Josh laid on his old torn up sofa listening to the television as white noise in the background beer can in his left arm
8 years later still reliving that fatefull day
A lot has changed in those 8 years
Riots, Cities destroyed worldwide, people with special powers, and what some would call magic
Josh laughed at such thoughts
He sipped his beer as he listened to an ad on the telly
"Do you suspect that you or your loved one might be a hunter call your closest hunters association location and sign up to be the protectors of humanity"
Josh laughed out loud and took out a card from his right pocket with his right arm
He looked at the card while clutching the beer can in his left arm
He gritted his teeth
"What is it worth being a "protector" of humanity when you're one of the worst ones"
The can spewed out liquid as it got slowly crushed. Josh threw the half crushed can over the television
The can smashed into pieces as the liquid exploded out of its broken container
A few drips slid down the screen of the tv
Josh looked at his card and realised the futility of what he was doing
The card almost grinned at Josh with what was written on it
Name: Josh Keane
City of Birth: London
Hunter rank: D
The worst rank, in the worst city for such a low rank
Ever since the day of the incursion London became one of the major hunting grounds in England
One of the so called big six with the other 5 being: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, and Manchester
Paradises for the chosen few high ranks, a nightmare for others
Josh was a small fry in a huge pond
...
Josh got up from his sofa and went to his bedrom
He opened the door and flicked the lightswich on
The lighbuld flickered a bit before it fully turned on
Josh sighed as he took his clothes off and sat on the bed
The weight of his body met the body of the bed and the bed creaked a little as if to anounce after so many years it was almost time for its service to end
Josh lay on the bed knowing full well his mind won't relieve him off memories of the fateful day
....
Light beamed in throught the window of the bedroom and hit Josh's face
The slight warmth woke him up from his sleep not that it was much of a good sleep to begin with
Josh looked at the clock
7 am
time for a raid
Josh got up from his bed and put his clothes on
He took out a dagger from his nightstand and put it into a scabbard on his belt
With that he left his flat to go to the place where the raid will take place
....
In front of the blue circle pulsating with energy stood a man wearing an expensive looking navy blue suit
The man looked up from his tablet at the group ahead of him which Josh quickly joined
"Are you the group that's going to enter the gate?"
"Ah...yes we are ' Somebody from the group exclaimed
"Alright the gate is ranked D you are authorized to enter"
The man went back to looking at his tablet
The group started entering as Josh looked at the Hunters Association employee
Josh glared at him as he walked in with the rest of the group
...
Something unexpected hit Josh's eyes
Nothing
A complete darkness like never before
Somebody ahead of Josh yelled for people to take out their phones to use as flashlights
Everything ahead of Josh got lit up from the light of the phones
A corridor made of black stone with nothing but darkness ahead
Josh could hear nothing except dead silence and the shuffling of clothes of the group moving forward through the corridor
...
The group walked through a big enterance to a huge hall
Huge pillars stood on each side with stairs leading towards a throne ahead of them
Chandeliers with lit candles streaked the ceiling while two skeletons stood motionless by the throne
"Alright people even though it's skeletons take your positions"
Some people moved more forwards while some staid back with Josh
While that was happening one of the skeletons head moved up to look up at the group
Its empty eye sockets glared at them with hatred and flames of passion
It moved its right hand back and hurled its sword at the group like a spear
...
No one in the group could react to it
Possibly not even a C rank adventurer could react to it
But Josh didn't have time to think about useless information like that
All he could think off was the blood and pieces of a human brain on his clothes
All that was left of the human being that used to stand next to him just moments ago was a torso
That torso lay on the ground its head exploded from the impact of the sword and it
That same sword was stuck in the wall behind Josh
Cracks formed in the wall where the sword was embedded
Some people stood frozen, some vomited
Josh's breathing quickened as he looked around at the pandemonium
His legs moved on their own as he started walking backwards
It was his brain telling his body to leave this place
To get out of such unimaginable danger that slay one of his comrades
A comrade similar in strenght to his
....
He turned back from the group and started running
Hunters such as him were predicted to perish at a much faster rate then others
Josh already experienced death before but not so one sided
A lack of luck or a mistake was what led to such deaths but not this
A one sided complete annihilation of one's being
All he could do was run
Run as fast as his body allowed him to while hearing the cruel sounds of peoples dreams being crushed behind him
....
He ran untill he stumbled out of the gate
Tear drops streaked down his face
He looked around to find Hunters Association employee
The employee stood near the gate on the left typing something on his tablet
Josh shuffled over to him on his knees grabbing the employees pants
"You have to call somebody" Josh screamed at the man
The man scratched his chin and responded
"Must have been a faulty miscalculation"
The man took out a device from his left pocket and went near the gate
He pointed it at the gate and waited
He looked at the device mumbled something and took out a phone from his right pocket
....
The man tucked his phone back into his pocket and looked back at Josh
"A C class hunter strike force will arive in 15 minutes...so you can go now"
Josh stood there while the man took out his wallet and handed Josh two one hundred pound banknotes
Josh took the 200 pounds and left
...
Josh stood in front of the Beer Wine & Spirits section in ASDA
He took a quick look at the assortment of beverages stocked ahead of him on shelves
Out of all the beverages one caught his attention a Blended Scotch Whisky
The one that will help him forget all that happened today
....
Josh opened the door to his flat and walked in
He slowly closed the door behind him as he didn't want his neighbours to know he was home
His body slowly approached the sofa where it would find its resting place
His right hand opened the bottle of Scotch Whisky
The liquid slowly entered inside his mouth
After 10 minutes the alcohol started absorbing into Josh's bloodstream
It started affecting his thoughts
....
"Haaaaaa" Josh sighed
He knew he could continue this way of life this surviving
But he didn't know anything else
"If only i was richer"
His right hand reached out and grasped at nothing
"No...if only i was stronger"
His mind drifted away into deep slumber
A little late then expected, a little short rest coming tomorrow.
First raid comming, going to be a little exciting. Took inspiration from a certaing korean manhwa/ light novel. Hope to show more of the struggle at the bottom and what one must do to achieve the top