Reaper

“What do you think his problem is?” I whispered in the ear of the man I was following. He slightly glanced back, instantly his eyes lit up with the realization of my presence, but it was too late. I had him rapped up and under my control with the cool hollow barrel of my revolver digging up into the bottom of his chin keeping it shut. I only had an instant before the crowd’s attention was turned to my presence… Pull the trigger! Then hit the guy standing on the ledge first. Shoot him! And run to cover with this bullet bag as protection. Shoot as many of them as you can before it’s too late… The cops will storm the place. Most of them will get away… That doesn’t matter. Can’t stop them all. There are just too many. A few more steps and it’s a fight that cannot be won. Shoot the leader now… I felt the tension loosen against my barrel and the man’s chin as I fought the urge of lifting my revolver to shoot the leader. No! I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I need to know what’s going on. Why are they here? Here! Of all places. What are they planning? Who is that man? And who is he working for? Shooting him does nothing. There is a chance he can lead me to Emotion. This whole thing stinks just like him. I must show restraint… Or kill the leader now. Possibly stop whatever this is. Make them fear affiliation of any sort… I will kill him, but first I must know if the affiliation exists. I took a few large awkward steps forward forcing the man along. Twisting his arms, anchoring them down, at an angle in which he only wanted to lean backward against me. Attention had just begun to splash our way. I took one more large step, casting only my prisoner in the fringe of the spotlight the crowd of men was gathered under. I smashed my heel down onto his foot to pin him in the cast of the shadow, half revealing his predicament. I sat tucked behind him still cloaked in darkness, while the light made visible the outline of terror on his face. He groaned in pain. Everything stopped. The man on stage flashed his gaze. His face was torn… riddled from battle… wrecked by scars. The appearance made him look old, almost beaten, but his eyes burned with passion and youth. He turned his attention back to his crowd as quickly as he had glanced my direction. “Get out of here!” The scarred leader told the gathered men. His voice carried the young man out from within his battered body. “All of ya! Now,” He trailed off and looked over at me just as his men turned to listen to him. “Not yet…” He said slowly as he peered past my hostage and into the darkness I shrouded myself in. None of the men moved. Each hesitated as the front shuffled backward blending into the cover of the stubborn crowd behind them thinking of disobeying the order. I pulled my revolver from the jaw of the man I was holding in front of me and pointed it into the crowd… Don’t move you bastards. I can’t let you walk away… My fingers tension on the trigger grew, as the standoff moved nowhere. I refused to break the silence as I could see the leader calculating all his choices in a rushed state. This was a fight weighing heavily in their favor; most of the men in the crowd knew it and were ready to act. But he really didn’t want a gunfight, making no aggressive movements to provoke anyone as he quickly ran through his options. These men must be important… Kill them now!... I heard the Reaper yell as I refused to act. Only a second had passed, yet to every person staring at my revolver, glistening in the light, an eternity had begun.