Chapter One: The Old man Under the Red Sky

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you desperately wanted to be faster or stronger just for a few minutes? If that is what you experienced, then normally you are in the middle of a huge problem and it is already too late for you to do anything, except maybe pray that there is a next time where you can prepare better. Of course, most people only say that in the moment when they really needed those boosts, but once the situation is dealt with, they return to their original state where they just do nothing to improve and lazily continue with the bad habits that put them into the problem since the beginning. The ideal situation of course would be to steadily nurture your strength and speed so you can use it when a crisis appears, but honestly how many people do really have that mentality? Most people just don't even think about it and just let their best years pass without even giving a damn about their bodies and minds, only to have a rude awakening in the face of adversity.

- "What the hell are you talking about, old man?"

That was the typical answer from the young people that heard those words from me every time I drank too much and the alcohol made me believe I was a kind of wise spiritual guide that had the social duty to educate the younglings in the ways of life. Truth was those words only brought laughter and insults from the audience and sometimes even beatings from displeased thugs who did not like to be lecture by a useless old man like me. Why I am remembering those worthless rumbles right now you may be asking and the truth is that in these moment I would really want to be physically better. It would be good that this were one of those times when you got enlightened and decided to change your life for the better, but ironically I was exactly in the middle of those moments that I had mentioned where I really needed to run faster before my pursuers caught up with me and kill me.

- "Faster! They almost catch up with us!"

- "This is the fastest I can go!"

- "You are younger than me!"

- "Stop complaining and think in something to help us, old man!"

The brat who was running by my side was a man in his late 20's who had just joined his team for the current job he had accepted. Normally such company would be welcomed, but the guys was a total mess. Not only was he an idiot that made stupid mistakes and lacked common sense, but he was even slower and weaker than me a mercenary veteran in his late 50's. He became a burden from the moment they met and I wished nothing more than getting rid of him. The only reason he had suffered his presence was that they needed an expert hacker for the mission they had just finished. Otherwise he had never get involved with him and even now if he had the time and ammunition, he would have already silence his annoying voice. He was obviously not used to get out of his bunker, and yet he was still alive when other members of his group who were far more competent and resourceful had died. Is this what they called the good luck of the weaklings?

- "It's over, man"- the young man cried as he started to slow down due to him losing his breath- "we are fucking dead!"

- "Shut your trap!"- I said before pushing him into a dark alley in order to hide.

I put my hand on his mouth to make sure he did not make a noise and we hid behind the remnants of a ramshackle car that it must have been a luxurious vehicle in its old days. After a few seconds, we heard our pursuers pass the street where they had been just running. They could hear their voices and new ones joined. I realized they had just surrounded us without us noticing. Had we continued running in that direction and we would have been caught.

- "We are doomed..."- said my terrified companion with anguished whispers- "what do we do?"

I don't blame the brat for being scared to death, I know very well what would happen to us if our persuers managed to catch us. After all, I was also used to interrogate and torture people in order to extract information. I had also eliminated many of their members, so I imagined they were particularly pissed with us. I took a moment to check my equipment and the situation could not be worse. My ammunition is depleted and my combat armor is in tatters and without energy.

- "I spent so much in this armor, damn it!"- I cursed while I checked the terrible conditions the metallic arm of my exoskeleton where the small panel which normally gave you information like your vitals and the shield levels of your armor was now offline due to the damage- "It saved my life long enough though..."

I stopped worrying about the things I can't control and my mind start working at full speed. This is not the first time I found myself face to face with the Death, actually nobody that had survived for the last 10 hellish years would have had that luxury. I have been on the verge of dying so many times that I have simply lost count and honestly, I wonder every day how I am still alive after all this time. Maybe, I am lucky.

- "Ha! Yeah, sure, delusional old man!"- I said to myself as I smiled with sarcasm. The boy did not move and just looked at me impatiently awaiting for my orders- "don't look at me with such hopeful eyes, kid. Truth is that I don't know what to do either."

Watching to the depressing sky which is eternally blood red in color no matter if it was morning, afternoon or night, I sincerely think that those who did not make it are the ones who are truly lucky. At least they are resting peacefully and they do not have to bear with the miserable and tortuous conditions in which the survivors had to live with. The thought of end everything passed my mind as a powerful temptation since for some reason the cursed red sky had a psychological influence on everyone who look at it for a long time. Nobody understood how it worked but since the day mankind had lost the blue sky and the stars, and had it replaced by the bloody red tint many had taken their own lives due to deep depression and hopelessness they got as a result. I always thought it was the revenge of the deity or deities that we as a mankind had rejected so many years ago and were now banning the sinners to even look at them.

- "Since you do not need us, then look down"- I could imagine them saying to mankind- "You do not deserve to look up!"

Many times I have thought about just using a bullet to send me to a peaceful and eternal rest where I didn't have to fight so desperately in order to live. In this age, guns are very limited and ammo even more, but with good connections it was not impossible to get them. If I wanted to go the easy road I could simply get some good rope or jump from a tall building. I would lie if I said that I have not tried, but every single time, I was paralyzed due to the fear and I failed to do so.

- "Look over there!"- the voices of our pursuers said in shouts full of anger and the old man could easily detect that the voices were spread all around them- "They cannot be far. Find them and shoot them immediately!"

It's pathetic I know, but truth is I'm an absolute coward about suffering. Dying is fine but what I worry about is the moments prior to it. What if the bullet does not do the job and like Robespierre I just end up with giving myself endless pain? How much time would I suffer if the rope doesn't not break my neck immediately? What if the fall just break all my bones but I survive? I know many would say I'm overthinking but realistic, who does not think about those things from time to time at least for mere morbid curiosity? In the end, that cowardice is what had kept me alive all these years, and every time the grim reaper came for me, that terror of dying pushed me to fight tooth and nail until the end and get strength and ideas from pure desperation. This time I also get the answer in the middle of this situation.

- "¡Ok! I've got an idea"- I said with a serious tone and the kid looked at me with his eyes full of hope and expectation.

- "Listen, just around this corner there is a garage that has a broken door, and if we moved it a little it will give us enough space to get into the building and hide in one of the many apartments."

- "Really?"- the kid asked me looking in the direction I point at.

- "Yeah, I have a secret stash there in the apartment 38 on the third floor"- I kept explaining while calculating out possibilities- "the problem is that the door may be too noisy and attract the attention of those bastards"

- "Then?"

- "We need a distraction"- I said while slowly getting near the corner of the building in order to see if our pursuers are near. My back is fully exposed to the kid- "We need something that made the thugs ignore us, maybe we could..."

I didn't even finish the sentence when I felt a powerful kick on my back that made me fall into the pavement some meters in the middle of the street. Immediately, I hear the voice of my young companion shouting loudly in order to alert our pursuers. He immediately starts running in the direction of the garage I mentioned before.

- "You really did it! You son of a...!"- I cursed as I start running to the opposite direction in order to find a new place to hide. I heard the sounds of people running and closing to my position so I don't have time to worry about the kid at all.

- "Ahhhhhhh!,damn you, old man!!!"- I hear the voice of the traitorous youngster cursing me at the distance and our pursuers also do.

- "Here he is!"- They have found him just as I planned, but now I need to get to my hiding point before another group catch me.

I passed many corners begging that no pursuers cross my path, but once again I must accept that I am too delusional. I crossed not one but two groups who immediately start to shoot point-blank. They must really hate me to waste ammo like that.

- "Come one, legs of mine!"- I implore to this old body which seemed to be about to break at any moment- "do not fail me now!"

I feel multiple impacts in my back and leg followed by an intense pain which would be enough to make any person fall down and cry in agony, but the adrenaline kept me conscious and I used the next corner to block my attackers vision. Finally, I see a particular rusted garbage container and used my last energies to reach it and jumped inside without forgetting to pull the piece of metal that kept it open begging for the lid to close as silently and fast as possible and also for not landing in anything sharp that could be laying in the base of the trash. Fortunately, the container closes instantly and I managed to land safely on the stinky contents.

- "Please, don't be close by the inside"- I begged as I rummage inside the disgusting piles of trash and rotten food until I found the switch which let me open a hidden entrance in the base of the container which connected to the interior of the building.

The opening is not big, but enough for me to drag myself into the safety of the building and seal the entrance completely while I hear with voices outside looking for me. Just in case I placed my hand on my mouth to avoid making any sound and control my breathing.

- "How is it possible he just vanished in the air?"- I heard a deep voice behind the wall- " his armor was already without power... search around"

I heard how they opened the container I used furiously checking it and by the sounds I guessed they finally knocked it over to see if I was inside. I can only imagine the disgusting scene they had to see in the middle of the street.

- "Find him damn it!"- shouted the same voice and the next sound indicated that he had hit someone- "If we don't find him, we're all dead, do you understand?"

- "Boss! I found this sewage entrance hidden here!"- said another voice and I'm glad that they had found the false escape route.

- "So he went over here!"- said the boss who immediately sent some of his boys down the sewage to catch me- "I will find you and kill you!"

I smiled at the threat. This guy is not the first who had tried and to be honest I had escaped from better hunters, so his threat sounds kind of empty and ridiculous.

- "We found the other one, Boss!"- mentioned another voice which seemed to be younger than the first one.

- "Where?"- asked the boss with a voice full of malice.

- "He was trying to open a garage but the idiot activated a trap and he blew up his hands!"- said the subordinate laughing as if he had seen the funniest thing ever.

- "Good!"- laughed the boss and the tone reminded the old man of a predator preparing to kill his prey- "let's see what he can tell us. He must know where the box is and if not, at least I will be able to vent all this fury on him!"

After some minutes the people who went into the sewage informed the boss that it is literally a labyrinth and they would need more people. The boss ordered them to go and interrogate the kid so they abandoned the place.

- "All according to plan"- I said to myself while a small pang of guilt hit me knowing very well what they would do to the kid. The feeling, though, only lasted a few seconds.

It was part of my plan to use the kid, but I gave him a choice. You decided to betray me, kid so your blood is on your hands. Well, he just had done what most people would. He saw an opportunity and decided to sacrificed me in order to survive. In the end, though, it was him who became the pawn.

- "I respect your decision, kid. So you can't blame me either... blame your own greed and lack of common sense"- I said as if the poor bastard could hear me- "You thought you were very smart and saw me a foolish and too trusty old man who was just giving you free stuff. I could even hear your thoughts... this old man will die soon anyway, so at least he could be of use by letting me survive. Well, kid... too bad. I'm not an idiot, and I don't trust anyone anymore."

I remembered many familiar faces that once were considered my friends and allies. However, most of them ended betraying me and lost their lives at my hands. After all that I've experienced, I simply don't believe in such thing as "loyalty."

- "I didn't lie though. There is a stash in that place, but you should have known I'd never share that information with you. You got blinded and paid the price. At least, your death won't be in vain and it will let me live. At least I promise that my next cup will be in your name... wait, now that I think about it, I never knew your name."

I start laughing at that idea. You may thing that I'm ruthless and a nasty person, and you wouldn't be wrong. I stopped being an honest and innocent man l a long time ago, and my hands are dirtied and bloodied beyond what you can imagine. At least I swear that I never enjoyed it nor I feel proud of it. You must know that there are many crazy bunch out there committing the most wicked atrocities and unspeakable things just for fun or sport and I must proudly say that I have cleaned this horrible world from many monsters like that and the rest I had to do it in order to survive.

- "At least that is what I will say if one day any deity holds me accountable for my sins."

Positive thinking? Morality? Goodness? Only the idiots and the dead would have those qualities in this rotten world. Ah, another thing in my favor. I swear I never killed children, nor anyone who was truly innocent. The kid of today was not a child and he was definitely not innocent at all.

It's in that moment that I noticed how badly the situation was. The pain in my back and leg was increasing by the second. I had definitely asked too much to this broken body and I could feel the years passing the bill. I also noticed that my breathing was irregular and that my vision was starting to cloud. When I passed my hand by my back, I felt a terrible pain and then I see my hand covered in blood.

- "Damn! I suppose my luck had been used long time ago..."- I said as I cursed and shout all kinds of insults and swearing for a while, but then I realized how stupid it was to do that when nobody was listening. I fought the pain to accommodate myself in a more comfortable position.

Now I understand why I was talking and thinking in all those things for a while. I was being delirious. I laughed like a madman thinking that this must be Karma. He would surely be mocked by the kid when we found each other on the other side.

The fear of dying grabbed me again and for a moment I tried to think in a way to save myself. I do have some first aid kit in my backpack but the wounds are in my back and I can't simply reach them. I just managed to grab some painkillers to at least reduce my suffering. The painkiller was very effective, but as time passed I noticed that I had less and less enrgy. I realized that I was doomed to die in this hideout.

- "At least, it will be a good tomb"- I said trying to see the sunny side of the situation- "many are left to rotten in the middle of the street to be eaten by feral animals or even cannibals that wander all over the city."

I think in the possibility that someday this place may be discovered and someone fiound my remains. Maybe I should have left a message. I laughed at this idea finding absolutely hilarious. It seems my delirium is getting stronger. Something that surprised me was how relaxed and in peace I was. I didn't feel the horrible pain that I had imagined. I started to feel sleepy and before doing so, I needed to satisfy my curiosity. I managed to rummage on my backpack and I grabbed a small black box which was the reason for all the mess that had happened tonight. At the beginning it was just one of the many jobs he had taken as a mercenary.

- "I should have known it was too good to be true"- I said while I look for the key to open it- "Well to be honest the payment was enough to live well for some years. I suppose I was tired and the promise of some years without having to risk my neck every day blinded me."

My eyes are extremely heavy. The job was infiltrating a government installation and get whatever it was inside this box. The thugs that were chasing me before were special agents from the government and it was the reason why all his team had been wiped out to the last man. I used the key and opened the small box. I'm not supposed to open the box but since I'm dying, I want to at least know the reason behind this disaster. Inside there is a rock, or something similar since the material looks like nothing I had seen before. However, the most notorious things about this "rock" is that it has shining lines all over similar to veins that go on and off following a rhythm marked by a sound similar to the beating of a heart. I noticed that some of my blood has tainted the rock.

- "Do you want to restart?"- I heard a robotic sound in my head as my consciousness started to fade.

- "Yeah, I wish I could"- I said not knowing if I said that with my mouth or just my mind. Everything just seemed like a dream.

I think everyone would reply to that answer in an affirmative way. Who wouldn't want to undo the mistakes of the past and have a second chance?

- "¡Ding!"- I heard a bell sound that shook all my body- "Starting process.... making all calculations... gathering sufficient energy… please wait and prepare for..."

I seemed to have lost the capacity to hear. It was probably a new prototype of gadget that some rich collectors wanted to have. At least it gave me the chance to distract myself in my last moments. Even though I have lost my sense of touching I still can feel the pulsation of the rock in my hand and it feels as if it were lulling me to sleep.

- "Well I can finally rest and maybe I can see all my loved ones on the other side... maybe... who knows..."