Chapter 3

Humans value freedom more than life itself,
but whether it be morals or blood
there is always a price to pay for it.

Planet - Earth
Location - Kansas City, Missouri
Time - 5:30 PM

"Hello listeners, the time is 5:30 PM and today is looking like a gorgeous summer day with the weather at a cool 72 degrees, clear skies, and a slight breeze coming in from the West. And as a bonus we have a pollen count of 0.7 and thats a record low for this time of year; good news for you hay fever and asthma sufferers. All in all it looks like another gorgeous day in Kansas City."

"Today was looking like a gorgeous day" Isaac thought as he drove down 18th and Vine, away from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Two weeks seem to go by in a hurry; in that small amount of time Isaac had revisited almost every building of importance and every museum in twelve days, a new record for him. But through the car ride he couldn't help but think of how he was going to propose to Anna when she came to visit. Would he pop the question at dinner or when she showed up, this and other thoughts ran unchecked through his mind occupying all of the time it took for him to reach his parents house.

"Good evening Kansas City the time is 6:00 in the afternoon and the day looks like it's going to carry over tomorrow with clear skies, cool weather, and no wind, so have a nice tomorrow and enjoy. Coming up next we delve into the mysterious and constant power outages that continue to plague the city and after that we......."

Isaac's mother had the awful habit of leaving the T.V. on whenever she finished watching it leaving it on for hours before someone turned it off. Seeing as how nothing seemed to be happening over the next couple of days, he decided to just relax and catch up on his sleep, something he missed a lot in college and NROTC. He had almost fallen asleep when he heard the sound of a large explosion in the distance; well not so much of an explosion it was more like a loud "boom."

"What the hell was that?" He thought as he stood up and stepped outside. When he did Isaac noticed that he wasn't the only one that had heard a noise, the entire neighborhood was out looking. He didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary, until someone pointed to the sky and shouted "what's that!" Looking up a large violet... something was crawling across the sky at an alarming pace. He watched it until it moved out of his field of view moving outwards.

"There's something you don't see everyday" Isaac thought as he chuckled to himself, he'd always wanted to use that phrase. As he looked around everyone was either murmuring to one another saying things like "what was that thing?", "was it alien?", "should we call the police?", and "what do we do now?" Many people just shrugged their shoulders and returned to their homes while others decided to get on their knees and, pray? Isaac ignored that and went back into the house to phone some old friends.

"Adam, hey it's Isaac.... Yes it has been a long time..... No just got back into town - hey did you see a large purple thing fly across the sky down in your place? Really?....... Here to!....... Okay thanks, talk to you later. Goodbye." After he hung up the phone he decided to call the others and they all said the same thing, that a "large purple thing sailed across the sky." However the last person that he tried to call didn't answer. Instead all he got was a disconnected signal, which was hard to believe because he talked to that friend two days ago on the same number. Thinking the worst he grabbed he keys and jacket and was out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - I-35
Time - 6:45

"Look, could he have just changed numbers, I mean it is possible" Adam said as they both drove down the highway.

"No it's not possible I just talked to him two days ago so he couldn't have changed his number that fast" Isaac replied, irritated that his friend wanted to come along for a joy ride.

"All I'm saying is that I think you're over reacting"

"Dude, why did you want to come along if all you are going to do is whine?" Isaac asked rather annoyed.

"Becaussseee, I was bored and I thought that this would be fun. Besides I am not whining I am complaining, do you want to hear whining?" Adam asked with a fake 'high and mighty' voice.

"No please don't I'd rather like to get through this drive with my hearing intact." Isaac said

Adam Rukin, the man had a reputation of being a very good whiner. When he didn't want to do something he made it known, he would go on and on about how "this was to heavy" or how "this was to dirty," it really made Isaac wonder how he lived in a farming community for most of his childhood. It's not that he was a bad person, he'd probably give you the shirt off his back if you asked.

Adam was one of the only friends Isaac had that didn't move after high school. They met each other in middle school and had become fast friends. Adam grew up in a farming community just outside the city limits, but despite growing up in a business where you get dirty no matter what; he had a high distaste to dirt and grim of any kind. So when he moved out he decided to go work in the cleanness place he could think of... a hospital. He didn't really have to look far, the Kansas City area alone had over twenty hospitals with who knows how many in the surrounding area.

Apparently Adam had taken the day off (something about to many vacation days saved up?) Anyway, he decided to join Isaac in the odiously long car ride only to annoy Isaac through the trip.

Isaac just wanted to keep his sanity intact because they were driving out to Cameron, Missouri (or 'the sticks' if you'd like) which was almost fifty-two miles out of Kansas City. Truthfully his friend lived further than Cameron, five miles out so the trip would be even longer than normal. The drive to Cameron took about forty-five minutes depending if the traffic was nice. However, before they even reached his friends' house the violet energy started to dip down and hit the ground thirty yards ahead of them. Stopping the car about twenty yards away from the violet energy Isaac looked at the rubble surrounding the end of the road.

"Okay, do we just drive through it?" Adam asked leaning out the car window.

"If theres one thing I've learned from watching Sci-fi movies it's that you never drive into purple energy that's hitting the ground with rubble where the road was." Isaac said as he stepped out of his car and walked towards the edge.

"I thought you said not to go near it!" Adam called out.

"No, I said not to drive through it. This is different." He replied

As Isaac walked closer to the edge he noticed that he couldn't see through it and that it gave off a low humming sound. "Hmm odd." He also noticed that his phone was giving off small amounts of static the closer he got to it. "Curiouser and curiouser" he said.

Isaac picked up a rock that was laying on the side of the road and chucked it at the energy. The rock shattered into nothing, with a small explosion forcing him to cover his face. "What the hell was that!?" he thought... After he returned to the car he realized that he hadn't turned the radio on the whole trip. "Why didn't I turn this on sooner? Well now would be the perfect time so I don't have to listen to Adam complain on the way back" he thought.

He turned on the radio and was blasted with sounds of police radio chatter, broadcasters shouting for help, and the occasional truck driver shouting something to distorted to make out. Adam looked at him with a confused expression mouthing "what the fuck?" It went on like this until the emergency broadcast system overtook the chatter and started playing a recorded voice in the background.

"This is the Emergency Alert System of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. We have repurposed the system to broadcast the alert that unknown forces have taken over central Kansas City and are spreading into the surrounding area. As of this time all citizens are advised to stay in their homes and lock their doors and windows, all law enforcement and off duty military personal are to report to Fort Leavenworth immediately for combat orders. I say again all citi......"

"Well this can't be good" Isaac said matter-of-factly as he turned off the radio

"No it can't" Adam replied.

"We need to get home fast" Isaac said turning the car around and punching the acceleration pedal till it hit the floor rocketing them down the highway.

"Is this really happening, I mean are we really being attacked? Who in their right mind would want to attack us I mean we're in the center of the country?" Adam asked the worry obvious in his voice.

"I don't know, but I have to get you home then head to Leavenworth. I'm a Marine now so I have to go. But we may be in more trouble then we know." He said cryptically avoiding a car as he speed down the road.

"Whys that?"

"Because they've trapped us in here with nowhere to run. Anything that tries to pass through that energy will most likely be destroyed." Isaac replied as he moved out of the way of other cars trying to rush home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaac and Adam reached Liberty a good twenty-two minutes out from Kansas City when two Chinook helicopters flew overhead flying away from the city, when out of nowhere the helicopter on the left exploded in a large blue fire ball and crashed into the ground.

"What was that!" Adam yelled before the car roof was peppered with fire.

Slamming on the brakes Isaac reached down to grab the .32 caliber revolver, his grandfather gave him, only to find air. Forgetting that he left it at his parents house he pushed Adam out his door and jumped out of his.

The two friends hit the ground running after that making their way to a overturned civic. To the left of them police officers and S.W.A.T. troopers opened fire onto targets the two of them couldn't see while blue and red energy flew by their cover. Just then a blue energy splashed next to their cover as more riddled the officer's cover hitting a few sending them to the ground. As the scene unfolded in front of them a S.W.A.T. trooper landed next to them, he had on standard S.W.A.T. gear along with two flash bangs, a Glock, and shouldered a M4 carbine. "What are you two doing here!?" the officer shouted.

"Trying to get home" Isaac replied over the gunfire, "but it seems that that won't be possible"

"You're damn right that won't be possible, they've spread this far out of the city and keep spreading. We were on our way to Fort Leavenworth when this happened."

"So what are we dealing with? Some sort of invasion?" Adam asked.

"Most likely. They easily took over the city and overran the station there. They were able to take out our electronics with some sort of EMP. They overran us with total ease, we barley made it out ourselves. We were thinking if we could make it to Leavenworth we could take it back, but that doesn't look like its going to be happening anytime soon."

"So what now, just wait for help to arrive?"

"No that won't be happening" Isaac said complete calmness flooding his voice.

"Why's that?" Adam asked

"Because if this is happening here think about whats happening over the whole area. There would be no way to get help out to anyone. Our only chance right now is to make it to Leavenworth."

"Yeah we tried that and we've been cut off from help completely, I don't suppose either of you know of a way to make it there?" The officer asked hope and sarcasm mixed together.

"You don't get out much do you?" Isaac said looking at the officer giving him a dead stare. "We need to drive up into Kearney then we take the 92 West to Platte City and keep following the road, that should take us to Leavenworth." Isaac said covering his face as an explosion shook the ground.

"...Worth a try, better then getting our asses shot off here," the officer said irritation present in his voice at being told-off. Reaching for his radio to signal the other members of his team Isaac grabbed his wrist before he could call them up.

"One more thing, give me a weapon" Isaac asked in a calm voice like he was asking for a glass of water.

"Why should I give you a weapon" the officer asked disbelief evident that this complete stranger would ask for a weapon.

"Dowereallyhavetimetoarguethis" Isaac said with a hit of anger in his voice.

Another explosion much closer than the last one shook the ground and sent up dirt and dust. "Fine" the officer said pulling out his handgun and giving it to Isaac along with a few other magazines.

"Those are Hollow Point rounds in there." The officer said pointing to the handgun as Isaac checked the clip and cocked the handle make sure it worked. "Most of them seem to have some type of body armor so it might not work very well." Isaac checked the clip and pulled the slide back to chamber a round completely ignoring what the officer was saying.

"They still bleed, right?" Isaac asked looking at the handgun determination written across his face.

"Yes but..."

"Well if they bleed we can kill them." Isaac said turning to the officer. Before he could tell the officer to radio the others Adam grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face him.

"Dude what are you thinking, if we go with them we could get are selves killed. What about our families stuck on the other side of this" Adam asked worry taking hold.

"If we try to make our way through this we'd have a new religion and if we do make it through there's no guaranty that we would make it to them. Right now this is our best bet at getting back to them." Isaac said checking the weapon one final time before being satisfied with it.

"Fine, Just let it be known that I don't like this"

"Agreed, now do we have means of transportation" Isaac said turning back to the officer.

"Yeah, two vans and five cars. Not much but that's all we were able to grab."

"That should do. Now what do we do about getting to them."

"Team Two will provide cover fire while we make our way to the vehicles, after that we will cover them as they make their way to the us."

"Right okay on three.... one..... two...... THREE" Isaac shouted throwing his hand around the overturned car firing randomly hopping to hit something.

The officer and Adam along with what appeared to be Team One ran to the vehicles, starting the engines. Isaac was just about to make his way when he did a double take at the approaching enemy. "What the fu.... Griffons?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:00 PM
Planet - Earth
Location - Washington D.C. USA
Oval Office

Being the President of the United States one can expect more than your fair share of headaches to come with the territory. One of those headaches stared back at the President, North Korea was beginning its bellicose ranting again just as it had every year. The rhetoric went the same as well with 'American aggression will lead us to take action and drown America in a sea of divine fire' and 'if the American devil lovers wish to be destroyed by the great Kim Jung Un they need not ask,' just the same old saber rattling they always tried. As the President read off the list her office door flew open as the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff walked in.

"Madam President we have a situation" the Chairman said reaching the desk, the president still looking at the paper.

"What happened this time Chairman, is North Korea finally acting on its threats?" She said her eyes scanning the rows of tiny words.

"If only mam, but the problem is more... domestic than foreign." The Secretary of Defense said trying to form the right words to explain the situation to her.

The President finally looked up from the list, removed her glasses, and looked to the two of them and said, "explain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6:15
The Situation Room
below the West Wing

"Now explain to me again, how an energy field can encompass an entire city in the span of a few short minutes and us not know about it" the President said rubbing her temples trying to comprehend the situation at hand.

"Mam," the Secretary of Defense started off, leaning forward. "The dome appeared before we could receive any warnings about it. It seems to have some sort of... disruption field to it, thats why we weren't able to see it on any of the satellites. The only reason we know about it is thanks to the local law enforcement."

"And we still have no idea what it is or where it came from?" The president asked.

"No Mam, we're still looking into it, but we do know that it appeared over central Kansas City." An advisor said looking at a sheet of paper.

"So what is the status on containment. Is it expanding?" The President asked looking at monitors as different angles of the dome flashed by.

"No Mam, the dome is holding it's position of fifty miles around the city center. As for containment we've sealed off the area to civilians within a three mile radius. We've also sent in the 184th Intel Wing from Kansas to see if they can spot something. We should have a report within the hour."

"That means all we can do is wait and hope this thing doesn't grow." The President said leaning back in her chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Madam President, this is Colonel Clarkson of the 184th reporting in" the pilot said through a video monitor.

"We read you loud and clear Colonel, whats the situation over Kansas City" the President asked leaning forward.

"Well, as the initial reports suggest it appears to be an energy field that gives off some kind of distortion that not only jams our radios but also interferes with our Heads Up Display. It defies everything I know about jamming fields, I've never seen any thing like it."

"So what you're telling us is that we can't see inside and we can't get radio signals into it?" She repeated looking at the nodding Colonel.

"Thats right Mam, I'm assuming thats the same for anyone trapped on the inside."

"...Thank you Colonel that will be all."

The Colonel saluted and the feed was cut off. The room was deathly silent no one dared say anything, the situation setting in on them. Not since September Eleventh in 2001 had there been an attack on the States and not since the war of 1812 had there been a substantial occupying force on US soil and certainly not as deep as the heartland. But if this was the precursor to an invasion they needed to take action before it escalated.

"General, I want this contained, I want infantry units, tank units, and air power in the area 24/7. I don't care if you have to move heaven and earth, just do it." She said emphasizing her point by jabbing her finger into the table.

"The 1st infantry division for the Army is stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, I can have them in the area within the hour." The Chief of Staff for the Army said turning to face the President. "And if the Commandant and the Navy don't mind I can also have the 1st Marine Division brought over from California within a few days."

"Perfect, and contact Whitman; see if they can spare any people to keep an eye on this thing."

"Yes Mam" the CSA replied

"Mam if I may, the 10th intel squadron in Langley is trying out some new sensors on their aircraft, maybe they can see something the 184th can't" the CSAF suggested

"Agreed. Okay people I want to know more about this.. thing at the end of the week, but for now I have to let the world know that we've been invaded."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:30 PM

"Eddy I'm standing on the I-70 highway outside of Kansas City, Missouri where as you can see military officials have closed off the area to the public and are turning away any vehicles trying to gain access to the area. Now off in the distance there is a large violet dome covering the city and the surrounding area. Panic is working it's way among the people that have come to watch and rumors of some kind of foreign attack on the city are springing up. On if you look off in the distance you can see military aircraft flying overhead heading towards the city most likely trying to asses the situation. Until more is known about what is going on here I'm afraid there's not much we can do, back to you Eddy."

"Thank you Paula, now just a few minutes ago the President issued a statement saying that and I quote "for now we do not know where this dome comes from or how it is jamming our radio transmissions, but we are coming at this from every possible angle and we will free those trapped inside." The President has also issued a state of emergency moving other military forces into the surrounding area should the situation can for an armed intervention. For now we can only wait and keep those trapped, in our thoughts and prayers. This is Eddy Mulligan ACN News."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Twenty miles outside the portal
Time - 8:00

As Anna drove down the freeway that lead to Kansas City she thought about Isaac's parents and what they would think of her in person. True she had meet them before but that was just over Skype, not a real face-to-face. Honestly, she was afraid that they wouldn't approve of her, Isaac's parents had insisted on meeting her in person after the Skype call. Isaac didn't really seem to be worried about them, but that did little to expel her fears. She loved him but sometimes he could be a real dense to other peoples fears.

However, meeting Isaac's parents wasn't the least of her worries. She had yet to introduce him to her parents, which were highly adamant on meeting him. She'd told them about Isaac and what he was like, Her mother was overjoyed at her finding someone. Her father on the other hand was very stubborn and insisted on meeting him before he would fully accept him.

"One problem at a time." She thought.

As she drove the rest of the way in silence the amount of cars on the road began to pile on until traffic stopped altogether.

"What? There shouldn't be this much traffic this time of night?" She said to herself trying to look over the SUV "moving" in front of her.

As she was unable to look past the monster car (seriously, why would you need a car that large?) Anna noticed military style helicopters flying parallel to the highway toward Kansas City.

"Oh this can't be good."

And she was right, the longer she stayed in traffic the more military aircraft flew-by until ground vehicles started to pass the stalled traffic going through the median. But her worries only increased to the point her knuckles turned white from gripping the steering wheel with a life ending grip when she saw tanks passing through the median; that's when she knew she needed to see what was happening.

It was at this time most people started to exit their cars to see what was happening overhead, she chose that moment to jerk the steering wheel hard right and drive her car along the shoulder barely missing drivers that decided to stand on the side. As she speed along the divide most cars were starting to turn around and head in the other direction, fortunately they were driving along the other side of the road so there was no threat of a collision with another car, however pedestrians decided to stand along the shoulder to see what was happening. At this she blared her horn to warn them before they were turned into paste; thankfully they got the message and moved before being run over.

As Anna speed along the shoulder a large violet dome came into view with military aircraft flying all over it trying to do... something. Before she could get a better vantage point of the dome HUMVEES blocked her path forcing her to come to a stop.

A soldier walked up to her car and tapped on her window. "Mam, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and head back the way you came." The soldier said pointing to the line of cars trying to turn around.

"Right, you wouldn't happen to know what's going on; would you?" Anna said looking the soldier in the eye.

"With absolute certainty no, we have no idea." The he said looking back at the other soldiers. "All we can tell is that something major has happened in Kansas City and we are to keep all civilians away from that.. Thing." He said pointing to the violet dome covering the area. "I have heard however that the President will be giving an address on it soon, so you might want to tune in for that."

"Right, thank you." Anna said before turning her car into the leaving traffic.

"I need to get back to Washington." Anna thought as she left the the line of cars. "I just hope Isaac's okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - I-35
Time - 7:50

"WHY ARE GRIFFONS SHOOTING AT US?" Isaac yelled looking at what was the impossible.

''I DON'T KNOW" the officer replied shouting over the gunfire coming from the S.W.A.T. vans as Police officers boarded their vehicles. "JUST GET OVER HERE."

"I can wonder about this later, right now we have to clear out or be turned too paste" Isaac thought as more of the Griffon's sprayed the area hitting two more police officers.

"Ok Team Two move for the vans!" the Leader of Team Two shouted as another explosion shook the ground.

Team Two started to fall back when three small explosions took out a S.W.A.T. trooper and a officer throwing them back ten feet. "Christ, what the hell was that!" someone yelled. Just then a large bellowing roar sounded off marking the appearance of a new monster.

Isaac poked his head out of his cover looking a creature standing on two hoofs with horns on it's head (or what looked like a helmet with horns), some kind of reflective armor covering it's torso and waist, with metal leggings. It carried what looked like a grenade launcher with a curved blade on the underside and a small axe rested on it's back.

"Is that a Minotaur" Isaac asked a quizzical look displayed on his face. "What are we under attack from, Ancient Greece!?"

"Hell if I know just get over here" the Leader of Team One said firing off at the new challenger his rounds making the creature stagger from the contact.

Isaac sprinted to the vans and jumped in just as the Minotaur fired another salvo of rounds from its weapon hitting the cover he was standing behind making it tumble after him. He hit the van's floor hard, as he did the driver punched the accelerator and the van took off narrowly missing the civic. The other van and squad cars followed shortly after racing away from the scene with unmatched speed.

"Now that, was close" Adam said bending over trying to catch his breath.

"To cliché man" Isaac said clutching his side. "To cliché."

Back at the scene

"Leader the apes have escaped, should we pursue?" One of the Griffons asked landing next to the Minotaur.

"No. They will learn that there is no escape from the barrier and soon we will hunt. For now secure our dead and wounded, see what you can find from the dead creatures." The Minotaur ordered "no prisoners." It added a ghost of a smirk on its face.

"As you command."

As the Griffons set about their task the Minotaur watched the small convoy speed away towards the North and to relative safety. "Soon, very soon" it said, the sound of fire and screams dancing in the background.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Location - Ten minutes out of Leavenworth, Kansas
Time - 8:30

"So kid, you never told me where you learned to handle a gun" the S.W.A.T. trooper said sitting down on the bench.

"I learned in college, they had weapon safety courses going on the weekends and I thought 'what the hell'. That and the NROTC class I was in kind-of taught me everything I would need to know about firearms." Isaac said the sarcasm falling from his mouth while he rubbed his shoulders from the less-than-graceful landing earlier. "Anyway we never formally introduced each other, I'm Isaac Temple and the guy with the overly obnoxious hair is Adam Rukin,"

"A pleasure." Adam said taking a small bow.

"Howdy, Alton Pierson, but my friends call me Al" he replied. "The one driving the van is Thomas Heavy and the others, well they're the back up" he joked. "Not funny sir" a trooper near the back said "it was pretty funny" Thomas responded from the driver's seat.

"Welcome to the 1910 Squad" Alton said removing his helmet.

"1910? Why do you call yourselves that?" Adam asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know; it was like that when I took charge. The same goes for 1920, their boss has no idea either. After we make it to Leavenworth I'll introduce you guys to him."

"Prefect. So, you know what was with the helicopters that passed overhead?"

"I heard that those were two Chinooks that stopped at the Charles Wheeler airport to refuel. From what I could make out they're US Army choppers headed to Fort Campbell in Kentucky."

"Yeah, that makes since." Isaac said leaning his head against the wall of the van.

"Why's that?" Adam asked.

"Because the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is stationed there."

Adam just sat there with a confused look on his face.

"The 160th. You know, the Night Stalkers."

He still sat there looking like he just ate something sour. Isaac could have sworn that he saw smoke coming out of his ears. "Better tell him in Layman's Terms before he hurts himself." Isaac thought as Adam still tried to think of who it the 160th was.

"They are a special operations group that provides support to special forces and also delivers them to the fight."

"Ohhh, why didn't you say so, that makes... some since now."

"Oh boy"

After around twenty minutes passed the van started to slow down before coming to a complete stop on the road. Alton turned his head to look out the front view mirror. When he got a good look out the window his face turned ghost white. "Jesus Christ."

Isaac couldn't tell what was happening but he knew it could not be good. With that he decided to dismount the vehicle to have a look for himself. He would wish that he hadn't. There was Leavenworth looking worse for wear. The fort was nearly destroyed with what looked like the remains of whatever military forces that decided to gathered there.

"Well, there goes the neighborhood" Thomas said sticking his head out the driver's side window. "Al we can't stay here for long. Who knows if whatever caused this decided to stick around."

"Right we'll park the cars here. Look for supplies and anything that can be used and see if theres anyone still alive. We'll meet up at the edge of the fort in two hours." Jonathan said

With that the two teams and police officers split up walking towards the still smoldering town.

"perhaps we should grab what we can" Adam said walking up to Isaac

"Yeah, lets."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what are we looking for exactly" Adam asked as they passed a burning building, the flames licking at the brick and mortar.

"Food, medical supplies, guns, ammo, that sort of thing" Isaac said stepping over a fallen stop light.

"How do we know if it's safe to be walking the streets? I mean what if something were to attack us right now?" Adam asked watching the rooftops, switching his view between the different sides of the street.

"We don't. But seeing as how we been walking for a good forty minutes I'd say it's safe" Isaac said the sarcasm practically dripping from his mouth.

"Har har. Anyway How much longer till we head to the fort? My feet are starting to hurt." Adam complained, as he started to walk slower every minute.

"About an hour. Though we'll have to head there early to make it though, maybe another forty minutes." Isaac answered.

"Smashing."

The two friends walked until they came to the end of the street. Pockets empty and heavy hearts they decided to start walking back to the remainders of the fort to see if there might be weapons in the armory.

"You know now that I think about it, I haven't noticed any dead bodies laying around." Adam said as they passed another burning building that looked like the remainders of a café.

"Now that I look at it, you're right, there are no bodies... anywhere." Isaac said waving his arms around in a spreading motion. "I mean theres no human bodies and no Griffon or Minotaur bodies that I can see."

"So that has to be a good sign right? maybe whoever was stationed here took them out before they could-"

Before Adam could finish his sentence the friends began to hear the sound of a large wings above their heads. Looking up they decided that was the worst decision anyone would ever make for above them the belly of a abnormally large creature descended at an alarming rate.

"Into the shop, now!" Isaac hissed pulling the shocked-still Adam into the closest store available . As they ducked behind the counter the creature touched down on a car's roof crushing it until it gave way completely. Isaac and Adam took cover behind the register counter of the shop while the beast continued to flap its wings causing more dust and dirt to fly into the air. Finally the wing beats died down and Isaac dared to look at the new monstrosity that presented itself to them. Fortunately the creature's attention was elsewhere allowing Isaac to get a good look at the behemoth .

"Is that a dragon?" Isaac said in a voice that only a bat would hear.

"How should I know?" Adam replied looking at the winged monster that just crushed a car.

The red monster stood roughly 25 feet tall with wings like a bat similar to a European dragon, but something was... off. For starters there were small cylinder looking devices on the sides of the body and a wooden hatch jutting out at the center of the beast's back. The "cockpit" came out of the Dragon's back at a 25 degree angle then flattening out at the roof. It looked curved to allow aerodynamics but he couldn't tell. Also there were black marks that painted the dragon's underside and small holes from gunfire dotted its belly, obvious signs of a heavy fight.

Just then a hatch opened up on the top of the cockpit and a small reptile popped it's head out. It wore a face mask and a pair of tinted goggles. The smaller reptile seemed to be looking for something but appeared to be having some difficulties in finding it.

Just then five Griffons touched down next to the dragon and its rider, each carrying some kind of rifle and wearing golden armor with holes and plates missing in some areas. They seamed to be discussing something as the gryphons pointed in several different directions. Just then six small horses with black and white stripes along their bodies came out of an alley next to the shop they were hiding in.

"Great now theres Zebras, at least that I can make some since of that" Isaac thought the sarcasm in his own head lost to him. "What are they doing?" Then it hit him, they were looking for survivors, anyone that could or might cause trouble for them. That would explain the battle marks. "At least whoever was here didn't go down without a fight."

After five or so minutes the dragon and its rider flew off sending dust and small debris in all directions shortly followed by the Griffons with the Zebras running down the street Isaac and Alex came from. After waiting five or so minutes the both of them let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.

"Great, first Griffons and Minotaurs now Dragons, Zebras and some kind of small lizard, whats the world coming to." Adam said hysterically throwing his arms in the air.

Isaac stood up from behind the counter when he realized his hand was shaking, "been awhile since I've felt this" he thought gripping his hand with the other so the gun would not go off.

"That's great, that's just marvelous." Adam stated quite shakily. "How are we supposed to fight off that? If it was just the Minotaurs and Griffons we might have stood a chance, but now?"

"I don't know" Isaac said turning around. "But you can get on your knees and kiss God's ass, because we just died and went to heaven."

Behind the two friends, lines upon lines of gun racks stood with ammunition near the back of the store. As fortune would have it the store Isaac had dragged Adam into was a gun store, but not just any gun store, it was a new federal weapon store. After newer gun laws had been passed in 2015 making it harder for civilians to purchase a weapon, the federal government opened up their own little armory of gun stores, Fed Arm as it was so aptly dubbed. The new law made it so the government would leave privately owned business alone while they would open their own stores, in their stores you would have to wait longer to purchase a weapon what with increased background checks and all, but that was offset by the plethora of weapons and ammunition you could purchase there. They had everything from civilian to some military weapons there ranging from a .22 rifle to automatic rifles. Of course you still needed the license to purchase one, but people were more than willing to go through a three month waiting period to own one.

"Adam grab a duffel bag and fill it with as much ammunition and magazines as you can carry, I'm going to fill my with whatever weapons I can carry." Isaac said throwing Adam a duffle bag from the wall. "Just try and make sure you grab 5.56 and above, I have a feeling we're going to need those the most."

"Right, 5.56 and above, got it." Adam repeated and ran off to fill his bag.

"Hey Adam, you ever see the Matrix?" Isaac asked as he walked over to a large gun rack filled with the M16 family.

"Yeah, who hasn't. Why?" Adam replied from across the store.

"Don't these racks kind of remind you of the stock room?" Isaac asked looking back at his friend.

".... Now that I look at it, yeah they do don't they."

And with that the two friends shared a quick laugh and returned to the task of collecting weapons. With their "shopping" bags full to bursting with their new collection of "home defense" weapons they started to walk towards the remains of the fort where the rest of the S.W.A.T. and police officers would be meeting.

"Hey, we left a lot of stuff back there. Remind me to come back for a second trip." Isaac said his duffel bag riding high on his shoulders.

"Don't worry I have a feeling we are coming back." Adam said his bag nearly dragging along the ground. "I just hope nothing happens before we make it to the for..." An explosion sounded off in the distance before Adam could finish his sentence alerting the friends to the sound of gunfire.

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Isaac said before putting his bag on the ground and pulling out an older version of the M16 rifle and waved Adam over to set his bag on the ground as well. He and Adam started to load the magazines until they had about seven fully loaded and ready to fire.

"You might want to set yourself up with a weapon." Isaac said loading the M16 and pulling back the charging handle readying the weapon. "An A3 model, nice." He said under his breath looking the weapon over.

"I'm not really the shooting type. I'll just load when you run out." Adam said zipping up the bag and lifting it onto his shoulders.

"Suit yourself, just find cover and stay out of the line of fire." Isaac said stuffing the magazines into his pants pockets and lifting the hefty bag onto his shoulder. "Time to run."

With that they followed the sounds of battle until they reached the fort. On their approach the charred wrecks of Bradley fighting vehicles and HMMWVs littered the area all sporting the same charred looks. Fifty caliber rounds and disintegrating links surrounded the HMMWVs showing signs of a heavy firefight.

"At least we're in the right area." Isaac said under his breath walking over to a HMMWV and looking inside.

A winded Adam walked up beside him and surveyed the damage. "There's signs of fighting all over the area, but why are there no bodies, or blood?" He asked as Isaac leaned his rifle against the jeep and started to rummage through the back seat of the burnt transport vehicle.

"Those are very good questions and ones that will most likely have answers soon, but for now..." He pulled out and pair of vests and handed one to Adam who looked at it with confusion. "We put these on and join the fight." The battle was just on the other side of the fort and the fighting sounded like it was just getting heavier and heavier.

The vests that Isaac pulled out of the HMMWV were the standard issue for the US Army. "This should keep you safe from the shooting for a while. Still the best way to keep yourself safe is to not get shot in the first place." Isaac said helping Adam don the vest. The vest itself covered his torso and crotch with a protective plating making him look like a football player.

"It's a little heavy, there's not a lighter one in there is there?" Adam asked rolling his shoulders to shift some of the weight.

"Sorry there's only two and you are getting the better one." He was right, Isaac's vest was burned in multiple places and looked like it would fall apart at any moment. "I just need you to suck it up for a little while longer, just until the fight is over." Isaac said securing the last strap. Picking up his rifle he took the magazines out of his pockets and started to fill the pouches with them.

"Fine, just for a while longer though." Adam said reluctantly.

With the body armor in place the two friends made their way through the fort to cut time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sounds of gunfire and explosions were still raging on showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. They made their way through the building and stopped at the doors. Looking through the windows Isaac noticed that on one side the S.W.A.T. and police officers took shelter behind a small structure from the blue energy being hurtled at them from while the Griffons and Zebras from earlier now joined by two Minotaurs fired from behind the wreckage of civilian vehicles in the opposite parking lot. Every now-and-again the human side would take pot shots only to be suppressed before any real damage could be done.

"They're sitting ducks out there." Isaac said slinging his rifle to the front. "Lets head to the second story to get a better view."

Isaac ran through the halls and bounded up the stairs two at a time before he noticed Adam was lagging behind him. "Come on man I thought you grew up on a farm?" He teased from the top of the stairs.

"Raised yes, however I did not train to be a Marine." Adam retorted as he reached the top of the staircase taking in ragged breaths.

Running into a darkened room facing the fight he reached the windows he let his bag drop to the ground with a resounding thud; he swung the rifle to his front, took up a shooting stance, and aimed the sights over the nearest griffon he could see.

"Wait." He thought as time froze, the rifle sights aimed over the griffon's head. "Do I really have what it takes to kill something? Can I really kill another living, thinking, breathing, creature? I mean, I never really thought about it. I just assumed I'd be ready for it when the time came. What if it has family, what if it has children?" These thoughts ran through his mind forcing him to hesitate as the gunfight raged on in the yard below.

"I always thought when the time can I could pull the trigger, but now... No. I can't think that now, there are people dying here, I don't have time to worry about my conscience. The best I can do is stow my humanity in a safe place and pull it back out when the time comes.

As Isaac turned his back to the window the firefight below raged on, but it seemed that the creatures gained some allies and ground as the S.W.A.T. and police officers now took cover behind a cement wall. In the short amount of time it took Isaac to pull his head around the Griffons had moved up to the structure just below his window, the line-of-sight couldn't have been more perfect. As he switched the safety to selective he lined the first target with the sights, a lone griffon with a black coat, white tipped wings, and grey hair. He was shooting a reflective rifle that fired small blue projectiles; though no shell casings were being ejected from anywhere Isaac could see. Reasoning that he would have the time to look at the weapon later he placed his finger on the trigger, held his breath for two seconds, released, and fired.

Author's Note

Wow, that took way longer than I thought, sorry. Anyway happy New Year, have a wonderful time and I resolve to write chapters faster then last year.