The Nightwatcher Chronicles: Hunt Turned War

I walked into the sunshine, closing the office door behind me. I saw everyone standing around. Dylan and Devin were arm wrestling, Hannah and Jessie were in the middle of the thumb war, and everyone else was talking.

"Alright, everyone, we've got to settle in. Did you pass out the keys to Dylan, Devin, and Brody?" I asked. Dylan, Devin, and Brody nodded their heads.

"Someone's in a hurry," Hannah mumbled as she used her super speed to pin Jessie's thumb.

"Look who's talking," Jessie said.

I saw Orange Bunny typing on her computer, as usual. I was about to tell everyone to load up when three girls, who looked between 14 and 16 years old, came up to us. They were dressed in Girl Scout uniforms.

One had pale yellow skin and reddish pink. It didn't look dyed, and it looked natural somehow. Another had white skin. Not Caucasian, but a sour cream color. Her hair was purple. The last one had a dark shade of orange for skin color and dark red hair. The one with pale yellow was pulling a beat-up, old red wagon behind her. It had boxes and boxes of peanut butter.

"Hi, my name is Apple Bloom. This is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo," said the girl with pale yellow skin. I noticed she had a country accent. "We are a part of the Filly Scouts, Troop 281. We are having a fundraiser so our local troop can spend three days at Equestria Land."
"What the heck is Equestria Land ?" asked Devin.

Dylan immediately punched Devin in the arm. Devin gave him a dirty look.

"lamaa faealt hdha?"

(Arabic) "What was that for?" Devin grumbled.

“La tus'al 'asliyat mn hdha alqibayl, 'ant 'ahmq,”

(Arabic) "Don't ask questions like that, you idiot," Dylan snapped.

"You've never heard of Equestria Land?!" asked Apple Bloom.

She had us. So I came up with an excuse. I was hoping the girls would buy the reason.

"We are new, so we don't know most places here," I asked.

"That's okay," Scootaloo said. "Equestria World is the best place in Equestria,"

"No kidding," Daniel mumbled. I could tell Daniel wasn't impressed by the tone of his voice.

I looked at the wagon the girls were pulling behind them. The boxes had twenty count package boxes and fifteen boxes altogether.

"How much are the boxes of wafers?" I asked.

"$3.50 apiece," responded Sweetie Belle.

I pulled out my wallet and pulled out three twenties. I took a wild guess at the tax rate. Although, I didn't think these girls would charge tax.

"Do you charge tax?" I asked. The girls shook their heads. I did the math, and the price was around fifty-five dollars. I handed the girl named Apple Bloom the money.

"Keep the change," I said.
"How many are you buying?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Your entire wagon is full. You have fifteen boxes in there," I pointed out.

"From the looks of it, your wagon has seen better days," Lance said.

"Well, it is my granny's old wagon. She got for Hearth's Warming when she was a youngin'," responded Apple Bloom. "It's over sixty-five years old."

"That wagon on its last legs. I noticed the last two wheels are almost about to come off," Brody said.

"Granny has been meaning to fix it, but she has arthritis in her wrists."

While Brody was looking at the wagon, I tried to figure out what Hearth's Warming was. I guessed it was this dimension's version of Christmas.

Levi and Lance removed the boxes and put them in the bed of Jessie's truck. Brody picked up the wagon and examined it.

"I see your problem. The nuts on the wheels are coming loose—just the back wheels. You'll need to use a Philips screwdriver, though. Also, your tires are kind of flat," Brody informed. He set the wagon back down.

"Thank you for checking out my wagon… Mister… um, what is your name?" asked Apple Bloom.

"My name is Brody Kriegel. The guy who bought the snacks is Matthew Wilson," replied Brody.

"Well, thank you, guys," Scootaloo thanked.

"You are welcome."

"I don't want to be rude, but we must move into our apartment," informed Lance.

"That is true. I guess we'll see you around," I said.

The girls waved and walked away.

I looked around at the apartments made of brick and mortar, and the roofs were steel or metal. They were two tall buildings with two rooms on each floor. A triple-digit number numbered each building, and right next to the buildings were covered parking spaces.

I looked at my key. The number on the key was 204.

"Okay, now that we are here, look for a building with 200 written on the side of it," I ordered.

"I got you," Hannah said. She used her super-speed to run around the complex.

I'd see Hannah's lime-green lighting pass us or behind something every few seconds. Ten seconds later, she stopped in front of us. Her shoes were smoking. Then, they burst into flames. Hannah's eyes grew to the size of softballs.

"Holy crap!! My shoes are on fire!!!" Hannah shrieked. "Daniel, help me!!"

"Take them off and toss them to me," Daniel said.

Hannah again used her super speed to remove her shoes and tossed them to Daniel. He turned himself into his obsidian form. I could see his veins turn to streaks of lava. Then, Daniel absorbed the fire and returned to his human form. The only thing that was left of Hannah's shoes were black, charred husks.

"I thought I told Cisco to make my shoes fireproof," Hannah complained.

"Who's Cisco?" Devin asked.

"Do you know who Reverb is?" Hannah replied.

"He's the guy who can slightly predict the future through visions who helps the Flash."

"That's him," Hannah replied.

"Hannah, where is building 200?" I asked irritably.

"It's on the other side of the complex. About 300 feet that way," Hannah said, pointing her thumb behind her.

"Then let's go, assholes," Orange said as she rolled down Jessie's window. "It's hot in this fucking truck,"

We loaded up our vehicles and drove to the other side of the complex. While we parked under the covered parking spaces, I noticed Jessie was still sitting in her truck, looking down at her phone.

I got off my motorcycle and went over to Jessie's truck. Orange opened the door, got out, and flipped me off as I approached her.

"Your girlfriend wants to talk to you. Something private, I guess." Orange said.

I got in the truck and closed the door. Jessie's long blonde hair hid her face. From her posture and breathing, I could tell Jessie was afraid.

"Are you okay, Jess?" I asked. Jessie looked at me with the most terrified look she could give. She was so scared that Jessie couldn't even talk. Jessie just pointed at a text message on her phone.

I took her phone and read the text. Then, I could understand why Jessie was scared. Here's what the text message read:

Hello, Jessica Taylor Anderson. This is Hamato Kornata. Tell Matthew to call me at 519-389-3329. Tell him don't keep me waiting because I have a sniper pointing a .50 caliber rifle at your beautiful little head. You better hurry if you don't want your brains splattered everywhere. See you, you little bitch.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the number. It rang for about five seconds. Then, Hamato picked up the phone. Let me assure you; it wasn't pleasant to hear his voice.

"Hello, Agent Nightwatcher. It's good to know that you and that band of yours have followed me into this dimension," sneered Headhunter.

"What do you want, Hamato," I asked angrily.

"I wanted you to call to discuss a deal I have to offer. Privately."

I motioned for Jessie to leave. She opened the door, got out, and closed the door behind her.

"Alright, Hamato, I'm alone. What is this deal you are talking about?"

"Here's the deal: If you leave within twenty-four hours, I'll leave you alone until my dying day."

"Now, why would I leave? I have to bring you back to our dimension. I'll never leave until you're captured."

"How about I throw your beloved Jessie into the deal, your friends, and your sister?"

"The answer is 'no,' Hamato. You will have to face the music and take us on."

"Well, that's too bad. You have refused a one-time offer deal, and since you refused, there's a price to pay. When this dimension is mine, so will Jessie. When I've had my way with her, she will be six feet below," sneered Headhunter. "Should have made the right decision, Agent Nightwatcher."

"You leave Jessie alone, you homicidal freak. You get even one mile of her-"

I was interrupted by the ringtone. Hamato had hung up. Anger boiled inside of me. The guy's and Hannah's lives were in danger, and Jessie's life was also in danger.

"What am I going to do now? I've got to be focused on protecting Jessie instead of finding Hamato Kornata," I said.

"Don't be such a worrywart, Matthew. I'll protect her," a voice said. I knew it was Jesus, but I couldn't see him this time.

"Not to argue, Jesus, but I have every right to be a worrywart."

"Why is that, Matthew?"

"Jessie's life is in danger. If I leave her alone, Hamato will find a way to get her." I explained. "I know he will."

"No, he won't. He's bluffing to get you to leave."

"Oh."

I felt embarrassed. Up to that point, Jesus never yelled at me. He's made me feel convicted but never ashamed.

"Don't worry. I'll protect Jessie, I promise," Jesus calmly said.

"Okay, Jesus. We must unpack," I'll talk to you later."

Jesus went silent as I got out of the truck. As I closed the door, I told the crew to unload. We grabbed as much as possible and left the TOCB band van loaded.

We walked up the stairs to the second floor. On the door of our new apartment was a yellow sticky note with some cursive writing on it. It read

I'll always provide for you. I will meet all your needs.

I could tell Jesus wrote the note because after I read the letter, it disintegrated, and the door opened.

The best computer equipment filled the room that I've ever seen. The kit had multiple screen monitors and interactive holograms. The only times I've seen that equipment was at the Justice League Watchtower and the Avengers Compound. Orange seemed to notice, too.

"Holy motherfucking shit, man!" Orange shouted. "This is the best fucking equipment that I've ever seen! Fuck you, Justice League. Fuck you, Avengers."

The apartment had a 60-inch screen TV with an Xbox 5k underneath it. Ten Army cots were set up. They had memory foam pads laid on them, with sheets, comforters, and blankets laid on them. Also, the cots had lovely pillows that had pillowcases on them. Nice ones. Each one had a name embroidered on them.

"Don't just stand there, Matthew. Let us enter," Dalton said.

I went to find my cot, but it wasn't in the living room. I found the main bedroom with another sticky note on the door. Written in print, my name was on the sticky note.

I opened the door, and much to my surprise, I saw a bunch of the items I left behind in my room at the Andersons' house. A photo of Mom, Dad, Hannah, Orange Bunny, and I was on the desk that had my plastic lamp.

"I must admit, I'm impressed, Jesus. I didn't think I needed this stuff, but-hey-it works."

"Who were you talking to?" Eric asked. I turned around and saw Eric standing in the doorway.

"Um… I was talking to myself. I do that when I'm in awe," I replied.

"Uh-huh." Eric didn't seem convinced. "Anyway, did all of this stuff come from? The refrigerator is stocked with food, and so is the pantry!" Eric informed

"Jesus performs miracles every day. He's looking out for us," I answered. "Now, let's go get the rest of our stuff."

We finished unloading our stuff. I set up my room the way I liked it. Orange Bunny was wandering around the apartment. She seemed confused and irritated.

"Hey, Matthew, where the fucking hell am I supposed to sleep? There isn't a bed for me," Orange Bunny asked.

"I guess in my bed, or I can get someone to buy you a dog bed," I responded.

"That'll work."

I grabbed my laptop and lay down on my bed. I turned it on and went to Canterlot High School's website to find the new student enrollment form. After looking for it, which took about ten minutes, I filled it out. Some of the questions on the application I had to lie on. Like a question of what my age was and what grade I was in. I put my age as 17 and my grade level as a junior. Most of the questions I didn't have to lie or fill out.

It had about twenty questions on it. After about fifteen minutes of working on the enrollment form, I submitted it and closed my laptop.

I entered the living room, and everyone was on their phones or computers. Orange Bunny was toying with the new computer equipment.

"How many of you submitted your application to Canterlot High?" I asked.

Everyone but Dalton, Devin, Levi, and Hannah did. I told them to get to it.

I grabbed Jessie's truck keys off the coffee table and left the apartment. I walked over to her truck. After cranking the car, the radio was on. It was on the news channel. I didn't think much about it until I pulled out of the apartment complex. A story came on that caught my attention.

Here's what the news host said:

"Well, good morning Canterlot City. Man, this week has been the week for crimes. Just two days ago, the Bank of Equestria was robbed by eight men dressed in armored ninja costumes. They were armed with assault rifles and ninja swords. Two security guards were gunned down, and the teller is in critical condition due to a bullet wound to the chest. The thieves got away with $500,000 in cash and gold coins. That doesn't even include the money stolen from the people inside that bank. The thieves are still at large. Yesterday, city council member Hoarse Hooves was assassinated by an unknown sniper. When Councilmen Hooves was giving a speech when he was shot. The sniper is also at large. I have just been given information about a decapitated male, dressed in the clothing of the armored ninjas, who was found in a dumpster near a local cafe. The autopsy report said he died around 7:25 this morning. The cafe's owner, Mrs. Cup Cake, told the police a group of kids entered the cafe around the same time. They ordered some food and sat down. A little while later, one kid ran out of the cafe. A few seconds later, there were two gunshots. A little bit after that, three kids ran out. Not long after that, everyone left. A group of vehicles left within ten minutes, including a black, jacked-up truck. They are on the look…."

I shut off the radio. We were in a giant mess.

As I was pulling onto a highway, my phone rang. It was Orange Bunny, and I answered.

"Hello?"

"Matthew, you and you're dumb as fuck decisions!" Orange Bunny snapped.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know what the fuck I'm talking about! I saw a news report on the damn TV!" Orange yelled.

"Yeah, so?"

"You're driving Jessie's goddamned truck. That cafe bitch ratted us out. She told the cops about the truck, and they're looking for it."

"Don't get your cottontail in a twist. Jessie's truck is black, and if Mrs. Cake told the police that the truck she saw was black, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. I passed about five black trucks in the last two miles."

"Fine, but be fucking careful." Orange Bunny hung up the phone.

Fifteen minutes later, I found a supermarket and pulled into the parking lot. After getting out, I walked around the truck. When I began walking casually, I saw Mrs. Cake loading groceries in her car. I froze for a moment. If she saw me, she would call the police. I ducked behind an SUV and watched her.

Every three or four seconds, she would turn around, grab a few bags, and load them. I needed to find a distraction.

In the basket were two toddlers: a boy and a girl. Even though I didn't want to, I needed to make one or both of them cry.

Despite feeling stupid, I got their attention and made the scariest face I could. The girl started giggling, but the boy began wailing. Mrs. Cake turned around and picked up the boy and faced away from me. Seizing the opportunity, I sprinted as fast as I could. Within a few seconds, I went to the front door without being seen. Silently, I thanked God for the victory.

I grabbed a basket and walked to the pet care aisle. I quickly grabbed Orange's stuff. Then, I went to the electronics aisle. As I walked, I noticed the computers in this dimension were the same: the phones, tablets, and almost everything else.

Since my old computer is so old, I bought a new laptop at the electronics checkout. It wasn't as advanced as some of our dimensions, but it was suitable for the moment. Despite it being costly, it worked excellently.

As I was checking out Orange's stuff, my phone rang. It was Canterlot High School.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Principal Celestia from Canterlot High School. I wanted to let you know that I've reviewed your enrollment form, and you have been enrolled," she said.

"That is the best news I've heard all day. What day do you want me to come in?".

"How does tomorrow sound? We are preparing posters and signs for a musical showcase this weekend for the first half of the day. I guess it will allow you to meet our students and receive a tour of the high school."

"I guess I could come in tomorrow. It would be perfect."

"Okay then. Before you hang up, I have a question. Twelve other forms came in around the same as yours did. Do you know anything about that?" Principal Celestia asked.

"Yes, I do. My friends and I live together, so we sent our forms around the same time," I responded as I paid the clerk and received my change.

"Oh, okay, I was making sure. Tell your friends the same message I told you."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

I hung up and placed my phone in my pocket. I pushed the shopping cart out of the store and towards Jessie's truck. Thankfully, Mrs. Cake's car was gone. As I loaded Orange's stuff, I began pondering what Jesus had referred to me. He called us vigilantes instead of assassins.

Honestly, I knew I was nowhere near a vigilante. Heroes and vigilantes don't kill, or at least I don't think so. The only heroes I know of that kill are the Avengers. But being considered a vigilante was better than being an assassin.

I finished loading and got into the truck. After starting it, I decided to talk to Jesus more since I didn't know what to do next.

"So Jesus, what do I need to do next?"' I asked as I drove out of the parking lot. I was hoping He would respond out loud.

"Go to that school tomorrow morning. There will be eight people and a dog that I will show you, that you can trust with your and your friends' true identities with."

"Hold up a second, man. Did you say a dog?"

"Yes, I did. Trust me; you'll see why."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You will face an enemy that uses an unorthodox way to fight."

"Can you give me an idea so I can prepare for it?"

"Nope. You have to be able to identify the enemy yourself."

"Thanks for the heads up, though."

"No problem, my son. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Catch you later."

For the rest of the drive home, I rode in silence. I knew that Jesus watching over my friends and me was comforting.

I unloaded Orange's stuff and my new laptop when I returned to the apartment. As I walked into the apartment, Devin, Dylan, Brody, and Justin played Called to War: World War 1. Dalton and Levi were eating popcorn and watching them play. Hannah was playing a game on her phone, and Jessie was reading a book she had brought. Orange Bunny was still messing with the new computer equipment.

"Orange, I got your stuff," I called.

She immediately jumped off the chair she was sitting in, grabbed the bag, and went into my bedroom.

"Hey, guys. Pause the game real quick. I've got good news," I ordered.

Justin paused the video game, and everyone faced me.

"Spill it, Matthew. I'm about to crush the 'Kings of CTW' at their most played game," Justin said

"Are not. You have like twenty kills to go, and we have five before the goal of one hundred kills. Plus, you are using the Gewehr 98, the crappiest gun in the game," countered Dylan.

"Anyhow, Principal Celestia from Canterlot High School called me and said that we are officially students of Canterlot High School," I announced.

"That was quick. I thought it would take longer than that. Not that I'm complaining," Daniel states.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"When do we start?" Dalton asked.

"She said we could start tomorrow. They are using the first half of the day to prepare for a musical showcase that is taking place this weekend," I responded.

"Seriously?" Jessie asked. "We could enter the showcase. Matthew, you said I could book any gig of my choice."

"That's true. You can ask tomorrow. In the meantime, I have some work to do."

I went back to the bedroom. Orange Bunny had set up her new bed right next to mine. I started unpacking my suitcase. Right next to the chest of drawers. After that, I spent over an hour setting up my new laptop.

I had to sign back into some websites and transfer data from my old laptop to my new one. Then, I started searching for Hamato.

Since I wounded Hamato badly, he probably went to a hospital nearby. I searched for a hospital within a two or three-mile radius of the portal. I managed to find one hospital in the vicinity.

I had Orange Bunny hack into the hospital's database. I looked for people with both stab and gunshot wounds. Out of 600 patients, the type of wounds narrowed it down to 250.

After about two hours, I found someone with a stab wound in the calf or the leg and a bullet wound in the shoulder. The bullet was a .45 caliber bullet. The file said that he had dark grey skin and straight black hair. The person was six feet and six inches. I had a feeling it was Hamato Kornata. The only problem was that the person had a different name. I guessed it was an alias.

Then I saw red letters at the bottom of the file that said "MISSING." I assumed that he ran away once the doctors finished his treatments. Then, I decided to read to see when he arrived at the hospital. It was around 12:20 when he came into the hospital, and then he disappeared four later.

"Did you find anything?" asked Orange Bunny.

"Yeah. Hamato may have gone to the hospital after arriving in this dimension. After he received treatments, he went missing," I replied.

"Hm. I have a hunch of how to know for sure it was him. I can see the security camera footage and see it was him."

After a few minutes of hacking and watching footage from the hospital cameras, Orange Bunny found something.

"You were right. Around 4:00 am, I spotted someone leaving the hospital from the East Wing. After watching the footage a few times, the 'someone' is Hamato," Orange said. "He's a sneaky bastard."

"I heard that a city councilman was assassinated, and the Black Snake robbed a bank. The police say a group of armored ninjas robbed the bank," I informed.

"Assassinating politicians sounds like Hamato. Robbing local banks isn't his usual MO," Orange said. "How long do you think he has been here?"

"Long enough to plan a bank robbery."

"True that. I've learned that professional criminals take months to plan a robbery. Do you think he knew about the portal before going to Arkham?"

"Maybe. That does explain why he was looking for something six months ago," I explained.

"What do the fuck you mean?" Orange asked.

"Hamato threw me into a dumpster with his telekinesis when we had our last showdown. As I climbed out, he looked for something in the same area where the portal was."

"Hmm. I'm going to keep looking. You should chillax."

"I should. I have a big day tomorrow. Starting high school once again."

"What grade will you be starting?"

"I'll be a junior. It gives me time to track down Headhunter before I' graduate'."

"Smart,"

I closed my laptop and set it on my nightstand. Then, I lay down on the bed and slept. I slept for about six and a half hours. The adrenaline of worry about cops and searching for Hamato had worn off. My dreams were mainly memories of Mom and Dad.

Eventually, I woke up late in the evening. I got out of bed and went to the living room. The rest of the gang was sitting down eating pizza and MY Choco-Bars.

"Hey, Matthew. Grab some pie while it is hot," Eric said.

I walked over to the counter and grabbed a slice of cheese pizza. I took a bite out of it. Surprisingly, it tasted better than our dimension's pizza.

"Mm. This is good. Where did you get it, Eric?" I asked.

"A local pizza place called Pisa's Pizza. The guy who owns it was voted 'Best Pizza Maker in Canterlot.'"

"And whose idea was it to eat my Choco-Bars?"

Everyone pointed at Orange Bunny, but she pointed her finger at Devin. Devin threw his dirty napkin at Orange.

"Way to sell me out, bitches. Fuck you, guys," Orange grumbled.

"So Matthew, what is the plan for tomorrow?" asked Levi.

"We go to school tomorrow. We make a few friends and try to blend in. Jessie is going to sign us up for that music showcase," I informed her.

I sat down and continued eating. While I was thinking about returning to school, everyone was talking about the band and mainly pounding poor Jessie with boatloads of questions. Sometimes, I would respond to the question. This went on for another five hours. The conversation part, that is.

Around 11:30 pm, I took a shower and went to bed. Thankfully, the main bedroom has its bathroom. I was still nervous about Jessie's safety and the rest of the team's.

Eventually, my nervousness wore off, and I fell asleep. This time, I didn't have haunting nightmares. I had visions of the future.

I heard a teenage girl say, "I'm Sunset Shimmer. Welcome to Canterlot High."

Then, I heard a trio of girls singing. I couldn't make out what they were singing.

Next, I heard a gunshot and yelled, "Run." What weirded me out was that I heard but had not seen TOCB playing Not Gonna Die. The rest of my dream was unclear.

I thought the devil was screwing with my mind for some reason. Thankfully my assumptions were completely wrong.