In the beginning

Chapter 6

"How are you hanging in there," Kye said over the radio as my horse galloped along the trail, seeing Grawth off in the distance on the edge of the forest. "I'm fine,  almost to the farming district of Grawth," I said into the radio, "so who Gravel, how is he important to you guys". "He houses people who are getting ready to do hits," Kye said, "he's also my brother, that's how he became apart of this". "Good to know," I said as I pulled the reins back slightly, causing my horse to slow to a walk, "Ive got to go, I'll talk to you later". "Ok, good luck again," he said before the radio went silent. I slipped it into my pocket as I slowly made my way down the road passing several small houses, moving towards a small market place. Most of the houses look empty as most people were out in the fields. I sighed as I entered the market place, finding it was busy with merchants and buyers. I pulled back the reins, causing my horse to stop before hopping off of the saddle. The market was on the very edge of Grawth with a large wall standing between them that had a large walkway in it. My horse seemed uneasy about the crowd as she snorted, shifting slightly. "It's ok, girl," I said as I stroked her head before guiding her into the crowd, holding tight on the reins. People seem to pushed by me as they walked, giving dirty looks and rude comments as they past. Merchants seem pop up in front of me, trying to get me to buy stuff from them. I felt overwhelmed as I tried to get out of the crowd, my horse snorting nervously behind me. "Sir," a voice said from behind me, causing me to turn around to find a grey Canis in a pair of shorts and a white T-shirt, "would you by chance be the man Blade sent". "Yes," I said as realizing who it was, "and you must be Gravel, Kye's brother". "Yes, please follow me," he said as he gestured for me to follow him behind one of the shops. I nodded as I followed him, looking around at the crowd as I walked. "Where are we going," I asked as we walked between two of the shops, moving towards the back of them where the fields stopped. "I have a barn that we can keep your horse," he said as we turned to the left, towards a barn that sat about one hundred meters from the market, "a friend of mine will watch over it". I nodded, following close behind him. "So how many times have you done this," I asked as we came to the barn doors, Gravel slowly pushing it open. "Done what," he asked as I walked past him, leading my horse into the center of the barn. "Helped people with their hit missions," I asked as I dropped the reins and grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows. "Too many to count," he said as he walked past me, grabbing the reins and leading my horse to a pin, "why do you ask". "I was just wondering," I said, feeling a little more confident, "I've never done anything like this before". "Don't be nervous," Gravel said as he locked the pin, "just do everything I say and you'll be fine". I nodded as lead me out of the barn and back towards the market. "I'll give you a briefing of the plan when we get to my apartment," he said as we reentered the market place, "try to stay close behind me so you don't get lost". I clenched my jaw as I nodded, feel uncomfortable in the crowd. I held my bow and quiver close as people looked at them, most likely wanting to steal them. Gravel was a few feet in front of me, navigating though the crowd with ease as I struggled to follow him. After a few minutes of pushing though the crowd, we finally exited the market as the crowd thinned out. "The apartment is about a mile from the market," Gravel said as we took a left turn and headed down the street, "how are you holding in there". "A little uncomfortable," I said as we walked past a few dragoniod in suits, "I've never been to the city before now". "It's definitely different then living out in the country," Gravel said, "more people to deal with". "Ya," I said, nodding as I looked across the street to see a man with a rifle on his back, "do people just carry weapons on the streets". "Yes," Gravel said, "it actually keeps order in the city if everyone has a weapon". I nodded, as a group of people came walking out of a building, each of them a different race, before they crossed the street. After a few minutes of walking, observing the different people in the city, we entered the glass doors of a thirty story building. "My apartment is located on the seventh floor," he said as we entered a doorway leading into a box like room, completely made of metal. He pushed one of the buttons on the panels by the door as the metal door closed, trapping us inside before the room felt as if it were rising. "What," he said, noticing I looked confused and amazed, "it's just an elevator". "Blade didn't tell you where I'm from, right," I asked as I looked at Gravel, who appeared to be confused. He shook his head as the door opened up, revealing a hallway. "I lived on the other side of the mountain range," I said as we walked out into the hall, "that's why I've never been in a city as well". "That would explain a lot," he said as we stopped in front of room 777, Gravel pulling out his key, "I was wondering why anyone would do a hit with a bow anyways". I clenched my jaw slightly as he opened the door, letting me walk in before him. It was a small, two bed room apartment with one bathroom. The front room consisted of a living room with a small kitchen in the back that had a bar seperating it from the rest of the room. A couch and coffee table sat on the right side of the room near the wall with a bookshelf on the closer side of the couch. The bed rooms sat along the left wall with the bathroom in between them. "Well this is what I call home," he said as he locked the door behind him, "it isn't much, but it serves it's purpose". I nodded as I looked around the room, seeing pictures along the right wall. Most of them had him and Kye in them as well as a few with Blade. "You hungry," Gravel said as he walked into the kitchen, opening his fridge. "A little bit," I said as I turned away from the pictures and moved towards the kitchen.  "I don't have much," he said as he reached for something in the fridge, "I have stuff for a sandwich if you'd like". "That's sounds good," I said, putting my bow and quiver down next to the couch before removing my backpack, "I'm not picky when it comes to food". Gravel nodded as he placed a thing of ham on the counter. "So how did you meet Blade," he asked as he closed the fridge before placing some ingredients on the counter next to the ham. "In prison," I said as I placed my bag on the ground next to my bow, "I helped him escape". "That would explain his reappearance before his sentence was up," he said as he pulled out a loaf of bread and began making the sandwiches. I nodded as I leaned against the bar, seeing Gravel finishing up the sandwiches. "Now what's the plan for this hit," I asked as he handed me one of the sandwiches before putting away the ingredients. "Its three parts; preparation, execution, and the escape plan," he said as he picked up his sandwich, "the first two parts should be fairly easy if you do everything I say, however escaping can sometimes get a little tricky". "Alright, then how will we prepare," I asked as he walked out of the kitchen and entered the room closest to the kitchen. "It's simple," he said as he walked back out the room with a rolled up paper in his hand, still eating his sandwich, "we need to get you to where you will take your shot". I nodded as he sat down on the couch and unrolled the paper, showing a map of the city, causing me to walked over and kneel in front of the coffee table. "Your shot will be taken from the fifth story of this building here, right across the street from city hall," he said pointing to different spots on the map, "you will have a clear shot over the street, limiting the amount of obstacles that might cause a problem". "Ok," I said, looking over the map, "where is my target going to be". "He will be walking up into city hall for some business," Gravel said as he pointed at city hall, "you take your shot when he is on the front steps of city hall". I nodded, the mission seeming pretty simple. "Is there anything else I need to know," I said as I finished my sandwich, "other than the escape plan". "Yes, when you get to your post, you'll have to where gloves," he said as he rolled the map back up, "it will keep your DNA print off of the arrows. You will also carry your bow in a rifle case so you can slip in and out undetected". "Now what about my escape," I said as I stood back up. "There is a back exit of the building you'll be in," he said as he stood back up and walked towards his room, "you'll slip back into the alley way where you'll give me the bow as well as your gloves and move into the street. From there, you'll come back to the apartments where we'll debrief before you go back to the village". "Seems simple enough," I said as he disappeared into his room before reappearing with a rifle case, "when do we get started". "Tomorrow, before dawn," Gravel said as he walked over to my bow, placing the case down next to it, "have you touched any of the arrows since you got them". I shook my head as he pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket before putting them on. "Good," he said as he pulled a few arrows our of the quiver and placed them on the rifle case before placing my bow inside, "the less fingers prints there are, the better". He closed the rifle case before leaning it against the side of the couch. "lets get you set up in the guest room so we can get some rest for tomorrow," he said as he grabbed my bag and handed it to me before leading me to the room farthest away from the kitchen. "It's a pretty simple set up," Gravel said as we walked into the room, "extra blankets and pillows are in the closet. Also there is a pistol in the nightstand if someone were to break in during the night, but that is unlikely". I nodded as I set my bag onto the bed, looking around the room. It was big enough for one person to sleep in with the bed against the right wall and a closet on the left.  The nightstand sat against the back wall next the head of the bed, a lamp sitting on top of it. "Also if you need to, you welcome to shower," he said as he began walking out of the room, "if there's anything else you need just let me know". I nodded as he disappeared out the door, leaving me alone to get ready for the night.