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The Outstanding Snowbird #3 Subsequent 
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Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2016 9:13 am
Posts: 8
Country: United States (us)
~Flagler County Sheriff’s Office


Police comms buzzed as Police officers scurried through the building at an unusual pace. Even the temporary inmates took notice of the abnormal behavior. Only a few remained placid as a recognizable tone droned from a television screen.

“And even more reports are flooding in about the mysterious animal-like roars heard two days ago west of I-95, some may even point to a connection with a large house fire in that same area. The Sheriff's Office has yet to make an official statement”

“Does ‘We have no clue’ count as a statement?” A veteran cop muttered stone faced.

Officer Lain Reese averted his eyes from the television as he rose from his chair and made his way to the back of the room. Mike Downey, Chief of Police, rubbed his drowsy eyes as the young officer slipped into his office.

“Chief…” He gestured towards the news report on the TV.

“Yeah. I noticed.” He took a sip of water and sighed.

“They’re gonna find out about whatever this ‘guy’ is eventually.” Lain crossed his arms, “They know just about as much as we do, what can we say?”

“Nothing. That was the general conscious. We’re working with the Sheriffs from Orlando to Jacksonville, one of the biggest Police operations in Florida history, and what do we have to show for it? Crude recordings of shadows, schizo witness testimonies and a thousand federal agents up our @$$%!!” Downey rubbed his face up to his receding hairline.

“Sir...we do have one thing!” Lain and the Chief stared curiously as a lab tech barged into the office with a disk in hand.


……………………..
~Darings Household, Morning

“Oohh, Why am I ready so early...” Ben grumbled as he gazed at the clock on the kitchen oven. 6:40; 20 minutes until his bus gets here. Enough time to get a small bowl of cereal, right?

“There better be some freaking milk this time--!” Ben quickly shut his mouth in surprise as he shut the pantry door. His eldest brother, Steve, was sat at the dining table munching on Cheerios, milk gallon beside him.

“Woah, why you up so early? Ha, why are you up at all?” The younger sibling chuckled.

Steve chewed his cereal and remained silent.

“...Yeah.” Ben smiled and nodded awkwardly as he grabbed the milk and poured into his bowl. A fly buzzed as the brothers stood/sat in silence before Ben finally fetched the TV remote and flipped through the channels before pausing at a news broadcast about the mysterious ‘Florida Vigilante’

“Stop there!” Steve barked.

“Yeah, I planned on it...”

“Never before seen footage had been released last night in regards to our illustrious Vigilante. But now the Flagler County Police have come forth with body cam footage. Let’s have a look along with the clip from last night.

The two brothers’ jaws smashed through the ground as the video played. The camera phone footage was surprisingly clear as it showcased a winged figure bounding up and around and through thin trees and heavy fog seemingly fighting against some opposition.

“No way.” Ben and Steve muttered in unison.

The winged figure zipped upwards and disappeared from sight. On the recording, confused voices contorted into confused screams as a tall, thin tree fell towards the camera, ending the video.

“Woah..” Ben raised the remote control, aiming to rewind the newscast but quickly threw his arm back as Steve swiped at it.

“It’s not done yet.” Steve said after giving him a strange look.

“Didn’t plan on changing it.” Ben put the remote back down as the news anchor resumed reporting.

“And here’s the brand new footage from an officer's body camera.” The video showcased a surplus amount of strange mist entering the air through the wooded area. The recording showed the officer creep slowly towards an almost empty street just as the supposed vigilante took flight and disappeared. The camera stopped and focussed on a large beastial figure encased in Ice before cutting off.

“Woah.” Steve snatched the remote and replayed all of the footage as Ben contemplated deeply about this new factor.


……….………….
~Deep In the Mondex

Captain Merrisa Jones inhaled the insect riddled air and sighed silently as a multitude of men and women trudged through soggy dirt and grime still disturbed from the recent battle. She observed from the road as her subordinates prodded the mud with various gadgets and devices.

“By the time we finish this (if we ever finish) I’m pretty sure we’ll still have the same amount of data as we do now.” A thin man with shaggy hair exited a van and strolled beside her.

“Is that a nice way of telling me this is a waste of time, Roland?” The young woman in charge asked.

“Only way of telling you.” He responded, agrin.

“We need to be on this. Hard. It’s never ever a good thing when the public knows more than us.” Referring to the police footage of the battle, “So whatever it takes.”

Roland nodded in agreement and leaned against his vehicle, “On the brightside, Cops didn’t even WANT to deal with that ‘Jeepers Creepers’” He laughed.

Merrisa surveyed the area for the 50th time, “Yeah...get someone to check in on the transport in a few. It’s been about 24 hours, make sure everything’s well.”

“Ight. Our lab guys are gonna be veeery happy. Maybe they’ll buy us lunch for once!”

………………
Wolf News HQ, Orlando

“Where's the girl that writes my lines? What was her name; Tammy? Where's my writer!!” A blond woman with practically glowing skin prodded everyone that went past her desk before an intern nervously stepped near.

“Um, ma'am…?” He said nervously, “I’m the one that writes when she’s not here..”

“Since when?” To the Interns’ irritation, The anchor woman sounded genuinely surprised, “Nevermind, I don’t care, if you’re here, then where is Tammy? I only want a trusted writer writing my lines even if her lines are...A tad bit cheesy at times; consistency matters.”

“I’ve been doing this for fiv…!” The Intern sighed in defeat, “I’ve only heard little whispers..she got into a car accident or something, i’m not sure.”

………………………..

“Can you describe to us what you saw?” a fluorescent light illuminated the faces seated at the table. Stark, gray walls made up the small box of a room with only one slim window built into the door. A woman sat opposite of a well dressed man with an excess amount of gel in his hair and four men and women in white coats behind him listening intently.

The woman sat still, avoiding the sets of eyes staring at her, “To be honest I..I don't know what i saw, if what I saw was real or not and i don’t think I want to know…”

“Miss, I completely understand that and will do whatever in my power to help you feel comfortable. Something like this would tear most people apart but you're still with us and still staying strong. You, Miss Sorrel, are a very brave, very intelligent, young woman...and only you can help us with this.”

Taliyah Sorrel closed her eyes and took slow breaths as her brain tried to process recent events, “That...that Vigilante is real…”

One of the lab coats chuckled.

“I was..a little shaken because of the...the whatever it was. But, this whole thing’s stupid *$@#&!$ crazy!! I mean, it's not like this scary supernatural stuff hasn't happened before but it’s...it's entirely different when it happens right in your face. When it hits you in your own town…”

The well dressed man scribbled in his notepad, “Indeed, Miss Taliyah. Not many people are able to handle witnessing an incredible incident like thi--”

“Where is he?” She interrupted

“The vigilante?”

“No, The Creature. You guys took him, right? Where and how are you containing him?”

The man smiled softly, “no need to worry abo--”

“it's not out of worriment, it's just curiosity...well, it’s a bit of both.”

“We assure you, it's being taken care of.” The woman sat back in her chair.


………………..
Skyscraper, Downtown Orlando

“So…what are you thinking about dinner tonight after work? Just the two of us?” A man said to one of his coworkers as she pulled transcripts from a file cabinet.

“Dinner?” She looked up in surprise, “I uh I don’t--”

The two employees jumped back as a voice erupted from the office door behind them. Inside sat an older man and his assistant looking out a window.

“S-sir,” The black haired assistant stuttered as she spoke, “it's been confirmed this morning. Louis was...contained by federal agents after--”

“After a confrontation with our special friend. Right.” The man spoke with a sinister regality.

The assistant nodded in response, “Yes sir, that’s correct.”

The older man glanced at her “It wasn't a question. I'm entrusting you to take care of this. Call your partner to assist you.”

The woman took a step back “I don't need to, this isn't something that difficult…”

Her employer's jaw tightened, “Take. Your partner. With you.” He swiveled in his chair and booted his computer up. End of discussion.

The man and woman outside the door stepped aside as the black haired assistant trudged out of the room.

“What do you think that was about?” The man questioned once she was out of earshot.

The woman grabbed her papers “I don't know, we'll probably find out soon enough.”


……………….
FPC High School, Last Period

“And to continue with the theme of current events we are going to be watching a series of news reports that you all are probably familiar with!!”

Ben Darings groaned as his history teacher, Mr. Briggs, spoke about the repeating subject of the day; Central Florida's Vigilante.

The projector flickered to life and revealed previous broadcasts from various news outlets. To Ben's previous surprise, the students all sat and watched intensely.

As the last video concluded, Mr. Briggs spoke “Central Florida's Vigilante! As if we didn't have enough reasons for tourists to come here, huh? Haha.” The students eagerly checked the time, “Isn't it crazy that we call him that? That we as a society be so willing to claim a powerful mysterious figure that we know nothing about?”

The bell rang before Mr. Briggs could finish his heavy handed social commentary, inviting the students to “neatly” rush out of the room in “single file order”. A disconcerted Ben waited until the doorway was clear before exiting.

“Hey, Mister...Darwins, right? You seemed a lot less engaged than the other students today...everything okay?”

“Darings.” Ben clarified, “Um, I guess I’m just tired of hearing about the super hero dude. It gets kinda played out when that's what everyone keeps talking about…”

“Haha Isn't that how, uhh, social media works?” Mr. Briggs laughed through Ben's clear s****, “This “superhero dude” is something completely new and it's happening
us. It's new and exciting stuff, Mister Darings, life changing stuff...don't just brush it off.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Ben glanced at the near empty hallway.

“Now go catch your bus before you get locked in here without bail” Mr. Briggs sat atop his desk and adjusted his glasses as Ben walked out the door.

To Ben's surprise, none of the buses had left due to an apparent engine failure of the bus in front of the others. A new bus driver welcomed him as he climbed aboard while a friendly face waved. Amaya.

“Hey what's up!” Ben sat beside her as she greeted him.

“Tired. You?” His ears twitched.

“Tired? The year just started, red eyes.”

“Prison life is tough okay?” He laughed before rubbing his eyes. Amaya stared curiously at him.

“Hey have you heard about that dude on the news?”

“You mean the dude that everyone keeps talking about? Yeah. I've heard plenty.”

“My Dad isn't talking about it. He doesn't like to tell me anything about the life of a cop unfortunately.”

“Well, maybe that's for a reason?” Ben replied, slightly irritated.

“He should at least try not to completely shut us out of it, especially with something like this. It's history in the making dude.”

Ben rolled his eyes as the bus began to start, “You don't even know what the vigilante is or what he can do, but everyone keeps preaching about him like he's the, I dunno, second coming or something.”

Amaya was quiet, “Didn't know you felt so strongly about it.”

“I just, think we need to know more about this whole thing, ya know?”

“Yeah that makes sense. But still, it's pretty exciting.”

“Yeah.” Ben slumped back into the seat as the bus moved forward.


……………….
Empty Street, Night


“EEEEAAHHH!!” heavy breathing and perspiration lead the way as a little girl raced down a never ending sidewalk. Through the darkness, she turned at the corner and crawled underneath a broken gate. A large shadow loomed behind her.

Racoons and other nocturnal miscreants scurried out of the way as the girl intruded on their scavenging.

“Help! Someone help me!” losing balance, she tripped on a piece of cracked cement and tumbled onto her back. Before she could open her eyes a large hand grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet.

“...someone...please…” tears rolled down her face as a man dressed in black laughed maliciously. Just as all hope seemed lost, a being appeared from above in a cloud of cold mist. Before words were spoken, the man received a kick to the chest, throwing him back and setting the girl free.

“It's okay now.” The child looked up to see none other than Snowbird standing supremely.

The girl sniffled as she stood up, “Come with me, it'll be okay.” The hero offered his helping hand, but the girl refused to say a word.

Before Snowbird could question her, her visage soon transformed. Her fingers extended into long sharp claws, her mass quadrupled, her human skin peeled back to reveal something monstrous...something reptilian.

Terror overtook the vigilante like never before. Ice began to form around his legs and wings as he tried to take flight, grounding him. As he literally froze in fear, the “girl” unveiled “her” true Features and let loose the Creature within. Snowbird watched as it raised its mighty claws, blocking the moon, and swiped down at him. Shattering him into pieces.

….


Ben Darings gasped for air as he sat up in his bed. His blankets and skin damp with sweat.

“...I'm still here…” he rubbed his neck and sighed as he rose out of bed. He could feel the tightness of his muscles, a tightness he's familiar with, as he motioned towards the door.

Stepping through the doorway, he treaded carefully down the hall and peered into each of the rooms.

Steve's room was empty, out doing whatever it is he does, while the door to Tim's bedroom wouldn't even open; blockaded by a mountain of toys and other foreign obstacles, but his loud snoring confirmed his presence.

Ben stopped at the corner before his parents room, it was common knowledge that their door was usually open so Ben approached with caution. Slowing his breath, Ben concentrated and focused his ears toward the master bedroom. Tuning out the electric hum moving through the house, he heard his father's deep sighs, a sound he's grown accustomed to, and the shuffling of papers. He'll be preoccupied for a while.

A few minutes later, a swift silhouette shot into the sky. Snowbird’s metallic wings flapped tirelessly through the night breeze while he surveyed from above. The voluptuous blanket of night sky served as his hiding place from wandering eyes.

“They've seen me” Snowbird thought to himself as he landed, “They've seen me and now they know what to be looking for.” He let out a loud yawn while seated upon the roof of an old rundown courthouse.

“Yo you know what? It don't even matter,” the Vigilante said with reassurance, “I was bound to be seen by someone at some point anyway. Now this small little town thinks they have their own lil superhero.”

Snowbird had just began to relax as a tinted white van went barreling down the boulevard. Comotion and gunshots could be heard originating from the opposite direction of the van. Thinking quickly, Snowbird dove into the air and followed close behind the van, close enough to see two armed men sitting inside. The vigilante quickly pulled upwards as bullets ricocheted off of the rear end of the van. Not far behind were three black vehicles burning rubber and raining lead.

“Come on!” expletives could be heard from the white van as it turned viciously down a narrow road and twisted through a maze of backyards and fences. The man in the passenger seat reached out of the window and shot out one of the tires of the black vehicle squadron, causing it to flip over and block the other two in their tracks.

The men in the white van shared a simultaneous high five as they made it back onto the main road but soon regretted it as they had drove onto the opposite side of traffic.

“Amazing!” Snowbird chuckled as he created a border of ice in front of the white van as it swerved to its side, separating it from the oncoming traffic. As the air seemed to calm despite the honking of car horns, The Vigilante dropped to his feet to asses/mock the criminals.

“Wow. I gotta give it to you guys,” Snowbird jested as the two men shakingly crawled out of the front window, “That was the most badass, slash funniest car chase I have ever witnessed. This ain't the UK, buddy!”

Snowbird peered around the ice wall he created as a line of cars began honking in frustration. He quickly turned back to avoid looks full of fury from the flustered Floridians.

“#@^$# you!” spat one of the men in the van as the slowly wriggled out of the smashed window.

“A lot of talk for a guy with a..is that a Hello Kitty tattoo??” Snowbird reached for the both of them before flinching at the sound of gears turning.

Promptly, the vigilante’s metallic wings unhinged themselves and shielded his back from the gun fire. The two wounded thugs covered their heads but were relieved as a small ice wall formed in front of them, deflecting the bullets; unfortunately their sense of safety was superficial as a ricocheted bullet struck the van’s gas line, causing a leak.

“It’s never easy-” The teenager gritted through his teeth as he pressed against another smaller ice wall waiting for his opportunity to move. Peering over the barricade, Snowbird could see 2 more black vehicles parked with men in leather jackets firing semi automatics. More friends of the two in the van he assumed.

Following a short silence, Snowbird formed a small dagger of ice to launch at the gunmen before being distracted by the two men in the van running out into the other lane.

“HEY!” Snowbird jumped out from behind his barrier as the two men jacked a vehicle and drove off. With barely enough time to react, a bullet barely nicked his hand, surprising him. He quickly formed ice shields on both his arms as the raining of lead picked up intensely from the gun men, forcing Snowbird to take a step back as his shields began to crack.

A thick liquid splashed as the vigilante stepped backwards, “What is thaa-” Snowbird instantly saw the source of the liquid just as instantly as he saw a stray bullet spark against the asphalt which triggered an immense fireball.
Before shutting his eyes, stripes of energy shot through the flames and through Snowbird, dissipating into the air. Nearby bystanders ran as the oxygen in the air ignited. The hero himself was thrown through his melting ice wall and crashed into the roof of a car.

Sluggish seconds passed before the costumed boy gasped for life once more. It took just a moment for his keen eyes to adjust to the light of the fire against the night sky.

“Ugh, c’mon.” He pried his arm out of the car hood from where he was embedded and looked around before putting out the remaining fire, despite the nearest fire station being right beside him.

“That freaking sucked…” Cold air propelled Snowbird off the ground as nearby citizens headed toward the spot of the commotion. The Vigilante disappeared from the scene before the flash of a camera touched him.


…………………..
Cafeteria, Morning

Ben Darings chewed his cereal aggressively as a familiar voice on the television simultaneously droned throughout the hall. He awoke this morning with bruises and cuts in places previously untouched which caused him to be a bit slower in getting ready for school which, in turn, caused him to miss his bus. But despite the multitude of upsets that the dawn of today had put upon him, young Ben’s strongest gripe was with the newscaster’s apparent enjoyment in reporting the Vigilante’s misfortunate failings.

“One has to wonder if incidents like this are covered under your insurance!” Ben snorted at the newscasters jib despite the laughter from background voices. If only they reported as well as they joked, he thought to himself before post-incident footage displayed burning cars, bullet splattered windows and a confused fire chief as he pondered over the possible scenario that stood aside him.

Ben continued with his almost self righteous underbreath mumbling up until the News Anchor began listing off the cost of the damages sustained last night...He figured he wouldn’t allow such a public flop to occur in the future, surely.


………………..
Back Road, Night

Wild pheasants scuttled into the surrounding thicket opposite an overturned truck as smoke billowed into the sky, air hissed as it escaped its large, ice punctured tires.

The lackadaisical howling of the nocturnal wind mirrored the stagnant breaths of the truck driver, the warmth of his blood streaming down his face was not near enough to comfort him in his final moments, the cold night breeze flowing through the holed window epitomized his emotion, knowing that he himself had failed his directive.

The shadow of the moon shone over the four letter name plastered on the side of the vehicle. Crackling, frozen sleet befogged over part of the label, now indecipherable while a gaping hole scarred the vans roof, as if punctured from the inside out.



To be continued…...


Fri Aug 03, 2018 2:09 am
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