Outside of the hospital orders barked across the parking lot. “Haven’t you caught that bitch, yet?”

The scarred man stared at the firefight that was happening in the distance. A bullet whizzed by near him and impacted against a concrete pillar to his left. He paid it no special attention. Though, after it happened, he did step sideways to receive better cover that same pillar. He was far from bullet proof.

“Should we go help them, colonel?” asked Manolito?

“No. It’s just some stupid rich girl who acquired a few items from the recent troubles,” said the colonel. “She’s probably the reason why those idiots lost their minds as well.”

Manolito decided not to mention the fact that her eyes weren’t red. Even so, the woman was amazingly strong. The gear she wore would be worth a lot when they finally brought her down.

“You don’t think she is that Scott thing we are waiting for?” asked Manolito.

“Who knows. We’ll question her once she stops jumping around,” replied the colonel. “Just stay alert, soldier.”

After a few minutes passed without the rich girl being taken into custody, the scarred man grew annoyed. “What are those idiots doing? They’re wasting far too much ordinance!”

Concerned about the situation come nightfall due to the protracted firefight and current state of troop morale after the attack on the bridge, he called for reinforcements from within the hospital then directed his militia to head over to help the others to apprehend the woman who had invaded.

After a dozen or so men went to help their brothers, a green and white military jeep pulled up. Old school vehicle technology from the Korean war, it was the scarred man’s favorite toy. “What’s the word.”

“Sir, they’re completely fucked. Sir,” replied the sole occupant of the vehicle.

“Captain Hernandez, I need more than that…” replied the colonel.

Rodrigo Hernandez was a lean man in possession of jet-black hair, light green eyes, and a serious disposition. Earnestly, he replied, “Sir. The bridge and QRF have been completely neutralized. No one has died, or even been seriously injured. However, they are gibbering like terrified monkeys and barely acknowledge the existence of the team that I led over there.”

“I see,” said the colonel. He did not admit it to his troops, but that report sent a cold chill down his spine. He knew those men, personally. They were not the type of men to lose their shit in a fight. Whatever happened was a serious concern for the entire city.

While Rodrigo gave his report a M35A2, the obligatory deuce-and-a-half military cargo truck, appeared around the corner. Over the roar of its engines the cries of terrified men echoed pitifully in the air.

The colonel rushed over while the sound of an exploding grenade echoed from the nearby firefight his men were engaged in with the rich girl. “What sort of nonsense did you bring to my FOB!” snarled the colonel, before he rushed over to the truck.

He threw himself up onto the back of the truck and surveyed the damage. Over a dozen men were lined up on the floor. Many had serious scratches on their face, and a few were missing patches of hair. They screamed. They cried. They whimpered pitifully.

“Damn…” said the colonel, his ruddy face turning white. He had never seen such a reaction in soldiers outside of direct contact with explosives. Usually they would have far fewer body parts intact than this crew, however.

He hopped down and stalked over to Rodrigo. “Are they all like this?”

“Sir. Yes, sir,” replied the captain. “Though some did take on a bit of water. They had apparently fallen off the bridge somehow.”

“They fell off a fenced in bridge?” asked the colonel incredulously.

“That, or they threw themselves over the side. It has been difficult to get them to answer coherently,” replied Rodrigo. “Admittedly, they do seem to be a little more coherent than the others. The cold water seems to have sobered them up a little, though not enough to be useful.”

“Where’s the Major? The Lieutenant?” asked the colonel.

“Sir. I tasked two soldiers with bringing him down safely, but as of my latest intel the lieutenant is currently perched atop a one-story building flinging his feces around while shouting the word, “Red!” every few seconds,” replied Rodrigo. “As for the Major. He is running around naked somewhere. We found his discarded clothing scattered around the area.”

The colonel closed his eyes then covered them with his palm. “This… world. I don’t understand it anymore.”

“Orders, sir?” asked Rodrigo.

“Continue to collect the men. See if any of the sergeants are intact and task them with finding these men rooms in the hospital,” said the colonel. “And someone get a damned doctor to look them over. Who knows what’s causing this mess, but we need answers.”

He started to say something else, but a blood-curdling scream erupted from the hospital entrance. His head snapped around only to see Manolito had fallen to the ground. He clutched at his face, tore at his flesh with his fingers.

Next to him floated an amorphous cloud of darkness. Rodrigo started to say something, but he too began to scream in a high-pitched tone. Soon, everyone in the area was screaming and clawing at their faces. Everyone except for the colonel.

It was as though a star had been born under his shirt. The light of his trinket blazed brightly in response to the danger level of the approaching cloud.

“Mother fucker!” roared the colonel. His eyes wide, natural fear gripped at his heart. However, he was old friends with that fear. A few months ago, an amorphous cloud of darkness would have shaken him to the core, but after the dream and the shit show that the world had turned into over night this was just one more problem.

He pulled out his sidearm and fired into the cloud, desperately hoping there were no civilians hidden behind its murky darkness.

The cloud of darkness rushed forward like a tidal wave formed of shadow, but the trinket blazed brighter still and tiny flames formed along the vanguard of that dark wave. The cloud whirled sideways, its darkness burning as it came within the radius of that light’s magical effect.

Scott hissed to himself. The thing prevented racial abilities from being used. His shadow form could not get close to the man, and it did not take long for the colonel to notice.

“Ha! You can’t touch me!” snarled the man righteously. He aimed his 9mm at the cloud and snarled, “As long as people like me are around, we’ll never give this planet to demonic bastards like you!”

The cloud released a sound that seemed reminiscent of a snort. “You kidnap and experiment on the innocent, but think you’re the hero of this story?”

“It’s about that slut in the basement, is it? Showing her true colors for her? When I’m done with you, I’m executing that monster whore!” taunted the colonel. He fired off a few more shots into the cloud.

Scott flowed backwards and around a bit of cover from a car. “According to your militia members, you have a lovely little makeshift armory here, though it is apparently not as good as the one at your hotel camp. So, I stopped by to do a little shopping before I came to visit.”

“What?” asked the colonel.

A canister came flying his way, only for the colonel to quickly realize what was happening. He tried to throw himself to the side and cover his eyes, but it was too late, and it wouldn't have worked anyway.

The flashbang exploded with a thunderous retort. Ears ringing, and eyes blinded, the colonel could barely attempt to fight back when a sudden heavy weight crashed down atop him. There was a brief, feeble, struggle to prevent what happened next. His pendant, that trinket that provided him with a chance to defend the human race, was pulled roughly from around his neck.

The next thing he knew was unending terror as a wave of fear crashed over him the likes of which he had never experienced before. Though, for some reason he did not scream the word red over and over again.

Scott penetrated deeply into the man’s mind. He wanted answers. He needed names, dates, a reason for everything.

What he saw inside the colonel’s mind was not what he had expected. Given his manner of speech and the treatment he had given Ashton, he expected a hate filled and spiteful creature. What he saw was a man dedicated to defending humanity. The colonel was a patriot, one who lacked the knowledge that there were people who had changed their racial nature. In his mind, he was trying to save the world and anything that wasn’t human was an enemy of mankind.

Scott’s draconic aura lessened with each passing second until it ended altogether. Though, the colonel received a major lashing due to the proximity, he was not subjected to it for the same length of time as most of the other men.

The colonel was a naturally strong-willed man. He did not need points in charisma to make up for his short comings. He managed to get ahold of himself enough to speak, though his voice was hoarse and cracked. “Kill me if you want monster! Humanity will not give in to the likes of you!”

Scott snorted at him. Though, he had an admitted newfound respect for the man. He was an asshole, but he was an asshole dedicated to defending humanity. That was something. “As far as I know, I haven’t killed anyone here despite having every reason to do so.”

The colonel tried to spit on him, but Scott sensed the thought long before the man could well up enough saliva to do the job. He forced the man to cover his mouth with his own hand then shook his head. “A lady doesn’t spit, Colonel.”

Murderous eyes stared up at Scott, but the desire to spit soon changed. He was a soldier, and the enemy wanted to talk. It was possible that he could learn something and escape to warn people.

Scott stared into the man’s eyes but did not release the colonel’s mouth. “What am I doing here, if not to kill you?”

The colonel’s eyes narrowed. The suspicion that the thing could read his mind entered his thoughts. Scott ignored that suspicion and continued, “I came for two reasons. One: I came to extract the kidnapping victim. Despite the Mayor’s proclamations, this is a state where law enforcement is the purview of the county Sheriff’s office. He has no legal authority to set you people apart from that given the status of this town.”

“Yes. I said kidnapping victim. As in, someone illegally held against her will by people who had no authority to do so in the first place,” replied Scott to the man’s unvoiced thought.

“The second thing, you did not ask?” asked Scott. “I came to arrest the kidnappers.”

The colonel’s eyes widened in surprise. What was this weird thing on about?

“Colonel Ihram Greyman, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” said Scott. A grenade exploded in the background followed by the wild raucous laughter of a woman having the time of her life.