Chapter 7 - Hunter Markell

Warning: Mature Content

30 July 2039 - Lyndhurst Public School, City of Keri, Demeter

It was graduation day and things are looking up. He had managed to secure a scholarship to the Keri Institute of Art & Design, one of the most prestigious art schools in the world. It was, for lack of a better phrase, fucking amazing.

“Mom, Dad, I’m heading out! See you later!” yelled Hunter as he hurriedly exited his house, grabbing his bike keys and helmet on the way out.

Firing up the E (electronic) version of a Ducati 1098, Hunter left for school. The electronic version of the classic bike had a top speed that was slightly lower than the original gas powered version, capping off at 150 mph as compared to the original 180 mph. Speed didn’t matter to Hunter, it’s a good looking ride and was more than sufficient to turn many female heads.

Pulling up to the parking area nearby school, Hunter spotted Carl McKinsey. “Yo Carl! Wait up!” shouted Hunter. Quickly setting the anti-theft device on his bike, Hunter jogs after McKinsey who was now waiting for him at the entrance.

“Eeyyy what’s up Markell!” greeted McKinsey, exchanging a fist bump.

“You ready to graduate bro?” asked Hunter, a big smile plastered on his face.

“I heard about the great news man! Congratulations on getting that scholarship! Fuckin’ ey!”. McKinsey was very proud of his best friend. Getting such an opportunity was a game changer, especially since he knew that Hunter wants to someday own his own design studio.

The last day of school ended just after lunch. It was a blur of early celebrations and congratulating classmates on their successes with getting into the school of their choice. Most of all, everyone was talking about tonight’s graduation party. Since they couldn’t find anyone with a big enough house to accommodate a hundred or so people, they decided to just have it on the beach.

As he was making his way out of school, “Hey stranger.” whispered an alluring voice behind him. Turning around, Hunter came face to face with Katherina Blackford. Katherina was as tall as Hunter, fair skinned with black straight hair falling as far as her shoulder blades. She has a certain sex appeal most of the guys in school fantasize about, not to mention she was a year older. ‘Damn. She’s 2039’s definition of beau-ti-fuckin-ful’ thought Hunter.

“Hey girl. What’re you doing creeping up on a bro? You’re going to give me a heart attack.” joked Hunter.

Katherina gave him a sly smile. “I can probably think of several ways to induce a heart attack and none of them involve creeping up. Creeping down perhaps….”

“Haha! You have to show me that sometime.” he teased. “So what’s up? Aren’t you heading back home before the party?”

“Maybe I’ll show you tonight, who knows?” she teased back, raising an eyebrow. “I’m waiting for Sasha, she’s sorting out some last minute stuff for her final year. I’m guessing she’ll be done soon. Well, don’t let me keep you, I’ll see you tonight.” said Katherina, flashing a winning smile.

“Ohh? Then I’ll be in your care Ms Blackford.” winked Hunter. “See you guys tonight then!”

**********

It was 9.00pm and Keri Beach was accommodating over a hundred graduates and their friends. A makeshift DJ booth popped out of nowhere, blasting music across the beach. There were stands with seemingly unending numbers of containers filled with chilled booze of all types. 10 ft tall flood lights directed towards the sea rather than on the beach gave sufficient lighting without blinding anyone.

“Holy shit, they turned this place into a fucking club of sorts.” said McKinsey, amazed at the transformation of the usually dull beach.

“I know right. Damn. Bloody hope we don’t get arrested hahaha! The people living in the houses up the hill from here must be going nuts from all this noise.” said Hunter, nevertheless ecstatic at how successful the party turned out to be.

The two continued their stroll along the walkway, checking out the various girls who had come to join in on the revelry. As they neared the quieter end of the beach they heard a shout. “Fuck off…! I don’t give a fuck what you want, asshole!”

It was Sasha Blackford. She could easily have been the twin of Katherina, the only difference being how well their breast fit Hunter’s hand. Following her were four guys, none of whom looked familiar. ‘Likely people from other schools huh.’ thought Hunter.

“Yoo Sasha!” called out McKinsey.

Sasha, visibly relieved, started to quickly head in their direction. “Oh thank fuck you guys are here. Fucking creeps from Luminous High. Ugh!” she said as she alternates giving Hunter and Carl a hug. Wearing a midriff top and hotpants, it was a dangerously close choice between Sasha and her sister.

“What’s this?” asks one of the boys. “Come on girl you gonna walk away from us for these brats?” says another. All of them had beer bottles on hand. “Yeah girl, we hear you and your sister likes this a lot so why don’t you come and play for a bit?” puts in the third guy while cupping his package.

“Look asshole, I don’t give a fuck what my sister may like to do in her spare time but don’t you fucking put me in the same category!” Sasha spat back.

“Yo guys let’s back to the party before things get out of hand.” whispered McKinsey. “Aight let’s go.” said Hunter, grabbing hold of Sasha’s hand and leading her away.

“Oi!” someone yelled. “Get your fucking ass back here! Ain’t done with you girl!” yelled another. A bottle came crashing several feet away from Sasha, one of the pieces nicking her ankle.

“Oww! God dammit! What the fuck is your problem you psycho! What, ain’t got enough hoes in your school or is it because everyone there knows you’re a bloody neanderthal!?” shouted Sasha as she inspected the cut.

Hunter and McKinsey had stopped walking when they heard the bottle smash the walkway. McKinsey, knowing Hunter’s temperament when it comes to those he considered friends tried to draw Hunter and Sasha away.

“Sasha let’s get that looked at right away. Hunter come on bro! Let’s go she’s bleeding and shit.” said McKinsey.

The taunts kept coming. All sorts of lewd suggestions continued to be thrown at Sasha. To her credit, she was a strong girl and didn’t let the verbal abuse get to her. Hunter however, snapped. Without saying a word, he walked towards the group.

“Oooo. Is that your pussy boyfriend trying to man up to show you up Sasha?” they laughed.

“Hunter…” Sasha tried to call him back. Hunter continued on, simply waving his hand to acknowledge he heard her.

“This fucker. Trying to act all cool and shit.” said one before throwing his bottle at Hunter. Instead of dodging, Hunter caught the bottle with ease and casually throws it to one side.

“Da fuck…” said the guy who threw it. The rest threw their own bottles towards him and as if he was taking a leisurely stroll on any other day, was casually dodging the projectiles. The bottles were dark green and it was pitch black this far from the main party. It didn’t take a genius to realise that was down right amazing.

“Err.. dude. He fucking dodged it all. I’m getting the fuck outta here man.” said one as he high tailed it towards the sea before changing direction to the main party. He wanted to be out of reach of Hunter.

“What a right fucking coward. Seriously. There’s four of us ‘ere and the fucking coward ran away.” said one in an irritated voice. At that moment, Hunter made his move. In two powerful strides, he was right next to the guy that made the comment.

“He was the smart one.” said Hunter before grabbing the first guy’s head with two hands and bringing it down to meet with a sharp knee. Hearing the guy’s nose breaking, Hunter’s other knee came up right into guy’s solar plexus before forcibly throwing his head away from the group, its body following.

Without breaking his stride, he kicked low at the next closest one, dislocating his knee but not breaking it. The guy fell down in a heap, screaming in pain. The third got down on his knees, crying and apologizing, hands up in the air. He recognized this one’s voice as the one making the lewdest suggestions to Sasha.

Hunter stood there for a moment staring at this pitiful fool. As relief started to flood the poor bastard’s eyes, thinking that he was going to be spared, Hunter struck. Lunging forward and grabbing the back of his head, hand gripped tightly in his hair, Hunter hit him once, twice, three times in quick succession. His nose broke on the first punch. The second knocked out two front teeth. The third knocked out three more and he fell unconscious.

Without saying anything further, Hunter turned and walked back to his friends.

**********

Having left Sasha at the first aid station, Carl and Hunter had decided to get utterly smashed. “Dammmnn bro. You bloody well gave it to them ehhhhh!” yelled a slightly intoxicated McKinsey. “Gotta watch out though. It was pitch dark so doubt they really saw you but Sasha called you out. They might come looking.”

Hunter simply gave McKinsey the ‘do I look like I’m worried’ look. “Anyway, rightly or wrongly, this party’s getting boring.” said Hunter. “Yo bro, I’m gonna head out alright? Call me if anything comes up. Keep your wits about you yeah? And keep an eye out on Sasha.”

“Ahhh you buzz kill. Alright alright. I’ll see you in two weeks, we finally going on that trip babbbyyy!” yelled the excited McKinsey.

“Hahaha! Yeah yeah, in two weeks. See you at your place!” waved Hunter as he walked to the main road to grab a taxi.

“Hey stranger, I’ve been looking for you.” It was Katherina, with some kind of cocktail in a large disposable red cup. “Leaving already?”

“Oh hey. Yeah, lost the mood for a party.” replied Hunter.

“I heard some guy babbling about someone thrashing his crew over some girl. Didn’t take long to figure out what happened after I spoke to Sasha. Thanks for that.” she smiled sincerely. Katherina can be many things herself, but she never neglects family.

Hunter smiled back. “Those guys deserved worse. You sticking around?”

For a moment, Katherina looked back at the crowded beach and then more decisively shook her head. “I guess it’s time to head back. Sasha’s crashing one her girlfriend’s place anyway. Mind giving me a ride?”

Half an hour after hailing a taxi, they were pulling up to a block of buildings where the Blackfords lived. “Look it’s not even midnight yet and its supposed to be graduation day. Wanna keep me company? No one’s home until Sasha comes back tomorrow.” implores Katherina.

“Yeah, alright why not.” smiled Hunter. He knew something was going to go down tonight. What he didn’t expect was that Katherina would all but jump him as soon as they got in the apartment.

Leading Hunter into her bedroom, Katherina threw everything out to the wind. ‘Score!’ was the only thing Hunter could think of. They had both managed to strip everything off aside from their undergarments before Katherina pounced. Her one hand was on his package rubbing the silk boxer shorts gently while the other hand grasped his hair as she kissed him hungrily.

Responding to her touches, he was ready. “Remember what I said this afternoon?” she whispered in a low sensual voice. Without saying another word, she creeped downwards, taking his boxer shorts with her. The next few minutes was utter bliss. ‘Holy fuck. She. Is. Good. Damn.’ thought Hunter, eventually moving in rhythm to Katherina’s ministrations.

She paused to undress completely, stroking him once before straddling him. “FYI, I like to be in control..” she whispered before her hips gyrated above him, her large breasts barely fitting in his hands. Fast. Slow. Round and round. Up and down. Katherina changed up the pace every now and again, in perfect control.

‘Son of a bitch she’s driving me crazy...’ thought Hunter. Katherina’s control made sure Hunter would not climax before her. As her breathing got deeper and heavier, Hunter knew she was close. Katherina’s entire body was glistening with sweat, the pace now erratic and her face upturned to the ceiling as she started breathing deeper and deeper. When she shuddered, he knew that she had climaxed.

Still shuddering slightly, Katherina lifts herself off of Hunter whispering, “I don’t have my pills today, so this is special service just for you.” She moved down again, taking him in her mouth this time, as much as she could. Alternating the motion with strokes both shallow, deep, fast and slow, it didn’t take long for Hunter to climax.

‘Wait. Did she just fucking swallow!?’ shouted Hunter inside himself. ‘Wow… best graduation everrr!’

**********

The next two weeks leading up to the trip was spent training with his father Darron. Since he was old enough to hold a blade, Darron had begun teaching him the basic stances and techniques for both armed and unarmed combat. Hunter’s training followed some of the strict regimes that Graham Drayton had taught Darron.

His father had once told him, “Learning to wield a blade is one thing. Being proficient in using it is another. Your body needs to be able to move the way you want it to, when you want it to. Your muscles need to be able to endure, lest your strike lack the power for a killing blow; or your strike missed a vital area due to fatigue. Your body, first and foremost is your weapon. Your blades, are your accessories.”

The training regime started when he was 8 years old, younger than Darell. At the time, it was by sheer coincidence that he spied on his father practicing the forms. Not wanting to be a disturbance, Hunter had religiously practiced from a distance without blades but with a stick. Eventually he was caught, but seeing his first son’s determination, Darron had taken it upon himself to include Hunter in his daily sessions.

10 years later, Hunter was the already the equivalent of a low level Master like Newton Rosek, perhaps even slightly higher. His proficiency with the blades increased at a monstrous rate over the years. It could be said that he was naturally attuned to it. Darron himself took roughly 15 years to get to the same level. Many of the Adepts of a similar age at the Institute have yet to breakthrough the Master level, needing far longer.

Now, stood in front of Darron was a well defined, athletic young man with dark brown hair. Hunter could not be considered big like the bodybuilders that frequented the gym. A lot of his training relied on body weight, gravity and nature itself.

Father and son would visit some of the toughest hiking trails in Demeter. Using the rough uneven terrain as their core training ground, they would run up rocky slopes and skip across wide streams created by a waterfall using protruding rocks. As Hunter’s strength and agility grew over the years, the two of them would carry backpacks filled with heavy stones, pushing harder each time to beat their previous completion time.

As his proficiency with the blade grew, they started to spar after these gruelling sessions on the trail, mimicking real combat in the wilderness. During these sparring sessions, Darron held back enough not to seriously injure his son, but not so much that Hunter would find it too easy to improve.

“Never think you are better than your opponent. Arrogance will kill you. It is better to overestimate them and act accordingly than underestimate them and lose your life. Act decisively. Strike if you decide to strike. Run if you decide to run. Do not tarry in between, it can be just as dangerous.” his father said.

Additionally, he also drilled into Hunter that “When you strike, always aim to kill, because then you still have a good chance of seriously injuring your opponent should they be more agile than you are. If you struck decisively and accurately yet your opponent remained unharmed, then know that he or she is better than you are. In close combat, luck is not a variable you should ever factor - dead is dead. The only exception to this rule is if the difference in strength is as clear as night and day. Only then do you have the luxury of choosing whether your opponent lives or dies.”

**********

A few days before the holiday trip, Sasha came around to visit. Upon arriving, Lashell had informed her that Hunter was out training with his father. Disappointed at the turn of events, she was about to leave when Lashell invited her in.

“Why don’t you come inside and wait for them instead? They would usually be back before afternoon tea. It’ll save you time going back home.” Lashell said warmly.

“Mm! That’s great, thank you Mrs. Markell.” Sasha happily accepted the invitation.

“Can I get you a drink? I’m afraid Darell and Arron are upstairs in their pods playing some virtual reality game. Can you believe they told me to call them only when it’s dinner? Ugh.” Lashell was generally friendly towards Hunter’s friends but she had taken a liking to Sasha in particular. In some way, Sasha reminded her of herself when she was at the same age.

“Ohh right. It must be the VR release of Eve. That’s one of the hottest titles that was revamped from the late 2000 version. Oh and if you don’t mind, I’ll have some iced cola please.” said Sasha. She too was an avid user of virtual reality platforms ever since they became mainstream 9 years ago.

“Has Hunter not joined the VR community?” Sasha asked Lashell’s back as she was pulling drinks out of the fridge. She knew that Hunter had very little interest in the immersive nature of full dive technology. When the very first titles came out she had immediately asked him to join her. He had refused and thereafter he had always said to her “Why do I need to go into a game to do the things I can do in real life?”. At the time she didn’t know what he had meant, but after seeing him come out on top in more than two dozen fights where he was usually outnumbered, she could sort of scratch the surface of his meaning.

“You know my Hunter. He doesn’t have particular interest in the technology. Takes after his father I think. Neither of them are remotely interested in the idea.” answered Lashell. “I personally think it wouldn’t be a bad place to train. I’ve tried it once on Arron’s pod when the kids were out. I have to admit, it was pretty fucking cool.”

The two continued chatting until they heard a car pull up the driveway. “Looks like they’re back.” smiled Lashell. She was right. Coming into the house were her two sweaty men, looking like they had crawled out of the wilds. Seeing Sasha sat by the kitchen counter, Hunter waved.

“Hey Sasha, didn’t expect you to come by. What’s up?” asked Hunter.

“I wanted to speak to you about that night.” said Sasha. Darron and Lashell raised an eyebrow in Hunter’s direction, a smirk on their faces.

“It’s not what you think you dirty couple.” retorts Hunter, lacking conviction as he remembered Katherina’s stellar performance. ‘Hot damn...’ he thought. “Some guys were causing trouble that’s all.” With an ‘oh, so that’s what it was’ reaction, Darron and Lashell started their own conversation.

“Alright, but I need a serious shower first. You want to stay with the oldies?” he asked as he headed upstairs.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ll come up.” she replied.

15-minutes later, Hunter was comfortably sat on his chair while Sasha was sat on his bed, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t get to say thanks properly. I really appreciated what you did.” she started.

“Hmmm. Don’t worry about it Sasha. Truth be told if I was sure I wouldn’t have gotten into trouble I probably would have done worse.”. What may have sounded like bragging to others, Sasha knew differently. Hunter didn’t need to brag. He was entirely capable of dishing out exactly what he says.

“Hmm. Also about the trip.” she paused, trying to think of a way to phrase her words. She couldn’t, so she said it out bluntly. “I know you slept with Katherina… and before you say anything, it’s okay. Really. Neither of us are in a relationship with you and… well, do you think you two can keep it on the down low during the holiday? As a favour for me.”

Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He could see the hurt in Sasha’s eyes, but he can also see that she understood there wasn’t that kind of relationship between them. Speechless and unsure of what to say, “.... okay. I um.. I’ll make sure nothing happens during the trip. I’m sorry.”

Sasha smiled weakly, getting up off the bed. “I’m going to head out, I’ll see you in a few days.”. Hunter stood up to see her out the door. As he reached for the door, Sasha pulled him into an embrace and kissed him deeply. Arms still around his neck, she simply said “I’m not my sister Hunter, but I want you to know that I will always be here for you, no matter what.”

With that said, she left.

A few days later, Hunter, Sasha and Katherina met up with Carl at his place. With the luggages securely tucked in the boot, the four of them waved goodbye to Carl’s parents as they pulled out of the McKinsey residence.

Sat in the front on the driver seat was Carl with Hunter on the passenger side, Katherina and Sasha at the back. Some country song was playing in the background, which fit the holiday mood, the breeze and the blazing sun high in the sky. It was fortunate, as heavy rain descended in the early hours of the morning, only stopping an hour before they met up at Carl’s.

Speeding up the main road that connected up to the freeway, a black Mercedez heading the opposite direction swerved out of control, its angle drifting left then right and left again. “Carl watch out!” yelled Hunter as the car veered towards their direction.

“Son of a bit….”, “Oh my Go….” Carl and Katherina yelled simultaneously as he jerked the steering wheel to the right, not seeing the van speeding alongside him.

C R A S H !

Carl, Katherina and Sasha suffered from a concussion and several fractures from the crash. Katherina and Sasha recovered first after a month at Lyndhurst General Hospital. Carl recovered after the second month, his injuries slightly more serious. Hunter remained comatose after the third month and the other three started worrying.

Katherina and Sasha never visited Hunter together. Katherina usually came by with Carl as she couldn’t bear to see Hunter in his current state alone. Sasha was stronger, she visited whenever she could, sometimes running into the Markells.

After a year, Katherina and Carl had stopped visiting so frequently. Sasha on the other hand came almost on a daily basis. Spending time at Hunter’s side, sitting quietly on the chair next to the bed. In the beginning, she would normally stay when the Markells arrived. After a while, it became too heart wrenching to see Lashell break down time and time again so she decided to always leave the room and give them space.

18 months had passed and nothing had changed. Sasha didn’t want to give up. One day as she arrived at the driveway entrance to the hospital, she saw a white van parked outside with the label MediVance. Then she saw Darron and Lashell watching as Hunter was wheeled onto the back of the van by LGH staff and two armed men.

A BMW led the procession out of the hospital and as they turned, three other similar vehicles came to life. One of them took a position at the front of the BMW while the others tailed the white van. Sasha didn’t know what was going on, but she felt as if she had missed her chance to say goodbye.

She stood there at the entrance to the driveway, tears flowing down her face as she watched the cars drive into the distance, taking Hunter with them.

**********

Author’s Notes

Looks like Hunter, like his dad is going to be a woman magnet ^____^

Now I’m wondering whether he’ll manage to snag both sisters...

Gah! Wake up already you bastard!