Chapter 1: The Cruise
Staring at the colossal titan of a ship, Hunter was in complete awe to the point that his jaw felt like it would hit the ground. The titanic ship felt larger than life despite being over a mile away from him and his family.
"You're seeing this too, Mom." The woman beside him chuckles, while looking at Hunter who never takes his eyes from the cruise ship.
"Yes, Sweety, you are." Her confirmation got another 'wow' out of Hunter at the massive watercraft.
"God, Hunter, close your mouth before too many people notice. We don't need to look like some group of country bumpkins." Finally taking his eyes away from the ship, Hunter looks over at his dad.
"We are country bumpkins though…well Mom might not be, but that's not the point." He said succinctly to his father, before returning his gaze to the ship.
"We may be, Hunter, but that doesn't mean we need to flaunt it off in front of everyone. Discretion is key."
"Shane, stop spouting nonsense when we're about to be on a trip. Discretion my ass." She muttered the last part, but both Father and Son heard her.
"It's not nonsense Mar, the boy needs to learn that if he reveals too much, then people might look down on him and use him."
Hunter took his eyes away from the ship again and looked at his dad. "Really, the boy."
"Sorry, habit." Shane said with an apologetic smile on his face.
Marissa stepped over to Hunter and pulled him into a tight hug, while glancing over at Shane. "Yeah Shane, the boy, he's a young adult now."
"Yeah, really showcasing how much you see him as a young adult."
"I'm just showing him how much I love him. I give him physical affection, you give him… business advice." Marissa said the last part as if it was a terrible thing to do.
Shane formed a mock look of horror on his face." Don't insult my business advice. I get all my stuff from successful business owners and I myself am one."
Marissa slowly let go of her son and made her way over to Shane pulling him into a tight hug. "Yeah, yeah, my businessman."
'How do they make up so quickly? I mean it wasn't bad at all, but huh.' Hunter thought to himself.
Shane tilted his wife's head up and gave her a passionate kiss. Hunter turned his head away as soon as this happened and stared at the ship some more.
"Hey dad, how long do you think it took them to build this thing? Also how did they get it in the water? And how'd they get it to float…" Hunter continued to launch questions off, not even noticing that his parents were standing behind him holding each other while watching him.
Shane tilted his head over to his wife's ear and whispered into it. "If we started to walk away, how long d'you think it'd take him to realize we left."
Marissa focused on her son for a second, before answering Shane. "He'd notice right away dear."
"Really, you wanna bet."
"Sure, I know my baby and he's more observant than you think." Marissa said with a proud smile on her face.
"Yeah, but you know how he gets into those question frenzy's and can't stop himself unless someone helps him."
"Yeah, but…whatever, what're we betting?"
"A massage." Shane answered immediately without hesitation.
"Wow you had that one in the barrel." She said, while looking him in the eyes.
"You give good massages."
"Good?"
"Great…Amazing…fantastic…" Marissa put her finger on his lips to stop him from talking.
"Okay, your massages are decent, so I'll accept. It's not like I lose either way."
"I think it'll take him about a minute to look back and he should catch up pretty soon after that."
"He'll notice within the first ten steps, Shane. We don't exactly have the best surface to work with. "Both of them glanced down at the gravel parking lot, before looking back up at Hunter, who was continuing to launch questions at his father, who didn't answer a single one.
"Okay, you're on even if you have the advantage."
Marissa and Shane slowly started to back away, while Marissa muttered 'advantage' confused on how her noticing the obvious was an advantage.
On their ninth step back, Hunter stopped throwing questions out and turned around. The first thing he saw was his parents backing away with different looks on their faces. His father had a sour look on his face, while his mother had a proud look.
"Why're you guys leaving? We've got time to enjoy the scenery," Neither of them said anything and Hunter observed his father some more.
"Does he need to use the bathroom…or did he lose something." This comment caused his mother to start laughing, while his dad had a mock annoyed look on his face, while glancing between mother and son.
After saying that Hunter couldn't help but think he sounded like he was some Chinese Wuxia novel protagonist.
"Neither…I just didn't make the proper observation that would have allowed me to secure my victory."
"So, you did lose a bet…probably something to do with me getting in the…'zone'."
Marissa, who finally calmed down enough from laughing, had to make a comment. "Yep, he lost big time and is mad that he didn't notice the gravel driveway."
A hint of confusion passed on Hunter's face before it lit up with realization. "Oh, you think it's the gravel that made me realize both of you were backing up." Marissa nodded her head uneasily.
"Yeah… it wasn't that. I couldn't hear exactly what you two were whispering about, but when dad stopped whispering and you were muttering to yourself, I could tell something was going on."
"Hah, so it was your fault that he noticed. I think I deserve my massage then." Shane said with a gleeful smile on his face.
"What're you talking about Shane? If you didn't give me something to mutter about then, I wouldn't have been doing it."
Hunter's comment however stopped their bickering in its tracks. "Gross, let's go…I don't feel like hearing about any…'massages." Shivering slightly, he went back over to the car to grab his bags.
Shane and Marissa started to laugh as he walked away and followed suit soon after, while whispering about who was the winner.
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"Here's your room key, Hunter," Marissa handed him a key and then pointed to the room next to the one they were in front of.
"Your room is just right there so if you need anything sweety just come over and knock on the door."
"I'll probably call before and then knock as well... Wouldn't want to interrupt anything." Hunter muttered to himself. Marissa heard him however and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Grow up Hunter, you're sixteen already…wait actually hold that thought and stay young for a little while for your dear mother."
Shane decided to butt in." Okay… I think he understands Mar. Now let's get inside, my body is aching from that car ride."
Hunter shivered slightly and went towards his door." By the way Hunter, we're going to eat dinner later in one of the restaurants, so make sure you're ready around let's say like 6:30."
"Okay…see you then. Love you." Hunter replied towards both parents before putting his key in the door and opening the entrance to his room.
"Love you too." Shane and Marissa said, before going into their room as well.
Carrying his duffel bag into the room, Hunter was amazed by how beautiful the room was and couldn't help but wonder how much his parents had spent on the place.
The light from the decently sized window flowed into the room and lit up the blue suave couch and large queen-sized bed that covered a quarter of the room. Opposite of the couch was a desk that extended from the wall which had a TV remote and an ice tray sitting on it. Mounted on the wall was a custom looking TV with an ocean themed case surrounding the screen.
Tossing his bag aside, Hunter stepped across the room and threw himself on the bed. Blinded by the light, he laid there with his eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the comfortable mattress.
After a few minutes of savoring the wonderful bed, Hunter stood up and made his way over to his duffle bag. Opening it up, he dug through it while clothes started to leak out of it spilling onto the floor.
Finding his toiletries, Hunter went towards his room's bathroom and went inside, shutting and locking the door behind him out of habit.
Taking a shower, Hunter enjoyed the feeling of showering on a cruise ship, even if it was very cramped for his large frame.
Squeezing out of the shower, he rubbed himself down with the towel and threw an extra one around his waist. Hunter made his way out of the bathroom and dried himself off a few more extra times.
Changing into his 'vacation clothes' as he called them, which was a large Hawaiian dress shirt and one of the three pairs of swim trunks he brought, Hunter headed over to his bag and pulled out a pair of sandals, his towel and some sunscreen.
Slipping his sandals on and making sure to grab his key, Hunter stepped out of his room and looked down at his watch. Noticing that he had a little over 5 hours before dinner, Hunter locked his door and went off in the direction he thought the pool was in.
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Stepping out into the area of the pool, Hunter looked around for a chair. A decent amount of people had already made their way out to the pool and were relaxing. Noticing an empty chair around the middle of the pool, Hunter lumbered his way over quickly, before someone took it.
Along the way, he felt people staring at him, but he was already used to it, so it didn't matter too much.
Hunter was able to get to the lounge chair before anyone else and set his towel down. Unbuttoning his shirt, he removed it, exposing his large, muscled frame and he thought he heard a gasp from somewhere, but ignored it.
Grabbing the sunscreen, he put it on, so he wouldn't burn and laid down on the lounge chair. Basking in the sunlight, he enjoyed the feeling it brought him.
Laying there, he could feel different people looking at him every once and a while, but it didn't bother him too much since the atmosphere was perfect.
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Almost three hours later, Hunter opens his eyes, when he hears his mother and father approaching.
"Oh look who it is, Shane!" Marissa exclaimed before leaving the side of her husband and sped over to Hunter.
Climbing off the lounge chair, he stood up and received the hug he knew his mother would be giving him. Crashing into him, she wasn't even able to push him an inch and he heard his mother sigh slightly.
'What are you so annoyed about…I think I have PTSD from when you used to run me over like a train giving hugs…though I did find it hilarious at the same time.' He thought but would never say out loud.
"What took you guys so long…I actually don't want to know." Marissa chuckled slightly and Shane made his way over.
"Hehe…There's a cute girl over there checking you out Hunter." Marissa said, while nodding her head in a certain direction.
Glancing over at the girl who was looking their way, he quickly dismissed his mother's comment. "Or she's looking because you practically ran all the way over here and tried to 'tackle hug' me…and she's also the lifeguard. Also, there is no way she is under 20, so girl doesn't apply to her."
Marissa looked over at the girl again and a look of realization dawned over her face. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and Shane started to chuckle at them.
"You didn't deny she was cute though." Marissa said, trying to save herself from any more scrutiny.
"I didn't deny it because it's true, though she is definitely too old for me…gotta wait till I'm 18 at least." At the last part of his comment, Marissa smacked him on the shoulder in a scolding manner.
"Okay…Okay, can I get back to relaxing now. It's amazing…you'll definitely enjoy it." Hunter put his hands up in surrender and sat back down on the chair.
"Yep, but make sure to keep track of the time. We'll leave you behind and get dinner ourselves if you don't show up." Marissa started off towards a set of lounge chairs, but Shane lagged behind a bit.
"She's serious, so please don't test your luck this time." After giving his small tidbit of advice, Shane walked away towards his wife, while Hunter laid back down on the chair, closing his eyes.
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Bounding down the last set of stairs, Hunter turned into the corridor and was greeted by the impatient face of his mother and father.
Checking her watch, one last time, her face morphed into one of a smile. "Two minutes early. I think that's a new record for you Hunter."
Shane's face morphed into one that Hunter was all too familiar with. "You need to work on being even earlier, Hunter. At least 15 minutes if not more." Shane glanced over at his wife, which gave Hunter a clear understanding of what he meant.
His Mother is a stickler for time and can be a lot to deal with, even when a little bit off schedule and Hunter was a frequently late person, so Marissa would complain about it to Shane. It's been his goal, to help Hunter be earlier, so he wouldn't have to deal with the ranting as much.
"I'll try to be better." His mother turned around and started off in a direction, while Shane and Hunter followed behind.
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"Okay, so we've got a whole lot of activities we can do during the trip, but I need to get a better idea and plan it out. Especially since no one wanted to confirm anything before we came." Marissa's tone changed towards the end and both Hunter and his father lowered their heads slightly.
"So, we could start with something like the surf simulator," Glancing up she could see the excited look in Hunter's eyes and the uncertain, almost frightened look in Shane's eyes.
"I know you have a thing about Surfing from the accident, but this isn't the ocean." Marissa said, hoping it would get Shane to calm down.
Shane's body relaxed slightly, but the tension was still visible in his face. "We'll see how I feel when we get there." Shane said with an 'end of that topic' tone.
Moving on without another word, Marissa went on to the next activity on her list. "Okay, well another activity we could do is ice-skating which would be an interesting experience for me."
"I seriously don't understand how you've never done it before despite living near a rink for years." Hunter said in astonishment.
"Shhh I never had the time okay, now let me continue on with the possible activities and then you can make your comments."
Marissa continued to go over all the possible activities, while Hunter and his father sat there listening and made sure that they remembered everything in fear of attracting the ire of Marissa.
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After dinner, Hunter and his parents went separate ways to relax before going to bed. His mother planned quite a bit, so Hunter decided to turn in early and go back to his room.
Opening the door and entering his room, then closing the door behind him, Hunter made his way over to the dufflebag and grabbed his pajamas.
Changing into the star-spangled American screaming pajamas that his mother got as a joke, Hunter shut the light off and laid down on his bed staring out the window.
As he was about to shut his eyes, a shooting star darted across the sky. Amazed at the phenomenon, he followed tradition by making a wish. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep easily knowing the next few days might possibly be the best ones of his life.
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Days pass and each one is filled with an overwhelming sense of familial connection that his family has never experienced before. They did activities like swimming, table tennis, basketball, an interactive game show, listening to bands play and the best of all was when Hunter and his mother were able to convince Shane to try surfing again. Shane was weary at first, but by the end he didn't want to get off the machine and only did when the operator said something.
It was the best bonding experience his family could have, and Hunter had never felt closer with his family then right at this moment. He didn't want the moment to ever end in fear that it could only get worse from there.
Waking up early as usual, Hunter went to do his new normal routine, when the ship shook all of sudden causing him to stumble slightly and a loud boom rang out in the air. Tossing on the nearest clothes, Hunter ran out into the hallway only to bump into his father and mother.
"Are you okay, sweety." Marissa said in a concerned voice while checking Hunter over with her hands and eyes.
Grabbing her arms, he moved them back to his mother's side. "I'm fine Mom, are you two okay."
"Yeah, we're good, though a book clipped my head slightly." Hunter glancing over at his dad, could see a bruise slowly forming at the corner of his hairline.
All of a sudden, an alarm started to ring through the ship and then what sounded like the captain came over all of the intercoms. "All passengers are required to come to the swimming pool area. I repeat all passengers are required to come to the swimming pool area. This is an emergency, so do not delay your travels to this location. I repeat, do not delay."
The intercom cut off and the family looked at each other and without saying a word started off towards the pool. As they traveled through the core doors, they ran into more and more people until it was a line traveling towards the area.
Whispers were everywhere as people were making their way towards the pool. Some were wondering what happened, while others were hoping everything was okay and some were questioning what was happening since no 'codes' were used while mentioning the emergency.
However, almost everyone listened and went towards the pool. After 15 minutes of slow walking, the family made it up onto the deck and found a place to stand.
More and more people piled in until the place was packed from all the passengers. Something odd that Hunter and his family were hearing was that the pool apparently had been emptied and there were no safety ropes around it.
Many people found this odd, but some were speculating that the emergency could be related to it. However, this made people even more confused and skeptical since everyone was asked to head to the pool area and if the danger was there, why have people gather there.
"I wonder how much longer until they'll announce what's going on." Hunter's mother whispered in a worried voice.
"It'll be okay honey, just calm down and take a breath." Shane started to rub her back while saying this and his comforting presence seemed to make her more at ease.
"Yeah, exactly like dad said. It's not like we hit an iceberg or anything." Hunter muttered the last part, but his mother heard him.
She was about to say something, but a bunch of people started to murmur loudly and point in a direction. All three of them looked at where everyone was pointing and noticed a trail of smoke rising from the other side of the ship that was visibly getting bigger with every second.
Cries from different people rang out throughout the deck, but no staff was there to calm the crowd.
*Thud*Thud*thud* Hunter heard the thud of boots coming up the stairs and was slightly confused. His confusion would be answered quickly when two dozen men rushed out onto the deck from multiple stairwells with assault rifles and tactical gear on.
All of them fanned out and raised their guns at the crowd, causing multiple people to scream out in fear and some started to run.
Hunter and his family however just stood there not able to fully register what was happening. Marissa gripped onto Shane's arm and got closer to him, while he put his arm around her.
*Bang*Bang*Bang… Ten shots rang out across the deck before it was silent. Hunter and his family watched as ten people dropped to the ground and a pool of blood slowly formed under them.
Hunter's mind went haywire, and he stood there frozen, unable to fully process what was going on.
Out of nowhere the sound of a microphone turning on rang out causing many people to grab their ears. Everyone started to look around wondering where it came from and after a second most people's eyes were on a glass window at the front of the pool.
"Ahem Dear guests of this 'wonderful' cruise, this is your new captain speaking. None of you know me, so let me introduce myself. My name is…" The man paused for a second in thought, then came to a conclusion "Never mind, it doesn't matter who I am. Wasting breathe on horrid creatures like you isn't my style, but I will explain the reason for what's about to happen today, since even the damned deserve to know what they did," Everyone was confused about what was happening, but no one did anything after seeing multiple people being shot.
Before he said anything more, more men came out with cameras and placed them around everywhere seemingly trying to get every angle they could. Turning them on, each man that was at a camera gave some sort of go-ahead signal, while one final man set up a camera facing the 'new captain'. Once this man was finished it seemed as if they were finally ready to give their speech.
"I'm part of a righteous cause to save our world from the sinners who destroy her beautiful waters and spoil her land. All of you are sinners and today is your Judgment Day." Some people started to yell out, but they were quickly silenced with a bullet to the head.
'Blood…so much…so much.' Hunter was horrified at seeing people's blood and small amounts of brain leak out of the bullet holes in their heads.
"Cleansing the impure is humanity's true manifest destiny and we are the shepherds who will carry it out. Gouging out the cancer within our midst, so that the pure can live in her grace. We will return mother's strength to what it once was," Hunter could barely believe what he was hearing.
'Impure, cleansing, sinner. Mother. What did I do?' His mind was spinning out of control at what the man was saying.
"You all are enjoying the benefits of this vessel of destruction, and I come here today to say no more!" The unknown man yelled the last part.
"I am here to fix what must be fixed and cleanse what must be cleansed. You monsters want to kill our mother, but we will not let you. Know that your deaths have a purpose and in the end our mother will be safe. In her grace, all roads end here for the wicked." The man's las words were spoken in a reverent tone, as if it was some sort of chant.
Turning the microphone off, he waved his hand and all of the armed men started to move. In a formation they started putting people to their knees and shooting them in the head. As this happened each camera was pointed at the executions, like they were trying to get the best shots.
*Bang*Bang*Bang* Bodies were dropping left and right, all around him. The blood and screaming people painted a visceral painting of despair and death. As if everybody had accepted death or just couldn't comprehend what was happening, nobody was fighting back.
Hunter stood there, not knowing what to do, his mind barely working. Even as two of the men walked up and pulled his parents to the ground, all he could do was stare.
'What's happening…What's going on…What are they doing?' His parents looked him in the eyes in fear.
"Mom…Dad." Hunter whispered as they held eye contact. As the men put a pistol to the back of each of their head's he stood there unable to move.
'I love You.' His mother mouthed to him with a devastated look on her face. *Boom*Boom* Each gun went off and Hunter watched blood shoot out from both his parents' heads. They're bodies fell to the ground, and he just stared as they lay there twitching slightly.
'What…Blood…Blood…Mom…Dad…Mom…Mom…MOM…DAD…DEAD…AHHH' Hunter's mind went blank with rage and almost as if a switch was flipped, he bolted at the man who shot his mother and swung as hard as he could. The guy, not expecting it, was hit square in the jaw and was out before even hitting the ground.
Reaching down for the weapon, he grabbed it and raised the pistol pointing it at the man who shot his dad. Pulling the trigger multiple times, he watched as the man fell to the ground.
*Boom*Boom* "Huuh." Losing control of his legs and falling to his knees, Hunter dropped the gun. Glancing down at himself, he noticed a bullet hole in each of his legs with blood leaking out.
'Blood…my blood…what…happened.' Glancing up he saw the man who he shot stand up unsteadily clearly shaken up.
'Why…didn't you…die…die…die…please…be…dead.' The man slowly made his way up to Hunter while limping slightly.
Seemingly out of rage, the man circled around Hunter and kicked him in the back hard, making Hunter fall onto his face. Hunter fell by the gun and tried to reach for it, but the man stomped down on Hunter's hand breaking some of the bones within it. 'Ahhh.' Hunter screamed in his mind but didn't make a sound out loud.
"You can't accept your sins and die with the non-existent honor you scum have. Well, I'll give you what you want." Grabbing Hunter by the hair and motioning to one of his friends, they dragged him over to the edge of the pool.
Yelling out, he got the people who were still alive to focus on him and the fallen form of Hunter. Also, he got them to point the cameras at him emphasizing to get a close up.
"You sinners couldn't just accept our grace of a death that is more than you deserve. So, I will grant you the death that you truly deserve. Shooting out the cancer isn't enough; you've got to cut it out."
Hunter staring up at the sky barely paid attention to the man as the pain in his legs was getting worse. However, this pain barely hurt compared to the image of his executed parents that was burned into his mind like a brand.
"Why…Why, Why, Why." Muttering to himself, the man heard Hunter and glanced down.
"You want to know why…It's because you're a sinner and in her grace, all roads end here for the wicked." After saying this, the man pulled out a machete and crouched down beside Hunter going up to his ear.
"A dog who bites always gets put down. An infection that acts up gets cut out." The man brought the machete down and started to saw at Hunter's neck.
In an instant intense pain that He'd never felt before moved along his nerves and Hunter desperately tried to move, but the bullet wounds in his legs stopped him from being able to get free.
"Awwgrgrggrg." blood flowed into his throat causing him to choke and he felt his throat split more and more with each stroke of the blade tearing into the soft flesh of his throat.
'Let me die, please. I wanna die. AHHHHHHHHHHH' All thoughts disappeared and all that was left was pain. The pain of the cutting and the pain of his parents. His heart and mind felt like it was shattering into a million pieces.
Barely conscious towards the end, he felt all the pain disappear and watched in his fading eyesight as his body above him fell onto his severed head in the pool. Darkness consumed him, yet all he could feel was pain.
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*Gasp* Rising from the ground abruptly, Hunter's eyes darted around him.
'Where are they…What's happening…Why am I not dead.' The memory of his parents dying replayed over and over in his mind and he couldn't understand why it happened.
'Why'd they have to die? Why can something hurt so much? Why'd they hurt my parents…" 'Why' was the only question on Hunter's mind. Curling up into a ball, he rocked back and forth on the ground.
This went on for hours and his psyche was splitting from the mental pain. His mind started to form a haze and it was almost as if his brain was trying to purge itself of memories hoping to fix Hunter's pain, but nothing helped. The image of their bodies was forever ingrained in his mind.
As the haze worsened, many of Hunter's memories from each point in his life collided and merged into a horrifying amalgamation. The pain of his parent's death was a part of each memory though, imprinted like a stamp on everything.
As time flowed on, the pain and hurt of his parent's death twisted his mind further and took a turn, slowly forming into rage, then hate, that slowly started to consume his heart turning it black with malice.
Eventually, it became so much that all Hunter could feel was hate, wrath, rage, despair and a primal savagery which was hidden deep within. Standing up, the insanity in his eyes was visible and his eyes darted around looking for anything. However, all he could see was a square room with white walls and no doors.
Consumed by his rage, Hunter started to smash his fists into the wall as he imagined it was the man who stole everything from him. *Bang*Bang*Bang… The sound of his fists hitting the wall made a vibrating sound and even as his hands started to bleed, he didn't pay attention.
*crack* Breaking a knuckle still didn't stop him from wailing his pain on the wall. His blood slowly soaked the white surface like a canvas. A brutal display of his overwhelming emotions painted in the color red.
Stopping out of nowhere, Hunter crouched down in front of the wall covered in his blood. Using his ruined hands and fingers, he sketched the picture of the man who stole everything from him.
Time continued to pass, and he spent what could be days on the picture, trying to make it as perfect as he could.
'I'll kill you…Die…Die...Die…' As he fixed the picture trying to make it to his liking, Hunter's face slowly formed a manic look. He was also muttering his violent thoughts incoherently.
Stopping once again, Hunter backed away looking at his gory picture of the man who ordered the death of his parents.
"Missing…Some..things..miss..ing..Ah.." Muttering to himself, Hunter crouched down in front of the picture and wrote a phrase below it.
In Her Grace, All Roads End Here for The Wicked
'Wicked…Wicked…me…wicked…my pare..nts..wicked…How are they wicked? How am I wicked?' Falling to the ground, the negativity in his heart sunk deep down and all that was left was an empty feeling, that was even worse than when he lost feeling of his body.
Staring at the image, the emptiness continued to get worse and worse. 'Is this death…am I dead. Why's it so horrible? Why can't I disappear? Please let me disappear.'
Almost as if something answered his call, he heard a cracking sound almost as if glass had been shattered. Glancing over at the corner of the room the sound came from, he watched as a desk appeared out of nowhere.
"Huh…what." Scrambling to his feet, Hunter barely even reacts to putting pressure on his brutalized hands. Slowly moving to the desk, he glanced at it and noticed a piece of paper with a pen next to it.
One look at the paper was all it took for him to start laughing maniacally and fall onto the ground.
'I'm going insane…Was I already insane…Is that why I'm wicked…was I killed for that..No…no..no..no..no..no.no…I'm good, she always told me I was good…I was a good boy…I'm good…so what then.'
Almost as if a light shone on him, his mindset shifted completely. 'I'm not wicked…and… my parents weren't wicked…Then who is wicked…They called themselves pure, yet they killed my parents…who've done nothing…'
Standing up again, Hunter started to pace back and forth in the small room glancing at the desk every once in a while.
'All those people…were they wicked…some probably…but all…of them…no…no only some. So why'd they hurt…innocent people…why…why…they believe we were sinners…what sin did we commit…what justified our deaths…our deaths had purpose…what purpose? Do I have a purpose? Is it…what that paper said…how though…'
Stepping back over to the paper, he glanced at the title once more, still confused on how the paper could grant what it said.
God's Gift: Vengeance and Justice
Check the box below if you desire to make things right
🮖
'I want…I crave…I need…I desire..more than anything…anything…but…they…were going to…hurt…more innocent people…why…why believe in…something that hurts…people who don't deserve it…They deserve it…They deserve to…suffer like I am…too feel despair…despair…can…I make things right…can I punish…the truly...wicked…the ones who hurt innocent people…for horrid…beliefs…how..show me how…I want to know..SHOW ME.'
Diving into further insanity, Hunter picked up the pen and checked the box below. Almost as if a veil was lifted, more words appeared on the paper.
This Variant Form of Power will grant you the tools to make things right. Fill it out as entailed and you will receive what is offered.
Variant: Apex Legends
When seeing the last part of what was written, Hunter was confused on why that name showed up. However, the form seemed to answer him, and more was revealed below.
Check seven of the Twenty-one options below:
Bloodhound's Powerset B. Gibraltar's Powerset C. Lifeline's Powerset
D. Pathfinder's Powerset E. Wraith's Powerset F. Bangalore's Powerset
G. Caustic's Powerset H. Mirage's Powerset I. Octane's Powerset
J. Wattson's Powerset K. Crypto's Powerset L. Revenant's Powerset
M. Loba's Powers N. Rampart's Powers O. Horizon's Powers
P. Fuse's Powers Q. Valkyrie's Powers R. Seer's Powers
S. Ash's Powers T. Mad Maggie's Powers U. Newcastle's Powers
Hunter stood there baffled at what he saw and really started to question if this was real at all. Raising the pen out of nowhere, he stabbed it down on his arm and pierced the skin up to the tip of the cap.
'Ahhhh…Most likely real…maybe…maybe…could be…what's wrong…with just…going with it.'
Glancing back down at the paper, he started to wonder what to choose. He was quite active in the game, so the knowledge of each character used to be extremely clear, but now he had trouble grasping the memories inside his fractured mind.
'Which would work…revenge…revenge…I want them to despair…to be scared…to know I'm coming…to be frightened…to hide…scared and alone…to understand that In My Grace, All Roads End Here for the Wicked…That's there's no road left for them.'
Scanning through them over and over, he slowly made his choices.
'Blood…Blood…Bloodhound…Wraith… Ghost…already dead…Revenant…I...will return…to…remind…them…'
Hunter locked in his first three choices for characters just based on their names and the vague memories he could grasp at. Searching for more solid memories, he spent hours trying to get through the fog and disarray that obscured his mind.
As the hours passed, he locked in a choice one by one, first starting with Valkyrie, then Bangalore, Crypto and Octane. Each character's powers had a twisted reason in his mind as to why it would help him on his path of vengeance.
Once he checked the final character powerset, a new question appeared, and Hunter read it over.
Pick five of the seven options below (The five powers chosen can be deactivated if you want them to be.)
Apex Hunter- Bloodhounds powers have no cooldown timer, and you can be in ultimate hunter mode for as long as you want. Your scan distance also increases to half a mile and footsteps can be tracked even further. Ultimate hunter allows you to track over massive distances. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Voidborn- Wraith's powers have no cooldown timer/placement timer and you can enter the void whenever and however long you want and portal for any amount of distance. While in the void, abilities can be used, but damage only occurs in the void and has no effect on the main dimension. Can control aspects of the portal and Void Walk (i..e size, access rights, placement etc.) (There are various other benefits not listed)
Adrenaline Junkie- Octane's powers have no cooldown timer/placement timer and you can stim as much as you want without losing heath. Bounce pad launches you way farther and higher. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Ultimate Scout- Crypto's powers have no cooldown timer, and the drone doesn't have a distance limit. EMP is way stronger and destroys much more. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Manifested Nightmare- Revenant's powers have no cooldown timer/placement timer and no wall is too high for you to climb. There is no limit to the number of orbs you can throw or the number of totems you can place. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Master of the Skies- Valkyrie's powers have no cooldown timer and you can fly as high and far as you want. Also, maneuverability increases massively. Missiles combine into a single missile with incredible destructive capabilities. Take off ability is increased, and you can travel as far as you want and way faster than normal. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Unrivaled Warrior- Bangalore's powers have no cooldown timer and you can shoot as many smokes as you want. Rolling thunder's power is way stronger and destroys a larger area. When being shot at, you move incredibly fast on the ground. (There are various other benefits not listed)
Finally having descriptions to read, they helped piece together some of his memories and form a fuller picture.
'Track…Track… Nowhere is safe…Always able to find them…Run…Run…Run…you can't hide.' Manically laughing to himself, he made his first choice with Bloodhound.
'Nightmare…I'll be their nightmare.' Making his second choice based on the name, he chose Revenant.
'If I can fly forever…they have nowhere to hide.' Picking the choice because of the maneuverability, his third choice was Valkyrie.
'Forth one…which to choose…Voidborn…born…anew…a wraith from the void.' His fourth choice was Wraith.
'Final pick..ick…move…quick…quick…quick…you…can't…hit shit…" Hunter's final choice was Unrivaled Warrior.
Question after question kept appearing and Hunter continued to answer them in his own unique way and by the end, he was happy with what he chose.
Once finished the paper disappeared right in front of him, only for a new one to reappear. On it was everything that he chose as well as four separate messages for him to read.
Wraith's Powers
Bangalore's Powers
Crypto's Powers
Revenant's Powers
Valkyrie's Powers
Octane's Powers
Bloodhound's Powers
Apex Hunter
Master of the Skies
Manifested Nightmare
Voidborn
Unrivaled Warrior
Bangalore's Combat Knowledge
Crypto's Hacking Knowledge
Basic Knowledge of All Chosen Legend Abilities and Equipment
No Fall Damage
Elimination/Knockdown Message
Apex Health/Shield Bar (Includes shield/syringe Counter)
Unlimited Walk/Sprint Stamina
Inventory
Wingman (1x HCOG Sight, Skull Piercer, Purple Extended Sniper Mag)
50 Sniper Ammo Per Day
White Body Shield
White Helmet
White Backpack
A supply of Unlimited Shield Cells (Goes directly to Shield Cell Counter)
All Cooldown timers halved on applicable legend powers
All ability strength x2
Custom suit of armor that combines all equipment and abilities into one piece of equipment. Abilities can be used simultaneously. (Once assimilated this cannot be removed from your body ever, however it can be hidden inside you.)
Voice modulator: Revenant
Space Suit Adaptation
Nutritional Adaptation
Explosion Adaptation
HUD (While in the suit and out of it.)
Bloodhound's Heirloom
Chosen Universe: Earth-21671110
Certain choices will adapt to the technology and standards that currently exists on this Earth
Arrival Time: January 1st, 2013
This gift isn't just meant for revenge, my child. There may come a point where you'll realize you went too far. Listen to yourself and stop, for this gift can be your salvation or damnation.
Hunter finished reading the last part of the message and it disappeared like the first paper and in its place was an ancient looking cup with a black liquid sloshing around in it.
'Black liquid?...like my heart…my heart…' Picking the liquid up and without a second thought, he drank the viscous fluid.
'Huh…heat…warm like blood…warm…hot…hot…HOT…HOT…AHHHH.' At first it only felt like he drank some hot chocolate, but quickly progressed to the point where he felt like it was lava moving through his body. Falling to the ground in pain, all Hunter could do was twitch slightly.
After a minute, the heat started to die down and Hunter could finally think again. 'Pain, so…much…pain…why is pain all I can feel.'
This wasn't the end of his challenges however, as he felt his body temperature reach normal, then start to drop lower and lower. Starting to shake, he tried to find something to warm himself up with, but the room was empty.
The shaking got worse and worse, with Hunter feeling as if his teeth would crack from the chattering. However, it stopped all of a sudden and Hunter felt warm and comfortable.
'Better…I'm better…huh…' The cold wasn't the end of his pain, as his body slowly felt like it was becoming compressed and stretched at the same time repeatedly. Red splotches appeared and dissapeared all of his skin and the vessels in his eyes burst and healed. The pain was even worse than being beheaded slowly.
'AHHHH…AHHHH…AHHH…' While Hunter was screaming in his mind with pain, the same black liquid he drank slowly seeped out of his skin and hardened, turning into a full suit of futuristic black armor.
As the armor covered his head, Hunter passed out completely from the pressure and pain.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Gasp* Rising from the ground instantly, Hunter glanced around and was slightly amazed at having a HUD.
Look at the table.
' huh…who said that.' Glancing around the room, Hunter didn't see a single person. Quickly deciding to listen to whoever's voice it was, he looked at the table.
On it were four objects that each stood out on their own. The first was the Wingman he chose which looked deadly. The second was the 50-round box of ammunition for the Wingman.
Then there was a futuristic looking computer with an adaptor cord extending to a modern one. Last, but not least was a book that said, 'Apex Legends equipment and Ability Guide for Beginners.'
Hunter unconsciously reached out for the Wingman and when his hand touched it, he was hit with the most vivid clear memories since the cruise.
Almost as if he'd done it a million times before, Hunter disassembled the Wingman right on the spot, and reassembled it quickly.
The injection of memories helped clear some of the fog that overcame him. 'Wow…So many ways to kill a person…she was amazing…They'll pay.' A demonic smile formed under the suit of armor, when Hunter thought this.
Reaching down for the computer and touching it, another rush of memories filtered through his mind and cleared more of the fog up.
'Why are computers…so powerful. He could do so much with them…and now I can.'
Going for the last object and touching it, the fog within his mind cleared and almost as if the knowledge combined into a healing salve, Hunter's fractured mind and memories started to repair ever so slightly. However, with the fog gone, all of his scrambled memories and emotions flooded out in full force.
Hitting him like a semi-truck, he nearly recoiled in pain, anger, hatred, despair and so many other negative emotions.
The seams of his armor gained a demonic glow to them, and Hunter started to breathe heavier and heavier.
'I'll kill them…all of them…They all deserve to die. Cancer…they're a cancer and they need to be removed. All of them are dead…they're already dead…already dead…dead…dead.'
Cackling to himself for a minute, Hunter switched gears out of nowhere and glancing back down at the wingman and the ammo, equipped and stored them, when his HUD received the icon too.
Right after the wingman and ammo disappeared, so did the computer and book and in their places were five objects.
Bloodhounds' heirloom, a miniature Wraith portal, a tiny version of Valkyries VTOL Jets, Revenant's totem and a smoke canister were on the table. Assuming that they were the same as the last objects, Hunter reached down and touched the portal first.
Almost as if his senses expanded to an all-new level, he could see the split between both dimensions and felt as if he could access it. Also, he felt as if everything limiting him to one single dimension was broken.
'What if I...' His thought was completly stopped when a voice rung out in his head.
Don't do it. It's not the time.
Putting his hands up at the voice in surrender, he listened to them easily since his mind was clear enough to understand what they were.
Touching the next object, which was the bloodhound heirloom, he felt another limitation in himself break and instantly information about everything started to flood in with more detail. While this happened, the heirloom slowly melded with his suit and disappeared inside of it.
Hunter took a look at the totem and instantly information about it popped into his mind.
Manifested Nightmare- Removes many of the limitations on Revenants abilities making you a nightmare manifested in reality.
-No Cooldown timer
-No placement timer
-No Totem Limit
-No orb limits
- (Other benefits that can't be scanned)
'Wow I like it.' Reaching down and touching the totem, he felt another limitation in himself disappear.
Continue.
Listening to the voices, he looked at the jetpack and information about it popped up.
Master of the Skies- Removes many of the limitations on Valkyries abilities and makes you the master of the skies
-No Cooldown timer
-No fuel limitation
-No height or distance limitation
-Combines 12 missiles into one increasing the firepower exponentially (Extreme caution is advised)
- (Other benefits that can't be scanned)
Deciding to be one step ahead of the voices, he touched the canister and jetpack simultaneously and both limitations broke inside him at the same time.
All the objects disappeared again and more appeared in their place. This time it was a shield cell with an infinity sign, a backpack, body shield and a helmet.
Grabbing each one of them without a second thought, he equipped the armors and the shield cell. They all appeared in his HUD in their proper spots.
'God it's going to take some time to get used to this.' Maneuvering around with the HUD was confusing for him since it was all thought based instead of a controller.
Hunter didn't get much time to think because a massive cracking sound rang out behind him and immediately attracted his attention.
Turning around, his eyes landed on a black portal similar to Wraiths, but different and he could sense the uniqueness of it through becoming Voidborn.
Time to go.
'Okay.' Hunter refocused his gaze on the photo of his parents' killed and hatred and wrath filled his mind. The suit responded in turn and flared even further into the demonic color spectrum.
Equipping his Wingman, he pointed it at the picture and muttered a phrase to himself.
"You're already dead."
Turning back to the portal, he made his way towards it and stepped inside, dead set on his next course of action.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone