BRIGHT

AUGUST 2012

Deep in the countryside of Bright at 10 pm, a bus carrying a team of SECT Soldiers was driving through. The team consisted of 9 regular Soldiers, dressed in standard riot gear spray painted black, carrying assault rifles. The team was led by Captain Alex Stormer. The bus pulled to a stop, just a few miles away from the Davinson Farm. As the men began piling out of the bus, Stormer went in front of them.

“Pay attention men, I’m only going to say this once. Michael is dangerous, do not hesitate. You see him, you shoot him immediately. If you don’t, he will kill you. Michael is the target, no one else. I want zero casualties”. The rest of the team nodded and said words of agreement. “Driver, if we’re not back in 40 minutes head back to base” Stormer said to the driver and began making his way to the house. As the unit began walking, the men began turning the safety off their rifles.

Jeff Davinson was sitting on his porch in a rocking chair, with a double barreled shotgun at his side as he read his paper. He had on denim overalls, with a white shirt underneath and black boots, with a grey beard and grey hair. His reading was interrupted as he heard the gravel crunch and looked up to see 9 men approaching.

“Good evening Mr. Davin-“ Stormer began to speak

“Fuck off” Jeff said as he got up, with the shotgun in hand. The rest of the men raised their rifles as Jeff stood just a few feet from Stormer

“Guns down, I got this” Stormer said as he lifted his hand, signaling his men to stand down. “Mr. Davinson, don’t do this” Stormer warned Jeff

“Is this necessary? He’s just a kid” Jeff said, raising his gun

“Your son is 16” Stormer corrected

“It was an accident, he didn’t mean to do it” Jeff exclaimed

“How does he accidentally break a girl’s kneecaps and throw her down a well?” Stormer asked, no longer trying to keep up a friendly appearance. “Or string a boy up and set him on fire? Or drown an old lady in the lake?”

“It was an accident!” Jeff said in frustration. “They were just playing, he doesn’t know any better”

“I understand. You protect your family, as anyone would but this has gone on long enough. Your son is a monster and he needs to be stopped” Stormer said, now getting frustrated.

“I’ll talk to him, I’ll get him help!” Jeff tried pleading

“He’s beyond help now” Stormer replied coldly. “Either you give him to us willingly, or we will go after him”

“Like hell you will!” Jeff said and raised the shotgun to Stormer’s face. “Get the fuck off my property right now!” Jeff screamed, his hands shaking as he has never fired his gun at another human before.

“Mr. Davinson, if you put that gun down and surrender, I’ll forget you threatened me” Stormer said sternly, his eyes now on the gun in front of him.

“LEAVE!” Jeff screamed, his whole body trembling

“Alright” Stormer said. In a quick and fluid movement, Stormer cupped his hand over the barrel of the gun and tried wrestling it. Jeff fired a blast, but Stormer’s blocked the shot with his hand. With his hand on the barrel and the bead side, Stormer lifted the shotgun upright, whacking it directly into Jeff’s face, then again with much more forced causing Jeff to let go of the shotgun. Stormer then used the butt of the shotgun and hit Jeff in the stomach, causing him to double over before finally hitting Jeff in the side of the head, making him fall to the ground unconscious.

“Charlie 1 and 2, arrest Mr. Davinson” Stormer instructed as he let the pellets from the shotgun fall out of his undamaged hands, except for the gloves. Two Soldiers rushed over and handcuffed Jeff, with his arms behind his back. “You two wait here with him” Stormer instructed. The rest of the unit continued into the house.

The inside of the house was bare. Aside from a few pictures on the wall, this single story house was basic. As the unit continued sweeping through the rooms, Stormer stopped to look at some pictures. The first photo showed a photo of a baby, possibly Michael in his crib. The next few photos were Michael as a boy, such as him swimming, fishing with Jeff and eating cotton candy at a carnival. The final picture showed Michael as a teen, dressed in blue overalls and a white shirt like his dad, but this time wearing a wide brim had. As Stormer continued walking through. There were no other pictures he could see.

“Operator? Over” Jeff said into his radio.

“Delta here, go for it. Over” the operator replied

“Mr. Davison was threatening me with a firearm, so I had to subdue and restrain him. Over”

“Is he hurt? Over.”

“I hit him a few times to get the gun away, then handcuffed him. Over”

“Acknowledged. Over”

“We are now in his home, hoping to find Michael. Over”

“Understood. Over”

“I will update you when I find something new. Over and out”

“Over and out”

As the men continued walking around the house, looking for signs, Stormer entered Michael’s bedroom. Aside from a standard wooden frame bed with white sheets, the room was empty. The closet was open with nothing inside, the walls had small dirt outlines where the dresser, table and other items once were. Stormer noticed a lot of scratch marks and holes in the walls. Stormer walked over to the closet and noticed that a piece of the floor had a noticeable cut in the ground. Stormer took out his knife and used it to pop the frame out of the ground. Stormer lifted the small slab of wood and saw a dress in a small hole in the ground. The dress looked like it belongs to a child, it was blue with a white stripe going around. The dress was dirty with both elements of the earth, and blood. ‘What the fuck?’ Stormer thought to himself.

“Charlie 3” Stormer called out.

“Yes sir?” the Soldier responded

“Document this finding, I’m going to keep searching”

“Affirmative sir”

Stormer got up and left the room as the Soldier began work. Stormer and the rest of the men continued searching the house. It all seemed to be normal, if a bit baren. That was until Stormer arrived at the kitchen. The kitchen was in neat condition, except for the fridge. The tiles underneath the fridge had scratch marks, indicating it moves a lot. With little effort, Stormer gripped the fridges by its sides and pulled it out, making a screeching noise. This got the attention of several men, who wondered to see what was happening. As Stormer moved the fridge, he saw a small hatch in the ground.

“What do we have here?” Stormer said to himself. “Charlie 5, on me. The rest of you, keep looking around” Stormer said as he made his way to the hatch. Stormer noticed a standard lock and ripped it off with his hands with little effort, before flinging the hatch open. The hatch had a small staircase that was very steep. After making their way down, the stairs lead to a very small basement that wasn’t on the blueprints the unit had acquired. The basement looked very crude, like it was started and then abandoned. The only noticeable features in the room was a chest. Stormer looked at the Soldier, who raised his gun. Stormer cautiously opened the chest. The chest had a variety of items that belonged to children. A couple of shoes, bracelets, necklaces, teddy bears. Each one was dirty and seemed to be damaged, as if it were during a struggled.

“Fucking hell” the Soldier said

“I wonder how many unreported cases there actually are” Stormer replied, feeling disgusted. Stormer and the Soldier left the basement.

“Charlie 3!” Stormer called out

“Yes sir?” Charlie 3 said, around the corner

“When you’re done with that room, do this room next” Stormer instructed

“Affirmative” Charlie 3 said and returned to his room.

“Any signs of Michael?” Stormer asked

“No sir, no signs inside the house” Charlie 7 replied

“Let’s keep going” Stormer said and made his way to the backyard. The unit exited the home and stood at the backyard. As Stormer looked around, all he saw was empty fields, fields filled with crops and in the distance, a barn.

“Of fucking course it is” Stormer said to himself as he made his way to the barn, instructing the rest to follow suit. “Charlie 1 and 2, be advised we are heading to the barn at the back of the house. Over”. “Understood. Over” Charlie 1 replied. After a brief walk across the field, they arrived at the barn.