Operation M.I.A: Missing in Action (IN NEED OF REVISING)

Chapter XIII

"Mackenzie!?" she asks upon spotting me.

"Yeah, I'm here," I sigh, shaking my head.

The sensei stands up slowly and looks at the two of us. His eyes dart back and forth between us, and for a moment, I see that small touch of fear in them.

I make no hesitation in my next move. I send a foot flying in his direction, and the sensei dodges it with expertise, I continue to strike at him in various ways, moving all around the room. Papers start flying all over and furniture topples to the ground. Years of training with the illuminati pay off for me here, as I'm finally able to catch the sensei off guard long enough to backflip over him and knock both his feet out from underneath him. Then I hoist him up to his feet and pin him against the wall. Mia walks up to me, and we look at each other and grin.

Then both of us each send a fist for his face and a foot for the place where the sun don't shine. While this doesn't knock him unconscious, he does slide against the wall until he's in a crouching position on the floor. I hold out a fist and Mia fist bumps me.

When the two of us make our way outside, the rest of the group has already begun boarding the hovercraft for take-off. They start showing expressions of confusion and concern when they see our slightly tattered clothes and the fact that both of us are now panting. "What happened to you two?" Avery asks.

"It's a long story. We'll explain later," I answer. Nobody else asks any further questions. Mia and I step on board, and Luke takes over for another flight to wherever our next destination will be.

---

Music: Dance of Middle Easterners from Nemesis 3 MSX

Ah, yes, back at home. You might wonder why we're going back here to tell the story now. Well, obviously I wouldn't go back unless something's going to happen.

Let's revisit two old friends of the team from several months ago: Carson and Sara. Neither of them are really of importance to the team at this point in time, as once they started dating, Carson kinda drifted away from Mia, and essentially, the whole team. Plus, they've basically turned into those badass teenagers you see in the movies all the time.

The two lovebirds are currently walking out of the skateboarding center near downtown, ending another skateboarding lesson for Sara. "You still need to do some work on your ollie, but you're making a lot of progress compared to last week," Carson tells Sara, grabbing her hand.

"Thanks, babe," Sara says, leaning closer to Carson.

"Anytime, hon," Carson replies, giving Sara a kiss on her temple. Honestly, they've become more cringy than Sam and Elle at this point, but for now, let's not focus on that.

Carson and Sara walk over to the big park across the street and head for the giant web. They each make their way to the top after only about twenty seconds of climbing. From there, they look down below and absorb the barely impressive view. The park has few occupants at this point in the day (I mean, it's almost 9:30 at night), and the streets are littered with the headlights of cars and streetlights. One streetlight in particular illuminates the forest across from the park, almost giving off an eerie impression.

"That light kinda makes the forest look like something from a horror movie," Carson chuckles. Sara doesn't respond. Instead, she has her eyes fixed on something that just appeared in the "spotlight".

A shadow.

"Carson... do you see that?" she asks quietly, pointing at the shadow. Carson squints to get a better look, and nods.

"I'll go see what it is," he tells her. Sara places a hand to his chest to keep him from moving down from the web.

"Carson, I doubt you have the stamina to take on whatever's lurking in there. Let me handle this," Sara says with confidence (she's more of the tougher one in this relationship). She carefully but diligently makes her way down the web, and walks toward the forest. Carson climbs back down the web as well but doesn't walk toward Sara, deciding instead to watch from a safe distance.

Sara pauses a couple feet in front of the trees, straightens her posture, and then walks inside. Not five seconds pass before she lets out a scream. Carson runs into the forest faster than he's ever ran before, calling out Sara's name over and over again.

By the time he makes it to the other side of the forest, he's just barely able to spot a black car driving away. Carson's too shocked by this to have an emotional response. He just stands there for a few seconds, his eyes wide open. Finally, he gets out his phone, dials 9-1-1, and walks back to the park while asking the operator to speak to the police.

Had a little bit of trouble starting the chapter, but once I got to the Mia POV I just stopped caring and was able to produce something good. Maybe I should do that more often.