A Hunter's Blood: The Crimson Contracts

The Tralodian War. That was when the Tralodians tried to conquer Earth. A violent srecies that didn’t know who we were, or cared. They expected to overrun us, and make us a memory on our own planet. They thought they could save the Earth’s ecosystem by wiping out the humans. They believed they could renew natural resources once they got rid of the negative factor. The word humanity in the Tralodian language meant barbaric wasteful destroyer.

The one thing they did wrong was categorize us as one group. We fought them for our freedom, their stereotyping, and the indigenous right to live on our own planet.

Two of our dedicated soldiers were from the same family. Their military expertise in covert missions was an integral component to the Human Race’s success. Drakx and Teryn Slazakohn. The sons of the greatest military mind of the time, General Slandor Slazakohn.

Slandor taught us more than how to execute maneuvers, he taught us to take pride in ourselves. It wasn’t that we followed him because we had to; we all wanted to follow him. His sons were taught early that whatever you wanted to do, be the best at it. They were masters at their duties.

It was during one of their missions that their lives changed forever.

During a surveillance mission to map out the number of troops, and strategies the Tralodians were planning, Drakx, and Teryn were in a disclosed, hidden location to gather information. They were in the covert location for three days when they were nearly completed with their assignment. The Tralodians, unfortunately, had been at war for at least two thousand years before they initiated this skirmish. They knew how to fight.

The Tralodians had captured the brother’s commanding officer. They also knew how to torture.

The commander was tough to break. The Tralodians tried to convince him to tell them about any secret missions that were detrimental. After losing most of his fingers, made to eat part of his exposed pancreas, and having his nose slit off with a razor, he remained quietly loyal.

The Tralodians had more than enough of this stubborn, foolish soldier, and slowly bled him to death. They never needed him to tell them anything. They just extracted his essence chip, and downloaded the information. They just enjoyed administering pain to their enemies. They never missed an opportunity to dominate with extreme prejudice. The commander’s situation is what passed the Ghornak bill. The bill stated that once in the military, an active soldier, all except higher intelligence, gives up all rights to the possession of their essence chip until no longer in the military. If they are captured, the military can remote destroy the chip at any time. We have DNA encryption, and remote detonation because of that bill to this day.

Drakx, and Teryn weren’t, at that time, protected by that bill, or its new technology.

The brothers were hiding in an invisible location. They thought they had no worries. They didn’t know their commander was tortured, and downloaded into Tralodian memory banks. The Tralodians knew who, when, where, and how many.

The brothers didn’t know they were about to be ambushed.

Teryn was the eldest. He subconsciously took on the task of protecting the younger. He never had a thought about the subject, he just did it. Drakx looked up to his older sibling with unconditional love, and respect.

As they completed their mission, and prepped for evac, the ambush occurred with surprising swiftness. A frag-phosphor grenade was thrown in their location. Teryn saw it, and knew they wouldn’t survive the detonation. Without thinking, he pushed Drakx away, and told him to get out quick. Drakx realized too late that he couldn’t save his brave brother as Teryn dove on the grenade. As it exploded violently underneath his brother, he cried out to him. It was too late. His brother wasn’t moving. Believing his brother was dead, he understood that he was the reason for the sacrifice. As the Tralodians began to breach the perimeter, Drakx followed his brother’s last wish, he escaped. That was the day that Drakx grew older, wiser, and bitter. He was angry that his brother gave his life for him. He was broken he couldn’t give him a proper burial. It really damaged his soul that his brother was gone.

The only saving grace of the tragedy was the information they gathered tipped the war in the human’s favor. Drakx fought to make sure his brother’s death made a difference. That intelligence was the reason the human race won. Since his brother died in war, ending it was the least he could do.

Teryn would’ve been happy to know his younger brother was instrumental in his tireless efforts to end the war. That was if he knew when the war ended. Teryn wasn’t dead. The grenade would have done its job that day if he wasn’t wearing his anti-concussion vest. He was knocked out, and barely, but alive.

The Tralodians breached the location that day. All they found was a single man, unconscious, and bleeding. The other soldier was gone. They decided to retrieve the near dead man, and retrieve his essence chip. Sadly for them Teryn destroyed his essence chip when he joined Intelligence. They would have to torture him to get any information. That made it hard for the Tralodians. He was very close to death. They had to save him in order to get anything from him. That was what they did. They patched the hole in his chest first. He was brought back to a healthy status within nine months. During that time, the humans had used that detrimental information, and fought back like warriors. They beat the Tralodians back to their planet in six months.

Knowing the campaign was over, that faction made the decision to stay in their hidden base until they were found. They also knew that with the defeat that was dealt to them, they were cut off from their prime headquarters. They knew that they could survive for years, and no one was looking for them. They felt they could commit as many war crimes as they could before they were found.

They began slowly torturing Teryn. They never interrogated him, just tortured. Teryn began to wonder what they wanted. They didn’t speak at all near him. He was just subjected to purgatory every day. His captors were artists in their craft. It would have been beautiful to witness, if it wasn’t so brutally vile. Teryn kept his sanity during the barbaric treatment. He thought he was being a brave soldier by keeping quiet. Then he realized they weren’t asking him anything. That confused him more so than ignoring him verbally. He believed it was just a form of their psychological torture, so he fought to keep his sanity. As much as they broke him down physically, they wouldn’t win in the mental arena. Sadly, there was no subterfuge, no mental breakdown to make an interrogation easier. They just wanted to cause him unbearable pain.

He was broken down physically near death, but the Tralodians didn’t want his death. His pain would end, and they wouldn’t have a purpose anymore. They couldn’t live without purpose. They were survivors also.

They sent him back to their medical liaison to heal him, and bring him back to perfect health once more. They couldn’t torture a weakling for long. At that point, without a victorious war, torture was the only caveat satisfying their devastation. So torture they continued.

The doctor fought her conscious, and lost. Being moral was her weakness. She dared not to confide in anyone for what she was going to do. Although it would’ve assuredly meant her death, she was determined to do what she felt was right. To her, an honorable death far outweighed a shameful life. What they were doing to him was a shame she didn’t want to live with. She began to plan his escape.

With the retaining of her knowledge of his physiology, he recovered in six months instead of nine. As he slept during recovery, she began to implant a genetic physics medical program into his memory. It was done covertly in small amounts. She didn’t want her plan to be found by the others in charge. Being one of the commanders of the medical squad, she knew the war was long over.

His genetics program took longer than those three months to complete. She told him, quietly, the truth. He became infuriated. She told him if he let them know he knew, they would increase the torture. They wouldn’t stop until they were old.

He had to go back to that room to avoid suspicion. He understood her plan to set him free. It wasn’t right to him to blow the plan. She would be exposed, and killed. She was his only companion that wanted to help him selflessly. He knew the consequences if she were caught for treason. He remained quiet.

Before he went back to that accursed, steel evil, the doctor helped him once more. She performed a surgery to cauterize his pain receptors. She couldn’t sleep knowing he would scream. She told him he had to be an incredible actor to make them believe he was still feeling the pain. If there was the slightest hint of doubt, they would find out she numbed him. It would’ve been a short matter of time before they figured out the rest. It would be over. He was used to screaming with what they had done to him earlier. He told her he would pull it off. He felt he had no choice.

Teryn acted well. He reacted to every horror they administered upon him. Only the doctor and Teryn knew the truth. Teryn felt no physical pain, but having to live like this for good because of a small mishap in the plan, would have mentally destroyed him.

After a few months, the doctor told him during a routine health check, that it was time to go back to the medical area. Teryn had to look the way he should’ve felt.

After he passed out the final time, they escorted him to the medical area. The plan had worked so far.

The doctor had to heal him again. He felt no pain, but the physical damage was evident. As she began this process, hopefully, for the last time, she also began his genetics program completion.

They were being visually monitored, so they couldn’t have heart felt conversations anymore. They had to be as covert instead of when she told him the truth. He felt morbidly empty they had to remain detached from his savior. He wanted to talk to her, and get to know her reasons for helping him. Respect for her life, and the selfless act was the cat that killed his curiosity. He had to remained quiet.

His healing was swift. Aside from his chest wound that got him there, he was in top shape. Unfortunately, his chest was his weakest area. The explosion killed him for three minutes. It would be his weakest area for the rest of his life. Fortunately, the doctor was giving him that life back. As much as the military, and more so, his brother left him to endure this, he would be free once more.

His escape began like every other day of his captivity. It was time to see if all of their work was worth the time and sacrifice. This was how it was played.

***

He began his attempt at freedom when the monitoring squad did their morning shift change. They seemed to be very relaxed at three in the morning. Teryn broke his restraints, and attacked the doctor by smashing her in the left temple, incapacitating her. He would escape past the guards, to freedom.

That was the story the doctor fabricated to steer suspicion away from her. They just had to execute it perfectly.

At three AM, Teryn began to pull at his already loosened restraints. He had to break free before the monitor cadre came into the medical area to check if everything was alright. That was the only time they didn’t look at the monitors, because they had to square away their paperwork. Two minutes maximum. He released himself in a minute and a half.

The doctor was glad that phase one worked. She was nervous about phase two. He had to knock her out. It had to be an actual blow. She knew the pain from the hit would linger for hours, but that wasn’t what she was nervous about. She would lose consciousness for some time. Her part of the plan would be over. Teryn would have to finish without a partner, or ally. When she woke, she would find out if he succeeded. If she was being cared for, he did it. If she awoke incarcerated, they both failed.

Teryn got up from his restraining chair, and stealthily crept toward her. She knew it was coming. She couldn’t flinch. It would give them away. It was like trying not to blink, as someone constantly snapped fingers an inch from your face. She held steady, and waited for the blow.

Teryn picked up a lead casing that was used for radio-active specimens. It was small, but very heavy. As he picked it up, he began to have second thoughts about cold cocking his only friend in this harsh place. He knew it would hurt badly. He pulled himself together, and realized that if he didn’t and they found that she helped in his escape, they would do worse than just knock her out. He caught himself in the time it took to pick up the casing, and recoil it.

She hoped that he made this look good. So did he.

He said he was very sorry to himself as he brought the canister crashing into her skull. He hit her square in the left temple, rendering her unconscious. She didn’t flinch. If you weren’t part of the plan, Teryn looked quite malicious as he dropped his captor. That was what the camera showed.

Phase two completed. The rest was up to him.

The Tralodians had certain protocols to contain an escapee. They followed it religiously. It never failed. In two thousand years, they have never had a prisoner escape. It worked flawlessly. Teryn was counting on them following procedure.

The first step was usually the only step ever needed. In any prisoner emancipation situation. When the prisoner was located, their immediate area was flooded instantly with a sufficient amount of anti-mobilization gas. It blanketed the area with a dense foggy chemical. It paralyzed anyone in the vicinity. Even in a hostage situation, it was effective. In nanoseconds you were immobilized. It happened too quickly to react by harming your hostage.

The monitor squad saw this escape unfolding right in front of them. They were caught off guard, and with disbelieving amazement. They didn’t alert anyone. The main reason was they would pay for his, although stupid, attempt. Their commanders would have blamed them for giving him, in some way, a shallow hope of even thinking of trying to escape on their watch. The other reason was that they had enough training, ammo, and protocol for the four of them to easily subdue this prisoner.

As they witnessed the blow to the head, the cadre alerted the other three to the monitors. He reached over to the pad to flood the room with the gas. It became cloudy within seconds. They grabbed their masks with special filters, and weapons before running down to the medical area. They cautiously positioned themselves by twos on either side of the door. The procedure was for the monitor cadre to breach the room, and secure the paralyzed prisoner. The other three would tend to any hostages. They put on their masks, and the cadre began by breaching the door.

Teryn was at an advantage. He had knowledge of the protocol also. He knew everything they did about his recapture, and hoped they wouldn’t deviate.

During the last nine months of his recovery, the doctor knew she had to prepare him for an escape. Prepare him for something that has never been accomplished in two thousand years. It was an impossible task, but the one thing Teryn had that none of the others did was inside help. No one had ever risked their well-being just to aid a prisoner. The doctor was the first to take on the role as a traitor. If what she did would correct an evil, her traitorous act was worth it in her mind.

The doctor began to slowly administer trace amounts of gas to Teryn during his rehabilitation. Nine months earlier, it paralyzed him instantly. A human was always blessed with the gift to adapt to the environment. Even when the environment was hostile. In time, it would become natural again. The saying of what didn’t kill them made them stronger was true.

The time frame was nine months. The doctor has to normalize his body to the gas. She dosed him a little at a time for those nine months until he became immune to its effects. He still felt slightly stiff, but the paralyzing didn’t work anymore. Having the inside help was the difference. He was determined not to fail.

The cadre breached the door. Normal procedure was so flawless to them. It was almost as exciting as cleaning the rest rooms. The cadre entered the foggy room. He had to evacuate the gas from the room so he could see the paralyzed prisoner. The evacuation switch was brain wave coded. That was the only way it could be activated. That was just in case a prisoner was able to hold his breath long enough to get to that switch, and clear the room before the gas took effect. It was in a secret location in the room. The Tralodians were very cautious in that situation. Everything was planned perfectly for recapture. All except for Teryn’s x-factor of inside help. That was all he had at this point.

In the fog, Teryn made his way to the location of the evacuation switch. The doctor showed him where it was. They developed a crude way of communicating with blinks, and breathing rhythms, so communication was severely limited. It took a long time to comprehend also. They had to create some way to “talk” to each other without drawing the attention of the monitor soldiers. They had a plan. As crude as it was, it was a plan.

The cadre made his way to the switch. He never knew Teryn was waiting, mobile, and highly alert. As he reached for the switch, a hand swiftly grabbed his mask, and pulled it off smoothly. As surprising as it was, the cadre breathed in a whiff of the gas. He was frozen before he could even scream.

Teryn grabbed his still, but falling body. He guided him, quietly, to the floor. He took the fire arm, and pointed it towards the door. He finally felt he had a bit of control.

The one thing Teryn was the best at was marksmanship. He could hit anything, anywhere, at any time. No scope or calibration. It was surreal how accurate he was. He used to train at the range as much as he could. His shot group for twenty shots was amazing. Most marksmen had a bullet hole grouping on a target at three hundred meters that fit the circumference of an energy drink container. Teryn’s shot group was the circumference of one bullet hole. If it weren’t for the shot tracing, it would have appeared as if he only fired, and hit the target once. The other three soldiers were about to witness and feel how talented he was.

The solders outside thought the cadre didn’t evacuate the room immediately to try and scare them with a prank. They knew nothing ever happened that changed this way of recapture. They expected him to be as bored as they were. This was the only incident that happened in years that had any excitement. They believed he was trying to make this more dangerous than it had ever been. They began to call his insultingly feeble bluff. They all expressed their disbelief in concern to him. They reminded him that he was only the top cadre twice a week, and that they would retaliate with a better planned prank. Their vocal taunting was all Teryn needed to pinpoint their location.

He fired through the fog, and through the doorway. The first round hit one of the soldiers under the right ear, on the neck. The other two were startled at the sound of the thunder clap of the firing of a bullet. Before they had a chance to see their comrade slump in quiet death, the same happened to them.

Two more loud explosions ricocheted, and exploded across the stark, steel walls of the room. The sound raced down the hall towards nothing as the only ones to hear were Teryn, a paralyzed, and three dead soldiers. It alerted no one.

Teryn was free. Like a rat in a maze with the doors open. Not being watched by his captors still felt better than he had ever felt in that facility. He had to reign in his euphoria. He still had much work to do before this was over. He wasn’t free yet.

Teryn dragged the dead bodies into the room. He quickly cleaned the hall of blood. If a guard patrolled the area, it would look normal, unless he went down the hall, and looked in the room. The misdirection wouldn’t last long. He had to get moving.

He grabbed a stimulating serum, and the paralyzed guard. He carried him out of the room, and sealed it shut. Before he re-stimulated the guard, he made sure the guard knew if he would be a problem, his murder would be easy. He injected him. As he regained the movement of his muscles, the barrel of his stolen gun was rested at the base of his skull. He had two choices. Either co-operate, or die. Since he didn’t welcome death yet, he co-operated.

Teryn demanded he be taken to the senior commander’s quarters. The guard knew the commander was always heavily guarded. They would kill Teryn without further incident. He thought he might get out of the storm he was in just yet. He began to walk to the commander’s quarters.

Teryn was behind him, with a grip on his wrist that was wrenched behind his back, and a gun at the back of his skull. He walked behind him, using him as a shield in case they were surprised. The guard was nervous about the outcome, but strangely excited at this attempt. It wouldn’t work. It just was enough to stimulate the mundane assignment they were also enslaved as well. He knew the ghost would at least live again. As much as he knew they didn’t need this, he knew they needed this.

As they neared the corner to the final corridor to the quarters, the guard became tense. This was it; as soon as they were seen, the personal guard would kill Teryn, and it would be over. He would blame the escape on his, already dead squad. He might even get a medal for leading him to his death.

The guard was curious about one thing. As they got to the corner of the corridor, he asked Teryn how he got past the gas. He wanted to know how they made a mistake in procedure, before Teryn was killed. That would’ve been the last time to ask.

Teryn said nothing. He was getting more comfortable with the certainty that the Tralodians always used procedure. He got a better grip on the wrist of the guard, and walked out to the corridor, with him in the front. Teryn alerted them by vocalizing his presence.

The personal guard was a highly trained, well-oiled team. As they saw, and heard Teryn’s war cry, they locked and loaded. The guard in front of Teryn had a dark realization about his importance in this situation. His moment of clarity came too late as the personal guard began firing at Teryn.

As Teryn began to feel the bullets riddle the guard’s body, he fired back. He was quicker, and more accurate. He used the guard as a shield as he began to neutralize the shooters. It started with eight guards. By the time Teryn finished his cry, eight guards, including the one in front of him, were dead. The cadre guard was wounded badly, but alive.

Teryn dropped his dead shield. As he walked to the wounded soldier, he wondered if that idiot guard thought he would be rewarded for bringing the enemy to his commander’s door. The cadre had a different marking than the other guards so Teryn knew which one was in charge. That spared the cadre’s life momentarily.

The emergency access to the commander’s quarters for emergency aid was given to the cadre. Teryn knew he had to gain entrance quickly, before that hall was flooded with guards. He knew the commander was awakened by all of the gunfire, and it would be a fast retaliation. He picked up the wounded guard, and placed his hand on the lock scanner. When it matched the brain’s theta wave, the door unlocked.

Teryn knew the commander was waiting to shoot anything that entered the room. He lifted the cadre by the back of his neck, and shoved him in the doorway. The commander drenched the cadre with a barrage of rounds. Teryn judged his location by the angle of the bullets hitting the cadre, and stuck his gun in the doorway. He fired and from behind the door, and shot the rifle out of the commanders hands. He entered the room as the commander rubbed his hands.

Teryn grabbed the commander, and demanded him to lead him to the exit. The commander knew Teryn was resourceful to get this far. He respected his bravery, he began to direct him to the exit with minimal resistance.

They made it past the corridor before it became flooded with guards. The commander ordered them not to shoot for fear of being shot himself in such a small area. He wanted to give the order when they were in the open, near the exit. With an opening that large, even a trainee could kill him without harming the commander. They began to walk to the exit.

Teryn was almost free. That was what made him nervous. He was worried about almost making it. It was a tense seven minutes, as they slowly walked to the bay that housed the exit. Soldiers were everywhere. They all had a bead on Teryn. They were just waiting for the Commander’s order. It would be over soon.

They entered the exit bay, surrounded by itchy soldiers waiting. It was about to finalize. As they made it to the exit, Teryn knew it was about to end in a shower of bullets, aimed at him. He had one chance to stop this absolution. He spoke.

He told them the truth. He told the soldiers the war had been over for years. They were following a crazy commander with a personal vendetta. Of course his ranting was just that. Not one soldier believed him, so he grabbed a very painful pressure point of the commander’s, and forced him to tell them the truth. Instead of giving the order to terminate, the commander, under duress, told them the truth.

The soldiers became confused. Some became angry, others stayed behind the commander. Some wanted to kill the commander. Some couldn’t believe what they heard. Very few wanted to protect the commander at all costs. They began to turn on each other. A shot was fired. It wasn’t at Teryn. A soldier aimed at the Commander, and fired. The shot hit him in the arm. It was just enough to ignite the powder keg.

They began to fire at each other. It was chaotic enough for Teryn to escape with the wounded commander.

As they made it through the door, to the hangar bay, the commander began to become desperate. He didn’t want to help Teryn escape, but he also didn’t want to join the exit bay full of mentally cracked men. Especially, since he was the catalyst of their cracking. He decided to stay with the prisoner. At least he wouldn’t be killed as long as he was needed.

They made it to a hover vehicle. All the vehicles were connected by a GPS power box. They were all plugged into it in the hangar. Being very early in the morning, all except the commander’s vehicle was being charged for the day. Teryn disconnected the command vehicle from the tether. Then he fired on the box to disable it. No one was charged enough to search for them, and wouldn’t be able to find them with global positioning.

They boarded the vehicle. The commander was anxious to leave almost as much as Teryn. The commander decoded the hangar bay door, and they left in a hurry.

As they sped away from Teryn’s cruel incarceration, he thought of the one soul that helped him. He felt strange about his situation. He was elated to escape the torture, happy to have his own life again, but saddened that he would never see her again. He missed her as quickly as he left her.

He was, at least, happy that their plan worked. He was gone, and she wouldn’t be implicated. His escape would be a mystery. Across Tralodian history, no prisoner had successfully escaped. He silently thanked her for her help. He admired her strong will. She laid it on the line, her life, and freedom for him. For a prisoner, her enemy. All because, in her mind, what they did to him was wrong. Even being as high as she was in their war like society, it was morally cruel to continue. She risked her existence for her convictions.

His admiration began to mature. It began to change into affection. His mind fought the thought of feeling that way for a Tralodian. His heart, on the other hand, welcomed it. The heart took over, and made the mind agree. It wasn’t that difficult. As his mind finally surrendered to feeling, instead of logic, it happened.

They were twenty two kilometers away from the facility when a blinding light emanated from it, and engulfed the hovercraft. Teryn immediately slowed to a halt. He was trying to adjust to the ghostly shadows the flash created in his eyes, when he heard the explosion.

It came from behind him, about twenty two kilometers away. His elation from his heart’s victory over his mind didn’t stop actuality from sinking it.

As he turned to see a small mushroom cloud, the shockwave shook the vehicle. They had destroyed the facility, and everyone in it. She was dead.

As the vehicle began to regulate itself from the shockwave, Teryn turned, and gave the commander a psychotic, lunacidal gaze. He reached over, and hoisted him by his throat. He screamed the question at the commander of why. The commander was startled at his heavy concern for a place that painfully violated him. He was too confused to answer immediately. Teryn reiterated with more force. The commander snapped from his confusion to let Teryn know that it was procedure to destroy a secretive facility, and every soldier, if it was compromised. Since Teryn had escaped, they had no purpose. With recent events, the commander was quietly content about procedure.

Teryn was shattered. She knew this was the end result. She knew that procedure dictated this event as well as it helped him escape. She knew this all along, and helped him escape anyway. She died proud, and right, instead of living in wrongful shame. The truth slowly destroyed a part of him also. He was beginning to curse procedure.

Someone had to be responsible for his pain. He couldn’t feel physical pain anymore, but the doctor could do nothing with the mental burning he was enduring. Since mental pain was the only one felt, Teryn’s mind compensated for his physical painlessness. Mental became much worse than before. That was what he thought. The new feeling of pure love realized and torn away never occurred to him. As strong as he was, that feeling was his crippler.

He put the gun to the commander’s head. It was his fault for putting her in that position, just for a personal grudges against the Earth. He had to pay for his war crimes, and Teryn became constable, judge, and executioner.

As the commander began to sweat in terror, Teryn leaned close to his ear. He quietly, with a feeling of extreme hostility, told him how his escape worked. He told him how the doctor was instrumental in the plan’s success. Teryn leaned to look at the commander’s face. He had to see the shocked look of disbelief. The commander began mouthing unrecognizable, soundless words, as Teryn felt an empty satisfaction at his soundless surprise.

Teryn placed the barrel of the gun under his chin, and locked eyes with him. He fired the gun, and was bathed in the commander’s brains, and blood, he didn’t blink. He watched as the body go limp after a few seconds of involuntary spasms, it fell to the vehicle’s floor.

Teryn gave the air a small kiss towards the slowly dispersing mushroom cloud. He saluted her ghost through red, tearing eyes. That was the moment he dedicated his existence to her. Living for her was all that mattered. She told him her name once. He made sure he remembered Jonel, and her selfless sacrifice for him.

He exited the vehicle, and discovered he was in the Old Jersey wastelands. Newer York was north of his location. He had to get there.

He trekked to the entrance of the city. He was home. The old familiar smells were absent, but he was defiantly home. The absence of his childhood aromas were due to the reasons the Tralodians attacked in the first place. The pollution was gone. The war taught us how delicate our existence was, and how respecting the eco-system would keep it going. The city smelled...sterilized. It made it more plastic for Teryn, but he could handle that if it meant home.

It was sad there were no parades for a war hero. He didn’t expect it, but he did expect his life to normalize. With his mistaken death, and his essence chip destroyed, Teryn didn’t exist anymore. He was, of course, there physically, but not on compu-file. According to the world he helped save, he didn’t exist. Anyone who they couldn’t track, or label, became true figments. Teryn became one of the “Unimportant”. After going through what he did for his planet, no one cared.

He tried to become the man he once was, but the city’s laws made it impossible. Without having an essence chip, he was considered dead. When he destroyed it, he thought he would retire, or die in the military. He felt he would be taken care of enough to give up his identity. He was right about one thing. He did die in the military. The records stated that, and not even a living body could change that. The condition that didn’t change after the war was the planet’s arrogance of power.

Teryn had to survive as a… nobody, homeless, with no status. It hurt not to be recognized for his heroic acts, but to be ignored completely, and stripped of his ability to become productive was unbearable. Living a meaningful life for Jonel was becoming tougher than the torture he endured.

He remembered who made him into the ghost he was then. Who said he loved him, and the universe couldn’t separate them. The one that left him to die in that bunker while he ran for his own safety. The one that didn’t intervene as he went through painful darkness under the Tralodian’s unforgiving fist. The one who disregarded his unconditional love with blatant betrayal, his brother, Drakx.

Being betrayed by family hurt worse than any other type of pain. He had to blame someone, other than himself, to remain sane. His brother was the correct person to curse. The only power he had left was the strong hatred for his brother. As misguided as it was, it was real to Teryn. Aside from his promise to Jonel. It kept him from self-terminating. To have a reason to live, as shallow as keeping the hate for his brother alive was, it was enough.

He made a promise to Jonel to keep living so her sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. Hate, ironically, was a good thing that kept him going.

He had to depend on his military training to survive. Living in the city, with no identity, was worse than jungle survival. At least in the jungle, he could eat certain berries, and plants. Hard to pick a brick from a building, and eating it was impossible, even for a hardened soldier like him.

He ate the refuse from the waste of more important people. It was horrible. He didn’t need receptors to feel pain.

Teryn didn’t look like a typical nobody. He wasn’t under nourished, he didn’t look as if he was strung out, and no visible disease. He still found a way to work out every day, and stay fit off of the scraps he was forced to eat. That was the reason that Braniff Cercian had an interest in him.

Braniff was the owner of the largest virtu-ware company in the known planets. He was a respected businessman. He had as much of a celebrity status, as a business status. A person so famous, it was impossible that he was also the leader of The Solution. The best trick the Devil accomplished was the illusion that he didn’t exist.

Braniff was a monumental personality for normal people to admire, but being who he really was made him very paranoid. Since he trusted no one, he was personally involved in all of his underworld activities.

One of those activities was finding the homeless, and relocating them to a more comfortable status. In return, they would do the petty crimes, and drug dealing for him. If they were caught, it never linked to him. They went to stasis prison, and Braniff got another “nobody” to pick up where the last one stopped. It was clockwork before he found Teryn.

Everything was progressing normally, and smoothly. Teryn was approached, and given the choice to live like a human again. For him, there was no other alternative. Jonel’s ghost deserved nothing less. He was given living quarters, food, and a good allowance. It began to feel good to start over.

After he was settled, he had to meet Braniff. He realized that a high member of the community was the one that was giving him the chance to live again. He wanted to meet, and thank him. Braniff was about to give him the real reason for his generosity.

As Teryn entered the office, he felt humble. The office was large. Braniff sat behind the desk, with a satisfied smile. Teryn was a prize catch. He believed that he would be a good worker.

Braniff began to tell him the truth. Teryn remembered the truth had once been a massive component in setting him free. Once he heard the new truth, he knew he was incarcerated again.

Teryn didn’t want to reduce himself to a common criminal. He was thankful for his new life, but thought he could help to the point of importance. He told Braniff about his specialty. Not only was he a geneticist, he was the best marksman ever documented in the military.

Braniff didn’t care. The reason he was never linked to any wrong doing was he never deviated from his plan without an amazing reason to do so. Teryn was going to be a lowly worker, unless he could do the near impossible. Change Braniff’s mind. Being a different, better prospect was what made Braniff, reluctantly, give him that chance.

There was a loaded gun on the desk, near Braniff. It was for the prospects that didn’t agree with the arrangement. He made sure it was visible for that reason. Teryn saw it, and crafted an idea to increase his status. He asked Braniff if he had a coin. Braniff laughed, and was in disbelief that anyone would ask such a question for a commoner. One of the bodyguards reached in his pocket, and tossed a coin to Teryn, while telling him that Mister Cercian carried nothing lower than a million credit card.

Teryn slid the coin over to Braniff and asked him to pick heads, or tails. Braniff was slightly confused, but intrigued. He wanted to find out where this strange request went. He chose heads.

Teryn told him to flip it in the air, high above his head. Braniff was curious, so he grabbed the coin, and flipped it high above his head.

As the coin was flipping in the air, Teryn reached for the gun. He aimed at the coin, fired, and replaced the gun back in its original position. He raised both hands, and walked back, making sure he looked non-threatening.

The coin bounced on the desk in front of Braniff as his bodyguards pulled their guns, and leveled them at Teryn. Braniff was surprised at his speed, and appalled at the efficiency his bodyguards lacked. He ordered them not to fire just yet. If Teryn couldn’t explain his crazy, reckless actions, they would kill him with a word.

Instead of answering the demand for his reasoning, Teryn told Braniff to look at the coin that landed on the desk. Braniff looked down at the coin, and saw a hole through it. The hole was caused by a single bullet. Braniff picked it up, and saw that the bullet path went through from the head side of the coin. That was impressive, but the impossible was having the coin still land on the desk, instead of ricocheting across the office. Teryn was so precise, the inertia of the bullet carried through the hit, affecting it minimally. He did all of this while the coin was still flipping. An amazing way to change Braniff’s mind.

He told his bodyguards to put their guns away. He was impressed. He picked up the gun. He began firing the gun. The bullets hit both bodyguards in their chest, and head. They couldn’t protect him if Teryn wanted to kill him. He was still appalled. Teryn froze in place, as Braniff shot the guards. Braniff began to lose the rage in his eyes, and began to chuckle at Teryn. He told Teryn to put his hands down, and that he wasn’t going to shoot his best hitter.

Teryn had an obligation to Braniff, and more so Jonel. If that meant killing for The Solution, so be it.

Being a hitter in The Solution carried a certain level of importance Teryn liked. Being trained by Jonel for genetics was the perfect legitimate vocation. During the work day, he was a chemical alteration specialist. He created disease killing chemicals that saved many lives. When he was needed, he killed for them. His situation was better.

He became The Solution’s only hitter in time. Braniff began to trust him more, and his assassinations were the cleanest he’d ever seen. After the night of cleaning house, when Braniff ordered him to hit the rest of the hitters, Teryn became the only one. He was happy to be respected once more.

The only setback Teryn had was at his legitimate vocation. He had been studying a chemical enzyme that ate flesh. It was going to be used to kill certain skin cancers. He was working very late that night. He was the only one still in the building. He added a multiplier of his own design to accelerate the growth of the enzyme to strengthen the supply. It worked a little too well. The enzyme grew at an exponential rate in seconds. It had nowhere to go but to a food source, Teryn’s skin. He became peppered with the enzyme before neutralizing it. It was too late for him. His skin was being eaten quickly. He was feeling no pain, but knew he couldn’t live without skin. He knew his life was over. He fulfilled his obligation to Jonel, and Braniff, so he could accept death.

He felt content as he called Braniff to say goodbye. He told Braniff the situation, and wished him good luck. Braniff asked if the enzyme was contained. Once he knew the enzyme was contained, and became inert after eating skin, he assembled a team to rescue his best ever, and only hitter.

He was unconscious when they found him. Braniff placed him in a stasis coffin, and escorted his suspended body to an experimental laboratory stationed in Antarctica.

Braniff had connections from all worlds. One of his connections was a legitimate bio engineer by the name of Doctor Pantan. The doctor had discovered a material from a meteorite that was twice as hard as diamond, organic, and pliable. He speculated that it could be a natural armor for the Military, but it would replace the skin. Unfortunately for him, a human wouldn’t survive the process. Just the pain would put an anesthetized person in shock. When Teryn became the patient that needed his skin replacement surgery to survive, the doctor jumped at the chance.

Teryn told Braniff the stories of his ordeal with the rogue regiment of Tralodians. He let him know of the receptor burn off, and the advantage he had for not feeling pain. It had been a casual conversation Braniff retained. He thought it would benefit him in some way. Just not in this way.

Braniff told Doctor Pantan of Teryn’s gift, and asked if he could help. He didn’t want to lose him. Pantan told Braniff he would do his best to help him survive. He prepped Teryn for surgery.

When Teryn regained consciousness, he felt different. He felt he had skin, a newer, tougher skin. Pantan was amazed that it worked, and that Teryn’s recovery time was almost disturbingly quick. Teryn was alive. He wasn’t lulled into final sleep. Braniff saved his life once more. His bond with him became unbreakable. To save him twice was more than his brother tried. Drakx wouldn’t even try to save him once. His loyalty to Braniff became galvanized at that moment.

His new skin was called Pantanthium. Doctor Pantan wanted to put his findings in the World Medical Journal. He was proud of the success. Braniff couldn’t let him make his hitter famous. Pantan didn’t know of Braniff’s other life. He became quickly aware of who Braniff truly was when Braniff’s team slaughtered the entire medical staff in cold blood. As Braniff walked towards Pantan, he heard him say something about never having any loose ends. That was the last thing he heard before the flash, and thunderclap.

Teryn had become a dedicated soldier of The Solution. He took impossible contracts, and completed them. He became famous in his infamy. He was impervious to pain, or damage. The new skin made him impenetrable. He gave his existence to Braniff. Whatever he wanted, no matter how suicidal, or dangerous, Teryn would do it. He knew he wouldn’t be alive if Braniff didn’t help. So he gave the possession of his life to Braniff.

Braniff used his life well. He made Teryn do the things that a person with self-preservation wouldn’t do. He knew Teryn didn’t care about self-preservation, and was happy to execute any task.

The underworld began to fear Teryn. He became mythical for his reputation. No money or bargaining would deter him from the kill. They began to call him The Rectifier.

Nobody knew who he worked for, although many suspected The Solution. Nobody knew when he appeared. They just knew if they didn’t follow the criminal code, he would rectify the situation. Everybody began to remember that ancient phrase, “Honor amongst thieves”, and started to follow it religiously. He made the term, Organized crime, a reality.

This went on for twenty years. People didn’t dare violate the code for fear of the consequences. Braniff became the most powerful. The Solution controlled any criminal activity. It became obvious who The Rectifier worked for. The Bounty Hunters Guild wanted to capture him quickly, but no one knew who, or what he was. It was hard to capture a menacing legend, that didn’t exist. They all wanted a piece of nothing, for that was what The Rectifier was... nothing.

Braniff had a special contract for Teryn. It was for an insignificant person that had access to sensitive files, his secretary. She knew too much, and had to die.

Teryn thought the killing of Braniff’s secretary was far beneath his skills, but obeyed without question. It should’ve been easy. It became the toughest hit he had in years. His typical hit lasted three hours before completion. He was on his second week with her. She made him so angry with her exemplary evasion, he promised himself he would give her a special, long lasting death.

He found her location. She was hiding in the Industrial Zone. He was speculating how gruesome her death should be when he saw a man get blown through a doorway. Teryn became interested in this new course of events, and held back to observe.

His target went to aid the strangely familiar man. She pulled out a rifle from his coat that made his gun look like a child’s cap gun. She fired at the doorway, and blew the wall out. He silently enjoyed her landing on her ass from the kick. She helped the man to a car parked nearby. As she helped the man into the passenger seat, Teryn got a look at his face.

Old ghosts came to torment him. His brother’s face accelerated that. He was torn by hatred, elation, confusion, and strangely missing him all at once. He remembered the moment his brother abandoned him, and hatred became the most important. He caught himself, and refocused on his target. He still had a job to do.

He became drunk with the amount of adrenaline coursing through his body. He realized he would finally be able to finish the last dark chapter in his life. Kill his brother, and his target all at once. Both of those birds were about to receive a very accurate, and vengeful stone. Teryn had a crazy grin on his face as he jumped in his cloaked vehicle to follow them. He was going to do what Braniff indirectly taught him. To tie up loose ends.