1

Crest prayed at a gravestone behind the house. It was his mother’s. Stricken by grief, Crest had become a bit mute these days. He was without family. Without a comforter. He was alone, well and truly. Moving on would be difficult, as all he had ever known was family and a homecooked meal. Rising from his kneeling position, he stood as brave and as tall as he could without crumbling.

“I’m sorry Seal and father weren’t here mom.” He bit his lip. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you either. I’m sorry you had to die alone. We’ve betrayed you. But that’s just how selfish we are. Us men. It must have been hard being a woman….it must have been hard being a mother.” Sighing he turned around scratching his head. “What am I going to do?”

2

Crest laid the world’s largest alpha crow across the countertop of a merchant’s booth. He had just come from hunting, and it looked like it. Sweat was pouring down his body and his shirt was damp with what looked like perspiration puddles.

“An alpha crow,” Crest wiped his shirt of feathers. “I’m looking to sell the whole thing. How much are you looking to give me for it?”

Stepping onto a stool, the short, beady-eyed old man got up to take a gander at the bird. There was enough there to feed three families. It was a monster worthy of a king’s stomach. Most certainly worth a pretty penny.

“Eh,” the merchant scoffed adjusting his glasses. “I’ll give you ten moolah for it.”

Outraged, Crest slammed his hands into the counter. “Come again?”

“Ten moolah. It’s the best I can give you.”

“Sir!” He exclaimed. “That bird is at least worth fifty moolah. Do you know how hard it’s getting to find monsters to kill? They aren’t exactly breeding like they used to. You have to raise the trade value, my guy. I have to live.”

“I’m sorry,” the merchant said shrugging. “The market is saturated, especially with this breed of monster. To keep up with the competition, I have to trade low and keep the asking price high.”

Grinding his teeth, Crest tried to maintain his anger. “How the hell is the market so saturated? There’s nothing to hunt. I’m one of the best hunters around these parts, and monsters are rare this season.”

Pointing behind Crest, the merchant urged him to direct his attention at the real culprit. “You want to complain? Take it up with those guys.”

Crest turned around.

Shock covered his face.

He couldn’t believe who it was.

Sitting atop a barrel in the distance was Leo, a much older one, accompanied by two other people he didn’t recognize. One male, who was standing up with his back against Leo, and one female who was sitting down on a crate that was low to the ground.

The merchant continued. “They’ve been coming to every stand and booth with high-quality game as of late. Shop owners have an abundance, so trade value has plummeted.”

Twisting his face, Crest gave the merchant a sneer. “But you’ll still sell what you get from traders for an arm and a leg, won’t you?”

The merchant scoffed. “It’s the way of the world. We shop owners want money, so we run our business smart.” Dropping ten moolah across the counter, he bid Crest farewell. “There’s your pay. Take it or leave it.”

Sighing, Crest pocketed it. I guess I’ll just have to take it then, he thought. But I’m not happy about it. After collecting his pay, Crest turned his attention toward Leo once more. Leo, you clod, what’re you playing at?

Crest made his way over to Leo.

Leo was looking down at the time, while the girl on the ground hummed. As Crest eclipsed their sunlight, the man on the left of Leo spoke as he took notice of his presence. “Uh, Leo, I think we have a brown noser.”

“Not a brown noser,” a cocky smile dawned on the hunter’s face. “A friend.”

Leo looked up. “Cr…. Crest?” He said squinting his eyelids. He didn’t immediately recognize him, but after a few seconds, he smiled. “Crest is that you? How you been buddy?”

“I’ve been better,” Crest said. “Recently my uh…...my……uh…m-m-ma…”

“Oh, come on spit it out Crest, we haven’t got all day.”

He buckled up. “My…… my mom died, so it hasn’t been the best. In fact, I can’t say I’ve felt all to good at all lately.”

Leo’s heart felt faint. Standing up, a frown overcame his face. “Crest. It’s the first time I’ve seen you in gods knows how long and the first thing you do is bring bad news to my doorstep?” He was genuinely taken aback.

Crest shrugged weakly. “Well, you asked. Sorry to be a downer. It’s good to see you man.” Keeping his face from tears, Crest shook hands with Leo.

“Good to see you too.” Leo agreed. He brought Crest in for a tight hug and patted him on the back. “You’ll be alright.” He whispered.

The girl that was on the ground got up and Crest took notice.

Getting a good look at Leo’s cohorts, Crest raised an eyebrow. “Who are your new friends?”

“Well Leo?” The girl with the auburn colored hair stepped forward. “Are you going to introduce us or not.”

“I uh….” Stepping back, Leo stumbled over his words.

Pushing him aside, the girl went to shake Crest’s hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Sasha. Sasha Mordain.”

The big one. The guy even taller than Leo proudly crossed his arms. “And I’m Edge Rider.”

Sasha batted her eyelashes at Crest. “And who are you cutey?”

“I’m Crest Evermore. A hunter and Leo’s friend of many years.”

“You’re certainly more of a looker than Leo here.” Staring at them both, she seized them up.

Leo gritted his teeth and wagged his finger. “Sasha! Behave.”

“Oh quiet you!” Pressing her heel into Leo’s foot, she caused him to yelp out in pain. She turned her attention toward Crest. “So cutey, what business do you have with us? And please say you do.”

Rolling his head around, Crest scratched his stubble. Oh yeah, almost forgot, he thought. He got serious. Time to be assertive Crest. “You guys wouldn’t happen to be the ones killing all of the game, thereby flooding the market, would you?”

Recovering from Sasha’s brutal blow, Leo turned his attention toward Crest. “Actually yes, we’ve been killing a lot of monsters recently. Not just for sport either, but we’ve stopped a few that have attacked Beros. Surely, you’ve been hearing of our heroic deeds?”

Sadly, for them, Crest had not. A sweat dropped down his forehead. “Um….no actually.”

Leo and his crew bore shocked looks.

Edge interjected. “We just stopped a giant slugapede the other day. You must have notic—”

“No!”

As she perspired, Sasha shrugged. “You had to have heard about how we stopped the Wild Night Ow—”

“Nah.” Digging in his ear, Crest pulled out a clump of wax. “Aside from Leo, I really have no idea who the hell you guys are.”

Offended, Leo scoffed. “Why we’re only the best hunters in town. Soon to be enforcers! We are…..drum roll please…”

Sasha mocked a trumpet with her mouth.

Leo and his pals all joined in together on their introduction. “Leo’s Fabulous Hunting Squad.”

They struck poses.

Crest wanted to die from secondhand embarrassment. "You people cannot be serious. Leo’s Fabuwhata?”

“Fabulous Hunting Squad.” Leo repeated with slanted eyes. He looked on as though it didn’t bear repeating.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Crest whined, a noticeable scowl now forming on his head. “I heard you the first time. What’s exactly the purpose of this little group of yours?”

“Our desire is to become enforcers, for the king,” Edge held his finger up like an educator. “Getting close to King Komodo and working our way up the ladder is the only way to eventually get a cozy position as a royal.”

“Oh,” Crest said so bluntly. “This is just the same old story of you trying to get rich again, isn’t it Leo?”

Scratching his head, Leo stuttered. “Well I….I uh…..you see.”

“Of course he’s trying to get rich.” Sasha put her hands on her hips. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with that?”

Crest pondered the thought for a moment. “Actually, yes I am.” He pointed at them. “Because of you guys, the market is ruined. I’ve been struggling and working like a dog, only to be told my kills aren’t valuable anymore. You guys are trying to get rich and famous, but you’re making it hard on guys like me who are just trying to live.”

Sasha poked him in the chest. “Well isn’t that just tough luck cutey? We’re looking to be the best. The cream of the crop. And we aren’t holding back for anybody. Leo showed us the light. The only way to live is at the top, and if you aren’t living at the top you’re dead. Soon we’ll be eating caviar and lobster every day. So you can stay at the bottom, hater! Loser! Punk! Shaggy Hair! Be—OW!”

Pinching Sasha by the ear, Crest’s glowered. “You talk too much you know that?”

“Ignore her.” Leo said looking down on the girl. Turning his attention towards Crest, he gave him an easy look. “You know, if you want to join us, you’re always welcome.”

Surprised, Crest let go of Sasha’s ear. “Wait…really?”

Leo rolled his eyes as if that were already obvious. “Well of course. We’ll have to work extra hard now to bring in even more monsters since the value on them is depreciating, but it’ll be worth it to have a friend there. Besides, with your mother gone, I’d like to be there for my friend…..for my brother.”

Holding his hand to his chest, Crest could feel his heart pause. “I mean…. wow, Leo. Thanks.” He smiled. “If it’s with you, it’s worth teaming up. We could be just like we used to be, back when we hunted together. It’ll be much easier if we work as a team.”

The two shook hands again. For a moment Crest felt like he really had a brother like he used to. But him and Leo had always been brothers from another mother, they were just cut from a different cloth.

“Yeah,” Leo said grinning with his eyes closed. “Competition is tough. Much smarter to work for the better man.”

Much like a real brother, however, Leo didn’t always choose the best of words.

Crest’s face twisted. They were still shaking hands. “Wait…..What the hell do you mean by ‘better man’?”

“Well, Crest this is still Leo’s Fabulous Hunter Squad. A team led by me, and I’ve always been just a tad more skilled than you. I just needed the extra push, now I have the edge.”

They were still shaking hands….

STILL

Pulling back his hand, Crest glared at the still smiling Leo. “That’s bullshit. You think you’re better than me now just because you’ve had a bit of luck lately. Leo, I have always had a better track record than you, and you think you’re qualified to call yourself the leader of a hunter’s group? You’re not qualified to lead ants.”

Suddenly Leo’s face became sour. “I’m not the Leo you once knew Crest. I’m much more aggressive than I used to be. You can try hunting on your own, but I know the forest of Beros like the back of my hand now. Killing even the toughest of monsters is child’s play for me. You might have been in the lead at one point, but now I’m king.” Leo smirked.

“Yeah?” Eyes flaring with rage, Crest gave Leo a rather vulgar hand gesture. “Well screw you, Leo. I’m still the best in Beros and I won’t be lectured by a clown.” Crest dashed off. “I’ll show you what the name Evermore really means.”

3

Weeks after his encounter with Leo, Crest found himself at the Drunken Tankard, drinking beer after beer. Unfortunately, he had, had no luck in the hunting department. There had been even less to kill than just a little while ago, and he was running low on money. The loan he had received from Alabaster wouldn’t last much longer. Things were looking rough for the young man, if not dire.

“Maybe Leo was right.” Crest moaned. “I can’t find a damn thing to kill. IT ISN’T FAIR!”

“Crest.” Lou the bartender called his name as he crossed the counter. “What’s with the ungodly yelling? You upset about something?”

“Upset isn’t the half of it Lou,” Crest poured his heart out. “Everything is falling apart. I don’t have my father to guide me anymore. My brother isn’t by my side. And my mo…….my mother is dead.” Pain filled his words as he gritted his teeth. “Hell has visited me Lou. And to make things worse. I’m low on moolah. If hunting doesn’t start bringing in the money, I won’t have anywhere to live.”

Lou looked distraught for him. “I’m….I’m sorry Crest. Have you thought of where you’ll go?”

“No.” Crest’s eyes tightened. “I have nowhere to go. I won’t ask Leo. I won’t be saddled with that asshole.”

“That bad huh?” Leo started to clean a tankard with a cloth.

“Yeah,” Crest went on to say. “I’d rather be homeless than speak to him right now. UGH!”

Lou looked forlorn. He pitted Crest. He had been one of his best customers. Somehow, he still found moolah to spend at his place, even though he was apparently flat broke. His heart went out to him. It seemed hopeless, but for a moment an idea hit Lou. Maybe things didn’t have to be so hopeless. “Hey Crest...” He said.

Crest looked up rubbing his head. “Yeah, what is it?”

“Can you cook, clean dishes, do housework or anything like that? Y’know? Can you do anything useful is what I’m asking? I could offer you a job here if you had the right qualifications.”

Crest’s face lit up, but immediately went sour. He was good at neither of those. “I don’t really have an eye for cleaning, and I can’t cook worth a fart. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Of course.”

4

Two men entered the tavern in wrinkly button-ups. None of the customers knew it yet, but these two men had guns and were looking to rob the place. Sweat dripped down the men’s foreheads as they stood on the dining room floor. Out came the guns. Bang! A warning shot was fired through the ceiling. Screams filled the room. People ducked under tables. Terror was on every end.

Waving his gun around, the taller of the two men spoke. “This is a hold-up! We want all your moolah!” Whipping out an empty sack, he gestured the gun towards it. “We don’t want any heroes, so just do as we say quietly and nobody gets hurt!”

5

Crest’s face was deadpan as he watched what was occurring. He couldn’t believe it. As if the day couldn’t get any worse. Robbers? What bad luck. They were going to take everybody for all they had. Including him.

Damn, these guys are serious. This is bad. Someone has to do something.

Oh! Wait a minute.

He had almost forgot. He could do something.

He bumped his head with a fist.

Slowly but surely, Crest’s face began to glow again. He couldn’t do any of that other stuff that Lou had said, at least he couldn’t do them right, but one thing he could do was fight.

He focused.

Alabaster taught me the ways of Whirlwind Wolf, but I’ve never used it before, not on a human. But I guess now is a good a time as any I suppose.

“Hey Lou,” He said turning his attention his way. “I might not be a good cook or an excellent cleaner, but maybe we can make an arrangement. Alabaster was your old bouncer right?”

“Yes,” Lou squirmed. “But I don’t see what that has to do with—”

“You’re in the market for a new one I assume?”

Lou’s eyes widened. “Why yes…I suppose I’m in need of one. Now more than ever. Crest….will you take the job?”

Crest smiled. “Of course, I will.”