Summers lay in his bed, trying to sleep. It wasn’t going well. His mind continued to dwell on the revelation that it might not be wholly “his” anymore.

He’d been trying to remember anything he could about his mother, what she looked like, sounded like, what her name was. He had nothing.

Just trying to remember his life back home, he could grasp every other detail. The dozens of part time jobs he’d held to pay their rent, the old woman that lived across from them, but nothing about the woman herself. The fact he could remember his stint in McDonalds over his own family was a revelation he wasn’t prepared for.

There were other holes in his memory, of course. His father, but he recognized enough about the man not to mourn that loss. A few of his friends. His first girlfriend. Every time he tried to quiet his mind, something new and disturbing would crop up.

And through all of it he had to deal with the gnawing hunger nibbling at the back of his mind.

A single, distant pop pulled him from his thoughts, too close to be someone on the wall. The shrill, savage scream that followed confirmed that something was off.

Summers stepped out of his room to find Nowak, Cortez and Logan already in the common room.

“That was a gun, right?” Logan moved to the dorm’s entrance, there was muffled shouting outside.

Bells began sounding alongside more gunfire, automatic this time.

“Move.” Cortez ordered, cracking open the door and looking outside. After a moment, she looked back to the others. “…Guys. I think our guards forgot about us.”

Summers moved up to look outside. Sure enough, there was no one in the hallway.

The gunfire just intensified.

Asle pounded against the door, the screaming behind her only grew louder. She turned to see a creature of pure, greasy black, a mouth too large for its body open as it fed on a woman at its feet.

The servants were panicking, screaming. At some point it had killed nearly half a dozen of them in a circle around it.

And the door in front of her was locked from this side.

Two guards with more courage than sense charged the creature with spears.

She didn’t even see it move, the first man’s head simply disappeared, while the second was thrown to the ground in an instant. The creature was on top of him then, its black, almost liquid skin seeping over the corpse. Asle watched in horrified fascination as the man seemed to disassemble, his arms moving to the creatures back, its mass more than doubling.

In the distance, Asle recognized Nisha’s voice. The woman was shouting orders.

The creature lifted its head lifted just as a spray of bullets slammed into its side. It screamed, sprinting off to its unseen attacker at a speed Asle was sure was impossible.

The door beside Asle exploded outward, two more guards with assault rifles ran in. A servant was shouting, pointing down the hall. They hesitated only a moment before moving forward.

She wanted to shout out, to warn them. But she knew they wouldn’t listen. She needed to find help.

Summers and the others stalked through the halls of the castle, between the shouting and panic no one was paying them much mind, in fact most were trying to get out just as they were. Something told Summers the bells that had been sounding in the distance were a warning.

“Do you know if they had some kind of armory?” Cortez looked to Logan.

The man had spent the better part of their time in the city with Nisha, so he was the most likely candidate out of any of them to know how it worked.

“Are you kidding?” Logan looked at Cortez incredulously. “If they had weapons stored somewhere the higher ups would be trying to take them. If it’s not in someone’s hand it’s probably long gone.”

“Then what do we –“ Summers stumbled as he spotted Asle running in their direction. The same direction of the gunfire.

She was panting, tears in her eyes.

“Help…”

Asle told them what happened, Rhodes death, the weird, alien creature that he’d been keeping, and what it had done.

The more she talked, the more certain Summers became that he’d seen the creature she was talking about.

When he’d used the fog.

“We need to get out of here first.” Nowak explained. “If we get to the wall, we can at least get some weapons.”

“Or get the fuck out of here.” Cortez added. “Or both.”

Asle had been near a panic attack as she’d explained what she did, convinced everything that creature killed was blood on her hands.

That was something they were going to have to deal with later, however.

Then they heard a scream.

Summers flattened himself against a wall as the body of an elf came barreling down a hallway. A faint “crunch” punctuated the man’s short flight.

“What in the fuck?” Nowak looked back at the smear that used to be an elf, then to the room in front of them.

It was a massacre, bodies were smeared against the walls, piled on the floor.

And they saw it. The creature was nearly as big as the room itself, multi-jointed arms as large as Summers was tall bent over a guard.

It was eating him, a mouth that seemed to continue well into its chest tearing entire limbs free, swallowing in an instant.

A servant taking cover in a nearby room must have thought the creature was distracted, she burst from her hiding place, heading towards Summers group.

One of its hands lifted almost lazily, moving to swat the woman.

Summers grabbed the spear of a dead guard at his feet, the creature hadn’t so much as look in their direction before the projectile slammed through its chest, pinning it to the wall for just an instant.

The thing screeched with a primal ferocity, clawing at the shaft of the spear with six pairs of hands.

“…huh…” Summers stared blankly ahead as the woman ran screaming past them.

At some point Cortez must have found a gun, a grenade impacted with the creature’s chest, blinding Summers for an instant and turning a substantial part of the monster into a smear on the ceiling.

Nowak and Logan soon followed, firing at a second head Summers hadn’t even noticed. A long arm shot out, swatting at the group. Summers moved to catch it only to be slammed into the opposite wall. He felt his breath pushed out of him as a shelf crashed into his back.

He recovered long enough to feel the arm in his grip snap in two. He tore, and the creature screamed once again.

But this time, it didn’t charge them. Limbs, entire sections of the creature fell with the sound of wet meat hitting stone, squirming through the newly made hole in the wall.

It ran, leaving parts of itself behind.

The group just stared at chaos left in its wake. Distant crashing becoming more feint.

“What in the fuck was that?!” Summers looked to the others.

“Hamr.” Asle answered, eyes wide.

Cortez leaned down, unstrapping equipment from a guard dead at her feet.

Summers recognized the man as one who’d been in his squad for the first few days.

He’d never bothered to memorize his name.

“What do we do now?” Cortez looked to Nowak.

“I…” Nowak started, then swallowed. “I’ll be honest with you guys. I have no fucking idea. We can’t make it out of the city like this. Guns or not. There’s an army outside, and whatever the hell that is inside. So, open for suggestions.”

Before they could answer, Summers heard something coming their way. Footsteps. A lot of them.

“Shit.” He looked to the others. “We have company.”

Summers watched as Nisha approached, a small contingent of guards in tow. More than a few were injured, Nisha herself looked to be bleeding from an eye.

She seemed surprised to find four rifles trained on her.

None of them had forgotten whose loyalties she’d chosen, or that she’d held them prisoner, twice. And so, they’d decided they were done taking chances.

“…Was this your doing?” Nisha glanced down at their weapons. “Did you release this… thing.”

“I’m done playing.” Summers responded. “If you people want to do us harm, we can end this right here and now.”

Nisha hesitated for only a moment before speaking to the guards at her side. Summers saw their hands twitch for their weapons for just an instant before -

“Wait.” Logan held up a hand. The man hadn’t found a gun, instead he walked forward, hands raised. His prosthetic tapped against the ground with every step. “We don’t need to fight, not now.”

Summers’ grip on his gun only tightened.

Logan noticed, looking him in the eye. “Is this really how you want to do things?”

Summers thought about that. There was fear in the guard’s eyes, they watched Summers as someone would watch a predator.

He could smell their blood, feeling the deep, gnawing hunger that he’d pushed down.

He wondered how much that was affecting his thinking.

“…Do you know what that thing is?” Summers watched the guards carefully, just in case one of them got any ideas.

“I know it can kill every man, woman and child in the city. I’ve seen it happen.” Nisha responded. “…Just leave… Please.” She looked at them, eyes pleading.

Summers considered that for a long moment before lowering his weapon. Truth be told, he was tired, the city had done no favors for him, and he desperately just wanted to sleep this all off like a bad dream.

But there was still an army at the gates, one that Summers had no doubt would take full advantage of the chaos this thing sowed. They couldn’t run. Not really.

There were too many in the city that had helped them, trusted them. He wasn’t enough of an asshole to leave them to their fate.

Summers glanced to his side, receiving a nod from the others.

“…Let us help you find it.”

Summers moved through the streets, trying his best to follow the creature’s scent.

It wasn’t hard. Whatever it was it had left destruction in its wake, the problem was that it was much, much faster than them. The damn thing could have left the city, for all they knew.

Nisha spoke to a guard at her side, he split off from the group, heading towards the wall.

“I’m sending for more.” Nisha explained. “But we can’t leave the wall undefended.”

“Where are we?” Logan asked.

“Warehouse district.” Nisha glanced at the towering buildings that lined the street. “Can you sense it?”

Summers slowed for a moment, taking in the air. He could still smell the creature, but it was almost masked now.

Something was rotting, Summers wrinkled his nose at the smell. A lot of somethings. Then it occurred to him.

“Nisha, how do you handle your dead?”

Before the woman could answer they came upon it. A mass grave, one made from the refugees and soldiers that had died during the attack.

It was black, the entire mound of rotting flesh shifting, squirming as if it were one beating heart.

“Oh. Fuck.” Nisha blurted.

A thin, black arm shot out from the pile of corpses, grabbing a guard by the head and sucking him into the mound of flesh.

They ran.

Commander Haldor was a decorated veteran of several campaigns. He was a man who had travelled the world, and he thought he’d seen everything.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Men around him screamed in fear, abandoning their posts and running as if their lives depended on it.

In all likelihood, it did.

His invasion of the city had been something of a masterstroke on his part, they had marched through the Northern Tribe’s territory with hardly any resistance. And now, his army was in shambles. In a single fight, they’d lost so many.

Men on the walls with strange weapons, killing with impunity. But his men were disciplined, moreover, they were hungry. This city was the promise of a lifetime of riches. They did not break.

They’d seen monsters, a man of myth that tore through soldiers as if they were toys.

Still they held, Haldor was content in the knowledge that the city could be starved out. And though his men didn’t look forward to a lengthy siege, more than a few burned with the dishonor that came with the deaths of their friends and loved ones.

That was before they saw what loomed over the city.

His subcommanders tried to shout orders as more fled for the road behind them. They were ignored, he could see one man attempting to stop his men at spear point. He was killed a moment later.

The camp was in disarray.

The blackened creature towered over the cities’ walls a dozen times over. Simply looking at it stirred a primal fear in him.

This land was cursed. He knew that now.

This entire campaign was a mistake.

“How in the fuck are we supposed to kill that?!” Summers yelled as the group ran. Summers scooped Asle over his shoulder. She’d refused to stay behind, and Summers mentally noted he’d need to have a conversation with her about knowing your limits.

The creature stood behind them, an amalgamation of thousands of bodies.

“Aim for the legs!” Nowak snapped. The group unloaded their guns into the creature, it didn’t seem effected. That was until Cortez got the bright idea to use a grenade.

On the detonation the creature fell to the ground. Arms shot out, scrabbling for purchase. More than a few guards were crushed, then dragged into its body as hands as large as their torsos tightened around them.

A building Summers dearly hoped was deserted flattened under the massive creature’s weight. It crawled now, pursuing them through the cities’ alleys.

They’d only managed to get some distance from the creature because of its size. It was too big. The city itself made it difficult to move. But that didn’t slow it as much as Summers would have liked, he watched as its foot slammed through the roof of a warehouse only for it to scramble forward, a mouth the size of a small home screaming in sheer fury.

The guards had scattered, yet somehow it stayed laser focused on their group, whether that was luck, or it held a grudge, Summers hadn’t a clue.

Cortez looked over to Nisha. “How far is the market?”

“What?!” Nisha looked at Cortez in confusion.

“Where?!”

“It’s… it’s close.” Nisha panted as they ran.

“Oh, fuck me.” Summers glanced over to Nisha, suddenly understanding what Cortez had planned. “Is it empty?”

“Of course!” Nisha answered.

“Good. Because it’s going to be a crater when we’re done.”

Summers threw open the door to the building that housed the cities’ supply of black powder.

“What’s your plan?” Summers looked to Cortez. The room was full of barrels. More than enough to blow them and a good chunk of the city into orbit.

Cortez grabbed the nearest barrel, dumping its contents on the ground while looking to Nisha. “We’re going to need somewhere to take cover. If you have any suggestions now’s the fucking time.”

Nisha was almost entranced but managed to answer. “There’s a canal nearby. Would that work?”

“How near?” Cortez looked at the woman harshly.

“At the end of the road.”

“Fuck it, it’ll do.” Cortez dumped the remained of the barrel into the pit with the others.

She took a grenade from her pocket, pulled the pin, and jammed it handle and all between two barrels.

Summers watched in a mixture of horror as the barrels rocked back and forth. If they were moved just an inch, that would be it for all of them.

Sometimes Cortez truly did scare him.

“Let’s move!” Nowak yelled. Summers snapped back to reality as the creature roared once again.

He didn’t bother waiting for the others, with his speed he was behind cover in an instant.

The monster at their backs was almost on top of them now. He quickly lowered Asle down the embankment and into the water, looking back to check on the others.

Nowak followed close behind with Cortez, Logan was struggling to keep pace with his prosthetic, but wasn’t too far behind.

The creature roared again, its long hand whipping out, shattering a building in the distance… and throwing it at them.

Summers covered over Asle as debris washed over the group, brick and dust sending them sprawling. Something about the movement must have thrown the creature off balance, though, because it fell squarely on the room holding the black powder a moment later.

Nothing happened.

Summers jumped out of cover. Nowak and Cortez were stunned, but Nisha’s leg was twisted, bleeding, she must have been hit by the debris.

Logan grabbed the woman under the arms, pulling her into a fireman’s carry and waving Summers off. “Go!”

Summers didn’t waste time arguing, instead he pulled Nowak and Cortez the last few feet into the canal. If they weren’t dead yet they had only a precious few seconds before the grenade would ignite the black powder, and that would change very quickly.

“Cover your ears!” Cortez yelled as she slid down into the water, the creature was only just regaining its footing.

Summers watched as Logan hobbled, Nisha on his shoulders, the prosthetic straining under the weight. Summers counted the remaining time on the fuse. It was going to be tight, but they could make it.

But just as they neared, the prosthetic snapped, sending both of them tumbling to the ground a dozen feet short of safety.

The last thing Summers saw before diving into the safety of the water, was Logan desperately dragging the woman with everything he had.

It wasn’t enough.

Their world was suddenly engulfed by flame.

…

Corporal Mark Logan died attempting to save a civilian. He was 26.