Alex paced around the basement, feeling impatient. Christopher was gone, and so was Debbie. Everything was falling apart. Their only hope lay in the footage collected by the cameras Ken Stokes had hidden all around the forest.
"They're there for my next big project," Ken explained to anyone who listened. "Wildlife Adventures With Ken Stokes. I've hidden cameras all around the forest."
It was thanks entirely to Ken that they had a shot at finding Christopher. Ken had filled Alex in on everything. He had been going through some of the footage, when he suddenly saw Christopher running wildly across the screen. He had pulled Louis in to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Now, they were gathered in the basement to try to find the location in the video.
"All over?" Yvonne asked, eyes widening. "The forest is a big place. How did you get so many cameras in all those trees, and the rocks?"
Ken winked at her, grinning. "I chose my locations carefully. And spread a few smaller cameras for luck."
"Smaller cameras?" Yvonne asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why would you need smaller cameras?"
Ken slapped his hands on his knees excitedly. "Oh, I've been waiting to talk about this!" he said, gushing. "The smallest creatures hide in the smallest places, and I want an up-close and personal look at them. The audience will go wild for it!"
"Small creatures?" Yvonne asked. "Like birds and stuff?"
"Birds," Ken agreed. "And some mice. Squirrels, You wouldn't believe how many animals live in that forest. This documentary will finally win me the biggest accolade in my field, the Pulitzer Prize!"
"It's going to be the next big thing," Ken was saying proudly. He was sitting next to Yvonne in one of the many computer chairs that sat around the console. "A wildlife documentary about the creatures of the forest. I'll narrate, of course, and give all kinds of interesting facts and stories about the animals."
"Sounds fascinating!" Yvonne said, smiling. "What inspired it?"
Alex avoided looking at her. The pain and guilt in her eyes was too much to bear. It reflected the way he was feeling. He tried to block out her voice as she asked Ken all sorts of questions about the nature documentary. Alex wanted to tell her to shut up. Right now, the last thing he wanted to hear was her voice.
The console that made up SCOT's body whirred in the background as he retrieved the footage.
"The footage is retrieved," said SCOT, his face appearing on the largest monitor. He smiled jovially, although he cast a strange look at Alex. "Give me one moment to render it."
SCOT's face disappeared, and all the monitors went black as he began working on the next task.
"What if this doesn't work?" Louis asked. "What if we watch the footage, and it turns out Christopher is dead?"
Alex grimaced, not wanting to think about that. He only wanted to find Debbie, and bring her home. He thought of Christopher, lost in the forest, probably being eaten by bears. Alex shuddered and ran a hand through his hair.
"SCOT would have told us," Yvonne reasoned. "If he saw something odd or unusual while he was retrieving the footage. Right, Alex?" She leaned in, expecting him to answer.
Alex briefly glanced in Yvonne's direction, gave a short, curt nod, then turned to face away from her. He did not want to speak to her. Yvonne had been the cause of all of his problems so far. His relationship with Debbie was in shreds because of her. Yvonne's confession of love on live TV had been more than enough to put Alex in the doghouse.
Though he couldn't quite pin the blame on her, he was sure that Yvonne's actions were why Debbie was nowhere to be found. Alex hoped that, maybe, Debbie was somewhere in the woods, just on a mind-clearing walk. Debbie might not have taken that hypothetical walk if Yvonne could have just kept her mouth shut.
Please come home, he thought. Please, Debbie. I need you. I miss you.
SCOT appeared on the monitor next to her. "Actually," he said, drawing her attention and responding to her question. "I wouldn't have been able to. Although my capacity is expanding, I'm afraid any new abilities are currently unavailable. If such an ability develops, Yvonne, I'll be sure to let you know!"
"That's disappointing," Yvonne said as SCOT disappeared. "Artificial intelligence still has a long way to go." She looked at Alex. "Isn't that right? Alex?"
Alex kept his eyes fixed on the screen, pretending he couldn't hear her. The room was filled with mechanical buzzing and whirring, so it was as good a reason as any.
Can't she take a hint? He thought angrily.
"Unbelievable," Yvonne muttered behind him. "The forest is so beautiful."
Alex had kept his eyes on the screen while Yvonne and Ken continued to talk. Mad as he was at Yvonne, she was right. He often forgot how awesome the forest was. The video he was watching wasn't terribly exciting. A simple scene with tall trees and grass trodden down or eaten by local wildlife. Something was weird about it, but he wasn't sure what.
"Hey, SCOT?" Alex asked after a few minutes of watching nothing.
"Yes, Alex?" SCOT replied a second later.
"What am I watching?" Alex asked. He took a few steps to the right, trying to get a different angle on the video.
Maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong perspective, he thought. Maybe there's something in the trees I can't see because I'm too close?
When he got to the other side of the screen, and standing by Louis, he looked at the video again. Nope. Still nothing. No shadows in the trees, or strange shapes appearing out of nowhere.
"I'm not sure I understand," SCOT replied. He didn't appear on the screen like he usually did. "Alex, you asked me to retrieve the video footage of this location from the cameras Ken placed there. That's what I've done."
"I know," Alex said, crossing his arms. "But I feel like you're showing me a still of the forest, not a video. I feel like I;m trying to analyze a school project."
"Ah," SCOT said, sounding disappointed. "Well, I assure you that this is the footage you requested. I started playing it a few minutes before so I could correctly gauge the coordinates of this portion of the forest."
"That makes sense," Alex said, rubbing his chin. "Thank you, SCOT. If you have everything you need, would you mind skipping to the good part? The part where Christopher appears?"
The basement was silent for a long, tense moment as SCOT considered Alex's words.
Louis, still standing beside Alex, held his breath as he waited for something to happen. They all fixed their gaze on the screen, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, they plunged into darkness as the lights turned off. Louis, who had been pacing around, stopped mid-step and looked up at the ceiling. Ken and Yvonne flew to their feet, and stood back to back, ready for any super soldier that might attack.
Alex's heart raced in his chest as he prepared for an attack. He put his arms out in a defensive posture, and his feet fell into a strong stance. He was ready for anything the world would throw at him.
Then, the screen of the largest monitor turned on, illuminating the room. The image displayed was of a trail in the woods. It was followed by several bright images, a picture of Alex's forest home, and an overlay of Ken Stokes. The title read, Wild Adventures with Ken Stokes.
Alex relaxed into his normal standing posture, and folded his arms across his chest. He looked up at the screen, wondering what he was looking at.
"SCOT, pause the video." Alex ordered. The video paused on a wide, birds' eye view of the forest. It was breathtaking.
Alex turned around, making eye contact with Ken while pointedly ignoring Yvonne.
"What's this?" Alex asked, taking a step toward Ken.
"The intro to the documentary," Ken said proudly. "It's really something, don't you think?"
Alex looked at the opening image. It was truly something, but Alex didn't know what. As much as he liked Ken, he didn't have the time or patience to talk about the small things that went into making a Pulitzer prize-winning documentary.
"Why did you include the house in it?" Louis asked, coming up beside Alex. "That's really, really weird. To include the house you just renovated in the opening sequence of your show?"
"It adds character," Ken said simply. "It's a beautiful house in a prime location. Viewers will recognize it, and it'll win me some big points when my name pops up in the pool for a Pulitzer!"
Alex turned on his heel to face the monitor. His heart raced in his chest. Christopher and Debbie could be dead for all they knew, and Ken wanted an opinion on the opening credits to a documentary?
The others started talking around him, and it interfered with Alex's ability to concentrate. Whenever he tried to focus on something, he found himself pulled in by the flow of conversation. He became so frustrated that it welled up inside of him. A lack of sleep and a million unanswered questions built up tension in the back of his mind, until he finally snapped.
"Can we please just see the part with Christopher?" Alex yelled, rounding on them. "None of this edited documentary nonsense. Just give me Christopher so we can find him and Debbie!"
Everyone fell silent, and they stared at Alex in horror. Even SCOT paused, who looked at Alex with concern.
"As you wish," SCOT said, then he faded into the screen. The video started to play, and Alex was finally about to get some answers.
A man dressed all in black was running along it, pursued by a very determined, very familiar figure.
"Who the hell is that guy in black!" Alex shouted at the screen. "Wait, is that –" Alex paused, then seeing the figure pursuing the man in black.
"It's Christopher!" Yvonne said excitedly. Then, she looked concerned. "Who's that he's chasing?"
"Likely a friend of an enemy," Louis said, coming closer to her. "Man, his form sucks."
Everyone looked at him with flat expressions.
"What?" Louis asked, shrugging. "I call it how I see it, and his running form sucks."
They watched Christopher pursue the man in black through the forest. The man in black ducked and dodged around trees trying to shake Christopher off his trail. He pulled back branches, which swung as Christopher, but Christopher ducked under and kept running, pumping his arms for speed and pushing forward.
"He's keeping pace," Yvonne noted. "Not bad."
"He's got experience," Louis said, shrugging. "Running from supersoldiers. It's a transferable skill."
Shut up, Alex thought. She had such a pleasant way of chuckling that he found himself almost wanting to talk to her. Instead, he stood his ground, and kept watching.
Suddenly, the man in black leapt over something, and landed hard on the other side. Christopher appeared a moment later. Then, his foot caught on something. He froze for a moment, then fell face first into the ground. His head bounced as it hit something, and a cry of pain rippled through the room. Alex creased his brow in concern for Alex. A hit to the head like that could cause all kinds of problems.
SCOT paused the video, and his face appeared over the image.
"The video does not stop here," he said. "There is more to come. Would you like me to skip to that part?"
"Yes!" cried everyone in unison. Yvonne and Ken even stood up from where they were sitting to emphasize the point.
"Just checking!" said SCOT. Then, he disappeared, and started to fast-forward the video frame by frame. Nothing much happened in the time between Christopher's fall, and the moment the man in black reappeared.
He gingerly approached Christopher, saying something. From the way his mouth contorted, and his body language, Alex thought that he must have been shouting to be heard. Christopher woke up, and after a few minutes of talking, the two disappeared from sight.
"That's where the footage ends," SCOT said apologetically. "I realize you must have been anticipating something more definitive, but-"
"This was plenty, SCOT," Alex said. "Thank you."
He cupped his hands on the back of his head and inhaled deeply, staring at the spot where Christopher had fallen. At least they knew that there was a possibility Christopher was alive. That was one question answered. Now they only had to figure out what happened after, then what happened to Debbie, and finally how to rescue the both of them.
"What the hell was he thinking?" Louis said, turning to the others as if they had answers. "Going with the same guy he was chasing? Did that fall wipe his memory or something?"
Ken stokes stroked his chin, and looked at Louis.
"It's possible," he said. "I suppose the question is: what next?"
"We go after him," Alex said, letting his arms fall to his sides. "We split into teams. Two of us go after Christopher. Two of us start scouting for Debbie. She can't be far."
"I'll go after Christopher," said Yvonne, her voice catching in her throat. "He's in this mess because of me. It's my fault. I… thought I heard something. A click, but I thought it was a bird or a twig." She buried her face in her hands and made herself appear small.
Alex felt an overwhelming urge to comfort her, but he restrained himself. That would set a dangerous precedent.
"I'll go after Debbie," Louis volunteered.
"I'll come, too!" Ken said, going over to Louis and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "This is going to be excellent! A detective documentary about an investigative journalist and his plucky companion, saving a damsel in distress!" His eyes shone with excitement. Then, his smile fell into concern as he looked at Alex.
Alex took a deep, cleansing breath and said, "It's fine. Christopher is my friend. I should be going after Debbie, my girlfriend, but I know where Christopher is."
Louis glanced at Yvonne. "Um, we can swap partners if-"
Yvonne shook her head, her cheeks turning crimson.
"No," said Alex. "None of that matters now. Christopher and Debbie are more important."
"But-" Louis started, but Alex interrupted him.
"The sooner we get out there and find them," Alex said, making eye contact with Louis, "the sooner we can bring them home."
"Sir?" SCOT asked. "Shall I set up a protective perimeter around the house in your absence?"
"Do it," Alex said, making for the stairs. Just before he had ascended the steps, he turned to others and said in a loud, confident voice, "Let's bring them home!"