[size="4"][center][b]//[/b]TWO WEEKS AGO[b]//[/b][/center][/size]
[font="Tahoma"][color="#696969"]A gentle breeze passed through the oaks of the forest Cody sat in. He sat high in a tree, his back against the trunk, reading a novel he'd just loaned out from the library. It's true it wasn't the most comfortable reading spot, but Cody simply enjoyed the ambiance of the forest and its inhabitants. Here there was nothing to distract him from his reading and on the off occasion that his eyes left the pages of the book to ponder something, they'd be greeted with the beauty of the blossoming oaks.
His reading was interrupted by a flock of birds suddenly fleeing a nearby tree. Under normal circumstances one would think nothing of this, but Cody knew better. He knew the only thing big enough in the forest to scare those birds off were humans, and he was miles and miles away from the city. Cody closed his book and placed it in the satchel he'd hung on a higher branch. He threw the satchel over his shoulder and crept forward on the branch he sat on, keeping sure the leaves of the tree covered him entirely.
Not a moment later Cody caught a glimpse of a man walking into the clearing beneath him. He wore a black business suit and dark black shades with slicked back blonde hair. Two more men followed from behind him, both dressed similarly. The one in the back held some sort of gun, though it didn't look lethal. Cody shuffled backward against the trunk of the tree, hugging his satchel tightly against his chest.
[i]Could they be here for me? What did I do?![/i] Cody thought. He looked around nervously for a way to escape unnoticed but it was to no avail, he was far too high in the tree. He could hear the men talking to each other below.
[b]"Are you sure this is the place?"[/b] the blonde one asked.
The man with the gun replied reassuringly, [b]"I'm sure. We have it on record this is his favorite spot to come to."[/b]
Cody felt his heart drop when he heard those words. They were definitely here for him. [i]But how did they know...?[/i] Cody tried to shift backwards more, pushing at the branch with his legs but he was already up against the trunk as much as possible. [i]****. ****. ****![/i] He panicked. Cody jumped to his feet and began to climb higher but after only a few branches up, he made a fatal misstep breaking a small twig off the tree. He caught himself in time not to fall, but he could not say the same for the falling stick.
It took four seconds for the twig to fall from where Cody was onto the head of the blonde agent. He swiped the twig from his air and immediately glared upwards at Cody, who stared back down at him like a deer in headlights.
The man pointed at Cody yelling, [b]"There he is! Get him![/b] The man behind the blonde who did not hold the gun began attempting to climb the tree while the armed on aimed at Cody from the ground.
[b]"Come down or I'll shoot!"[/b] he yelled. Cody hugged the trunk of the tree and yelled back down to them.
[b]"Why? What have I done?"[/b] the man climbing the tree was now halfway to Cody who was completely fixated on the man with the gun.
[b]"We just want to talk, don't make this difficult."[/b] the blonde spoke up. He seemed honest enough and if it weren't for the man pointing the gun at his head Cody might have believed him.
[b]"Tell him to put the gun do-- WAH!"[/b] Cody yelped as the man who had been climbing the whole time grabbed the boys left ankle, attempting to pull him down. Cody stomped at the mans hand with his right foot, trying to pull his ankle away from his grasp. As he stomped down a seventh time he felt the branch supporting him crack and he stopped. The man let go of his ankle and stopped as well. The two of them shared a worried expression as the branch began the groan and collapse. Cody reached to grab from a higher branch but was not quick enough. The limb he'd been standing on, the one the man held onto with his right as he clenched Cody's ankle with his left, completely gave way sending the two toppling down the tree.
As Cody fell his body began to shrink and mold incredibly fast into that of a red squirrel. Before hitting the ground, he reached out his claws and dug them into the trunk of the tree letting them scrape into the bark, slowing him down to a hault. The man who'd climbed after him rocketed past the rodent landing on the ground with a loud thump followed by all the leaves and twigs that had broken on his way down. Cody lept from the trunk of the tree to the ground and began to make a dash for the brush of the forest.
[b]"Where'd he go?! Where'd the boy go?!"[/b] the blonde one shouted, looking around frantically. He spotted Cody halfway to the bush screamed at his partner to shoot him as he pulled out his own gun.
[b]"The squirrel! Get the squirrel!"[/b] Cody looked back seeing the two men drawing their guns on him and let out a faint squeak, dashing forward with all his might. The blonde shot first, the dart just narrowly missing Cody's tail, zipping past and stabbing the ground beside him as he ran. The other agent took more careful aim and just as Cody thought he was free, inches away from the underbrush, the dart jutted into his thigh causing him to slow to a crawl. He fell on his slide, falling into a deep sleep as his body changed from a squirrel to that of a naked young man.[/color][/font]
[size="4"][center][b]//[/b]PRESENT DAY[b]//[/b][/center][/size]
[color="#696969"][font="Tahoma"][b]"My name is Cody Aneel."[/b] Cody finally spoke up. He'd been keeping quiet the entire time, taking in his surroundings and the slew of new information. [b]"And I don't know about you guys, but as much as I don't care for the Geist guys they are right about one thing."[/b] he said.
The man who'd introduced himself as Tyler replied, [b]"What's that?"[/b]
[b]"The Big Five. They need to be stopped."[/b] he said. Everyone shared the same solemn expression in reply. The one that felt the weight of the world on their shoulders. It was the dark-skinned man, Slate, who stood next to Cody.
[b]"He's right. The Big Five used to be heroes and now they've stooped to nothing but lowly criminals."[/b] Slate said. Riona nodded.
[b]"I used to have some respect for those assholes. Before they went rogue."[/b] she spat.[/font][/color]