Speaker 1: I was stretched out on my couch, half watching some
reality show I didn't care about, scrawling through my phone,
debating whether I should bother making dinner or just eat
a bowl of dry cereal Again outside, the street lights
cast a familiar yellow glow over the empty road, and
the occasional car passed by, his tires humming softly against
the pavement. Everything was still the kind of quiet you
only get in a small town late at night. Then
at nine seventeen p m. My phone buzzed violently in
my hand, the jarring blare of an emergency alert making
me flinch. The TV screen flashed red, cutting off mid scene.
A robotic voice crackled over the speakers of my radio,
which I hadn't even realized was still plugged in. The
same message was everywhere, we are sorry. That was it.
No warning about a storm or some evacuation instructions, just
a vague, meaningless phrase that sent a strange chill up
my spine. I sat up, phone still in my hand,
staring at the words as they glowed on my screen.
We are sorry, sorry for what. I flicked to my
messages and texted Ryan, my friend who lives across town.
Did you get that. The message sent instantly, and the
typing bubbles appeared almost immediately. Yeah, what the hell does
we are? Sorry mean, it's probably a test or something.
I had no answer. Outside, expecting to see people standing
in the streets a fire in the distance, but everything
looked normal. The street was still empty, the houses around
mine were dark, the residents either asleep or unconcerned. I
turned the TV volume up, flipping through channels, I saw
nothing but reruns, talk shows, commercials, like nothing had happened,
no breaking news or explanations. I considered calling someone nine
one one, the non emergency line, anyone who might have
more information, and that was when I heard a distant rumble.
I couldn't tell what it was at first, then I
realized it sounded like aviation machinery. The hum of distant
engines grew louder, deep and low, like thunder rolling over
the horizon. The sound became unmistakable, the rhythmic chop of
helicopter blades cutting through the night sky. I stood up
and walked to my window, pushing aside the curtain just
enough to peer outside. Two helicopters, black unmarked, swept low
over the rooftops, moving with efficiency. The searchlights scanned the streets,
gliding across houses, yards, and parked cars. I watched as
the beams passed over my neighbour's house in my own,
making the living room flicker in bright white light before
plunging back into shadow. What the hell was happening? My
phone screen lit up as I received a message from Ryan.
You've seen this now, I responded fast, Yeah, helicopters are
hovering above my street right now. Anything weird on your
soldiers everywhere? Well, I can't tell if they're actual normal soldiers.
They're dressed in all black and wearing gas masks. Soldiers.
I looked back out the window and saw them military vehicles,
several of them, rolling through the neighborhood like a slow
moving parade. They weren't police cruisers or National Guard trucks.
They were heavier, bigger, armored. Their black services looked unnatural
under the street lights, as if they were sucking the
glow into them rather than reflecting it and walking beside
them rifles in hand with dozens of soldiers in full
tactical gear. They moved quickly, splitting off into groups and
heading toward different houses. They weren't storming in They weren't
kicking down doors or yelling commands. They were knocking, almost politely,
but something about it felt off. I watched as two
soldiers approached my neighbor's house. They knocked. Mister Dawson, the
old man who lived there, answered. I couldn't hear what
was said, but I saw the way his head tilted
in confusion. He started shaking his head as if he
didn't like what he was hearing. Then one of the
soldiers put a hand on his shoulder, a firm grip.
Dawson hesitated, then nodded, stepping aside to let them in
another buss. From my phone, power just went out, as
if on cue. The lights of my house flickered once twice,
then everything went dark. Street lights, houses, even the military
vehicles outside, all dead. In an instant, I stood there
in the dark, my heart pounding in my ears. Through
the window, I could see the soldiers didn't seem surprised.
They kept moving, the night vision goggles glowing faint green
as they worked their way down the block. This wasn't
a power outage, This was planned. A cold realization settled
in my stomach. They didn't want us to see something
and That's when I felt it, not heard, felt a
vibration in the ground, not like the vehicles on the streets.
It was heavier. I pressed myself closer to the window,
squinting into the shadows. The helicopters were circling above the
spot light, scanning, but they weren't looking at the houses anymore.
My phone buzzed again, Bro, I think were in serious trouble.
Then at nine forty five pm, the silence was shattered.
A deep, gutural roar tore through the air. It wasn't
like anything I'd ever heard before. It wasn't a siren,
wasn't a storm, wasn't even the kind of growl you'd
expect from an animal. It was low and violent, the
kind of sound that vibrated in your chest, clawing at
something deep in your bones. I stumbled back, gripping the
windowsill for balance. Then the gunfire started, first a few
single shot, then a barrage of arsenal rained down from outside.
I saw flashes of muzzle fire lighting up the darkness,
soldiers shouting commands. The helicopter's overhead dropped flares, bathing the
streets in red orange light. Something huge was out there.
I didn't wait to see what happened next. My instincts
took over, screaming at me to move now. I grabbed
my backpack, flashlight, and a knife from the kitchen, gripping
the handle so tightly my knuckles ached. My hands were shaking,
but I forced myself to focus. My breathing quick and uneven.
I pulled out my phone and texted Ryan, we need
to meet up. Where are you? Seconds past then gas station? Hurry.
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and moved to
the door, my pulse hammering, I hesitated for a second,
one hand on the knob. A new sound made the
decision for me. Screaming, human screaming from somewhere in the distance.
I threw the door open and stepped into the night.
The second I was outside, I could tell how wrong
everything had become. The air smelt burnt and metallic gunpowder
mixed with blood. The streets, normally lit with warm street
lights were now drenched, impulsing red from the flares overhead.
Some people ran barefoot, some still in their pajamas, sprinting
down the sidewalks, cutting through yards, shoving past each other.
In blind panic. I dugged low sticking close to the houses.
As I made my way toward the gas station, I
knew the layout of the town well enough to take
back streets, avoiding the main roads where the military was
still engaging whatever they were fighting or doing. A few
blocks down, I turned a corner and stopped dead. The
street was flattened. It looked like a tornado had torn through.
Everything was just leveled cars, crumpled, ashfalk, cracked, street lights
snapped in half. The street was covered in the bodies
of soldiers and civilians alike. Some were torn apart, their
limbs scattered like discarded dolls. Others were smashed, flattened into
the pavement like something impossibly heavy had rolled over them.
Their weapons bent and crushed. There were no shell casings,
no sign that they even had time to fire back
before they were annihilated. Something on stoppable had come through here.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, Where are you? I
forced my legs to move, stepping carefully around the destruction,
and then from the distance that roar again, followed by
a massive explosion. Right after the explosion, I lost service.
I tried sending another message anyway almost there, but it
didn't go through. I quickened my pace, keeping low, my
breath coming in short gasps every few steps. I glanced
over my shoulder, expecting to see something there, But all
I saw were the ruins of my town, bathed in
eerie red light from the still glowing flares. When I
finally reached the gas station, my stomach sank. It was destroyed.
The roof had partially collapsed, glass littered the parking lot,
and a gas pump had been ripped from its foundation.
Cables and metal jotting out like snapped bones. The place
looked like it had been hit by a wrecking ball.
I hesitated, scanning the ruins for any sign of movement.
My chest tightened. What if Ryan was buried under there? Ryan?
I called out, voice Horse. For a moment, there was nothing,
just the distant sound of helicopter's gunfire and my own
pulse hammering in my ears. Then over here Ryan's voice,
faint but close, vaulting over fallen shelves and broken glass
behind the counter crouch, low and shaking was Ryan. I
barely had time to register my relief before the ground
shook beneath us. A vibration, deep and unnatural, rolled through
the earth, rattling the debris around us. The air thickened,
charged with something heavy, and then the roar right outside.
Ryan grabbed my wrist and yanked me down behind the counter.
Don't move. We pressed ourselves against the cold tile, heartbeats
thundering and sync. The gas station trembled, dust and broken
glass trickling from the fractured ceiling. The vibrations grew stronger, heavier.
It was here. I didn't want to look. Every instinct screamed,
don't look. But Ryan did, and he felt its body
stiffened beside me. I swallowed hard and forced myself to
peek over the counter, and that was when I saw
it massive. Its body looked like it had been stitched
together from different things, muscles, fur, scales, bone melded into
a single, horrifying form. Insect like legs, too many of
them jointed the wrong way, bristling with thick, curved claws.
Its torso was broad, pulsating, as if breathing through unseen
slits in its flesh. Parts of it looked wet, glistening
in the red glow of the flares, while other sections
were dry and cracked like withered skin, and its face
a mouth that split open. The inside of its mouth,
revealing a second jaw. Mismatched eighes, some glowing, some empty sockets,
some that weren't even facing the same direction. I couldn't
breathe for something its size. It should have lurched, should
have been heavy, lumbering, but instead it darted between buildings,
its massive legs, making little sound compared to the destruction
left in its wake. The soldiers opened fire. A squad
on the street below unleashed hill machine gun fire, high
caliber rounds, grenades exploding against the tired The air filled
with a deafening symphony of war, and I felt it
deep in my chest, like my rib cage was being
hammered from the inside. The gunfire was nothing like in movies.
It was chaotic. Each bullet crack punched through the air
like a whip, making my ears ring. The grenades sent
shock waves through the station, rattling my teeth and making
the air thick with dust and smoke. For a second,
I thought they might be hurting it, but it just
ripped through the soldiers like paper. Its claws slashed through
body armor like it was slicing butter. One soldier tried
to run, it grabbed him with one of its sickly
elongated arms and crushed him instantly. The sound was like
someone stepping on a wet bag of leaves. A missile
streaked through the air, fired from a nearby armored vehicle.
It hit direct impact. Then the wind shifted and the
smoke cleared. The monster was still standing. Its skin had cracked,
revealing something black underneath, something writhing, almost shifting beneath its flesh.
Its eyes flickered, seeming to adjust it had learned. Ryan
grabbed my arm. His face was pale, mouth slightly open.
We need to get out of here, he whispered, his
voice barely carried over the carnage outside. He turned to
look at me, eyes filled with something worse than terror, hopelessness.
Right now, the gunfire had stopped. The monster was gone
for now. The gas station was still standing, but barely.
The windows were shattered, the walls riddled with bullet holes,
and the air of burnt fuel and blood. My legs
ached from crouching behind the counter, my ears still ringing
from the firefight. And then it hit me, this was chance.
I peered over the counter, scanning the carnage. In the streets,
Soldiers lay scattered like discarded mannikins. Some slumped against destroyed vehicles,
others in twisted, unnatural positions. Their weapons were still clutched
in lifeless hands. I turned to Ryan. He was shaking,
his arms wrapped tightly around himself. His pupils were wide,
darting between me and the wreckage outside. He was still
in shock. We have to move, I whispered, We won't
get another chance. He looked at me like I was insane.
Move where we're trapped that thing. I grabbed his arm,
shaking him. If we stay here, we're dead. But if
we look like one of them, I gestured toward the
fallen soldiers, maybe we can get out. Maybe they'll take
us with them. Ryan swallowed hard. He understood, removed, quickly,
crawling over the broken glass and stepping onto the street,
keeping low. The flashing emergency lights from abandoned military vehicles
cast eerie shadows over the bodies. I knelt beside a
soldier lying face down, his gas masks still intact, his
rifle half buried under debris. His chest wasn't rising. He
was gone. I reached for his gear. Ryan hesitated, looking
at the bodies. He wasn't moving. Ryan, I hissed, grabbed something.
His hands trembled as he reached toward another soldier's vest.
He stopped, stared, his breath hitched. He was panicking. Then
gunfire erupted nearby. We both flinched as a fresh burst
of automatic fire tore through the night. Then came the screams.
The monster was back, Ryan Froze. I saw the moment.
His brain short circuited, the moment his fightal flight kicked
in hard. He dropped, everything turned bolted. Ryan. I shouted,
but he was already gone. His footsteps pounded against the pavement,
disappearing into the smoke and shadows. I had two seconds
to decide run after him and die or survive. The
air shuddered. A massive thud shook the ground as the
monster landed nearby, having leaped over buildings with impossible speed.
Soldiers scrambled, opening fire again, their shouts drowning in the chaos.
I sprinted the opposite way. I didn't look back. I
dove behind an overturned envy, heart pounding lungs burning. The
smell of oil, blood and gunpowder clung to the air.
I waited. Another explosion went off so close I felt
the heat against my face. The soldiers were engaging the
monster again. It hadn't gone in my direction, which meant
I squeezed my eyes shut, guilt threatening to choke me.
I couldn't think about that right now. I needed to
get out. I glanced down at myself. I still had
the soldier's uniform, but no helmet, no mask. The military barricades, convoys.
If there was a way out of this hell hole,
it would be through them. I took one last look
at the burning wreckage behind me and the flashes of
gunfire in the distance. I ran until my legs nearly
gave out. The world around me blurred into smears of
fire and darkness, my breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps.
Every few seconds, I heard another explosion, a distant burst
of gunfire, a roar so loud I could feel it
in my teeth. By the time I reached the main
road leading out of town, I could see the military
barricade in the distance, a makeshift checkpoint built from sandbags,
barbed wire, and armored vehicles. Footlights bathed the area in
harsh artificial glow. There were soldiers everywhere. Some were busy
behind mounted machine guns, scanning the tree line Others hurried
between vehicles, barking orders, dragging crates of supplies. I slowed down,
forcing myself to breathe evenly. If I came in looking
like a panic civilian, they turned me away or detain me.
If I looked like a soldier trying to return to
his unit, I jested the rifle slung over my shoulder,
wiped the sweat from my forehead, and started walking toward
the checkpoint. The closer I got, the clearer their faces
became exhausted, tints covered in grime. Some soldiers were bandaged up.
Their uniforms were ripped, stained with blood. Others had vacant
stairs like they had already checked out, and I could
use that. As I approached, a soldier spotted me and
raised his rifle. You stop right there, my froze, raised
my hand slightly, making sure not to move too fast.
And with the ground unit near Lincoln Avenue, we got separated.
When that thing hit us, I was trying to get
to the checkpoint. The soldier's face hardened. I d my
stomach twisted into a knot. I I lost it in
the fight. I held my side, winting, faking an injury,
got thrown. When that thing knocked the truck over, I
blacked out for a bit. When I came to my
unit was gone. I had to make my way here alone.
A second soldier stepped forward, older, more seasoned. He looked
me up and down, eyes narrowing slightly. What's your call sign,
he asked. My mind raised shook violently, sending loose gravels
skittering across the pavement. The floodlights flickered. The young soldier's
radio crackled, A life, it's moving on the checkpoint. All
units prepared to engage. The two soldiers turned sharply, their
eyes widening in horror. The older ones spun toward me.
Get in the goddamn truck now. I didn't hesitate. I
jumped onto the back of the transport, squeezing in between
ground faced soldiers, their weapons locked and loaded. The truck
lurched forward, tires screeching against the pavement. As the convoys
sped out of town. I looked back and I saw hell.
The entire skyline was on fire. Buildings collapsed like cardboard,
their skeletal frames glowing with flames. Helicopters hovered above, dropping
missiles in quick succession. Each explosion ripped through the streets,
sending shock waves through the air, all of it followed
by a deafening, animalistic screech. The monster emerged from the smoke.
Its massive insect like limbs propelled it forward at an
impossible speed, its body still shifting, pulsating with unnatural movement
beneath its stitch together hide. Gunfire erupted from every direction.
Soldiers fired everything they had, mounted turrets, rocket launches in
sundry rounds, but it didn't slow down. It was speeding up.
One of the helicopters swooped in, launching two precision missiles.
The explosion engulfed the creature, fire, smoked debris. The truck
jerked violently as the shockwave ripped through the street. I
shielded my face, the heat almost unbearable even from this distance.
Then through the thin smoke, it was still moving. All
my surroundings exploded in a noise, the same robotic voice
from earlier. We regret to inform you containment has failed.
If you are still in the area, May God help you.
The moment the alert came through, the convoys radio flared
to life, all units cleared. His own Code black is
in effect. The soldiers in the truck went dead, silent.
Then one of them whispered voice, hollow jeez, then nuking it.
I turned back toward the town, my breath catching in
my throat. A blinding white light engulfed the skyline. The
shock wave came first, a concussive force so strong it
felt like my lungs had been punched inward. The ground
beneath a convoy rumbled violently, Cracks spider webbing across the pavement.
A towering, unnatural mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The
town was consumed in an instant, everything gone. I couldn't move,
I could only watch as the place I had lived
my entire life, was turned to dust. The truck sped forward,
leaving the destruction behind. None of the soldiers spoke. There
was nothing left to say to s