Guardians

June 29, 2088

[Karen Hudson sits behind the counter, unaccompanied. Headline reads: Omen has reappeared in South Africa, interfering with illegal animal trafficking.]

"After two weeks of absence, Omen has finally been sighted in South Africa."

"It is suspected he's been there for a few days prior to his sighting, hiding through the day and awaking in the night."

"Many rumors were spreading throughout the villages in Southern Africa about an evil creature in the night. It is now suspected this 'creature' is Omen."

"The rumors began when villagers and other people hired to collect ivory disappeared in the night."

"Upon investigation, many skeletons were found throughout the African brush with broken weapons and covered in black ooze. The ooze seemed to destroy soft tissue over a few hours. It cultivated mushrooms and other decomposers when it came into contact with the ground."

"However, it could not be immediately connected to Omen."

"This changed when Omen was found outside Cape Town interfering with a vehicle's path."

[The camera on Karen readjusts, placing her face to the left of the picture. A picture appears in the upper left corner of the screen. It shows a huge dragon flying away from the camera. Two objects are held in its back talons, one in each grasp. Green vines and moss hang from its dark green scales. Black ooze drops from the claws attached to its wings.]

"Omen fled immediately when approached. They identified everything in the truck as animal contraband. They believe Omen left with two cargo boxes of rhinoceros and elephant ivory."

"The two passengers and the driver of the vehicle were covered in black ooze and unresponsive. The same black ooze was found in the dragon's claw marks in the dirt. This connected Omen to the skeleton cases in the wild."

[The image disappears and the camera recenters on Karen's figure behind the counter.]

"No one is sure where Omen went or why he took the cargo, but researchers have turned to Southern Rhinoceros and African Elephant populations as they believe their populations will increase due to Omen's interference with the illegal trade and poachers."

"While world attention turns to Omen, the United States has its eyes on Blessing."

"Tension rises in North America as Blessing continues to travel north, assisting with crop farming and conservation."

"No one is sure how U.S. will react if Blessing enters the country. People question if the U.S. will want help, or if it will take offense to Blessing's assistance."

"Everyone suspensefully waits for more on Omen's work with illegal trafficking and Blessing's migration north. I'll be here to report it as soon as anything changes!"