Bleak Winter -

Chapter 3: The First Snow of Winter

**TW: This Chapter contains scenes of kids in deadly situations, some of which result in bodily injuries. Viewer Discretion is Advised.**

Wednesday, December 19th, 2001 - 5:25 pm

The sun has now fully set for darkness to take over the night sky. But the scene at Bradley's Cinema still has life in it, with the bright lights from the sign out front, the Christmas bulbs wrapped around the roof, and the various movie posters on the wall illuminating the nearby area around the building, including the sidewalk, road, and even the woods behind it all. Many teens and adults line up at the box office and are checked in by 21-year-old Bobby Mac. Bobby's a big guy in height and weight, with a buzzcut on his head, wearing his usual array of long-sleeved polo shirts, black dress pants, and oversized skate shoes. A lot of people thought he looked like a grown-up version of a kid with the same first name from a certain adult cartoon show, but if anyone brought that up to his face he'd kick them out immediately.

Within the past half-hour that Bobby has been selling tickets to customers, he's noticed a lone middle school kid standing by the wall, looking around the theater towards the back where the woods lie. He just looks there for a good few minutes, observing the forest and checking his watch, then comes back to the front and looks at himself through the reflective glass in front of the poster for the upcoming Spiderman movie. He seems to be obsessively looking over his appearance, trying to clean up or clear away any visible imperfections. Concerned, once Bobby has a little bit of a grace period, he steps out of the box office and calls out, "Hey, you alright, kid?"

"Huh!?" Ash staggers a little, only half his face is illuminated by the lights of the poster. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for some friends to arrive."

"Oh, alright," Bobby says, rubbing his head "You know, if it's too cold out here you can wait inside the lobby. I'll be in the box office so I can let you know when they get here."

"No, I'm good." Ash responds, turning his back to Bobby before walking off towards the edge of the building.

With a shrug, Bobby walks back towards the box office, getting ready to return to his work when suddenly, he hears something from the kid out of the corner of his ear. "What? Charizard? What are you doing out here, little guy!?" The sound of rushing footsteps takes off by the side of the theater, and it isn't too long before the rustling of leaves and branches follows. Then - nothing. Among the howls of the wind, the whos of the owls, the buzzing of the cicadas, or the engines of the cars, there's no auditory sign of that kid. Bobby paces back to the side of the building, looking over at the woods to see - nothing. No sign of the boy aside from the swaying of a few branches, which could very well be the wind. For a second, Bobby stands there, dumbfounded by what just happened - then his eyes widen.

The possibilities, what if the kid was caught by- what if it's happening again!? He's got to call the cops! But wait, they're in on it too! What can he do!? He's just one guy and- and... He freezes. He feels a cold chill run down his spine and goosebumps form through his arms. He looks up to see the silhouette of that menacing mountain - the Watcher, looming over him and filling the air with fear and dread every passing second.

Bobby runs straight back to his stand, swinging the door open and not even bothering to close it behind him. He takes out a ring full of labeled keys and slots one into a drawer under the register, Once unlocked, he pulls the cubby out to reveal the inside containing a small Sony Handycam, as well as a sawed-off shotgun with a flashlight taped to the end of it. Switching the flashlight on, he holds the gun in one hand while recording with the camera in the other hand. Once Bobby reaches the perimeter of the woods, turns the camera up close to his face, and begins his commentary. "So, I just saw this kid run off into the woods, thinking he saw a Charizard, then suddenly he disappeared. Could this be one of the many experimental cryptids that lurks within the mountainous forests of Pleasantville, or was the kid snagged by the governmental organization that keeps them hidden from the rest of us?" Bobby turns the camera around and raises his gun. "Whatever it is, I'm going to find it, and expose the truth to the citizens of the United States! If I go missing and this video is found, then I urge you to upload this to my blog at www.pleasantvillesecrets.angelfire.com. Let the people know what my fate ultimately was!" With the introduction out of the way, steps into the woods and begins his investigation.