Nightmare Realm Summoner

“A hitman?” Claire asked. Her brow furrowed. “That isn’t translating. What is that?”

“A professional killer,” Alex said, blinking slightly as he re-evaluated Wess. The man had always been a bit… gung-ho. But he’d never really registered the possibility that he’d been a straight up murderer before the Apocalypse.

Unease wove through his thoughts for a brief moment. It was certainly an odd thought. There was nothing out of place about killing anymore. That was just the way of the System. But some old remnant of his mind from back before the world had ended still clearly remained. And was pretty insistent on reminding him that hanging out with a serial killer wasn’t the smartest move for one’s continued survival.

Then reality returned to its proper position. The world had changed. Experience as a murderer was far from a black mark anymore. If anything, it was a resume. It certainly explained why Wess had been doing so well in the Apocalypse on his own. He didn’t have any of the reservations that many people had been weighed down by when the System had arrived.

And there was no way to know for sure that he’d even wanted to be with the mob. Maybe they’d forced him, or maybe he’d needed money. There were all sorts of circumstances that could lead to someone choosing a darker path in life. Now that he was on their side, it would be plain stupid to start coming up with problems. Wess might have just been making the best of a bad situation.

“Professional killer?” Claire asked. Her head tilted to the side. “I was unaware that it was a job. Killing is just part of life. Earth had a role entirely for people to kill people so others didn’t have to?”

“Pretty much,” Wess said. “Not exactly, but you’re not entirely wrong either.”

“How’d you end up there?” Mite asked. “Pissed off the wrong guy? My dad said half the guys that joined crime organizations didn’t want to be there in the first place. Did you get pressed into the job or something?”

“Nah. I just wanted money, and it was a job.” Wess shrugged one shoulder. “That was all there was to it, really. Whatever movies taught you about it was probably wrong. My job wasn’t just killing people. It was more cleaning up the scene after someone else killed people.”

“So it was just a job to you?” Aaron asked.

“What? No. I loved it. That shit was a dream job. I had the time of my life with it. The pay was great. Hours weren’t bad. And the thrill — that was something you don’t get anywhere else. Well, didn’t get. But I probably enjoyed it a bit too much.”

“What’s that mean?” Claire asked. “How do you enjoy a job too much?”

Wess sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I got a bit carried away. The job description didn’t technically include killing people. But you’ve got to defend yourself. And I was good at that bit. Maybe a bit overzealous. Depends who you ask. And when you kill enough people, someone eventually notices. I wasn’t the cleanest of cleaners, per say.”

Oh. Okay. He was actually just a serial killer.

Alex wasn’t sure how he felt about that information.

“You got caught?” Mite asked.

Wess heaved another sigh. “Yes. I think the mob set me up for it as well. We had some disagreements over exactly how my job was meant to be done. No need to go into the details. They don’t matter anymore. But I got caught. I was sitting around and waiting to die when the world ended. Gave me quite the shock. Lucky break, too. I’m pretty sure I had a few weeks left at most before I was sitting in a very uncomfortable chair.”

“Jesus,” Aaron muttered. “You were legitimately a serial killer.”

“What? No. No, of course not.” Wess raised his hands defensively. “Don’t go labeling me like that. It’s rude. I was not a serial killer. I didn’t just go murdering people for fun. It was all entirely professional. Part of the job.”

“Which you liked,” Aaron said.

“Well, yes. But if you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. Good advice, that.”

“I don’t think it applies to this particular situation,” Aaron said.

“Who exactly did you kill?” Alex asked. His curiosity was a bit too strong to ignore. “If you’re saying it was all professional—”

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

“Not civilians, if that’s what you’re asking,” Wess said. “There’s no sport in that. Only people I ever shot were other people that shot people. You know how is. I wasn’t a monster. Even had a code.”

“Did you?” Mite asked. “Should we even ask?”

“It’s like Batman,” Wess said. “Kind of. Kill a killer, and the number of killers in the world stays the same.”

“That’s literally Batman’s code,” Mite said. “And it doesn’t sound like you quite took it to heart.”

“I wasn’t done,” Wess said. “Kill a killer, and the number of killers in the world stays the same. So kill a few of ‘em.”

“You definitely missed the point of Batman,” Aaron said.

“Who is Batman?” Claire asked in confusion. “A monster?”

“Basically the opposite of Wess,” Mite said.

“Hey,” Wess said. “That’s rude.”

“Did you ever read any of the comics?” Aaron asked. “Because Mite’s right. There are like… a dozen other superheroes that fit you better. How did you choose the only one that would violently disagree with everything you stand for?”

“Look. I’ll be honest. I stole a copy of a comic in prison and only got to read a bit of it,” Wess said. “Pretty much everything I know about him came from online posts and other people’s references. Is this really that important?”

“Batman is always important,” Aaron said.

“I think we might have veered slightly off topic,” Alex said, fighting back a laugh. “If Wess wasn’t going around shooting random people for no reason, I don’t think we can complain too much about what he got up to in his free time. And I don’t know if I’d say his philosophy is entirely wrong. Just have to make sure to kill the right people.”

“See?” Wess said. “I knew you’d understand. Figured you were a bit into the whole game myself, honestly.”

“What?” Alex blinked. “Me? I was a CS student, man. The only thing I killed was my own liver.”

“Huh. Thought that was a cover,” Wess said. He squinted at Alex for a moment. “Lame.”

“I take offense to that,” Alex said. He paused for a moment. “Actually, no, I don’t. That shit fucking sucked. But some people liked it. They’d probably take offense. I’m sure Teddy would have.”

“Teddy?” Wess asked.

Alex blinked. He hadn’t meant to say that. Claire sent him a quick look. She definitely hadn’t missed it, and she’d been there when he’d gotten the message from Teddy.

“Never mind,” he said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. Look. Let’s focus up. And Wess, if you ever murder someone from Mirrorwane, I’m killing you myself.”

Wess pressed a hand to his heart. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a professional. Just keep me paid. I don’t bite the hand that feeds me. I’ll even let you know if someone tries to outbid you secretly so you have a chance to counter. A working relationship comes with benefits, you know.”

“So long as you don’t forget the benefits that come with access to Mirrorwane,” Alex replied casually. “Because if we ever really have to start bargaining, I’m going to factor access to the Mirrorlands and all the other advantages we have in. You might really not want me to look too closely at those scales. Because — in the interest of fair pay, of course — you might find that the one who has to pay isn’t me.”

Wess paused for a moment. Then he coughed into his fist. “You know what? We can probably drop the conversation. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind should I receive any offers from others. But we’re at an auction. We should be getting ready for that, shouldn’t we?”

“We’re already prepared,” Claire said casually. Out of everyone, she’d been the least surprised by Wess’ revelation. It had barely even made her blink. The only thing that she’d been actually taken aback by was seemingly the fact that Wess had been able to make a living off just killing people.

Really begs the question of how much more prepared other planets were for the System than Earth. Then again… we’ve got some absolute nutjobs. Some guy high off his mind on coke in Florida probably slaughtered a dozen monsters in the first few seconds of the Apocalypse.

A buzz cut through the air before anyone could say anything else. What felt like static electricity danced across Alex’s skin. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone else stiffened instantly.

All of them turned as one toward the window overlooking the rest of the room.

Crackles of pale blue lightning danced across the surface of the raised auctioneer’s platform, coursing over its edges and down to the ground in electric rivers. And upon the platform was a woman clad in what almost resembled a general’s uniform.

It was pitch black and trimmed with gold. Cloth pauldrons complete with tassels sat above her shoulders, and brown hair cascaded halfway down to her waist. She stood with her arms crossed behind her back. And, surprisingly enough, there was no mask concealing her features.

But there wasn’t anything in particular that stood out about her face to Alex. She was a woman. That was about as much as he could say. She wasn’t young, nor was she old. Her features were neither plain nor attractive. The only thing that really stood out was the length of her hair, which looked as if she’d never once cut it in all her life.

“Thank you all for coming today,” the woman said. And, even though she was all the way across the room, her voice reached Alex’s ears as if she spoke from just a foot away. “My name is Sofia. It is my honor to represent the Bleak Night Auction House today. For those of you who are returning, thank you for your continued patronage. For those who have come for the first time, welcome.”

“You think there are others?” Mite whispered. “Or is she singling us out?”

Alex just shook his head. He didn’t have the faintest idea.

“Please feel free to make yourselves at home for the duration of the auction,” Sofia continued. “All the food in your rooms is complimentary. If there’s anything you need, just call out for an attendant. Every room has been assigned one. Fear not. They are all trained and will never share any information about you, even under threat of death or worse. Your privacy is our priority. If you wish to sell any items, your attendant will assist you. I now will give every room 10 minutes to discuss with their personal attendants and discuss they would like sold at the auction. Of course, we have brought our own curated selection as well. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself. So, without further ado, welcome to the Bleak Night. The first stage of the auction will now officially begin.”