Other side of the portal
A lone gray fighter pierced through the red sky with a bulbous bomb under each of its wings . Soon, the QF-16 was right on top of the monster’s city.
Island in the Pacific
With his hands on the controller, Rameriz kept the drone steady as he kept his eye on the video footage. He could see the city appearing underneath the drone. The black structures dotting the city below looked very inhuman. Narrowing his eyes, he pressed a button on the controller.
Other side of the portal
The first nuclear bomb was released from its left wing. The large bomb dropped and quickly fell behind the QF-16 that was traveling at near 600 mph. The drone tilted to the right as it suddenly lost 700 pounds of weight on its left wing. As the drone kept a straight path over the city, the second nuclear bomb was released just mere seconds later.
The QF-16’s jet engine blazed again as Rameriz threw it into full afterburner and banked the aircraft hard to the right in order to avoid the expected nuclear blasts. Minutes later, the QF-16 jostled as a blast wave hit the aircraft. Although Rameriz could not see it yet, behind the drone, a mushroom cloud was beginning to rise into the sky.
10 minutes earlier
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The various monsters of the city milled about. Some of the humanoids were in their dens and were chipping away at black stones to form javelin-like weapons whilst others conversed amongst themselves. Black spires rose into the sky from the ground. The city still had some of what had been a human city of this world underneath the dens that the creatures had created. Rubbles of wood and brick of what were human houses lay on the ground everywhere. A few Lancefishes in packs wandered the streets aimlessly.
Then a sudden explosion occurred. Monsters around the city turned to look at the bright flash of light in confusion. It was almost as if a sun appeared in the middle of the city. The monsters at the center of the detonation didn’t even realize what had happened when they were instantly vaporized. Within seconds, a searing wave of heat radiated out and a blast quickly followed, knocking down the surrounding structures. The dens, a combination of monster additions and human remnants, were reduced to debris and dust. The ground quivered under the colossal force of the explosion, and the very earth itself seemed to tremble in response. The blast wave begins spreading out just as a second violent explosion goes off a few miles north of the same city. The black spires that rose to the skies started collapsing as they were hit by the double blast waves. The spurs crumbled and shattered into a chaotic mess of stone and scorched rubble.
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0655 June 20th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
Rameriz’a voice transmitted through the videofeed that was being shown in the Situation Room. <<<“Turning around for confirmation.”>>>
The camera on the QF-16 showed the two mushroom clouds that were rising over the city. <<<“The enemy city has been confirmed destroyed. I am flying the QF-16 back.”>>>
Ramerz banked the aircraft left towards the swirling green portal.
Island in the Pacific
Orders came through on comms to the SEAL platoon commander from Commander Orville. <<<“Retreat from the island and begin pulling out.”
“What about the heavier equipment, sir?”
“Take what you can. The rest will be retrieved later. We don’t know if the portal closing will take the entire island with it since the island wasn’t here before the portal opened.”>>>
The lieutenant closed his comms and started shouting to his SEAL platoon. “Once the drone lands, get ready to get back to the boats. We are returning to the destroyers. Take what you can with you.”
The roar of the QF-16’s engine could be heard as it zoomed out from the portal and back into this world.
Offshore of the island
The captain of the USS Hopper listened to his orders. <<<”Keep an eye on the island and make sure to identify anything that comes out of it. Once you retrieve the SEALs, make distance but keep the island in visible range. We are uncertain what exactly will happen when the portal goes out but the brass is taking precautions”
“Understood, Admiral.”>>>
0425 June 20th, 2020 CE
Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco
Eric flopped down onto the grass of the golf course and let out a sigh. His gun laid on the grass beside him. Every bone and fiber in his being was tired. The others in the platoon also started sitting or lying down on the grass. They had advanced to the northern tip of San Francisco. With armor and air support, they were able to kill the remaining singular or groups of monsters they had encountered. The rest of the Army and Marines were clearing out the city and checking for monster stragglers that got through in the first sweep. An AH-1Z buzzed overhead as it headed towards the center of San Francisco. Eric’s second lieutenant came into view. “Good job men. I know that we are all tired. We fought for more than 24 hours with minimal breaks. I’m proud of y’all. We are some of the military units that have been here the longest. We have retaken San Francisco against a seemingly endless wave of monstrous hordes. Take a break, eat your MREs.”
Eric’s stomach grumbled as he remembered he hadn’t eaten in a while.
0725 June 20th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
The worry and tension in the room seem to have evaporated. A person started clapping. The rest of the room started clapping. Ronell sighed. “I would like to declare that the crisis is over.”
Chief of Staff John Wills nodded. “Mr. President, you will need to address the people again.”
Ronell sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “Ugh. I want to go to sleep… I feel like I look terrible… someone get me some makeup and a new suit. Can’t look like this when I’m giving a speech.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Also, get Air Force One ready for me. I need to visit San Francisco and the refugee camps as soon as possible, preferably tomorrow.”
20 minutes later
Ronell stepped behind the podium. He took in a deep sigh as he stared at the cameras in front of him.