--Congressman Miles POV--

'How did this happen? Just the other day, I was enjoying time with my kids, and I even ran into a very pretty woman at the grocery store. We talked for a while, and I gave her my number, something very out of character for me since Karen died. Then this whole unbelievably complicated situation began to unfold, and to top it off, the girl I gave my number to was one of the people on Bravo team. What are the odds? I wonder if it's even possible for her to make it out of that hell hole?'

Seeing the Admiral enter the room, I stand up, "Admiral, what's happening that ship is getting dangerously close to the shore!"

The Admiral looks toward me, "Echo team is trying to stop it now, but those damn things are everywhere on that ship, and we're tied up trying to stop them from spreading here."

Diplomat Mio begins to shout, "This is insane! What is that girl? What are those things?"

"Please calm down. Obviously, none of us have those answers. We just know its some type of infectious disease that seems to take hold when a victim is seriously injured."

I look at the Admiral with resolution, "...Maybe, you should sink the ship?"

"Are you crazy? According to the survivor, there are hundreds of people trapped in the engine room of that ship. Besides, too much distance has been put between us and it."

"But those things! The people of Anchorage are my constituents; if even one of those things gets loose, I don't even want to think about what would happen."

"It's not my decision. We've already had this discussion with the higher-ups. The ship is too close to Anchorage; this mission failed spectacularly, and now even this ship is crawling with those things as well."

"How is that situation Admiral? How far have those monsters spread?" Diplomat Mio asks.

"...They've already breached the bridge and the upper levels of the ship. Luckily they don't seem to be swarming like they were on the 'Moonlight' and instead are traveling in small groups."

"How is that good news?" I ask.

"It means we can break through them and evacuate. We are going to cut the engine, drop the ship's anchor, and then we are abandoning the ship immediately we've already begun preparations. A specialized well-equipped contingent of veterans will return to clear this ship later."

I can feel my blood boiling, "That's great, but what about that petri dish of a ship! You know the one heading straight for Anchorage?!"

"Fort Richardson is organizing, and evacuation of Anchorage's shoreline has begun..."

Having lost my patience, I pick up a chair and hurl it against the wall, "What!? There's not enough time for that! You aren't taking this seriously enough! Blow the ship out of the damn water!"

"Damnit! We are dead in the water, and blowing a cruise ship out of the ocean is not that simple! But enough yelling Congressman Miles both you and Diplomat Mio are leaving on the helicopter you arrived on immediately."

"Fine! Get me back to Anchorage quickly; I have to get my son and daughter away from there now."

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. We'll be taking both of you to Juneau."

The Admirals words ignite a fire in my soul I jump at the Admiral to unleash my fury, "My kids don't have anyone else! Just me, you know that?!"

By this point, I've totally lost my cool, and I raise my fist in frustration only for the soldiers in the room to pounce on me, "Damn you! Damn you!" I yell.

I keep struggling only to feel something hit me in the back of the head, and darkness quickly follows.

I'm not sure how long it was when I finally regain consciousness, but I find myself buckled into the helicopter flying over the ocean. My head is pounding from whoever and whatever hit me, but I don't have time to care.

I swing my head to see the 'Moonlight' cruise ship and Echo teams helicopter in the distance. In my head, I pray to whatever god will listen that this whole thing can end right here and now.

"Congressman, are you alright? You were unconscious for a while." I turn to find Diplomat Mio staring at me with a conflicted expression.

I glance downward to find him holding a pair of binoculars, "Yeah, hey, hand me those binoculars, will you?"

Diplomat Mio complies, and I quickly take the binoculars to get a closer look at the situation below. I find Echo team firing through the window of the bridge, seemingly having spotted someone, and below them are some of those monsters crawling around on the deck and walls trying to reach them.

'Did they find the girl? It would be great if they killed her here and now.'

I remove the binoculars and gaze toward the pilot, "Pilot, pause here for a moment."

The pilot doesn't react, seemingly not hearing me. I grab a headset from the surprised Diplomat Mio and repeat, "Pilot, hold the helicopter here."

I can hear the reluctance in his voice through the headset, "...Okay, Congressman, but I've been ordered to take you to Juneau no matter what."

"Whatever, just hold here!" I yell.

I raise my binoculars once again and notice the lights in the bridge have been switched off, and everything is strangely quiet. Suddenly a gray mist begins pouring through the bullet holes in the window.

Also noticing the abnormality, Echo team begins to back away. It isn't long before the gray mist begins to converge into a shape. From the front of the bridge, a pedestal is suspended from the air. On the pedestal sits a demonic stone creature with large bat-like wings, sharp claws, long sharp ears, and spikes running along its forehead and back.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I tilt my head in confusion, 'A gargoyle sculpture? Where did it come from?'

I stare at the statue and suddenly notice the eyes of the statue light up red. Pieces of stone begin falling from the statue revealing black skin beneath. The gargoyle proceeds to stand from its pedestal and peers toward the helicopter and finally makes a terrifying, fearsome roar. The gargoyle flaps its wings sending the remaining stone attached to its skin flying through the air. Dust and other debris start to rise from the surface of the 'Moonlight' as the gargoyle flies toward the helicopter at an absurd speed.

Echo team opens fire, and bullets begin to rain down upon the gargoyle only for it to bounce off its thick rock-like hide. The gargoyle ignores the bullets and latches onto the helicopter, quickly reaching its arm in through the door. It isn't long before a man is grabbed and launched out of the helicopter, causing him to slam into the deck of the ship. The gargoyle roars in satisfaction only for its wings to hit the blade of the helicopter. The blade of the helicopter shatters along with the gargoyle's wing as stone and metal rain down from the air. Echo team and the gargoyle drop to the deck of the 'Moonlight' onto some of those horrible spider creatures. The gargoyle bursts into a gray mist once more and the men struggle to escape the wreckage of the helicopter.

The spider creatures, however, don't give them a chance and charge into the helicopter attacking Echo team only for, **Boom!**

The helicopter explodes into flames with such intensity that even from this distance, I can feel a bit of the heat.

'What...is this the end of the world? I don't even know what to think about any of this anymore. I'm just overwhelmed.'

Despite the fire, the 'Moonlight' continues to push forward at this point; it's less than a half-mile from the docks. For a while, I just sit and stare at the unbelievable scene, a burning cruise ship filled with terrifying monsters, and perhaps even more frightening is the mysterious little girl all about to crash into my city with my family in it.

'...So much for top-secret, but that doesn't matter I need to call my children.'

I take out my cellphone to find a text message has popped up on my phone.

"🙃Hello, Mr.Congressman. Have you enjoyed the show so far?🙃."

I quickly text back, "Who the hell is this?"

"Oh, rude. Is that how you always text girls?"

"Just tell me who this is?"

"You saw me on video, right? Of course, I was wearing a mask."

"It's you, the evil little girl!"

"...Yeah, I guess so. Anyways I saw your helicopter, and Aponi tells me you two met at the grocery store the other day. Apparently, you had two children with you."

"You better not touch them!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, but here's the thing the Crawlers (monsters) are going to make their way into Anchorage soon and whether or not I do anything, they'll be in danger.😓"

"Then stop the ship!"

"Well, you see, that's not possible. If you haven't noticed, the front of the ship is sorta on fire, and the only way to stop it now would be to shut down the engines in the engine room, which is impossible."

"You should just go straight to hell!"

"Already seen hell, and I wasn't impressed, but Mr.Congressman, I offer you and your family salvation if you make a deal with me."

"A deal with the devil?!"

"Mr.Congreeman, the devil always upholds its side of the deal. Always. Call this number 24 hours from now, and we'll talk. Bye-bye.🖐"

I try to call and text back, but get no reply, 'What is going to happen to this city? I don't know what to do.'

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--Eira POV--

"Eden, you said I didn't have to do this alone, right? So carry me! I'm tired."

"...That's not what I meant."

I ignore Eden's comment and crawl into her arms, and propped my head against her arm, "Whatever, I've overexerted myself, but I've found us a place to visit in Anchorage, a congressman's house! Isn't that nice of him to offer of course I guess I should thank Aponi for getting his number."

"...I didn't tell you that so you'd blackmail him. I just mentioned it offhandedly when you asked me who was probably in the other helicopter."

I wave my hand at Aponi, "Yeah, yeah."

"Something tells me he isn't as happy about it as you." Eden comments.

"Yeah, well, whatever."

Suddenly the closet door burst open, and Audrey comes rolling out, "Don't leave me here in this hell hole!"

"Ah, First Hostage Audrey, I nearly forgot about you...is the Staff Captain still alive?"

The Staff Captain comes tumbling out, "Yes, but I'm dead inside if that counts."

I laugh, "Well, you're unmistakably in shock if you're cracking jokes, normally I'm the only one joking in these situations."

"...I wasn't joking," he mutters before he breaks out in uncontrollable crying.

I ignore him and glance out the window through the flames I can see the city of Anchorage quickly approaching. I can't help but frown, 'I am sorry, but unto you Anchorage, I bring both ruin and salvation.'