Megoon

Desperation Overload

“Dad!” Megoon screamed, as she was waking up from her sleep and pointing towards the window. Her dad came running into her room, looking intently at his daughter. He shifted his body weight slowly and quietly towards the window. Reached into a small Fannie pack and pulled out thermal vision and peaked out the open window (barely breaking the military crest to keep his silhouette minimal). The her little brother came walking around the corner half asleep, stopped and starred at his Dad, then out the upper right quadrant of the window just beyond the ridge, then slowly faded into a crouch. All was quiet and tense as their Dad peaked his head over the window seal. He sees nothing on the thermals as he scans from near to far, sweeping from 5 yards to 25 yards. Megoon taps him on the shoulder and points out into the distance just beyond the ridge (about 200 yards out). Adjusting his thermals he looks out and faintly sees a tiny jack rabbit barely protruding from a small burrow under a bush. Confused and impressed, he whispers “You can hear that, way over there?” Megoon gently nods her head while still focused on the moonlit apocalyptic terrain outside the window, “a snake almost got him” she said. Her Dad looked at both of his kids with chills running up his spine and said, “both of you sleep in here tonight” then gets up and starts packing supplies into a duffle bag. He says, “Sweetie, look after your brother while I run these supplies to ya uncle Frank”. “Please stay inside and stay out of sight,” he added, as he stepped onto the terrace just outside the second story window. Then jumped down out of sight.

Soon after they fell asleep. Megoon wakes up her little brother violently, wake up! She whispered loudly, while pointing a red flashlight at her little brother’s eyes. “Wake up!” We have to move, someone’s coming,” she said. Her little brother Halo murmured, “where’s Dad.” As she grabs him by the hand and pulls him out of bed. Climbing out onto the terrace. They heard someone kick down the front door with a loud crash and slowly creaking up the old stair case. Megoon reassures her brother saying, “just do what I do, just like Dad taught us” as she hung down off the railing and dropped down to the ground below. Rolling onto her shoulder to help break the fall. Her 7 year old brother hung there on the railing, frozen in fear, too afraid to drop down. He lost his grip and fell towards the ground, crack! She turns and sees him going face first to the ground. Last second he bends forward and rolls on the floor using his right shoulder. “Oof!” he whispered as he was clutching his ankle, sitting on the ground. Megoon quickly runs to him and helps him skip along, then faded into the shadows behind the bushes. The intruders came running inside their room because of the open window and the pronounced thud! They looked out the window. Then one after the other they leaped out of the window and started crouching into the shadows.

Megoon and Halo were well along in the thick brush. She was propping her brother up as a crutch and helped him skip along. They began hunkering down and slowly hid behind the bushes, putting her finger over her mouth she whispered, “shhh.” Halo nodded his head in agreement. A truck came screeching around the corner of the house slammed on the brakes. Boom! The trucks flood lights flicked on from every angle. “They couldn’t have gotten far, spread out!” the Sgt said, as the troops scanned intently and made their way through the bush. Megoon looked at her little brother and said, “I’m going to hide you in this fox den, whatever you do, don’t come out until Dad and I come back.” Her little brother nodded his head reluctantly. “Please come back for me”, he said. She finished covering him with bushes and faded away into the dark canyon (just below the moon light). The men gave up on the search and went back to their vehicle and started driving away. Halo was freezing as his body heat slowly drained away, unable to keep himself warm he decided that the ‘coast was clear’ and proceeded to climb out of his hole. However, the truck was not fully gone and they picked him up on thermals, it was just beyond the ridge and when they seen Halo climb up out of the hole, they turned on the flood lights and revved the engine at full speed, sliding to a stop, Halo sat there starring from behind the bush as the truck was idling. Out of nowhere two men jumped out of the shadows grabbing the young boy. As they were bringing him to the truck they said, “where is your sister?” Halo thought to himself, “She is half way to uncle franks house by now.” The Sgt smacked him in the face, “I said, where is your sister!?” Halo looks down and remained silent, not saying a word. “Cpl, put him in the truck.” Two burley ninjas picked him up and started shoving him into the backseat of the truck and drove off into the darkness of the night.

Megoon, ran straight up to her unbenounced father scaring the s**t out of him. “What are you doing?” Squaring up, noticing her, then reaching towards her with both arms. “Wheres your brother?” Tears streaming down her face and fully out of breath she collapsed into her father’s arms. Gasping she said, “bad guys are at our house looking for him, hurry we have to go back.” Picking her up and putting her on his back he dashed back to the house at a full sprint. After a bit he started slowing down. Megoon said, “let me down, I can run.” Breaking through their second wind, they quickened their pace. Megoon took the lead as they approached the house, “this way!”, she exclaimed. She stopped, frozen in fear. She stared at the empty fox den as her Dad came jogging up, peering into the den. With his adrenaline still pumping he looked around and said, “Look, tire tracks.” He started following the tracks, but his heart sank and he fell to his knees clutching his chest in painful desperation -when he saw which direction the tracks lead. “Stay here, I need to put my gear away”, he said as he dashed towards the front door. She can hear him running downstairs into the basement. He comes back out without his sword and bow.

Taking his daughter to uncle franks house, he drops her off and started driving up a long steep hill. She watched from the window of her uncles house, then ran away and followed after her Dad. Megoon reached the top of the hill and looked out and seen a giant Japanese style castle and her Dad parked out front and walking up to the gate. The guards opened the gate and let him walk straight in. She watched as he walked up the stairs towards the palace. As he stood in the courtyard patiently waiting, a tall man came walking out of the palace dressed in all black and said, “You should have given your kids willingly”, he continued. “Everyone has to pay towards the war effort, you’re not special.” “Unfortunately, your son didn’t make it, he was sacrificed for the greater good,” as he disgustingly, but proudly pointed his face towards a boiling pot of stew. “No!” Their Dad screamed at the top of his lungs and started running towards the warlord.

Megoon gasps as she wakes up from her ‘realistic photographic nightmares’ of the past. 20 years later and fully grown up, she rolls over and grabs her dad’s old bow and slings it on her back.