Near midnight, Plain-Man found himself catching a late night e-bus to get to the old airbase downtown. He was alone for the most part, aside from the few individuals who were slumped in their seats and passed out for the night on the public transportation that ran perpetually.
Weariness from a full day of heroing began to make itself known and he was half-tempted to join the sleepers in their mobile dreams, when his phone alerted him and gave him a notification he wasn’t expecting.
[Quick! App update: Mission Location – El Toro Marine Base – WARNING!: Be cautious of wild animals]
“Hmm, that’s strange. I don’t think I’ve ever got a warning like this about a mission before…” He said aloud, too tired to contain his thoughts, “Wild animals?”
He looked over to the sleeping man on the other side of the bus compartment who snorted and sounded like he was choking in his sleep, but then quieted down.
Plain-Man used a search engine from the old web to see if he can figure out some details on the abandoned military base and ‘wild animals’, but all he could find were articles warning about the dangerous chemical spills and how Lee Harvey Oswald once spent six months on the base learning Russian.
“Seems like a fun place.”
Stepping off the bus into the oblivion of night, the only source of light that met Plain-Man’s eyes were from the distant apartment complexes and housing developments constructed a healthy distance away from the old abandon base and it took some time for his vision to adjust. He walked further into the fading blackness over the unpaved desert ground that eventually turned into an airstrip.
Soon buildings and towers and other details became perceivable, like the signs that read ‘Closed to the Public, No Trespassing, Violators will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law’, none of which perturbed Plain-Man in the slightest because he felt, instinctually, he had a right to be there, though he was wrong.
“Alright, just what am I looking for here?” he said, asking himself and the universe.
He went to take out his phone, but then stopped, thinking that it might not be such a good idea to shine any lights in a dark place like this and unnecessarily give away his position. So instead, he was forced to rely on his other senses to accomplish his mission. He could hear nothing, except his steps and a subtle breeze. He smelled nothing, but the slight whiff of what smelt like soap or some sort of cleaning appliance through the cool air. He felt nothing, because working all day had dulled his acumen, feeling hollow and automatic.
Nearing the closest building, which looked like a hangar, he decided he would start his search for the trespasser there, and entered the large opening just as the old warplanes once did. He halted at the mouth and listened for any movement. Nothing. So he groped around the interior, quiet at first, but eventually ran into an old desk that made a quick screech. He stopped and scolded his carelessness.
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Right before he continued his search though, suddenly a loud crashing sound occurred outside like the crunching of metal during a car crash. He ran out of the hangar and frantically scoped out the surrounding to find the source. His eyes could make out only the moon, the stars, and other buildings, and a thin piece of paper blowing in the wind. Silence had returned like it had always been there, which puzzled Plain-Man more than when he actually heard the sound.
Cautiously, he again continued his search, moving onto the next abandoned building, which might’ve been the bunkers to those who served on the base. He circled around for an entrance, yet hesitated to check it out due to it being pitch black. Taking out his phone and carefully turning on the light, he entered, bracing himself.
Within the small building, he immediately got a sense for the interior and his worry seemed to diminish. Over the old cots, shelves, rotting plywood and old air-conditioning units, graffiti painted every wall with discolored obscenities, crude cartoonish characters, and threats like ‘Beware the Goblin!’ or ‘King D&D was here’.
This was fruitless, Plain-Man resolved and exited back onto the runway. There were plenty of more buildings to check out and he wasn’t going to waste his time knowing his energy was limited. Choosing the next building adjacent to one he was just in, he picked up his pace and headed to the doorway. But, as he was halfway there, just then, he heard the loud crashing noise again and turned to locate the source.
Through the darkness, a moving figure flashed its humongous appearance and directly charged at Plain-Man. For a split-second, he plainly perceived what looked like a huge dog or wolf snarling mad, ready to tear throats, right before he closed his eyes as it quickly leapt at him.
But then, that was it. The few seconds Plain-Man expected to feel life-rending pain and terror, he felt nothing. He opened his eyes, and in a panic, twirled in all directions. Where’d it go, he desperately tried to figure out. A minute passed without harm, which was enough time for him to decide to abandon his mission and vacate the premises immediately.
He ran to the bus stop, though there wasn’t supposed to be another one for at least an hour. Still, Plain-Man’s main priority was to put as much distance between him that horror he witnessed as he could, sprinting the runway as fast as he could. He didn’t look back for a good while, until he finally did and discerned nothing seemed to be after him. So he slowed down a bit, and when he went to look forward and suddenly he realized he could see another dark shape standing on the airstrip.
“Hey! Who’s there?” it said, sounding like an authoritative voice and nothing supernatural much to the relief of Plain-Man, so he stopped.
“There– there’s some sort of monster out there!” was all Plain-Man could communicate.
“Ah, I’m not falling for that one again.” The voice said, obviously male, “Stop right there and put your hands in there air, if you know what’s good for you.”
Plain-Man, whose intention was to leave, momentarily stopped himself and thought over this demand and who could possibly be making it.
“Hey, who the heck are you to tell me what to do?” Plain-Man said, forgetting his fear and panic. He tried to make out the shadowy man through the dim light given off by the celestial bodies above.
“You’re here trespassing, and I’ve been hired to take care of you.” The stranger said.
“Me? Trespassing? What?” Plain-Man was real confused.
“Yeah, trespassing. Don’t deny it. I caught you redhanded.”
Plain-Man could see the man move through the darkness towards him with his hand stretched out.
“Hold on, back off. I’ve been hired too to take care of a trespasser. I’m on the Quick! app.”
“Ha, likely story. “ He moved closer.
“No, really look.” He pulled out his phone and displayed the mission description on the screen. “See? Why do you think I’m wearing this mask?”
“That means nothing to me. I know what I’ve been hired to do and I intend to take care of it.” The stranger rushed through the night and tackled Plain-Man to the ground, making him fumble his still-lit phone.