Black Stained Winter: Chapter 2 - "The Unlikely Target"

It is cold. The winter is already here. The man in white clothes seems not bothered by the cold wind blowing through the gaps from the trees around him. He’s not in this enormous park for a walk nor for sight seeing. He want to kill a person.

He is one of the member of the Assassin’s Order. They are hired by anonymous clients and kill their target without question asked. The assassin who’s in the Great Green Park right now has an interesting target. A homeless man; he’s known as The Hobo. The Assassin has handled a lot of contract before, but never as weird as this one. His previous targets were politician, country leaders, rebel leaders, big company CEOs, and other kinds of important people. But this? A homeless man? Why is someone want to kill a specific homeless man? And how hard is it to kill one?

He grumbles while tons of questions fly over his head, wondering the purpose of this kill. He feels somewhat insulted to be given a task to kill a mere homeless man. Are the upper echelons have low assessment of him? The Assassin want to kill this Hobo guy quickly and then return to base as soon as he can and prove that he is able to finish his contract easily.

***

Whatever he thought about this homeless guy is wrong. The Hobo just blocked his sharp and fast knives with bare hand as if it’s just a normal punch. The Assassin has trained all his life to achieve what he consider as the peak of human physique. His slashes were accurate, fast, and filled with his power, yet this homeless man in front of him simply shrug it off. Forget about finishing the contract easily, he even doubt he could kill the Hobo without injury.

“So, why are you trying to kill me?”

Ignoring the question, the Assassin lunges forward and swings his knife at the Hobo once, twice, thrice. The Hobo ducks, steps aside, and moves sideway; he dodges all of the slashes with such small and precise movement. His face shows that he doesn’t need much effort to dodge.

Feeling his attacks were ineffective, the Assassin steps back. Questions run amok in his mind. Who is this man? How could he do that? Amidst the storm of unanswered questions, at least one finally has an answer; he finally knows why he is the one they sent. This hobo guy is strong and perhaps annoys some people in power, thus the reason why he need to be killed. And he is given a contract to kill a homeless man is not because they think lowly of him, but because they think he can bested the Hobo in a fight.

Unconsciously, the Assassin smirks. He’s glad that the upper echelon still think highly of him. This Hobo guy perhaps is the strongest and most troublesome target he ever has. But, he looks at it as a challenge. Beating this guy may be a test of his skill. Plus, it’s been a while since the last time he go all out.

With one deep breath, the Assassin rushes forward. His speed is incredible, in just a blink of an eye he already arrived in front of the Hobo. Surprised with how fast the Assassin is, the Hobo unable to dodge the first slash and is forced to parry it. This proves to be fatal. By parrying the first slash, the Hobo has given the Assassin the momentum to continue slashing non-stop without able to dodge.

Black Stained Winter: Chapter 1 - "The Beginning of Winter"

The sun has set and the night has fall. The night will be longer now since it’s already winter. The moon is nowhere to be seen, clouded by the thick layer of clouds pouring cold drizzle unto the sleeping city. People on the streets are wrapped tight inside their winter coat, trying their best to prevent the chill get to their body.

On the heart of the city, lay a huge green patch. Great Green Park, a big city park spreads amidst the towering skyscrapers. With it’s own lake, huge open spaces, and areas covered in foliages, the Great Green Park is one of the most visited place in the city. Spreading several blocks, the park is so enormous that most people hasn’t even seen all part of the park.

On one of the corner of Great Green Park, there are camps. A flock of homeless people gather and live there. The authority obviously has problem with it and of course has tried to get rid of them in the past. Led by an enigmatic young man only known as the Hobo, the collection of homeless people rendered the authorities effort fruitless. In the end, to avoid unrest within the society, the city left them alone and let them live there.

Just like every night, the park is quiet and almost feels lifeless, yet the homeless camps are brimming with life. Fire are blazing on sporadic spots across the camps spreading warmth to the people circling them. The people chat, drink, and eat, protected by the warming flame. Although they don’t have a permanent roof protecting them from nature, they seem content with what they have right now. What they do now is just like other communities out there; hanging out and sharing with each others.

On one of the fire spot, sitting alone a young man. He is known only as the Hobo, leader of the homeless man. He has done many things for the homeless community and regarded as their leader whether he intended it or not.

The Hobo’s eyes glistening red reflecting the dancing flame in front of him. His hand is holding a loaf of bread which he bit every now and then while waiting for the corn, his dinner, on top of the fire to roast nicely. He tries his best to conserve the bread so he can use it for breakfast all while holding down his hunger. The smell of the roasted corn fills the area, makes it harder for him to stay sane.

*Rustle* *Rustle*

The Hobo turns his head. He heard rustling sounds from the bushes near him. It’s already night and cloudy, the lack of light makes it hard to see far. Hobo squints his eyes to let the light more focused.

*Rustle* *Rustle*

Again. But this time the Hobo can see it. Something is moving there. “There’s something there, Hobo.” Some of the homeless man noticed it too and start to gather near the Hobo. “Well, yeah, I can see that, guys.” His eyes stay on one spot, not moving at all from the bushes.