The Wrath Walker (The Wrath Series Book 1) by Matthew Newson (fun to read .txt) 📗

about the earth, but not even they are all that good. Still subjugated by their own fears and petty desires for their own lives that vanish as quickly as a puff of smoke. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve had the same thoughts as I have on this subject. The only difference is I’m bold enough to say them out loud. Still, like you, I hope to be proven wrong by the race of man.”

I pushed myself up to a seated position against the wall. His words chilled me to the core because thoughts like that had crossed my mind a few times in years past. But they seemed to be my fixation as of late. Every time I tracked down a cheating spouse, I hoped to God they were really doing what they told their significant other they were doing. I had been wrong on that bet every time, but I had more pressing matters at hand to deal with.

“You said I’m on your list. Are you going to kill me now?”

The Wrath Walker looked at his watch. “No, you’re not next on my list.”

“Where do I rank on that if you don’t mind me asking, and who else are you planning to kill?” I was horrified of the situation I now faced.

He smiled and waved his index finger back and forth in a disapproving motion. “Like I said before, Brandon, there are four others ahead of you. I will tell you that you are the last name on my list.”

“So, I’ve got some time to try and save myself then. That’s good to know,” I quipped back sarcastically.

“I could tell you who the ones ahead of you are, but then I’d rob you of using those amazing detective skills you worked so hard to develop and refine. After all, you still read all of those law books to keep you sharp when so many discarded those study materials the moment they discover they passed their detective exam. Oh no, no, no. We wouldn’t want that now, would we? However, I am not without compassion, so I will give you a clue as to who my targets are besides you. They are your dying friend’s closest four associates. The first being the one with the least authority and the fourth being the one with the greatest amount of authority in the city of Black Castle.”

“Sounds like an elite group of scumbags, but how did I earn a spot on your prized list, Mr. Walker? I’m nothing like Ron or whoever he associates with these days.”

“Come now, Brandon,” he said with an amused smile. “Please don’t call me, Mr. Walker, it sounds too formal. Please just call me Wrath, for that is what I am, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the next few days. As to your specific sins you have committed that placed you on my list, well that’s something you will also have to discover on your own. I’m not going to spoon feed you all the answers, but make no mistake, you are not innocent in all of this. Perhaps you should do some deep introspective searching to find the evils you have committed in your life.”

Wrath turned to leave, but I still had one question I needed to ask him. “How do I know you’re really what you say you are, and not just another wacked out mob hit man?”

Wrath stopped with his back to me and turned his head to shoot me a sideways glance. “You don’t, but in time you will come to accept and believe who I am and why I am here. By then it may be too late for you. Besides, it’s time for you to say goodbye to your friend on the floor over there, and I have a schedule to keep.”

Ron groaned in pain for the first time since he was stabbed. I looked over at him, and then back toward Wrath, but he was gone. He was nowhere to be found, and I didn’t hear any doors open or close. I’d have to figure that one out later as I got up and grabbed my gun off the floor and ran to Ron who was soaked in a pool of his own blood. He looked at me, and the look on his face appeared to be signaling for help. But then he released his last labored breath, and in that moment, all the life drained from his eyes.

Ron was gone.

I slumped back against the island in the kitchen, filled with mixed emotions as tears lined the corners of my eyes. Ron had once been like a surrogate father to me after mine passed, but he was a vicious, selfish, brutal killer of a man who only cared about himself. He got what he deserved in the end, and that Wrath guy was going to kill four of Ron’s friends and then me. I wanted to get up and leave, and part of me wondered why the cops weren’t already there. Surely someone heard Ron fire his gun, but what if Wrath somehow stopped people from hearing the sounds with some other type of super ability he possessed? He had severely injured and seemingly healed me within a matter of minutes.

Whatever the reason, I knew I couldn’t leave the scene of a crime, and the longer I waited to call the cops, the guiltier I looked. On top of that, my DNA was all over the place. I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed 911 and told them I just witnessed a murder. They told me not to leave or tamper with the scene in any way. I stood and put my phone away and surveyed the scene for some kind of clue to let me know who Wrath really was before the cops showed up.

There was Ron’s dead body on the floor, the broken wall Wrath pushed me into, and the six flattened bullets scattered on