New Captain Scarlet

Unpleasant Encounter

by Lee Homer

Disclaimer: This is my first delve into a supernatural setting. It's also an early Halloween idea of mine that needed to be written. It's also my first story set in the world of Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet. All rights reserved.

Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

Heavy fog and a deafly silence had introduced itself to the sleepy town of Point Pleasant. It was a town that had history buried within its land. A town where the locals knew one another, would look out for each other and fear the same things. When Spectrum moved in on the town to set up a Scientific Research Centre, the locals responded with a sense of fear and apprehension. The Mysteron's War of Nerves had left an imprint on the town as well as the state. Nobody knew who to trust. Throughout the town's history, generations of residents had witnessed cover-ups, mysterious agents, freakish accidents, UFO sightings and the most famous of them all, a mysterious winged creature. These events had become a staple, but in recent years, they had grown used to the notion that these mysterious occurrences were all too normal.

The fog rolled in around Eight PM as the sun had disappeared over the horizon. As the residents were about to settle down for the evening, they were disturbed by the sound of a loud vehicle that sped through their neighbourhood. Peering from behind their curtains, they witnessed a red Spectrum Cheetah car heading out of town. Its destination was unknown. They didn't know. They didn't want to know.

The Spectrum Car headed out into the countryside. Captain Scarlet kept his eyes peeled on the dirt road ahead. Accompanied by Captain Blue, They were sent to investigate possible Mysteron Activity at the scientific research centre. They had only been in the town for a few short hours and already their presence had attracted attention. The dirt road lead them deep into the countryside away from the town. Their only source of light was from the Cheetah's powerful headlights. The eerie surrounding gave Captain Blue the creeps. Halloween wasn't far away.

"Well, I tell you one thing, Paul. This town is the perfect place for a Ghost hunt," he said.

Scarlet rolled his eyes up. "Knock it off Adam. I didn't peg you as one for being afraid of the dark."

"I'm not afraid of the dark. It's this town's history that gives me the creeps. You've heard the stories of what happened here back in the Sixties."

"That was then. Ever since then, the town has done well for itself. Besides, right now, The Mysterons were detected in this area. It's possible that Captain Black might be after something at the research centre."

Blue rubbed the back of his head. "What would Black be after? All the centre has is data codes and computers."

"Yes but they house a lot of valuable data on Spectrum's weapons resources. That's why the Colonel sent us here. All we've got to do is secure the perimeter and report back to Skybase."

Captain Blue took a deep breath. "Yeah you're right. It's no biggie. We've done this many times before."

Scarlet smiled slightly. "Okay. The research centre is just between those trees. Let's just get this done and go home."

They headed on, using their headlights to guide the way. The research centre appeared from amongst the shadows. The facility was still fully lit from its vast array of security and ambient lighting. The car rolled up outside the front entrance. The two officers stepped out into the cool Virginian air. Their nasal senses took in the foul odour of chemicals that were nearby.

"What is that stench?" Blue asked as he tried to stomach the smell.

"We must be near the old TNT plant," Scarlet replied as he approached the door's security computer. "It's said to be near here. Well, the computer here says there's no evidence of a break-in. We'll search the grounds for any signs of entry and report back."

"S.I.G." Blue acknowledged.

So far, their search had been a silent one. They could find not traces of forced entry, no signs of Mysteron activity. Blue was relieved at the idea that it was a false alarm. As Scarlet decided to report it in, a strange low-frequency sound had attracted Blue's attention. It had nestled itself into his eardrum and increased in volume. Blue couldn't focus his attention away from it as this sound began to drown out the voice of his fellow officer. His sense of curiosity peaked. He felt a huge urge to follow the sound to its source. He couldn't work out why but he knew it was calling out to him. Slowly but surely, he stumbled away from the vicinity of the Cheetah and wandered off into the menacing woodlands.

As Scarlet finished making his report, he hastily turned around to find that Blue wasn't there with him. He called out to him. His voice echoed through the trees but there was not reply. Not even a whisper. He shone his flashlight on the woodlands behind him after he heard the cracking of the underbrush in the distance. Captain Blue appeared within the beam of light. He was heading into an old derelict building.

"Adam? Adam, where are you going!?" he shouted as he ran after his friend.

However, Blue remained unresponsive. He had unknowingly entered the old TNT facility, transfixed by the hypnotic sound. He dragged his feet through chemical puddles until he came to a halt in a narrow walkway. Dropping his flashlight, Blue was now standing in the pitch black. Scarlet's voice echoed throughout the halls but he still could not hear him. He couldn't speak nor think. He had lost control of his senses. Suddenly, he began to feel pressure on his temples that gradually intensified. This was accompanied by a tingly sensation that travelled through the nerves all around his face. His cheeks were numb, his mouth went dry and his heart rate began to race. Although he couldn't speak, he knew that something was in the walkway there with him. The thing that terrified him the most was that there was nothing he could do about it.

As Scarlet entered the walkway, he shone his flashlight down the tunnel in front of them. He found Captain Blue standing there in a paralysed state. However, he began to hear the sounds himself as an uneasy feeling set itself in his gut. He needed to get Adam out of there. It was the classic fight or flight response and Scarlet's instincts were to flee. As he approached his friend, he was knocked back by two intense red lights that appeared before them. Captain Blue began to scream at the top of his lungs. The intense light had burned his retinas to the point that he couldn't see. Scarlet threw Blue to the ground and ducked as a loud shriek echoed throughout the hallway.

Suddenly, a dark winged creature appeared from nowhere, knocking the flashlight out of Scarlet's hand. He shrieked and growled as it flew out of the building and into the night. Scarlet waited a few seconds before picking himself up off the contaminated ground.

"Come on! We've got to get you out of here." He said as Blue nursed his smouldering eyes.

"I can't see! Paul, Aggghhhh! I can't see!" He screamed as he struggled to take on the intense burning pain. "It hurts so bad!"

"Hold onto me, I'm going to get you out of here," Scarlet replied calmly as possible.

Scarlet kept his guard up and nerves steady. He grabbed his flashlight and carried his friend out of the building. He was no doubt freaked out by what had just happened. He tried to rationally work out what it was that flew over them. Was it a bird that happened to have just set up home there? Was it something that the Mysterons had constructed? He wanted to find the answers, but his first priority was Captain Blue.

They eventually made their way out of the building. Scarlet headed for the car but felt compelled to look up towards the roof of the research centre. The creature had perched itself up above on the roof. It's wings extended outwards sporting an attack posture. It's red, flare like eyes cut through the mist. Scarlet hurried for the driver's seat as fast as he could. Then with no warning, the creature dived at them once again. Scarlet and Blue hit the ground. Their faces were now cached in mud. Scarlet followed protocol and tried to report the attack to Skybase. His cap microphone swung down into place.

"This is Captain Scarlet calling Skybase! We're under attack! Repeat! We're under attack!"

Scarlet made repeated attempts to hail the base, but there was no reply. It was at that moment that another set of thoughts crossed his mind. Was this creature apart of The Mysteron attack? Was it responsible for jamming the airwaves? He rolled over in the mud to observe the skies above them. The creature had vanished into the mist. Never had he seen a creature so large move so silently. A reassuring calm descended over the area as the wind rustled the trees. However, Scarlet had never felt so on edge. He just needed to head out of the area. As soon as they could get back to town and establish a link with Skybase, the sooner they could get out of there.

He carefully sat Blue in the passenger's seat as he contemplated their next move. There was no other route out of the woods. The Cheetah wasn't designed for heavy off road use and their flying capability was extremely limited. Scarlet's paranoia had reached critical levels. He just couldn't tell if the creature was going to fly back at them from another direction. Something was telling him to stay there but by that time, his adrenaline levels had kicked in. He floored the accelerator, keeping his eyes on the dirt trail ahead. Blue mumbled slightly as the car's sudden motion helped him relax. He was still in pain but not began to feel disorientated. He decided to keep talking.

"Paul, what the hell is that thing? Is it still following us?"

"It seems to have flown away," Paul replied silently as he became distracted at the sky above them. "Adam, this might sound unbelievable to you, but I think I know what that thing was."

"Trust me pal, I'm open to suggestions and theories." Adam huffed. "I'm pretty sure that thing wasn't a barn owl!"

Scarlet's voice deepened. "No, I think that was...The Mothman!"

"What? After all this these years?"

"I got a look at it." Scarlet continued. "It fitted the descriptions made from the eyewitnesses over a hundred years ago. It's wingspan, it's dynamic, everything."

"Not forgetting those eyes," Blue added. "How could it have lived this long, though?"

"It was using the old TNT plant as it's home." Scarlet theorised. "I'm not sure what it eats to survive but its source of energy must be there. The creature must have triggered the alarm at the research centre."

"Well, at least it isn't Mysteron related. The question is do we kill it?"

"I don't have any intention to kill it, Adam. We were not sent here to do that. If it's not a Mysteron threat then we shouldn't tackle it. Look what it did to your face."

Blue tried to open his eyes again. The intense pain didn't follow but his vision had been impaired.

"Everything is blurry." He said as he looked over towards Scarlet. "How bad does it look?"

Scarlet took a glimpse at his friend's face. He slammed on the breaks, pulling over to one side. He peered over his fellow Captain and examined his eyes with a small flashlight. Captain Blue's eyes were completely bloodshot. His pupil's retinas had been glazed over. The veins around his eyes had swollen and adopted a dark reddish tint.

"It looks really bad," he said. "As soon as we get back to base, I'm going to send you to Dr Gold."

"I'm not going to argue. This really hurts. We'd better get a move on."

"Agreed. The town shouldn't be too far away now."

They continued on down through the sinister countryside. A sea of ambient light from Point Pleasant appeared in front of them. It seemed like they were in the clear until the unbelievable happened. Scarlet slammed on the breaks once again. He fought control of the car as they skidded into the underbrush. The creature had returned. It had perched itself on top of a formation of rocks. It screeched uncontrollably as it's intense red eyes homed in on the two Spectrum officers. Time began to slow down around them. Scarlet sat there motionless as his mind raced at a mile per minute. What did it want? Whatever it was trying to do, it wasn't going to let them go anywhere.