The Watcher: Adaptability Of A Bounty Hunter

Chapter 1) The Observer

The soft sounds of water droplets falling from above, smacking against the sleek, almost perfectly smooth concrete that lined the empty streets of Tafabid. Beside the light trickling of the rainfall that occupied the air, the only individual present on the streets, was a woman. Her eyes frantically scanned over everything in her sight, which included nothing but shops closed for the night and deactivated street lamps.

Her heart was beating at an alarming rate. Breathing was reduced to short, quick exhales and inhales. However, after seeing the bland sight before her, she was able to calm herself. Muscles that were tense moments ago were now starting to loosen. Perhaps she managed to shake off the shadow which pursued her, maybe it found another poor soul to torment, or most frighteningly of all, maybe it was still watching her. In fact, the longer she pondered the thought, the more real it seemed. Now, fearing for herself once more, the young woman started to make her way down the street. Anxious, she began to mumble to herself, just barely a whisper.

“It’ll be okay…” she repeated to herself. At this point, she was just trying to convince her own mind, trying to ‘wish’ it into reality. Yet it was all for naught, just when the self reassuring words left her mouth... The sound of a puddle being stepped in cut through the faint mumblings like a knife through butter. Her heart sank, her entire body began to tremble.

Fear gripped her heart like a vice. Judging by the splash, her stalker was a good distance away, waiting for her next move. The thought alone made her stomach twist and turn. How long was this entity watching her, how much does it know, and does it have a reason for following her? All these theories came to her at once, flooding her mind like a dam being opened. Letting all her fears, questions, and anxieties rush into the forefront. 

“Katie” The shadow spoke. It’s voice was distorted, coming out in an unnaturally deep tone. Suddenly all of the things plaguing the young woman’s mind stopped. Nothing, absolute silence, no thoughts, no fears, nothing, she couldn’t even hear the rain as it came down harder than before. Absolutely nothing could distract her from this freighting reality, he knew her name. Katie let out a fearful sherik, her body’s fight or flight function took over and choose the ladder. 

Katie scampered away, but in her hysterical mindset, she managed to trip over her own feet. Brining the young woman crashing to the ground, falling face first into a puddle. This Drenched her already soaked black pair of pants and green hoodie. But she didn’t stop, as she hastily picked herself up and took off, quickly coming to a full sprint as she fled. The being pursuing her did not move an inch, opting to observe a bit longer. Katie made a right, running out of the being’s sight and just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, fading into the blanket of darkness the night offered.

Katie ran as fast as her legs would allow. Instincts alone was the driving force behind her actions. Directing her to move in such a way that she appeared erratic. An attempt to throw off her assailant who as far as Katie cared, was right on her tail. Right, left, right, left, she sprinted through a series of turns, her footsteps were amplified by the splashing of puddles all around. Luckily however, the housing district that held Katie’s apartment was close, but not close enough, she needed a short cut. She ducked into an alley way, expecting it to lead to her salvation, but instead led into nothing but sorrow.

“No!” Katie cried, “No, no, no!” Standing before her was not the gap in between two buildings she expected. In it's place there was a dead-end, with a large industrial sized dumpster pressed against the wall. It was the adrenaline, it had to be, what else could have caused her to make a wrong turn, besides the fear of course.

Katie’s heart rate steadily increased, she thought that maybe it wasn’t too late for her. She turned, took a single step forward before freezing in place. Poking out from the cover of darkness was a bright red light. She could only assume it was placed directly in the middle of her attacker’s face, helmet, or whatever it was, it reminded her of a cyclops' eye. 

Katie was dazed, she had yet to catch so much as a glimpse of her stalker. And now that she had, her fear only grew, despite the cold air and the water droplets that came pouring down onto her, a bead of sweat trailed down her cheek, she could feel her body warm up, it was almost as if the fear was causing her body to go haywire. As she stood there, unmoving, the mysterious watcher made its move, as the bright red light suddenly grew brighter! It’s once gentle hue, which was just bright enough to be visible from a distance, became far more intense. It’s shine was too much for her, the sensation was that of staring directly into the sun. 

“Your hood.” The being spoke, just like before its voice was deep, monotone, lacking any form of emotion. Katie however, simply stared off into space, no hope of escape, no one around to save her, hell she’d even welcome one of those worthless S.C.S androids, but no, nothing came. So she did all her body would allow her to, stare. 

The being spoke again, in a slightly raised voice, “The hood, take it off.” It demanded Katie, she snapped out of her delusion and complied, why not, Katie had a feeling she wasn’t going to live past tonight anyway.

Although she had accepted the fact that her life was going to end. Her body still trembled, despair still held a firm grip on Katie’s body. Shakily, she lifted her right arm, her hand lightly tugged the hood back, pulling it off. Katie’s bright red hair slipped out from the hood, falling over her shoulders. 

With the removal of the hood, Katie didn’t have any shelter from the onslaught of rain. The light crimson coloration of her locks soon transformed into a dark, muddled red.

“....Make it quick.” She managed to mumble out, Katie lowered her head, shut her eyes, and braced herself for what was to come... but that inevitability never came. Alternately there was a splash, a few drops of the ice cold water landed upon her cheek. Her eyes opened, ever so slowly and what she saw puzzled her. Right in front of her foot, was a holographic photo viewer. The holographic photo viewer, or holo-pic as many dubbed the device, was a circular disc, about three inches thick. That was used as a home decorative item that was capable of displaying about five pictures at once as holograms. 

She directed her gaze up at the bright red light coming from her watcher and then back at the holo-pic. Katie was unsure of it’s motive, but curiosity took hold, she scooped up the holo-pic and tapped the glossy power button on the bottom of the machine. It sprang to life, the projector built into the top performed it’s task as three images materialized in front of Katie’s face.

The woman gasped, her eyes shot open, she couldn’t believe what was before her. The Watcher simply observed, it’s glowing red light flickered for a moment making a click sound, similar to the snap of a camera. Katie’s mind however was elsewhere. She could feel a sharp pain in her stomach, piercing her like a knife.

“H-how did you get these?” Katie stuttered, for the first time during this ordeal she had managed to look into the eye of the mysterious being. The photos being projected revealed something Katie had longed to purge from her memory. The bright hue of the glowing orb in the center of the Watcher’s face decreased even further. Now it was barely visible in the downpour, faintly shining through the darkness. After not getting a response from the Watcher, Katie felt her eyes drift back to the images. The longer she stared at the pictures, the smaller her world felt. The roar of thousands of raindrops crashing against the ground, the gentle glow of her pursuer’s eye, and even the filthy alleyway she found herself in. She could feel them all slipping away, until nothing but herself and the photos remained.

There was no hiding from it now, she was confronted with one of her greatest regrets. The first image  was a snapshot of her conversing with a man about a year or two older at a local bar. She couldn’t help it, her fiancé had been so busy recently with work... Katie couldn't help but feel neglected. Night after night of picking up the phone only to be greeted with yet another excuse. She could only be told to spend the night alone so many times before she started to crave intimacy...

And if the one she’s sworn her heart to is unable to provide said craving, of course she’d seek it out. It had been so long since someone complimented her appearance, took notice of her smile, and it all filled her with a sense of joy...maybe even excitement? Katie couldn't help but fall to the temptation. And her lack of self control, continued to haunt her till this very day.

Katie fought back the tears, she had been attempting to keep these memories locked away in the deepest, darkest corner of her mind. But as her eyes drifted to the right, nothing could shield her from the past. The second picture looked as if it was taken from outside, almost like someone was peering through a window. Even with the obscured angle she knew what was being shown, the window had belonged to the house where the affair had taken place. Tears began to trickle down Katie’s cheeks, almost instantly they fell into the background as they dribbled off her chin onto the ground, becoming one with the water that formed puddles across the chipped and cracked concrete within the dark alleyway.

“Familiar?” The Watcher chimed in, Katie’s eyes broke away from the photos. Salty tears streamed down her face, obscuring her vision, she tried to blink them away but soon realized that nothing would stop the flow. Her heart already felt hollow, and empty. Thoughts, emotions, guilt, all of the above were waging war against one another inside of Katie’s heart. The hail of rainfall had come to a soft drizzle, now gently coming in contact with Katie.

“Mhmm.” She mumbled. “... I know what… this is” Her words came out fragmented, clearly cursing herself with each and every word she spoke. She felt neglected, alone, and just, empty but that was no excuse for what she had done and Katie knew this well. Katie tightened her fingers around the Holo-Pic, forming a fist, blocking the projector which in turn caused the photos to  flicker in and out of sight.

 Amid the constant pitter patter of water dropping onto metal, the cracking of glass stood out like a star in the night sky. Katie unwrapped her fingers, the Holo-Pic had cracks of various sizes all along it’s thin metal covering. The glass protecting the projector however was completely destroyed. Katie winced, tiny shards of glass were stabbing into her flesh around the center of her palm. Katie let out a grunt, raised her right hand, and threw the Holo-pic onto the ground, the device let out the whiney sound of electrical wiring being snapped before coming to a sudden halt with a loud spark.

“WHY!” She shouted “WHY DID I DO IT!?” Katie was screaming at the top of her lungs, howling out into the desolate night. She sent her right fist crashing into the wall behind her with all the strength she could muster. There was no mistaking the violent crunch that followed, she had shattered the bones in one of, if not all her fingers. On top of broken bones, blood began to seep through her balled up fist. Staining her pale hand a bright red. After taking a moment, Katie’s anger was soon overtaken by sadness once again.

The sun had started to rise on the horizon, it’s illuminating rays of light just barely managed to reach past the tall buildings which towered above, creating the alley. With it, came the reveal of what exactly had been watching Katie. It wasn’t a monster, it was either some kind of failed robotic monstrosity or a human. A human wearing a horrifying, slapped together, mechanical suit. The helmet was, in comparison, remarkably symmetrical. While the metal used in the armor covering the Watcher’s arms were separate colors. Although what protected the left arm was a thin sleeve of steel, light gray in color. The right arm was the same in build, the color however was a deep shade of red. Even though the Watcher’s identity was already hidden behind his mask, he donned a brown cloak.

“...Why’re you showing me all this?” Katie whispered. 

“It was requested.” The Watcher stated. “My client wanted you to remember what you did wrong”

“Client…? Someone hired you…?” Katie’s voice was faint, exhausted even. All the shrieking, sobbing, and running had clearly taken its toll on the young woman. She slumped against the cold, moist wall behind her, allowing her back to slide down it’s surface until she reached the ground. Her eyes showed no expression as they looked back at the Watcher. 

The Watcher nodded and slipped his right hand into his cloak, and pulled something out from it. In his hand was a pistol, the weapon was clearly tampered with as well. A crude paint job had been performed on the gun, the paint however was chipped along the barrel, Katie assumed that the handle also shared this rushed design choice. Strange, Katie thought, she should be fearful, screaming, begging for her life, and yet she felt nothing. Nothing, emptiness, almost as if all of her emotions were water in a well and as tonight's events unfolded, the water levels had started to dip, until nothing remained. 

Katie tilted her head upward, staring up at the clouds. The sky above was a phenomenal menagerie of warm colors, predominantly yellows and oranges, shining brightly despite the gray clouds that were once showering the world with rain. 

 “So colorful...” Katie Said, The Watcher looked up, his helmet’s built in analysis program worked it’s magic, displaying the exact chemical makeup of the clouds above. Yet even with all of the data displayed, the machine couldn’t, no, was incapable of processing the beauty of the sky above. The Watcher looked away, and raised his right arm. His weapon aimed precisely at Katie’s heart. 

“Indeed, it’s beautiful” the man was glad that this would be Katie’s last sight. Her eyes were glued to the canvas above, not noticing the moment where he pulled the trigger.