8If you were to ask anyone a year ago where they would go in an emergency, most would say the wilderness, underground, or to a spaceport. Now if you told those same people that the safest place on the planet would be within a city, they'd call you crazy and they would be right. Modern cities are not made with the idea of defense in mind, rather they are built with the purpose of shoving as many people into one large space as possible. Cities are historically horrible at keeping things out, or even in, after all. However, when your city is surrounded by a large valley of mountains, defense becomes much more manageable.
This is the case with Ebott City. While not as large as the American mega-cities on the coasts, it still had a sizable population of almost two million residents. Unlike other cities, Ebott has very little room to expand thanks to the many mountains that surrounded it. This wasn't a problem at first, but as it kept on growing, absorbing many surrounding villages in the process, it eventually reached it's absolute apex. So as of 2150, the city was considered nothing more than a footnote.
Now it's one of the last one standing.
Lieutenant Paige of the US Marine corp sigh softly as he saw the last flatbed full of refugees make their way through the crowded city streets. The city used to get hundreds of thousands of people almost every day. Now they're lucky to get in the triple digits. Turning back around to the rest of his squad, the soldier couldn't help but sigh again as he took in the state of them.
When the demonic invasion first hit, the militarizes around the world responded as fast as they could, as the invaders appeared from thin air. Most of the world's population was gone within the first hour, and almost every military was devastated by the demons, leaving them without much organization and manpower. Once the AN was able to organize the ARK however, things became manageable. With new technologies thanks to Dr. Hayden, leader of ARK, and the non-cultist elements of the UAC, strongholds popped up all around the world as the last fleets of space faring vessels tried to establish evac zones for the surviving bastions of humanity.
It still isn't enough.
With much of the militarizes exhausted of manpower, a worldwide conscription campaign has been issued. Almost everyone who can pick up a gun is immediately put into service and placed with a squad lead by an actual experienced soldier. This has led to what he sees now. Scared civilians with outdated and inadequate weaponry. Uniforms are nonexistent, with the only identification being the ARK symbol painted on their shoulders.
A cough came from behind Paige. Turning his head to see who it was, the lieutenant wasn't that surprised to find his second in command, an elderly man who was drafted into the military not so long ago. Despite his age, the man was the most capable and experienced out of anyone else in his squad; most of whom had barely seen a gun before they were shoved into service. The old man cradles a newer variant of the Plasma gun, a bulkier but powerful upgrade to it's more sleek predecessor. Patches of kevlar are strapped to old and dirty clothes, while an old military side cape sits comfortable on his head. A large portion of his left check sports a burn mark from his time in the Forest Wars.
"Paige, you go in there? You've been dozing off lately." The man asked, his voice raspy.
Paige turns his head back to look at his squad.
"You're thinking of them again, aren't you?"
"It's not fair, Worton. These guys aren't ready. Hell, a lot of them don't even want to be here, nor should they. I mean, look at Frisk, he's fucking sixteen!"
The old man now identified as Worton looks over to the back of the squad, and spots Frisk. A pang of guilt goes through his heart as he remembers that the poor thing lost his parents a little over a year ago when the invasion first started. Innocent, but sleep deprived, eyes scan the crowded city streets as he awkwardly handles a UAC plasma pistol in his right hand. His blue and purple sweater sports numerous stains from both sweat and mud. His patchwork armor, which is really just one thin metal plate tighten around his sweater, clings to his form unwelcomed.
Another squad of soldiers, actual soldiers, passes by, escorted by a light mech. It's hand mounted guns swiveling back and forth between the crowd of civilians, causing them to back off in fright. The ground shakes and the road threatens to cave in with each step it takes. The outline of the pilot can be seen through it's red windshield.
"I know it's not fair," Worton speaks up as an explosion originates from beyond the mountain range, "but there's not much you can do."
Paige looks over as the squad of soldiers push their way past the crowded streets and over to some local cafe: which has been transformed into a refugee shelter. "I know, it's just…" He pauses as one of the soldiers from the other squad makes his way to them, a US trooper covered head to toe in pitch black armor.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Paige asks as the soldier finally makes it to him.
In response, the soldier shakes his head. A vocalcorder answers. "No, just came to tell you that we're doing another sweep for cultist activity, so don't be surprised if you hear gunfire." He looks over to the rest of Paige's squad. "Leading the conscripts?" The soldier gets a nod from the LT. "I got to get back to my squad, make sure no exits this building."
Paige follows the soldier as he looks over to the cafe, the squad already heading inside with HAR's ready. Worton wordlessly starts to gather the LT's squad as gunfire erupts form the building followed closely by screaming. Making sure that everyone is covering the exits, Paige sets up next to the mech by the main entrance along with Frisk, Daniels, the squad radioman, and Philip while Worton takes everyone else and maneuvers them to the side entrance down an alleyway full of refugees. Paige notices that Frisk jumps every time a gunshot is heard. He pats the kid's shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. It seems to calm him down, and just in time too, as the soldiers, now covered in blood, start to file out of the cafe.
Daniels calls out to him, causing him to turn to the radioman. "Sir, we're being deployed. Command said that we are to make our way to the ARK facility at the base of Mount Ebott. A chopper will be here in five." Worton appears beside him, he waves the old man to gather the squad and thanks Danial.
Paige turns to the east, where Mount Ebott is located. He can't see thanks to the many high rises, but still knows the direction to face. Paige tries to think back on what he knows concerning the ARK facility along with the mountain it resides on. The facility wasn't originally AN, rather it was owned by the federal government before the demonic invasion. Now it serves as the command station for all ARK operations in and around Ebott City. As for the mountain, there's not much to say other than it is apparently a cursed place. Old legends about monsters that hide under the mountain come up again and again but those are always dismissed. There was however, an incident a little over a hundred fifty years ago where a village supposedly managed to attack one, but that was so long ago that the details are shady at best.
The sound of rotary blades assaults his hearing as a transport chopper descends in the middle of the street. The crowd immediately starts to disperse and make room as the bird lowers it's landing gears. The back ramp lowers as NATO specialists hop out and secure the perimeter around the helicopter.
He turns to the rest of his squad. "Okay people, pile in, we're heading to Ebott!"
"Are you sure this barrier will even hold, doctor? I rather not send people down there only for the demons to come and encircle them."
"To be honest General, I'm not sure. This isn't exactly my field of expertise. However if it's true that Hood's fleet has been forced back into orbit, then I see no other options. If the challenged make it into the city then everybody will be at their mercy."
The decorated general pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. "I understand, but you and I both know that there's no way in hell that we can fit over 4 million people down there."
The petite figure adorned with a lab coat stares the general dead in the eyes. "General, you know I'm not suggesting we send everyone down, the logistics of such an operation are impossible. But…"
She's cut off as the General raises his hand. "I'm not leaving over 4 million people to the mercy of demons, just so people like you can escape. I know what you UAC scientists were doing before shit hit the fan, experimentation on live test subjects."
"I was never a part of the martian operations General, and even if I was, such matters are in the past. Now as for the barrier. We are simply out of options, the fleets in full retreat, and the challenged are pounding at our front door as we speak, so unless you have any other plans for getting 4 million people out of here, I would suggest you follow my advice."
The Doctor turns to the door, as she's about to head out, the General takes a look at one of the holographic screens present in the room. Blue light illuminates the room as the screen shows a live video feed of scientists walking around a large hole in the ground. Machinery lay scatter across the room they occupy, while a bunch of pulley systems lie in a loose semi circle around the hole. As for the hole itself, not much can be seen as the overhead lights seem unable to penetrate the infinite blackness. A scientist comes into view with a flashlight in hand, which he uses to shine down into the darkness below. The General leans forward as he tries to make out anything.
A bed of yellow buttercup flowers can be seen on screen.
Far outside the city limits, on the edge of the mountain valley, stands an army of thousands lying in wait. Tanks, mechs, plasma turrets, machine gun nests, and barb wire litter the ground. Hundreds of helicopters and VTOLs fly overhead with search lights shining down on the entrenched army. Trucks move to and from the city filled with weaponry, ammo, fuel, and many other supplies needed to keep the army here running. Plasma artillery pieces as large as 3 stories buildings can be seen jutting out of the side of the valley, while smaller bunkers form a wall of concrete in front of them.
The ground shakes, causing a small landslide on near one of the artillery installations. The rock and gravel pumble the gun, but do no damage. Another quake, this time much more intense. The sky roars as lighting strikes the ground away from the army. Dark clouds can be seen further in the distance. Occasionally a flash of red light illuminates them, but only for a brief second. Another flash, but this time brighter. Clouds swirl in unholy patterns as the flashes continue. Soldiers on the ground can be seen running in trenches and in between cover, weapons raised to the storm on the horizon; which at this point, could accurately be described as the gate of Hell.
An unnamed commander standing inside one of the plasma artillery stations looks out his window with binoculars in hand. The storm has grown in size and is making it's way over to them. If he had to guess, they have at most, an hour before it arrives.
"Someone phone commands, tell them we have another wave incoming, a big one too." Technicians and radiomen quickly establish the proper connection, and the ARK command center is informed. Not soon after, a wave of VTOLs, helicopters, both transport and attack variants, trucks, mechs and other military vehicles from the city make their way to the entrenched army. In the midst of the reinforcements however, is a machine of epic proportions.
Standing taller than everything around it, the mech can only be described as a walking humanoid guns platform, with a large cannon where it's right arm would be, rocket pods placed inside its chest, two anti-air cannons on its shoulders, and smaller, but still deadly secondary weapons spread-out through it's hull.
The sky flashes, this time much closer, illuminating the army blocking the natural entrance to Ebott City. Guns are raised, turrets are activated, tanks and the artillery pieces load their ammunition, VTOLs and helicopters hover, and the massive mech from before braces its large mechanical feet against the ground.
Red light illuminates the army again.
"Tell Command that we have half an hour before the storm hits us." A flash of red shines through the window. "Damn thing is speeding up."
Frisk didn't want to be here.
The transport chopper that they were told to get on was big, with more than enough room to house everyone in their group and then some. The NATO soldiers along with Paige and Worton are all clumped up near the rear of the helicopter, talking about something or another; he really doesn't understand much when it comes to military and strategies, so he ignores anything related to them as best he can. The rest of the conscripts, like himself, barely make a sound as the city passes by outside their windows. Their faces showing varying emotions, the most prominent being terror.
They don't want to be here either.
Frisk just wants everything to go back to normal, before the Hell invasion, and before his parents were killed. For the last year, he's been shoved into some apartment high-rise with so many others. It wasn't that bad at first he will admit. The rooms were not too crowded, food was plentiful, if somewhat bland, and they had plenty of running water; he can thank the natural springs and running streams from the surrounding mountains for that. The nightmares were constant however, and as the days turned to months, many of the aforementioned amenities were taken away as more and more people arrived.
Life was terrible from then on as he barely was able to keep himself together. It wasn't uncommon for him to suddenly break down into tears as the weight of the situation would sometimes be too much for him.
Then if things couldn't get worse, the military came and plucked him up for conscription.
There was no introduction, no ease into things, he was just given a pistol, a piece of metal to warp around his sweater, and told to follow his squad leaders orders. Fear quickly enveloped his mind as he thought about how sudden it was. He hadn't even held a gun before yesterday; let alone shot one. The only saving grace was that there wasn't anything to really do. Crime was punishable by death, or in the worst cases exile, and everyone was simply too scared to attempt to try something, so they spent most of their time sitting around intersections as military and refugee convoys passed by. He was glad for that at least. Frisk doesn't even want to think about taking another living creature's life, human or otherwise.
The view of the high rises outside the chopper windows are soon replaced by a small forest as the transport makes its way out of city limits and towards the base of Mount Ebott. Other VTOLs and helicopters can be seen as well, making their way to the ARK facility. Some start to lose altitude as they descend onto numerous airpads. It is not long before Frisk can feel their helicopter descend as well.
The vehicle shakes as they land, and the ramp lowers. Everyone starts to make their way out, with the conscripts in the front, and everyone else in the rear. Paige and Worton however, made their way to the front of their group, directing them inside the base and pass all of the soldiers, getting off, and onto transports. Frisk sees other groups of soldiers taking the places of those in the helicopters and VTOL's.
Paige turns back to his squad as the NATO troops run off into the facility. "Okay people listen up, we're staying here for the time being. We are to guard this landing zone until command says otherwise. No one, and I mean no one, is to enter the facility unless they have explicit permission to, that includes us. So, get comfortable."
Frisk stops paying attention after that. Instead he turns and stares out at Ebott City just beyond the tree line. His focus on the city however is only temporary, as he notices a large red storm coming in from behind the city.
Anxiety builds up in his stomach, and a sense of foreboding passes over him. He tries to suppress it, but no matter how much he tries, and can't help but think that something bad is going to happen.
He can only hope that hes wrong.
The sky flashes red again, illuminating the army and startling those in the command deck for the artillery-plasma gun. The commander ignores the startle cries as everyone around him however as he peers into his binoculars again, this time focusing on the heart of the storm.
Another flash illuminates the surrounding countryside, or what's left of it. As he observes crater-filled landscape, the commander can see dark shapes making their way across the field like ants. More shapes soon join the fray as the sky flashes again, with the new ones coming in all different sizes from what he can make out. Again and again, the pattern would repeat itself, with more figures being added with each flash in the sky.
The commander was going to put his binoculars down when the sky turned a bright red, much brighter than before he noticed. Peering through his scopes, he quickly sees why.
The sky flashes again, and the outline of a titanic beast can be seen in the distance, visible even without the use of visual aids.
"Oh god."
Then everything descended into chaos.
I promise the next chapter will be much more exciting. However again, I'm only coming back to this sparingly. Hope you enjoyed
