A white beast soars up high, dropping fire blasts from the sky. A visage that never should've been possible. Elliot always blamed the government, but maybe there was supernatural shit all along. "Oh well, I always thought random bombings were government ploys, but here we are."
What an impossible sight, but there nonetheless. People stay still staring at the dragon, as if they are hypnotized. A dragon, of all things, is in the sky, "impossible" in all ways. "Guess supernatural exists."
Taking his phone, he opens the camera, zooming on the creature. Its white form starts to become orange at the belly, mixing with the sunlight. If anything, this is an ill omen, a big one at that.
A bitter taste spreads in his body, as adrenaline starts to pump in. He grabs Lawrence, flabbergasted by the dragon's appearance., dragging him along, as fireballs are shot from the dragon's mouth, hitting the city below, blasting away buildings, and unleashing debris under the crowds of people.
From the skies, a big rock fell— blasted away by a fireball. "We should get out of the way." Around him, both K.J and James already noticed the rock, jumping out of the way. A good thing those two are handy just like that.
Right where they were just a few moments ago, immense debris falls there, sinking into the street and cutting away the road. A shockwave is unleashed as the heavy debris hits the ground, hitting them in the back, and knocking them to the ground without any resistance. Even without it, the ground shaking from the impact would be enough to put them down anyway.
The resonance and sound of the impact send a wave of noise inside his ears, almost making him dizzy. A dust cloud rises, as he looks back, quickly getting together. His heart racing and beating in his ears—
This time around, Lawrence would've been less than a bloodstain on the street if he hadn't thought fast. Standing up, Elliot uses his shirt to cover up his nose and mouth, putting his left arm on his forehead, to protect himself from the dust.
Quick thinking was always his strongest suit, even if sometimes became a hindrance due to hasty decisions made by misguided judgment. Holding his head in his left hand, Elliot checks for his phone, to see if it is damaged, and for his pocket knife. Luckily, both are intact.
He couldn't hear Lawrence due to the buzz inside his ears, but Elliot could pierce together the meaning of his words by the look on his face. "Cof, —?" A confused face, lost on just what happened to them, the debris falling and the dragon.
Reasonably, there is no way he can hear his friend's answer or words with the buzzing going on, but at least Lawrence shouldn't be just as bad as him. "Lawrence, cover your mouth and nose with your shirt, or something."
His white-haired friend looks lost, before finally noticing the wall of debris separating them from their friends. Much like Lawrence, other people start to recover and to scream. Right in time for his hearing to come back, too.
Shaking his head, the white-haired young man, holds his ears, clearly not enjoying the ringing as well. "El… what happened?" Elliot picks up what Lawrence said, his hearing starts to normalize too.
The one billion question. "I don't fucking know, pal. A dragon appeared out of nowhere, and started to bombard us." Never in his life, had he thought that this type of phrase could be used in a literal sense.
"Hey Elliot… where is K.J?" A lump appears in his throat. How could one deliver such a message? "Our friends are all dead!" As far as they knew, there wasn't much hope for them, Spencer and the others inside the store may have a silver lining, but they…
Noticing his face, his white-haired friend connects one and two. "Oh no…. Kyrie, James… Shit! Kyrie! James!"
Just after he recomposes himself, Lawrence runs towards the debris, screaming for their friends. His loud voice made his ears ring again. "You must be kidding me." He disregarded his advice about covering the mouth and nose. "I won't save your ass again."
Fixing his vision on the debris, he also ran towards them. "James! Kyrie!" If they are alive, or at least conscious, they will call back, he hopes. Right after starting to call for them, James voice calls back from behind the debris.
"I'm here. I managed to avoid the rocks." A stone-cold and unreasonably composed voice answers without any delay— how could someone appear to be so unfazed by a near-death experience? James is crazy.
"Oh… okay then. Can you climb over the debris to get here or something?" Since James is so well, he could at least do this basic, right? From the other side, Elliot could hear a sigh from James.
"The rock is burning hot here. No way." Just about expected. A fireball blasted all of that debris, so being on fire or molten is natural, things won't be simple then.
"Since K.J is not with you, guess we are divided by those stupid pieces of rock." Things would be harder to do with them all separated. "Elliot!" Lawrence calls to him, waving his hand, and soon after his phone vibrates. "Who could be at a time like this?"
Picking his phone, messages from both Lawrence and K.J: "Let's meet at the Blue Evening park. James! Does it sound like a plan for you?" The park is just a mile or so away. They could reach it even if they only walked.
Besides being a common hang-out for them, and other youths. One of the best options. "Ja. We will meet there, then." Now it left them to move. A message pops up, from James:
"Ja. We will meet there, then." Just a repetition of what he had said a few moments ago… what to expect from James. With one last problem down the line, it just is to take Lawrence and get away from there.
Running towards his white-haired friend, he once again grabs him by the wrist. "Wait, what are you doing, Elliot?" He asks, startled, and surprised by his reaction. Normally, he won't be so forceful about this type of stuff, but the situation is worrisome.
Taking an intake of air, he starts to walk faster, dragging Lawrence. "We have to get out of here. Before any other—" Right as they step out of the cloud of dust, Elliot bites his tongue. People running, confused and screaming, fiery sludge on the ground.
A crowd had amassed out in the open, trying to avoid the debris blasted by the dragon. The whole street is full, and cars are stranded by the mass of people. It would be a problem to cross it by themselves.
"Shit, it was good I got your hand! Lawrence, push them! Just push them around and pull your weight forward!" To push people around with their weight is not a good thing to do, especially due to the fact they are all confused like them.
It is forceful, it is rough, but is the only option to cross through a full crowd. Lawrence is disoriented but nods. Running wouldn't help through a crowd, so they have to push them back.
"What is happening?"
"Did you see that shit? A fucking dragon!"
"Where is my Mommy? Here she is?"
"Fuck off, assholes! Stop pushing people around!"
As they push through the crowd, it gets even thicker, "It is like rushing inside the subways." People start to push each other, including them, making it harder to navigate. Lawrence whimpers along the way, more than not used to the pushy nature of crowds.
Despite not being enough to completely hinder their movement, it is enough to cram them in the crowd, slowing them down despite pushing others around. People start to scream out of nowhere, all through the crowd.
"Oh shit! Oh, shit!"
"What is happening?"
"They are jumping from the ground!"
Something strange happens, the ground below their feet starts to rumble, rupturing, something poking out of them, like a small head. Soon, a humanoid pops out from the crack. "..." Without giving it any chance, Elliot stomps its head back to the ground, exploding the skull of the creature like a balloon.
However, more heads stop popping out of the ground. Worse, red things fully break off from the ground, with crude weapons and slashing claws. His heart starts to race, things are not looking good, and who knows what can exit the ground alongside these goblins.
"Damn it! Lawrence, start to run! Things are going to explode" A wave of people running confused. K.J and James should've gotten it easier without the crowd.
Without time, he stops holding Lawrence's hand, pushing people ahead, without care if they fall or get stomped on— their survival, is more important. Not only theirs, but the whole crowd starts to get more violent in their pushes, noticing the goblins breaking the ground.
An explosion occurs a few meters ahead of them, sending people flying a few meters off the ground, and something else exiting there. An 8 ft tall giant, with a white mane and red skin, its face similar to that of the goblins, but with bigger fangs, and an angrier expression.
Without a second thought, Lawrence and Elliot turn away, running from the thing, trying to avoid the people falling by the red humanoids, or by the humanoids sprouting from the ground.
Their heart starts to race, that creature is no good news, and they have to get away from there. From behind them, a monstrous voice explodes, drowning the crowd's desperate noises. "MASSACRE THEM ALL!"
Wet slashing sounds start to echo, creatures jumping from the ground and onto people, slashing them up. They have no choice but to run forwards, and to avoid them and the cruel massacre unfolding.
Desperation builds up inside of him, cold sweat starting to fall off his back and forehead. What the hell are those things? How could they just open people up with their claws? From where they came?
Questions with no answer. His lips dry up, his eyes focusing on what lies ahead, adrenaline rushing through his body, anxiety and weariness getting under his skin as chaos starts to unfold and consume the crowd.
"Die! Human!" One of the red freaks jumps, its claws open and wide. "Fuck off!" Raising his fist, he punches the thing in the middle of the chest, throwing it on the ground. People start to stomp it on, running in panic.
Elliot looks behind him, to see if his friend is following him. "I'm here, Elliot!" By the good grace of God, he is right behind him. Taking a short breath in their run, they continue. Without looking back, they cannot afford it.
Chaos installs itself, people screaming at the top of their lungs, getting killed, some being thrown in the air— a work of the bigger monster most likely. Ahead of them, police cars came and stopped near the crowd.
"Only after the shit hits the fan do you guys appear?!" Elliot bites back a scream of outrage and keeps running.
With a megaphone, one policeman calls the crowd's attention: "This is a case of emergency! Seek emergency shelters! We will hold the monsters back! Focus on getting to a safe place!"
More police cars start to show up. A bitter taste once again appeared in his mouth. "Things are not looking good…" Shaking his head, he runs past the policeman, with Lawrence close by.
Soon, gunshots are fired, obviously against the creatures. After the first couple of shots, more are fired behind them, as more cars come from the places with less debris blocking the street.
The crowd follows them, or better said, they go with the flow of people trying to run away from the mayhem, without a clear strategy or way of avoiding them. Looking back, a scene from a film plays before them.
Policemen shoot monsters, while more of the bigger ones start to appear, shrugging off bullets with ease, while the smaller creatures jump on people or rush towards the policemen, their arms open wide, for a better-slashing position.
The bigger ones, somehow, are immune to low calibers, if the sight is anything to go by. Elliot swallows dry, things went from 100 to 1000 in the span of a few seconds. The monsters scream in enjoyment behind them.
"Help me!" Someone screams, raising their hands in front of them. A supernatural event happened soon after, a burst of flames exploding forward, incinerating the red freak. Another strange thing in the freak show.
They run, chaos installing itself on the streets, going on without protection will be hard. "Lawrence, stop. We can't keep running." Another plan will be needed if they want to avoid this mayhem. Lawrence just nods, going with his flow.
On the road, an almost intact car, with the corpses of two people near it, two of the red things slashing them. "... Lawrence, I know of a way to get us through this situation…"
Elliot's vision narrows on them. Lawrence holds his breath, looking in the same direction his friend's eyes are locked on. "... How will we get rid of them?" Despite their deadly claws, their resistance is not much.
"We can take them on, just don't get hit by their claws, okay?" The only advantage those things hold over them is their claws. He could ground pound one of those bare-handed, but the same couldn't be said the same for Lawrence.
Taking his pocket knife out, he tosses it to Lawrence, who clumsily grabs it in the air. With a last intake of air, they run towards the beasts, who are unaware, feasting on the corpses of the people they slew…
Without giving the freaks time to think, he kicks one on the ground. "iik!" The creature whines. Elliot jumps onto the creature's chest, smashing through it and instantly killing the monster.
Looking back, he sees the body of the other monster, jerking with its throat cut. "He did get the hang of it fast." Kicking the other red thing out of the way, he approaches Lawrence, who stares with empty eyes at the corpses.
A woman and a man, probably a couple. He beats back his gag reflex. They shouldn't have died this way… no amount of pity would matter. "I'm sorry." They were attacked trying to enter the car, with their backs turned.
"Cowardly little shits…" Shaking his head, Elliot starts to research their bloodied bodies in search of a key. Meanwhile, Lawrence picks something off the ground, a cell phone. "What is that?"
Lawrence doesn't answer, staring blankly at the screen. "... They were calling for their daughter. Lily…" Realization dawns on Elliot, and he looks away, focusing on searching for the key, They shall be fast unless someone notices them and has the same idea…
After a few more seconds of searching, he finds the car's key. "Thank you, whoever you are." Shaking his head, he rises to unlock the car, while Lawrence stares blankly at the screen. Opening the other now, he waits for his friend to get in.
The white-haired young man just shakes his head, going on to enter on the other free seat. Igniting it, Elliot starts to drive, trying to avoid the mass of people running, or the monsters chasing them.