Thanks guys, glad you're all enjoying this.
And it's time for a new chapter! I had to rewrite this chapter, seeing as how things got a little......screwy. Though, some of the scenes and dialouge are left pretty much intact, but the ordering of things is a bit different. Anyway, enjoy!
VANTAGE POINT: ]Part OneThis was the end…
It was supposed to be a simple mission, an in-and-out job for Agent Meryl Hefree. The coyote, a magenta-furred creature, had been assigned to retrieve an object a fellow agent had dropped-it was near the entrance of Robotropolis that the item had been lost. Nothing big. She would have been done in no time flat.
If only she didn’t have to walk right above the Klawzax Unit headquarters.
The first sign things were going to go wrong came in the form of a certain Red Fox. Lieutenant Scarlett Cyphon had stood on top of that mound, her face the very picture of someone bored out of their skull. And why not? After all, of all the things she hated, guard duty was certainly one of them-though that was rather low on that list.
The second sign Meryl received that things were not going to end well appeared as a pair of green eyes suddenly locked onto her. The coyote had let out a small gasp, backing up a single foot.
And then there was the third, and last sign. This came as the sensation of cold steel tearing through soft flesh, done without any reason or rhyme. The blade broke vital blood vessels, and sent white-hot pain coursing through the magenta-furred Mobian’s body.
Meryl no time to gasp again-in fact, she had no time to make any sound whatsoever, not even one of protest. It all happened so fast. And when it was all over, the coyote did not take the time to even glance at her wound. What she did instead, was to stare right at Scarlett, her face locked in a questioning form.
And the question she showed in her eyes was one that could be condensed into a single word: Why?
But the sight of Scarlett turning around-the coyote managed to get a glimpse of a satisfactory grin on that white muzzle-led Meryl to believe that she was not going to get the answer she so desired to that query. And as she sank to her knees, the world around her beginning to grow dark, the Mobian could only stare in silence.
“
How….why……how did this happen…..?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Most Mobians would have succumbed to death then and there. But not Meryl, oh no. She figured the least she could do was to save her fellow agents the trouble of mounting a search party to look for her-and save them from the same fate as her.
And as she made her way to the Oakland Resistance Division Headquarters, the canine knew in her heart that this was the end. Yet she wasn’t going to let death come so easily to her, at least not before she reached the O.R.D Headquarters.
Her breathing shallow, the coyote made her way to a rather large stone slab surrounded by a circle of oaks-the hidden entrance of the Division. Meryl made her way to a group of lianas hanging from the nearest tree. She wrapped a paw around one of them, and weakly pulled the vine in a westward diagonal motion.
Had things been acting on her strength alone, Meryl would most likely not have pulled that slab open. But thanks to the help of several pulleys, the coyote was able to unveil the entrance to the Oakland Resistance Division. Pausing only when a choking fit hit her, the magenta Mobian slowly made her way down the limestone stairway of the torch-lined cavity.
It was quite fortunate that the Director’s office was so close to the entrance-the infirmary too, was just down the hall west of the foyer, yet Meryl knew that going there would be hopeless. She knew well that her chances for survival were completely nill.
However, such a fact did not concern the coyote in the least. All she cared about right now was getting to the Director’s Office. And as she felt her life slipping away like water on the back of a duck…she did. A wooden door, the timber sanded into a smooth surface, brass knob polished to a fine luster, stared back at her.
“
Please be in your office,” the dying coyote wished, raising a clenched fist. She rapped the door with her knuckles, hoping her mental request would be granted.
“Come in,” a voice beckoned her, the tone of which could only be Director Alan Retroden’s.
“
Thank goodness,”
Trying to ignore the fact that her field of vision was steadily decreasing, Meryl forced the door open. Inside was the director, as she knew, and fellow agent Fern Stryfont. The Golden Retriever had been giving the Sea Otter the instructions of her mission that day, when they both noticed Meryl entering the room.
Fern was the first to notice the gaping wound in the coyote’s chest. Eyes wide in worry, the otter rushed over to her friend’s side. “Meryl! What happened?”
The magenta-furred coyote’s head swayed in a circular motion as she spoke, eyesight dimming. “Scarlett…got…me…didn’t even…. let me try to…defend myself….” she told them, choking in-between words.
“Fern,” Director Retroden said suddenly, standing up out of his chair. “Get someone from the infirmary right away!” The canine was quite concerned-Meryl was a great agent and too loose her would be a tragedy to the division.
But the coyote merely shook her head as it was cradled in Fern’s arms. “N-no…It’s...far…too…late… for…me….” she managed to say, as the mist of death slowly began to cloud those coffee brown eyes of the canine’s. But even in the midst of it all, Meryl could not help but crack a smile.
“It......it…was…a…pleasure…working…with…you…all…”
“Meryl…” Fern began, though she knew now her words would make no difference. “You can’t die. You have far too much to live for.”
Silence. Not a word, not a breath, not a sound slipped from Meryl’s mouth. Fern glanced down at the taciturn coyote, and noticed that her eyes were shut tight in death’s slumber, confirming the otter’s suspicions. With but a sigh of sorrow, the brown-furred Mobian turned to Director Retroden for guidance as she tried to fight the tears that threatened to seep out.
“Too lose such a skilled and loyal member…” Alan began with a mournful tone, walking up to the two Mobians. “This is truly a tragedy. I shall arrange to have her taken downstairs to the morgue as soon as possible. Fern…”
“Yes sir?”
“Find a couple of agents. Tell them they are to go to Robotropolis and retrieve an item one agent left behind-a portable GPS system, one of the few we have on hand. Also,” the director made sure to stress this last point to the best of his ability.
“Make sure to tell them to be extremely careful when passing the Klawzax Unit headquarters, and let them know what happened to Meryl. I want to prevent as many unnecessary deaths between my agents as possible.”
“Right away director,” the Sea Otter replied, as she gently set Meryl’s body down.
“
For some reason, I’m getting a bad omen all of a sudden.”
And in truth, the teal-furred otter was feeling a bit worrisome, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was making her so anxious all of a sudden. Could it have something to do have Meryl’s death, she wondered. Quite possibly, though she had no way of knowing for sure…