General Amrys sighed. “Mr. President, I don’t know that we can keep any of this contained. You’ve seen the footage. We barely make a dent in the 5 legged creatures, and the big ones managed to flip a tank. I think we all know the other option.” He stared at all the faces lit on the screen, letting it sink in.

One of the other members turned towards the president. “Sir, we’re still not sure on exact casualties, but the city was evacuated hours ago and nothing else has made it out. We don’t have the ability to secure the city with the forces in the region, and letting this continue will only let more people die, and potentially give the enemy a place to hole up, making them more difficult to remove in the future.”

“Our closest sight can deliver the payload in 2 hours. Scorched Earth capabilities,” the General added. “The long term effects would be significant, but the enemy would be permanently neutralized, and we can redeploy troops to areas where they can make a difference.”

The president sighed heavily. Amrys waited. He didn’t envy the man, this decision would haunt them all either way, but the president most of all. The media would crucify him, but tactically, it was a sound decision.

“Let’s do it. I want to give the people there 8 more hours to get out. Do we have anyone in the city who can get a warning out?”

“We’ve been in contact with a city dispatcher, we’ll get a warning out if at all possible.”

“Good, get it done. I hope history will remember us as leaders, and not desperate fools. I’ve got to let Congress know. You have 8 hours, General. Then I want those things wiped off the face of the Earth. We all know there’s more coming.”

---

Aran sat in one of the office chairs of the grocery store, staring up at the ceiling. They’d been here for hours now, with nothing to do but wait for any signal to come in over the radio. Melony had cycled through all the police frequencies for an hour before returning to the default and waiting. She had a spare battery, but it would be important to conserve the radio, as it could be a while. They hadn’t heard back from the dispatcher since getting in the car, so after they’d found the grocery store unlocked, they’d pulled the metal gates down behind the glass and barricaded the doors with boxes and tipped over shopping carts.

They hadn’t spoken much over the past few hours. The oppressive atmosphere of silence was punctuated by the occasional sound of breaking glass and car alarms. They’d had to cower in silence a few times while securing the building and doors, hiding out of sight until they were sure the danger had passed.

Melony walked into what Aran assumed was the manager’s office, plopping down into the chair across from his. The narrow window near the ceiling let in amber light, throwing the room into a washed out sepia.

“Still no signal?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“No,” she sighed, looking haggard. They’d been taking turns listening to the radio and going up to the roof to look for other people or any signs of help.

“I’ll head up and look for a bit. You should get some rest,” he said quietly, stretching his arms as he stood.

She looked hard at him. “Are you sure you’re okay? We’re safe in here, we can wait awhile before checking.”

Aran shook his head. “I’m fine. I just want to look for awhile.” He walked out of the office to the small stairwell to the roof. Being outside would do him good. The cool autumn air felt good on his skin, now that he’d cleaned up a bit.

When he’d first looked at his blood covered face in the grocery store’s bathroom mirror, he’d been shocked. Along with the tears and stains on his clothes, he looked like a lunatic. After cleaning himself in the sink as much as possible, he still looked disheveled, but felt much better. Cleaning blood off of himself was an old ritual, and it had helped soothe his nerves.

Aran crouched next to the low wall ringing the roof of the store, peaking over onto the street. In the last few hours, more and more of the spike monsters had swarmed across the area. None of them seemed to have caught their scent so far, but it might only be a matter of time with so many out hunting. They’d also seen a new beast, a huge horned thing on four legs, covered in a thick carapace. Aran had taken to calling them beetle rhinos, and the one they’d seen was quickly swarmed by the spike monsters. The animal’s shell had taken quite a beating before it finally went down, taking several of the smaller creatures with it.

That had been a revelation for them, that not all of the creatures were friendly with each other, and they seemed to be establishing territories for each species. It really did seem that the Judges had dumped creatures from other worlds on Earth, which made Aran wonder what other creatures might be encroaching on other places in the world.

His gaze refocused as one of the spike monsters dragged something out of a doorway, on to the street. He quickly looked away, closing his eyes to try and block out the memory of the gruesome sight. They’d seen much of that, in the hours of waiting. Aran doubted he’d ever get the images and sounds out of his head. The screams had all gone quiet now, and if anyone else was alive out there, they were hiding, waiting it out like Aran and Melony.

He kept watching for another hour, as the sun rose higher in the sky, approaching noon. Before going back inside, he laid out on his back, stretching. Looking up at the sky, he could almost block out the memories of the past 24 hours. As he lay there, he looked inward once more. The bindings throughout his body felt stronger now, and more mana flowed through them too. His whole body felt more alive than at any time in his life. Ironic, he thought, that he felt this way after so much death. The deaths of the creatures didn’t really bother him, they had been trying to eat him after all. But the thought that he was capable of so much violence felt odd, like it was someone else. He’d never once hurt anyone or anything in his life before the events of the past day, and he didn’t really want to hurt the monsters. He sighed. He doubted he’d resolve any personal qualms about killing those things while they were still trapped. That was practically asking for some sort of psychological break.

He started to get up to head back downstairs, when he noticed the trail snaking across the sky. His eyes widened. It must be a military plane, maybe they were finally here! He squinted to get a better look, but the actual plane was barely a speck it was so far up. As he watched, the plane passed over the center of the city, and slowly grew more distant, white trails marking it’s path.

The light nearly blinded him, it was so bright. His eyes snapped shut, but still it shone through his eyelids, as if some vengeful god had moved the sun to just above the city center. It was far enough away that the sound reached him before the blast, like a clap of thunder reverberating in his skull. His body reacted before he did, mana surging across his body, pulsing into every strand, forcing more and more into them as the fireball expanded. He watched as a ripple of force blasted buildings apart, rushing towards him. Aran screamed, the sound drowning in his throat as the shockwave picked him up bodily. Wild energy raged across his body as he tumbled through the air. His mana was not enough to stop the damage from the blast, as his skin burned away, rapidly reforming even as it burned, the pain debilitating. Radiation flooded his body, searing his cells and the very fabric of his being. The wind of the blast roared in his ears, as debris battered him. The hot air seared his lungs, even as the air was knocked from them. Aran lost consciousness as he fell, the raging inferno carrying his limp body farther and farther. After several minutes, it was over, the city and all of the inhabitants were no more.