Kail was wondering how he would find the Black Wolves when he heard a shriek from a nearby alley, quickly followed by the dull thud of something heavy striking flesh and the piercing crack of bone on stone. Thanking the stars for his sudden luck, he unslung his hook and raised his claw-shield has he hurried closer to the source of the sound. Rounding the corner of the alley, he froze when he saw two thugs huddled around a corpse of a dead girl, both of them tightening the belts of their pants. One looked to be around twenty, another younger—almost Kail’s age. The girl could not have been more than fifteen years, but she lay unmoving on the stone without clothes, her legs and the space between them a bloody mess.

“Fucking whore.” the older one grunted as he kicked the corpse with a boot.

“Ain’t that what makes ‘er great?” the younger chortled, slapping his friend on the shoulder as the two of them burst out laughing. Coarse jokes for coarse men, and now that the night was out, Kail could see the curse burning in their blood.

Grabbing a lighter out of his coat pocket, the older man flicked it in a smooth motion, bringing a yellow flame to light. His companion raised a gloved hand to stop him, pulling out a short knife a stabbing it into the corpse’s left eye. Pulling it out with a savage motion, he buried it into her stomach before dragging it with a cruel jagged motion across her flesh, carving a bloody, barbaric symbol into her skin: two fangs with a lupine eye held between them.

The symbol of the Black Wolves, Kail realized. It was a cruel kind of luck that he found what he was looking for so easily.

Admiring his handiwork, the thug nodded to his partner, who dropped the lighter onto the mutilated remains of what was once a person. In an instant, the flame spread to cover the entire body, the stench of burning flesh filling the air as the wall of heat struck Kail despite the distance.

They weren’t content with burning it, however. With savage smiles, they proceeded to kick it in the stomach with their metal-capped boots until it was pushed into the corner. A weak feminine wail of despair and terror sounded from the alley and Kail had to fight the urge to vomit as he realized that the corpse had not yet fully left this world.

The younger thug kicked her throat as he leered at her. “What was that, you little bitch? I couldn’t...quite...HEAR YOU.” he yelled as his boot connected with her jaw. A brutal snap could be heard as the bone split and her once-pretty mouth became a disfigured lump of flesh. As he did so, the greedy flame caught onto the man’s foot and he swore as he beat it out.

The girl’s flesh was now charred black, crusted with ash as she stopped moving. Pieces of broken skin were falling off as the remains could no longer be identified as human. Bits of blackened bone could be through the ruined, sloughing flesh. The smell of burnt hair stung Kail’s eyes and shocked him into motion. While the two thugs were distracted with their cleaning up, he snuck behind them with ease.

In a single violent motion, he swung his hook overhead with all his might, forgetting the finer nuances of his training in his panic and opting to instead bury the entire length of metal into the older street thug’s soft, unarmored back. A sudden scream ripped its way out of his throat as he did so, instinctive and necessary as the image of the girl’s corpse burned into his mind.

The thug’s laughter suddenly stopped as he abruptly let out a hacking cough filled with blood, his body falling forward. With a yell, Kail pulled on the chains of the hook with all his might, hearing the metal tear out of the man’s flesh with a vicious rip, hunks of meat attached to the serrated bits that had buried it in so deep. Blood spurted like a neverending stream from the wound as the man died with a quiet grunt. His legs were still twitching, his arms still jerking as if he wanted to fight. Merely five seconds ago, he was still alive. Now he was not. Kail was the reason why.

Fighting down the sudden sickness that struck him, Kail whirled onto the other man. Yet it was with sudden shock that he realized his foe was more boy than man, perhaps only ten-and-two. The child had ample time to react but was young and surprised. Perhaps he was disoriented by the sudden attack, and further shocked to see his protector and guardian killed so easily by a mere boy. This shock made him stop. It made him panic—and Kail used that panic.

Using the momentum from his spin, he slashed the boy across the torso with his claws, crimson blood gushing forth without hesitation. The boy stumbled, falling backwards onto the ground with a thud. Kail looked down at him with bloody teeth and red on his shirt, looking like the terrifying murderer that all of them now were.

“Take me to Blur.” he snarled looking the gangster and rapist in the eyes. There was a flicker of uncertainty before tears started to well up in those childish eyes.

“I—I can’t.” he stammered before bursting into a wail, shoulders heaving pathetically.

Kail hissed in frustration before kicking him in the stomach, much as this boy had done only a few minutes ago to what was now a corpse. “Three chances.”

“I c-can’t.” he blubbered. “They’ll kill me. Y-you don’t understand.”

Pulling out his pick, Kail swung down and buried it savagely into the stone inches from the boy’s head, chips and powder flying from the cracked tile. “Two chances.”

“They’ll kill me! I c-can’t tell you, they’ll—they’ll kill me. Doesn’t matter what I s-say. They’ll do it.” He was panting hard, his chest heaving, eyes bulging with exertion as he struggled to breathe. His face was flushed a deep red, so much so that he seemed like a bloody fruit about to burst.

Kail held his claw-shield against the thug’s neck so that the blades were resting on the skin. Small beads of blood sprung forth from where the steel nicked the flesh. “Last chance.”

The boy’s eyes were wide, darting back and forth around him before he finally gasped out. “Benedict’s Street.” with a tearful sigh, his shoulders falling with desperation. “They’re on Benedict’s Street. Three houses down, there’s an alleyway with a rusted grate on an old building. Take it off and go inside. A ladder will take you to Blur.” He let the words out in a stream, hiccuping slightly as he spoke. When he finished, he was breathing in quick short gasps with a sunken look to his face. His lower lip was trembling, his eyes looking vacantly at the sky.

“Thank you.” Kail said simply, pulling his hand back and yanking the hook out of the stone. He heard a sigh of relief come out from behind him as he turned and walked to the charred pile of ash that was once a girl. With a short prayer for peace, he bent down and picked up the lighter that rested on the remains, flicking it open in a smooth motion. The yellow flame burst to life, hungry and insatiable.

He turned to face the boy, his face a mask.

“No..please..God no.” the boy croaked, the whites of his eyes bloodshot as he realized his fate. “Please..no.”

He could have ran. He could have fought. He could have struggled.

Why did he stay? Why did he wait?

Why did he make it so easy?

Kail was expressionless as he tossed the lighter so that it landed square on the boy’s chest, flame spreading to become an inferno. He did not break his stride as he walked out of the alleyway, not even when the burning corpse’s hand reached out in agony and grabbed his foot.

“A hero…” he muttered, feeling sick to his stomach. Perhaps his killings had been righteous, but if so, then why did the blood on his hands feel so much like his own? The pain in his chest did not fade, no matter how much he walked.

Kail struggled to maintain his composure as he strode away from the burning man. A bloody scream rang out from behind him, but he fought to ignore it. He forced himself to think about something else, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground and placing his feet one step ahead of the other. The Black Wolves were on Benedict’s Street—three houses. Taking a deep breath, he slung his hook over his shoulder, keeping his claw-shield on just in case, and settled into a light run. He was still on the outskirts of Black Wolves territory, but that was at the heart of it. If he hurried, he could get there in ten minutes.

By the time he was eight minutes in, he saw a high fence of barbed wire and broken glass on the other side. Hearing footsteps behind him, he quickly stepped behind a corner in time to see a man walk past where he was up against the fence. He raised his hand to the sky, allowing another person in a building on the other side to see the Black Wolves insignia tattooed onto the back of his hand.

“Code?” the man asked, hesitating to pull the lever that would let him through.

“Aw, get your head out of your ass Benny, you know it’s me. I was just taking a piss.”

Snorting, he waved him through, opening the gate with a creaking sound, rusted steel hinges turning. The man walked through without a worry, hand playing with a switchblade that he pulled out of a pocket.

Thinking fast, Kail grabbed some soot and smeared it onto the back of his hand, roughly forming the symbol that the guard would only be able to see as a blurred image at this distance. He then waited two minutes before casually strolling through, whistling a little tune. When he reached the gate, he raised his hand and called out. “Let me in Benny. New recruit.”

The man gave a snort as he woke from his sleep, looking blearily at Kail’s hand before waving a hand to open the gate. “Let’m pass.” he slurred before settling back into a deep snore.

Keeping his head down, Kail walked past the gate before seeing a beaten, rusted sign saying Benedict’s Street. He turned, looking at the rundown buildings before seeing a metal grille so pitted with rust it was almost completely orange. It swung on a single bolt, creaking in the wind. Pushing it to the side, Kail ducked under the entrance before standing up and promptly hitting his head on a bar of metal. Looking up, he saw ladder rungs that ran up into the unlit darkness.

Taking a deep breath, he started to climb, trying to make sure that his feet did not sleep on the metal that was worn from use. Once he reached the top, he turned to peer down a hallway lit dimly by candles. One guard stood in front of a metal door, arms folded in front of his chest. Muscle filled his form, tanned skin covered in scars from fighting. His eyes were piercing and immediately focused on Kail, seemingly peering right through him.

Making sure to keep his nervousness from showing in his step, Kail strode forward confidently, hiding his shock when the guard extended his hand, apparently in a handshake. He pressed a sweaty palm into the guard’s and felt the press of metal against his palm. Confused, he looked down when the man released and saw a light scar under the thumb with a bulge. He glanced up in surprise and saw the guard give him a slight sneer.

“All of Blur’s men have a bit of iron to know when they meet their brothers. And you, little man, don’t pass.” he said tersely. Once he finished, he immediately swung at Kail with a fist that knocked the breath from the boy’s lungs and left him crumpled on the ground. Without pause, the guard stomped with his feet, intending to strike Kail in the stomach. “Are you the little shit those Hawk bastards were planning on sending? My grandmother could take care of you, and she pisses into a bowl.” he mocked, face twisted into a leer.

Quickly, Kail rolled out of the way of the foot onto to encounter stone on his side. The narrow corridor left him little room to maneuver. Getting up with some difficulty, he unslung his hook, which the guard eyed with some trepidation, tense muscles in his neck giving away his nervousness as he hid behind a mask of arrogance and authority. “What’s that, a toothpick?”

Kail gave no answer, simply giving a bloody smile before swinging it overhead, releasing the chains to let it fly farther. The guard ducked, the hook instead burying itself in the stone behind him. A plume of dust and shattered debris filled the air, distracting the guard who looked behind him in surprise. Kail used the opportunity to pull on the chains, ripping the hook out of the stone and using the momentum to punch the guard with his left hand.

Unfazed by the impact, the man simply looked down in confusion. “Was that a punch or a fly?” he mocked before pulling his hand back. “This is a punch.” He threw his fist forward in a massive haymaker, causing Kail to drop to the ground. The guard over swung and staggered slightly when he shifted off balance. Kail took the opportunity to shrug his claw-shield onto his arm and slash up the leg.

Letting out a yelp of pain, the man crumpled to one knee, a look of fury in his eyes. he reached out with both hands to grab Kail, but the younger fighter danced back lightly. He stuck his tongue out, hoping to goad the bigger man into making a mistake. It worked.

With a roar of anger, the guard lunged forward on his good leg, trying to tackle Kail with a massive hug to crush his ribs. Raising his shield, Kail met him with head-on, keeping his attention distracted while he kept his right arm back. He then swung with the full force of his body, hook going over his head to meet the guard’s charge. The weighty piece of metal buried itself in flesh, breaking bone as it struck to man in the back, the force of the blow causing him to stumble. Kail used the opening to dance further back before grabbing the chains with both hands and pulling with all his might, hearing the man scream in pain as the hook ripped itself free of him.

Not letting up, Kail hefted the hook again and gave another crushing swing, this time striking the man square in the back of the head. A sickening crack filled the hallway as blood, bone, and brain splattered itself against the stone.The hook drove itself all the way through the skull and came to a rest only after cracking the floor below it.

Kail stood there panting for a few seconds ,struggling to catch his breath, before bracing his foot against the shattered remains of the guard to pull the hook free. The gore stained his hands, and the weight on his chest grew heavier still.

“A hero…” came the thought once more, each time losing a little more of its luster.

“...at what price?”

After wiping the biggest bits of ruined flesh off from where they stuck to the spines of his hook, he hefted his weapon before turning the handle of the door and kicking it open.