Chereads / The Player must kill / Chapter 4 - Decaying Thoughts (01)

Chapter 4 - Decaying Thoughts (01)

Decay was a simple man who had worked for Kern County "All-Stars" for years. It wasn't the most prestigious position nor did it pay anything akin to what the LA heroes received but it was far less dangerous and it was something Decay had enjoyed. The county was decently sized and covered portions of California that had decent monster rates compared to anywhere else in the state but that worked well with the nature of his power.

His power was as his name suggested. It was to Decay things. He couldn't decay things like powers and there was always the risk of critically harming someone if he used his power on them which made it far more suited to dealing with monsters even with the limited range he had on his ability. Even then decaying the willpower or malice of a monster always felt so strange to him. "What a lovely day today isn't it Miss Baker," Decay's eyes would glance at the Heroine that would yawn as she dragged her legs across the floor.

Miss Baker was a local hero and one of the reasons he stayed. He enjoyed working with the Kern county All-Stars more than the twisted "Heroes" in LA and San Francisco. Miss Baker would simply reach over grabbing a few beans and throwing them in her mouth. Decay would chuckle and hand the younger women a cup of water sitting on the counter which she quickly poured into her mouth.

"So before we get to work on the normal PR and gift shop selling we've got something interesting. Pre-Cogs think some small earthquakes may begin popping up so we're gonna have an influx of Specials on our hands. . .A handful of Chupacabras have begun to pop up as well. No Void born or screechers have been spotted," He would pause as Miss Baker would swallow the foul mixture in her mouth and shiver. A faint hiss of steam rising from her nose and mouth.

She nods chuckling as she leans against the counter, "Just skip to the point Decay, or are you waiting for your beloved Frontline to arrive?"

Decay simply smiles a bit at the comment before scoffing, "If you paid attention you'd know they've got Frontline down in Nevada dealing with that Thunderbird that popped up. Just you. me and Hyena whose odds are stoned right now."

"Heya just because he knows how to relax and you don't doesn't make him horrible. He may be new but the kids got some potential," Decay raises an eyebrow at that and nodding his eyes focused on the list before him.

Baker would pause at that look of concern flaring in her as she asks, "What's the report say? I know the Pre-Cogs are usually spot on about their guesses so just throw it out there and don't doubt the shit."

"Seems we may have Watchers in Kern County, Napa County and Riverside. Alongside a Goblin's body appearing at a landfill. Seems the next few months are gonna be dangerous indeed," Baker shivered as she recalled the stories of Watchers.

"Jeez- If we've got a batch of Watchers out here we're gonna lose someone if we don't give Frontline and Hyena the heads up. Last time some watchers were stalking about we lost Moskov didn't we," Miss Bakers' words came out soft. Moskov was before her time but nonetheless, Decay already had his phone out texting Hyena and Frontline.

With a grunt, "Ya. Things stalked him for months and figured out how he worked and how his powers worked as well. Ambushed him when he was with his wife. Best way to counter them is keep a sharp eye out and only head home during mid-day spend the night here if you get off shift late. Pray they go after one of the other Heroing groups."

"I mean the Goblin issue's dangerous but now that we know it's here just throw that at the Pre-Cogs. Any adaptions or Cannibals amongst them or not enough info," Decay recalled the horror he had felt the first time facing a Watcher Monster. Dark shadowy and slim figures that would linger in the shadows and outskirts of someone's vision.

Honestly, they posed almost no threat to large numbers of people unless it was one of the Adaptoid sub-types. It was Specials they posed the biggest threat to. The things would stalk meeting areas or the homes of Specials and stalk them for up to a year before ambushing them. The Cannibal subspecies only appeared when they had killed a few Specials and began eating each other for some reason.

"Can't we just throw the Pre-Cogs at it? I'm sure they could pin down the creatures or help us out," Decay would simply throw the daily folder onto the table before walking over to the fridge in silence.

He had a spike of Anxiety that ad began to fill him as he says, "No we can't. If a Pre-Cog uses their power on a Watcher then the Watcher can peer back at them. Most of the time leads to a dead Pre-Cog and a waste of resources. Pretty sure our sponsors only have one Precog on staff."

Miss Baker simply groans, "Shit. I've got a date Friday night. Any way you can take the night shifts decay? You're nocturnal as hell."

"Out of Frontline, Hyena and you? I'd fair the best against a Watcher even if it caught me off guard. I'll handle the night-shift's just keep your eyes peeled to the rooftops and make sure when going in and out you take extra care to shut doors behind you and keep your disguise on," Miss Baker would pause at that tone. Her eyes turning to Decay as she analyzed him carefully.

"You know Decay you wouldn't be that bad if you didn't have such an arrogant fucking tone all the time. I'm gonna go get ready for the fireworks show for today's PR stunt. You can go grab Hyena," She would throw Decay the bird playfully as he would reach up and begin scratching under his chin nervously.

The pale man would soon be left alone to sip upon his drink.