The guard slowly raised his hands, his eyes glued on the gun. I pulled the rifle off of him, using it as an upgrade. He seemed terrified as I forced him to walk down the hall, the rifle pressed against his back.
His reaction was pretty reasonable, considering the current state of my face. I’d recovered enough that I could talk, but all the flesh surrounding my teeth and jaw was still gone, slowly being built back. The cold air of the hallways stung against my exposed nerves and muscles, but I refused to let it bother me.
“What were you guarding?” I demanded, digging the gun into his back.
“It’s the room for the challenger in last night’s fight.”
“Is his name Reload?”
“I think so. Please, don’t kill me. I don’t know anything, I swear!”
“Stop whining. Have you seen anyone go in or out of that room?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Is this a fucking game to you? You better think of something before you can’t think at all.”
“Contract went in there earlier. He was only there for a few minutes before leaving. I don’t know what they talked about, I swear!”
When we reached Reload’s room, I found that the door was locked. With a slight nudge, the guard pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. After opening it, I forced him to go in first. If there was a trap waiting for me, I might as well use him as a meat shield.
But despite my paranoia, nothing happened. I looked around the room to see a much better place than where I was left in. There was a mini fridge in the corner, a shelf full of snacks, and a TV playing some Spanish show. In the corner was Reload, nestled in a king size bed with fluffy white sheets. I forced the guard into the corner, warning him not to do anything stupid.
I shook Reload awake. “Yo, get up.”
He groggily turned, squinting at me. “Skeletor?”
“Fuck you too, buddy. How you doing?”
“Bad. Do not look under these sheets.”
“At least you got a better room than me. Do you know where we are?”
“Contract came by, said this was a guest room. He also offered me a job, promised a shit ton of cash and freedom. Obviously told him to piss off, I’m already happy with my current boss.”
“How sweet. I was shoved in a storage closet. I don’t know what’s happening here, but he’s obviously up to something. Especially if he’s trying to hire you out of nowhere.”
“Yeah, the quest even changed.” It wasn’t until Reload pointed it out that I noticed the yellow text box was different.
Surprise Quest!
Decide the winner of the fight within 5:26.
“So what happened in the fight?” asked Reload. ”Last thing I remember was being treated like a toddler caught by the neighborhood pitbull.”
“I used the lead pipe to bash in Tóxica’s skull. I passed out a bit after that, but we definitely won the fight. If there’s a new quest, though, I’m guessing it was closer than I remember.”
“Wait, then why would he want to hire me?”
Just because I didn’t know his powers didn’t mean I couldn’t figure them out. Even though we signed a contract, nothing actually forced us to complete the quests. If we wanted to, we could’ve just not shown up. So there had to be some punishment for not finishing a quest, one that we didn’t know about.
“Because if you worked for him, he could probably find some way to make you declare him the winner. Then he doesn’t lose Tóxica and still gets the both of us. I don’t know how we can get him to say that we won, but it seems like that’s the only way he's going to pay up.”
“Well, if you got any plans in mind, I’m all ears, but I’m also no legs,” Reload laughed.
“We’re already winning, just by knowing more than him. Not only do we know what he’s planning, but he doesn’t know we’ve already met up. My shitty storage closet didn’t have a guard, and no one but this guy knows I’m here.”
“Hi, my name’s Frank,” the guard waved as we looked at him.
“Hey, Frank,” said Reload. “Alright, Taker, what do we do then?”
“Watch some TV. Running around won’t change anything, and he’s going to freak out over this. Might as well relax and think things through while we can.”
I laid in the bed next to Reload, the most comfortable mattress I’d felt in months. While we watched some Spanish telenovela that neither of us understood, Frank just sat there, looking miserable. After a few minutes, I felt bad for the poor guy.
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“You want to watch this with us?” I asked.
He looked up. “I don’t know Spanish.”
“Yeah, we don’t know it either. Now you want to just sit in the corner or join us?”
Frank slowly stood up and approached the bed. He sat down near the edge of the bed, where Reload’s legs would have been. The three of us enjoyed seeing the amount of gasps and slaps that were happening, and after a while, we even made our own running commentary.
“She has to be pregnant with his kid, that’s the only option that makes sense,” argued Reload.
“No way, that’s her brother. That was a friendly hug and you know it,” I shot back.
Frank spoke up, “I still don’t get where this pregnancy theory comes from.”
“From when her grandma threw her out!” Reload and I shouted in unison.
Our argument was interrupted when the door slammed open, three people marching in. In front was a scowling old man, dressed in an antique suit that could’ve been made in the industrial revolution. Behind him was the super with a tiger mask and a muscular man holding a shotgun.
The henchman aimed his shotgun at Frank. “Why the fuck are you not at your post?”
“Uhh, I’m a hostage,” answered Frank.
I pointed my pistol at Frank. “Yeah, he’s our hostage.” I looked over to the old man. “You Contract?”
His scrunched red face reminded me of an heirloom tomato. “Yes. Why have you left your room and taken my guard hostage? I’ve done nothing but accommodate the two of you after your match.”
“You shoved me into a filthy supply closet. But, we can move one from that. Just say that we won the fight.”
“Excuse me? Your match is currently unconcluded, so I will be doing no such thing.”
“She went down first, so she should lose. How the hell is it unconcluded?”
“You were in a two-on-one match. According to my arena’s rules, victory is only claimed if all the members of one side are conscious.”
“Oh that’s bullshit and you know it! I was the last one standing, that should be all that matters.”
“Normally, the ruling in this situation would be left up to my discretion. But, as it appears, my powers have made it so that all three of us would need to agree.”
“Then declare us the winner.”
“No. Please, stop acting like a petulant child. If you just listened to me, we could come to a conclusion that satisfies both parties. But as it stands now, none of us are confirmed as the winners.”
“Fine. Maybe none of us won. Let’s just let the timer run out.”
Contract’s face dropped. “What?”
Everyone in the room seemed shocked at what I said. It was just a guess, but there was only one thing I could see being the punishment for breaking a contract. Death. If it was anything less, then I’m certain that his enslaved fighters would’ve killed him by now.
Every requirement on his list were things we needed to complete, except for him giving us Tóxica’s contract. But this new quest wasn’t one he planned. And since we were all part of it, all of us would die if we failed.
Contract spoke up, flustered, “You’re speaking nonsense. Listen, if you agree that Tóxica won, I’ll give you contracts that won’t have any impact on your life. In fact, I’m generous enough to give you a different super’s contract if you agree.”
“And I’m supposed to believe your word? Rich guys lie, that’s just how the world works. Only way this is going to end is you accepting that we won and handing over Tóxica’s contract.”
“You don’t know who you’re messing with.” he glared at me.
“No, I’m well aware of who I’m messing with. If we don’t get this quest completed, we’re all going to die. And I’m willing to give up my life if it means taking you out. Reload is also willing to die.”
Reload spoke up, “Do we need to give up our lives?”
“Yes.”
He shrugged. “Alright then.”
“So, Contract,” I grinned at him. “What are you going to do? And please don’t try threatening us, the only reason I’d be alive right now is if you’re not allowed to kill me.”
Contract’s right eye twitched as a vein on his forehead threatened to burst. He shot stares full of malice at the three of us before turning around. His guards looked confused, uncertain what to do. He just shoved them to the side and stormed out, the two of them soon chasing after him.
“Was that a good idea?” Frank asked.
“Don’t worry about it, Frank,” I answered. “He’ll be back, he doesn’t have a choice. We just need to relax and pass the time.”
The timer had less than an hour left by the time Contract returned. His anger had dulled, a defeated look etched upon his face. We barely turned in his direction when he came in, much more interested in deciphering Cecilia’s life problems.
Contract let out a sigh, “I will concede that your team has won the fight on one condition. You will take Tóxica’s contract and leave immediately.”
“No dice. You can give us the win if you want, but we’re not going to take her contract until Reload and I are healed. If we take it now, our contract will be done and you’ll kill us while we’re weak. Also, you’re throwing in Frank as a bonus for wasting my time.”
Contract talked through gritted teeth. “Fine. You two will leave the second you’re healed. Who the hell is Frank?”
Frank raised his hand. “I’m Frank.”
“Lovely. Taker and Reload, you have won your match against Tóxica. .”
The yellow text box disappeared in a flash of light and a new box appeared. The final quest was in sight, telling us to take Tóxica’s contract. Contract had it clutched in his hands, but he stormed out of the room. It was a shame that we would miss the best opportunity to attack the Disciples, but you couldn’t rush healing. And there would always be more chances to take them out, now that our numbers were stronger than ever.
“So, am I working for you guys now?” Frank asked. “I’m a bit confused by what’s happening.”
“I mean, you seem like an alright guy, if not a bit of a coward. But honestly, I just wanted to piss off Contract. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to work for us,” I answered.
“Well, how much do you guys pay?”
“I can offer you a few hundred a week, and you won’t need to do anything too dangerous. No offense, but an ordinary would just slow us down in a fight.”
“Well, do you offer housing? This place has a barracks for the guards.”
“I mean, I guess we offer housing. We’re not exactly a big operation, with you and Tóxica we’ll be up to four people. So don’t expect anything crazy.”
“Good enough for me.”
Reload bumped me in the side and whispered. “The room is going to get really cramped.”
I shushed him. I warned Frank to not leave this room without me, considering they’d probably kill him in anger. The three of us spent the next three days in Reload’s room before he was fully healed. In that time, we watched a lot of Spanish telenovelas and explained to Frank the story that led us here.
Once Reload was healed, we had Frank text Contract to tell him that we were ready. Soon after, Contract was in our doorway, with Tóxica by his side, scowling.
