Michael Brooklyn Morgan "Red Alert"
Almost a Plague
It was night time as the sky was blanketed with stars amidst the darkness of space. Cold winds swept across the forests around the outskirts of Clover Town. The sky was clear with clouds looming over only from the horizon, and one would be able to gaze at the spectacular full moon this evening. The moon looked spectacular, its resplendent luminance being the only source of light, save for the various lights within the city. Yet this light is insufficient to provide ample lighting in deep forests, as a group of passersby had just fallen victim to a creature from the shadows plagued by an enigmatic power. A curse? A bloodthirst? None can say save for the sole witness from far away who was fortunate enough to escape. The creature did not seem to be so interested in giving chase to the witness as they arrived in Clover Town gasping for breath.
The raven haired esper was just stopping by in Clover Town after his previous mercenary work, with Giselle tagging along for some business within the settlement and to get something nice for herself during their stay. Because of this, Michael was left with nothing to do other than wait before his next job while his partner was doing business with someone. Knowing himself, he can’t just simply stand idly. He wanted to be active, and that he did as he walked over to Clover Town’s jobs board for guildless wizards and mercenaries. A flyer had just been posted by someone and one glance from the big ‘Urgent’ remark piqued his interest. Apparently, there was something dangerous beyond the outskirts of Clover Town, possibly farther than the lake the town stood in. This resulted in the deaths of a few souls who just happened to pass by, and their bodies smelled like they were infected by something. The reports mentioned that these individuals’ bodies were infected by a plague-like ability, and if this creature was allowed to exist, it’d spread the plague like wildfire. Fortunately, the ruby eyed esper was here to take it, and it looks like he didn’t need to meet with the clients.
The creature was last sighted a few miles away from what could be described as a desolate castle, which the locals would sometimes call haunted; a perfect place for tests of courage. It’d take him days to even reach it, but it is time that Giselle can spare. He’d only need to ask or tell without her consent. After all, she knew he isn’t one who wants to stand idly; that he is a workaholic or just restless. The soldier walked towards a quaint hotel not far from where the job board was and marched right towards the room where his partner was. The door opens to find the blonde fiddling with a device. “Oh, hi Michael!” The woman greeted with her eyes focused on the device, and her hands made masterful work on it so that one wouldn’t find faults in her technique, “Did you, like, need anything from me?” “Well, I just took an urgent job down the guildless job board. I wanted to see if you have a need for me.” The esper said, leaning towards the door frame and waiting for her answer. Giselle pondered for a moment and stopped working on the device briefly, and resumed right after she made up her mind. “I don’t think so. We won’t be leaving Clover Town for a week or later.”
“Right. Well, I’ll be out for a couple of days or so to deal with an urgent threat.” Michael brought out the flyer that was posted on the board, and the blonde engineer squinted as she tried to see it. “Oho. So the city’s compensating for your efforts. Well, I wish you luck on that! I know you won’t, like, die.” Puzzled, Michael asked about her sentiments. “What do you mean?”
“Like, this creature thing looks like it has a sickening aura, but it doesn’t seem to have a massive radius according to the reports. You should be fine if you don’t go near it and head shot their ass. But, like, if anything happens, I’m only a button away. Do you have any leads?”
“There’s only the location where the group died as far as I recall. This was just posted recently. I’ll have to ask the witness for more leads.” The raven haired esper said before turning to face away from the door, about to head out and do this urgent mission. “Well I’m off. Wishing you good luck on whatever endeavors you’re doing this week.” He walked away, his muffled footsteps growing softer and softer from Giselle’s hotel room as he made his way to where the witness was.
He made his way to the shaken witness only a few blocks away from where he was. They were visibly frightened by what just happened and were fortunate to have escaped alive. Though perhaps the last thing they needed was an interview from someone who wished to avenge their deaths, and thus have resolved to use his telepathy to scry through their memories. He looked through the most recent memory of theirs, from tonight, and found himself standing in the midst of the dark forest, with only the light from their phone and the moonlight allowing them to see through the darkness. He had no business with what the girl did, only what the creature looked like. From the looks of it, the creature bore the resemblance of a plague doctor like one you’d find in medieval books of old, and it was wielding a sword and a lantern. As the creature’s gaze turned towards them, the witness started to get on to their bike and rode as fast as they could all the way to Clover Town. It was then that he noticed the sickening mist the plague doctor exhumed from itself. The radius is definitely not far, so if he could find clues on its whereabouts, he’d only need one shot from his rifle to finish the job.
He made his way to where the group was. It wasn’t long until in the middle of the night that Michael had arrived at the scene where they died. He was surprised to find that the plants were not withered and affected by the monster’s power. He only found a perfectly good forest, except for the fact that in the monster’s wake, nearby forest critters were infected and died just as they got near it, as if they died from an incurable and fatal sickness. “Just what foul magic is at play here?” He pondered with himself, after which he decided it was best to track down where they are right now.
From his HeXcry Map, visible impressions of footprints marched on towards the haunted castle. It didn’t take him this long to reach it, with how fast his motorcycle was going. He got out of his vehicle and suited up. Hexagon sigils appeared around him while his exosuit wove itself around him. Armor pieces of his Snipe Strix armor protruded from these sigils and attached themselves to the ports found around his exosuit. And finally, his helmet dropped down slowly to his head, equipping it on himself. With a few mental commands, he activated various protocols and rendered himself noiseless and invisible. With his Strigiform Rifle equipped, he leapt up to the tree branches to get a better view and moved closer to the castle.
The radar picked up nothing from around the forest, and with the footprints left behind by the monster, it could only mean that they are inside it. What could they possibly need inside the haunted castle? He thought to himself as he dropped down, still invisible, and walked inside towards the desolate place. The haunted castle is exactly what one would expect it to be - unkempt, eerie with haunted silence, ruins, and overgrown weeds and moss. Inside, he picked up a dot from his map not far from the hallway of the castle. The creature may have just entered the place early, or they are just moving terribly slow. With stealthed noise, the soldier then went to where the plague doctor was, and it looked exactly just like how the witness saw them.
Well, there is no time for conversation. This menace must be put down now.
Twhip.
A light emerged from the barrel of his sniper rifle just as he pulled the trigger and the weapon recoiled a little as it fired. In an instant, he tore open a hole on the plague doctor’s head and they writhed in pain until the creature fell apart into a hundred or so swarm rats. The sword clanged as it fell from the monster’s clutches and the glass of the lantern shattered into a million pieces. Disgusted at the sight of these rats, he used his telekinetic pressure to leave the swarm into a puddle of blood. It was a good thing he was wearing a mask, because he’d take a whiff of the rotting stench of the rat blood if he didn’t. That was a rather easy mission to do, much to his disappointment.
He returned to Clover Town immediately after he finished the job and walked up to his hotel room, sleeping soundly after working on this urgent request.
MEL @ WW
