Wish Hunters
Reality has it that people would do anything for a wish. But for Sarah, a young woman of 30 with the blonde hair, has this much to say about wishes. That they are dangerous, anti-climatic, and it could cause destruction on the planet. However, as the saying goes, always wish a person for the best, even though that kind of wish may not come true.
Sarah was part of an organization that hunts down a race of djinns. These days, the djinns were scattered throughout the world, unknowingly granting every desire that a person needs, desperately. But Sarah had her own wish, not that she wanted to ask the djinn for it, but she had to work hard for it. Earning a wish takes a lot of time and patience, and once you focus on your goals, anything can come true.
Sarah's former partner, Taylor made a wish that brought his family back to life. Yes, he did it because he couldn't live himself all alone, drinking, and smoking 24 hours a week. It was a brutal thing for Taylor, and he had no other choice. Rather meeting a psychiatrist or a friend for help, he sought out a dangerous djinn, who liked to toy around with people's wishes. Taylor knew the risk. After all, he had once caught this damn thing from the Nether-Realm, where the djinns, and other magical beings reside. The powers of a djinn were so vast that the criminals of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on. Taylor knew what he was doing, and Sarah didn't like it.
On the contrary, Taylor got his wish. But there was always a price. And the djinn named Sahir had reminded him that once his family were back, he'll soon be dead. Taylor knew something will happen to him, but it depends in a matter of time. A few weeks later, Taylor was found dead in his rented apartment. His throat was completely slashed with an ancient dagger. Sarah couldn't look at him, when she and the other Wish Hunters were called in. It was a sad sight, but the question remains, why would Sahir leave a dagger behind?
"He's toying with me," Sarah said to herself. "He knows who I am." She clenched her teeth. One of the Wish Hunters named Cole came up to her, and said, "Hey Sarah, are you alright?" Sarah didn't reply back to him. She just stared at her former partner, and the dagger lying on the bed. She picked up the dagger, examining it.
"Jesus Christ," Cole said, almost in a whisper. He just couldn't believe it. He and Taylor went all the way back. After they joined the organization, they became fast friends. Knowing that hunting djinns would prove a difficult task, Taylor had that lucky charm, thinking he could do anything right. He may be overconfident though, but he was always friendly to him.
"Look, Sarah," Cole said, overlooking the mess. "Let's clean this up." He barked orders to the other Wish Hunters. Two of them were carrying Taylor's body.
Sarah felt like crying, but she couldn't. Not right now. She had to find Sahir, and make him pay for what he did to Taylor. She looked at Cole, who was still waiting for her. She just said, "Okay."
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People were drinking, smoking, and having sex. What can the world ask for? Here in the nightclub, a black-haired woman noticed a very, handsome man, who looked devilish enough to have sex with. But the man cared less about her. He wore a suit just like any businessman, hanging around the club. But the only difference was that he had a goatee right up to his chin, and that makes anyone think he was some sort of devil in disguise. Sahir looked at the woman, and just smiled.
"Hello," the black-haired woman said, smiling back at him. She tilted her glass of red wine, and sipped it, while staring at Sahir. She wasn't the only woman in this bar, who got the hots for the devilish-looking man. Sahir can hear several giggles behind him, despite the loud music.
"What a night," Sahir said. "I have never seen quite a place such as this." He thought if he could start the conversation, the woman might want to ask a wish from him. Although she looked very attractive, wearing the black sleeve dress, and showing half of her leg, she wasn’t his type. Since, he had nothing else in mind, he might as well speak for himself.
"Yes, it is," the woman said. "I'm just beat. I really wish something. You know...”
Sahir turned towards the woman, and said, "A wish you say? Now..." He paused, looking over the heavy crowd, and continued, "How would you know that I'm..." He stopped for a moment, wondering if the woman can see through him.
"A djinn?" the woman said. She sipped her wine, and came slowly towards him. Sahir can smell the strong perfume, coming from her skin. It was exotic, and charming. She had those red lips that would make any man attracted to her. A thin-looking woman, but not too thin. The woman stroked his tie.
"I just found out from a friend," the woman answered the djinn. "He said the djinn was named Sahir. He took a photo of you."
"I see," Sahir said, sipping his red wine. "So you want to wish for something."
"Yeah, just one wish," the woman said. "Is that too much to ask?"
Sahir thought of that. Of course, humans in this world would ask too many wishes. But according to djinns, they can grant only one wish. He wasn't some blue genie, who can grant three wishes at a time, for each person. It was too much.
"No, it isn't," Sahir said. "But what would you wish for?
The woman stopped stroking his tie, looking around to see if anyone was hearing their conversation. She looked back at him, and said, "I know this sounds crazy, but..." She paused, and breathed for a little while. Then she continued, "I've always wanted to be a vampire."
Sahir almost spilled his wine on the floor, and laughed. The other party-goers stared at him, thinking that he was drunk.
The woman felt embarrassed. She knew it was one crazy wish, which she would ask for. So what? Everyone ask for crazy wishes these days.
Sahir stopped laughing, and said, "You're serious? Woman... You don't know what you're saying!"
The woman got up from the stool, and thought it was a bad idea. "I should be going. Sorry to waste your time." She was about to walk away from Sahir, but he caught her wrist, right-handed.
"No, I'm sorry," Sahir said. "Come and sit down. Come." The woman just stood there, and looked at him. Then, she sat back on the stool beside him.
"I'll grant you the wish," Sahir said. "Are you sure you want this?"
The woman nodded.
"Now," Sahir said. "Why do you want to become a vampire?"
The woman thought for a moment, and said, "Well... I've read a lot of vampire literature, and have seen a lot of vampire movies, and TV shows, and..."
"Okay. Okay. Stop." Sahir wanted to laugh. "Sorry to interrupt. I'll grant it. Just... hold my hand."
"Okay?" the woman said, confused. She stared at his hand, the smooth lines of a handsome man. She thought of having sex with him, but at first glance, she didn’t know it could be safe. Having sex with a djinn could be highly unusual.
She held his hand. Then, Sahir chants a whisper of words to himself. The woman couldn't hear him.
"It's done," Sahir said, letting go of her hand. "You'll wake up as a vampire the next day."
"Okay..." the woman said, confused again. "Well... Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome.” He drank the rest of the wine in one gulp.
The woman looked at the djinn, strangely. After all, he was a djinn. What else did she expect? Having sex with him, even though he was handsome? There was nothing strange about that. She wanted her wish in the first place.
As she walked off from the bar, and said goodbye, the loud music interrupted the djinn's words. He said these very words, "There's a price to pay."
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Outside the club, the car was waiting, parked on the corner of the street. The sky was dark enough to rain all night long. Although the weather forecast predicted the bad weather conditions, the party-goers couldn't stay at home, and get bored. So they went out, having a good time.
Sarah stared at the club, hoping that Rashim was right about its location. Of course, Rashim was always right about anything. After all, he was a half-human, half-djinn. Unlike most djinns, Rashim couldn't grant any wish. He was just lucky enough to get anything right. He had never made a mistake in his life, and that annoyed Sarah.
Cole was sitting beside Sarah on the driver's seat, drinking his black coffee. He said, "Are you sure this is the place? It looks crowded to me."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Sarah said. "Hey, listen..." She turned towards Cole, and said, "What do you think of Rashim?"
Cole stopped sipping his coffee. He looked outside the window, hitting hard by the sprinkling rain, and said, "Well, I don't know, Sarah. I guess he's way too perfect. Is that a problem?"
Sarah said, "Is it? I don't know, either."
"Look, Sarah," Cole said. "I know it's not fair for a guy like Rashim to be perfect. But... Come on! He's a half-djinn. What do you expect?"
"I know," Sarah said. "But..." she stopped, wondering. "Not one mistake?"
"Nope," Cole said. "Not one. The guy's too lucky." He sipped his coffee. "Anyways, about that dagger..." Cole paused, changing the subject. "The forensics have confirmed it's true nature. It goes back to the Arabian roots, I think. If you know what I mean..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sarah said. "But why would Sahir murder Taylor with a weapon?"
"Who said anything about Sahir murdering Taylor?" Cole finished his coffee, and placed it in the empty holder. He didn't know that this was the right time to say something dreadful. He rubbed his head, and said, "Sarah... Taylor killed himself. He bought the dagger from some antique store."
"What?!" Sarah said. "Oh my God. No... You're... You're not serious."
"I'm afraid so," Cole said. "I don't know what to say. Taylor wouldn't do something like that. But who knows? He was miserable enough, not to have his family around, after they were dead. Now that they are back..." Cole stopped, rubbing his head again. "Oh God... I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm so sorry. I know this is a bad time. I thought you should know."
Sarah felt silent, looking ahead on the street. The rain stopped. By the looks of it, the party-goers were coming out of the club. Sahir finally stepped out.
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In this day and age, Sahir never thought to see the homeless people wandering, and sleeping around the streets. He remembered a homeless guy, wanting to get rich a year ago. He got his wish alright, but then the stock market fell down, and that the man killed himself. Sahir hated the smell of the dirty streets of New York, but he was called upon this dark alleyway to meet a drug dealer. He thought it was a waste of time.
"Hey!" someone shouted from the other side of the alley, and this stopped Sahir, moving around the garbage. "Hey Sahib, it's me. Bronco! Come on, dude. I'm waiting!"
"It's Sahir!" Sahir shouted back, correcting him. He walked towards the other side of the dark alley, where the drug dealer was flashing his light.
"Took you long enough," Bronco said. "We were waiting for you, man! I gotta make some money. You know what I'm saying?"
"Yes, I can see that," Sahir said, trying to turn away from the flashlight. "Will you stop pointing that thing towards me? I can barely see!"
"Oh sorry, dude," Brono said, turning his flashlight away. "I had to make sure it's you. You know... Cops?"
Sahir didn't say anything for a while. But when he followed Bronco to some abandoned warehouse, he said, "Is this where you work?" Bronco stopped in mid-tracks and said, "Nah, that was the other warehouse, man. Cops caught on, while we were making the drugs. Not enough time." He resumed walking towards the warehouse, while Sahir followed him. Bronco's friends were there. Three guys were haggard-looking, and one of them was smoking a cigarette. His name was Wally.
"Are you Sahib?" Wally said.
Sahir sighed, and said, "It's Sahir. Yes, I'm the djinn. And I can grant only one wish."
"Cool," Wally said, flicking the cigarette away. "Hey yo!" He turned towards his so-called friends, and said, "This shin guy can grant one wish. You have a problem with that?"
The others looked at each other, whispering, and then one of them said, "Nah, it's cool. No problem."
"Alright," Wally said, rubbing his hands. "Let’s get this done."
"Hold my hand," Sahir said.
"What?!" Wally said, taking a step back. "Are you serious?" He turned towards Bronco for help.
"He's serious, dude," Bronco said with a shrug. "That's how it works. He holds your hand, and says some wishing prayer. He ain't a faggot. Don't worry about it."
"Okay..." Wally said. "Here goes nothing."
Wally let out his hand, which Sahir gripped it tightly. Then, he chanted the prayer.
"It's done," Sahir said. "You'll find your drugs in the warehouse. Look!"
The drug dealers looked around the warehouse. It was full of them.
"Holy crap!" Wally said. "Did ya see that? Did you guys see that?"
"No way!" one of the other drug dealers said. "Dude! We're going to be rich!"
"Thanks, man!" Wally said, shaking Sahir's hand. "I owe you one!"
Sahir wanted to say, "Oh, you do owe me one,” but instead he said, "You could have wished for money, instead of drugs. I would have given you that."
Wally looked at him, bewildered. "No man, you don't understand. Our customers needed drugs, so we can sell them. Making drugs ain't easy. You know?"
"Yes, I understand," Sahir said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must..." He paused, when someone shouted, "FREEZE!" The cops were out, raising their guns. Not to mention, the Wish Hunters were also there.
"What the ****?!" Wally said. "You snitched us." He stared at Sahir angrily.
Sahir said, "No, I didn't. I had nothing to do with them." He stared at the Wish Hunters, coming towards him. One of the cops said, "Put your hands up, where we can see them. Do it now!"
"Oh man, this sucks," Wally said. He raised his gun, firing at the cops. The others did the same, except Bronco went into hiding, and trying to take the drugs for himself. The Wish Hunters backed down, hovering over the ground. The cops covered themselves behind the car doors, firing from behind. Sahir decided to run, even though he couldn't be harmed by ordinary bullets. But the Wish Hunter, Sarah pointed her gun towards him. She fired.
Sahir screamed as he saw the bullet got pierced through his leg, and stopped running. He knew it wasn't an ordinary bullet. It was made of alchemic properties that could harm magical beings.
"Stand down!" Sarah shouted at the djinn. "Or else..."
Sahir laughed. He should have known that the Wish Hunters were hunting him like a rat. Not to mention, calling the cops to arrest the drug dealers.
"I know why you're doing this," Sahir said, as he tried to move with his injured leg. "You wanted revenge. I can understand that. But..." he paused, wondering if Sarah wanted a wish. "I can grant you a wish, Sarah. I can bring... Taylor back to life."
Sarah stopped as if she was frozen to death. She knew something like this would happen. Cole had warned her.
"No..." Sarah said. "No, I can't..." If she accepted the wish, Taylor's family could be dead again, and Taylor goes back to being miserable. She didn't want that.
"Don't you want that?" Sahir said. "I can grant you the wish. Just ask for it."
Sarah closed her eyes, trying to prevent herself from wishing it. Don't do it! Don't do it! She opened her eyes, and cried out, "No, I want you dead!" She fired the shot on the djinn's forehead. Black blood splattered on the ground.
The drug dealers stopped firing, as one of the cops injured their legs. Bronco, who was hiding from the shootout, finally came out. He dropped the stash of drugs, and raised his arms. The other drug dealers did the same. The cops arrested them.
Cole came behind Sarah, who was looking at the djinn's body. "Hey Sarah, are you okay?" But Sarah didn't say anything. She walked away.
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The organization was so vast, that nobody could comprehend the true nature of it. Lots of people were working around the clock. The djinn chaos had started back in the 1980s, and this made the people, including Mr. Harold Newman respond to this wild-wishing crisis. Harold Newman was a black man, who used to be a boxing champion back in those days. Now, he was the leader of the organization, acting tough like a coach. He was waiting for Sarah in his office, wondering when the djinn chaos would ever stop.
Sarah came to the man's office. Harold looked at her, and said, "Sarah, sit down. We need to talk."
Sarah sat down on the chair, staring at Harold. He had that strong build of his muscles like a former, heavyweight champion. Since he had a workout schedule on weekends, sometimes Sarah goes with him, and trained herself to be the best Wish Hunter there is.
Harold laid the report from yesterday's mission on the table, and said. "Have you heard the news about that drug dealer named Wally?"
Sarah said, "No, I haven't heard it, sir." She thought, Something must have happened to him. But it wouldn't make sense because the djinn was killed, assuming the magic wish had worn off.
"Yeah, I thought the same," Harold said, reading her mind. "The guy was found dead in his cell. It's like someone ingested the drug inside his body, and then it came out. As if he were poisoned to death..."
Sarah couldn't believe it. Harold got up from the chair, and looked out the window. "We have a problem here, Sarah. The djinn may be dead, but the magic is still there. Do you know what that means?"
Sarah didn't know what to say. Of course, the theory went around the organization, saying that once the djinn was dead, the magic would wear off, preventing human casualties in the process. But that wasn't the case.
"It means that we have to kill the djinns, before they can grant anyone's wish." Harold turned back towards Sarah. "We're done capturing djinns, and sending them back to the Nether-Realm. We'll have to kill them. My theory was correct. I had to know."
Sarah got up from the chair. "Sir, if I may..."
"No," Harold raised his hand, and stopped her. "You don't have to say anything. What difference would it make? Even if you didn't kill Sahir... What would that prove? More casualties than you can ever imagine. The chaos had started back in 1985. It's time to finish this.”
"But..." Sarah said. "What about the people who wished... Even after we killed the djinns?"
Harold sighed and said, "Sarah, that's the point. We'll have to kill them. You can't prevent a person's wish that has already been made. Yesterday's mission proved it.” Harold sat back on his chair, and said, "Anyways, we'll have to discuss the issue later. You can go now."
Sarah walked away from the boss, but stopped and turned around. "Sir... What about Rashim?"
Harold was looking at the file, and thought for a moment. "He's cool. I wouldn't worry about him. After all, he can't grant a wish. So, he's safe. That also goes for others like him."
"I see," Sarah said. She left the office.
Harold sighed, and said, "Man, I wish I hadn't quit boxing."
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Somewhere in Saudi Arabia, a man who wore a business suit, came alone into the palace, which the leader of the djinn race currently lives. His name was Mustafir, the Great and Wise One. It was bad news that the businessman himself, had to tell him that Sahir was killed by a mortal woman. The djinn leader ruled half of the region of Middle East. Rumors has it that Mustafir never granted anyone's wish. He thought he could use his skills, just to see what ruling the human world can look like. He was right. He didn't need to grant anyone's wish for that purpose.
"Master," one of Mustafir’s male servants said, came towards him, and then bowed. "He's here." The djinn looked tired, and bored. The female servants, who were tending his care, decided to leave him, now that the businessman arrived in his doorstep.
"Hello, your highness," the businessman said, and bowed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news..."
"Bad news?" Mustafir said. "And what would that be?"
The businessman didn't say anything. He sighed, thinking that he shouldn't have come here in the first place, since he had other plans. But what the hell? "Sahir is dead."
The djinn got up from his fancy couch, and shouted "What?!"
"Um..." Now the businessman was really scared. "He's dead. I'm sorry, your highness. Your... Your brother is dead."
"NO! IT CANNOT BE! The djinn finally stopped, realizing his own palace was crumbling to pieces. He closed his eyes, calming himself, and said, “Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," The businessman said firmly. "It's true. He was killed by a woman named Sarah."
"Sarah..." Mustafir said thoughtfully. "Yes, that woman. Sahir told me about her. I know."
"What do you want me to do?" The businessman said.
The djinn thought for a moment. Then he said, "I want your men to kill her. This is my request. You got it? I want her dead!"
"Yes..." The businessman was beginning to stammer. "Yes, your majesty. I'll... I'll do my best."
"No, you won't do your best." Mustafir walked towards the businessman, and said close to his face. "You will do it. And if you don't..." The businessman gulped, and nodded. He knew what the djinn leader was going to say next. He walked out of the palace like a frightened cat.
Mustafir sat back on his couch with a heavy sigh, and waited. A female djinn heard everything. She stood behind him.
“Is it that bad?” She said, coming towards the Great and Wise One. “You know. You can kill her if you could.”
Mustafir said, “No, it doesn’t work that way. We’re not allowed to kill humans, only the magic. That’s the rule. Once, they wish something, it either kills or affects them. This is personal, Arah. She killed my own brother. I will not have it!”
“I see,” Arah said. “She’s not the kind to wish something.”
“What do you think?” Mustafir said, annoyingly. “She’s a damn Wish Hunter!”
“You need to calm down, Mustafir,” Arah said angrily. “One day, you’ll destroy the half of Middle East with that voice of yours!”
Mustafir sighed and said, “You’re right, Arah. I need time and patience to do things in this human world. There are times I would grow restless, when something isn’t done right. And that bothers me.”
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A few weeks later, Sarah came alone to the Taylor residence. She rang the doorbell, wondering if this was a good idea to meet Taylor's wife and daughter. But she had to know that it was really them, not some illusion.
Someone opened the door. It was Taylor's wife, Janine, who was an Iranian woman. She still looked beautiful as the day that Sarah met her. Last time, Sarah heard that she and her daughter had suffered a plane accident, while coming back from Iran. The thought of seeing her, gave Sarah the chills.
"Sarah, is that you?" Janine said. "My... what brings you here?"
"Oh, I'm just visiting," Sarah said. But she wanted to tell Janine that Taylor was dead. She couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Sarah, is something wrong?" Janine said. "I know Taylor has been busy and all. I do understand his work, although I wished he could spend more time with us..." She paused. "Did something happen?"
Sarah was getting nervous. She said, "Well, you know how he is. Hunting djinns is hard work, I guess."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Janine rolled her eyes. "Come on in." Sarah went inside, and said, "Where's Molly?"
"Oh, she's playing with her dolls as usual." She looked upstairs and called out, "Molly! Aunt Sarah is here!" There was a loud noise, rumbling like a earthquake. The 9-year old kid jumped, and cried, "Aunt Sarah! Aunt Sarah!" Sarah stared at Molly, and wanted to cry. It had been months that Taylor brought them back. At first, she was a little bit scared to see them.
"Hi, Molly!" Sarah said. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Molly said. The little girl hugged her so tight, that Sarah could barely breathe.
"Okay you two," Janine said. "Why don't we get something to eat? I'll make a special dish, now that you're here."
"Special?" Sarah said. "Is it Iranian?"
"Does it have to be?" Janine said, laughing. Sarah smiled, and said, "I can't wait."
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