Hunters

“Can you keep a secret?”

Standing in the dim room with the moonlight shining in through the window, I looked Mary up and down. She was by far one of the most powerful hunters there were in the world. Her gold-silver hair fell around her face, her eyes piercing through me with her gaze.

Hunters in this world were the ones who killed. There were many rumours, but everyone knew they existed. They’d come and take lives when your ‘time’ is up. Still, no one knew what ‘time’ represented - was it age? Money? Good and bad deeds? No one really knew. Sometimes, a poor child would be taken, other times middle-aged folk and occasionally an elder. It was strange and confusing. Looking at Mary however, I couldn’t imagine her covered in another's blood. 

“Can you keep a secret?”

Mary looked down at me, waiting for an answer. I looked up at her. My eyes had been drawn to the floor lost in thought. 

“Yeah,” I replied, quietly. 

With another look at me, she turned, “Then come with me.”

Mary headed out the room and down the hallway. I followed - tracing her steps. It was dangerous here, even if she was the only one present. The floorboards beneath us would sporadically creak as we walked. Sometimes, looking out the windows of the manor, I could see the dark sky with an occasional bird flying by. At least this place wasn’t completely desolate of life.

“Wait.”

Mary halted, and I almost bumped into her. She stood for a few seconds before she nodded and continued along - faster than she had before. This time, I could hear her slightly uneven breaths, among the silence that surrounds us. Finally, arriving at a simple wooden door - that looked like every other door - Mary produced a key from her pocket and unlocked it. She pushed it open and ushered me inside before she shut it again and lit a lantern for us.

The inside was modest and small, smelling of something musty. It was a bedroom, with a wide bed, with two armchairs and a desk in the corner. There was also another door embedded in the far wall with a closet right beside it. This was Mary’s room.

Taking the lantern with her, Mary sat down on one of the chairs. I did the same, making myself comfortable in the stiff armchair. 

“So, what is it?”

Mary looked at me and then turned away and closed her eyes. For a while, she didn't say anything. Eventually she spoke.

“You have to believe me when I tell you about this place and about being a hunter,” Mary started, looking me in the eye. It was slightly unnerving, the way she watched me. With a sigh she continued, “This ‘time’ thing… it’s horrible.”

“What… do you mean…?” I asked. She was slightly piquing my interest. But then again, it was worrying. This was no doubt terrible for us if someone found out Mary had been telling me the ‘truth’.

“Time is different for everyone. Each hunter gets to choose. If someone thinks that ‘time’ represents actual time, they’ll only choose those who are near their deaths. If another hunter thinks ‘time’ represents money, they can kill off the poor. What’s worse is that it wasn’t always this way, and some hunters are killing off certain people and races just because they want to.”

With the revelation, I was shocked. “Then… what is the government doing?”

“Trying to contain us all - those who have forgotten the real meaning of time.” Mary responded. Her eyes seemed sunken, filled with sorrow. Through the couple years I’ve known her, she seemed to be hollow, crippled in sadness.

“What was the real meaning?”

“We could only kill those who have killed others. The more they kill, the higher chances of their time ending quicker,” Mary explained, “But now, with all this technology and the police force, people don’t kill each other as much as they did in the past. Hunters started to lose their meaning - to eradicate those who harm others. So we hunters-”

Mary paused, correcting herself, “No… the other hunters created a new meaning for themselves. To rid the world of what they saw as ‘bad’.”

Silence filled the room, and a sudden question popped into my head.

“What about soldiers? What about them?”

“They are exceptions. We used to see that fighting for our country was noble and not something to be punished for.”

“But why are you telling me this?” I asked Mary. The light from the lantern was still blazing; the yellow-orange glow from the fire dancing across the walls of the room.

“Because you’re my friend and someone has to know.”

“I can’t do anything with this information.”

Mary smiled faintly, “Not yet. You just have to reveal this secret to the world when the time is right - when everything changes for you. For now, you must swear that you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“I won’t.”

Even though I was confused, I didn't question her. Mary had her ways, and when she doesn’t want someone to know something, she wouldn’t budge to give you the answer. 

“You have to go back now. The other hunters would be here soon after their killings.”

I nodded and got out of the armchair. I didn't want to stay any longer to see everyone covered in someone else’s blood, with bags filled with bodies and putrid smells of death as they dragged the dead out into the yard and later into a big hole they dug somewhere a few distance away. Mary walked back to the door and led me outside. The trip back to the main doors was the same - Eerily quiet. 

“Make sure you get out of here as soon as you can. You don’t want to linger here.” Mary said as she stood upon the giant twin doors.

“I know.”

I reached out and undid the one lock on the door and pushed it open. The slight breeze outside filled the room a little, filtering the air with a new breeze. 

“I’ll go now then,” I told Mary, “Don’t get in trouble, please.”

She nodded and smiled. But just then, voices could be heard. The both of us snapped our heads to peer outside the open door. Lights. There were faint lights that were gradually getting closer and clearer. I knew that if I walked out now, I’d only get caught.

“They’re here early…” Mary said, nervously, “Follow me.”

Mary shut the door softly and clicked the lock back in before Mary started to run down the hallways, half dragging me along. Once we got to her room, she opened the closet.

“Get in and try to keep the sound you make to a minimum.”

I got in without objection and she closed the doors and bolted it. Then she sat down on the armchair and just… waited. Within a few more minutes, someone knocked on the door and Mary went to answer it. Standing in the doorway a tall figure. I couldn’t see their face. It shrouded in darkness, the only light in the room from the sole lantern that Mary had placed down on the side table.

“Hello Mary.”

Mary bowed her head, “Hello Trevor.”

“Just checking up on you. Are you feeling better?” 

“Yes. I do feel better. I still feel a bit sick, but otherwise, I’m fine.”

“That’s good. Now, let’s sit down shall we?”

Mary let the man into the room, and both of them took their places in the chairs.

“Merriman said that since you didn't go today, you will have to get rid of two the next time.” Trevor’s voice was husky and somewhat raspy, “And he told me to tell you to go to his office. He had some things to tell you.”

“I see. I will head there right after I use the bathroom,” Mary said, “You can leave first if you want to.”

Rising from his chair, Trevor nodded at Mary and left the room. The clacking on his boots was heard as he finally passed through the doorway. Mary stood there and listened a bit before she hurried over to me and unbolted the doors, letting me out.

“Who was that?” I asked her.

Mary only shook her head, “Trevor. He’s a high positioned bastard that only cares and thinks about killing.”

There was a pause before Mary continued, “I can’t get you out of here with all the people running about. You’ll just have to stay here longer. I’ll be back after the meeting with the Head.”

Giving me an apologetic look, she ushered me back inside and locked the closet, before fleeing the room to her meeting. 

I wasn’t sure how long I was in the closet, but when I heard someone walking towards me, I was hopeful that Mary was finally back. Then, the doors swung open.

Instead of Mary that stood there, it was Trevor. He snarled and grinned wickedly. “Don’t think I didn't know you were there. I could smell you from where I sat.”

I froze on the spot, half-buried in Mary’s clothes.

“You’ll need to come with me.” Trevor roughly grabbed me by the arm and flung me out of the closet. “And don’t try anything, or I’ll have your legs cut off.”

He smiled and prodded me along.

“W-what about Mary?”

“That foolish woman? She should know better than to hide you here. The Head will deal with her. It was like he wanted you to die.”

I turned white. Was…. that true?

“But perhaps she didn't think that I’d be visiting her. Or maybe she hadn’t noticed the tiny cameras that littered her room.” With a shrug, Trevor continued to push me along. I gulped and continued, thoughts filling my head. But the one thought that bothered me the most was;

What was going on?