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Speaker 1: I was stretched out on my couch, half watching some

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reality show I didn't care about, scrawling through my phone,

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debating whether I should bother making dinner or just eat

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a bowl of dry cereal Again outside, the street lights

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cast a familiar yellow glow over the empty road, and

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the occasional car passed by, his tires humming softly against

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the pavement. Everything was still the kind of quiet you

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only get in a small town late at night. Then

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at nine seventeen p m. My phone buzzed violently in

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my hand, the jarring blare of an emergency alert making

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me flinch. The TV screen flashed red, cutting off mid scene.

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A robotic voice crackled over the speakers of my radio,

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which I hadn't even realized was still plugged in. The

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same message was everywhere, we are sorry. That was it.

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No warning about a storm or some evacuation instructions, just

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a vague, meaningless phrase that sent a strange chill up

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my spine. I sat up, phone still in my hand,

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staring at the words as they glowed on my screen.

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We are sorry, sorry for what. I flicked to my

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messages and texted Ryan, my friend who lives across town.

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Did you get that. The message sent instantly, and the

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typing bubbles appeared almost immediately. Yeah, what the hell does

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we are? Sorry mean, it's probably a test or something.

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I had no answer. Outside, expecting to see people standing

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in the streets a fire in the distance, but everything

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looked normal. The street was still empty, the houses around

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mine were dark, the residents either asleep or unconcerned. I

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turned the TV volume up, flipping through channels, I saw

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nothing but reruns, talk shows, commercials, like nothing had happened,

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no breaking news or explanations. I considered calling someone nine

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one one, the non emergency line, anyone who might have

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more information, and that was when I heard a distant rumble.

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I couldn't tell what it was at first, then I

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realized it sounded like aviation machinery. The hum of distant

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engines grew louder, deep and low, like thunder rolling over

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the horizon. The sound became unmistakable, the rhythmic chop of

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helicopter blades cutting through the night sky. I stood up

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and walked to my window, pushing aside the curtain just

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enough to peer outside. Two helicopters, black unmarked, swept low

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over the rooftops, moving with efficiency. The searchlights scanned the streets,

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gliding across houses, yards, and parked cars. I watched as

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the beams passed over my neighbour's house in my own,

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making the living room flicker in bright white light before

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plunging back into shadow. What the hell was happening? My

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phone screen lit up as I received a message from Ryan.

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You've seen this now, I responded fast, Yeah, helicopters are

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hovering above my street right now. Anything weird on your

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soldiers everywhere? Well, I can't tell if they're actual normal soldiers.

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They're dressed in all black and wearing gas masks. Soldiers.

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I looked back out the window and saw them military vehicles,

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several of them, rolling through the neighborhood like a slow

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moving parade. They weren't police cruisers or National Guard trucks.

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They were heavier, bigger, armored. Their black services looked unnatural

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under the street lights, as if they were sucking the

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glow into them rather than reflecting it and walking beside

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them rifles in hand with dozens of soldiers in full

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tactical gear. They moved quickly, splitting off into groups and

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heading toward different houses. They weren't storming in They weren't

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kicking down doors or yelling commands. They were knocking, almost politely,

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but something about it felt off. I watched as two

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soldiers approached my neighbor's house. They knocked. Mister Dawson, the

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old man who lived there, answered. I couldn't hear what

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was said, but I saw the way his head tilted

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in confusion. He started shaking his head as if he

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didn't like what he was hearing. Then one of the

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soldiers put a hand on his shoulder, a firm grip.

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Dawson hesitated, then nodded, stepping aside to let them in

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another buss. From my phone, power just went out, as

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if on cue. The lights of my house flickered once twice,

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then everything went dark. Street lights, houses, even the military

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vehicles outside, all dead. In an instant, I stood there

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in the dark, my heart pounding in my ears. Through

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the window, I could see the soldiers didn't seem surprised.

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They kept moving, the night vision goggles glowing faint green

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as they worked their way down the block. This wasn't

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a power outage, This was planned. A cold realization settled

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in my stomach. They didn't want us to see something

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and That's when I felt it, not heard, felt a

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vibration in the ground, not like the vehicles on the streets.

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It was heavier. I pressed myself closer to the window,

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squinting into the shadows. The helicopters were circling above the

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spot light, scanning, but they weren't looking at the houses anymore.

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My phone buzzed again, Bro, I think were in serious trouble.

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Then at nine forty five pm, the silence was shattered.

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A deep, gutural roar tore through the air. It wasn't

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like anything I'd ever heard before. It wasn't a siren,

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wasn't a storm, wasn't even the kind of growl you'd

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expect from an animal. It was low and violent, the

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kind of sound that vibrated in your chest, clawing at

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something deep in your bones. I stumbled back, gripping the

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windowsill for balance. Then the gunfire started, first a few

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single shot, then a barrage of arsenal rained down from outside.

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I saw flashes of muzzle fire lighting up the darkness,

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soldiers shouting commands. The helicopter's overhead dropped flares, bathing the

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streets in red orange light. Something huge was out there.

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I didn't wait to see what happened next. My instincts

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took over, screaming at me to move now. I grabbed

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my backpack, flashlight, and a knife from the kitchen, gripping

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the handle so tightly my knuckles ached. My hands were shaking,

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but I forced myself to focus. My breathing quick and uneven.

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I pulled out my phone and texted Ryan, we need

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to meet up. Where are you? Seconds past then gas station? Hurry.

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I slung my backpack over my shoulder and moved to

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the door, my pulse hammering, I hesitated for a second,

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one hand on the knob. A new sound made the

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decision for me. Screaming, human screaming from somewhere in the distance.

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I threw the door open and stepped into the night.

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The second I was outside, I could tell how wrong

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everything had become. The air smelt burnt and metallic gunpowder

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mixed with blood. The streets, normally lit with warm street

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lights were now drenched, impulsing red from the flares overhead.

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Some people ran barefoot, some still in their pajamas, sprinting

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down the sidewalks, cutting through yards, shoving past each other.

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In blind panic. I dugged low sticking close to the houses.

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As I made my way toward the gas station, I

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knew the layout of the town well enough to take

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back streets, avoiding the main roads where the military was

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still engaging whatever they were fighting or doing. A few

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blocks down, I turned a corner and stopped dead. The

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street was flattened. It looked like a tornado had torn through.

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Everything was just leveled cars, crumpled, ashfalk, cracked, street lights

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snapped in half. The street was covered in the bodies

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of soldiers and civilians alike. Some were torn apart, their

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limbs scattered like discarded dolls. Others were smashed, flattened into

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the pavement like something impossibly heavy had rolled over them.

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Their weapons bent and crushed. There were no shell casings,

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no sign that they even had time to fire back

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before they were annihilated. Something on stoppable had come through here.

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My phone buzzed in my pocket, Where are you? I

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forced my legs to move, stepping carefully around the destruction,

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and then from the distance that roar again, followed by

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a massive explosion. Right after the explosion, I lost service.

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I tried sending another message anyway almost there, but it

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didn't go through. I quickened my pace, keeping low, my

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breath coming in short gasps every few steps. I glanced

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over my shoulder, expecting to see something there, But all

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I saw were the ruins of my town, bathed in

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eerie red light from the still glowing flares. When I

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finally reached the gas station, my stomach sank. It was destroyed.

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The roof had partially collapsed, glass littered the parking lot,

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and a gas pump had been ripped from its foundation.

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Cables and metal jotting out like snapped bones. The place

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looked like it had been hit by a wrecking ball.

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I hesitated, scanning the ruins for any sign of movement.

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My chest tightened. What if Ryan was buried under there? Ryan?

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I called out, voice Horse. For a moment, there was nothing,

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just the distant sound of helicopter's gunfire and my own

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pulse hammering in my ears. Then over here Ryan's voice,

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faint but close, vaulting over fallen shelves and broken glass

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behind the counter crouch, low and shaking was Ryan. I

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barely had time to register my relief before the ground

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shook beneath us. A vibration, deep and unnatural, rolled through

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the earth, rattling the debris around us. The air thickened,

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charged with something heavy, and then the roar right outside.

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Ryan grabbed my wrist and yanked me down behind the counter.

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Don't move. We pressed ourselves against the cold tile, heartbeats

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thundering and sync. The gas station trembled, dust and broken

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glass trickling from the fractured ceiling. The vibrations grew stronger, heavier.

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It was here. I didn't want to look. Every instinct screamed,

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don't look. But Ryan did, and he felt its body

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stiffened beside me. I swallowed hard and forced myself to

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peek over the counter, and that was when I saw

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it massive. Its body looked like it had been stitched

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together from different things, muscles, fur, scales, bone melded into

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a single, horrifying form. Insect like legs, too many of

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them jointed the wrong way, bristling with thick, curved claws.

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Its torso was broad, pulsating, as if breathing through unseen

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slits in its flesh. Parts of it looked wet, glistening

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in the red glow of the flares, while other sections

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were dry and cracked like withered skin, and its face

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a mouth that split open. The inside of its mouth,

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revealing a second jaw. Mismatched eighes, some glowing, some empty sockets,

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some that weren't even facing the same direction. I couldn't

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breathe for something its size. It should have lurched, should

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have been heavy, lumbering, but instead it darted between buildings,

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its massive legs, making little sound compared to the destruction

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left in its wake. The soldiers opened fire. A squad

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on the street below unleashed hill machine gun fire, high

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caliber rounds, grenades exploding against the tired The air filled

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with a deafening symphony of war, and I felt it

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deep in my chest, like my rib cage was being

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hammered from the inside. The gunfire was nothing like in movies.

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It was chaotic. Each bullet crack punched through the air

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like a whip, making my ears ring. The grenades sent

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shock waves through the station, rattling my teeth and making

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the air thick with dust and smoke. For a second,

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I thought they might be hurting it, but it just

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ripped through the soldiers like paper. Its claws slashed through

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body armor like it was slicing butter. One soldier tried

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to run, it grabbed him with one of its sickly

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elongated arms and crushed him instantly. The sound was like

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someone stepping on a wet bag of leaves. A missile

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streaked through the air, fired from a nearby armored vehicle.

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It hit direct impact. Then the wind shifted and the

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smoke cleared. The monster was still standing. Its skin had cracked,

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revealing something black underneath, something writhing, almost shifting beneath its flesh.

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Its eyes flickered, seeming to adjust it had learned. Ryan

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grabbed my arm. His face was pale, mouth slightly open.

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We need to get out of here, he whispered, his

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voice barely carried over the carnage outside. He turned to

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look at me, eyes filled with something worse than terror, hopelessness.

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Right now, the gunfire had stopped. The monster was gone

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for now. The gas station was still standing, but barely.

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The windows were shattered, the walls riddled with bullet holes,

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and the air of burnt fuel and blood. My legs

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ached from crouching behind the counter, my ears still ringing

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from the firefight. And then it hit me, this was chance.

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I peered over the counter, scanning the carnage. In the streets,

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Soldiers lay scattered like discarded mannikins. Some slumped against destroyed vehicles,

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others in twisted, unnatural positions. Their weapons were still clutched

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in lifeless hands. I turned to Ryan. He was shaking,

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his arms wrapped tightly around himself. His pupils were wide,

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darting between me and the wreckage outside. He was still

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in shock. We have to move, I whispered, We won't

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get another chance. He looked at me like I was insane.

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Move where we're trapped that thing. I grabbed his arm,

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shaking him. If we stay here, we're dead. But if

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we look like one of them, I gestured toward the

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fallen soldiers, maybe we can get out. Maybe they'll take

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us with them. Ryan swallowed hard. He understood, removed, quickly,

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crawling over the broken glass and stepping onto the street,

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keeping low. The flashing emergency lights from abandoned military vehicles

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cast eerie shadows over the bodies. I knelt beside a

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soldier lying face down, his gas masks still intact, his

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rifle half buried under debris. His chest wasn't rising. He

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was gone. I reached for his gear. Ryan hesitated, looking

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at the bodies. He wasn't moving. Ryan, I hissed, grabbed something.

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His hands trembled as he reached toward another soldier's vest.

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He stopped, stared, his breath hitched. He was panicking. Then

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gunfire erupted nearby. We both flinched as a fresh burst

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of automatic fire tore through the night. Then came the screams.

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The monster was back, Ryan Froze. I saw the moment.

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His brain short circuited, the moment his fightal flight kicked

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in hard. He dropped, everything turned bolted. Ryan. I shouted,

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but he was already gone. His footsteps pounded against the pavement,

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disappearing into the smoke and shadows. I had two seconds

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to decide run after him and die or survive. The

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air shuddered. A massive thud shook the ground as the

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monster landed nearby, having leaped over buildings with impossible speed.

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Soldiers scrambled, opening fire again, their shouts drowning in the chaos.

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I sprinted the opposite way. I didn't look back. I

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dove behind an overturned envy, heart pounding lungs burning. The

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smell of oil, blood and gunpowder clung to the air.

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I waited. Another explosion went off so close I felt

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the heat against my face. The soldiers were engaging the

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monster again. It hadn't gone in my direction, which meant

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I squeezed my eyes shut, guilt threatening to choke me.

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I couldn't think about that right now. I needed to

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get out. I glanced down at myself. I still had

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the soldier's uniform, but no helmet, no mask. The military barricades, convoys.

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If there was a way out of this hell hole,

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it would be through them. I took one last look

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at the burning wreckage behind me and the flashes of

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gunfire in the distance. I ran until my legs nearly

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gave out. The world around me blurred into smears of

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fire and darkness, my breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps.

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Every few seconds, I heard another explosion, a distant burst

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of gunfire, a roar so loud I could feel it

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in my teeth. By the time I reached the main

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road leading out of town, I could see the military

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barricade in the distance, a makeshift checkpoint built from sandbags,

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barbed wire, and armored vehicles. Footlights bathed the area in

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harsh artificial glow. There were soldiers everywhere. Some were busy

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behind mounted machine guns, scanning the tree line Others hurried

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between vehicles, barking orders, dragging crates of supplies. I slowed down,

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forcing myself to breathe evenly. If I came in looking

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like a panic civilian, they turned me away or detain me.

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If I looked like a soldier trying to return to

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his unit, I jested the rifle slung over my shoulder,

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wiped the sweat from my forehead, and started walking toward

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the checkpoint. The closer I got, the clearer their faces

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became exhausted, tints covered in grime. Some soldiers were bandaged up.

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Their uniforms were ripped, stained with blood. Others had vacant

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stairs like they had already checked out, and I could

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use that. As I approached, a soldier spotted me and

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raised his rifle. You stop right there, my froze, raised

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my hand slightly, making sure not to move too fast.

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And with the ground unit near Lincoln Avenue, we got separated.

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When that thing hit us, I was trying to get

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to the checkpoint. The soldier's face hardened. I d my

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stomach twisted into a knot. I I lost it in

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the fight. I held my side, winting, faking an injury,

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got thrown. When that thing knocked the truck over, I

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blacked out for a bit. When I came to my

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unit was gone. I had to make my way here alone.

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A second soldier stepped forward, older, more seasoned. He looked

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me up and down, eyes narrowing slightly. What's your call sign,

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he asked. My mind raised shook violently, sending loose gravels

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skittering across the pavement. The floodlights flickered. The young soldier's

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radio crackled, A life, it's moving on the checkpoint. All

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units prepared to engage. The two soldiers turned sharply, their

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eyes widening in horror. The older ones spun toward me.

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Get in the goddamn truck now. I didn't hesitate. I

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jumped onto the back of the transport, squeezing in between

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ground faced soldiers, their weapons locked and loaded. The truck

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lurched forward, tires screeching against the pavement. As the convoys

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sped out of town. I looked back and I saw hell.

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The entire skyline was on fire. Buildings collapsed like cardboard,

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their skeletal frames glowing with flames. Helicopters hovered above, dropping

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missiles in quick succession. Each explosion ripped through the streets,

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sending shock waves through the air, all of it followed

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by a deafening, animalistic screech. The monster emerged from the smoke.

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Its massive insect like limbs propelled it forward at an

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impossible speed, its body still shifting, pulsating with unnatural movement

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beneath its stitch together hide. Gunfire erupted from every direction.

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Soldiers fired everything they had, mounted turrets, rocket launches in

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sundry rounds, but it didn't slow down. It was speeding up.

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One of the helicopters swooped in, launching two precision missiles.

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The explosion engulfed the creature, fire, smoked debris. The truck

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jerked violently as the shockwave ripped through the street. I

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shielded my face, the heat almost unbearable even from this distance.

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Then through the thin smoke, it was still moving. All

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my surroundings exploded in a noise, the same robotic voice

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from earlier. We regret to inform you containment has failed.

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If you are still in the area, May God help you.

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The moment the alert came through, the convoys radio flared

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to life, all units cleared. His own Code black is

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in effect. The soldiers in the truck went dead, silent.

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Then one of them whispered voice, hollow jeez, then nuking it.

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I turned back toward the town, my breath catching in

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my throat. A blinding white light engulfed the skyline. The

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shock wave came first, a concussive force so strong it

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felt like my lungs had been punched inward. The ground

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beneath a convoy rumbled violently, Cracks spider webbing across the pavement.

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A towering, unnatural mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The

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town was consumed in an instant, everything gone. I couldn't move,

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I could only watch as the place I had lived

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my entire life, was turned to dust. The truck sped forward,

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leaving the destruction behind. None of the soldiers spoke. There

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was nothing left to say to s