Radius

by Seismology

Prologue - One For The Road

Have you ever wanted to travel- to be a part of something truly special? Not just to go on a road trip, or to see the sights, but to really go on an actual adventure! Why, I could recall growing up in my small town and laying my head on the family car window or laying my head against the bus window while going to school, and just staring out at prairies and fields beyond. I would yearn to travel beyond those golden sheets and valleys. I wanted to find out what was truly out there in life. To go beyond my small little town, well... I would get to do exactly that. This is my story of how I travelled, how I got to experience that adventure. It wasn't easy, I can tell you that as much, but I got what I wanted in life. I'm still working out whether or not it was worth it, but you'll see for that yourself. This is how I discovered the radius, and the consequences that followed. My name is Harold, and this is my story.

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Prologue - One For The Road

"The ongoing crisis that's befalling Parker seems to be continuing with no signs of slowing down, the rate of disappearances has increased by a margin of over five hundred percent!"

"That's right, Thomas, and authorities are struggling to determine who, or what, could be responsible for these missing persons. Concerned residents had these opinions to share."

"Ah think eets them dang weird [BLEEP] animals they done wnat us ta talk 'bout. If'n ya ask me, them there park rangers oughta hunt em down!"

"Well, my husband thinks it's some whackjob serial killer on the loose, like a modern day Ted Bundy!"

"Personally, I think it's the start of the rapture. That's all I have to say about that."

"Ha ha! That's right, Linda, all of the residents seem to have differing opinions about what is causing the-"

CLICK

"What the? Hey! I was watching that!" Shouted Harold indignantly.

"Yeah, but you can't fill your head with all of that crap." Mothered a soft, kindly voice. The owner setting the remote down on the back of the couch as Harold turned around.

"But it's the news! Don't you wanna know what's happening out there?" Harold motioned toward the TV with a free hand, the other occupied by an orange and white tabby cat on his lap.

"Sure, I'd like to know why gas prices are rising, but there's no point worrying about something you can't control, Harry." Came the same, sweet, soft voice again.

"Damnit Kelly, you know I've been planning to figure this out myself! I need to stay up to date!" Harold reached behind him to the back of the couch, fumbling for the remote.

"And I, personally, think that your plan is silly." Kelly said with a tone of finality, "You're my little brother, and mom will be rolling over in her grave if she knew that I'd let you get hurt."

Silence hung in the air as Harold stopped fumbling for the remote. He calmly picked up the cat on his lap, who meowed in protest, and set the furry critter down to the side. He sighed and grabbed a package of Marlboros from his breast pocket, and began to shake one out.

"Harry, I'm sor-" Kelly started, but was interrupted.

"Don't bother, it's fine, just... You know we both hate bringing it up." Harold stood up, turning and looking Kelly in the eye, who had a somber look about her. "I'm going to the bar, and I'm going through with my plan. I've made up my mind."

Kelly's mouth opened, then closed as she crossed her arms, watching Harold walk from the couch and over to the front door. She watched as the door swung open, and Harold's silhouette disappearing behind the closing door.

"I love you, you big dork." Kelly said to nobody.

Harold marched down the path that led to the end of the driveway and spotted his old 1990 Mitsubishi Vanwagon sitting just to the side of the mailbox. He had retrofitted it with solar chargers so he could charge his multitude of devices. He had spent a decent portion of their parent's inheritance on retrofitting the van, but it was his father's old van. He never wanted to get a new one, in the stead of keeping this one for the sentimental value. Harry quickly hopped into the old thing and looked behind him at his set up. He was theoretically ready to go figure out what was going on. He certainly had enough money to make the journey. It was just a matter of deciding on when to go.

Sighing, Harry jostled the keys out of his jacket pocket and stuck them into the ignition, turning the key and starting the engine. The van puttered to life, and soon he was driving to his watering hole destination. He spaced out for most of the drive, thinking about his job, and his self-appointed mission. He knew that Kelly would understand what he was doing in time, even if she didn't now. Besides, if he could figure out what was going on, he could be a hero! That cheered him up, his spirits brightening as he pulled into the town square. The hustle and bustle of cars going to and fro forcing him to perk up and pay attention. Soon, he pulled into the little parking strip of the bar, and had his car parked.

He stepped out of the van, locking it, and went inside of the bar with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. There were very few people here in the early afternoon, just him, one other regular, and the bartender - Casey. Casey was a nice young girl who had gotten her bartender's license just a year before, but she was a whiz behind the bar. Supposedly she had been practicing mixing drinks at parties during and after high school, so she had a leg up on the competition. Casey saw him entering and paused wiping the bar, waving with a dazzling smile.

"Hey Harry! Still coming in your deathtrap?" She started.

"Hehe, yeah. Still got my deathtrap alright." Harry half-smiled, taking a seat behind the dimly lit bar. He turned over to the only other patron and nodded, "Hey, Bill, how's it going?"

"Eh, same as ever. You still going on your adventure?" Bill sipped at his draft, wiping the foam from his upper lip.

"Yep, thinking of going today."

"Today? No way! We'll miss you, Harry, can't you post-pone it?" Casey pouted, forcing a frown.

"Well, she'll miss you." Bill chuckled.

"Nah, I've already post-poned it long enough. It's gotta be today." Harold smiled as Casey popped the cap off a Pabst-Blue-Ribbon for him. Harry threw out three dollars for Casey, and began to sip at his brew.

"Well, just know that I will miss you, Bill here can eat a dick." Casey thwacked the bespoken with the bar rag, who mock winced.

"Ouch, you hurt me, darling." Bill chuckled once more.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a lady-killer like you Bill." Casey turned back to Harold, "Seriously though, I will miss you."

Harold looked into Casey's gorgeous ocean-blue eyes, "I know, now, just don't go missing while I'm gone, alright?"

Casey thrust out her hand, to which Harold grabbed it, shaking earnestly. "You got yourself a deal, mister."

Harold and Casey laughed as Bill rolled his eyes, muttering something about young people under his breath. Harold continued to sip beer and mind his own as Casey went about her work cleaning the bar and the glasses therein. Harold took out his phone and began to plan his route. He already had a good idea of where to start. Harold noticed that the disappearances had occurred at the edge of town, closer to where the Rocky Mountains would begin. They seemed to be occurring in some odd half circle pattern, and the pattern was growing larger and more voluminous in disappearances.

His route plotted and his beer quickly put down. Harold began to get up from the bar stool. "Alright, I'm heading out. Gotta give Kelly a call first, but wish me luck!" Harold began to wave at Casey.

Casey wouldn't have any of it, and the lithe young girl practically hopped over the bar in an instant, giving Harold a great big hug. Harold was taken off guard and did his best to hug her back. Casey nuzzled into his chest, being shorter than he was, but did her best all the same.

"I'll miss you, Harry, be careful." Casey said into his chest.

Harold kept hugging her, awkward as he ever was, and retorted, "I promise I'll be careful." A lie, "I'll let you know if I find anything out there."

Casey broke the hug and patted Harold on the chest, pointing a finger at him. "You better, now get out there and make Parker proud."

"Ain't this all cliche or whatever the word is?" Bill shouted from the back.

"Shut up bill." Casey turned and started walking back through the bar, but not before turning and giving Harold a wink, mouthing something to him.

Harold gulped and nodded, then turned and walked out of the bar and into the crisp April air. Forty odd degrees outside, but it wasn't terrible, certainly not this time of year for Colorado. He stood outside of the bar and sparked a cigarette, inhaling, and fidgeting with his cell phone. He hadn't told Kelly what exactly he was up to yet. She definitely didn't know that he was leaving today, and without a proper goodbye from him. The least he could do was call her, the least.

Sighing and exhaling a breath of smoke, he pulled up Kelly's contact info and gave her a dial. The phone rang once, and immediately went to voicemail.

Harold stared at his phone in confusion, "That's... Strange."

Once more he tried to dial Kelly's number but was only met with the voicemail system. He tried again, and again, and again. Kelly never turned her phone off, even when she wasn't using it, and she certainly wouldn't have blocked him. They were inseparable siblings!

Quickly, Harold jumped into his van, and took off down the road. His mind was a flurry of thoughts as to what might be happening to Kelly, what if she disappeared, what if something happened to her? Had she been kidnapped? Anything could have happened to her!

He got to their shared duplex out in the country, having sped most of the way to make sure she was okay, and found that her car was still the driveway, a good sign. He ran to the door and floundered as he attempted to unlock the door, but when he finally did he slammed the door open, only to find...

Kelly was startled, laying down on the couch, she yelled and then tumbled off. Her side landing on the remote, accidentally turning on the television.

"Christ, Harry! Could you be any louder?"

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish, before he sputtered out, "I- uh - your phone went to voicemail so I-"

"I forgot to charge it, you dork." Kelly picked herself up off the floor and brushed the cat hair off of her leggings. "Why were you calling, anyway?"

Harold rubbed the back of his neck shyly, he hadn't been expecting to do this in person, but here he was. "I-"

"Breaking news! The first images of the strange animals have been leaked across the internet, and we... Are... Pulling... Yes! We have them here! Just look at the strange features on these... Horses? Ponies? What would you call these, Tom?"

Images flashed on the news channel of the TV of strange horse like creatures. The oddest thing being...

"Oh my god, are those horns?" Kelly put her hand over her mouth, in shock.

"And... Wings?" Harold began to rub his head, feeling an increasing headache building.

"I'd say we have some kind of genetic anomaly going on around Parker, Linda, though I don't remember any sort of Chernobyl event occurring around these parts!"

"That's the truth, Thomas! Government officials are warning the populations of Parker and the general area to stay far away from these creatures if they are seen, as they may be responsible for the miss-"

"I have to go, now." Harold said abruptly.

"Go- What? Why?" Kelly protested. Grabbing hold of Harold's arm as he began to walk to the door.

"I have to figure out what's going on with these disappearances. I just... I don't know! But I have to go." Harold shook off Kelly's grip, who sighed.

"I can't stop you, little bro, but just be careful. We don't know what those things are, even. Promise me you'll be careful." Kelly grabbed Harold again, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

Harold put a hand on Kelly's shoulder and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I promise I'll be careful big sis, you have no need to worry."

Kelly said nothing, and folded her arms as she did earlier, and watched as Harold turned and walked out the door.

Harold had already had one for the road, and with his goodbyes said, he was ready to head out on his adventure to figure out what was happening to all those missing people, and to figure out what those creatures were.