Arrowstead Intro, Part 1 and Part 2

Intro:
The night was dark, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Landon Arrow stood a few feet from the edge of the cliff admiring the magnificent city that was blaring down below. Arrowstead they called it. To the world, Arrowstead was Utopia. Millions of people had been rejected access to the city. Only the smartest and strongest were allowed access, a fact that chilled Landon to the bones. He himself had been declined access to live in Arrowstead. Even though it was his father who created the city, and even though the city was named after his family, Landon was an outsider.
The thought that his own father rejected him boiled through his veins. He had given everything to this project. The city was practically built through his mind. All his father did was “oversee.” Landon orchestrated the workers, hired the guards, and even took part in the building of his the capitol. His own blood and sweet was in that city, and now he was restricted from ever stepping foot on its wondrous soil again. Now he was employed by a secret organization whose sole purpose was to report on anything and everything happening in Arrowstead. This organization, he suspected, was run by one of the world’s leaders who still didn’t trust everything that Arrowstead claimed to be. Landon hoped that if he served well with this company, he would be able to take down Arrowstead. The idea of him being one of the key parts in the city’s downfall brought a smile to Landon’s face. But, that would have to wait.
Every so often lights from the walls of Arrowstead would begin their patrol searching for any harm that could come to the city. Occasionally one of the lights would stop directly on Landon, and stay there for a while. Landon just stood there completely still as if the life had been sucked right out of him. Then, once it passed, he would breathe again and let his body rest itself for the next time the light would shine his way.
Landon heard someone walking up behind him, and he turned to see who it was. The figure was unrecognizable at first, but as it drew nearer Landon could see it was Justin, his most trusted friend.
“Ah Justin, it is very nice to see you again,” said Landon. Justin didn’t say anything until he got directly beside Landon. It seemed to Landon that Justin always did that. He didn’t know why, that’s just how it was.
“You too, my friend,” replied Justin. The two said nothing as they both stared at the caravan of lights filing out of one of Arrowstead’s massive gates.
“What do you think that is?” asked Justin.
“No clue,” replied Landon. The two continued watching in silence as the band of lights only got longer and longer. Suddenly all the lights turned off. Justin turned towards Landon who was still staring at the now empty spot. After a few seconds every light turned back on, but the line had only gotten longer.
“What was that?” asked Justin.
“I have no idea,” replied Landon.

The lights turned off again, only this time they never came back on. After standing there for fifteen minutes waiting to see if they would come back on, Landon began walking back toward his truck. Landon got in the driver’s seat, and Justin got in the passenger seat.
“What are we going to do?” asked Justin.
“Well, we need to report this,” said Landon. But first, let’s drive down there and see what those lights were… I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“Me too,” said Justin. Landon backed his truck away from the hill and onto the road. The two rode in silence as they slowly crept up on the city, trying not to make too much noise. Landon kept driving closer and closer until Justin said “Ummm, Landon… According to this GPS, Arrowstead should be five hundred feet behind us?”


“What?” asked Landon. “Are you sure?” “Yes I’m sure. Take a look.” Landon grabbed the GPS from Landon and checked it for himself. Sure enough they were now five hundred feet past Arrowstead.

Landon got out of his truck and looked around nervously…… Arrowstead was gone….


Part 1:
The members selected to the world’s first General Court Assembly began taking their seats inside Arrowstead’s massive assembly hall. Every nation of the world was represented by only one delegate. Arrowstead prided itself on equality, and since the first Assembly was being held inside its own gates, the world had to play by its rules.
Landon Arrow walked up the steps leading to the stage, and strolled over to his seat by his father. His father gave him a little acknowledgement smile, then returned to his notes. Arrowstead’s existence rested on this assembly. If Landon and his father could win over the assembly, colonization would begin. If not, another year would pass before the next gathering and Arrowstead would sit in the dark with billions of carefully planned dollars going to waste.
“Ladies and gentleman I would like to present to you Jameson Arrow, founder and creator of Arrowstead”. The assembly roared to life with applause as Jameson stood from his seat and made his way to the podium. “This is it”, Landon thought to himself. The applause lasted for longer than it should have, and Landon could see it was making his father blush. Some of the members even stood as they were applauding, but it was nowhere near a standing ovation.
“Ladies and gentleman I present to you… Arrowstead,” Jameson said as he pointed to the screen behind him. Pictures of the city’s gates, walls, homes and recreational facilities were on display as he began his scripted introduction.
Landon watched the crowd as every member of the audience was captivated by the pictures and the magnificent speech his father was giving. Landon’s father never was a writer, and neither was Landon, so they decided to hire someone. Sure is amazing, the quality of writing you can get from a college student when you offer to pay their entire tuition to an Ivy League school. Of course they didn’t pay the student till after he was done in fear that he wouldn’t come through.
Whenever his father was done and took his seat, Landon got up and made his way to the podium.
“We will now start taking questions,” Landon said. Immediately six hands went up in the air, and he chose the delegate from Germany.
“Who is allowed to obtain residency in this city?” asked the German delegate. Normally Landon would have to wait until a translator relayed the question back to him into English, but with the new headphone system that instantly translates languages, Landon could answer immediately.
“Only the people we have chosen,” answered Landon. “Our staff has done an extensive background check on every possible candidate, along with interviews of all known relatives and close friends. To some of you this may seem a little…. over the top, but I assure you that if you were in our position no shortcuts would be taken.” This seemed to satisfy the German as he sat back down.
“Next question?” asked Landon. The delegate from America stood, but before he could start Jameson Arrow stood and walked over to Landon.
“Two of our scout planes were shot down outside of Tolston. Take care of it, I will continue from here,” said Jameson.
Tolston was a small town twenty miles from Arrowstead consisting of just over seven hundred people. So the fact that two planes were shot down just outside of it, made the situation even more urgent to deal with. Something was wrong.
Landon stepped down from the podium and hurried to the back exit which led him to his dressing room. It was his custom to always have other more comfortable clothes ready, just in case something like this happened. Landon never really liked the feel of a suit. Even though it was the standard dress wear of his father’s staff, Landon got special permission to wear a t-shirt and cargo shorts, and since it was supposed to start raining in a couple of hours, a wet suit would only slow him down.
Landon grabbed his radio and reattached his ear piece. He turned the radio to channel four and walked out the door, grabbing his gun on the way out.
“Talk to me,” he said into the radio.
“Two planes down, four men dead,” said the voice from the other end.
“Where at?” asked Landon. This time there was a longer wait, Landon began to worry something else might have happened. Landon began making his way out of the assembly hall and to his truck that was waiting for him in front of the hall’s East entrance. Two men in black suits joined in behind him and got in a black SUV as he entered his truck.
“Three hundred fifty yards outside of Tolston. The Mayor of the town is firmly denying any sort of attack order.
“Ok, I will get there as soon as possible.”
“Good”
…..

The speed limit was fifty five, but Landon was going ninety. Normally it wouldn’t be a good idea to go that much over on a two lane road, but when the only town that ever used that road barely had over seven hundred people, one could make an exception. The road became bumpy ten minutes into the drive, and one of Landon’s water bottles fell out of its holder.
“Good thing the lid was on,” he said to himself.
The little town of Tolston came in to view, and it quickly got closer. Landon slowed his speed gradually down to fifty five just as he entered the town. People were everywhere. Some were standing still watching him drive by as if he were the president, others paid no attention. The town was small, and in forty five seconds he was on the other side, driving to the now visible crash sites. He recognized to Arrowstead fire trucks, and one Tolston fire engine. The town only had two, which meant the other was probably doing something else.
Landon drove in behind a police car with flashing lights, another product of Arrowstead. He got out and ran over to one of the officers who was keeping watch, making sure no spectators tried anything.
“What do you know?” Landon asked. Without saying a word, the officer pointed him to a man he recognized as Arrowstead’s chief of police. Landon quickly made his way over there, and the chief greeted him.
“What happened?” asked Landon. The popping of the fire, and the sirens from the engines apparently were too loud for the chief to hear what Landon said, so Landon yelled it again.
“Two planes shot out of the sky while returning from their patrol. I’ve talked to the mayor, and he denies having any knowledge of the situation. A few of my men searched the weapons Tolston stores. Nothing that they own has been fired.” Shouted the chief as he led Landon closer to one of the crash sites.
“Who were the pilots?” asked Landon.
“Jenkins, Smith, Lewis and Davidson,” said the Chief.
One of the planes exploded and the fire shot out towards the trees. The blast knocked three firefighters down, and seven more ran in and pulled them to safety. Three oak trees ignited into flames, and in seconds they were completely engulfed with fire. Landon saw three more of Arrowstead’s trucks rushing towards the scene. People were running everywhere, and the firefighters were yelling at people to leave.
“Where’s the mayor?” Landon asked.
“Town Hall. I told him to stay there till you arrive.”
“Awesome, thanks.” Landon quickly ran over to his truck and got in. Landon dialed his father’s number on his cell phone, and sped away from the crash site. After three rings, his father answered.
“What do you know?” asked his father.
“The planes were shot down about three hundred fifty yards outside of Tolston. Chief Erickson had his men check Tolston’s weapons, none have been fired. I don’t like it. Whenever I drove by the first time, none of the people even seemed to care that two planes had just crashed so close to their homes. ” Said Landon
“Hmmm,” replied his father. Landon turned left at the first intersection he came to. Town hall came into view, and he slowed down his truck. Everyone was just going about their daily lives. It was as if they didn’t care that the lives of four good men had just ended so close to their homes. “Start talking with the mayor, and keep me updated.” With that Landon hung up the phone, parked the car and got out. The two men that followed Landon from Arrowstead were now standing in front of the main entrance to town hall. When they saw who it was, they opened the doors and Landon hurried inside. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

Part 2:
As I walked into town hall, silence filled the building. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. It was as if I was a ghost. A young lady who was most likely an office assistant gave me a cold stare.
Creepy.
I turned around and saw that my security escort was behind me. Good, at least I know that if I get shot, my attacker will too.
Comforting…
But only a little…
I made my way briskly through the foyer, desperately wanting to get away from the dead silence. The mayor’s office was on the second floor. It was one of only two offices on the floor, so finding it wouldn’t be too hard.
As I made my way up the stairs, an older looking man greeted me halfway.
“The mayor is ready to see you,” he said, without giving me any formal introduction. Under normal circumstances I would have been offended that he didn’t even tell me his name.
How rude.
But seeing as how there were two crashed planes just a few miles outside of town, I figured I could let it slide this time, and only this time.
He led me to the office on the right, and the man that I assumed was the mayor offered his hand to me.
“What can you tell me about the planes?” I asked. The mayor looked at me quizzically, then said:
“What do you mean, weren’t you the one that ordered us to take them down?” For a second I thought he was joking, but he was serious.
Something was wrong.
“What makes you say that?” I asked. The mayor motioned to someone behind me, and a tall man dressed in a blue tailored suit came forward. His long blonde hair reminded me of some pop star I couldn’t remember the name of. Heather? Hailey? The fact that the name wasn’t coming to me was bothering me a little more than it should have. What was her name?...
Stay focused.
“Mr. Arrow, I would like to introduce you to Sheriff Todd Morton. Todd has been our town’s sheriff for over twenty years. He is my most trusted official. Todd, would you please tell Mr. Arrow what you told me?”
Sheriff Morton pulled out a notepad, and began flipping through a couple of pages. Finally he said:
“Nine fifty-two P.M. Radio call comes in from a Mr. Landon Arrow, giving us the go ahead order on a takedown of two incoming patrol planes. Clear direction was then given to a small storage barn outside of tow---’’ his voice trailed off. No one knew of the storage barn except me. But I was answering questions from the assembly at that time, unless nine fifty-two was during intermission. If it was, there was no physical proof that I hadn’t made that call, but I knew for sure I didn’t.
“How did I introduce myself?” I asked.
Whenever I introduced myself I started by saying “This is Landon Arrow.” Never more, never less for this purpose exactly. It was something my father made sure I always did. “Cover your bases” was his motto, and now I was sure glad I did.
“You started the message by saying ‘This is Landon Arrow’,” said the sheriff. I turned my head to make sure I heard it right.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“You started the message by saying ‘This is Landon Arrow’,” he repeated, but this time he sounded annoyed.
Ok, so someone knew my signature. Seeing as how I always used it, it didn’t surprise me. Bet my father never thought this would happen.
As I turned back around to the mayor, he was on the phone with someone, and he was talking rather quietly. It was obvious he didn’t want me to hear. Why would someone order the attack on two of Arrowstead’s scout planes? It didn’t make any sense. As far as I knew Arrowstead didn’t have any enemies, because there was just no reason to be enemies, but I had been wrong before.
The mayor hung up the phone, then turned to me.
“The fire has spread through the trees, and is now making its way to some of my people’s farms. Something tells me I should arrest you right now.”
“But I didn’t make that order. Look, why would I, second in command of Arrowstead tell you where those weapons were stored, then ordered you to take down two of my own planes? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Where is the storage barn?” asked the mayor.
“Just outside of-------” I knew that as I started that sentence, I knew I shouldn’t have.
“So you knew where it was?”
“Well no, I mean yes I knew where it was, bu----”
“Do you know who I was just talking to right then?” asked the mayor.
Seeing as how the mayor had discretely been talking to whomever it was in a low whisper, the answer was no. One of my pet peeves is whenever someone asks a really stupid question that everyone knows the answer to, and yet they ask it as if it is the million dollar question on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” I really wanted to answer in a sarcastic tone, but I figured now wasn’t the time to be messing around.
“No, I don’t.” I said plainly.
“That was your father. Do you know what your father said?”
Seriously. This guy could have been easily mistaken for Sherlock Holmes with the types of questions he was asking…. How in the world would I know what he said? You were talking to him by phone… That was the answer I wanted to give the mayor, but instead I replied:
“Nope,” but this time with a little sarcasm. Many people in the past have said that my joking nature would ruin me some day; I was now starting to see their point.
“Your father informed me that you are the only one who knows where that barn is located. Even he doesn’t know where it is.”
Technically the guys that helped me build it knew where it was, but I figured that probably wasn’t the best answer.
“So what are you saying?” I asked. This time a little more nervously.
I turned my head to see the two guys that had escorted me in here were now making their way towards me.
This was spinning out of control way to fast. How had it gotten to this point? I found myself slowing moving backwards, only to be greeted by the two men who I had thought were on my side.
“If you were the only person who knew where the barn was located, and you introduced yourself with your signature style,”
How did he know about that?
Oh yeah, he talked to my father.
Awesome.
“Then I must inform you, that you are under arrest for the illegal take down of two scout planes commissioned by Arrowstead’s very own air force.”

But, before the men could come and arrest me, a loud crash knocked us to the ground followed by two more earth rattling noises. We were under attack.