Daniel was happiest in the control room of the Be-Turret. I mean what self-respecting man wouldn't want to be in charge of a giant ass gun. But even then it was more than that. With his city behind him and the onslaught of behemoths was ahead, only he stood between them. The sole protector on this Wall.
He knew there was the angels, his gun wouldn't exist without them, but it was more fun to pretend. Well at least it used to be
He sat in his seat. Eyes focused on the book he was reading under the soft, green light, radar screen in his peripheral vison. He scratched his head and sighed, there hadn't been an attack in the four months since he started working here.
His first few days on the job he was all nerves and stiff posture, ready to fire at any moment, but the long down time had made him lose a lot of that vigilance.
He stretched out as far as he could in the cramped room and dug in for another long, dull day. At least he could see action through his novels. It was getting to a good part too.
Then the alarm went off.
Klaxons blaring he scrambled in his seat, nearly falling over. His book feel onto the floor, forgotten. The giant blip that had appeared out of nowhere on the radar was close, too close. Far closer then it should be before the alarms go off.
Turning his seat over to the viewpoint, his fingers on the trigger of the turret. He stared out into a sea of nothing. What had appeared as a massive blip was nothing more then a flock of smaller sea-gliders, dangerous yes, but they could be handled.
He relaxed a little, taking his finger off the trigger for the big gun, reaching for the button to turn on the smaller ones, they should scare off the flock.
the system must need an update or something, that radar signature was much bigger then that flock. It is weird, they would never get this close on their own. Realizing something he reached his hand back over for the trigger, but it was too late. A massive whooshing sound whistled closer and closer towards him, a tentacle materializing as if out of thin air, right before it struck the platform.
He didn't even get the chance to fire.
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As the rumble moved throughout the building Anna stood up from her seat. turning her head towards the west, where the Wall was.
Someone moved towards the windows, followed by more and more people. She pushed towards the front as gasps rang out.
There was only a cloud of smoke and debris where the proud turret once stood.
A dark tentacle fell downwards, tipped in a hard exoskeleton. It was followed by more and more of them till there was a writhing mass dangling out over the side of the wall. They pulled themselves down, out of the smoke, slowly. The whole behemoth revealing itself inch by inch.
First the slimy head. Topped with two glassy eyes its pupils curved upwards. Then its bulbous body, equally slimy. the bulk of it laying directly behind its head. Insect-like legs covered in a smooth black carapace shot out from its body, barely holding it up.
Its back was covered in shifting blue wings, a flock of gliders hitching a ride, they took flight as it dragged it's bulk further over the Wall.
It dropped to the street now, falling the stories, until it crash landed inside the city. The thrown up dust obscured it once more. When it cleared the behemoth was gone. The crash site had nothing left but cracked stone and fluttering wings, the smaller menaces just hovering in place.
That was when the building nearest to the Wall had a gouge struck out of it, lighting fast, the sound of rending steel echoed out over the street as building groaned. Another moment and more torn out metal and glass fell out into the street. The building groaned even louder, sagging over.
People rushed out the bottom, running as fast as they could, before whole thing was brought down. A few were lucky enough to escape, but most were either crushed under invisible legs or picked up by the gliders. dragged off to whoever knows where.
One last strike and the building finally gave out. It crumbled forward, nearly falling onto the street below before being stopped in midair. People and furniture fell out and down the 30 meter drop. the pavement cracked where the feet of the behemoth must be.
It fell to the side, crashing into another building, the impact flooded the street in dust and the shockwave destroyed the glass of the buildings around it, moving until it hit the window right in front of Anna. The glass cracked.
The crowd gawking at the scene stumbled back, finally shocked back into movement. They fled the room, leaving her behind.
Her legs felt like jelly. Fear, primal and fierce coiled in her belly and squeezed her lungs. Move you stupid girl, she shouted at herself. Trying again and again before finally her feet took a step. She stumbled after her colleagues, leaving the behemoth behind her.
Why today, why today, why todayyy. First I'm late and now the city is falling into ruins.
Glancing one last time behind her before leaving the room, she saw the comet of light descend, as if from the heavens.