Vigilantes: Intro

The leaves fell just as fast as they changed to the familiar colors of October. The short cold days approached fast. We were expecting a pretty cold winter that year.       I missed the summer, being with my dad. But a new school year had started and I knew between school and my dad's job that we wouldn't see each other a whole lot. As a fireman he was always on call.

                          Change was everywhere. Between moving to an apartment closer to the fire station and getting used to my sophomore year at a new school on the other side of the city, there were few familiar things anymore. I'd heard that you're more aware of change and problems as you get older and I was finally starting to realize that. I had always lived in the city, but never really was aware of the dangers that surrounded us. My dad made everywhere we were together feel safe, so I had never noticed any eminent danger. Growing up my dad would always tell me to be aware and alert where ever I was. He taught me what to do if I had ever been taken from him in seemingly every plausible situation. As i got older I began to see it more as more of a paranoid parent being a bit overprotective. How i regret such assumption now.
My grandpa was a policeman for the city years ago and taught my father everything he knew. Being around those two was the safest place I ever was. They were the only ones i could truly count on. My mothers passing made them both twice as protective over me . I don't remember much of my mother but my dad said she was a lot like me.
              Our old high school had burned down over the summer. My dad as well as the police suspected arsonists. The reports of their attacks around the city begun to be more bold each time. What started off as burning down abandoned houses, steadily moved to buildings in more populated areas of the city. In total up until this point there were eight reported arson attacks through out city.
             The days were getting shorter and my dad would get home later so Id see him less. He promised we'd spend more time together and hoped that things would get less hectic soon. It was clear the arsonists were worrying him. Where would they hit next? Obviously it brought great concern to the people of the city and their family' safety.
My father was working closely with the police department to plan counter measures against these attacks. Dad was designing some kind of weaponized fire extinguishing tech that could put out fires faster than they would with a traditional water hose. It was quite under raps but my dad would demo with me his early prototypes.

That day, I was at school waiting to get out. I saw the busses drive in the parking lot outside the window. As I was glancing out the window I noticed our principal had walked up to the teacher's desk. I couldn't make out what he was telling my teacher but he'd briefly look up at me with a rather concerned face from time to time. The principal then slowly walked to my desk and asks me to follow him to his office. I began thinking of something wrong I had done for me to deserve a trip to the principals office but nothing came to mind. I was a but anxious of course being that it was toward the end of the day in the first place; I hadn't ever gotten in real trouble before at school. It was a quick walk to his office.
As we entered the room I start feeling more anxious. I wanted to ask the reason for me being there but something held me back from speaking at all.
"Have a seat son" he said softly. I hadn't heard an adult other than my father and grandpa speak so calmly to me before.
The secretary walks in urgently and tells principal Lewis he has a call waiting for him.
He leaves the office to take the call at another office desk. The door shuts leaving the secretary behind.
"Would you like something to drink?" She asks with a kind but trembled tone.
"Sure why not?" I said optimistically with a smile. I thought by her asking me for a drink excluded me out of any trouble and that maybe what i was there for wasn't bad after all.
She then left quickly out the door to the teachers lounge. She returned with a cold soda with a napkin wrapped around it. She stared at me with a smile.
"You like orange flavor?"
"My dad likes it more than I do, but I'll drink anything", I said chuckling.
Her smile quickly left her face and she walked out the room. Before I could think about her awkward reaction to what I had said, the principal walks back in. He shut the door then walked to his desk.
"I just spoke with the city sheriff and fire department", he says with a long sigh, "Son... your father was in an accident earlier this morning."
My heart clenched and for a moment I didn't think I was in my own body.
"...He didn't make it son... I'm sorry, Tony."

I found out later that he had been called to a blazing building fire after an arson attack. The building had collapsed on him and the rest of his crew. After the news an uncontrollable anger came over me. They had to be found and stopped before anymore innocent blood was shed. Countless families had already become victims to these heartless attacks ruining lives. I suddenly had an objective, a mission that became very clear. Nothing else mattered at that point.
I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, but I wasn't going to stop until I found them.