A knee slamming into a skull
A white clothed figure squirming as a drill began to inch closer and closer to his face
A Rubber Mask sliding into place as it's wearer pulled a knife from his pocket
Do you like hurting people
The dreamer jerked awake in the middle of a store. Looking up from his cash register, he observed the various types of sport equipment hanging on the walls.
Baseball Bats, Golf Clubs, Hunting Knives, Long Poles.
The man sighed, seemingly in nostalgia. He wore a red jacket with yellow sleeves, and he brought his hand across the short, greying blonde hair on his head. With the wrinkles on his face and the greying hairs on his head and small mustache, you would be forgiven for thinking that this man was older than he looked.
That's what a life of violence does to you.
The man looked at his watch. 7:00 PM.
So far, he had gone five days without any customers.
A shame, but it was a peaceful life. Far better than Miami. Not a day went by where he didn't think about it
Reading a book on languages to pass the time in Prison
Driving away from the facility, blood on his uniform and a gun at his side as screams and gunfire echoed from the riot behind him.
Hearing, than seeing the cloud of fire over Miami as he stood in the desert next to the van.
In the ensuing days of panic, no one cared about an escaped convict
Getting a ticket. Getting out of Florida. Getting out of America
Settling down in a place where no one would find him
A place where he could find peace.
The idea of opening up a sports shop would probably sound ludicrous back then, but here he was.
Still, this was not a bad place to retire to. A nice little neighborhood, not Miami but it would do. Two big schools nearby, (Goo-Ra and Wilds High, pretty big martial arts places if he remembered correctly,) aside, it was relatively quiet.
Didn't stop the nightmares.
His musings were interrupted when the door opened. A young, scruffy looking kid walked in. "I-I'd like to buy a bat."
The older man stared ahead, expression unchanged. The kid had a few dirt marks on him, and what looked like a bruise on his face.
In the kids hands were a few rusty looking coins.
No need to thank me man, this one's on the house.
"This one's on the house. You can have it."
The kid blinked, not expecting that reaction. The old man continued. "First customer in days. Consider this a one time offer." With that, he handed a bat to the boy. The kid inspected the polished wood. "Thanks..."
With that, the younger man left the building, bat in hand.
The veteran watched before sitting back down, a strange feeling of...something old, and he was soon dozing off.
In the dark of the night, once he was a sufficient distance away, Sone Jae Gu held the baseball bat over his shoulder, inwardly praying that no one would see him as he sneaked down an alleyway to a door surrounded by red light. He took a moment to breath heavily, knowing what was at stake, for him and everything he held dear.
Then, with a hesitant step, he walked inside.
He had to be careful about this.
After all, discretion was of utmost importance.
-END