Greetings fellow readers and writers! You are about to read my twelfth story, can you dig it! This time around we’re poking into the world of my creations, The Ramblers. This story is inspirited by the Stephen King short story, ‘The Mist.’ I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there who agree with me when I say that Stephen King is one of the best writers of all time, along with J.K. Rowling. If I’ve used anything that doesn’t belong to me, forgive me, I’m just a humble writer trying to tell a good story. Before we start, I should let you know that if you haven’t read ‘Count Olaf Must Die,’ also by me, you might not understand what’s going on here. If you haven’t read it yet please do so, you won’t be disappointed.

Okay, I’m guessing you’ve read it by now. And so, without further delay, please enjoy…

The Arrowhead Project

By AndrewK9000

Chapter 1: Proving Ground

The Time: Late April 2008

The Place: 600 feet below the streets of Washington D.C.

Violet Baudelaire tapped her foot anxiously as she waited outside one of the science laboratories that made up the lower level of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Having recently turned 16, Violet was one of the most brilliant people on the planet. Since joining The Bureau in September of the previous year, Violet’s knack for inventing had perfected fusion power, as well as developing a new computer design that would be ready for public use next summer. Now Violet was ready to test out her latest invention. That is, assuming her brother would ever arrive.

“Where is he?” Violet asked out loud, “Of all the times for Klaus to be late, it had to be now.” “Give him a chance,” said Shawn Ohmsford, “He’s got a lot on his mind.” Shawn stood at 5’10”, had brown hair, blue eyes, and was one of the more powerful telekinetic individuals alive. Being Violet’s boyfriend was more than an added bonus.

“Well if Klaus doesn’t show up within the next five minutes,” said Virgil Blake, “We’ll just have to find someone else to test out ‘Sasquatch.’” Virgil Blake had short blond hair and wore wraparound sunglasses that hid his cybernetic eyes. “Don’t call the GKX-101 that,” said Violet, “its code name is ‘Goliath.’”

The interior of the lab was a huge emptiness extending for almost half a mile, that is, empty for some complex looking computers and one large metal device. Standing before the three Meta-Humans was Violet’s latest invention; a large metal structure that roughly resembled a person. It stood at 25 feet tall, 8 feet wide and 7 feet long. It had a metal cockpit, two metal arms and two metal legs with large feet for support. This was the GKX-101, a prototype for a mechanical exo-suit.

The idea for such a project came to Violet like a lot of her ideas; she sat at her desk one day at the start of March, with her long brown hair tied up with a ribbon to keep it out of her face. One minute she was sitting there, letting her imagination run free, the next she started drawing schematics. Now nearly two months later, Violet’s latest invention was ready for it’s first test run.

“The applications for the GKX-101 go way beyond military purposes,” Violet had said during construction, “This mechanical exo-suit can be used in space for satellite repair, deep-sea research, and maybe exploration of Mars and beyond.”

Throughout construction of the GKX-101, or ‘Goliath’ as Violet fondly referred to it, the majority of The Bureau scientists’ thought it would amount to nothing. “It’s like Howard Hughes ‘Spruce Goose,’” they would say. “Ah,” replied Violet, “But the Spruce Goose actually flew. My machine will do more than fly. Goliath will change the world, mark my words.”

At last the GKX-101 was ready for testing, assuming its test pilot ever arrived. “I’ll give Klaus one more minute,” said Violet, “Then I’ll drive it myself.” “Why don’t you just page him?” asked Julie Eckheart. “I did page him,” said Violet, “Twice in the last half hour. He’s got forty-five seconds left.”

Julie Eckheart, also known as Hawkeye, was one of the best sharpshooters in the world. Her most notable features were her yellow, hawk-like eyes and a hook-shaped scar below her right eye. She and Violet had been friends since they day they first met.

Just then three men and one woman entered the room. The first was Steve Austin. Though not the smartest egg in the basket, Steve was nonetheless without fear in the heat of battle. No demon or monster can stand up to Steve’s ferocious assaults with his power-pole. The second was Michael Long. Michael, a former bounty hunter, was nearly invincible with his twin energy swords.

The woman was Fay Valentine. She had brown hair with blue streaks and dark brown eyes. At 5’6”. Fay looked twenty-one but was actually nearly 24. Also known as ‘The Butcher of Boston,’ Fay was nearly unstoppable with her knifes. There was once a time when Fay was completely out of control. But thanks to Jill Sparrow, Violet’s foster mother, Fay’s mind was saved from itself.

The third man wasn’t a man, yet. Rather, he was Violet’s fourteen-year-old brother Klaus. Klaus was at that stage in human development when one is growing faster than their sense of balance could keep up. As a result Klaus was clumsier than he was a year ago. Yet he still insisted that he should be the one to test out Violet’s inventions.

“Where have you been?” asked Violet, “I was just about to pilot Goliath myself.” “I’m sorry, Violet,” said Klaus in a voice that was just starting to deepen, making him sound more embarrassed than he really was, “I was really into this book on Zombie destruction tactics.” Whereas Violet’s talent lay in inventing, Klaus had the rare ability to remember every word he read. If Klaus were to hand you a book he just read, or any book he read, and you were to open said book to a random page and tell him the page, he could tell you word for word the contents of that page.

“Well he’s here now,” said Michael, “So let’s get this party started.” “Just hold on a second,” said Steve. He pulled out from his pocket a digital video camera and began recording, “Okay, now you can start.”

“Why are you recording this?” asked Shawn, “We’ve got plenty of cameras on the machine for data recoding.” “I know,” said Steve, “I just want this for my personal collection.”

“You’re just expecting ‘Sasquatch’ to mess up,” said Virgil. “So are you,” retorted Steve. “It won’t mess up,” said Violet, “And it’s called Goliath.”

“Well whatever you’re calling your device,” said Jill Sparrow as she entered the lab, “We should all try to support you. You did put a lot of effort into the construction of it.” A native of London England, Jill Sparrow was an extremely attractive with her raven-black hair and blue eyes. Yet underneath her good looks and friendly attitude was a mighty warrior of tremendous passion that sought an outlet. Jill’s had three passions in her life: Surfing, fencing and defending the human race from paranormal threats. Correction; four passions. The fourth is her desire to see that her foster-children; Violet, Klaus and their baby-sister Sunny, have happy and somewhat normal lives.

All that changed when it was determined that Violet, Klaus and Sunny were Meta-Humans. Whereas the talents of Violet and Klaus were known, it was still unsure whether Sunny’s power would be one of the mind or of the body.

“I’m ready here,” said Klaus, “Let’s get this party started.” He started towards the GKX-101 and then tripped for no apparent reason. Like I said, Klaus was at that clumsy stage in life.

Violet didn’t see this as a good sign, yet Klaus wasn’t deterred from the task ahead of him. “I’m alright,” said Klaus as he stood up and regained his composure, “I meant to do that.” “Sure you did,” said Steve, who then muttered to himself, “Glad I got that on video.”

Klaus eventually made it up the scaffolding and into the cockpit of the GKX-101. Making sure that he was firmly strapped in his seat, he secured a small headset to his ear. “Com system check,” said Klaus to the radio, “Am I coming in clear?”

“Loud and crystal,” said Violet on the other end of the radio. She and the others were watching from the other end of the lab where the cameras were rolling and recording. She then activated the scanners that would record all incoming data from the machine, as well as Klaus’s vital signs.

“Okay little brother,” said Violet, “You have the green light. Activate the GKX-101.” With that Klaus pressed the ‘on’ button, bringing Goliath to life. The control pannel in front of him lit up like a Christmas tree.

“All motor functions are online,” said Klaus. “We read the same over here,” said Violet, “Advance twenty yards and stop.” Klaus’s hands gripped the controls and increased the throttle. With a shudder the huge machine began to walk. After the machine moved sixty feet forward Klaus eased back on the controls and the machine stopped.

“So far so good,” said Violet, “Advance another thirty yards, turn ninety degrees to the right and advance another ten yards.” Klaus manipulated the controls again, causing the machine to walk forward again. After another sixty feet it stopped. Klaus then turned the controls to the right, causing the machine to turn right and to start walking again. It stopped after another thirty feet.

“Now turn to the left and advance thirty yards,” said Violet. The controls responded to Klaus’s command and the machine did as Violet asked it to do. “Rotate the cockpit 360 degrees to the left,” said Violet. The head section of the GKX-101 rotated a full circle to the left. “Now to the right,” said Violet, and the head rotated to the right.

“Reverse gears and come back thirty yards,” said Violet. The machine then walked backwards for ninety feet. “Now bring it back and we’ll be done here,” said Violet. Klaus then brought the machine back to it’s starting point, where he powered it down and exited the cockpit.

“That was excellent!” exclaimed Violet as she rushed forward to her brother. “Well what do you know,” said Steve, “It actually works.” “This was just the first test,” said Virgil, “Just wait until the more rough trials.” “Oh well,” said Steve, “At least I got Klaus on tape tripping; I’ll save it for a blooper real.”

Meanwhile Violet and Jill were taking turns shaking hands with Klaus. “You did it,” said Klaus, “Your newest invention is a winner.” “No,” said Violet, “We did it.” “You both did it,” said Jill, “Now we celebrate.”

As Jill and her charges headed for the lab exit, Klaus then tripped again and landed on his backside. “How embarrassing,” said Virgil, “Did you get that on take as well?” “I sure did,” said a grinning Steve, “That was pure gold.”

Just then another man entered the lab; Max Kildare. Max, age 25 from Baltimore, had short brown hair and brown eyes. Being one of the most physically powerful individuals on the planet, Max carries the burden as leader of The Ramblers. “I’d save the celebrations for later,” said Max, “We’ve got a situation up in Maine.”

“What kind of situation in Maine?” asked Fay. Being from Maine her concern was natural. “Some kind of scientific experiment gone horribly wrong,” said Max, “Something that involves a huge wall of mist extending for miles across the wilds of New England. The team is assembling in the administration level. Briefing is in ten minutes.”

The end of chapter 1. Next chapter we find out just WTF is going on in Maine that has attracted the attention of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Rewards will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!