Story: TALOS Begins

This upcoming story will lay the groundwork for future stories and articles. It could be thought of as a sort of "pilot episode" for the rest of the wiki. I, Pinguinus, shall write this story mostly alone, although Holbenilord will also write a chapter or two.

Prologue
Desperately, Tabitha ran across the desert sands. Ahead, the moon and the stars shone down on Arizona; if it weren't for her circumstances, she would have stopped to admire the beauty of it. But now, she was in a hurry. Gasping, she crouched down behind a large rock. She heard the silent pad of footsteps approaching.

"Κομε ούτ, μυ δεαρ. Η βίλλ φιντ υου, ευεντυαλλυ. Θα ανταλλακτικά υόυρσελφ μύχ πάιν υφ τον εαυτό σας πολύ πόνο, αν βγει τώρα." The voice in which the creature spoke was harsh and somehow, inhuman.

It stopped right near the rock she hid behind.

"Σε βρήκα υου ," the creature said with a smile in its voice. It quickly jumped over the rock. Tabitha saw a glimpse of a man-like face on a panthers body, and she heard the rush of wings. She then felt a pair of humanoid jaws clamp around her throat, and she blacked out.

Chapter 1
Sluggishly, John Latham rose from his bed. Another day, another reason to jump off a cliff, he thought bleakly. With a sigh, he left the bedroom.

Soon after exiting his room, he found his father in the kitchen, cooking eggs for breakfast.

"Dad," pleaded John, "you really should sit down. The doctors said you shouldn't be performing much labor for a few weeks."

"Don't worry about me, son," said his father, "I'm not that old and battered. I used to fight Vietnamese guerillas in the jungles of Southeast Asia. I think I can handle a few eggs."

John sighed yet again, and left the room. Checking his mail, he learned that yet again, his job request had been denied. He stepped outside, onto a small porch.

Is this what my life is gonna be like? he asked himself dismally. Living in some cramped apartment in the middle of New York City, unable to find a job? He buried his face in his hands. Once, he had been cheerful and happy most of the time; but he had lost his job and soon afterwards his home, and everything that had happened since then had only made him gloomier.

As he stood there, with his face in his hands, a beam of light came down from the sky, hitting him squarely. With a slight hiss, he disappeared.