Let the Gunshots Ring

Letter from John Victor, addressed to you.

I still don’t know why you came here. Your reasons can stay yours. But I couldn’t leave you dying where I found you, even though that might’ve been the more merciful thing to do. I brought you into this.

So here: some lessons from my own experience. Since I initiated you, you’re part of my bloodline now. That’s as close to family as you can get out here. We need you to survive. If you do, you’ll build your own bloodline with other hunters.

Life is cheap, and sometimes the only way to learn is the hard way. Right now you’ve got fresh eyes and steady hands. Let’s see how far those get you until you’ve built some experience of your own. Until then, I hope my advice comes in useful.

Excerpts from John Victor’s manual. 5x8 in.

CORRUPTION: It’s here in the bayou, in the mountains of Colorado, and I’ve seen signs in other parts, too. But I’m Louisiana born and bred, so I can tell you firsthand: One day, my little town woke up screaming. People got sick, died in the streets like dogs while their families ran, got back up again like roaches. It twisted the livestock, turned the water. And it’s spreading. [...]

CLUES: These show up where targets do. Following them leads you to the monster. Easier to call them clues rather than think too hard on the truth of it all. They’re like little windows—into Hell, or something else entirely. There’s something moving on the other side of them. I feel it, just a shiver, when I get close. Feel it stronger in the right compounds. Those of us who stuck around, we’ve taken to calling it the Sculptor, on account of the changes happening here: tumors large as watermelons, beetle eggs growing from trees, monsters with familiar faces. Some think it’s the devil, or worse. Others, like Harold Black, think it can be explained like gravity, if we study enough.

Me, I don’t think it’s all so neat and simple. Nothing ever is. So I just close clues right up when I see them, and try to put enough monsters down to hold things steady.

Excerpts from John Victor’s manual. 5x8 in.

MONSTERS: People can die any which way, but monsters are different. They’ve got strengths and weaknesses. Punching an armored one earned me nothing but a broken shoulder when he hit back. I had my knife on me, though, and that cut through. [...]

Some of these bastards don’t have heads, at least as far as I can tell. If it does have one, shoot it. [...]

Bullets are precious, out here. I have to save them for targets and other hunters. But there’s plenty I can throw at the smaller monsters instead. [...]

HANDLING COMPETITION: Someone was tracking the same target I am. Luckily I heard their footsteps, then got low so they wouldn’t hear mine.

Excerpts from John Victor’s manual. 5x8 in.

BOUNTIES: I don’t know how to explain what’s left when the most dangerous monsters die. We call them tokens. They put lightning behind your teeth, and it tastes like metal and sky. You can pick them up, but after that, they live behind your eyes, letting you see danger in orange flashes like bonfires. [...]

PAYMENT: Outside of these corrupted areas, tokens sell to the highest bidder. There’s a saloon in a quiet town just outside of New Orleans. A lodge deep in the forests of Colorado. And most Hunters will do anything to go to get bounty to their backers and claim their generous rewards, even if it means killing anyone who stands in their way. So don’t show mercy where you won’t get any. [...]

DARK TRIBUTE: No sense in scoffing at superstition here, where the dead walk and the fireflies glow blue in the dark. Another hunter once taught me to keep some kind of cup or bowl at my base camp. Life’s about putting in and getting back out. [...]

JOURNAL: Found a bear tooth in the trees north of here. And I thought the dogs were bad. Maybe I’ll make myself a good luck charm. [...]

Excerpts from John Victor’s manual. 5x8 in.

PRESTIGE: This was all more official, once. The American Hunter’s Association came and then crumbled. A lot of us still adhere to the old ranks, though. A hunter with real prestige is the envy of all his enemies. [...]

EQUIPMENT: When I get stuck, I make sure to try something new. But don’t go blindly into a fight with a new weapon. Test things out in a quiet place, first. [...]

TEAM UP: Out of any advice I give you, this is the most important. Some hunters say to trust no one. But a good friend is worth more than any bounty token, out here, and don’t let anybody tell you different. When three angry strangers come for me, damn right I want somebody at my back. Sometimes sticking up for somebody takes more courage than all the rest put together, but it’s always worth it. See you out there.