Chapter 4: Fruit Salad
Hunter ran as fast as he could down the street, but by the time he reached the crosswalk, he was already winded. Little Red appeared by his side, looking concerned.
"Are you okay?" She asked. She couldn't have her player dropping dead on her.
"I'm built to read," Hunter gasped. "Not run."
"Pace yourself," said Little Red as she helped him cross the street. Hunter's breath finally caught up with him, and he let himself relax. The two walked quickly down the street, though Hunter resigned himself to being late. Why couldn't he get chosen by a Hero that could fly?
"Since I'm already late," he said. "Why don't you explain this tournament thing to me?"
"Of course," said Little Red. "Unmatched is the game of kings. Since the days of old, royalty would face each other in grand duels of heroes. You've heard of the Coliseum, the pyramids, the Parthenon?"
"Who hasn't?" Answered Hunter as they walked.
"All built as arenas," explained Little Red. "Places for us to do battle."
"I'm no king," Hunter said after a pause. "That other guy wasn't, either. He looked more like a thief."
"You can thank the ever-evolving nature of stories for that," said Red. "People used to love tales of kings, heroes, and soldiers. Nowadays, everyone loves an everyman."
"I'm honored," Hunter said with a snarky groan. "What's the goal of this tournament?"
"Defeat your opponents," said Red. "Claim their decks and be Unmatched."
"Delightful," said Hunter. He sighed softly. "You know this all sounds crazy, right?"
"Absolutely," Little Red smiled. "But a little crazy isn't so bad once you get used to it."
When they finally arrived at the college, Hunter turned to his companion. He hadn't even thought about what to do with her, he'd been in such a rush. He thought for a second, then nodded.
"Wait here," he ordered as he opened the door.
"Sure, I'll just wait out here all day. That won't raise unwanted attention from other players," said Little Red. Hunter sighed.
"What do you want to do?" He asked, crossing his arms. Little Red shrugged, then turned into a ball of red light floating in the air. She floated into Hunter's cards, which were now hanging from his belt on a stylish red leather band, and vanished. Hunter threw his hands in the air and entered the building.
As Hunter passed by, a young woman with rich brown hair primped herself in her compact. The tiny mirror cracked, and the woman chuckled.
"That's him?" She asked, her eyes following Hunter. The glass cracked again.
"You're right, I should know better than to question you," she said. She finished her makeup and kissed at the air, admiring herself in the broken mirror.
"Not yet," she said. "We'll see how this plays out for now."
She shut her compact and tucked it into her handbag. With a coy smile, the woman made her way off to class. Today was proving to be quite interesting.
Hunter felt a pair of eyes on him as he worked. He glanced up from his computer, but didn't see anyone immediately staring at him. He looked around, and returned to his work, furrowing his brow. From across the room, hiding behind her computer screen, a girl with long, dark hair stared intensely at him. She whispered to herself, her cold blue eyes locked on Hunter.
"He wasn't a player yesterday," she said. A cold hiss was her reply. She smirked. "I see. So things can change that quickly."
Class was boring, but Hunter was glad to have a touch of the mundane after the crazy week he'd had. He stepped out of the building and stretched his arms. His welcome break ended abruptly as his deck glowed, and the red or drifted out. Once again, Little Red took form at his side, stretching her arms. She rolled her shoulder and looked up at him.
"Your school is swarming with players," she said flatly. Hunter looked at her, then started walking. She followed suit, striding alongside him.
"I don't know what you want me to do about that," he finally said.
"Isn't it obvious? We do battle," said Red. She cracked her knuckles hungrily. "I'm itching for a fight."
"You're a child," he said. "You shouldn't be fighting anyone."
"I'm a centuries-old Hero created from humanity's collective love of conflict and story," Red retorted. "Battle is literally a fundamental part of who I am."
"Fine," said Hunter. He walked with her to the farmer's market, looking around for Mr. Wu's stall. He spotted the man and made his way over.
Mr. Wu was hard at work as always, tending to his stall. He finished his sale and waved goodbye to his customers. Then, he turned to Hunter with a smile.
"Hello, Hunter!" He said cheerfully. "I've got some fresh peaches in, would you like some?"
"No thanks, Mr. Wu," Hunter said. "Just some strawberries."
"Anything for my favorite customer. Who's your friend?" Mr. Wu asked as he put together a basket of strawberries. Hunter looked over at Red, who was now wearing her red hoodie and backpack.
"Hello," she said. Mr. Wu gave her a fatherly smile.
"Hello, young lady. Can I get you anything?" He asked.
"Do you grow all this fruit yourself?" Red asked. Mr. Wu chuckled softly as he continued packing Hunter's order.
"Not all of it," he admitted sheepishly. "My wife grows the peaches, but the strawberries and pears come from other farms."
"Neat," said Red. Mr. Wu set the strawberries on the counter, and Hunter reached for his wallet. Their transaction was suddenly interrupted by the sound of screaming and a simian hooting. Mr. Wu grabbed his broom and brandished it with both hands.
"Not this time, you furry little thief!" He cried as he readied himself. A red-faced monkey swung through the market on a line, holding a stolen peach in one hand. Clutched in its foot, Hunter saw a deck of cards. The monkey landed on Mr. Wu's stall and reached for his peaches. The little monkey was about a foot tall, with silvery fur. It shrieked at Mr. Wu, but the man stood fast and prodded the ape with his broom.
"Go away! I have nothing for you!" He ordered. The monkey shrieked again, grabbing for anything it could reach. Red tugged on Hunter's sleeve.
"Hunter!" She urged, nodding to the cards. "That monkey is a player!"
The monkey shrieked once more, leaping away from the stall and running away on all fours. Hunter turned and chased after it, cornering the monkey in an alley. Breathing heavily, he doubled over.
"It's over!" He said between ragged breaths. Little Red passed by him, stepping out of the shadows in her battle form. "Where the hell have you been?"
"You looked like you were having fun," said Red. She turned her attention to the monkey. "Where's your Hero, player?"
"Up here!" A shrill voice teased from above. Hunter and Red looked up in unison, seeing a hunched figure shrouded by the sun. The figure stood, a long tail swaying in the breeze. The figure leapt down into the alley, landing on a golden cloud. He stepped off the cloud and produced a staff. The figure was tall and hairy - no, furry! He wore pants and sandals, along with a vest that showed his furry chest. He took a fighting stance and twirled his staff.
"Alright, Red, let's take him down!" Hunter ordered, pulling up his cards. The monkey shrieked, and its cards appeared as well.
[Fight song:
Hunter touched his card to make an attack, but the card remained frozen in place. The monkey rolled on the floor, smacking one of its cards with a hoot. The ape-like Hero swung his staff, and Red raised her arms to defend. Hunter touched a defense card, blocking the damage. He grit his teeth.
"What's with this turn order?" He asked.
"The youngest player always goes first," said Red. As they talked, the little monkey smacked another card with its half-eaten peach. The taller monkey put his hands together, and two identical monkeys appeared beside him in a puff of smoke. Hunter wracked his brain, furrowing his brow.
"Hey, Hero! What's your name?" He asked as he touched a card. Red made her attack, destroying one of the clones with another puff of smoke. The tall monkey chuckled.
"Sun Wukong, pleased to meet you!" He bowed playfully. "And you must be Red Riding Hood!"
"What was your first clue?" Taunted Red as she swung a kick at Sun. The kick hit him hard, and he fell onto his back. He hopped to his feet, and Red threw a savage punch. The monkey player jumped up and down, throwing quite a fit, but not using a card to defend. Hunter let out a breath.
"Is it me, or is this too easy?" He asked. Red shrugged.
"The rules don't technically say the Players must be human, only that they be mortal. We choose humans because they tend to be better at games," she explained.
"Then why would he choose a monkey as his Player?"
"It was funny!" Sun protested, and a peach sailed through the air, smacking Hunter's forehead.
The monkey beat mercilessly on its cards, and Sun obliged. He sent his clone forth, barraging Red with a flurry of attacks. Red threw up her arms defensively, but Hunter didn't have enough cards to fully save her from damage. Red took the hit hard and went flying. She landed on her feet and took off running, charging toward the clone. Hunter tapped his card.
"Ignore the clone, go for the big one!" He ordered. Red nodded, sliding between the clone's legs and bewildering the monkey. She leapt up, spinning through the air and landing a powerful punch on Sun's cheek. He flew through the air, hitting the ground. He didn't get back up, instead dissolving into golden sparkles. The monkey let out a distressed sound, staring at its foot as the deck of cards began to glitter away. Hunter took a deep breath and sat on the sidewalk. His rest was interrupted by a powerful voice.
"There you are!"
—
Ranger Park was a heavy-set Korean man with cropped dark hair. He wore the uniform of a park ranger - a light gray button-up with short sleeves, dark green pants, and hiking boots. He looked over Hunter, but didn't seem to see him. Instead, he knelt down and picked up the peach. He slowly approached the nervous monkey, who glanced around for a way out. He held out the peach, and the monkey approached cautiously. It plucked the peach from his hand and sat down, gnawing on the fruit. The ranger gently scooped up the monkey, cradling it to his chest.
"Nice to see you again," he finally said, turning to face Hunter. Red shifted back into her disguised form, sitting beside Hunter. Hunter raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Have we met?" He asked.
"I wouldn't say we've met, specifically," the ranger said sheepishly. "I'm Ranger Park. I saw you the night that you got caught up in my battle."
"You were there the night I almost died," Hunter said, his eyes going wide.
"Yes. Sorry about that, by the way," Park said softly.
"You're a Player, then?" Hunter asked, tensing. Red shook her head.
"I was a Player," said Park. "I lost in the first round, and it made tracking Mango down a lot harder."
"Who was your Hero?" Asked Hunter, relaxing.
"Bigfoot," said Park. "The strongest Hero."
"I see," said Hunter thoughtfully. "And your opponent?"
"I think his name was Beowulf," said Park.
"That makes sense," added Red. "Beowulf has experience in killing monsters."
"Bigfoot isn't a monster," said Park defensively. "He's a gentle creature, he just wants to be left alone."
"She didn't mean any offense by it," said Hunter. "It's just hard to deny that some of these Heroes seem to be… not quite human. Monster is a pretty apt term to describe them."
"Well, we'd best be on our way," said Park. He stood up and gingerly set Mango in a cat carrier.
"You're bringing her back to the zoo?" Hunter asked. Park nodded.
"Monkeys don't do great out in the wild around here," he said. "I'm worried she won't survive the winter."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Hunter said. He looked at the cat carrier, then at the park ranger. The ranger gave him a smile.
"Good luck in the tournament," he said. He hefted up the carrier and began to walk toward his green jeep. Hunter watched him leave, then turned back to Little Red.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked, looking up at Hunter.
"Nothing," he said. "Just… I need to make a call."
—
Marian rolled out of her bed, roused by the smell of breakfast wafting through her apartment. She stood up, throwing on a bathrobe over her pajamas. She was still exhausted from the fight from last night, but the smell of food was too good to deny. She exited her bedroom, leaving the door open as she walked to the tiny kitchen. There, she saw a familiar outlaw working the stove. He gave her a charming smile.
"Good morning, my lady," he said. "I imagined you must be hungry."
"Morning," she said, stifling a yawn. "What's for breakfast?"
"I've taken the liberty of preparing salted pork and wheat cakes," said Robin proudly. Marian chuckled.
"In the modern day, we call that bacon and pancakes," she said as she took a plate. She looked at her breakfast. It was admittedly a little burned. She raised a playful eyebrow in Robin's direction.
"I'm afraid my legend never included being a cook," he said with an awkward chuckle. Marian laughed.
"It's fine, nobody died from a burned pancake," she said. She carried her breakfast to the living room and turned on the TV. She sat on the couch and began to eat.
As Marian ate, she put on a movie. Robin joined her on the couch, and the two shared a moment of peace as Kevin Costner flaunted on the screen. Finally comfortable, Marian groaned when her phone rang. She set her plate aside and stood up, hunting down the source of the ringing. She found it in the pocket of her uniform, still ringing away. She checked the caller ID and frowned.
"Hunter?" She asked as she answered the phone. "What's up? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said, his voice sounding strained through the little speaker. "I need to ask you something."
"I'll help if I can," said Marian as she returned to the couch.
"It's about the murders," said Hunter. "Do you know what weapon the killer used?"
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it. If you want to support me, check out my ko-fi at /catapultcrashtester
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