With a river of blood running down the streets, due to approaching rain, Shawn taking a step to the sidewalk gagging though the outcome not much better with a variety of guts and flesh strewn about on the sidewalk. A surge through his gut, hand atop his mouth and nose with a rag, continuing to gag. The smell of rot; decomposing human remains lying scattered around, some actually turning green, some a purple-blue tone, mostly those left in open area and moist areas.
Ellie looking down the entire way, not saying a word. A head, severed, rolling right by, an eyeball torn out with blood splattered around the socket, half the face chewed off with teeth marks visible, tongue half torn. Taking a step back, losing it, turning right and the sound of liquidy chunks splattering the ground, Shawn letting out a loud repulsive gag as up came his last meal.
The smell of the area, penetrating with flesh the smell of rotten eggs mixed with skunk anus that has also rotted. Flies swarming around and birds pecking at the dead, the smell intensifying as they went, more bodies lying scattered, some with their torsos pried open, blackened guts half flopped out dry and rotting alike, both in and out of the body.
Some victims, burned black and near mummified, some just scorched, others in completely unrecognizable shape, dried blood around fallen pillars and debris, evident that people had been crushed beneath. Various rats and mice, scurrying around with other larger insects, a few coyotes circling off in the distance, and birds flocking everywhere.
The two, walking along forward, searching the streets, debris crumbling down around them from the roof tops. Ellie’s attention turned to the top, curiously, then forward again, heading to the central Church.
“This… is disgusting. Damn those bastards!”
Looking to him, Ellie would then look down, eyes closed again, and sigh, both continuing.
-
Walking along a trail towards the power plant, Tim, Emile, and Jon looking around at the devastation, the rotting corpses, the blood, the fires, the damage. Ahead, the power plant, dirty but with little damage to it nor the lines around it.
“This is horrendous.”
“This is the result of war Emile. The Darkling are nothing more than savage beasts.”
“Emile, Jon, focus on what is in front of you… do you see what I see?”
All sets of eyes forward, studying, then Jon’s going wide, “There’s… there’s no damage to the plant-”
“No way, the dome though!”
“Hmm. Come on.”
Their steps echoing forward,towards it, serious looks spread across the group, hands on their light-tech weapons.
-
Metal doors blown off the hinges, crashing down on the floor, echoing steps rushing inside, eyes darting around, a massive control room, panels and circuits everywhere completely torn up, bodies everywhere with stab wounds and some with gun shot wounds, also in mid rot.
“No way...”
“Tim, what is all this?”
“.. something we have feared. The rest of the building is practically untouched. Only this room has any damage. It’s sabotage.”
“Sabotage!?”
Gasps filling the room from all, Ellie looking around wide eyed.
“But who would possibly have reason to do this… to cause the deaths of thousands upon thousands!?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hey, Timbo, the emergency shutoff lever, look at it.”
Looking forward, a bent rod snapped off to another panel, burn marks all around with the screens smashed in.
“Dammit. Then it’s as we feared exactly. Someone or something is doing this to these cities, getting inside the barrier control room and sabotaging the systems.”
A low pitch growling, a glance back in shock with Shawn’s eyes lighting up, “GUYS!!” Stumbling back, a figure darting out him howling, then a shriek with black liquid splattering the floor, Ellie to the left with a light sword having shot it clean through the figure, both it and Shawn collapsing, a Darkling.
“Where the heck did that thing-”
“We need to get out of here, stat! With the dome off we’re at risk come nightfall. Let’s go and report back to the church, pronto.”
“Right.”
The others quickly rushing out of the room, all but Shawn with a glance to Ellie with her glance down, side eyed looking at the groaning Darkling with its sealed fate, Shawn’s eyes resting on it and then back to her, “T-thank you, Ellie.”
“Don’t bother… it was just instinct. Nothing more,” she muttered walking out, Shawn’s eyes following her till she was out of sight then with a glance back down at the Darkling, “She almost seemed, distraught about killing this thing. She must know something, something that the rest of us don’t, or could it be something else?”
With a sigh, shaking it off, he’d quickly rush forward.
-
“Yes, I’m telling you this is Timothy Bishop and I am authorizing a direct communication to the higher ups… no I won’t authorize that! Look, I have a Class-S message that needs to be delivered immediately without delay, I don’t care what they’re up to. Tell them that someone or something is sabotaging the Light Field Generators. I don’t know what or who but it is this that keeps on costing us cities and the lives of thousands. It needs to be addressed to them, immediately, without question, as soon as possible. We’re facing a national emergency that could threaten life as we know it!”
ns 15.158.61.16da2
