Hunter Page 7

  Episode 6

  Alone

  The Dimensional Transport's portal darkened the sky. The birds flew away, fearing it as though it was a violent storm. Nothing else in the tall wheat plains payed attention. Even the birds perched on the leaf-less tree had not moved.

  The Transport exited the portal. The dark swirl flashed away. The sky returned to the normal clear day, though clouds hovered tantalizingly close. Jeff would have no problem finding a place to land.

  He looked across the landscape. There was a large city in the distance. Setting a course, his next job was to check to see what was there. In pressing several buttons, he discovered something important, "Nobody's here. Transmission signals: negative. Satellite communication: negative. No electrical energy. Only signs of wildlife."

  Then a beep sounded. This was a new one. It was something he hadn't heard before. But he was expecting it for sometime. He moved to a new screen, seeing a red-lettered notice.

  "He's here. Karns is in this world."

  The Transport landed underneath a large bridge. This was the best spot to keep the Transport hidden within the city. As ramp opened, Jeff walked out. He immediately looked all around the environment.

  There was not a single car on the road. Everything was quiet. There wasn't even the faint buzz of electricity running. It was cold, clouds hovering over the skies. Jeff only had a light jacket on; adequate for the moment.

  There was no immediate threat...or much of anything. Walking down the street, where various business would have been open. Now there was only dark rooms within. Turning a corner, Jeff found a grocery store. The doors were permanently wide open for anyone or anything to be let in.

  Going inside, Jeff walked down along the check stands and toward where there was still a stack of newspapers. Lifting one up, he noticed it was the "Yorkston Times," for the date "July 14, 2004"

  "Well, I have to guess this was at least a few years ago."

  Moving down to the main headline, it was labeled, "City ordered to evacuate; power cut to entire state."

  He didn't look any further. There wasn't much more than that within the next few paragraphs. Jeff outwardly thought, "Something happened here. Can make it easier to find Karns...as long as he stays in the city."

  Setting down the newspaper, Jeff looked at the isles of the store. On one side...was not pleasant. The fruits and vegetables had all rotted away. There was still a stench coming from the display. A few rats hovered around to consume the rotten food.

  Moving further down, the isles were only slightly better. Most of the shelves were cleaned off. One had fallen down and was leaning up against another shelf that still stood. The frozen food isle had all the doors closed, but were all still very messy. The parts that had frozen treats had all melted a long time ago. All that remained was a stain within all the shelves. He dared not open any of the doors.

  "I guess I'll have to find some food elsewhere."

  As Jeff walked out, a group of deer pass by. He watched as they ran along their own predetermined path. A laugh came to him, something of a rarity. It just seemed too random of an event for him not to. "Kara would have loved to see that."

  Then he realized what he just said. Jeff decided to leave the piece of humor at that. He continued farther down the street. This was a road that had trees planted along for decoration. That decoration was now almost a barrier, as several trees and bushes had grown in the mean time. Jeff chose to travel along the main road, despite being prevented from even seeing what the buildings held.

  Then a phone began to ring. It wasn't just a phone; it was every phone in the area. Jeff knew something was wrong. Crossing over one bush, he found one of the public phones that was ringing. Without hesitation, he picked it up.

  "Ahh, good. I was hoping you would hear that." It was Karns' voice.

  Jeff was direct in his own questions, "Why are you here, Karns?"

  "While we don't have much time, we still can have a little conversation, can't we?"

  Jeff said, "That still doesn't answer my question."

  "Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's no one in this large city. My guess here, nuclear warfare is replaced with E.M.P's. I've only found this generator by accident. Enough to make this conversation possible."

  "So you think this is a game?"

  Karns replied, "Of the deadly kind. After all, we're after each other. This way no one gets in the crossfire."

  "I thought you didn't care about anyone else."

  Karns laughed, "You have me mistaken for some stereotypical terrorist. I won't kill anyone just willy-nilly."

  "Then what was that back there, capturing a police officer's wife."

  "Ahh that. That was an experiment of mine. You see, smart gangs and other underground organizations rarely go after cops. That would only bring their attention onto them. So I thought, why not do just that. Try to make an monopoly in the black market. Hop out of that world, come back in a few months."

  "Too bad things don't work like that with the Transport."

  "No, it didn't. Just a set back though. I can still collect things, then settle down when I'm satisfied with what I have. Though you make that plan difficult."

  "And thus, this game you laid out," Jeff deduced.

  "Yup. I'll just say that I'll be hanging around downtown. Other than that, well, you'll find out." Then Karns hung up. Jeff was left with the phone still in his hand. Rather than set it back, he just dropped it. Considering there was no one left in the city and no electricity running, there was no use in setting it back.

  He looked below the small booth. There was only a metal string hanging. Walking back up the street, he looked around for an open building. He saw a nearby door open. Deciding it was as good of an option as any, Jeff walked to it.

  The main lobby was very dusty. The rugs released some of the dust into the air as he stepped onto them. Going around the desk, he looked in the shelves to see if there was a phone book. Shoving all the papers and other utilities out of the way. The one thing he was looking for wasn't there.

  "I hope they didn't take all the phone books along with the food," he humored himself.

  He marched down the hall a little bit, settling before a random door. Lifting his foot, he pounded at it. Several hits were made before the door gave way.

  The room was messy to say the least. Jeff had to shove several dishes, pots, hammers and other things that the tenants left behind. He strode through the layer of stuff, finding a closet. He finally found the phone book above his head. Rising onto his toes, he snagged the book.

  Looking around, he saw there was a couch. Further wading through the clutter, he got to the couch and sat down. Right in front of him was a big screen television. It was something that one would relax in front of for hours. Now, it was just a waste of space or a poor decoration.

  Sitting down, Jeff set the book upon his lap. Before opening it, he looked around the abandoned apace. It was a spacious apartment. It was certainly something that Jeff would have appreciated in another life.

  He thought to himself, "Actually, this reminds me of that one apartment we looked at..."

  Two years ago

  Kara wondered into the room first with Jeff in tow. The real estate agent behind them kept a very formal manner, "As you can see, this is very spacious. More importantly, it's centrally located among several restaurants, stores, and theaters."

  Kara almost ran into the main room, spinning around in an almost playful manner. Jeff was more controlled over his observation. It was all empty space, with a closed storage cabinet as the sole piece of decoration.

  He wandered in and tucked his head into the nearby bedroom. He deem the space pretty decent. Moving to back into the main room, he said to Kara, "This isn't bad. How about you, honey?"

  Playfully she said, "Nope."

  Jeff was almost disappointed. This was not most definitely not the first place they'd seen that day. "So what's wrong?" asking for probably the tenth time just that day.

  The reply was similar to all the others, "The space isn't right."

  The agent gave her guess, "Is it not large enough?"

  "No...It just feels like I can't do anything with it."

  "Oh kay......" Jeff commented about Kara's continued lack of description.

  The real estate agent stepped forward. "I do have a few others in this building that are different. They are a bit more expensive than what you quoted."

  Jeff thought about it. Then he gave his suggestion aloud, directed toward Kara but was sure be heard by the real estate agent. "How about a house."

  Kara was intrigued, but at the same time concerned. "I thought you said we couldn't afford a house."

  Jeff gave a shrug, "I can make a few sacrifices, presuming my raise doesn't get through."

  She thought about it, thinking of possibilities. Jeff saw something in that, "You haven't lived in a house before, have you?"

  "Nope. Don't get that when traveling the world all the time."

  "Well, they aren't like apartments," he explained to Kara, "We can change or renovate anything you want."

  That did it for Kara; the freedom to do anything with a room. "All right, let's go see some houses."

  The real estate agent shifted some papers, looking through the list of residences that she had. "Although I cover mostly apartments, I got a few options available for you.

  Present day

  Jeff was still sitting down, going through the phone book. He looked back up, once again inspecting the space that he sat in. Remembering that experience, "Yeah, I think Kara would have hated this place as well."

  He went back to the phone book, finding the entry he needed. "There's the telephone company. If Karns called from anywhere, that would be it."

  Flipping it
to the back, Jeff looked at the rough map of the Downtown area. He found the street that he was on. The other side of the map was where his target was located. There was no need to check for scale, Jeff knew it would be way too far to walk. Using the Transport would have been too conspicuous, particularly in a dead city like this one.

  "Well, have to see if I can find a car."

  Jeff emerged into the parking garage from a set of stairs. Going down any set of elevator were not an option. Instead, the longer and more sweat-inducing method had to be used. In a way, the cool air made exercise necessary to keep himself warm.

  He was holding a flashlight and swung it around to scan the dark area. A chirp came from the darkness. Lifting his light upward, he found some bats were hanging from crumbled portions of the ceiling.

  "I guess the wildlife is more comfortable in this world." His voice echoed a little in the open space.

  He walked down the mostly clear garage. There was one car in view. He approached it, checking the door. It was locked. Taking the butt of the large flashlight, he smashed it into the glass. It bounced off without as much as a crack. A second swing produced the same result.

  "Let's... find another car."

  Jeff went further into the darkness. There was water dropping through a pipe. Underneath was a large puddle that Jeff chose to navigate around.

  Then he saw a yellow car. Moving closer he saw it was labeled as a taxi. It was unusual in that it could hold at least eight people. Jeff knew that considering the situation, his choice of vehicle was rather limited.

  Once again, he checked the door. It was open this time. He leaned inside, first checking the glove compartment. It held several papers and a map. The latter Jeff pulled out while leaving the rest in as he closed it back up. Then he shifted to the middle compartment. Inside he found a dead iPod. Shifting further, he found small trinkets and a few books; nothing he could really use.

  Then he felt something below him. Getting back up, he found a set of keys sitting right on the driver's seat. Taking them, he made an educated guess to which one was right.

  Now he properly sat in the vehicle and closed the door next to him. He put the key into the ignition. With a turn he hoped the car still worked. Luckily, the car started. The headlights illuminated the wall in front of him; and in turn the rest of the car. He shifted the gear to reverse then pulled out of the parking spot.

  He drove slowly. The signs directing him toward the exit appeared only feet in front of him. They were not designed to be seen by a car's headlight. He turned twice, not having to change floors to find the exit.

  However, a chain door blocked him. He couldn't help but comment, "It's the end of the world as you know it. Why lock up behind you?"

  Jeff got out, taking the problem in stride. Getting closer to the outdoors, he noticed that it had started snowing. It wasn't heavy at that moment. Jeff enjoyed the sight of the light snowfall. He always lived in a temperate climate, where little snow appeared each winter. Looking upward, he stood there for just for a moment before he went back to work.

  Leaning down, he found a latch in the bar. Pulling it released the doorway. The bar whipped up a few inches before resting. Taking the cold bar, Jeff pulled it up halfway. He shifted his stance to shove the bar fully upward.

  With the barrier gone, he returned to inside the car. The headlights had automatically stopped; the car detected enough light to switch them off. He looked down at the gas gauge. "I hope a half-tank will be enough."

  He drove the car out to the street and towards his destination.

  Jeff opened the door into the telephone company's two-story building. It was dark. The building was designed with plenty of interior lighting, all now useless. Jeff wielded a large flashlight. He also had to hold his glasses to scan the area. Coming to a main work area, it was bright with the large windows above. It was still cold; some of the windows had broken long ago.

  Standing in the middle, he looked around to see if there was anyone there. There was not a single sign of life. "Not surprising Karns isn't here."

  He walked down another hall. This was more sterile than previous halls. Jeff had guessed this was where all the technical equipment was. Finding a pair of swinging doors, Jeff looked into it. Inside was tons of large equipment; each with a seat in front. He focuses on the panels, trying to see their function in the dark.

  "Switchboards," he surmised to himself. He walked in to the room. There was several layers of the switchboards. Then the light illuminated a large box sitting next to one particular panel. Moving closer, he saw the box was actually a power generator.

  Looking up close, Jeff found a label. It had generator's power output. Inspecting it, the numbers in his head didn't add up. "He couldn't have powered those phones with just this alone. I don't think he could have with dozens of these..."

  Then there was a click. A sound of metal shifting grated the room. Jeff swung around to see a huge block coming his way. He dove out of the way, hearing the crash of the block hitting the generator. The two objects then slammed into the wall, opening a hole.

  Jeff heard creaking. It was coming from above. He ran out of the room, using his memory more than the flashlight to navigate. He swung around a corner. His body crashed into the wall before turning back the way he came.

  Behind him, the entire second floor collapsed onto the first. Dust filled the dark air, his flashlight clearly showing the aftermath. There was rubble, steel and various other office furniture laying in a pile. There was no way to go back the way he came even if Jeff wanted to.

  "Probably best to get out of here, before any more surprises show themselves."

  More creaking, then a crash, was heard; this time from somewhere else around the building. Jeff quickly searched around using his glasses. He saw that beyond the blockade the entire hall had collapsed.

  Then more sounds came from above.

  Jeff dashed back towards the switchboard room. He didn't care how long it would take for that section to fall, he had to be out before that happened.

  Another crash, this time it was ahead of him. He couldn't see it with his flashlight; presuming he could even keep that steady. He was just two feet from it before he found another hallway had fallen in.

  There was another path. Running down, he swung corner after corner. Jeff had to rely on his instinctive direction to find an exit.

  Then he arrived in the large, bright center room. More glass had broken. Dust assailed the sense more here than in the hallways.

  He stood there, thinking. Looking around with his glasses, he tried to formulate a plan. There was several windows on the second floor. Jeff shrugged that idea. There was not telling how stable the structure was as is, much less with his weight added. There was emergency exits along the other two walls, but the paths were winding.

  As much he would like to, he decided, "No time for a decent plan."

  Taking the last option, he just ran. He wound down one dark hallway. Turning a corner, he found another wall of debris. Going back, he took a different hall.

  This time he heard something. It was another crash; just like the trap Karns had placed. He stopped for a quick second. Looking just above, he couldn't quite confirm it, but there was something that looked just like the trap.

  Not taking the time to confirm, he ran. The ceiling crumbled behind him. He took another corner in the dark space. Finally, the door appeared in front of him; the red marking showing it clearly in the limited light. Jeff smashed into it, diving outside.

  The light snow had put a minor layer of white upon the grass. Nearly falling down, Jeff breathed in the fresh air, standing for just a second to catch his breath. Then more noise was heard; more destruction had occurred.

  Slightly concerned, Jeff stumbled across the grass. The best option now was to get farther away from the building. Looking back, he only saw the wall. Plumes of dust rose into the sky, a demonstration of the damage that was dealt.

  "If this is a game, I'll have to come prepared."

  Jeff sat in the car, looking through the small phone book that was stored in the car. A map laid on the passenger seat for reference. The snow was building on top the car, including the windshield. It actually let more light into the vehicle than before.

  The phone book was in the emergency look ups; specifically police. The first comparison he looked up on the map was close. Too close. "Probably can't use that one. Karns would have the same idea....and I already know what kind of footprint he has."

  He moved down to a random entry down the list. This one was half-way across the city. This one would do.

  He started the car back up. The windshield wipers activated and whipped the snow off. He looked down at the fuel meter. It hovered just below half-full. "At least I got one of the more fuel-efficient cabs."

  Putting it into drive, he moved forward to his new destination. In his rear view the building was still pluming with dust.

  Jeff walked into the police station. The only indication it was one was by looking at the remaining pictures. The entire space otherwise looked like an average office. It was dark, with only a sparse amount of light filtered in through the few windows. Jeff had to use the flashlight across every corner and pathway.

  He moved through the offices. They were messy, having to wade through various papers and fallen computers. Going back down one hallway he found the jail. It was ironically one of the few places that light permeated the building.

  Jeff commented, "This was not what I was looking for." He moved back toward the offices.

  This time, he turned down a different path to find storage lockers. Holding onto the doorknob, he found it locked. Going back to the office, Jeff went to the first desk. He opened the drawers and rifled through the contents. He didn't find any keys.
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  The next desk, he pulled the drawers straight out. Contents were just papers; no keys.

  Another drawer: more stuff, no keys.

  He gave out a sigh, "I guess it's time to bust some myths."

  Returning to the storage locker, he removed his gun from his improvised holster. With the barrel a few inches away from the lock, he shifted over to the side. He figured that ricochets would go the other way.

  It did just that. The bullet fired into the lock then could be heard going through the opposite wall. Aiming his flashlight, he inspected the lock. It was severely damaged but looked intact. He tried the knob again. It was still locked. Putting more force in, Jeff found it had progressed. One more shove, the door flew open.

  Shining the flashlight in, there was several tables and drawers. No guns were visible. Looking along the walls there another door. This time it was made of steel. "I doubt I can use the same trick twice."

  He moved to the long drawers. Opening them, he found something interesting. There was several sci-fi looking weapons. Each one looked like they would have been new; at least from when the city was abandoned.

  At the end of the drawer was a paper. It was roughly folded and had been seen several times before. Taking it out, Jeff held it to the light. It read, "The RS-200 series stun-pistols are currently designed for tactical uses where civilians may be caught in crossfire. They are designed to send electrical pulses that causes unconsciousness, effectively "knocking out" a person. It is effective through normal clothing, including the heaviest of winter clothing. It is not, however, effective against body armor.

  "For now, they are to be used only for emergency situations where mass violence occurs. Everyday use is planned, but only after a trial period and city officials, including the mayor, have signed off."

  Jeff knew the reasons behind the last sentence. "Yeah. Too many people get wrong ideas about tested technology. Wouldn't be the first." For too many times, he heard rumors and wild speculation quoted as fact, and too few people willing to look for the real facts.

  He grabbed a one of the guns. Finding the small latch on the bottom, he released the power pack. Inspecting it, he figured out it was rather simple in design. "Presuming the power output isn't incorrect, I could reconfigure these to take double-A batteries."

  Taking two of them out and setting them onto the table. Now he moved to the lockers. These were wide open.

  Unfortunately, there were no protective vests. Instead, just a few holsters designed to hold pistols near the chest and waist. Opening the next locker, there was a single vest. It was rather light, but Jeff knew it was his only option.

  Jeff removed his jacket and took the vest to put it onto himself.

  One year, eight months ago

  Jeff was getting his dress shirt on. The tie was hanging over the coat in which he was to wear. Brian was next to him, also dressing.

  "I never thought I see this day, you know that?"

  Jeff nonchalantly said, "As you have said several times this week. And don't make me give a quote on how many times you've said it this month."

  Brian retorted, "Well...still, you have to..."

  Jeff continued Brian's comment, "....admit that I wouldn't be likely to marry before you. Yes, we've gone through this as well."

  Brian didn't appreciate that Jeff knew him all that well. "Alright, alright. I'll stop saying it....Just one more time!"

  Jeff stopped him. "No. Go...get a drink or something."

  Brian, still with a button loose on his shirt, began to walk out of the room. He opened the door when Jeff said, "And nothing alcoholic. You're the best man and I don't need you staggering."

  The friend wave his hand behind him, "I won't." He left the room at that.

  Jeff completed buttoning up his shirt and moved onto his tie. He was attempting to maneuver the tie into place, but was having difficulty tying it. This went on several minutes with several different methods being attempted.

  Then the door opened. Jeff expected it to be Brian, or at least someone else. Instead it was Kara, wearing a casual dress. He saw her in the mirror.

  "Kara?"

  She approached him as he turned around. She immediately grabbed the tie and began tying it herself. "I knew you couldn't have tied this yourself."

  Jeff was still a bit confused. "Isn't it bad luck for the groom to see the bride on their wedding day?"

  "It's while she's in her wedding dress. Anyway, too late for that now. You don't want to know the crap my dad had to go through."

  "Yeah, I've heard about the hotel." Apparently the hotel had several logistical problems, including at least one reserved room that had been occupied.

  But Kara further informed Jeff, "The hotel...was not crap. Not compared to what he went though with the reception hall."

  Jeff grimaced at the thought. "I think you're right; I don't want to know."

  Kara laughed as she completed the tie. "Don't worry. Today's going to be a great day."

  "I don't doubt that one bit."

  They stared at each other for a quick second before Kara put a finger on Jeff's lips. "That is bad luck. I'll see you down the isle."

  She began to walk out of the room when Jeff said, "That's in forty-five minutes. Do you have time to get into your dress."

  Poking her head back in, she playfully said, "You can wait."

  Jeff laughed to himself as she closed the door.

  Present day

  The snow was getting more severe. Jeff looked up to find the skies darkening. He still had the light jacket on, but it was loose over his vest and holsters hugging his waist. The stun-pistols were obviously holstered within.

  He didn't like how the skies looked. "It's winter, so it will probably be dark in a few minutes. Sorry Karns, this game will have to wait for tomorrow."

  Jeff kicked in the door, finding an empty room. There was plenty of dust but that didn't deter him. Walking into the vacated apartment, he went through the cabinets in the small kitchen. There was nothing in any of the cabinets barring large books. He went to the bed room...finding a collapsed bed.

  "Well, I knew finding food and a place to sleep wasn't going to be easy...I just wish it was."

  Another door was kicked in. This time, Jeff found it wasn't even worth searching. Cats immediately approached him, stopping several feet away. They stared at him, not sure exactly if he was friendly or not.

  The more aggressive ones took the front of the curious pack. Jeff saw the implication. "I'll...leave you guys alone...."

  He closed the door.

  Jeff just opened this door; it was left unlocked. He walked down the hall. Reaching the kitchen, he found cans of food. Taking one out, he looked at the bottom. It had the expiration date on it. "I don't know what day today is...but I'm going to take a guess this is bad."

  He tossed it casually behind him. Going to another section of cans, he pulled out a can of soup. Turning this one over, he found this one had no expiration date. Turning it back, he looked at the label.

  Giving a shrug, "Beggars can't be choosers."

  An hour later, Jeff was sitting next to the fireplace. The open can was hovering above the flames. He was using a long metal extension to keep his hands away from the hot can. The label had long since burned off into ashes.

  Carefully, Jeff removed the can from the fire. Still holding it with the metal grips, he put the his off-hand over the can to test the soup's temperature. Satisfied, he took a nearby bowl - one that had severe cracking on it - and poured the meal into it. Some liquid leaked. Jeff quickly grabbed a cloth to plug it.

  With that done, he began eating it. Jeff clearly didn't like it. But he powered through, knowing it probably was going to be the only thing he would eat for a long while.

  He finished the bowl. The only thing he could say to himself, "I hope that won't do something to my stomach."

  He moved down the hall to a closed door. Opening it, he found something unpleasant: in the bed lay a skeleton. It wasn't clean, patches of flesh still kept many of the limbs attached. There was no smell. The window was left cracked open. Instead of being repulsed, Jeff was saddened. He knew exactly what happened.

  "In the confusion of the evacuation, everyone forgot this guy. He was just left alone, and has been alone all this time."

  His hand was still on the doorknob. All Jeff did, all he could do, was look at the remains and reflect upon the sight. Getting back into the real world, he decided to walk away. "I'll leave you alone for the night. It's the least I can do."

  He softly closed the door behind him.

  Jeff was sleeping on an old couch. He had the stun-pistols lying on the table in front of him, and the scan-glasses were on his face. Sunshine blinded him back to the waking world.

  Groggy, he got up. Jeff had to look around to reorient himself. It was a completely different place because now the apartment was lit. Getting up, he took the guns and holstered them back up. Shifting over, he grabbed the vest that hung from the back of the couch. Strapping it back onto himself, he couldn't help but keep looking at the bedroom door.

  He grimly decided to deal with that situation.

  Walking into the room, he looked at the bed itself. The sheets had remained. Afraid of causing further problems, he decided to grab the edge of the cloth. The first one he simply pulled it out from under the bed. He repeated this for each corner.

  With the sheets loose, he pulled one corner into the center. Reaching over, he pulled the opposite and tied the two ends together.

  The snow had piled up over night. Entire roads was filled with the white coating. It was still snowing heavily enough that it was piling up on the bed-sheets. Jeff had to drag the entire impromptu bag, not having the strength or care to carry it in-hand. It still wasn't easy work. The task wa
s made worse after having to drag it down several sets of stairs.

  Finally, he arrived at the taxi. He had to leave the bundle behind for a short bit, going to the front seat. He opened the car, not having cared to lock the door the night before. He had to search for a lever or switch. Then he found the button and pressed it. The trunk automatically lifted up its door. With that, he went back to the body.

  Attempting to keep everything together, he lifted the bundle and set them into the trunk. It wasn't easy, as he had trouble keeping a good grip. But he did it on his first attempt, not dropping the remains.

  Closing the trunk, Jeff said to himself, "Now to find someplace better for you to rest."

  The air was grim, despite the bright light reflecting off the snow. Stones towered over the layer of white. Most were in good condition, though some had fallen long ago.

  Jeff was lucky that he found an open grave. He didn't see any bodies or coffins, or even a gravestone yet placed. He supposed this was as good as any. The car was parked only a few feet away. He was holding the wrapped remains.

  A problem arose. The grave was six feet down, no ladder or pulley to gently lower the remains down with. Jeff looked around, confused in not knowing exactly what to do. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

  "Sorry, guy. This will hurt only once."

  He leaned over and dropped the skeleton into the grave. It gave an audible thump but otherwise looked fine. Then again, it was still wrapped in the bed sheets, so no one could accurately attest to the condition of the remains.

  Jeff walked away, returning with a snow shovel. He used it to push huge piles of dirt and snow into the grave.

  After more than an hour of work, he was roughly finished. Sweat leaked from every pore. He had long removed his coat, but didn't dare remove the vest. The last thing he did was find a large stone and hall it over the now-covered grave. He was breathing heavy, a bit exhausted.

  "I'm surprised that took only two hours...I think." He generally had a good sense of time, even though he didn't have a watch.

  He got into the car, intending on resting. His eyes was almost closed when something caught the corner of his eye. The glasses had found a person, very likely Karns, in a tall building. This woke him back up, giving him energy he didn't know he had before.

  Jeff quickly took off the scan-glasses, looking at them. He shrugged, "I guess the lack of electrical activity gives this thing better range. At least I hope that's why."

  Putting them back on, he double-checked that there was a person in that building. It was a quarter of the way up in the building that was at least twenty floors high.

  Jeff put the car into drive. Before driving off, he gave a nod to the grave. "Thanks."

  Jeff exited from the stairway. It was dark, but he did not hold a flashlight. Instead he was guided completely by a night-vision mode in his glasses. He didn't find it the best option, bumping into a few things he couldn't see in his peripheral vision.

  He roughly walked toward the signal. Moving slowly, he scanned the hall to make sure there was no traps set for him. Then he arrived to the closed door that would reveal Karns. Jeff had no doubt that it was locked. So he readied himself, not telling exactly what Karns was doing or which way he faced. He removed one of the stun-pistols, preferring to hold it in both hands.

  He kicked in the loose door. Diving in, he aimed his weapon at Karns. The opponent had reacted fast, aiming his own pistol at Jeff.

  "Hello, Mr. Hunter."

  Jeff and Karns held their respective weapons at each other. Karns looked at the stun-pistol with curiosity.

  "I see you've been collecting a few things yourself," Karns said to his enemy.

  "Yeah. And I'm tired of hearing your voice," Jeff retorted.

  Jeff shot at Karns, not giving him the chance to react. The bolt of light hit him directly in the chest. Karns fell down onto the floor, unconscious. But then Jeff heard something. Looking onto the ground that Karns stood, a peddle had been released.

  The floor beneath Jeff gave way. He didn't fall far, only to the next floor. But it was far enough to hit his leg hard. Pain shot throughout his body. Jeff screamed out, then looked back up.

  He lie on the floor, rolling over onto his back.

  With his glasses, he saw Karns was still there, still asleep. Jeff tried to get up, but more pain went straight through his left leg. As much as he could, he couldn't get up under his own power.

  Rolling back over onto his belly, he tried crawling to the wall.

  Then a new creak sounded below him. Jeff quickly reacted, rolling back over and launching the grappling beam. It hit the ceiling just in time, having the floor below him collapse.

  He hung there, looking down at the much lower floor. It was several floors down before he could see rubble. He looked around to find the rest of the room's floor had fallen. The walls and main supports were strategically left standing. The nearest platform was a doorway, closed and too far for Jeff to swing.

  Looking back up, there was the tantalizing glimpse of Karns. He still was asleep, right above Jeff. "Damn."

  He began to lower himself down to the floor, far below and away from his chance to get Karns.

  Jeff drove the car right where an ambulance would normally park. The car door opened, a huge stick poked out. Attached to it was Jeff. He was stepping almost awkwardly with his good foot. Subsequently he dragged out his left, broken foot.

  Using the excessively large stick as a cane, he limped toward the hospital door. The glass was still there. Jeff simply took out his pistol - the one with actual bullets - and shot the glass several times.

  Multiple spider-webs appeared in the glass. Jeff stood on one foot, careful not to get on his broken leg, and used the stick to smash the glass away. Walking the best he could, he traveled over the glass, not caring much about the damage.

  Jeff first went to the emergency room, hoping that there would be something to help his leg. The medicine cabinet had only bottles labeled with complex names; useless unless you knew each one of the medicines. He moved onto another cabinet, finding nothing there of use. Only various instruments that no one bothered to pick up.

  Another room, this time a examination room. Standing high, the upper cabinets were first explored. They lacked anything; long raided when the evacuation occurred. Jeff sighed. He slid the stick wide, carefully sliding down onto his good knee. Now on the ground, he opened the nearest cabinet.

  Immediately inside was a boot. It was designed to go right up to the knee. "I guess this is what I've got."

  Jeff got back up, this time more awkwardly now that he had to balance the boot in hand with the stick in the other. He intended to walk over to the bed only to find it lacked a mattress. He sighed, knowing that he had to deal with walking to the next room.

  He slowly hobbled out of the room, holding the boot in one hand.

  Two years ago

  The early morning light was showing. Jeff was gathering the last of his notes into his briefcase. He was in the his study, upstairs across from the bedroom. The papers were normal for work, but where he was gathering them wasn't.

  He sneezed. Then sniffled. Jeff had a cold, anyone could tell just by hearing him.

  Kara walked in, wearing a robe. She leaned on the frame of the door, showing that she knew better. "Where are you going?"

  Jeff looked directly at her. He knew what she was going to say, but he wanted otherwise. "I'm going to work. There's several tests I have to perform, not to mention..."

  Kara cut him off. "Then don't. You're sick, Jeff. And not just a little. I felt your forehead this morning. You. Have. The. Flu. Get back into bed."

  In all his years, he never skipped class or work. He survived worse. "I can't. There's so much to do and I..."

  Kara continued not letting Jeff have the last word. "I may not know what you're doing, but I do know that Brian can take care of everything you can name. Make the call and get back into bed."

  Jeff set the suitcase back down, defeated. Turning back around, he walked next to Kara when she put a hand up.

  "Don't you give that flu to me either."

  Jeff remarked, "You aren't going to make this fun at all."

  "Not until you stop sneezing," It was an almost playful comment. "Now, get back to bed."

  Jeff gave a closed-mouth laugh. Leaving the room, once again he sneezed.

  Present day

  Jeff got up onto a stretcher. It didn't look all too good itself, but was one of the few functioning beds left in the hospital. The room stretched long, showing that it used to hold multiple patients. Separation between where each patient would sleep was long gone. With the curtains torn down and machines taken away, it was just one large room rather then multiple smaller ones.

  Looking out into the white streets outside, he gave a sigh. The winter weather was calm, but still very heavy. Driving maybe difficult. Walking maybe worse now with his leg.

  Turning back to business, Jeff took the boot that he had carried. It was placed next to him, just far enough that he missed sitting on it when he got up onto the stretcher. Moving his foot up wasn't entirely painless. Once he could reach, he removed his shoe.

  "I hope that this is all this leg needs."

  Now he took the medical boot and put it on. It was snug, but didn't feel restrictive enough for his leg to heal. With a little pain, he twisted it around, looking for some form of instruction.

  Then there was a button. It was next to a valve where it would normally be inflated. Luckily for Jeff, there was a backup mechanism.

  He began repetitively pressing the soft button, inflating the boot's interior. It had taken a while for him to fully inflate the boot. When it was done, Jeff got off the stretcher. He was able to get onto the boot without too much pain - at leas
t enough that he can handle.

  "This should last a few days...until I can go into a universe with proper medical care."

  Walking around the halls, he still wasn't as swift as he liked to be. Moving towards the entrance, he stopped at another patient room. Staring outside, he began to think of his next move.

  "Karns should be waking up any moment. Considering, I can't come to him. Plus, I think going onto his turf isn't the best idea. So the question becomes...how can I lead him to me?"

  He walked back towards the room he put on the boot. It was a long way to pace, but he had to do it. Jeff paced around the entire hallways of the ground floor. The walking took put took away from any distractions, and it kept him warm. The temperature in the hospital, or most any room in the entire city, was far from preferable. The snow didn't help that matter.

  He winded down several different hallways. This kept his mind further away from his injuries. It was dark, he had to use the flashlight throughout his pacing. Here, in the dark hall somewhere within the hospital, Jeff stopped. He looked up, at where the lights that had remained.

  "What's the one thing that Karns lacks in this world: Electricity." He looked back down, but continued to elaborate to himself about the idea. "They probably already used any generators here in the hospital. That's presuming they could even keep them secure. No, I'd have to look someplace that no one else would have thought there be a power generator....The power company!"

  It was getting late when Jeff arrived at the power company. The building was much larger than the telephone company's. This was the main station for the entire city. Turning the key back, he shut down the taxi. He got out and noted to himself, "It's almost night. That'll make any lights that much more noticeable."

  The building itself appeared unremarkable. The surrounding area was filled with various lines and metal frames that carried the electricity outward. A closer inspection would show all of the signs were made of multiple light bulbs, un-powered for ages.

  Jeff made the short trek into the dark building. The interior didn't betray that expected darkness. He actually found it darker than any other building he had been in. There were no windows, nothing that would give any outside illumination. By design, it would all have been illuminated by the many lights on the ceiling.

  Not too far inside, Jeff waved the flashlight around, searching for any obstacles in his way. He quickly noticed the building map. Moving closer, he found it was an emergency map; highlighting the exits and stairways. Using his finger, he traced a path to the nearest stairway was.

  "If a generator is anywhere, it'll be in the lowest floor."

  Now finding his goal was only a few relative blocks away, he continued his journey inside. He made two turns through well-decorated hallways. Posters had all sorts of advertisements, most had severe amounts of dust added to them. Some had fallen away, their shattered frames a peril to bare feet. Even though the boot was hard on the outside, Jeff chose not to take any chances.

  Then he came upon the stairway. It was next to a pair of elevators which had their doors indefinitely open. Jeff opened the heavy door to the stairway, finding the area rather plain. It was all painted in a light grey color, making it so then even flashlight illuminated every inch.

  Walking down, he made sure to hold onto the railing. He led with his good foot, trying to let his broken leg receive as little stress as possible. The trip down took much longer than normal. It was also far from painless. Finding the door took a short second of searching - it was placed across from the stairway.

  Opening the door, he found this floor to have a much greater mess. Every possible paper now was on the ground. Desks had collapsed upon themselves. Moving further inside, he found the more mechanical section of the station. Various circuit boards, controls and other technical equipment filled the rooms that Jeff searched.

  But the search came up with no generator. He looked around every room, but found nothing. "Crap, maybe I made a bad choice," Jeff said to himself. Thinking farther down alternate plans, "I hope the gas in the car will hold out."

  He shifted the flashlight, intending on heading back. Then he held still. Shifting his head back and forth, he was deliberating between two different ideas. It took him a few seconds to make his decision. "Well, if I'm going to find a generator, I might as well see if I can get anything to repair a bad one."

  He walked across the room, towards a large turbine that was installed. He looked through it, seeing if there was anything useful. Instead, he found something more interesting. "Wait a second...this isn't broken at all."

  He moved over to another piece of machinery. Then over to a control board. "I may not be mechanically proficient, but I can tell if something's broken or not. Everything here is fine."

  A smile came to his face.

  Walking out of the room, he moved to a few rooms down the hall. It was one huge control station. At the main desk, he found the right controls. He mostly guessed at which levers to move based on the labeling. He soon shifted the various levers.

  First, the control panels came on. He could hear the generators beginning to work. Pressing a few more buttons, the generators began to hum even louder. Light filled the room.

  Throughout the city, it started with a familiar hum. First the street lights came on. Then the traffic signals. Finally, row after row of buildings began to illuminate like Christmas trees.

  Karns stood in one such building, couldn't help but seeing the snow shine in the light. He got the message.

  One year ago

  Jeff entered his home, holding a rental DVD in his hand. Closing the door as quickly as he opened it, he yelled out to Kara, "I got the DVD."

  He walked down the hall and headed right to the entertainment room. The room was dark, with Kara setting some candles down. They were unlit, but she had the lighter for that job in her hand.

  Jeff stood in the hallway, "The one you asked for wasn't there."

  She said, "I hope you didn't pick some sci-fi flick." She was continuing to light the various candles all around the room.

  "I thought you liked Serenity?"

  Kara smiled at him, "I did. But I'm not in the mood for that...intensity. I'd rather just relax and enjoy a movie."

  He replied, "Then good thing I got Love Actually."

  Kara looked at him, finishing lighting the last candle. It was of pure disbelief. "You never saw that!"

  Jeff shook his head. "Never got around to it. It was always on the "I have to see that sometime" list."

  Kara walked up and snagged the DVD out of his hand. "I'll go ahead and set it up."

  She quickly walked over the the television, bending down to set the disk into the DVD player. Jeff in the mean time sat on one side of the couch, finding the remote on the arm. Kara walked to the couch, at first looking like she would sit away from Jeff. Then as she sat, she leaned right into Jeff's lap. Pressing a button, Jeff began playing the disk. No menu, it went straight to the movie.

  Kara looked up at him. "OK, Simon and Kaylee were a cute couple."

  Jeff laughed, "Yeah, I already knew that you liked them."

  The two now kept their eyes on the large television. Jeff held Kara's hand throughout.

  Present day

  Jeff was now shoving desks across the room. This one was metal, maybe a bit too heavy for his bad foot. But he worked through the pain. This was something he had to do, and nothing would stop him.

  With it in place, he began to lift it up. It wasn't light; which was precisely what he wanted. Again, the weight on his foot wasn't comfortable. Finally, the table fell onto its side. Jeff gave a very audible sigh.

  "Done. Wish I could take a break, but Karns could be here any second...or tomorrow."

  Jeff went around, to a small hole within the barricade. The entire thing was made of various hard objects, things that would protect him on some level. At the very least, it allowed him to move without being seen.

  He laid down behind the metal table, relaxing but making sure he was ready for anything. Taking one of his stun-pistols out, he set it next to him. He had to make sure that he could grab it at moment's notice.

  With everything set, he just looked up. The white ceiling was bright. Despite the short time he was in this world, it felt odd to have the entire building illuminated.

  He didn't know how long he laid there when a beep sounded. It was a beeper placed next to him. No numbers appeared on screen, just a bell that flashed on and off. That was his alarm.

  “He's here."

  Grabbing the pistol, he rotated his body to a prone position. Remaining below cover, he used his glasses to scan the entrance. He said to himself, "I hope this table doesn't impede on the scan-glasses range too much."

  Then an explosion rippled the entire building. A section of ceiling tile fell halfway across the large office from Jeff. He tensed up, readying for the inevitable confrontation. It turned silent. He knew Karns was near, and would be on him any moment.

  Then a fury of bullets began hitting the table. Jeff waited a quick second before the fury stopped. Popping up, he aimed his gun at Karns, who took cover around a corner. Karns turned back, returning fire. Jeff dove back down to dodge the incoming bullets. He saw that Karns had a rifle this time. Couldn't tell how large a magazine it held, and thus how long he could keep up the ballistic assault. So Jeff went to plan B.

  Jeff dove to the side, where a small hole was. He threw the grappling beam at the wall opposite Karns. It hit a small block, indistinguishable from the rest of the rubble. Pulling it out, a creek came behind Karns. A huge block was being hurled towards his position.

  The villain dove out of the way, into the room proper and into Jeff's sight. Quickly noticing the trap within a trap, Karns ran along the wall until he found a nearby pillar
to hide behind. Jeff barely had time for one bad shot before the villain disappeared. Without looking at his opponent, Karns yelled out, "Cleaver, but you'll have to do better!"

  Now Karns began to take a proper inventory of his environment. Jeff held his assault, quickly changing out batteries for the stun-pistols. Reloaded, he waited to see what Karns would do. The villain saw that the entire office was a mess; the entire floor covered with various papers and stuff that was left. Then there was a stairway, towards the upper floors. He ran for it.

  Jeff shot a few times, but purposely aimed off his target. Karns noticed this, returning fire; taking his eyes off his path. That's when he fell through a pile of papers into the basement.

  "Got him," Jeff whispered.

  He slowly approached the hole that he made. Aiming his gun at his unseen opponent, he felt confidant that he held the high-ground.

  Then a grenade was tossed from the hole. Jeff ran back to his cover, diving over the table just in time. The explosion itself wasn't large, but there was enough shrapnel that hit the table to down an elephant. Jeff heard every one of them as the shrapnel deflected off the table.

  He looked back up to find even more of the floor gone. The grenade had dealt more damage upon the building. Then he used his glasses to find Karns. He was similarly wounded, staggering on one leg. Karns ran towards the stairway that he had aimed for before he fell into the trap.

  Jeff jumped over the table to follow. He had to ignore the pain his foot was giving him. His goal was more important at that moment. He barged though the door, looking down. Karns had already begun to climb the stairs when Jeff saw him. He was at the disadvantage, being too open while Jeff had cover behind a small wall beside the stairs.

  Karns ran back, avoiding the bolts of light headed his way. He didn't even bother to aim his rifle, more intent to get back some advantage.

  Jeff aimed his grappling beam to the ceiling two floors above. Having it to pull him over the short wall, he hopped to the center of the stairway and lowered himself quickly to the basement.

  He kept his eye on Karns, who swerved across the maze of hallways. Jeff got some familiarity of the hallways, running to catch up.

  Jeff turned one corner, then a second. There he noticed Karns had stopped. Jeff knew he was planning something. He waited and watched Karn's shadow intensely. The enemy shifted, as though he was removing something from his pocket. He couldn't see what it was, but could guess by how he held it.

  Jeff made preparations of his own. He flipped open a small hatch to the stun-pistol, revealing a few keys. Pressing several buttons, he changed various settings to it. "Let's see if this works."

  Karns stuck his hand out, lobbing the grenade down the hall. Jeff turned out into the hall, carefully aiming. He fired several shots, the first hitting the mark.

  The bolt hit the grenade, flinging it back towards Karns. He ran away, diving into another room.

  Jeff was well clear of the blast. He had kept his eye on Karns, easily finding him just inside the room he dove in.

  Karns was bleeding. Shrapnel had hit him in a leg, arm, and stomach. He looked up at Jeff, showing defiance in his apparent defeat. "Good shot there, but I still got better."

  The villain gestured towards the back. Jeff saw it but couldn't react fast enough before the flash hit him. He dove behind the doorway, just in case Karns still had a weapon.

  Luckily, he didn't. Karns had gotten up and ran further down the hall. As soon as Jeff got his vision back to normal, he saw Karns just turning a corner. Curious why he didn't take advantage, he looked back into the room. The rifle had been left, showing it had no ammo left. Turning back, he resumed his chase after Karns.

  Jeff reset his glasses, finding Karns once again. It revealed that Karns had moved to an elevator. He turned the corner just as the doors closed. Rather than summon another one, Jeff ran to the nearby stairwell.

  The door fell down as Jeff charged through it. He ignored the stairs, instead running to the center of the towering room. Launching the grappling beam to the ceiling, he pulled himself up to the top floor.

  It took a bit of time, too long, for him to swing himself to the railing. Keeping the beam up, Jeff pulled his leg over the short wall, then disconnected as he rolled the rest of his body. There was one more short flight of stairs before he could catch up to his enemy.

  Jeff punched through the last door. He saw Karns standing on the ledge. The villain was holding his gut, less out of preventing bleeding than to relieve pain. He turned for a short bit, looking at Jeff.

  Karns fell backward into the air.

  Jeff ran to the ledge. As he got closer, he figured out what Karns' escape plan was. Looking down, he saw the Dimensional Transport - the one Karns had stolen. The ramp was open with a mattress strategically placed for Karns to fall onto.

  Closing the ramp up, the hovering vehicle floated up above Jeff. The two had a brief, but memorable, glimpse at each other. Jeff knew he won the duel. But now Karns would very much intend on ramping up the stakes.

  Once it was well above the nearby buildings, the portal opened. The Transport flew into it, finalizing Karns' escape. For Jeff, the marathon continued.