a man is sitting inside of a diner. he is eating an omelet. he drinks coffee.
it is still bright outside. the stranger feels anxious as he keeps eating. he drinks the coffee brusquely. he eats with no time to waste. somehow he is in a rush.
two men enter inside of the diner. they sit down far from the man. he looks at the fancy looking men. he is nervous. he takes a gun out of a backpack. he holds the gun under the table. he stands up.
it is now that he notice that the place is mostly empty. 'a trap.' are the words that cross his mind. he walks towards the men who recently entered. without giving time for unnecessary explanations, he shoots at them. he shoots to kill. the two men fall down without putting any resistance. the killer takes their gun.
he walks towards the guy on the cash register "you found u-" bang.
he was shot on the head with no time for him to end his line. the man looks at the gorgeous waitress. the man we are following is a gentleman, so he gave her an extra tip without touching a single hair of her head. he didn't felt like she was a menace.
he takes his backpack from the floor, and keys from the table. he leaves the diner. he walks on the streets. when out of nowhere he is surrounded by at least six men. they all are wearing black. they all take their guns out.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
he is shot by all of them at the same time. he finally falls on the ground dead.
Ed White looks at the body. he kneels. he makes sure he is no longer breathing. he then walks inside the diner. Ed looks at the dead bodies. he then looks at the waitress. she tries to justify her survival. he takes his gun out. he aims at her face.
"please no, I have a family." yields the Waitress on a last attempt to stay alive.
sadly enough, mercy wasn't Ed's nickname. he shots once. the young lady falls dead. Ed White walks out of the diner. he looks at the dead fugitive one last time. he felt sorry for the dead man. it is a shame life wasn't just to him.
"you took your ticket out. just for a stupid comment on social media. for a comment that most took for a joke. for such a foolish act here you are dead. it is for that same reason that I am alive. and you aren't."
said Ed feeling pity for the dead man.
Ed puts a cigar on his mouth. he goes back to his car. he sits in there. he reads some important documents. he looks at his watch. it is seven a.m. just in time for breakfast. he drives away from there.
the road is basically a desert. there are barely cars on the road. this is what looks like mostly a job done on Texas. kill the one who rebels, then a witness or two, then comes the long road. well the jobs done on Texas are simple and end early.
in any other state it will be a bigger show. it is not like they have jobs to do every day or all jobs mean killing. actually most of the jobs are just surveillance, and barely any, if any ends on killing.
well Ed is one of the few members of the Termination Branch. if someone seems to be a risk for the long road, an agent will come to see if elimination of the subject is needed. and then comes a day like today. days in which agents are given a target to terminate.
is because the Agents of the Termination Branch are on charge of lives. of them depends if someone dies or not. it is for that reason that the branch is also known as the Murder Branch. not many have the stomach to kill.
there are only twelve active members of the Termination Branch. there used to be many more. most of the members died on action. it is for the risk that the Agents of the Termination Branch are the best payed agents.
for the risk a Termination Agent usually walks with other agents for support. if things get too dangerous they call for backup. in extreme cases even five Termination Agents had worked together.
Ed is the agent that takes more jobs than any other member. no one respects him, for the blood on his hands. Ed doesn't mind being hated. as long as his sister Willow gets to live a happy life. Ed is also the only Agent who is send alone to do termination jobs.
Ed takes a bottle. he takes some pain killers from it. his left hand trembles. he stops driving for a moment. he doesn't get out to avoid the heat. he closes his eyes. a tear falls from his eyes. he tries to control himself.
"this isn't the time to feel pain. I already have too much shit to worry about. no, I can't take the pain any more."
whispers Ed with a weak voice.
Ed faints. he stayed inside of the car for almost two hours. he didn't move. for a moment he seemed almost dead. he then started moving slowly.
Ed wakes up. he turns on his car. he cleans the sweat from his face. he keeps driving without stopping. he needs to visit his sister. she is more important than his own health. he can't lose his last living family member.
Ed puts a cigarette on his mouth. he starts smoking while driving. he looks at the pack of cigarettes. he reads the warnings. he is already half dead by now, so a cigarette or two aren't going to do shit.
he receives a message for another job. it was close to his home. Ed takes the job. his sister will be angry if he arrives too late. he has to take the job for her. more money on the table to pay for the surgery.
"she has a rough personality. I am afraid she won't be able to have a husband if she kills him first. I am not a smart man, even I know all humans love on their own way. so is possible that her way to show her emotions is with anger. I am to blame, I wasn't there after the accident. I need to do better."
said Ed to himself.
after being driving for some time on the road. he decided to stop. the road he took has being mostly on the middle of nowhere. he is hungry. also the car is announcing the gasoline tank is almost empty.
Ed looks at a gas station on the middle of nowhere. it has a little store with fast food inside of it. Ed stops in there. he fills the gasoline tank. he goes to the bathroom. finally he stops for half an hour to eat. he eats a cheeseburger with bacon and pickles.
he looks at the people around of him. they all seem normal. Ed sighs feeling remorse for his actions. he has taken too many lives to count. somehow Ed forces himself to remember the names and faces. he tortures himself in a sick way to pay for his sins.
most of that people had family or friends. Ed kills them all without any doubt. but even when he pulls the trigger first, it is still hard to swallow once they lose their soul. watching someone else dying isn't easy. it is hard for an emotional man like Ed.
a young boy not older than sixteen sits next to Ed. he asks for money. Ed smiles at the boy with sorrowful eyes. Ed gives him money. the boy walks towards his sister. they are arguing outside of the store.
Ed thinks about his own sister. he stands up. he leaves. he is back on the road. Willow is awaiting for him. he has someone to protect. someone to kill for.
some hours later:
Ed arrives in front of a house. he looks at a car. it belongs to a coworker with who he worked before. another killer like him, probably the most normal guy from the Termination Branch.
Ed gets out of his car. he walks slowly holding a gun. the front door is open. he walks inside slowly, trying to not make noise. he keeps walking. there are two dead bodies on the living room. those two are members of another branch.
he goes first to the rooms. there is nothing. the door of the bathroom is open. he turns the light on. he looks at his coworker dead on the floor. there is a shotgun close to the dead body. it seems like he was killed after using the bathroom.
Ed goes to the kitchen. a man holding a riffle was waiting for him. he was cooking. it seems to be some sort of broth. the man asks Ed if he wants to join him for dinner. Ed nods with satisfaction. he came all the way here, why not.
"I can tell that you are different. there is more blood on your hands, and less loyalty on your eyes. how can you stay alive for so long?"
said the mysterious man.
"you are right, I am not loyal to them. I am loyal to the money they pay. I need the money for a personal reason. and only them can pay that well."
said Ed smirking.
the mysterious man puts on the table two plates. he sits in front of Ed. the man takes his hat off. his gray hair is visible. he is good looking for an older man.
he is well dressed. he plays with his mustache for a moment. he then starts to eat. Ed eats without taking his eyes off him. the mysterious man smiles while eating. none of the two dares to speak.
the mysterious man takes a business card out of his pockets. he puts it on the table. Ed looks at him for a moment. he reads the name on the card, 'Ryker Wright.' then he looks at the old man once more.
"yes that is me. I am a famous Author. my books are always hits. on the past I had some clashes with your bosses. it mostly ends with them dead. and I end up with more years to live. you can say the game made me less mortal, and your people turned me into a immortal being."
said Ryker with a sinister smile.
"what do you mean? how can it turn you into an immortal?"
asks Ed with genuine curiosity.
Ed has some knowledge of what the game is. because he is a low level hitman, he is only given the most basic information. he didn't know about the price to the true winners of the games. he asks for more information.
"I will give you a brief introduction. you play a game per person. if you leave without going till the last chapter, you will regain your life. if you play till the last chapter, once you won the game a price will be given, the price is mostly a wish. any wish. you can ask for money, power, lovers, tons of gold, immortality, even Godhood."
said Ryker with honesty.
if what he was told is real, then he can rewrite his whole life. he can make sure that he is reborn on a better life. and he will make sure that his sister is protected. then he thinks why is that he has to kill people. why are people opposing something so good.
he asks the question to Ryker. the old man smiles, as he likes the reaction of the young hitman in front of him. the old man gives an obvious answer. people die. it is for the fact that they are many deaths for a miracle to happen. for that reason there are those who oppose the gods.
of course there has to be people who oppose the Gods, for a different reason. like those who want to steal the power of the Gods. a wish isn't enough for greedy bastards. there is also another little detail. the Past Gods wish to start a war against the Modern Gods.
"I am curious right now boy. so which is your choice? are you on their side or on mine."
ask Ryker out of curiosity.
"I am on my own side. asking to my bosses for the favor won't be much of a problem. I can finally see my sister smiling once more."
said Ed looking away.
the old man stands up with a gun on hand. he aims at the young hitman. he shoots more than twice. he leaves without looking back.
Ed is on the chair bleeding from his shoulder. he tries to stand up. he calls to his bosses. he informs them about the his situation. a dead coworker, a suspect running away, and him wounded.
Ed leaves the house. the old man had disappear without leaving any trace of him. it was like if the old man was never there. an old devil he is indeed. Ed waits for a doctor. he is bleeding a lot. he sits on the ground.
finally the doctor arrives. he takes care of Ed's wounds. Ed thanks the doctor. Ed makes a call to his boss. Ed asks to be send inside of the game with his sister. the boss asks for some time. Ed thanks his boss.
Ed is back on the road. he stops on a market. he goes inside. he looks at some candy. he takes a chocolate. he takes some chocolate flavor cookies. he takes four lollipops. he knows his sister loves candy. she will forgive him, maybe.
40 minutes later:
Ed finally arrives on his home. he enters inside of the house. he looks at his sister. smiling he tells her lies about his perfect job. he gives the bag with candy to his sister. he smiles as he asks about her day.
Willow smiles back. she pretends to be ignorant. she pretends to be oblivious of Ed's probable illegal work. she feels guilt knowing that he risks his life every day for her. she wishes to not be an obstacle to him. she wishes for Ed to be free to live his own life.
everything is right. he is now home. tomorrow will be the same routine. more or less like today was. Ed doesn't care. as long as his sister is alive.
"do you need anything?"
Ed asks with a huge smile.