Chapter 3

New additions to the marketplace and the only vendors who would stay out as long as able were men selling incense. A shilling would buy one night's worth at this time. The price multiplied with each hour, and people would pay the price. Fredricx and Lucas would as was customary.

Fredricx handed his half of a shilling to Lucas as not all of the vendors would sell at the same price for him. Lucas's smooth tongue and hazy reputation came in handy. Fredricx waited a few yards away as Lucas used his silver tongue. Within a few moments, he reappeared with a lantern and a handful of pence. Small speckles of blood dotted the lantern. Fredricx didn't bother to inquiry as they split the pence.

"Let's go," Lucas urged, "I know Ettie will be waiting impatiently."

As the continued down the streets of Yharnam, the mood was shifting before them. Townsfolk were angry, calling out to passerbys. This part of town was customarily more prone to rioting so early into the night.

"You will be a beast." they shouted, pointing fingers and weapons.

"I'm no beast!" another cried, letting out a cough. "I may be sick, but I didn't take no blood."

"That's what they all say, and then they become monsters," one of the original sneered. "Let's lock him up."

The crowd cheered. They paid no mind to Fredricx and Lucas as they snuck behind. The two men saw as the accused was thrown into a metal coffin. It would be chained shut.

In the morning, they would be opened, and humans would be freed. The dead would be buried. The beasts would be burned. It was expected. Animals were not immune from the mob treatment. Dogs and other pets were locked in outdoor cages to wait out the night.

XXXX

Besides the mobs of townsfolk, who would soon retreat to their homes for safety, there were men and women in black. They brandished shiny weapons, one in each hand, often a gun and something cruder. These were Hunters.

Hunters were a special league of killer. They only appeared when the hunt was expected. They would disappear at day break. Their mission was to kill beasts. They were to kill as many as there were.

Hunters were both celebrated and feared. Sane hunters were helpful, destroying beasts to make Yharnam safe again. Corrupted hunters would kill humans as if any human could potentially become a beast.

They passed a hunter, who nodded to them after eyeing Fredricx. His face was covered by a mask, leaving only his eyes exposed. The hat on his head was a tricorn. The rest of his clothes were spotted in old blood. He carried a small silver pistol and a sword of a kind. A larger weapon, like an oversized hammer, rested, strapped against his back.

Fredricx had never seen a hunter in action. He and Ettie were always locked away, hoping to be left alone by hunters and beasts. It wasn't uncommon for hunters to knock on doors. Helpful ones provided information or even safe passage if incense was low. Less helpful hunters would break down doors, slaying humans. Hunters were necessary in dealing with beasts, but could not be trusted.

"What do you think it's like to be a hunter?" Fredricx asked, nearing his apartment.

"Dangerous," Lucas coughed. It was a dangerous night to do just that.

XXXX

"Hurry," Ettie whined, standing in the doorway of their building. Incense was already burning at this first door, provided by the landlord, which was the only good thing he did for his tenants. This was likely because dead tenants could not pay rent.

Time was passing. Ettie wanted to rush to the bathhouse before they locked themselves in for the night. He was in agreement with her logic. "I want to piss in peace."

"It's 5:02, Fredricx," Lucas kept the time. "Let's leave quickly."

They did so immediately. Their walking had turned into a light hustle. Fredricx paced behind Ettie, looking for trouble.

They passed more frantic townsfolk, preparing for the night. Newcomers were particularly obvious. They were already shut tight. The locals knew there wasn't much danger until the moon was high in the sky.

There were mobs of people, throwing loners into coffins. Even in their group of three, they were safe from this sort of preventative treatment. This had actually happened to Fredricx once before as a child. A head cold earned him a night. It was incredibly frightening, hearing beasts and hunters scuttle around him. Young Fredricx remained completely still and silent that Scourge. However, his mother had to have been even more frightened.

The bathhouse was full of people. As one entered the open gates, it split into a side for men and women. Ettie went right, and Lucas left. When Lucas was finished, Fredricx would enter the bathhouse. Keeping Ettie safe came before all else.

Fredricx watched people scuttle in and out. They went in covered in soot, ash, oil, or whatever substance from their workday. Some smelled of machines. Fredricx, luckily, smelled of fish.

Lucas emerged after several minutes. His tan hair was damp, and he reappeared twisting his fingernail around in his ear. "Your bath awaits, Master Vinge," Lucas teased, the bags under his eyes lightening for a moment.

He shook his head. "Take Ettie back to the apartment if she gets done before me."

"Yes, sir." There was that mocking tone again, followed by uneasy laughter. Lucas would try to deal with anxiety in this way by making jokes. The Scourge wasn't anything to laugh about. After doors were locked, beasts and hunters would come out. Blood would cover the streets. Corpses would be as commonplace as street rats. The street rats would feast.

This public bathhouse wasn't anything spectacular. As the genders entered their respective sides, there were changing rooms, toilets in a liberal sense, and troughs of slowly moving water. Quickly, Fredricx made use off all of these features. At the trough, he undid the strip of cloth holding his hair and shook it out. Rudy orange and slightly curly, it went past his shoulders. Plunging his hands into the trough, he poured water on his face and beard. He used the next handful to soak his hair. Pulling a more than half used bar of soap out from his pocket, he lathered and scrubbed his whole skull. This included the base of his neck and all of his hair. With additional fistfuls of water, he rinsed.

Quickly, he exited, squeeging water from his skin and ringing out his hair onto the walkway. He spotted Lucas as he rounded the corner.

"Something smells fishy to me," there was more uneasy laughter and a fit of coughing.

Fredricx head shook, "Time?"

"5:45."

Given the tall ominous buildings of Yharnam, the streets were already darkening. The sun was barely setting, but the houses, shops, and factories casted long shadows that gave a false perception of night. Beasts and hunters didn't care about time of day. The moon was somehow involved in the timeline. However, there was something about the dark that brought them on, and they would stay until only Hunters remained.

XXXX

Within a few moments, Ettie appeared, running her fingers through wet hair. It wasn't without it's knots as her face would twist as her nails encountered them. "I'm ready," she announced.

It was 6:08 when they were back inside Fredricx and Ettie's apartment. Ettie used a match to light incense and placed one on their doorstep. Fredricx lit another and placed it on the windowsill of their single window. It was still boarded up. Thankfully, no one tried to mess with it in the typical desperate search for supplies for others' own safety. With the incense placed, the door was locked. It clicked shut. It wouldn't be opened until likely morning.

Fredricx and Lucas picked up and placed the kitchen table in front of the door. This would hopefully provide an extra barrier against the beasts and hunters. Lucas grabbed one of the mismatched chairs and pulled it into their living space and sat. Ettie nestled into her upholstered seat with their quit pulled up around her body. Fredricx sat in his chair after fetching a military issued gun from underneath their bed. It was rumored that regular bullets did little against beasts, but it was better than nothing.

Now, they would wait, wait until the Scourge was over, and wait until morning would come. Thankfully, morning would come eventually.

XXXX

The noises started earlier than expected. Groaning, growling, screeching, screaming, panting, and grunting were audible from the chaos. The beasts would die at the weapons of the hunters. Hunters would die at the weapons or limbs of beasts. The hunters' weapons could be heard above all of the vulgar noises, bullets leaving chambers and weapons clinking, rattling, and shuffling.

Although he had spent a decent portion of his life in Yharham, Fredricx knew little of the hunters. They killed beasts, which drove some to kill other hunters and regular people. They were a sort of medicine to Yharham's sickness, which was brought on by actual sickness.

Eventually, they ate leftover bread, slathered with jam, scrambled eggs, and boiled carrots. Ettie and Lucas chattered uneasily about trivial topics including the weather, her job, the various manor owners, neighbors, and Fredricx's scowl. They attempted to entice Fredricx into conversation, but the outside sounds were too distracting.

The noises didn't stop. In fact, they intensified as the night went on. Beasts and hunters fought viciously. Although nothing could be seen of the war from where they were, the gun firing and weapon slashing was obvious. Death was obvious.

The Hunters would eventually prevail as they always did. No one was entirely sure how. However, it was no less frightening as Yharhamites died. They were always lost in many ways.

Eventually, Ettie nodded off in her chair, blanket pulled up over her chin. She was scrunched with her knees to her chest, neck tilted sideways. Her neck would ache in the morning, but it was better than no sleep at all.

Lucas's eyes were half closed. He was drifting off as well. Fredricx wouldn't sleep. He never did. The moaning and groaning were relentless, and he couldn't quite block it out.

Just as all was still in their apartment, Lucas shot up in a fit of coughing. It came from within deep his lungs. It was the kind of coughing that made one's abdominal muscles ache.

He gave Fredricx a deadpan look. "I think it's getting worse." Lucas inhaled sharply, dapping nasal mucus with his sleeve.

Fredricx nodded. "What did the doctor say?" he responded, scratching a spot on his greasy hair. It obviously wasn't washed well.

"Whooping cough."

He let out a sigh. "What can be done?"

Lucas shook his head, "I can go to the Healing Church for blood ministration."

"Will you?"

"Nothing worse than to be a beast."