Night of The Hunter

Part Four: An End To Your Adventuring

"What the hell are you doing here?!" The man asked, taking his helmet off. He seemed much older than her, with grey hair and wrinkles all over his face. Most notably was the large scar on his right cheek. This clearly was a man who had been through a lot of fighting, a lot of hardships... "Don't you know how dangerous it is here?" He sighed, shaking his head."It's always people like you getting themselves into trouble..."

Magnolia sighed, getting some dust off her jacket. "H-hey!" She shouted uneasily. "I can handle myself..."

The man rolled his eyes, cleaning his sword and putting it back into its sheath. "Yeah I saw that... You stood against a wall, did nothing. Like any damn civilian would do."

Magnolia frowned. She used to be afraid, confused... Now she was just upset. "Listen! I don't know who you are or... Or if this is even real. But I stood my ground! Didn't I save you in the end too?"

The man went silent for a moment, before letting out a chuckle. "Hah well... That much is true. I did hear gunshots and you did plant your knife into that walker."

Magnolia gulped, a bit unsettled as the truth of what she just did started to settle in. "I... I am not in trouble right? I just... I murdered someone."

The man shook his head, gesturing to Magnolia to stand up from sitting. "Listen, those things you killed... We call them walkers, they've long lost their humanity. Their only instinct is a feral lust for blood... Your blood. You only defended yourself. So don't worry."

Magnolia sighed, still unsure about her actions as she looked at the splash of blood on her coat. "Shouldn't we... Call the police or something? They should know about this!"

The man shook his head. "The police won't do anything... No, they'll make it seem like we are the guilty ones. They don't know about this place, neither should they..."

"Shouldn't they know then?" Magnolia returned. "No, absolutely not..." The man said. "They'll lock us up and trust me, it'll be our end."

She looked on, confused. What did he mean by that? She didn't have any other choice but to trust the man though. She had no interest in going to jail. A sigh left her mouth as she grew speechless.

"Hey, I know this is a lot to process." He said. "But you'll be okay... Soon you'll be home and this will be nothing but a distant memory. I am Alexander. What's your name?"

"Magnolia..." She spoke. "I still can't believe this is real."

The man shook his head, making his way to the stairwell. "Come come, now is not the time to be sentimental. It's best we get out of here as fast as possible."

For one more moment, Magnolia looked around her to see the mess she found herself in before shaking her head. "You're right, best to get out..."

"That a girl..." Alexander said. "You've shown yourself to be strong... But this is not the place for you."

"Hey!" Magnolia shouted out. "I can handle myself... Okay? This is like my only hobby!"

"What, going into tunnels underground? Don't kid me... Let's go." He sighed, leading the way ahead up to the staircase. Magnolia followed obediently. She wasn't exactly keen on being alone down here.

"Well... What were you doing here? You too have no right to be here!" The man shrugged, always a few stairs in front of Magnolia. "This is my job... I have trained for many years for this. Probably more years than you are alive." He said.

The man did look a lot older than her, that's for sure. He looked to be in his 50s... Yet it appeared his finesse, as demonstrated before, was extraordinary. Magnolia wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

She didn't question it...

Soon, the duo left the hallway and came back into the house. "This is a place of evil deeds." The man commented. "But that's in the past now, we can only hope the victims of this place can move on..."

Magnolia looked on, a bit confused. "What do you mean, the evil of this place?" Alexander frowned towards her. "I was talking to myself, not to you... How about you behave for once and keep that mouth of yours shut?"

"Hmfff!" Magnolia let out, looking the other side... And yet, she continued to follow him. What was she gonna do? Walk away on her own? The night suddenly felt a lot less safe.

There was a black van waiting outside, an older model that seemingly had gone through a lot. Alexander unlocked the vehicle, taking his seat behind the driver's wheel. Magnolia hesitated... Much to the annoyance of the man. "Are you getting in or what?" He asked.

"But my bike!" She shouted out. "Yeah? You can come and get it another time, okay?" Alexander replied, unconvinced.

"Besides, I shouldn't get into a car with strangers..." She said, feeling a tad scared. Alexander laughed and rolled his eyes. "And you're supposed to get into abandoned houses, yeah? Come on, don't act silly and get in."

Magnolia sighed, seems like this is the best option after all... With great distaste, she sat down in the vehicle, crossing her arms.

"Right... You're gonna go home and you're gonna forget about this and your 'adventuring,' understood?" Alexander spoke, setting the radio to a low volume.

"Yeah right..." Magnolia said, not planning at all to quit her only hobby. "My address is Loose Street 57, Hamersville..."

Suddenly, the man stopped in place, his attention now going from the radio to fixate on Magnolia. "Loose Street 57?" He repeated, the address seemed familiar to him, somehow.

"Yeah, Loose Street 57, I have lived there all my life... Something wrong with that?" A brief silence filled the room, with Alexander gripping the steering wheel. "I know that address..." He replied. "Oh you do?" Magnolia laughed.

"And how's that possible? Wait let me guess, you used to date my mom at one point, is that it?"

The man blinked, looking back to Magnolia. "Your mother, you say? Hmmm, well, what's your last name, lass?" He asked, curious.

"What does it matter? Want to send me a friend request online or something! Fine! It's Magnolia Manenjager... Happy now?"

The man chuckled, seemingly finding it funny. "I'll be damned... Another Manenjager in my car. After all these years..."

Magnolia starred with her mouth open, unsure what to think of all of this. "What do you mean another? There's only one of me!"

"No... Magnolia, was it?" He commented, smiling slightly. "There was another... Edward Manenjager."

"But that's my..." Magnolia interrupted.

"Yes, exactly... That man's your father. Buckle up, it's going to be a long night..."