I sat up straighter in my chair as the mark or the Grim burned slightly. Another mark was created, someone's time was ready to end. I sighed and took another drink. What a job. Since I was a child I killed so many people simply because it's what I was born to do. I never questioned my job. Without a mother or a life outside of the Grims it very quickly became all I had. I looked around my dusty room. Under the window were some wilted flowers and a dirty cup of water that had collected so much dust it didn't much look like water anymore. I was rarely home but when I was I didn't care much for cleaning. I really should hire someone to do it I thought briefly then shook my head immediately. Nobody liked Grims, most that would cause was a scene. It's better to be alone. Stay far away from people unless they were my mark.
I got up slowly, sitting my half empty cup on the window sill next to the other. I'll put it away when I get back I thought, then chuckled a little at the thought. I still hadn't put the last one up. I quickly grabbed both and sat the in the sink. There, I thought, better. I grabbed my hoodie and started for the door stopping briefly to fix my long black hair at the mirror. I took a closer look noticing the heavy bags under my blue eyes. This job didn't do anyone well. I turned away and quickly opened the front door darting towards the path to the exit of our village. I had a view in the back of my head of a man sitting in a small but perfectly upkept room and knew exactly where i needed to be.
I walked quickly down the dirt covered road littered with broken vehicles and desolated homes. This place probably looked quite nice a long time ago, before the war. It was surprising that anything was left of the world before. I had heard so many stories from people over the years of how terrible the war had been. People always talked about it in hushed voices with their eyes darting like they could be caught talking about something terrible. I knew some about what life had been like before. Whole roads that stretched for forever leading to many towns full off people. That there were so many people alive that they had run out of space. Food was scarce, not much unlike now. Yet things must have been nice then. From the stories passed down it seemed like a beautiful place.
I realized I had been daydreaming for a while when I saw the sign indicating I was getting close to the next village. I slowed my pace not looking forward to being so close to my target. I knew it was simple, kill the target and leave. No need for burial or announcement. Most importantly though I needed to get back out without people seeing my mark. I slipped on my hoodie and made sure my wrist was covered. It was a warm day and the sun soaked immediately into the fabric. I sighed realizing this would not be easy.
The village was bustling with people both young and old but as expected they were all wearing short sleeves. In these times covering your wrist generally made people assume you were hiding something. Normally people ran away when they got their mark fearing the Grims finding them and the job was done far from human eye. This was one of the rare occasions where we had to go into a town. It was not illegal by any means, it was our job but at the same time people banded together. If we were dead there would be no death. Immortality has always been something people wanted but now it seemed so easy to achieve. If they saw me, I would be dead. Though I couldn't blame them I couldn't question my duty. It was what I was born to do and there had to be a natural order to things. Life and death had to occur.
I slid quietly into an alleyway trying to avoid the prying eyes of the people. The darkness between the two broken buildings covered me and melded well with my dark clothing. I walked slowly keeping my footsteps quiet as to not attract unwanted attention. I got to the end of the alley way and reached into my pocket to grasp my knife. The cold steel gave me comfort in moments like this. I always felt like such an outsider but in these situations especially. Looking around I noticed the inn across the road but blocking my path was a small shopkeeper selling small trinkets she had made. I paused hoping there was some way to make this situation avoidable. I stepped out into the light forcing myself to breathe and tried to casually walk across the road hoping she wouldn't notice me.
