014-The Horror Story

"I do apologize for leaving you in such a manner, but I haven't been lying to you, and I invite you here to offer, a proper explaination." Jack took the liberty to talk before Nonoth could say anything, and unlike the Jack she remembered at all for that matter.

"Who, the HELL are you?" Forgive Nonoth for being furious right now, but that was the best she was capable when she realized she just got tricked by two person, who were in cahoot all along, in the exact same way.

"The fourteenth hunter wasn't even supposed to be there. She was the head of the bounty hunter's meeting. They only choose a head for the meeting when there is a reason to call for a meeting, because it's equality that they believe in."

Jack ignored Nonoth and just got started with his story.

"Hmph!" Nonoth was still upset about Jack tricking her, so she sniffed at him and secretly paid attention to him while pretending that she wasn't.

Jack didn't mind her attitude and kept on:

"The fourteenth hunter could have stayed at home for her little boy's birthday, like she promised. Instead, she went to the ambush. She went that day, because she was too worried about her fellow hunters to wait in the city, because one of her fellow man, a man who swore to uphold the way of life they were living with their lives, a man who stayed behind after abeting her to go, a man, who betrad them, in the most detestable way."

"..." Nonoth stopped being mad at Jack the second she heard about the broken promise. There wasn't much room left for surprise for Jack's story.

"He betraded them, only for money! He is NOT a citizen! He smudged the honor of the bounty hunters, and he led them to death!"

"That was horrible of him, I agree. But the bounty hunters knew what they signed up for when they went to ambush them. It was kill or be killed..."

"He didn't kill her!" Jack suddenly yelled, so loud that made Nonoth jumped back a step spontaneously.

"Not right away..." Pain filled Jack's voice as his words diffusing into the air.

"He killed all the 13 hunters, but not her. He broke her legs, he cut out her tongue, and he carved out her eyes, but no, he didn't kill her. He even pointed her the direction home before he left her there, at the entrance of the desert."

"How did you know?" Nonoth asked with a soft voice, fear for the answer she had in mind. She couldn't even began to imagine how anyone could be capabal of such a cruel and horrible thing.

"Because she came back. She crawled all the way back. She crawled back to the city she loved so much, not to take revenge, not to punish the traiter, not to even seek for help for herself. She came back for her little boy, because he was mad at her when she left, for a broken promise over a stupid birthday!"

"Oh Jack..." Nonoth wiped the tears falling down her cheeks and murmured, wondering if there existed any words even close to being somewhat comforting at this moment.

Jack immersed in his memory, as if it was a story told only for him, as if he just repeat that horrible memory to himself enough time, it would somehow hurt less.

"People helped her to her house, but the boy was not at home. He was nowhere to be found. He..." Jack's voice broke and he had to stop and took a deep breath to go on: "He went and hide, just like how he used to throw tantrums at her, waiting for her to come and look for him, only to return to their home to her bloody, ragged body, broken, and cold."

"She was your mum." Nonoth didn't even have to put that sentence into a question. The tears in Jack's eyes said it all.

He clenched his fists, couldn't say another word.

"The Bounty Hunter Meeting took a hit in that incident, and couldn't do much about him buying mummies after that, and he has been more and more bold on that ever since, and that's why I want him dead. I WILL kill him." Jack said that in the same cold tone he used when he brought that thought up to Nonoth the first time.

"You are only a 14-year-old, how are you gonna do that?" Nonoth frowned at the mouderous intention , but felt compelled to swallow her objection because she couldn't find any reason to forgive such a horrible crime.

"I can TRY. I have been following him ever since, and that's how I got the coin, I try to get close to him as much as I can, but I cannot risk him noticing me."

"I believe you." Nonoth sighed, "But that coin doesn't even belong to him. I followed it to an empty inn and no one was there."

"That's not possible! I got it from a bag ON him!" Jack yelled in surprise.

"Then it must be a coin someone else put in there, because it didn't lead me to him." Nonoth understood the reason now.

"What can we do now?" Jack looked genuinely anxious now.

"'We' are not doing anything. 'I' am going to keep on looking." Nonoth already had an idea. If it was someone else that put the coin in there, he must be someone close to the Death Merchant, which means, whoever was so close to him to put a coin in his money bag, was there around that inn that she just burned down. She didn't notice anyone, but maybe relivio could help...

"No one in the city would help you against the Death Merchant! They are all cowards and traiters!" Jack yelled.

The boy who led Nonoth here just sighed with a sad look: "Jack, they aren't the killer..."

"They dare not to fight him! They sold her out!" Jack stared at him with a crazy look on his face.

The boy didn't say anything more against Jack. He just turned to Nonoth and said: "No one will help you once they know you are trying to rescue a mummy out of the Death Merchant, that's ture."

"So why are you helping Jack?" Nonoth didn't answer him directly.

"My dad was killed in the ambush, too. Not in that horrible a way, and that's..." Fortunate? How horrible a thing would make even being killed fast a fortunate thing!

"I'll manage." Nonoth said and turned to leave.

"You still won't help me kill him?" Jack asked in a surprised and also disappointed tone.

"..." Nonoth finally answered after some serious hesitation: "I think what he did was absolutely horrible, and I don't think anyone could forgive such a crime, not me at least. BUT!" Nonoth cut Jack off before he could say anything: "But, I don't know if that should be a reason to take a life. I have to think about it."