1 The beginning and the end

"Jonathan Hendricks," the stranger said. It was an odd encounter. It isn't everyday that a random guy in suspicious looking clothes would stop you and say your name. It was pretty late at night. The weather was damp. It seemed like it would rain soon. All the shops were closed. "I am sorry, but I don't think I know you," I replied. "You might be in more trouble than you think," he said without answering me. "Who are you? And what do you mean by that?" "It doesn't matter who I am. All that matters is you got a bounty on your head."

My eyes immediately widened. A bounty. I was your average middle-aged man. Going to my 9-5 work, doing things any normal person would do. But if I have a bounty on me then that would mean…

I calmed myself. It wasn't the time to panic. "Do you have any proof of- " Before I could finish my sentence, he handed me an envelope. It was sealed with a certain wax mark that I was less than thrilled to see. I opened it to find a single piece of paper. It had the headline, "Top bounties of the season." Just under there, it was written "Jonathan Hendricks, JH, 50M;" I could not believe my eyes after I had seen my name at the top of the list.

Someone went out of their way to put a bounty on a man like me. Oh well, it had been too long. I tried to convince everyone, even myself, that my life was like your average middle aged man. But I still never thought that the SFERs would sniff me out this quickly. "Who sent you?" I finally asked the man. "A certain acquaintance of yours that you probably don't remember," he replied. "Oh please, you know who I am." "I do, don't worry," he said calmly with a sinister smile.

"The bounty hasn't been released yet. It will take another 12 hours for it to reach the wolves. Ted sent me as a messenger to tell this to you." Of course, it was none other than Teddy Brume. That guy wants a piece of everything. "Will Ted be there?" I asked the man. "Oh of course not. You have to forget everything about me and Ted. He isn't the one who would get caught in a crossfire like this. After all, we know what you did Johan."

I wasn't called by that name in quite a bit. "Ah, so nostalgic," I whispered, "Haven't heard that name in a while." "You are the monster you've always been. There is no running away from it," he snared. I couldn't blame him. I was the one who single handedly wiped out all of District 18. "I will be leaving now. And remember, they are coming for you." The stranger soon vanished into the shadow of the night. I was all alone on the empty street knowing that everything will end tomorrow. After all, they know it was me who released the bioweapon.

I slowly started walking back to my place. A lot of thoughts in my head. I would be dead soon. The wolves are coming. This bounty was inescapable. They knew who I was. It was too late to run. Hiding was futile. All that was left was acceptance. I slowly climbed up the stairs leading to my apartment. I opened the door and headed into the bathroom. I knew where the pills were. I grabbed the bottle and took out more than enough to do the job.

I had no regrets. They took away my family. They infected them to convince me to stay in the lab. They made me do things I never wanted to. Innocent lives were lost. All I decided was to retaliate. So, do I regret anything? No, I don't. They deserved it. With that final though, I put the pills in my mouth. Chewing them wasn't easy. They tasted disgusting. But I finally found satisfaction with the swallow. I laid back on my bed to fall into a never ending sleep. I knew everything would be over after that night. There would be no prey for the wolves.

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