"monster!"
"Demon!"
"Killer!"
"Abomination!"
"Disgrace!"
I jolt awake, my dreams forcing me out of sleep, I've killed countless people, destroyed hundreds of planets, and I still can't numb myself to it all. I lay awake, staring at the cold metal ceiling, until hours later a voice sounds over the intercom,
"Good morning passengers and crew of the Vertueuse, we will be arriving at the Galactic tunnel shortly." I dress myself in my usual attire, a lightweight chainmail shirt crafted inside of a star, a ragged black shirt over it, black pants with nearly a dozen pockets of varying sizes, black leather boots made from the skin of a outerworld beast i slew, and a black cloak that conceals my weapons. I fish around on one of my pockets and pull out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter, i pull one out and light it up, i make a mental note to buy more as i suck in the smoke. My head clears as the nicotine reaches my brain, i finish the cigarette and put it out on the ashtray on my desk.
"Now arriving at the Galactic Tunnel." The intercom says 15 minutes later, I take that as my queue to leave my room, I make my way to the exit of the ship, Mila is there guiding a group of people, she's telling them where to go once we land, as soon as we enter the Galactic Tunnel they're on their own to discover a new world. I stand in the shadows as the group passes, I catch parts of the spiel, what worlds are safe, which ones aren't yada yada.
I slip out of the ship and past the crowd, heading into the Galactic Tunnel, it stretches farther than the eye can see and shops line the alleys leading to different universes. I head down to a tavern past universe G-29, its a bit of a trek but i don't mind, there's someone I need to talk to there. I turn down an alley and head towards the tavern, lights flicker and crackle, this universe has been destroyed so people dont often come down this way.
"Hey you!" I stop in my tracks.
"Am I being mugged?" I say sarcastically.
"Just shut the fuck up and hand over everything you have!" Two men emerge from the shadows in front of me and i can sense another two advancing from behind,
"I really don't want to have to kill you guys." I say coldly,
"You're outnumbered!" The man in front of me raises the laser pistol hes holding, I step forward until the cold steel is pressed against my forehead,
"Make a move" I say while looking him directly in the eyes, then, the man screams as the pistol drops to the ground with a clang, his fingers drop along with it and blood squirts out of the nubs on his hand where the fingers used to be.
"What the fuck happened!" One of the men shouts,
"Kill him!" Another says firmly, I move so quickly they don't even realize what's happening, but in an instant im holding the pistol, BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Three quick shots and all of them are down, holes shot clean through their skulls, blood pools beneath them as i turn to the final man, hes clutching his hand and crying as blood pours down his arm. Silently, I draw my sword and stick the blade through his heart, I feel nothing as the light in his eyes goes out.
I walk past the corpses and into the tavern, pushing the creaky wooden door open and stepping inside,
"Hey I don't want no trouble here." The bartender shouts at me.
"Where's Donnie?" I say, not minding the dangerous looks im getting from everyone around me, the bartender grunts and looks me up and down suspiciously before pointing to a back door with his thumb.
"Much obliged." I say coolly and head to the back exit, i push it open and spot a tall thin man smoking a cigarette, his skin is tinted purple and his tussle of dark hair barely conceals the 2 extra eyes on his face. He spots me and flicks his cigarette to the ground before stamping it out,
"What brings you back so soon Yang?"
"Finished the mission, need more intel."
"I got word of another planet specializing in dark matter trade."
"Slave trade as well im assuming?"
"Naturally." Donnie pulls out his pack of cigarettes and lights up another, i do the same,
"So you have a location for me or are you just going to give me vague details?"
"I'll let you off the hook this time for half my usual price." I grimace at his words,
"What's the catch."
"Me and my cousin have some business on the planet, if we can tag along I'll sell you the information you need."
"Why not go alone."
"Way too dangerous for just little old me" Donnie inhales deeply on his cigarette, "sides I heard rumors that they have an outlander on the payroll" my expression drops slightly at the words,
"You sure?" An outlander is bad news, even for someone like me.
"Well I don't have confirmation but one of my guys went missing while scouting the place out, outlander magic traces where detected near his ships last known location."
"Could've been intercepted." I say trying to think of an explanation that would prevent me from having to face an outlander.
"Yeah that is a possibility, but think of it this way," Donnie takes a step towards me, he towers over me at over seven feet tall, "if he was just intercepted then that could mean a few things, the best case scenario is it's just some pirates that know a little outlander magic, not ideal, but not as bad as it could be."
"You don't think..." I begin to speak but Donnie cuts me off,
"Yeah i do, chances are there are multiple outlanders, the planet in question is friendly with them already, Id bet a lot of money that theres at least one on the planets surface and at least one guarding the atmosphere."
"Fuck" i say quietly.
"Fuck is right, the other option i don't really want to consider is that there's a rogue outlander that's killing anyone it comes across." There it is, what I'm most worried about, I've encountered rogue outlanders in the past, I have the scars to prove it, they don't have any sense of reason or purpose.
"You still want this job?" Donnie asks,
"Someone has to do it, who's better suited than me?"