Inside the house say another man. This man was marginally taller than the first man and was sitting on a chair, happy to see he had conclusively decided to come back inside. No words were said as they both knew that they had to focus on the task at hand. The house the two men were in was as neglected looking as any other he had come across nearby. Tables overturned, ripped wallpaper and doors hanging off hinges were just a few things he initially noticed, there was even some dried blood on the kitchen counter. “Things must have gotten messy in here” the man thought to himself as he pulled up a wooden chair next to the other man and slumped down onto it. Gradually he drifted off into a deep, much needed sleep.
The man opened his eyes. He only opened them a little because of the bright light he expected to be shining through the broken window, but alas there was none. The darkness had arrived. He looked to his left and saw that the man sitting beside him was also asleep. Still disgruntled from his lack of proper bedding to sleep on, the man reached down and picked up one of the two items he had beside him earlier. He then reached for his pocket and brought out a small packet that held things inside. The sound of the items inside the packet hitting against each other sounded like metal. He unhurriedly picked up 4 of these items and moved them over towards the object now sitting on his lap. He had loaded one of these many times before so this wasn’t too much trouble. Two minutes passed… nothing. There wasn’t anything to be seen or any sound to be heard. He was just about to wake up the man sitting beside him when his eyes picked up something. Movement in the trees. The first thing that grabbed the man’s attention was the slight ruffle of the leaves. It generally indicated that something was close by so he was on high alert. He thought he might have been hearing things when unanticipatedly a figure appeared from one of the bushes. There it was. The thing the man had been waiting for all day. “The people back in town would appreciate this” the man whispered to himself, as any loud noises would surely scare off his prey. He glanced at it and the first thing he noticed about this creature was that it had an orange mark on its head. He knew what that meant. The man and everyone else back in the town had to wear blue bandanas to help decipher between friends, and foes. The orange mark signifies that this creature was the man’s enemy. He remained invisible in the eyes of this creature – but he knew precisely where the creature was. He was in plain sight. “Almost too easy” said the man. He had always been competitive. Before all this started, he was always the one to fight for whatever challenge he was taking part in. Whether he was running in a race, or simply trying to prove someone wrong in an argument. He would always do what he needed to do to come out on top. Sometimes he thought that was what kept him alive for so long. Protecting the townspeople gave him a sense of responsibility he never had before. Enough time had passed now, it was time.
The man raised his gun gently. It was a sniper rifle, capable of taking out anything at long range. “Shouldn’t be much trouble” the man thought to himself. “At least give me a challenge.” He steadied the gun and raised the scope so he could peer down it. He was sure about this kill now. The crosshairs aligned perfectly with the creature. He took 3 deep breaths. “I hope the people appreciate what I’ve done today” he thought, “These things need to be done. If I don’t do it, how many lives will it take?” He was ready now. Finger on the trigger he slowly pressed it in. It was a cold sensation but it would all be over in a matter of seconds. The moment would be any second now. Beyond doubt it should have happened by no… BOOM! A sudden explosion of noise erupted from the barrel of the gun that sent the man flying back off his chair.
Everything went quiet. Birds flew frantically out of the trees and the wind slowly winded through the large creeks in the walls. Had it been done? The man wanted to know so he got up off the ground and peered out the window to see if he had killed his prey. It looked like it. He saw the creature lying on the floor and there was no movement so the man assumed that it was dead. To make sure of his assumptions, he made his way outside slowly, with his sniper in hand. He walked over to the body. It was very caliginous now – he almost couldn’t see it at first – but his eyes soon adjusted. The creature looked around 5 foot big. Smaller than usual but still as dangerous as any other one. Suddenly he saw movement. The creature’s legs started moving and then its head tilted to the side. The creature was now looking straight into the eyes of the man now. The man wouldn’t show sympathy. He knew it had to be done and if he was praised because of what he has done, it doesn’t matter what it was he did. The creature looked to be in tremendous pain. The bullet had just grazed its back but thankfully it was enough to send it down. Putting it out of its misery was the next thing that popped into the man’s mind. As much as he was proud of his kill, it was the right thing to do. He raised his gun once again towards the creature. One shot in the head should do it. He pushed in the trigger halfway when the creature’s mouth opened. It was like this thing knew that its time was up. Without a moment’s notice a noise emerged from the mouth of the creature. Disregarding it, he shot it in the head.
The man turned away from the now dead body and walked, slowly, back to the house. Upon opening the door, the man who was asleep, was now sitting upright in the chair, and looked emotionless. “So” the man asked, “Did you finish it?”
“Yes,” said the man. “Its kind won’t cause our people any more trouble for a while now. I hope at least.”
“By the way,” said the man who was sat down, “Did it make a move for you or make any noise before you shot it?”
“Well” said the man at the door who was now walking over to the fireplace, “It tried to say something moments before I pulled the trigger”.
“What did it say,” questioned the man.
“It said”, the man paused, rubbed his face with his hand, glanced back and subtly said, “Please don’t shoot, I’m not causing any harm. I’m only a child”.
