If you are one of those people who think the government is hiding countless secrets from you, and constantly covering things up, then you would be absolutely right. I’m one of the many people they hire to clean up their mistakes.
I’m not entirely sure why they chose me, there really isn’t much special about me, but perhaps that’s exactly why they chose me. I was already a loner, and I’m not going to cure cancer or create the next weapon of mass destruction, so I’m easily disposable.
They approached me one day after I finished working my shift at a fast food joint. I’m not sure I had much of a choice, but my life was so dull I was ready for any kind of change up anyway. The men who came to my door didn’t even tell me what I would be doing, simply that if I wanted to “aide my country” to follow them. I didn’t look back once, and as strange as my life has gotten, I still don’t regret it.
The next year of my life would be grueling. I was put through extreme physical and mental training. I learned about things that I thought only existed in movies. I’m not sure what would have happened to me had I failed the training, but I can’t imagine they would have just let me go back to my normal life. Not once did they mention what I was training for during that year, not until I graduated.
Upon getting the seal of approval from higher ups, I was brought in to a small room with black suits and finally informed of what I would be doing.
My new job would be hunting down failed experiments and other oddities that the government had failed to contain. Not all jobs would be the same, some would be relatively easy, while others next to impossible. Most missions would come with the option of bringing the target back dead or alive, but of course it would be preferable to always bring them back alive for further experimentation.
My first assignment would be on the easy side. Codename: The Ice Cream Man.
The Ice cream man like most failed experiments was at one point a human. He still has the appearance of one, your typical ice cream truck driver, but he’s essentially a robot, only concerned with doing his job.
So, what’s so special about the ice cream man then? Well, I’m never told the why of the creatures I hunt, but I always put together my own ideas.
The ice cream man’s truck is really the special part. The music that comes from the horns works as almost a human magnet, it entrances anyone within hearing distance to approach the truck. Once you approach the truck you…well you buy ice cream. I’ve heard the ice cream tastes delicious, but of course you’ll never know for sure, because the ice cream causes anyone who eats it to basically enter a fugue state. For the next 12 hours after consuming the ice cream you will carry on your day as you normally do, but you’ll remember nothing the next day.
I’m sure you can see why this would be a valuable asset to the government. Unfortunately, the scientists put in charge of testing the ice cream man underestimated him a bit. Before they knew it, they had woken up 12 hours later wondering where their test subject had gone.
I’m sure I was given this simple assignment as sort of a test. I was given a pair of enhanced noise blocking earplugs, and was sent on my way to the ice cream man’s last known location.
He wasn’t hard to find, I just had to follow the mass of vehicles that had lined up to get their sweet treat. I allowed him to serve everyone in the area, it would make my job of taking him much easier if no one remembered it.
After everyone had their ice cream, I lined up myself. He attempted to serve me, but instead I reached into the truck and injected him with a tranquilizer. He may only be a shell of a person now, but he’s not immune to good old fashioned medication. I tied him up and hitched his truck to my vehicle. I dropped him off at the nearest government facility, and awaited my next target.
As I said, this would be one of the easier assignments, my next wouldn’t be quite so simple.
Codename: The Rippler.
Unlike the Ice Cream Man, The Rippler was still mostly human. He hadn’t lost his emotions, or become a mindless zombie, and perhaps that was the problem. Through intense experimentation, The Rippler had gained the ability to create an intense concentrated earthquake. He had collapsed the facility he was being stored in. The main concern with The Rippler was his danger to others around him, if he used his ability in a heavily populated area, countless lives could be lost. This was one of the few cases I’ve been advised to not bring the target back alive.
Once again I feel as though this assignment was a test, just a different kind of test. The government wanted to see if I would kill for them without hesitation, and it’s possible if I did, then there would truly be no escape for me. That was fine though, I had no intentions of leaving.
The Rippler was a bit more difficult to find, mostly because he wasn’t trying to attract the attention of everyone around him, but if the government wants you, they will find you. He had relocated to a small town, changed his name, his face, everything in an attempt to escape. I almost felt bad for the guy, I doubt he had volunteered himself to be a guinea pig for the government, and now all he wanted was a normal life.
Once I found the town he was staying in I made sure to keep my distance, didn’t want him going nuclear on me. I confirmed he was indeed my target by collecting some DNA samples from his trash, now all that was left was to take him down.
I didn’t want to kill him, but I didn’t have a lot of options. The scientists who had created him were still unsure the extent of his powers, and his ability to control them. Had I brought him back alive there’s no telling if the government even has a facility capable of holding him. I did what I thought was best.
After he returned home one night I put a bullet between The Rippler’s eyes. It wasn’t a good feeling, but I continued to convince myself it was necessary. I dropped his body off, and was thanked for my services. It wouldn’t get easier from here either.
My next target, Codename: Ghoul
This one was truly a monster. I’m not sure what the government was trying to create in Ghoul, but I don’t think they got what they wanted. Ghoul has enhanced strength and speed, but with one slight problem, he eats humans. Who knows, maybe that’s exactly what the government wanted.
As you can imagine, Ghoul found a way to escape. After a while you would think these government scientists would get better at containing their experiments, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
This mission might not have been so bad, but I was given strict orders that Ghoul was to be brought back alive. All my lethal weapons were stripped and replaced with tranquilizers strong enough to bring down a rhino. I put in a request to have a partner for this assignment, but of course I was swiftly denied.
Ghoul had taken up residence in a forest, this might not have been so bad if not for the fact this forest had an extremely popular hiking trail. There had always been frequent disappearances in the forest, a lot of them chalked up to suicides, but since Ghoul had escaped, that number had amplified significantly.
The government did me a solid and got the trail shut down for the weekend, so it would just be me and Ghoul, I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else getting in the way. I’ve always wanted to go on a hiking date, but this wasn’t quite what I had pictured.
I set out in to the forest looking for signs of his nest. I had made sure not to shower all week in preparation, if he came to me it makes my job of dragging him back to my vehicle a lot easier, and I’m sure he would get hungry eventually.
After about an hour of following markings and footprints that I assumed had to belong to Ghoul, I began to come across bones, human bones. So, I was getting closer.
I followed the path for a few more minutes before I began to hear noises, looks like my date had arrived. I heard tree branches shaking, as he drew nearer. After only a few moments he was standing on a large tree right in front of me. He looked down on me, studying me.
He really wasn’t that big, maybe 5’6 with an average frame, but looks can be deceiving. His skin was a sickly yellow, and his hair had begun to recede as if he was an old man, but he was clearly much younger. His eyes were pure white, no longer containing anything else.
After a brief stare down, he jumped. There was a good 50 feet between us, so I thought I would have a few seconds to ready myself but I was wrong. As if he was a video game character he soared from the tree and landed directly on top of me.
I had just enough time to pull out a tranquilizer and shove it in to his side, but it wasn’t enough. Despite the strength of the tranquilizer, he seemed relatively unaffected. He shrugged it off, and proceeded to take a chunk of flesh out of my shoulder.
I lay helpless as he began to chew my flesh, I knew it wouldn’t be long before he went back for seconds. I struggled to pull out another tranquilizer, I managed to pull another one out right before he began to lunge in for another bite.
I jammed the second tranquilizer directly in to his neck, I felt his teeth begin to lock on to my own neck, but before he bit down, he passed out.
I let out the biggest sigh of relief of my life, and pushed him off of me. I placed the special restraints I had been given for him on, making sure the muzzle I was given for him was extra tight. I wasn’t sure how long the tranquilizers would last, but hopefully long enough for me to deliver this monster.
Despite missing a chunk of my shoulder, I had escaped alive. This was just one monster that science had created, I could only imagine what my future would have in store for me.
After delivering Ghoul I informed the higher ups I would need at least a month off, and knowing what they had put me through, they obliged. If anything, they were impressed I had come back in mostly one piece.
Those were a few of my targets, I have many more tales to tell, but that will have to wait. I just received my next assignment, and I must begin preparations. If I survive I will be sure to post more. So, see you soon…hopefully.
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