Link to article: Stroll Through The Night.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] From high up in trees on a branch I have watched humans. I'm often told not to but I do. I have been fascinated with them for a long time. They are odd things. I grew up with stories of them slaying or imprisoning the mightiest of heroes, and that no one was their equal. I was told that they, the Children of the Sun, hated all that was different and hidden in the dark. Odd because tonight it does not seem so. Once every year, they alter themselves to resemble what they feared in exchange of tiny bags. They cover their homes with webs and bones, which does not taste good. My large amber eyes have seen that and much more. They seem to embrace it all. As I stared on at the human civilization, a voice from down below called for me. "Hey, Roth, get down from there!" I looked down and saw it was Tobi. His skin was like that of the Moon, and he stood as tall as a bear. His red eyes glowed in the darkness below. I spread my wings and glided from the branch to the bottom. Tobi spoke once again. "So when are we going to see the humans up close? Our elders won't stay resting forever." He said. "We need to wait for Feb and Lucy. They want to come too." I replied. "Who cares about those gremlins? I still don't know them well, Roth. Besides, I don't trust those of The Factory." Tobi said as he turned to face the full Moon, which hovered beautifully so high up in the starry night. "Not all gremlins are employed at The Factory. You need a little more time with them." Tobi silently observed the Moon and turned his attention at the direction of the humans. Suddenly, nearby bushes rustled, which made me and Tobi turn to it. Out of the bushes came Feb and Lucy. Their large golden eyes stared up at me as they walked toward us. Feb had something hidden behind him. "Hey, how's it going?" Feb said as he waved a free hand with a huge toothy grin on his face. Lucy chuckled beside him. Before I was able to respond, Tobi spoke. "Alright, now we go see the humans. These... little savages have arrived." Tobi said in an agitated tone. "Aw, don't be like that, grumpy. Would a savage be inconsiderate?" Said Lucy as Feb pulled out a dead raccoon that he had hidden behind him the whole time. He raised it up to Tobi, who ignored the offer. "Well, more for us." Both Feb and Lucy declared simultaneously as they devoured the carcass. "Well," I finally said. "I guess we can go now. We need to stay together, and if things go awry we retreat." "Cool." Feb said while Lucy chewed on a bone. "Also, don't eat anything in a bag when we are there. The little bags I see humans hand out are too sweet, and I don't think hyperactive gremlins will make us feel welcome." "Can't we have just one?" Feb said in a sad voice as he and Lucy pouted their lips. "No." I replied. "Aww." Both said in disappointment. "May we go now?" Tobi asked me. "Yeah, sorry. Lets go." We moved onward to the human population, and could hear the distant cheerful chatter of man. I was eager to see humans up close. ------ Lucas stared at the screen, vigilantly watching the radar for any entities. He was seated in the back of the van with three other operatives while I sat at the driver's seat. They checked devices and the radar for any abnormal readings in the "Aetheric Energy Fields" of the surrounding populace to identify any non-human anomalies. I never understood how it worked, but it did and it worked for the Coalition. We were tasked to be on lookout. At this time of year, things that kept themselves hidden from civilization go out into the open, blending with the crowd. It was reportedly convenient for their appearance are not out of the ordinary when everyone is wearing costumes. I once saw an entity who had the resemblance of a generic ghost costume. You know, with the bedsheets. Lucas then called out to me as I stared through the window, watching a group of kids. "John, see anything out there?" "No. Just kids. Why are you asking? That shit you're using should tell you." "Just asking." He said. I watched him with the rearview mirror, his eyes still glued to the screen. Suddenly, the devices in the back began to go off. Lucas and the other operatives checked and confirmed the coming presence of four entities coming from the north. "Four entities. Alright, John, move the van to their direction. We need to assess the threat." Lucas said as he moved to the passenger seat. I started the van and Lucas sat down. He opened the glove compartment to pull out a pistol and two full magazines. Behind me I could hear the others contact nearby strike teams for assistance followed by the cocking of guns. I briefly noticed Lucas placing two silver bullets into a magazine. "Hey, what's that for? Werewolves are extinct last time I checked." I said to him. "Silver could work on other things. You never know. Besides, it is no use to leave them collecting dust in my locker." "Why not trade them for cash? You know what, nevermind. We got a job to do." Lucas loaded his gun as we moved down the street and took a turn. ------ We arrived at the place. We watched from behind hedges at passing humans. Feb and Lucy whispered about their appearances and snickered to themselves. One wore a cape and made their skin grey. Two red dots were also on their neck. Another had fuzzy horns and was red while holding an odd stick with three points. Some also wore white sheets also. We traveled on and saw some stop at random dwellings briefly to receive "trick or treats", which were the small bags. I was fascinated. We then moved to the side of a building and looked around the corner. There were some flashing lights in the distance at a dwelling where multiple humans gathered. Some shambled and struggled to walk, laughing as they drank from cups. "Are they mimicking the reanimated?" Tobi asked. "Perhaps. Humans are said to have a fascination with the dead rising." I informed him. While Tobi and I observed a group of tall humans throw paper at a tree, Feb and Lucy tucked at my wing and pointed to some small humans behind us. There were five of them, and their faces looked up in awe at me and Tobi. It was briefly silent before one of them spoke. "Cool costumes!" said a human that wore a funny hat . Feb and Lucy stared at one who had long and pointy ears, just like the ones they had. The small humans started to ask us various questions. "Where do you come from?" "Do you like chocolate?" "How did you make your costumes?" "Are you supposed to be Mothman?" I was perplexed and turned to Tobi, who shrugged. He too couldn't understand their words. Although, they weren't afraid of us and that was interesting. As they talked and surrounded Feb and Lucy, someone called out, which caused the small humans to turn. I looked and saw another human who was tall. They immediately became still when they saw us. "Kids, come over here." The tall one muttered in a worried voice while slightly trembling at my gaze. The little ones reluctantly complied, and said goodbye to us. Then we suddenly heard the familiar sound of a gun. ------ Lucas muttered profanity as he and I watched the four entities interacting with some kids down the street. All of the entities are humanoid, and two appeared to be of the same species. They were short and green-ish. The other two were tall. One looked like a corpse with grey skin, while the other was a cross between a crustacean and a darkly colored insect. The latter had wings which were tucked behind it. "Alright, we might not need to 'conceal' for kids have overactive imaginations and-" Lucas rambled just before a woman came around a corner. "Shit." I said. As we observed, an agent in the back informed us that a strike team was inbound and due to arrive in four minutes. We did not know if the entities were hostile, but we could not risk further exposure. Lucas rolled down the window and ordered the other agents in the back to engage. I immediately protested against his order. "Wait! We don't know what those things are capable of!" I shouted. "According to the tech, they could be Fiji-classed, but we must uphold the second and third mission." Lucas said as he and the others exited from the van and aimed at the creatures. One of the agents opened fire, which missed and hit a jack-o-lantern. The insect creature immediately spread its wings and quickly flew up in the star-filled sky. The two small creatures clung onto the legs of the other entity as it ran very quickly across the street into an alleyway. The woman and kids ran off while three shots were fired. We retreated back into the van and Lucas gave me an order. "Follow them!" He spat. "Of course!" I replied as I drove the van. In the back, an agent stated that the strike team was only seconds away. ------ I flew high above in the sky, watching the human vehicle and Tobi, whom Feb and Lucy clung to. They moved among the maze like streets, and I flew down to them. I landed in front of them where Tobi pulled at Feb and Lucy. "Get off me!" He exclaimed. The two complied while they snickered. "That was a rush." Feb said to Lucy, who nodded in agreement. "Come on, we need to-" I said before hearing the sound of the human vehicle. "Hide!" I managed to say before flying again. I hid on top of a roof and peered down to observe. ------ "Stop the van! We are going on foot. The team is here and have eyes in the sky for the thing. Also, civilians are being sent back into their homes." Lucas said as he got additional magazines and an SMG with a flashlight attached from the back. I loaded my sawed-off and got out of the van with everyone. We moved to the side of an empty convenience store that lead to an alleyway. We cautiously moved around the area until we heard a clang inside a trashcan ahead. Lucas pointed at an agent to approach it, which they reluctantly complied. Lucas then gestured to open it while we aimed our weapons. Before opening the trashcan lid, out burst the short creatures. They crawled all over the agent as they tried to take them off. The agent fell to his back, which gave me a clear shot at one of the creatures. I fired and they got kicked back by the blast. The other stopped and looked at its comrade. The one I shot started to laugh as it looked up into the sky. We then shot the other while it was distracted. It too just laughed as it laid on the ground. They tried to crawl away and the agent who was down got up to aim. Suddenly, from the darkness deeper in the alleyway, a hand grabbed the head of the agent and twisted it, killing him instantly. It was the tall creature. We opened fire at it and it seemed unhurt. "Fall back!" I yelled. We exited back into the street where we saw members of the other strike team approaching on the sidewalk. Then I heard a scream and turned to see an agent being grabbed and had his arm torn off by the entity. It then clawed at him, and as it did we desperately fired at it to no avail. Suddenly Lucas pulled out his pistol and fired. Lucas had hit the creature's right shoulder, which showed a clear visible wound. It started to quickly blister before swelling and bursting, severing its arm. The creature's eyes widened and looked at its arm on the ground in a pool of blood. It quickly charged at Lucas, but he fired a second shot, which hit it in the head. It crashed into Lucas right before its head exploded. "Told you the silver bullets were going to be useful." Lucas said as he pushed the body off him and stood up. "Yeah, whatever. We just lost two guys!" I said to Lucas before looking at the members of the other strike teams. I told them of the other two entities, and they went after them with cages. Back at headquarters we have ways to destroy durable threats. As Lucas wiped off some brain matter, the winged creature swooped down and took him high into the air. It dropped Lucas to his death and he landed onto a car. We fired blindly into the sky briefly. I returned to the van and sat down. We were going to need a team to handle cover-up. While I was thinking, guns shots and a helicopter could be heard in the distance. ------ I soared high in the sky and flew into the direction of the woods. I was able to see Feb and Lucy. They were locked in cages after being gunned down. I wanted to fly to them, but a bright light flashed on me. The light came from another human vehicle, which then fired at me. I evaded and managed to make it into the forest. I was shielded by the trees, and I eventually stopped to rest. I briefly thought about Tobi, and his death. I did not understand how he perished. Nothing could hurt him. My thoughts were then interrupted by the sound of a spinning blade, and being illuminated. Instinctively, I spread my wings and flew among the trees. I heard a brief click, and found myself to be suddenly entangled in black webs. I tried to chew through them, but it was no use. A group of humans then surrounded me. One came up with a long stick that made me fall asleep. When I awoke, I found myself in a white room. It was brightly lit, and there was a window where I was able to see two silhouettes. They were talking to each other. I made out several parts of their conversation such as "SCP" and "retrieved at around 11:59, sir." At first, I was confused and I started to wonder if they were The Jailers. I heard tales of them keeping others in similar rooms, but no one knew all the details. Nonetheless, I simply sat, unblinking, waiting to see what would occur next. 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