Chapter 66: Hunted and Haunted (4)
"No."
Disbelief crossed her face at Hope's blunt response. "What…?"
Hope met her gaze and there was a subtle twitch on the trigger.
With the window closed the silence grew, and the foul air stuffed their nose. Any gulping or fearful shake announced themselves. Whether this was her first time or not threatening a person, Hope had no doubt she expected a whole entirely different reaction.
She glared again."I will shoot you–"
"Don't be so loud," Hope replied, taking another quick glance at the firearm before leaning against a cracked counter and setting the pipe aside.
The kitchen opened to a dark living room where she stood. With the daylight, it wasn't menacing at all. Just a dim, dusty space full of junk.
The children looked at each other puzzled. Not sure whether they should trust this person or not. And in all honesty, Hope wouldn't either.
'No parents I bet.' Hope thought behind closed eyelids. 'But if they managed this far, then I guess I could finally ask them where to go next–'
"Is he sleeping…?" One of the children muttered.
Hope's eyes fluttered open.
He then ran his fingers through his hair. "Look. I'm not here to rob whatever you guys have."
"You're not…?"
"No." Hope paused. "But I do need something."
The girl scowled as if she tasted a bitter pill. She must be about ten or eleven years old. She shook her head, then pointed the gun at his backpack. "What's in that?"
'Honestly, not much.'
"Here." Hope shrugged the backpack off and stretched out his arm.
But of course, no one dared to step forward. The youngest boy muttered something about how fishy it all seemed. They looked torn, skeptical, as if they were being reared right into a trap. Before they said anything else, Hope leaned off the counter.
"If you're going to shoot me, at least aim at the head."
The calm words rolled off his tongue as he slowly walked across the cracked tiles. A thin layer of dust puffing up with every step.
The children tensed. They warily looked at the approaching figure as if he were a predator about to pounce. However his [Chimera] Attribute stirred inside them, it did its job as his eyes met theirs.
Hope simply dropped his backpack in front of them before taking a step back.
"Hmph." The eldest boy, likely nine years old, snatched it as if he were in testy waters and started rummaging inside.
"So…?" The girl whispered.
"They're just…tools?"
The girl glared at Hope again. "You torture people or somethin?"
'What?' Hope blinked.
But for a moment, as if mockingly serving his conscience, his memories played back the time he interrogated that Dreamer Kurt guy. Although, maybe the people she was thinking of applied to those pious strays he came across earlier in the day. Their actions was at another level.
"Not my job. I'm just passing through–"
"Where?" She demanded.
Small and fierce this girl really was…
"That's–"
"Ooh water!" The boy exclaimed.
The girl hushed him and he apologized in return before slipping out the bottle. But his excitement was short-lived as he started wrestling with the cap.
"It's not– Urg– turning…"
"Just turn it!"
"I-I want some…" The youngest interjected.
"No just– Give it here." The girl scowled again as she wrestled the bottle away from him, twisting the cap with both hands till her knuckles turned white. Hope didn't think he had closed it so tight. Maybe they were just weak.
'Hope! Hope! Can you help me?'
Hope went rigid at the familiar voice.
Ah. Not now. He tried to focus on the scene before him, but that teased the memory all the more.
'Stop playing around!'
'Hope, darling, give it back.'
'But…I had it first?'
'Just this once, Hope.'
Hope swallowed an annoyed sigh and stepped forward.
'Why don't you give it up?'
'Quiet.'
Plop!
With one smooth twist, the cap popped open with a faint hiss.
The children froze, eyes wide, as if nearly forgetting the person whose bag they'd been rifling through. Hope didn't know what would've happened if his Flaw completely blinded his presence. The girl for all he knew would have swung the gun like a maniac as if he were a spawned monster.
"Stand back!" She said as she pointed it back at his face.
Well, at least she pinpointed it right.
Hope raised his hands. "Drink as much as you want."
The eldest boy paused at his words. But any caution the next moment after was watered down as he greedily drank from the bottle. The water trickled down his chin, and he was as noisy as a drunk man. The youngest however still rummaged through his backpack.
"Big sis– There's bandages."
The girl looked away from Hope and stared at the roll in her brother's hands. She shrugged. "Never know. Someone might get hurt."
The eldest boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, someone. You could use it after they blow up to bits and splatter on the wall."
"Oh, like you could do any better!" She hissed back.
'Too. Loud.' Maybe he should subdue her.
"And you!"
Hope glanced down at her.
"Why don't you use them?" She asked, pointing at his fleshy wounds.
The painful throb returned as if triggered by the question.
"I suppose I should. I was blown up after all."
The room fell silent again, save for a faint dripping noise from a leaky pipe somewhere in the walls. A new realization veiled over her face, piecing two and two together as one would say.
"That was…you…?"
Of course they'd heard it. He would find it strange if they didn't know of the chaos he was involved in.
Their awareness wasn't a problem. But something of a capable inconvenience could…
"Hey, my turn!" The youngest, ignorant of the conversation, suddenly protested and snatched the bottle away, spilling some water at their bare feet.
That seemed to pluck the last nerve on the girl. "Will you just stop?"
Swsh!
Before she finished her words, the gun was swiped from her hands.
"Wah!"
The girl's feet tripped back, and her hands snatched her brothers' collars as she pulled them with her.
But Hope merely inspected the gun, their reactions of less importance. It was a simple Glock pistol he held. Nothing extravagantly made but something nonetheless.
Tnk.
And there was no silver emblem.
He then checked the magazine and turned it over.
"Well you really don't know how to use this thing." Hope's blunt comment caused the girl's cheeks to flush. His hands deftly placed the magazine back on. And a faint clicking sounded.
"The safety lever is on."
"I knew that…"
"So you weren't going to kill me?"
"Er…"
She immediately avoided his gaze. Must've picked a random weapon on the street, but the oldest of the three would be responsible for it.
Three children…Three siblings…
Hope frowned and crouched in front of them, his wounds aching across his body that fought back any other memories trying to resurface. All six eyes intently watched his actions, unblinking, their breaths held. Their scrawny faces were worse than all the other strays he'd seen.
…bang…bang–
Before either of them could speak, beyond the walls echoed the familiar firing of bullets.
The winds may have dropped, and the rain may have pulled back, but danger still crept the crevices of this place. And as all their lips were sealed, muffled voices could be picked up from outside as well.
The children hugged tighter onto one another, the youngest stiffly watching the shadows as if it might bleed a mutant.
How troublesome.
Of course there wasn't anything else in this room besides them. And Hope didn't have the energy to face a shadowed monster. The fact that there was a blinding Sun Aspect carrier called Immortal Flame was enough. There shouldn't be anything of equal caliber.
'Mm.' Hope hummed in thought. 'More people.'
"I need to find someone." Hope began in a quieter tone. "And it seems you three would be the smartest to ask. But what do you want in return?"
It seemed the only way to get by with anyone was to make deals. It wasn't like Hope could make a lasting relationship anyways. A tiny part of him twisted from that truth but he ignored it.
The girl studied him, and he studied her. Her face was triangular, nose long, and eyebrows thin above deep-hollowed eyes.
"Anything?" She repeated.
Instead of answering, Hope grabbed the barrel of the gun and pointed the handle to her.
She glanced back at her brothers. A silent conversation passing between them—although Hope wasn't sure about the youngest—and she looked back at Hope.
"Could you kill someone for us?"
Hope didn't miss a beat and placed the gun in her small hands.
"I said anything."
Of course he meant it.
His service involved death anyways.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone