Shadows of a Dying Light

Chapter 16

The lone van had finally parked itself inside the Garrison almost immediately as the sun broke through the horizon. Hunter watched as Serkan and Berk began to climb out of the van, only a few other thugs piling out afterwards.

Hunter began to massage his temples, feeling his face boiling up in anger. He looked over at the ragged group, finding Serkan at the front. Everyone had tried their best to look away from his deadly gaze, all except for Serkan. He had kept his ground, standing unfazed by the piercing look.

Hunter shut his eyes.

"Why...?"

The other man let out a sigh before speaking.

"They caught us by surprise. They shot at us while we tried to plant the bombs and were prepared for our attack."

"But that doesn't mean that they were able to kill off a group of 25 men!" Hunter shouted into the henchman's face. "Only 10 of our men should have died, at most!"

Serkan opened his mouth once more.

"But they had something else..." The man fearfully spat out, his eyes already showing the mental scarring. "They had the monster, the thing that stole our supplies. It attacked us, savagely tearing our numbers down. One by one, each of our men was clawed down to nothing. By the time it had finished, we were the only ones that were spared."

Now Hunter had grown pissed off. He grabbed Serkan by his shirt and lifted the man off the ground.

"Don't you dare lie to me!" The leader spoke with an icy voice, yet his eyes were bloodshot and ablaze with fury. "That thing is dead! If you want to make up more excuses, then I'll just kill you right where you stand..."

"Fine then... Kill me! And the others if you want... But that won't change the fact that this Volatile is still alive and killing our men!" Serkan has finally snapped and shouted right back into Hunter's face. He had been fueled with fury as well, and almost getting killed hadn't helped his situation.

"Go on... Kill me... Do it in front of the men that survived the literal embodiment of hell... But just know this Hunter... You'll regret not heeding my words if you do this."

Hunter stood planted in the same spot, where his stone cold face slowly began to fade away. He let out his anger by randomly and rapidly punching an empty crate nearby, before breathing in and out slowly, his chest and back rising and falling.

"Serkan... I'm not going to kill you. I'm sorry, I'm just deeply saddened by the loss of our men." Hunter said as he let some tears escape his eyes, running down his cheeks. "It's a horrible feeling to see them go, but I'm actually glad you all stayed alive."

The henchman sighed in relief, then briefly gave his boss a hug.

"I wanted to say that we shouldn't worry, but seeing what's occurring right now, I fought that thought back instead." Serkan chuckled as he said that. "But I'm being serious here. that Volatile is alive, and it's a bigger problem than we thought."

Hunter had finally regained his composure, becoming serious once more.

"Just how can this thing be a bigger problem?"

"The monster... It's sentient."

Hunter's eyebrows scrunched up when those words came at him. "Sentient?"

"Yes sir, the Volatile can speak. The person of the actual body somehow regained control of their body. He told us to leave the area. He... He saved us..."

Hunter paced the area they were in, his hand covering his mouth. He had already begun cooking up different ideas, theories, and speculations in his brain.