As the wheels of the bus started rolling on the tarmac, Jake felt jerks and thuds on his seat. 'This is far from comfortable, well the bastard be damned for sending me here.' They were soon closing in on the ramp. The bus was picking up speed faster than a normal one would. It was a bit torturous as Jake felt his face flattening against the speed of the vehicle. His chest was pumped out of the remaining air, making Jake nauseous.
'Go to Hell, Bastard,' he thought with little cognitivity he could muster while suffocating.
The vehicle started to ascend on the ramp to escape the atmosphere. There was another thunderclap, and a charred smell hit Jake's nose at the same time he felt numb as electricity flowed through him. The vehicle started to straighten, but the torture was not over yet. The air was growing thinner, and oxygen was already depleting in his body. As if touched by his suffering, an oxygen mask promptly dropped from above and gently blessed Jake with oxygen.
He took a few gulps of fresh air and felt life seep back into his body. Well, at least the junk fulfilled a few needs. Although that didn't matter much with the decreasing cabin pressure, Jake's blood vessels were already on fire. It was a quite difficult feeling to express, as he was being stretched to his limit.
Jake was unsure how he had come to be like this. Just a week ago, he remembered that he was sipping hot chocolate, dipping bakery kiwi(Jake's own recipe) in it, enjoying it while seeing a beautiful rain shower through his mansion's closed, glass balcony. That was the last piece of enjoyment he had felt with the soft quilt of his cushions keeping him warm from the wet and cold torrent, the bliss of peace, and a controlled life. The week at the palace was hell compared to that, dread, not coldness, but dread filling him with more iciness than the rain—surprises at every corner, not the wholesome ones, but the horrific ones.
'Change is the only constant,' His old teacher used to say, 'Find your breakthrough and deal with it.'
As the craft hit cruising altitude, there was a harsh grinding sound, which was accompanied by the bus getting covered in metal. Slowly, the ringing in his ears faded, and soon did all the other anomalies. The door flew open again, and a bloodshot-eyed Aono carefully inspected Jake with his eyes. "Well," He said, "The traveller lives." The doors closed again, and Jake was left alone in the darkness where a lone bulb was flickering on and off.
How he came to this situation was a bit melancholy to Jake, but it didn't start that badly.
---
Jake was off on another hunting trip. Not to hunt animals, but humans with a bounty on their head. This time, he was with his friends or allies, as one of them was comfortable with Ivan and Eton. Ivan had joined for the gains, while Eton had agreed, as Jake and Eton had been hunting together for a long time.
They were hunting a man known as Dendare, a huge terror who had a habit of drinking at the tavern bar every Tuesday. That day was special, as that was the day when they stocked up their special wine, Serene Roselius. Jake had tasted it a few times, and it was a good blend of sweet dark vanilla chocolate and sweet exotic roses, and a few other tastes which didn't seem to blend but tasted good all the same.
The plan was simple: to mix poison in his wine to assassinate him. However, plans rarely go as intended; they often tend to go awry. The initial steps were a smooth sail. Jake was ready with his warhammer tucked safely into a secret sleeve in his shirt, waiting for his companions in his expensive sports car, which had a panther-like look with an awesome blend of purple and black. It was based upon the folklore of a legendary hero who brought prosperity and greatness to the kingdom. He was sipping a cold vanilla cream coffee, waiting in the air-conditioned car away from suffocating heat. He stared out of the window, seeing a few rich kids playing with poor, no, he couldn't call them poor, maybe less rich but not poor. Rather, no one was poor on the planet.
When Jake was young, he had to survive the world, fend off dangers, and most importantly, kill. He was surely raised in a valorous house of great warriors, but they were all slaughtered by a man everyone knew as Heaven Water.
He had lived, therefore, as an outcast, ' An uncultured beast', as people said. He was sent to a quest by Soren. All he could remember was that he was given a chance to prove himself, but he realized how insane all the people were. Children killing their upbringers for glory. People destroying each other just because they didn't accept the new future, tearing them from their morals till they were only an empty shell, a remnant of the past, waiting for death or becoming the ones they hated.
He hated talking about that time in the outer settlements. The quest ended with him killing the people he wanted to save, which made him lose his Warrior rank and reduced him to a street rat. A fate for those who defied the king. Jake was disturbed from his stupor by Ivan, who was banging the hilt of his sword on the car's beautiful bonnet. "No," Jake screamed, horrified. There were scratches and tears on what once was a high-quality and beautifully calligraphed purple paint.
He got up hastily, spilling coffee all over his quilted seat. "You stupid little....." The rest was said with a few punches. Eton just chuckled. This was quite normal behaviour for him. Both of them had met on the outskirts and started their hunting journey long ago. He smiled. He felt quite good about the upcoming task. After rashly trash-talking Ivan, Jake let them sit in the car. He had purposely switched his seat cover while pretending to clean the car with Ivan's so that he could get his sweet revenge.
Ivan opened the door carelessly and closed it with a bang, but when he sat was memorable. "Aww noo.." Ivan said. His pants were wet and dripping with cold coffee. Jake laughed at Ivan's sorry state while Ivan smiled apologetically. "I didn't knew your this much damn smart about payback."
Jake hit the gas, and the car started running, gaining massive speed in a short time. "Why a car when you can fly across?" Ivan asked as Jake took a deadly drift at a corner, squeezing Ivan and Eton as they hit the door by inertia. "Because," Eton said, strapping on seatbelts and lighting a cigar," This is much more fun."
Ivan rolled his eyes as he confined himself to the seatbelt," I wanted to do that heroic jump down as we killed him."
Eton shook his head in disapproval, "We kill elegantly just for the money and..." He eyed Jake..." publicity, strangely that generates more income than turning in the bounty, win win I guess."
"No cigars in the car," Jake yelled, "They leave a horrid stench and scorch marks in the car."
Eton opened the windows and puffed some more. Some time passed before anyone spoke again. They were nearing the bar and were just a few kilometers away.
"Jake," Eton said, throwing the cigar out of the window. "What?" Jake asked. In answer, Eton buckled his coat over his dark brow skin, looking at Jake's orange eyes with his azure blue ones.
"Duck"
A bullet flew through the windshield and pierced the driver's seat headrest. Ivan grabbed his sword tightly, unbuckling the seat belt.
The car was swerving all over, but Jake's mind was clear. "Seems like we aren't alone".