Huntress

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Samus Aran, fourteen years old,
 
Things aren't always what they seem. I've learned that there's usually a hidden side to things that most people never realize is there. Take the inhabitants of the 84 West Street apartment building for example; to them, the young girl that resided in apartment 413 was a normal human female. One that probably had a family, a normal upbringing and education, and that did normal kid things like play games and hang out with friends. They never realized that she spent most of her time scouring the slums of PC-304, seeking out the worst members of society, and got paid to do it. Though, I'm sure they didn't consider me completely normal; I did live alone, come and go in the middle of the night, and was not very social with them. But I was never one to worry about what others thought of me. However, as I write this, I do find myself now wondering about it. I had lived with those people, but I didn't know any of them much at all. What did they think of me? Probably nothing good.
 
I got up early that morning, much earlier than usual. I tended to sleep late into the afternoon, as most vermin came out at night, so that was when I was most active as well. I had an exercise routine I went through each morning: one hundred one-arm pushups, fifty per arm, one hundred crunches, and twenty minutes on the treadmill, in addition to stretches and the few acrobatic moves that I could perform in my tiny apartment. Though the powersuit dramatically enhanced my strength and speed, I always thought every little bit helps. I didn't want to be too dependent on it, either.
 
While I worked out, I'd usually watch the morning news on the net. The local news, that is, the galactic news wasn't really relevant to me, as I only cared about local crime happenings of PC-304. That morning, the top story was about a string of abducted children. Over the course of a couple months, about a dozen girls in their early teens had gone missing from either their schools or from public parks. After that they talked about a recent swell in gang activity in the slums, there was an increase in shootings and drug trafficking, and violence between rival gangs. Then there was a story about a couple of unrelated robberies and then that was all for the crime. I was mostly interested in the gang related news. I'd probably get half a dozen low level bounties out of it once the police sorted out most of the mess.
 
My alarm rang and I cut my exercise routine short. I had an important appointment that morning, which was why I got up early. I turned off the net terminal, grabbed my powersuit's storage unit from its hiding place, pocketed the gold-metallic colored disk, and bolted out the door.
 
Coming down from the fourth floor, I ran into two of my neighbors having a conversation outside of their apartments. As was everyone else on the station, they were discussing the recent kidnappings. I thought it was pointless of them; why bother discussing something you have no power to change?
 
"Hello, Sam," one of them said as I passed by.
 
"Don't call me that," I reminded her for probably the hundredth time. "It's just Samus." I didn’t get the compulsion most people seemed to have to give me a name other than my actual one.
 
"Have you heard about those abductions? It's just awful," the other one asked.
 
"Who hasn't... I have to go. I have something important to do."
 
"Always in such a rush, aren't you?"

"I just don't like to waste time."
 
"Well, be careful out there, sweetie, you know they're grabbing girls your age. Don't talk to people you don't know."
 
"I don't really know you, so I'll stop talking and just leave." I wish I'd said that just to see the reactions on their faces. What I really said was, "Yeah, I know. I won't."
 
I hated how people always treated me like that. But I couldn't blame them; appearances can be deceiving, I knew what I looked like. Though I'm tall for a woman now, back then I was short for my age, which probably didn't help their impression of me. I was often mistaken for a few years younger. I didn't start growing much taller until I was sixteen.
 
PC-304 itself was another prime example of false appearances. To most of its inhabitants it was a nice, peaceful place to live, clean and upscale. But there was more scum under the surface than most realized, you just had to know where to find it. In the six months I'd been living there, I had learned most of the best places to look, however in most instances it was a case of look-but-don't-touch. I wasn't a licensed hunter, so that meant I could only collect on bounties issued locally by PC-304, meaning the cheap ones. The arms dealer I caught to kick off my career as a bounty hunter was actually a very rare treasure. The rewards I usually collected averaged between two and four thousand credits. If a person wanted to get by as a bounty hunter they'd need to start collecting on bounties issued at the federal level, or at least by a planetary government like Perata's, and for that they'd need to be licensed.
 
I had already passed all the tests and filled out all the paper work, and after two weeks of waiting all I needed to do was pick  up my license. I ran the entire way there. I wasn't really excited and I didn't think I'd be late, it was just that I ran most places, especially if I knew where I was going. It was one of the few quirks I had that were geared to keeping myself in top form.
 
At the police station I met Officer Jansen. I saw him on a regular basis as I was there a few times a week, hauling in a bounty.
 
"Today's the big day. You excited?"
 
"It's the same as any other day. I just won't have to worry about not getting paid anymore."
 
"Samus, come here for a second. I need to talk to you."
 
Despite turning down his offer, he still tried to take on a parental role for me.
 
"What is it?"
 
"Now, you know not to do anything wrong in pursuit of a bounty. Right?" he said placing his hand on my shoulder. "I know it can be tempting to take shortcuts out there. Use your best judgment and don't get yourself into trouble. Ok?"
 
I didn't appreciate it.
 
"And just because you'll have a license doesn’t mean you should go after every bounty you can."
 
"And why shouldn’t I?"
 
"I know you're tough and you probably think you're invincible, but you can get yourself hurt or worse. Promise you'll stay away from the dangerous ones."
 
I really didn't appreciate it.
 
I had developed a small amount of fame even this early in life, though it was only centered around the police station where I was seen regularly. In the back office where hunters do business with the police, I was greeted by the usual staff. They all knew me by name now, and even had nicknames for me, most of which made me cringe. I had names ranging from the completely unoriginal Runt, Shrimp, and Squirt, to the typical beginner names Rookie, Greenie, or Tenderfoot, to ones geared specifically to me, such as Little Mercenary, Prodigy Girl, Fledgling Knight or sometimes Page (a play on the fact that I wore armor like a knight and was young), and a hand full of other names which I can't seem to remember. The hunters generally used less endearing terms than the cops. I had names amongst the criminal element too, but I didn't know about it yet. And I was certain the general population didn't even know I existed.
 
I much preferred the anonymity of those days.
 
As I sat in the waiting room for my appointment, I could feel their eyes on me, my so-called peers. Some must have looked on me with contempt, others with jealousy, some may have even still looked down on me, considering me a greenhorn. Did they share my belief in deceptive appearances, or were they judging me by how I looked? I only knew that they weren't happy I was there, I could feel it in their gaze. To the other hunters there that day I must have been a threat. It was no secret I was getting my license, which meant I was even greater competition for them; I'd now be taking even more of their work away from them.
 
It is not common for a hunter to be human, rare to be female, and unheard of to be a child, though I never considered myself such. What must they have thought to have all three in one package now joining their ranks officially? The fact that I was more than just competent at the job probably didn't help matters. Perhaps they thought I didn't deserve to be counted amongst them because I was so different... Even within the margins of bounty hunting I was strikingly abnormal; an outsider among outsiders.
 
The officer who gave me my license badge first explained a bunch of regulations to me, and then had me sign another form affirming that I had been explained the regulations and that I understood them. Once that was done I finally received my hunter's license.
 
I could now go after bounties issued from the Federation or any planetary government that required a license. Being licensed also meant I could take contracts from corporations as well, though I technically didn't need a license; most corporations wouldn't hire an unlicensed hunter. Jobs like that were either personal security for VIPs or debt collections, and sometimes less than legal things like corporate espionage or even sabotage. I've tried to avoid any involvement with corporate jobs over the course of my career, though I have taken a few here and there.
 
The badge itself was a muted-silver colored, duridium shield with the Galactic Federation official seal engraved and inset with gold; similar to a police shield but smaller. Engraved under the Federation signet, was my serial number, A73959, and my name in three different languages. On the back side was an embedded holo-chip that could project an image of my face and vitals. It came on a thin chain, so I put it around my neck and tucked it inside my shirt.
 
Once I was licensed, I was eager to go after one of the more profitable bounties. There was one in particular I had in mind, the local branch of the Uryten Syndicate. I'd known about them for a while now, and was waiting to take in some of their ranking members. To me, the syndicate was a veritable buffet table of bounty heads, just waiting to be snatched up. However, when I checked the listings sorted by reward, there was one bounty that topped the list at a massive seventy five thousand credits, ambiguously titled 'The Wraith'. The syndicate branch's boss, a human named Xien Ryse, was a distant second at only thirty eight thousand. Both were open and without a second thought, or really a first, I chose the bigger reward. It had only been issued earlier that morning and I saw the opportunity to grab it before anyone else did.
 
I was surprised when the officer asked me if I wanted a briefing on the case. I hadn't known that was common practice. At best a locally issued bounty came with a small information package, which was a rarity, more commonly it was just a face and name; though to my lament I didn't get either. The Wraith was unknown, just a name the police used to reference him internally. As it turned out this was the case of the abducted girls that the entire station was talking about. They actually had no suspects whatsoever, only a list of victims and the suspected motives of either serial killings or a child molester. I didn't know what the latter meant at the time. The victims were all young, human or alpherian girls, between the ages of twelve and sixteen.
 
Immediately the question came to mind, if I didn't even know who I was looking for how would I go and catch him? It was then that I began having thoughts of regret. This would involve some type of investigating to first find the guy. I was more the smashing and shooting type and preferred something more direct than this. But, the price was right and I thought I wouldn't mind a little extra work.
 
While there I saw Shl'ex Bryci, the only other hunter on PC-304 with any sort of skill. Much like myself, by appearance alone you wouldn’t peg him for a hunter. Unlike most, he wore ordinary clothes instead of heavy armor, though he did have a light flak jacket under the long shawl he wore. And while he did carry a small arsenal of hand guns, they were all well concealed.
 
He was thankfully preoccupied talking with one of the officers. I'd had several run-ins with this Seloptian in the past, a couple times out in the field, and on many occasions at the police station. He never missed an opportunity to give me advice on bounty hunting or any other subject for that matter. I snuck away before he noticed me.
 
With the little information I was given, I left, feeling a little lost as to where to start. I didn't know how I was supposed to find someone if I didn't know what they looked like or what their name was. Playing detective wasn't something I was used to.
 
I thought that perhaps speaking with some of the actual detectives on the case would get me somewhere. I learned from them that there was never any sign of a struggle or any other evidence ever found, no one ever saw someone suspicious hanging around at the time of the abduction and no bodies were ever recovered; no doubt why the guy was referred to as a wraith, the girls simply vanished. However they weren't being all that cooperative with me and I got the distinct sense that they had no idea how to proceed either. I did manage to get a list of victims from one of them; names, addresses, photos, and the places where they were abducted. But the detectives weren't much help beyond that.
 
I started by visiting the sites of the abductions. All were located within a particularly upscale area of the station and were mostly public parks; there were however a couple of abductions outside of the only school in the area. Going to those sites didn't really help me much. I did observe the terrain and worked out in my head how someone could be carried off without being noticed. I tried using my powersuit, but despite its advanced embedded sensors I found nothing else useful, no evidence, no trace of the missing girls or who took them, nothing at all.
 
Feeling that was a useless endeavor, I went to see the family of one of the victims. I thought if I learned about who they were, it might help me figure out who took them.
 
I saw the family of the most recently abducted girl, an Alpherian. With the use of my newly acquired license badge I convinced them I actually was a hunter. Though, they seemed to have a problem with me being so young, thinking that the girl's abduction wasn't being taken seriously enough if I "was all they were willing to send." Despite that, I did manage to convince them to talk to me, yet they told me nothing useful. They just went on and on about how sweet and good their daughter was, and how they couldn't imagine how someone would do this to her. I got nothing helpful, so I moved on to the next one on the list.
 
I met with the mother of a human girl, but to avoid a hassle, this time I lied and said I went to the same school as her.
 
"Are you friends with Misa?" she asked me. 
 
"Uh... no, I didn't know her that well. I just felt bad about what happened and wanted to come over here. I'm just trying to make sense out of it," I said, which wasn't entirely untrue.
 
"We're all trying to understand it, too. Thanks for coming by. Can I get you anything to drink?"
 
"N-no. So, why do you think someone would kidnap Misa?"
 
"I really don't know, some people are just sick. I don't even want to think about what exactly they intend to do with her."
 
"I meant, why would someone take her in particular?"
 
"I...I can't answer that either, I'm sorry"
 
"Well, what kind of things did she like?
 
"Oh, this and that, typical teenage girl things. I'm sure you know."
 
That didn't help me any, I didn't have the slightest clue what normal was for a girl my age.
 
"Though, she is into sports a lot, too. She's very athletic,"  she added.

"Did she always stay at the park a lot?"
 
"On occasion, she goes there to play soccer with the other kids in the area. But... she knows not to trust strange adults. How could this have happened... I'm so worried... She's such a sweet girl, kind and innocent, she would never hurt anyone... such a horrible monster, what would he want with my little angel..." Blah, blah, blah; on and on the woman went with a string of sickening adjectives, each just another word for weakness.
 
I couldn't help but think the entire time the woman was speaking how stupid and feeble this girl must have been. I didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for her; it was her own fault for not being able to defend herself.
 
"... and now I know I'll probably never see her again," she concluded, now with tears in her eyes.
 
"Uhh... I have to go, thanks for uh... talking."
 
"Wait... sorry, I didn’t mean to cry like that... You know, I didn't want to say anything before, but you look so much like her... You should be careful yourself honey, that monster is still out there, he could come after you too."
 
'That's brilliant,' I thought.
 
"Thanks, that really helps!" I said, no doubt to her confusion, and promptly left with my new strategy.
 
It was simple, I'd just sit in the park using myself as bait and wait for my prey to come to me, like an ambush predator. Grandpa had taught me about different kinds of wild animals. Concerning predators, there were different types; some actively stalked their prey, which is what I would normally do, while others concealed themselves and waited for their prey to come to them. Many used some type of lure to attract them. In this case the lure I would use would be myself.
 
But, no sooner did I have my plan than I realized the day was gone. I took a trip through one of the parks to take a quick look around before returning home. After unsuccessfully avoiding conversation with my neighbors, I made it back to my apartment. That night, I dreamt of my mother and the demon again. It was... pretty bad.
 
I spent the entirety of the following day at a different park with no success. I sat there with my head back on the bench looking up at the other side of the station's cylinder, bored out of my mind. I thought this was useless, I thought he had moved on to another area, or moved off the station entirely. But, it was too early to make those assumptions. It had only been a couple days and the periods between attacks were often longer than that.
 
Still, I felt like I was accomplishing nothing, and my thoughts drifted to the Uryten Syndicate. Nice juicy bounties, ripe for the taking, all I had to do was go and grab them. That was why I got my license, after all. But, I had to be impetuous and go and get lured in by a big price tag without considering the ramifications. I hated when others made me feel like a little kid, but it stung far worse when my own actions hit me with that fact like a smack in the face.
 
Artificial night fell and I went home; unlike the others I hunted, this guy was only active in the day. As I lay in bed, I wished I had gone after the syndicate like I had planned. I only had myself to blame, though. I was only allowed to sign for one bounty at a time, and if I forfeit the one I was currently on, I'd be penalized and not allowed to work for two weeks. My mind just ran round in circles trying to think of a way out of this situation, which only served to frustrate me further.
 
'Think before you act, moron. I'm such a kid.'
 
I thought maybe I should just go after the syndicate anyway, I had a rent payment coming up and I needed funds. But, I hadn't signed for it so I'd only get two thirds. I went to sleep rather upset with myself.
 
I had the nightmare for the second night in a row. That had never happened before, though I had been aware that they had steadily been getting worse ever since I left the Chozo. They were getting more frequent, more intense, more real. I could feel the heat of the flames and smell the rotting corpses; the demon's visage haunted me whenever I closed my eyes. A hundred times over, I saw my mother's death... a confetti of flesh that rained down around me.
 
Unaware that I'd run from my bed taking my blanket with me, I found myself huddled under the table in the corner of the room, the line between sleep and consciousness blurred. I sat there with the sheets wrapped around myself, shivering, and flinching nervously at every stray noise from the busy street four stories below my window.
 
I would get a knot in my chest; a tightness that made it sometimes difficult to breathe. Despite the cold chill in my limbs I would sweat from head to toe. My mind frequently played tricks on me, too, turning every innocuous object or sound into a menacing entity, to which I was defenseless against and had no hope of escaping from.
 
I suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic and had to go out. Leaving my apartment, I struck out blindly into the night, not caring where I wound up. These were the times I hated most, far more than anything else that vexed me. The sense of fear and helplessness that my dreams induced would sometimes linger for hours. It was the worst, and even though it's gotten somewhat better now, I'm ashamed to admit that even to this day I still hide under the table on occasion. For a brief time in my late teens I was on medication for posttraumatic stress disorder, but it didn't really help much, and I hated the idea of being dependant on it. Only once I'd confronted Ridley back on Zebes did it ever get noticeably better, though I still have the dreams from time to time.
 
Without looking where I was heading, or perhaps I did intend it without actually realizing it consciously, I found myself in the neighborhood of the Uryten Syndicate's headquarters. I was still very shaken up from that nightmare. I needed to do something to clear my head; I needed to... feel powerful again, to feel like I was in control.
 
"Hell. Why not?" Two thirds of thirty eight thousand wasn't too bad for a single night, far better than sitting in the park for days, accomplishing nothing. I made up my mind.
 
To be continued...