THE VIGILANTE: THE SERIES[BOOK 2]

Ep.1 - Long Live The Queen

The sunlight brought joy over these hallowed grounds. The sounds of birds chirping filled the air. The strong odor of decay filled my nose. The blistering heat warmed my skin and my heart. I stood tall and proud, staring down on a great man I once knew(or at least I thought I did.) It's been some time, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. The red, the black, the pain in his eyes. I remember the fear I felt, but most of all, the confusion.

I was once a boy plagued by the issues of any normal teenager, but that moment changed me. It changed me forever. It took me on a new journey, into a new world. I battled with balance, I struggled with friends-and-foes, even faced anarky itself. In the end, I became the thing I always wanted to be, the thing he already saw me as. A hero.

"Donald Peterson Grant. Brother. Uncle. Hero." My uncle was The Nightwatcher, "The Black Crusader of Liberty City". He spent his nights battling crime & saving people, while I was too busy at home frustrated over my calculus homework. My uncle was always a hero in my eyes, I just never knew so many others saw him the same way.

I lost myself in the words embedded on his tombstone. Our memories together played over and over in my head. I could see his smile, but for the life of me I couldn't hear his voice. As I tried to gather myself, I remembered what I had come for. Finally, I found the words to say.

"Hey Unc." I said, murmuring. "It's been a while...I uh-I did it. I did it. Turns out your 'Kingpin' is a lady, more of uh 'Queenpin' than a king-pin. She's going to court, probably going to go away for a long time." I looked around to find nothing but more tombstones stretching far across the plain. I turned back and bent down closer to the tombstone.

"I miss you Unc, I miss you everyday. These last few months have been wild, but if I'm being honest, I've never felt more alive. As dangerous, reckless, and frustrating everything has been, I'm grateful. Thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for seeing what I didn't, for trusting me to carry on your legacy. I just hope-I pray that I made you proud."

I could feel a tear coming. I bent my head down and closed my eyes. I felt a strong hand come down on my shoulder. I looked up to Mike standing over me. I stood up to see him fighting back a tear.

"You alright?" Mike asked me.

"Yeah-yeah I'm good." I replied, wiping my eyes.

"I have something for you." He reached for his back pocket. Out from behind him, he handed me a little brown book. It looked old; it was stuffed with a bunch of papers and loose sheets, and wrapped tight in two rubber bands.

"This was your uncle's journal." Mike said. I looked up in his eyes, then immediately opened the journal. I flipped and flipped through dozens and dozens of pages crammed with writing. Endless words and tiny sketches covered each page. Different shades of inks and pens like I was skimming through a timeline.

"I should've given that to you a while ago, but it never felt like the right time. Plus, a part of me was trying to hold on to something, something to remember him by. But I know he would've wanted you to have it." I could hear the emotion in his voice. "All of his stories, all of his journeys, all the way back to the very first moment he put on his mask." I closed the book.

"Thank you Mike." I said. He nodded.

"You ready to go?" He asked me. I looked down at my uncle's tombstone one last time. A smile came across my face, because I found what I came for.

...Six months later...

(...Liberty City. Wonderful city by day, but by night, chaos is imminent. The nights are cold, dark pathways hold secrets, and the underworld only grows stronger. Yet one man stands between them all. He is a guardian, a protector, a black crusader...a vigilante.)