I love to share my imagination with you! This time my prompt is: Mystical Map Adventure. Also, this is a wonderful opportunity for me to practice my English writing. It feels great being able to finish another short story before going to bed! :)
He fucked up...
In a quaint shop, rolls of frayed maps are neatly placed in custom-made cabinets, leather-bound books peek from behind the glass of their dedicated spaces. An intricate clock hangs on the wall, its hands ticking away, showing a quarter to three in the afternoon.
Jack slumps in front of his desk, his head buried in his hands, knocking over piles of paper. But he's unaffected by the mess around him as cold sweat beads profusely on his forehead. It's all my fault; people are going to suffer because of me. His bloodshot eyes clamp shut as he struggles to push away the unfathomable horror: The world is going to change... because of me.
You see, Jack is not just any cartographer. Instead of charting every nooks of the world, he marks your desires. Jack's unique ability has brought him wealth; however, it also brings danger.
On one rainy afternoon, the earthy aroma fills Jack's small shop as the bell chimes and a slender, amicable man enters. His steely eyes scan the room and walk toward the desk where Jack, head down, is working with absolute concentration.
Jack sets down his glasses, looks up, and beams a warm smile, "Welcome."
The gentleman nods politely. Jack waits patiently for him to continue, but nothing comes. Jack forces another smile and asks, "How can I help you?"
"You the map maker?"
"Yes." Jack shifts awkwardly in his seat, the man's questioning manner somewhat suffocating.
The man gives a rueful smile as he puts down a wad of fresh money in front of Jack, "I need you to make me a map." He pulls out a piece of wrinkled paper from his front pocket and places it firmly on the desk, "This is what I desire."
Jack picks up the paper and reads; blood drains from his face. A strong foreboding sense washes over him; he can barely breathe. This sensation is similar to a prey cornered by a predator. Whenever a request like this comes up, Jack knows it's a red flag and should immediately refuse. However, for some unknown reason, he feels if he were to refuse, it would be the last breath he would ever take.
Without realizing it, he opens his mouth and utters a shaky, "Yes." The enigmatic gentleman shines a baneful grin.
It is only after Jack hands over the map to this mysterious man and watches him walk out of the shop that the realization dawns: He just gave away the darkest desire a man could ask for.
He has to stop this man!
But how? Panicked, Jack wakes his desk computer and searches for the first thing that comes to his mind: the world's best tracker. With his affluence, affording the best is no trouble. The real challenge is, would he agree to track down a potentially extremely dangerous person?
A few hours later, the tracker walks in with confidence. He offers his hand to Jack and gives him a firm shake, "Benjamin Hound, at your service." He plops down on a chair, crosses his legs, and stretches lazily.
Before Jack can ask any questions, Benjamin inquires, "What did he ask for?"
Jack stares at the floor and feebly mutters, "Humanity's fate."
Benjamin's expression grows solemn. He picks up the heavy bag of coins Jack puts on his desk and ties it to his waist. Before leaving the shop, he says coldly, "I need to gather my team, but we leave tonight." Then he stops midway, "Oh, and bring a gun."
It's a terrible mistake. Jack is hyperventilating as he sees the bloody corpses of Benjamin's team laying around him, the pungent smell of iron sickening him.
How? How did he know we were on his trail? Jack's feverish thoughts struggle to comprehend the horrifying situation.
Benjamin squats down in front of his dead comrade, her eyes wide open with horror. Gently, he closes her eyes with his palm, stands up, and unstraps the bag of coin, tossing it in front of Jack, "Keep it."
Jack tries to stand up, but his legs give way. "Hold on, you can't quit!"
As Benjamin turns around, tears rolling down his red cheeks, he raises his voice, "Who says I'm quitting?"
"But..." Jack looks at the bag of coins.
"This is no longer a job," Benjamin's gaze stays on his deceased teammates, "It's personal now." He picks up his belongings, "You can go now, consider yourself lucky. You just got a hell of a deal. I'll make sure the man you're after won't lay a finger on our fate, and he'll die a terrible death," Benjamin grits his teeth, "I guarantee."
BAM! A shot resonates throughout the abandoned city. After incessant nights of pursuit, Benjamin and Jack finally catch up to the man and greet him with a bullet through his abdomen.
The mystery man is smiling no more, instead, he winces in pain as he coughs up blood. "You don't get it. You seriously think I'm stealing our fate? "
"Save it," Benjamin points his pistol at the man, "don't waste your breath."
The man shifts his gaze to Jack, "I'm trying to secure our future..." his quivering lips now rendered pale. Before taking his last breath, he smiles at Jack, "it's all for you. It's..." his words fade into silence; his body goes limp.
Benjamin casts a curious look at Jack, "What the hell was that?"
Jack shrugs, "No idea."
But he does.
The reason Jack decides to use his ability to rack up as much money as possible is that he can feel his power waning; fate is taking it back. He wants to help as many people as possible before he loses it. Now he finally understands, just like the enigmatic man said, he's really trying to help Jack secure their future. If he manages to get a hold of humanity's fate, that means Jack will keep his ability since the future is still in Jack's hands. Alas, it's not meant to be.
Now it's all gone. Jack can feel it. It's as if suddenly letting go of the steering wheel of a speeding car, exhilarating but terrifying.
Jack feels like all this time, he wasn't the one wanting to stop the mystery man; fate did. Was he really in control? Was he able to chart everyone's desire on a map, or was this all a cruel joke from fate?
Maybe... just maybe... our lives would be a lot more interesting now that we don't know where they're heading.
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