Living in the present tense. When you lose the past the future makes no sense. Simply lyrics from a song or do they really mean so much more. Life seems to move on by as it always has, but lately there seems so much more.

School is awsome. I know it makes me sound nerdy, but it's true. I'm learning things and practicing things that i will use for the rest of my life. When i put it in that perspective, it gets pretty intimidating. However, if you take it day by day, then it isn't bad. It's cool, being apart of some kind of industry that is just growing larger.

Work is as demanding as always. However, a person whom I'd long since disliked has departed, fired. LoL it makes me sound like a bad person, but good riddence. If you knew him, you'd know that he's a terrible person and most would be better off without him darkening their lives with his bullshit. A number of other people have quit recently, and it makes me think that I'm about to see yet another employee turn-over. I've seen numerous staff members come and go. Granted, some of the people who left are a number of my favorites that were there, but hopefully people as equally interesting will join. I have one single person in mind who cannot be replaced. There isn't another like her. This person isn't the same as anyone else i've talked about before. She had a short enough tenure that in the inconsistencies between my posts, she hasn't been mentioned. And as for the other whom i thought was a love interest that i may pursue . . . time makes fools of us all. The more I'm around her, the more i realize that she and i weren't to be. She's a huge bitch.

Between these two activities, my time is nearly split equally. Free time. There just isn't as much of it as there once was. Gladly though, I'm spending the time i do have with people i like, as opposed to sitting in my room waiting for the world to pass me by. My friends, they're all awsome . . . in their own ways. LoL I think about some of them and chuckle at their antics and i think of others and sigh gratefully. Naturally my best friends come to mind, but I've met someone whom makes me cherish every moment I get with her. I can't seem to describe it, but it's true hppyness.

It's time to leave for now, but i'm sure the next post will be alot sooner than this one was to it's past and that one's predecessor. Till next time my faithful followers, Adiue.

I've been neglecting to update this page. If anyone actually reads this then i'm sorry. But i've written parts 8-11. I'll post them in orders of number. appearing 8 first and 11 last. You'll notice the change in parts by the italized titles. I'll also space them outa  bit. Nathan, part 8 is the one with your house in it. Enjoy!

 

Melancholy Overture

            My eyes. I slowly open them. Hoping for a change. Unfounded. The same room, the same scene, my friend in the same condition. I sigh. I stare out the window. Slowly, the moons rise. Tipping the peak of their orbit. Soon to fall slowly once again.

            Three days I’ve waited. I didn’t try to chase Derrik. The effort I would have squandered on chasing him would have landed my friend in a grave, not the hospital. His vitals dance. Quietly responding every once in a while. The machine beeping rhythmically.

The door behind me opens. I slide my hand to my gun. These places have made me paranoid. It’s a nurse. I relax. She walks to his bed. Stands over him. Checks his pulse. Then walks out. Leaving us alone once more.

His face is completely relaxed and calm. No expression at all. His eyes closed. Dreaming. His hands open. Reaching. I burry my face into my hands. I lift my head up  and rest upon the backs of my hands. Tears lace my cheeks. I wipe them from my face. I stand and walk to the bathroom.

I rest my hands on the sink. I stare into the mirror. Red permeates my eyes. Exhaustion and worry has seeped into every part of my face. I turn the water on and splash some to my face. I stare back in the mirror. Letting the water run down my face into the basin. I grab a towel and dry myself.

At the moment, my brown eyes aren’t as shiny. Aren’t filled with fire. Dulled. My normal calm face, down turned. Saddened. My hair snarled and everywhere. No longer straight and clean. I try to comb it out with my fingers. It’s futile. I sigh and leave.

I open the door and walk out. I see a figure above the bed. I walk over. Julia is standing above him. Tears lacing her cheeks as well. I lift my hand and wipe away the tears with my thumb. She looks at me.

“Don’t do that. It won’t help any,” I say. I don’t sound hopeful. I sound tired. My voice dry and toneless.

She nods at me. Staring back down at his motionless body. I walk back to my chair next to his bed and sit. Julia runs a hand across his face. Smiling a bit inwardly. She sighs and walks over and grabs a chair. She pulls it up next to mine. She sits.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her close. She rests her head against my chest. I sigh. She sighs. The machine continues its soft speaking. Updating us that his heart is still beating.

“I didn’t realize how close you were,” I say.

“He . . . took me out a few times during the week before we left. And that night you went and settled things with Kale. He called. Looking for you. But I talked to him for the entire time you were gone,” she says.

“Good. I’m glad you guys are working out,” I say. I’m glad he took my advice. I’m glad he called and kept her mind off of my killing Kale. She needed a distraction. She lifts her head up and stares, cross-armed, at his motionless body. Biting her lower lip. I sigh. I rest my head upon my hands again.

I look at the clock next to me. I slowly watch the display change. A minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. Julia shifts next to me. I turn back to James. I see the clock continuing to change out of the corner of my eye. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. Half an hour. Julia gets up and walks out of the room. An hour. Two hours. Julia comes back. Three hours. Julia leaves again.

I scoot my chair closer. I clasp his hand and hold onto it. Come on buddy. You can pull through this. It was only a bullet in the gut. Not bad. A small leg wound. Couldn’t have been worse than the time you broke it in football.

The door opens. I expect to see Julia. Rene walks in instead. She walks over behind me and drapes her arm across my shoulders. She stares down at me. I look up and her. She smiles faintly. Her hair is done up all nice. A small part falls across her eyes. She pushes it back and looks down at James.

La Ginties opened again as soon as we replaced everything broken and filled the bullet holes. I told Darien that Derrik isn’t stupid enough to attack the same place twice. And he’s not. He only wants me to chase him off world. Anything done on personal ships in space is pretty much allowed. That’s how he got away with what he did before. He also knew that by hitting there first, it was  a guarantee that I’d chase him off world.

Rene stirs and I’m pulled from my thinking. I look up at her. There are tears in her eyes. I look back down at James. Still no sign of improvement. I stand kiss her. I pull her close and tightly hug her. I sit back down. Rene sits on my lap and I cradle her. I lock my arms around her waist and she wraps her fingers into mine.

Darien and Eric walk in. Rene looks up. They come over and stand by the bed. I try to produce a smile. But can’t even force a false one. We all stare down at James’ comatose form. Julia walks in. she comes and sits down next to me once again. All of us stare at James. Trying to will him back to good health. Two wordless hours pass before everyone gets up and walks out. I stay at my post staring down at him.

I lay my head on the bed and slowly drift. I’m in and out of sleep every few minutes. I turn and stare out the window at one of my awake points. The moons have fallen and almost ceased to be seen. I lay down once more and slip to sleep till the morning light.

 

Julia entering wakes me from my slumber. She looks at me and forces a small waning smile. I nod in acknowledgment. She comes and stands by the foot of the bed. We both stare down at James again. Beneath his eye lids, his eyes begin to work. There is a fluttering.

His eyes open. I really smile for the first time in days. I wave. But he doesn’t recognize me. I don’t say anything. He opens his mouth to speak but closes it as quickly. He seems to shake his head before drifting to sleep again. I let out a sigh. This one of relief.

I kiss Julia on the cheek. I lean back in my chair and wait for when he fully wakes up. Julia’s not as patient. She begins to make loud noises and try to force him to wake up. I look at her with a questioning raised eyebrow and she settles down. 

A little over an hour later. His eyes flutter open again. His eyes meet directly with mine. He smiles. He’s coherent once again. I walk over and fill a glass with water. I hand it to him. He sips from it and sits up.

“I feel like you,” James says.

“Yea, welcome back from the dead,” I say smiling.

“You’ve been out for four days. Druxun’s never left your side,” Julia says.

“Hehe, yea. Well I’m going home to shower and clean myself up. Don’t worry about Derrik. He won’t be back to Mars for a while. Local Planetary Defense caught a look at his ship, so he won’t be coming back any time soon,” I say. He nods.

“Look, sorry about this. I got sloppy. I thought it was you coming out so I stepped out. But it wasn’t,” he says.

“Don’t worry about it. Get better. That’s all that matters. I’ll be leaving tomorrow for Saturn. I’m going to finally start looking for my long list of bounties. I don’t know when I’ll be back here on Mars. Take care of him, Julia. And watch after the rest of ‘em for me,” I say. Turning. Walking out of the hospital. Glad that I’m not the one confined to the bed.

I drive my way past La Ginties. It’ll open in a few hours. Given a few days, maybe a week, James’ll be back at his post. I pull into my driveway. The lights on, and the house looking all cozy, ready for me.

I hop out and walk up and in. Rene comes running up to me. I’m home. So that means he’s fine. She knows. She jumps into my arms and I spin her a little. She kisses me as I set her down.

“Let me shower first,” I say. She nods, smiling, and pads off to the bedroom.

 

It’s been two days since I left Mars. James was up an around and basically in good condition. Julia’s there, she’ll take care of him. I left her keys to my house to take care of it along with Rene. After our little spell together, Rene’s taking a liking to Julia. Which is good, because she and James have really hit it off.

Nobody wanted me to leave yet. But I insisted that he wouldn’t bother La Ginties. Besides, they know what he looks likes and have got a body guard at the door.

I’ve got a list of people’s names who have a bounty on their head. The first one’s on Hyperion. Through my research I’ve found that he’s not moved from the same spot in over four months. Pretty much asking to be caught.

He’s not that bad a guy, really. He just ran an underground Airboern racing circuit. But, he got caught up in it and began to cheat his partners. When they confronted him about it. He killed them and split. Now he’s hiding out and the IPP –Inter Planetary Police – want to take him out.

He’s got a higher alive bounty than a dead bounty. But at 2mil dead and 2.5 alive, there’s really not much difference. Either one is a big lump sum. But the difference may not be worth extra effort. Sometimes there is a difference of a couple million. And those are worth the extra effort.

Sometimes, there are such bad apples that they have a higher dead bounty than alive. And those are the fun ones. They are usually a challenge. They fight back and would rather die than get pulled in, which is ironic, because it only serves to help me out more.

Hyperion looms into my view. A bigger blue moon. Its expansive water is broken here and there by the few islands and a giant mainland. The mainland springs into view as it spreads out in front of me. Dominated by a majority of city, there is a bit of green spanning out before me. Clouds reach towards the buildings. Swirling about them in a spiral ascension. White light reflects off the buildings and sheens the landscape.

I take off in my Airboern, flying through the layer of clouds down to the city. As I dip beneath the clouds, it becomes dark. Very dark. Much of the sun is blotted out. Rain sprinkles upon my cockpit. I zoom through the city. The water droplets forming tears across my spherical cockpit.

Ranive Stratolme is whom I’m looking for. I have an address and street, but I need to still get more information. Or at least directions.

I bring my Airboern in low and slowly land in a parking garage. I get out, pulling my coat with me. I pull it together and tie the leather belt. Rain sleeks off it as I turn and begin to walk. The wind catching the back and trailing it a bit out behind me. I smile.

I descend the garage to the bottom level. I exit to the ground and the light rain drizzle increases to a harsh down pour. I walk on, my hair falling to my neck. The pattering of the rain against the pavement is only broken by the echoes of my footsteps. I turn and walk into a travel agency building.

“Hello sir! Dreadful weather we are having! How can I help you?” a cheerful man asks me.

“I like the rain. It’s soothing to me,” I say. His smile falters for only a second.

“Ri . . . right you are sir. Now, what can I do for you?” he asks. I wasn’t done speaking.

“It doesn’t rain on Mars, ever,” I say.

“It must be a very nice place,” he says.

“It is nice. But not for that reason. I wish it would rain, but with the weather stations controlling everything, all that ever happens is a light dew in the morning and sometimes a mist in the afternoon,” I say.

“My, you are well traveled. Why would you come here sir?” he asks.

“I’m looking for someone. An old friend of mine. I was wondering if you could give me directions. His name is Ranive, and I have his address I just don’t know how to get there,” I say.

“Oh, Ranive, yea. He’s a good guy. Here, I’ll just write them down for you,” he says taking up a pen and paper from his desk. I turn and stare out the window. The rain hasn’t ebbed at all. In fact, it seems to have increased. But at least it’s not cold like on Io.

“Here sir,” he says to me. I take the directions and look. Basically, he’s due north in an apartment complex.

“Hope you’re on good terms with him,” I say turning to leave.

“What’s that mean sir?” he asks inquisitively.

“He’s never been a good guy to me. Just a decent friend is all,” I say. I open the door. The rain pounds upon me once again. I walk off back toward the garage. Kids start emptying out of the houses to play in the rain. I walk into the garage and ascend to my Airboern.

There’s a collection of teenage adolescents around it. I walk up to it. They stand in my way of the vehicle. You’d think they’d be intimidated by a man in a wet trench coat with wet slicked back hair. And the fact that I stand nearly a foot above each of them. Hyperion has high gravity, so people don’t tend to grow much past six feet. Six three is tall here on Hyperion.

“Nice ride here,” one says to me. The others smile and snicker. I don’t know what to do. It’s not that I’m scared or unarmed. But it’s a matter of how will I show these kids I mean business.

“Yea. I think I’d like it. Keys, now,” another says. I sigh. I reach out and try to push him out of my way and just get in. They push me back ward.

“Just give us the keys,” another says. Pulling a gun. I smile.

“What? You think we’re kidding!?” another shouts.

“Get . . . out . . . of . . . my WAY!” I shout. I duck and reach for the kid with the gun. I grab his arm, rip the gun from his hand, and flip him to the pavement. He hits the ground and water flies around him. I hear an audible smack followed by gasping. I knocked the wind out of him.

“Hey! Take that back and give us the keys!” one says. They all pull out blunt objects from under my Airboern. I pull out two guns from beneath my coat and point it at one’s face.

His eyes widen. Terror fills them. The other stare at him. Then at me.

“Leave,” I say, demanding. They nod and put their weapons down and scramble off. Leaving the one on the ground still gasping for breath. I put the guns back into my coat.

I climb into my Airboern and take off. I see them come back out underneath me and throw a rock at me. I lower myself as if I’m going to land. They start to cower and try to slink away. I turn north and put the thruster on full and fly off. Knocking them all down. I don’t like hurting kids. But some can be . . . damn stupid . . . at times. I wouldn’t actually have shot him. I could have taken them down, but I love intimidation so much more.

I zoom above the clouds. The sun beats down on the white and no rain. I fly for a couple of minutes. Then I plunge back into the darkness. Clouds envelop me and I see the building. I fly forward and land in front of it. I step out. Rain spatters onto me.

I walk forward and ring the bell. Nothing. I press it again. Nothing. I press it again. This time there is an answer.

“Who is it?” a meek voice asks.

“Delivery,” I say. They aren’t the smartest people in the world. Criminals that is. Sometimes, this doesn’t work. In fact, most times it doesn’t. But when I think about it. Often times, it’s true. It is a delivery.

The door in front of me buzzes. I pull open the door and look up the stairs. I hear a door open a few floors above me. Then a more manly voice.

“I’m up on the eighth floor. Come on up,” he says. I plod up the stairs. I get to the seventh floor and see a mirror on a wall inside the open door. In the mirror I see Ranive. His face deathly pale. Holding a gun. His knuckles ghost white. Nearly see through. I continue to walk up the stairs.

That guy from the store must have phoned or something. I can’t believe that nobody’s picked this guy up yet. Usually a bounty is out on the market for two to three months. This guys been on for six, hiding here for the past couple. As I hit the top step I side step as he turns into the hallway and fires.

The bullet embeds itself in the wall behind me. He backpedals into the house. I walk forward and stand with my back right next to the door. A bullet comes through the doorway then I hear a quick shuffle of feet.

I turn into the doorway and sprint down the hallway. I turn a corner and see Ranive standing there. He holds out the pistol but I backhand it away. He fires and the bullet speeds away. I duck and punch towards his gut. He crumples to the ground. Dropping his gun.

He was easy. And I still got it. Thought I was getting old, getting sloppy. Just been up against some good people that’s all. I grab him and pull him up. He whimpers. Then I notice a hand, laying across a doorway towards the back.

I drag him with me as I walk to the doorway. I pull my gun and slowly turn into the doorway. I gasp. In the room are at least six corpses. I turn out quickly. They’ve been there for at least a few weeks. The smell is terrible. The unfortunate thing about being a bounty hunter, you have nearly no rites outside your home planet.

Unless any of these guys were born here, their family can’t do anything about their death. If their family tried to seek vengeance, then they themselves would be at fault and soon have a bounty placed on them. Of course, killing a bounty hunter with out a bounty on your head lands you one. And killing one does increase your bounty, a bit.

I drag him out of the apartment and down the stairs. He’s trying to fight. He’s pleading. But they’ll say anything to stay out of IPP. I pull him into the rain. It feels like a wall hitting you when you step into it. I pull him to my Airboern. I thrown him in and force him near the bottom, near the controls.

“You try anything, I’ll kill you,” I say. Tapping my gun to prove it. I get in and sit. We slowly take off and we soar above the clouds. I turn the ship and speed off towards Hyperion’s IPP headquarters. Ranive begins to sob at my feet. I don’t feel sorry for him. I am awfully brutal and harsh when it comes down to Bounties. Keep your nose clean and there won’t be any problem between you and me. Julia was just a special case.

We dip back into the clouds, becoming engulfed. Slowly we descend. Landing in front of the headquarters. I open the hatch and push him out. He jumps around and regains his balance as I jump down next to him. I grab him and pull him into the building.

“Hello, what have we here?” an officer asks me as I walk in.

“Ranive Stratolme. 2.5 mil alive,” I say.

“Druxun, is that you?” a woman at the desk next to his asks me. I turn and look. It’s Kylie. A friend of mine from high school that went to the IPP to see the universe and enforce law. All that type of yammer.

“Yea, how are you doin’ Kie?” I ask. Pulling Ranive in closer.

“Oh, I’m ok. Gosh, it’s been six years. So you’re a bounty hunter, just like you said you would be. And you bring in Ranive. Well done,” he says to me. I don’t bother telling her that I also brought in her high school sweetheart for murdering two.

“Thanks,” I say taking a form she handed me. I write down my bounty account number and all pertinent information. The bounty account is set up right after your first bounty head. You claim and they set up an account that only you can get access to. The money is wired in immediately after you bring in a bounty head. You can move it to anything else you want later.

“Careful in the rain,” she says. I smile and walk out.

“Bye,” I say waving.

I stand in the rain for a few seconds. I love the rain. I look to the sky and smile. I step over to my Airboern and take it up. Once again, soaring up past the clouds to the brightness above them. I fly out of the atmosphere and to my ship left orbiting.

I dock and walk into my bedroom of the ship. I strip down and change into something dry. Then hang my clothes up.

I walk to the head and sit down. I pull up my next target. Damn. A bad guy. Worth a ton. Second biggest bounty I’ve ever seen. Worth 200 mil. Dead or alive. He’s on Ganymede. Right near where I’m at. Only a few minutes hyper flight. Saturn and Jupiter are very close in orbit right now. Like the first one, he’s not moved in . . . wow . . . nine months. Means he’s either killed everyone who’s come after him or no one’s gone after him. Highly doubt the latter.

Dranadeth Leeksven. Why are you so valuable? Hmm . . .  you caused an accident. Started a riot. Killed . . . My eyes widen. Over 200 killed. And that’s an estimate. Assassinated . . . oh. He killed the general of the Kyo forces on Venus.

Venus has been at civil war for nearly twenty years now. Every planetary government is offering no aide to either side until one wins or an agreement is met. Any interference from a civilian of any planet but Venus lands himself a bounty. I don’t know how well enforced it is. But this guy killed the leader of the government’s forces.

I hear reports that the fighting on Venus is terrible. No nuclear weapons, (they’ve all been banned after the Great Earth War), but estimates say that of the nearly two trillion of people that used to live there, they are down to a couple hundred billion. And it doesn’t show signs of slowing. If anything, they are fighting harder.

Well, Mr. Leeksven, if you are a topnotch assassin this should be fun. Killed 200 civilians though. On nearly every planet and moon. He’s never been on Mars though. I can only imagine the reason why.

Ganymede rushes into view. I’ve been here quite a few times. And I know my way around pretty well. In fact, I know exactly the place where he’s at. A lucky tipster told me. Frankly, I think he may have put out his whereabouts as public knowledge. Just so that he wouldn’t have to look for people to kill anymore. That they’d come to him.

Well, if he did, it worked. I’m here. And have no intention of dieing. I check my guns and collect extra ammo and some grenades. I walk to the hangar. Sit down and fly out. I program my ship to fly back to Mars if I don’t return in seven days.

Ganymede rushes into view. I smile. The planet is nearly tropical. Trees everywhere. Big beaches that stretch for hundreds of miles. Smaller bodies of water, but still massive. It rains about as much here as it does on Mars. Maybe once a year. No clouds are visible except for those few days before and after the rain.

I fly in and skim across the water of Grez lake. A hundred miles north of the north beach is where he is hiding. I zoom across, doing barrel rolls for the pointing little kids. Smiling to myself.

A modest house comes into view. There are nearly fifty Airboerns parked outside the house. I land behind the furthest one from the house. I step out and onto the grass. I look at the Airboerns around me. Some have bullet holes in them. Others, the cockpit is shattered.

I get low and begin to walk forward. There is almost a gap-hallway to the door of the house. As I walk by, some of the Airboerns still contain passengers and bounty hunters. They are dead. Holes in the cockpits. Sniper shots.

I pull my gun and get even lower. Keeping my head down below the glass level. A single shot rings out. Glass above my head shatters. I hear a cackle of laughter as I race forward.

“Who is it!?” I hear Dranadeth scream out.

“I’m Lord Druxun. And I’ve come for you, Mr. Leeksven,” I say. Smiling as I say it to myself.

“Hahahaha! Finally. I’ve heard much of your reputation Mr. Druxun. In fact, I’ve been holding out that the best bounty hunter in the solar system would soon come for me,” he says. I hear his cackle of laughter once again.

“I’m flattered. You’re the second biggest bounty I’ve ever seen. And after all these dead bounty hunters, I expect you’ve reached number one,” I say.

“Well then. We shall have the best bounty hunter go up against the best criminal. I do have a favor to ask of you. I’d love to see the face of the Legend himself. Mayhap you could stand up straight so I could get a gander at you?” he says.

“How do I know you won’t kill me if I stand?” I ask.

“Two reasons really. One, I give my word of honor. And that’s not to be taken lightly. And two, it would spoil the fun. Surely if the rolls were reversed you would do the same.” I hear the cackle of laughter again.

“Very well. I entirely agree. But I would also like a look at your face,” I say.

“Most certainly,” he says.

I stand slowly. Waiting for a shot to come and take my life. It doesn’t so I stand up all the way. I pull myself up to my full frame. I turn and see him in the window. He’s smiling. He’s got short close cropped black hair. And a soft face. Fluid features. But a deathly smile. A sort of cool confidence that comes from slaughtering two hundred innocents and a fourth that many bounty hunters.

“Hmm . . . you indeed look like a Legend. Perhaps you will be when this day is over. Either a dead one, or a very rich one!” he cackles. I smile.

“I’m flattered that I’m known as a Legend. I feel today I’ll increase my fame,” I say ducking.

I sprint off in the direction of the door. Gun shots ring out behind me. I hear them hitting Airboerns behind me. He’s not leading his target, a costly mistake. I reach the door and grasp the cool handle and push in. I step in and stop in the doorway.

“Welcome to my humble house! You’re one of ten that have ever walked into it alive!” he cackles from upstairs. I peer up from my spot.

The stairs to go up are across the hall and coming towards me. There is an open ceiling so he can see down the stairs as well as directly below the second floor. There are room to my left and right. Each hidden form view. They look like they could wind around to the stairs.

I hear a slight chime. My eyes widen and I sprint to the left room. It’s a dinning room. I dive behind the table as a grenade hits the spot where I just was. A second later it explodes. Shrapnel pelts the table.

I look up. The room does wrap around. I walk into the kitchen which is adjoined and hidden from view. I look towards the ceiling of the living room. It stretches to the top of the second floor. It’s open view there too. Shit.

I hear another chime followed by the cackle of his laugh. I dive behind the counter top as a grenade lands in the living room and rolls into the kitchen. I hear the explosion. I look up.

For the first time, I notice the blood everywhere. Blood stains are all over the house. The carpet is no longer white with red spots, but a shade of crimson with white spots. The walls aren’t even a color but a collage of blood, bullet holes, and old paint. I see another grenade hit the ground and roll, it explodes. I duck.

I pull out my two grenades. I pull the pins. I run up and toss one over the balcony from the living room and another over the stairs’ balcony. I hear a whump noise as he hits the deck. I sprint up the stairs as they explode. I reach the top as he ducks into a room holding a semi-automatic something or other. I dive into a room on my left. Bullets barrage the wall.

I sit and look to the right of the stairs. There was no room there. Glad I didn’t dive that way. In the room I’m in a door is on my left and the door I dove in from is on my right. I peer our through the door on my left. There is a room directly up form where I’m at and two across the walkway with open views to down stairs on either side. I pull out two grenades.

Bullets rain down on the wall behind me again. I pull the pins. As soon as I hear the rattle cease, I jump out. I throw the grenades. One to each room. I hear a clatter as guns are dropped then him hit the deck in one of the rooms. I speed to the room across the way.

“I have to admit, you’ve certainly gotten farther than most. Only two have ever gotten here to the second floor,” he says. I can almost feel his devilish grin. I peer out from around the wall. I see a huge blood stain on the center of the floor. That must have been were he fell.

I hear a cocking of a gun. Shots ring out. He has another semi-auto. Wall pieces and molding fly into the room. I run and dive behind the bed in the room. I hit the floor silently. I pull and gun and flatten myself against the ground. Bullets continue to pour in speckling the walls.

I reach under the bed. There is a crate. I pull it out. Open it. Bullets fly in again. I duck. Inside the crate is the most ammo I have ever seen. Guns of makes and models I’ve never seen. A box of grenades. Two boxes of grenades. Two small ones inside the big ones.

One box is . . . smoke grenades. They are both smaller boxes, each maybe holding fifty grenades. I pull the boxes close to me and crawl near the door. The bullets cease as he reloads. I throw down two smoke grenades. One in front of each door. Then two more in between the two first ones. I dive across and throw one grenade into one room. It explodes. I hear nothing. I dive through the smoke again throwing another grenade into the other room. A shrill shit reaches my ears and I smile. I throw down two more smoke grenades. I throw a couple into the middle of the hallway. They go off.

A giant smoke barrier now blocks his view. And mine. But I know what I’m doing. I grab the box of smoke grenades and empty it. I put twenty grenades into it. Then drop in one grenade with a pulled pin. I run through the smoke and chuck the box into the room he’s in. I toss a smoke grenade in right after the box.

I hear a huge explosion followed by clattering metal. I run into the room. Through the heavy smoke I see him dash into a small room attached to this one. Must be a bathroom. I hear a chime. I dive into a closet to my left. A grenade whizzes past the door and explodes.

I hear two pistols being loaded. I run out and throw the bed up and sideways. I peek my head above and pull out my pistols. I fire and miss. I fire again and miss as he dives into the bathtub. I pull the pin of a grenade and toss it into the bathroom. It hits the wall and lands in the sink as it explodes.

Shit. I see him get up and dash through a door adjoining this room with the other. I hear him tossing over a bed in there. And slamming and moving something in front of the other entrance.

The only way to get to him is through the bathroom. I like my lips. Smile. I throw a smoke grenade into the room. I hear a chime as a grenade lands right next to hit. I hear him mutter shit. I smile wider. There is a closet straight across the room. A mad dash directly from the bathroom. I toss another smoke grenade in. It goes off and stretches all the way to the closet. I sprint across, diving into the closet. I hear gun fire as he shoots into the cloud trying to hit me. The smoke clears. I notice a little blood on the carpet. I must have clipped him, or the blood from the other unfortunate got in here. I lean out and fire. He returns.

Chips of wall go flying. He stops, I turn and start. It almost becomes an art form. I can only get one arm out and fire. I’m holding onto the cross bar to help pull myself in. He turns and fires. I hear the clicking of an empty chamber. I smile. I hear shit muttered. Smile wider. I hear the clang of a gun being thrown. My smile turns almost demonic. I lean out and fire. He’s ducking completely now. I click, out. No more ammo.

I toss my gun and sprint out. Screaming. He lifts himself up smiling. Holding a pistol. This was a rookie mistake. I should have brought grenades, and grabbed more ammo and been sure. Shit. I jump to kick at him, resigned to my fate. But he fires and only grazes my arm. A mere scratch. He fires again and misses.

My kick catches him in the face. He falls to the ground. His gun rolling away. I pick it up. He spins to get up and kicks it out of my hand. It flies out the window. Great. He punches me in the gut. I return in kind. We block and counter. Fists flying by and kicks screaming up. I grab him and throw him. He catches him self and comes at me.

I’m tackled into the chest of drawers that are a barricade. It falls backward, breaking down the wall and door. We’re rolling on the ground punching each other. Blood is flying from our faces, fists, arms, legs, anything and everything. I kick him off me and he falls into the banister. It creaks but holds. I sweep his feet out from under him. As he falls I hear a sickening crack.

He jumps up, screaming. His arm. His arm is hanging limp at his side. Broken. I uppercut him in the jaw. I grab his shirt and toss him backward, off the walkway to the living room below. He lands half on the couch half on a table. The table snaps in half. I jump down. My knee bent. Pointing straight down. His eyes widen. He tries to roll away. My knee collides into his back. I feel his spine. Hear it snap. Hear the screams. I roll off.

He’s lying on the blood stained carpet, screaming. He’s flailing his broken arm and his good one. His legs aren’t moving. I’ve crippled him. Just to be sure, I walk over near him. I stand right by his feet. They don’t move. He sits up, trying to punch my groin.

I step back. He’s stopped screaming. He only looks at me. A fire burning in his eyes that could only be matched by my own. I stand up a sigh. I walk up stairs. I grab my guns and reload them. I begin to hear his screaming once more. I grab all the extra ammo I can. I walk back downstairs. He’s stopped screaming and is now looking right at me.

“You . . . truly are a legend,” he says to me. I crouch next to him. Smiling. I see hatred flare up burning in his eyes.

“You were a very talented criminal,” I say.

“You provided me a challenge. And defeated me. You were the greatest opponent I’ve ever known. And the best bounty hunter ever. I was honored to be beaten by you,” he says.

“I’m going to end your suffering,” I say. He smiles.

“Thank you. At least you know of honor,” he says to me.

“Yes. It’s something that’s been lost in this universe that needs to be found,” I say. He nods.

“I’m glad, to have had the chance to fight you. And even more glad to have died by your hand,” he says. I smile.

“You could have killed me twice. Lost your honor a bit and sniped me when I stood up. Or actually hit me when you had the gun aimed right at me as I ran at you,” I say smiling. Standing and lifting the gun. His eyes widen. Then narrow in hatred. He opens his mouth to give retribution to me. But I end his pain. A bullet through the head. His eyes close and he speaks no more.

I wipe away sweat and blood with my stained sleeve. My eyes are watering from running through so much smoke. And the cut on my arm is really starting to sing. I grab him and begin to pull him to my Airboern. I stop. There is a door next to the stairs. Curiosity gets the best of me. I open the door. I turn on the lights. I head down the stairs.

As soon as I hit the bottom of the stairs I stop. I turn and look. Piled up and lined in rows are the fifty bounty hunters he’d killed before. Each was named and labeled. Sorted in alphabetical order. And there was a space right after a guy whose last name was C. In the vacant spot was a card that read “Druxun”. I shiver.

I head back up the stairs. I grab the corpse and begin to pull once again. I get him all the way to my Airboern. I see another Airboern land right next to mine. A man steps out and stares at me.

“You look like hell,” he says to me. I nod.

“That him?” he asks. I nod.

“What’s your name?”

“Druxun.” His eyes widen.

“THE Druxun?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. I’m really kinda bewildered. I had no idea I had such a reputation.

“Wow, this is awkward. You took him down. I’m sorry,” he says to me. I cock my head to one side as he reaches in and pulls out a gun.

“To take down a legend. All over a corpse,” he mutters to himself. He fires, I duck. The bullet whizzes by. I feel the air on my ear. I roll and pull my gun. I fire into his chest. On the rise I grab his gun and wrest it from him. I trip him and kick him to the ground.

“So you’d kill your hero. Your idol? I’m out of your league. You could have died here had you gotten here before me. I technically saved you. And you go and try to be greedy. Rather than leave with your life and a story about meeting a legend, you had to die. A shame. You seem like a nice kid,” I say. I’m not smiling. I’m really sorry for this kid. He only looks to be in his early twenties. Funny though. Seeing as how I’m twenty-four. He could be older than me for all I know.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, tear lacing his cheeks.

“Yea, me too,” I say solemnly. I fire and end his pain.

I push Dranadeth’s body into my Airboern and take off. I fly straight to IPP headquarters here on Ganymede. Takes me all of six minutes. I land and pull the corpse from my Airboern. I walk into the station. A few heads turn. Till they see who I’m carrying. Then all heads turn. Everyone stands and claps for me.

I lay him on the floor in front of the desk. His eyes opened on the flight back. He’s staring aimlessly into space. His glassy eyes paying no tribute to the fire that was there before.

A cop pulls out the Bounty collection sheet. I fill it out. He puts it through the machine and the money is transferred directly to my account immediately. I look at the cop. He stares me right in the eyes. I see the respect gleaming in them. I smile.

“Give him a proper burial. He deserves it, despite the horrors he’s caused. A modern day warrior,” I say turning to leave. I stop and turn back.

“Also, there are fifty bounty hunters in his basement. Bury them as well. Treat them with the utmost respect. Each feels like a fallen comrade.”

The cop nods. And I turn and walk out. Smiling inwardly. I climb into my Airboern and fly. Away from the paradise of Ganymede. Away from the killing zone. Away from the place that could have been my final resting place. I see my house ship. I dock and walk to my bedroom. I strip down and get into the shower. I let the water course down my body. I get out and collapse onto my bed.

I close my eyes. I slip down to the darkness between sleep and awake. I hear whispers. Almost of the fallen bounty hunters thanking me. Praising me for my deed. Avenging their deaths. Then I slip to true sleep. A dreamless state. Far away from my place.

 

 

Thousand Season Years

            I sit up. It’s dark. I stretch and yawn. A smile reaches me. My eyes adjust to the pitch dark. I stand. Walk to the sink. Splash water on my face. A good dream. Rene.
I can almost smell her by my side.

            I turn away from the mirror. Walk to my chest of drawers. Pull forth khakis and a blue shirt. Throw them on and walk out. In the hallway dim lights greet me. My eyes are first burned by the low lights, then I turn them up all the way. I head to the front of the ship.

It’s only ten. I sit into my chair and stare at eh console in front of me. I tap a few buttons on the screen and pull up my list. Names with planets next to them spring up. Some have addresses and dates next to them. Others only have names and pictures.

I sigh. Then I notice the first bounty. A measly 1.25 mil. But it’s on my second favorite place to visit. Titan. I’ll make him the last one I collect. I delete the one’s I picked up yesterday and updated my list. Only 2 left. I raise an eyebrow. I only collected two. Someone must have been out collecting also. No matter.

Damn. But the other guy is on Mars. Means I’ll be visiting Titan and going home sooner than I thought. I smile. I pull my shoes on and slowly walk to the hangar. My footsteps falling and echoing throughout my ship. My Airboern stands waiting for me. I hop in and turn it on. She purrs to life.

I fly out zooming off for Titan. I speed my way to it. Very happy. I don’t care how difficult this guy could be. He shouldn’t be that difficult tough. Killed two people. It shouldn’t be a big deal. It didn’t sound harsh or twisted, the way he killed them. They found the two guys and him standing over them with a gun. One bullet each. Might be a self defense case, but they need to make sure. So a small bounty. But no bounty is too small on a place like Titan.

It looms into view. I smile. It’s the only place in the solar system like it. It’s a tropical climate. Sort of. There is a fifty mile radius circle that is nothing but sand. A desolate desert. But that’s because it gets so hot facing towards the sun, that any plant life in that area dies. Around that circle, all the way up to the sun rise and sunset areas of the planet are greener than anything. At the edges of the planet, the sunrise and sunset portions, it’s always frosted over.

Just at the perfect time of day, you could walk ten miles in the direction of the setting sun. It’s warm, then goes cooler. Dew forms. Then frosts over. On the night side of the planet, it snows. About four feet every night. Then, as the moon rotates, it warms up, snow melts and reveals the grass beneath. Glistening and green. Funny that all around the equator is a burn mark where the grass dies. Sometimes it’s higher or lower than the equator depending on the time of year. But to just spend a day there, is like living through all four season back on Earth. Just beautiful.

I fly in on the day side. Green zooms along beneath my ship. I smile. A city looms into view. The green reflected in the windows. I smile. Beauty stretches beneath me. Green as far as the eye can see. All cities have to be constructed above the eighty mile mark from the equator or below the eighty mile mark beneath the equator. The epicenter of the burn circle spreads thirty miles up in the summer and thirty miles down in the winter. Not that any other place on the planet really experiences true seasons.

I pull up the bounty on this planet. Michael Walcott. A murderer of two. Killed them on Calypso and then booked it to Titan. I can understand killing someone on Calypso. A terrible moon of Saturn. Really, the only moon that gets a decent and pretty view of the planet. However, it’s so desolate and miserable that it has no use of going to. Nearly lawless and nearly government less. Corruption through and through. A great place to hide out if you’re in trouble. But not somewhere you would ever wish to be.

Well, poor Mr. Walcott will have to explain himself to Titan’s IPP. They are probably the harshest of all IPPs in the solar system. But, depending if it was self defense or not . . .well, we’ll see.

I fly over the down town area, and far out near the outskirts of town. He’s got a decent home, or hideout, whichever term he may use. Two stories, neat lawn. Certainly green. I land in the street. Just grass with chalked lines. I smile as I get out.

I walk up to the house and ring the doorbell. A man opens the door. The first thing that strikes me, is his smile. It’s cheery and light. His eyes give me a once over and it disappears as soon as I see it. His eyes are brown and dark. Soft yet harsh. A fire certainly burned in them once. Whether the fire remains, I cannot say.

He seems to be in his thirties, late. Possibly forties. His short brown hair, cut close at the back slowly fades into a longer top. He’s average height, and averagely built. I do notice his arms. I can tell there is tension and strength hidden in them. He’s hunched a little, a pose that doesn’t seem to suit him.

“Are you Mr. Walcott?” I ask. He nods, pulling himself up to his full frame. Stretching his back and pulling his shoulders back. He looks more comfortable, and better, standing this way.

“Yes, can I help you with something?” he asks.

“My name is Druxun,” I begin. His face becomes overcast. He nods.

“Please, come in,” he says to me. He must know. I nod and walk into the house.

“Would you like something to drink? I have beer, whiskey, bourbon . . .” he trails off.

“I’ll take bourbon please. Unless it’s Jupiter bourbon,” I say.

“I don’t drink that Jupiter filth,” he says to me returning with two glasses.  He offers me a seat on a couch across from him and sets the glasses on the table.

I take a sip. Smiling. He follows suit. I see a smile spread across his face. It’s full of warmth and seems inviting. Again as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

“So,” he says.

“So,” I say.

“You’re obviously Druxun, the bounty hunter. Here to collect me,” he says.

“Yes,” I say.

“Certainly it can wait till later. I’d love to finish the bottle. I bought it a few days ago and only got down to the label. Perhaps you could help me with it?” he asks. I smile and nod.

            We sit and drink in silence for a bit. We’re staring at each other. For some reason, it doesn’t feel awkward. And I have no ill gut feelings about him. A nice guy

“So you killed two people on Calypso, why?” I ask.

“Well, it’s a long story,” he says to me.

“Tell, it. We have a long way to go. We’re not even close with the bottle,” I say. That smile again. This time, it’s not just his mouth. But it spreads to his eyes. And I see a fire light up in them. A fire that must have been set out a short time ago. For the ashes can still be seen. But it flares now.

“I’ve lived here. In this house with for nearly all my life. I’m a teacher and a writer at Titan U. When I was twenty two, my parents died. A terrible Airboern crash. Well, I had studied at Titan U for a while and was just about to buy my own place when it happened. The crash that is,” he says, sighing at this point.

“I had met a girl in college. So beautiful. Named Julia,” he says. Smiling that  smile again.

“I know a Julia. She’s nice. But a lot of trouble a times,” I say. He smiles bigger and nods.

“They must have been related.” I laugh at that.

“Well, she had always been my biggest supporter through college and nearly kicked my ass into gear to get through it. It was worth it though. I graduated, and began to write. So I lived here, I told her she could move in and help pay rent so that we could  get onto our feet. I didn’t want to sell the house, it had too much history for me.

She did, move in that is. I wrote and sold quite a few books and she went on to be a teacher at a middle school. We were both twenty four at this point. Happy and content. Our careers flourished. She moved out during that summer. Found herself a nice apartment. I had this big place to myself. About half way through her school year, she decided she missed me and moved back in. We weren’t ever romantically involved with each other, but that year, we became it.

It was just perfect. I got offered a job at the University to be a teacher, my books having become literary status and they wanted me to teach some writing and language arts classes. I agreed, so we were both teachers, and I still wrote. Well I asked her to marry me two years later. We were twenty six. She agreed.

We had so much in common that it really wasn’t a surprise to anybody when I finally did. Almost anything around, we shared in common. She had a sense of humor to rival my own,” he says. I interject at this point to say that he doesn’t seem very comedic. He laughed and told me that he’s staring a man in the face who is going to take him to the cops. Then asked me how funny he would be. I laughed.

“We had a beautiful wedding. We had it right out back. Just at dawn. Snow melting, frosting over, then turning into a light dew. Sun just barely cresting the land. Her beautiful brown hair and eyes. Her hair spilling down onto her white dress. She looked perfect. Smiling just as big as can be. We tied the not.

For our honey moon we flew to Mars and Earth. Looked at the Home Planet then visited one of the nicest places I’ve ever been to, a place called La Ginties. You may have heard of it, being well traveled. But it certainly was nice. I’d suggest you check it out.

Well a couple years past, and Julia and I decided to have a child. A beautiful daughter, Regina. Looked just like her mother. Which wasn’t good for me later on in the years. But the years past and slowly we all grew older. I wrote my greatest novel, Destiny of Dusk, and made enough money to parade around in. So I was very well off.

Well, this past year, I wrote a sequel that was highly anticipated and widely loved. I made even more money off of it than the former. I quoted in class one time how much money I made from it.

A couple of students must have gotten a couple of ideas because they tried to collect the money. They broke into my house and collected me and my family into a room. My daughter was seventeen and me and my wife both forty-three. They told me to write a check to them for a said amount. Two hundred billion they asked for. I refused and demanded they let me go.

Then they pulled guns on me and my family and told me they’d kill my wife and daughter if I didn’t. I asked for a pen and began to write it. Regina and Julia both told me not to, but I loved them so much. As soon as I tore the check and handed it to them, I asked them to leave.

That’s when I heard shots fired. I screamed. Two shots fired. One into each woman’s head. They ran off, suddenly hearing police sirens. The neighbors had called, complaining of screaming. But they got there as my students flew away. I was hysterical and unable to explain what had happened for a few minutes.

All I could do was clutch my dead wife and daughter to me, sobbing. The next day. I called my bank and told my brother to watch and wait for my check to be cashed and tell me where it was at. A week later, the check was cashed on Calypso. I had withdrawn all my money and moved it to a different account, so while they waited for the check to clear, I bought an Airboern and flew there. I bought a gun.

I walked into a seedy bar. They were drinking and living it up. I walked up and sat at the table. I whispered ‘Hello, boys’. They both stopped and stared at me. Fear was in their faces. And I was happy. I smiled. Told them my wife and daughter were dead, and that they thanked them and they didn’t want to live anymore. They gave a forced fear laugh. I smiled.

I pulled out my gun. Their eyes widened in terror. I smiled even wider. I had never fired a gun. So I had to put it on their heads. I gave them the same death they gave to me beloveds.

I flew back here. Sold my Airboern, hid my gun, and decided to act like nothing happened. I buried my Julia and Regina. I continued to teach. Knowing that there was a bounty on me. Knowing one day, someone would come for me. I didn’t want to run. I’m glad and proud of what I did. I didn’t want to hide the fact that I did it. But I didn’t want to broadcast it.

And now, here you are. Ready to take me away. Flattered that it’s the most feared bounty hunter in the solar system. But, you don’t seem very fearful to me. In fact, I would go out on a limb and say you could have been the nicest person I had ever met,” he says.

“You’ve never known me as an enemy,” I say. I don’t know what to do. While his story is inspiring, it’s not exactly something that’s easy to forgive. And Titan’s IPP is the harshest punishers when it comes to revenge. I’ve still got a full glass. I just poured it. The bottle’s empty. He just poured the rest into his glass.

“I’m not going to take you in,” I say. He doesn’t say anything. He just stops the glass that was moving towards his lips. He stares at me.

“You can’t do that,” he says.

“It’s my decision to make. And I believe you were completely justified in your actions,” I say. Smiling.

“That may be so. But think. If you don’t take me in, someone else will come along, and they may not be as polite as you,” he says. I nod.

“Then I’ll pay to have your bounty removed,” I say.

“That’s not an issue. I’ve done something, I must attone for it,” he says.

“You don’t always have to take responsibility for your actions,” I say.

“But if you don’t, what kind of example do you set. No, I’ve done it. I’ll take responsibility for it. It’s only a little jail time,” he says.

“Actually, in Titan’s IPP it’s death. Because it’s seen as murder and revenge murder, which is frowned upon more for some reason,” I say.

“So I’ll die. Painlessly and easy. It’s not that bad,” he says.

“Two things here. One, you’re barely forty. Two, this is Titan. You have the harshest law and penalty system in the solar system. It’s so nice to live here, they want to keep the place clean. So they don’t have a cruel and unusual punishment in their constitution. They’ll beat you to death. Rub pictures into your face of those you loved and killed. Take advantage of you. They’ll do anything to punish you for what you’ve done,” I say. Every bit of it the truth.

“Then you kill me. Mercifully, and quick. A bullet to the head is relatively painless I hear. I have no problem dieing. As long as it’s not like you describe. Death no longer frightens me. I’ve lived long enough, and it will make my books all the more read,” he says.

“But what about your biggest novels. Aren’t they a series? Won’t it never be finished?” I ask.

“It was supposed to be a stand alone book. But I scraped the bottom of the barrel for the sequel. And it was almost the same story, just different characters,” he says.

“Alright, if that’s what you want,” I say.

“I wish it,” he says. Finishing his glass and setting it on the table. I finish mine and set it on the table.

“Very well. Come into the bath tub,” I say.

“Why?” he asks.

“So that we don’t make a mess of your beautiful home. It’ll probably be turned into a museum or something,” I say.

“Haha, no I left it to my brother. He’ll have it. Could we do it outside?” he asks.

“Yea, I guess so.” He leads me out back. The sun is setting and I can see dew starting to form on the grass. He kneels down in front of me. Bowing his head.

“Thank you,” he says. The dew turns to frost as I slowly pull my gun out. A tear slowly dances its way down my cheek. I place the gun against his head. My gun coughs. He crumples to the grass. A snowflake drifts by. Then it begins to fall harder as darkness falls slowly upon this side of the world.

I pick him up. No blood spilled. It was quick. Painless. There is a smile on his face. His eyes are open. And even though he’s dead. The fire still burns in them. I stare. The fire goes out and even the ashes are blown away.

“Go to your family, Mr. Walcott. May you find them and be happy,” I whisper.

I take him to the IPP headquarters. I fill out the form.

“You better take damn good care of him,” I say. They nod. They know who I am. They’ll listen.

I fly to my Airboern, leaving Titan behind. I dock and head to the front. I sit and set a course for Mars. The stars and planets disappear as I begin to fly. I pull up my bounty list. I cross out Michael Walcott’s name and refresh it. It takes it off and then there is only one left. I access the database of bounties and I download the list. The first one catches my eye. Derrik Vrendel. Wanted for murder, breaking and entering, aiding a side in the Venus Civil war, and trashing La Ginties. Up to 6 mil.

I lean back. I’m going after him first. It’s about time he’s stopped. This proves he’s not the smartest. Aiding in the Venus War. What’s he thinking. I nod off thinking about home, and how good it will feel to stop one of my old crazed partners.

 

 

Fire Racing

I postponed my homecoming. After Mr. Walcott had me mercy end him, I was feeling kinda blue. I needed to go after someone who got my blood cooking to burn away my sadness. I’ll think of him later.

Now, my sights are set on Derrik. Him and his meddling needs to stop. He’s not the most evil partner I’ve ever had, believe it or not, but he’s ranking up there. And he seems to have a knack for causing me problems.

Now killing people that get in your way ain’t right. But every once in a while, it needs to be done. And I’m a man who does what needs to be done. No one makes a mockery of my beloved La Ginties and the friends I protect like that.

Being a bounty hunter I have the ability to get in contact with anyone in any government. Sometimes, it’s damn useful. I pull up and send ZipMail to every major government this side of Jupiter.

I send, “To whom it may concern, I, Lord Druxun, will be landing upon Venus, not to participate in the war, but to capture a bounty who is causing problems there. His name is Derrik Vrendel. He’s been hurting the war effort on Venus on both sides. He’s caused damage and has fair warrant for his bounty. I’m going to land on Venus to catch him. But please note, any action that may help one side or the other, purposeful or not, is only to catch him and bring further justice to the solar system.”

That should allow me to do anything short but kill a ton of soldiers on either side. Now I have free roam. The only problem will be sneaking in. The ban means that any Airboerns not registered to Venus will be shot down. No ZipMail can fix that. Luckily though, both sides have agreed to neutral areas where no fighting will take place. And I’ll be able to sneak into those cities and ask around. I really don’t want to go anywhere near the front.

Venus begins to creep its way into view. I smile. The first time I’ve ever been here. All I’ve got is a map and areas that are marked as non-combat zones. I smile. I’ll find that son of a bitch yet.

I walk to the hangar. My Airboern waiting patiently. I smile and run my hand along the cockpit. Whispering, let’s go girl, as I start her up and fly out.

I zoom along the atmosphere. Savoring every moment. Not often you get to visit somewhere you’ve never been for the first time. My Airboern dips below the clouds and I’m momentarily stunned. From where I’m flying I can see the curvature of the planet. It’s like rain forest. Trees are sprung up everywhere. There are giant holes in the foliage.

Smoking craters lay strewn about. Trees lay smoking. Even this high up I can almost hear the screams and shouts of fighting. I see a beautiful city. Small buildings, low the ground and spread wide. Must be the non-combat area. I begin to descend.

I start to see people running around beneath the foliage. Dressed in uniforms and equipped with machine guns they race across the floor. They meet another group wearing similar clothes, but different colors. They too hold machine guns. Both sides open fire. Everyone but one dies and he runs back.

No wonder the wars been able to go on for so long. With such dense foliage it’s got to be nearly impossible to take big chunks of land. Not to mention, so many deaths on both sides, that there won’t be a considerable victory to march forward.

I fly down low and across the tree tops. Zooming straight for the city. Fire is opened up upon my Airboern. I start dodging and looping taking evasive action. I smile. Never had a whole planet against me before.

I touch down in what seems to be an open plaza in the city. People come out and gather to stare at me. I exit my Airboern. I step down and look at the people. They all look haggard and worn out. Well, the years of fighting, even if you’re not a participant, can do that to you.

Their clothes are torn, battered. Their lives shattered. The façade of the neatness of the houses and clean streets show nothing of the bitter lives they lead. I feel a strong pang of sadness. But then I remember Derrik. And his assault on my place. Fire speeds through my veins.

“Hello! I am a bounty hunter! My name is Lord Druxun! Can anyone tell me if another foreigner named Derrik Vrendel was around here lately?” I shout. People stretch to hear me above the murmuring. I smile and look at the ground.

“Talk to the rebel forces. Most foreigners go to fight for them. They sympathize with them,” one says. The other nod and murmur in agreement. I nod.

“Which way to the government forces?” I ask.

“That way,” one says. Pointing to a smoking area off in the horizon. I nod.

“Thank you,” I say. I pull out a wad of Martians. Small bills, fives mostly. I throw it into the air. They need this money. I threw only five-hundred into the air. But due to the war, a single Martian dollar is worth about one hundred Venusi. So this’ll help the people a lot.

I climb into my Airboern and take off. I fly east, the direction the man pointed me to. I see a patch, clear and big. Filled with men and tents and weapons. The government forces.

The reason I asked for the Government Forces is because I know Derrik. He’s a sick bastard and will work for the unsympathetic because he want to see himself as bad as he could be. He’s got no morals, sympathy, or conscience left to give. Ever sense we killed the Aldrenson family. He doesn’t care.

I fly over and land in the middle of the camp. Shouts and screams assail my ears as I step out. My hands held up a smile on my face. A circle of men surround me. Guns aimed at me and my Airboern.

“Who are you?” one shouts.

“My name is Lord Druxun, I’m looking for someone. I’m a bounty hunter,” I yell. I show no fear. A few lower their weapons a bit.

“Listen, bounty hunter, there aren’t any bounty heads here.”

“Yes, there are. His name is Derrik Vrendel and I’m looking for him. He needs to die,” I say.

“Why would we help you find someone that’s fighting for us so that you could kill him?”

“Because one man will not win you this war. And this man would turn on you the soonest and most opportune time he saw,” I say.

“Well, I have heard talk of a foreigner coming in lately. From Earth, they say he is. Fly North East to the next big clearing, you’ll know it. Our commander who talks to guys like is posted their. Talk to him. He may know your precious Derrik. I’ll call and tell him you’re coming.” One says.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Hey!”

“Yes?” I ask out.

“What’s Mars like this time of year? Still beautiful right?” I smile.

“It’s a crimson tear among black filth. Beautyful and still solid. When you finally finish this war, come to La Ginties. Ask for Druxun, I’ll get you in,” I say. Cheers rise up. I climb into my Airboern and lift off. I still see the men cheering and waving. I see the big clearing he talked about.

I zoom off speeding away. I can almost feel Derrik now. I fly over, this side has Anti-Airboern guns and tanks and all sorts of high-tech equipment. I land in the middle. Men run out and circle my craft again. I step down. A man walks out and stand near the edge of the circle.

“My name is Lord Druxun,” I begin.

“Yes, I know. I got your Zipmail. That man you’re looking for, Derrik. I’ve seen him. He was here. Standing right where you are now,” he says. I smile.

“Where is he now?” I ask. He turns to the side a bit and looks down.

“He took off and flew off planet about five hours ago,” he says.

“Shit,” I murmur, “Where was he heading? Did he say?”

“Yea. Mars. Said he was looking for someone. Had a score to settle. I assume that’s you,” he says.

“Yes,” I say.

“What a game of cat and mouse. Well, my friend, go chase your mouse. He was one fucked up kid if you ask me. Would have killed him myself had he not been killing about twenty people a day and taking down Airboern after Airboern.” I nod. Hoping back into my Airboern.

“Good luck,” I say.

“You too,” he says.

“Stop by La Ginties when it’s over. Ask for me. I’d like to hear some stories,” I say.

“As would I,” he says smiling. I nod at him as he returns. I close the cockpit and zoom off toward my House Ship.

I exit Venus, content with it. But saddened by its state of affairs. But ready to step in and take down Derrik. My bloods cooking and I’m smiling bigger. I calm myself down. Glad I can still do that.

I land in the hangar and speed to the front of the ship. I set my course for Mars. I lay back in my chair as I feel the pull. I set it to full speed. Thankfully, they are close in orbit. So it’ll only take some hours to get there.

Derrik probably miscalculated his course and shot for where Mars was before. But fie hours can really move mars a bit in its orbit. I set a course for where it will be. I close my eyes and rest. Preparing for later.

 

I wake. I’m about twenty minutes out of Mars when my video phone rings. I push a button on my console. A video feed pops up.

“Hello?” I ask. Darien appears on the screen.

“Where are you at?” he asks. A small tone of worry in his voice.

“I’m twenty minutes out, why?” I ask. Fear creeping into my for the first time in years.

“Derrik’s here,” he says. I clench my jaw and fists. Suddenly the camera zooms out then refocuses on Derrik. There are no customers in the place. My friends are all tied up on the stage staring out. The fire starts in my veins again. He’s climbed to my number one most hated partner.

“Hello, Druxun,” he says. Calmly. Sadistically.

“Hello, Derrik,” I say.

“Are you coming?” he asks.

“Yes I am,” I say.

“How far out are you?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“You have ten to get here. For every minute you are late, are friend of yours dies.” He walks behind the stage and climbs up. He stands behind Darien and places his gun on the back of his head.

“I’d suggest you hurry. I’ve given you ten minutes. You have five friends here. Better not get here any later than fifteen minutes. Otherwise, you may no friends left!” he starts to laugh hysterically. The feed cuts out and I jump up. Grabbing grenades and my extra gun. I speed off down to the hangar.

I jump into my Airboern. Start her to life with a roar. Thank God for my custom job. Faster than my ship. How much faster, I don’t know. I speed out of the hangar and crank it to drag speed. I angle for the edge of the planet. La Ginties will rotate directly into the dark side of the planet in two minutes. I fly tangent to it and won’t have to make turns. Entry to the atmosphere may be a bit tricky.

I push her to full speed. I’m speeding away. Even in space, I am pushed back by the G’s. I’m smiling. I’ve not felt fear in a long time. I’ve missed it. I push it down. It could make me sloppy. Three minutes.

I’m entering the atmosphere. I don’t bother to change angle or speed. I feel the heat coming through my cockpit. I lose all visibility as fire dances about the front. Suddenly I’m down and zooming through the atmosphere.

I blast by buildings and other Airboerns speeding like a bat out of hell. My ship’s shaking and rattling. Loose bolts. Have to tighten them later. I tighten my grip. Five minutes.

I see La Ginties. I slow down. Park in front. Get out and wipe the sweat from my brow. I breathe deep and exhale all my fear. I’m ready. I reach for the door and open it.

I walk down the hallway. Turn the corner. Derrik is standing there. Looking at his watch. His gun still held against my friends’ heads.

“Damn, you made it. You and that damn Airboern,” he says. I smile.

“Let my friends go this is between you and me,” I say.

“You’re right. It is,” he says. I see Rene’s eyes widen. I know. I dive to the right. But a blow still lands on my cheek. Knocking me to the ground. Derrik speeds down off the stage to the back. I pull my gun. He kicks it from my hand and steps on my wrist.

I try to pull my other gun but he grabs my face and pulls me close. He sticks his gun into my mouth. I stop. I don’t struggle. I look to my left. The man that knocked me down was . . . Sam. I narrow my eyes. Fire burns in them. I know. I can feel it.

“It is between you and me. I’ll let your friends go. But your lover. I’m taking her. And I’m killing you,” he says. I growl.

“You may say that I might not get away with this. But I will. Those who would avenge you will be dead. You see, Sam is going to kill your friends once you are gone. So you’ll all see each other in the after life. Except, they’ll pass on to heaven and you’ll go to hell. Is there anything you wish to say to them?” he asks. He pushes the gun harder into my mouth. Sam has a sadistic smile on his face.

I can see myself in Derrik’s eyes. I can see my eyes. They are glowing.

“Goodbye, old friend,” he says. Smiling. Then laughing. I hear the gun shot. The gun is pulled from my mouth. I fall to my hands and knees. I stare at the ground. Blood spatters from my mouth. I’m kicked in the gut. I hear screaming. I clench my fists and pound the ground. I look up. Derrik has Rene. Slowly, my vision blackens.

Darkness creeps in at the edges. I try to shake it away. More blood falls to the ground. Derrik pulls her close and kisses her. Then turns to me smiling. My blood lights on fire for it burn on it’s way out of my mouth. Then at last. I slip to the ground. And final darkness takes me.

 

 

Revenge

What is this? Why am I not dead? My eyes open. I see blood in front of me. A bullet lies on the ground. I don’t lift my head up. I hear shuffling. I feel two loose teeth in my mouth. I spit them out. Molars.

I realize what happened. The bullet bounced off the teeth in the back of my mouth and out the front. The blood came from lost molars. Not a pierced neck. My gun lies within arm reach. I hear James. He’s shouting at Sam.

“I thought he was your friend! I thought we were your friends! How could you betray us like this?” James is shouting.

“I told you James, it wasn’t personal. I just needed the money that he offered,” he says.

“If you had gotten into trouble, why didn’t you ask me or Druxun for help with money?” Darien asked.

I hear Julia and Erik sobbing. I don’t know how long I’ve been out. Not long, the blood is still wet, and I’m still bleeding a bit.

I grab my gun but still don’t move.

“I said shut up you guys. Don’t make this harder than it already is,” he says.

“You can still stop. We can save Rene. I thought you liked her?” James asked. His tongue starting to bite. Getting an attitude. His blood on fire. A true friend. A temper to nearly match mine.

“Shut up!” I hear a smack. Followed by a body crumpling to the stage. I stand.

I pull my legs underneath me. First my left, then my right. I push up. I stand up, bent at the waist. Slowly, I draw myself up. I throw my shoulders back and my head too. Then I look straight ahead. Breathe deep and exhale.

Julia, Erik, Darien, and James all stare in disbelief. I smile. I pick up my teeth and pocket them. Sam sees their scared looks and turns to follow their stares. He sees me. He sees where I was. His eyes widen.

“Hello, Sam,” I say. He lifts his gun. Aims it. I’m too fast. I aim and fire. His left knee buckles. Bleeding. Fire again. His right elbow, bends, bleeding. His gun drops, useless.

“Druxun . . .” he whispers. I nod.

“Where is Derrik taking Rene?” I ask slowly.

“I . . . I . . .” he stammers. I shoot him in the thigh. He screams.

“Tell me where,” I say.

“He to . . . took . . .” he stammers again.

“Tell me where, and I’ll forgive you,” I say.

“Earth. He took her to Earth,” he says. I smile.

“Where on Earth?” I ask.

“He has a house there,” he says.

“Where?” I ask.

“In old America. Here, I have the address here,” he says, starting to pull out his wallet.

“Thank you,” I say. Aiming my gun.

“What are you doing!? I thought you forgave me!” he screams.

“I did. But Rene didn’t. This is from her,” I say. I fire. The bullet pierces his head. He falls forward. I sprint over to my friends. I pull my knife and cut them loose.

“Druxun, you’re alright?” Darien asks. I nod.

“I’m sorry. I should have gone after him the first time. This is my fault,” I say.

“Don’t worry about it man. We’re fine. Just go save Rene. Darien and I’ll hold down the place and get it fixed up again,” Erik says. I smile.

“Alright, he’s right,” I say. Agreeing with what he’s implying.

“James, Julia, I’m asking for you to come with me. I can’t guarantee I’ll need you or if you can be any help or if you’ll survive. But, she’s my lover and your friend. And all I can do is ask,” I say.

“Right with you to the end,” James says. I stretch out my hand and he clasps his. We embrace in the one armed hug.

“I’ll go if my James goes,” Julia says. I roll my eyes. But nod and hug her.

“Go get your Airboerns. Dock with me. I’m in orbit. You know my coordinates,” I say.

“We do?” Julia asks.

“Yes, it’s on your navigation computers. I installed a tracking program on there so you could always find where I was. Meet me there,” I say. They both nod and run off. Before they exit I yell, “Grab any weapons you have also.”

“You sure you’re alright?” Erik asks me. I nod.

“Fix this place up. We’ll need a drink when we get back I think,” I say smiling. I walk over and grab a bottle of my bourbon. I turn to walk away then decide to grab another. I walk over to Sam and pull out his wallet. I take out the slip of paper with an address on it. 4500 W. Walcott Rd. I sigh. Poor Walcott.

I exit La Ginties. I hop into my Airboern and speed off. I dock and arrive to see James and Julia already there. We exchange glances and nod. I run to the head and set a course for Earth. We speed off.

 

We arrive within five hours. The three of us step into our Airboerns and fly off. I know exactly where his house is at. I lead the way. My friends flanking me. Zooming by I see an Airboern parked out front.

I step out of mine and onto the front porch. The clean Earth air greets me wit ha breeze. No smiles here. I look to the second floor window and hear screams echo from it. My girl’s screams. Of terror and pain and a mixture of everything in between.

I throw back a hand and motion for James and Julia to stop. I run to the door and lay my shoulder into it. It bursts inward with a crash. Stairs are in front of me and I climb to the top. A door behind me and to my left is closed. Probably locked.

I run into it. Laying my shoulder to it once more. It splinters and hinges snap. Rene lies on the bed. Scratched, bruised, and bleeding a bit. Naked. Mascara tears run down her face. Derrik stands above her, only in a pair of pants. Bleeding a bit from the lip. Rene’s eyes meet mine. Derrik jumps on her.

I rush over and grab him. Pull him up. He whirls and stares me in the eyes. Fear creeps into his. I smile. As demonically as I can muster. I punch him in the gut.

“But you’re dead!” he says as I lift him up off the ground by his neck.

“Saved by my teeth,” I say. Opening my mouth to show him my missing molars.

I walk to the window and throw him out of it. He screams falling to the ground. He lands on his back wind knocked from him. I jump out the window and land on the grass beside him. I lift him up.

“You killed those children. Innocent children,” I say. I punch him.

“Those innocents.” Trip him kick him in the gut.

“Came to La Ginties, shot it up.” Pick him up and throw him against the side of his house.

“Shot up my friend.” Scrape his face across the brick.

“Fled the scene.” Throw him into the house. Julia, James, and Rene run behind me.

“Led me to Venus.” Kick him onto a table.

“Went back to La Ginties.” Throw him to the ground as he slides across the carpet.

“Shot me in the mouth.” I say pushing him onto the kitchen counter.

“Threatened to kill my friends.”  Turn on the gas stove. Force his hand onto the flame.

“Attempted rape upon my lover.” Lifting him up and throwing him through the oven.

“Now, it’s time for your punishment,” I say. He looks at me. The fire that was there at La Ginties is gone. Replaced with terror.

I throw him to the counter again. He grabs a drawer and pulls it out as he falls. He grabs a knife and comes at me. I side step and trip him. He falls, the knife cutting his shoulder.

He stands. Throws the knife at me. I step away. He tries to run. I sprint after him. Dive and tackle him into the living room. Over the couch. I land on his chest and start to pummel his face. He tries to push me off and grabs one of my guns. I grab his wrist, pull his arm out, and snap the elbow. The gun falls from his hand. I punch his face one more time.

I grab my other gun. I pull it out. I place it to his forehead.

“Too afraid to fight me man to man? Hand to hand?” he asks. The fire attempting to start in his eyes.  Trying to quicken his pulse. Trying to gain courage. Trying to light up his blood.

“I did. Now, I’m done playing with you,” I say. The small sparks in his eyes blow out. Fade away and disappear.

“Fuck you, Druxun,” he says.

“Enjoy hell. I won’t be seeing you there. You see, I won’t be going there. You tried to exact your revenge, and you failed. Anything you tried to do, I countered and beat. You thought you won. You never could. My life star is just too bright still,” I say.

“You were the only one who ever listened to that damn mystic,” he says.

“Yea, but that mystic told me I’d kill you. Had you listened, maybe you would have made better choices. Maybe you wouldn’t be here lying beneath me, behind a barrel of a gun,” I say. Smiling. A friendly smile. Like the one I used to give him. Back from our partner days.

“You were always better than me, even though I was the elder. No, nothing would ever have been different,” he says.

“So, you accept your fate?” I ask.

“No, but you seem to accept it for me,” he says.

“Die, bastard,” I say. I press the muzzle of my gun to his forehead. I pull the trigger. His eyes dim even more. His body relaxes. I stand. Pull myself to my full frame. Rene runs up to me and jumps into my arms. I hug her, kiss her, and cry on her. She return every favor.

 

I dropped him off at Earth IPP that day. We flew back here.

 

I sit at my table. Rene walks by, draping an arm across me, leaving me my drink. The sax player is making his music. This band is the first we’ve had since we reopened a week ago. I sip my bourbon. The ice shifts in my glass. Clinking.

I smile. The bass player rips his bow across and the sax player’s fingers dance along. The trumpet pierces the air and lightens everything. The harmonica hums its melody.

Dave comes up to me and leans in. He’s our new body guard.

“Druxun, there’s some people outside saying they know you. Said you told them they could come visit.”

I stand and walk to the front door. There are six men standing at the door. Each in a black and green uniform. Venus uniforms. The commander and the men I told could come visit.

“Hey, what are you doing here? Come on it,” I say brining them inside.

“The war ended five days after you left. So two weeks ago. Have I got some stories for you,” the commander says.

“They can wait. I’ve had enough of fighting for a while. Listen to the music,” I say sipping on bourbon. Erik pokes his head out from the stage. Rene walks by and drops off some whiskey for my Venus friends. James is cleaning a glass behind the bar. Julia is sitting on a stool talking to him. Both are smiling. I look up. Looking down from the third balcony is Darien. Smiling. I turn back to the music and let the sounds wash over me. Glad that I don’t have to go back out hunting for a few more days.