Two robed figures roughly dragged Skye by his arms across a torch-lit hallway, as alarms rang throughout the gloomy facility. He blearily opened his eyes, groaning from a massive headache, too weak to move. The ones dragging him threw open the doors to a bright lab, various equipment surrounding a large metal pod.
“We caught him just in time, Doctor,” one said through a hood concealing their face. “It is understood that this was an earlier date then agreed upon, but we’ve been given orders to commence the operation as soon as-” a wizened, short man wearing a long white lab coat and thick, framed spectacles, sporting an unshaven face and frizzled grey hair stepped out from behind a shelf of spare parts, brandishing a large wrench.
“Ignorant buffoons, a masterpiece such as this takes months to complete. It is truly a curse, being forced to conduct my work in the presence of such simpletons as these snollygosters,” he said, gesturing broadly towards the two robed initiates. Keeping a straight face, one of them stepped forwards, leaving the other with Skye.
“Doctor Rozdac, we understand the device may not be perfectly optimized, but-”
“Not perfectly optimized?! Believe me, it is a miracle my creation currently functions at all,” the doctor said, aggressively tightening a bolt. “Well then, what in the blasted seas are you waiting for? Get the subject into the pod. I swear, the incompetency of these buffoons is insufferable. . .” He walked away, muttering to himself, as the two initiates stuffed Skye into the pod, ignoring his desperate struggling and cries for help as they slammed the door shut. Breathing heavily, Skye banged his fists against the small glass window, now watching the doctor bolt the door closed and wield a small plaque to the front of the pod as the two initiates stood by the entrance to the lab, awaiting orders. As if seeing Skye for the first time, Doctor Rozdac squinted up through the thick window, just able to hear his muffled, panicked shouting through the dense layer of glass.
“I had…never seen a subject up close. Are either of you aware of where the order had procured such a great number of them?” One of the guards shared a brief glance with the other before answering.
“With all due respect, Doctor, does it matter? From what I understand, those we removed from society would have eventually become a danger to themselves and others, once they-”
“Yes, yes, I didn’t ask for your life story,” Doctor Rozdac grumbled, stationing himself at an intricate control panel. “I trust that Roswell is preparing to be transferred to the platform?”
“Yes, Doctor. Everything is going smoothly, despite the breakout.”
“Most excellent.” Rozdac grinned as he pulled down a lever, the room filling with a loud whirring sound. In the pod, a heavy white mist poured out of a small vent, chilling Skye to the bone. His desperate banging slowed, then stopped entirely as he found it difficult to move, blood freezing in his veins. The mist burned Skye’s eyes, and as he closed them a single tear formed in the corner of his eye, only to be frozen in place as he slowly lost consciousness.
Skye’s head snapped back up as his concentration faltered for a second, bringing the air around him dangerously close; the collapsed house was quite chilly, bringing back painful memories. Voice strained with effort, he called out to whoever was in the house when it collapsed. Since he created the sphere of wind around him, Skye had been able to slow the violent whirling and slowly expand the field outwards, gently pushing snow and ice away from him, taking almost every ounce of energy he had left. Now standing in a small air pocket, he managed to open his eyes, the snowy dome above him already starting to crumble without support. Walking forwards nervously, his ears picked up a muffled voice through a cracked and splintering wooden wall, which he wearily dismantled. Laying on the floor was a woman, pinned to the ground by a wide chunk of ice. She appeared to be trying to console a young boy next to her, who was sobbing loudly. She looked up, sighing with relief as Skye rushed into the room.
“Oh, thank the gods, did Mayor Owin send you?” Skye shoved the debris off of her, as the young boy helped the woman up.
“Sort of…I can explain la-” he was interrupted as a portion of the ceiling in front of them gave way, revealing the cloudy sky ahead. The three scrambled up the mound of snow and wood, just making it out of the building as it collapsed further, crushing the room they were in just moments before. A group of people carrying blankets and hot drinks hurried over to them, as Mayor Owin approached Skye.
“Well then, traveller. Spose I have you to thank. I’m sure th’ town appreciates the effort ya put in to saving the Junco family,” he said, nodding towards them. “Now then, if yer offer still stands…after seeing ya in action, I believe you could be a great help to our town after all. We can talk more in my office, c’mon.” Owin motioned for Skye to follow him, as he began to walk forwards through the snow. Still slightly dazed, grinning sheepishly, he followed the mayor through the streets of Frostmill, brushing snow off of his clothes as the sky began to darken.
A small ship, sails black against the night sky, pulled up to a tiny island. A robed figure holding the wheel gave orders in a hushed voice to a small, similarly dressed team. A loud bang rang out from the tiny cabin of the boat, and one of the figures swore silently. All of a sudden, the door flew open, light spilling out to illuminate a large woman, grinning wildly. Her wide jaws housed several rows of long needle-thin teeth, randomly jutting out of her mouth, and a dim ball of light protruded from her forehead, similar to that of an anglerfish. Her dark hair was tied back in a ragged ponytail, and a huge crab claw replaced her left arm, easily the size of a small shark. The figures on the boat straightened as she slowly walked down a short set of creaky wooden stairs, taking a huge bite out of a raw fish before throwing it aside. The one at the wheel of the ship called to her, voice shaking.
“Agent Ferox, we’ve located the-” She held out her right hand, cutting them off, before leaping down onto the island, throwing up a cloud of sand. Keeping an eye on the ground, she briskly walked forwards a few meters, before reaching down and holding up a small blinking device in triumph.
“Well whad’ya know,” Ferox laughed with a hoarse voice, teeth bristling. “The little twirp actually came through!”
Ooh, it’s getting interesting!