Nightfall

Chapter 7: Resolve

Ruby's briefing of the job was short and sweet. All that was said was,

"Alright Stone, I don't really think you're ready for this, but you'll improve more by getting out there and learning firsthand what a battle is really like. Plus, you won't shut up about it, so I feel like I have no choice. Anyway, rule one on this mission is do whatever I say, no matter how stupid or dangerous it sounds. If you don't follow my specific orders you're going to have to train yourself. So make peace with that. Next on the list is the actual job description. I found an easy job hunting a mutant demon. The local farmers and soldiers haven't been able to capture it because it burrows like a mole. From descriptions it doesn't sound like it's particularly strong, but it seems to be fairly intelligent. That combined with its ability to dig at high speed means it could prove to be difficult to catch and kill. It doesn't seem to be very lethal so you shouldn't be in too much danger, however, you should still stay on your guard at all times. The soldiers around the area report that it likes to pop up behind its prey to ambush it, so if you let your guard down it very well could be the last thing you do." she sighed heavily after finishing her briefing. "I'll pack your bag this time so you don't forget anything, but pay attention so that you can to do it yourself the next time you need to go someplace. Any questions?"

I didn't have any so we got ready.

The job was first come first serve, so time was critical. To prove my point, Ruby said the job had only been posted this morning and three other hunters had already accepted it.

Ruby dressed out in tight fitting black and red jeans, and a long sleeved athletic shirt of the same color. I'd never seen her wear it before, but now that I had I had to admit, she looked like she meant business. It didn't have any armor, which I found surprising, but with her abilities I guess she was fine without it. I dressed out in my hunting clothes. They smelled a little from all the sweaty training, but other than that they still looked and felt brand new.

We left the apartment and made our way through the hectic, crowded streets of old town Japan. Normally walking through the throngs of people would have been slow, but this time the clothes we were wearing and the air of business we carried seemed to make people want to get out of our way. It still took a while, but eventually we walked out of the Japan sector and into the corporate sector. Ruby quickly hailed a cab, since it was slightly faster than walking, and pulled me inside the first one to stop for us. When I asked where we were going Ruby told me that she had a friend from the academy in one of the high rises who let her hire his private helicopter pilot from time to time. So we were on our way to talk him into letting us borrow him and his helicopter, which would hopefully give us the leg up and make us the first ones to the job.

As we drove I marveled at the buildings we passed. The skyscrapers were all immense and extremely futuristic. There were giant tv's all over them and advertisements I didn't recognize desperately tried to draw attention to themselves with their short time on each one, but even with all the bright colors and shiny metals the buildings still blended together as we drove by them. Fortunately, our driver knew his way around, and after a while he dropped us off on the front porch of one of the steel and glass behemoths. Ruby rapidly paid him with a card of some sort and we made our way inside the building.

The lobby was lavishly decorated and with white granite and bronze. But I was robbed of any chance to admire it when I was pulled aboard a set of bronze plated elevators to our left. Ruby sent us to the floor third from the top, and when I noticed this I asked how her friend had a private helicopter without being on the top floor. However, instead of answering she winked and put her finger over her lips to hush me; forcing me to ride in silence while listening to cheesy elevator music.