroyed. Homes flattened by the winds. The major disaster was over, but there were still more to come. For those in the area, they would have to rebuild their business, their homes, and their lives.

The deaths were reported in high numbers without an accurate count ever able to be published. Many were gone without a trace leaving those behind to wonder and hope.

Juliet thought she knew what happened to her one and only. She happened to be her one and only. Her job was finished. The collar became a dud, just as she was promised by the man who placed it on her. The man who trusted her enough to give her her full freedom in exchange for the ultimate show of strength. Her boss, her lover, and her best friend were taken by a force they could not understand. Yet even so, he fought hard to try and correct it in any way he knew how. To no avail, he made the ultimate call. For the greater good, for his own people, and for the one he cared about so much he fought an internal battle while they had one last conversation.

He could be at peace knowing that he knew she was strong and he could tell her one last time what she meant to him. But she had to carry on without her significant other. The coming days were rough. There was no doubt that the office would close. There was too much going on to try and salvage it. Hunter's contacts came in and helped buy out portions of the company. Juliet was named the owner as no one else was alive or around who could claim such a title, thus the money went to her.

If she so chose, she could have walked away to live luxuriously. She knew better. There was nothing more that she wanted to do than to continue her own personal goal of helping those. But first, she had to help herself. She had to start over from scratch. With a new name and a new building in a new location, Juliet set out on her own with a mission to assist those who have been afflicted by those who broke these unspoken laws.

She enlisted the help of someone she knew who was reliable, Adam, to assist. There was no question if he was going to help or not. He couldn't leave this life now.

Just as before, there was a hole. A never-healing wound that would be there to hinder her. It would also push her to become stronger than ever before! To help those who had been involved like she had been. But her side was empty, as no one could replace him.

Rush "Hunter" Shaw