The servos in my suit whirr in effort as I march along with my squad. I stay near the front, where my suit’s bulk can protect the men behind me. My squadmates grimace as we move through the streets, as if they smell something bad. 

“What is it?” I ask, my voice echoing as the suit’s speakers repeat what I say.

The guy next to me looks up in envy. “Something’s burning up ahead, lucky bastard.” 

I shrug at him, the massive metallic arms on either side of me copying the movement. Not my fault this thing has an air filter. We both turn to face ahead again, scanning the road for any movement.

This deployment, it’s odd. A fully kitted out squad, two mechs included, dispatched into the center of Manhattan? Something’s off, especially with how little we were told, not even what hostiles there could be. If I had to guess, it has something to do with the pillar of light that was in the news a few days ago. Not that the sergeant would tell us. And if his tense posture is anything to go off of, he does know what’s up.

As we walk, something in one of the buildings up ahead explodes, sending dust and flames out into the street. Everyone aims their weapons, including myself. I level my massive railgun towards the distant ball of dust, ready for any potential threats.

We don’t have to wait long, as a… dog? A dog, easily the size of a car, leaps out of the smoke. Two slightly smaller, but still massive, dogs follow behind the first. They are all nothing but muscle, bulging at strange and unnatural angles. Their eyes are glowing a bright red, and foam leaks from their mouths.

I’m the first to fire, my rifle flashing with a harsh light. The air pressure of the copper rod being blasted forwards sends the nearest soldiers sprawling. Should’ve listened to procedure. With a loud crack the shot hits home, obliterating one of the smaller dogs. The creature just blows apart, leaving nothing but smoke and gore behind. 

Determining that the creatures will make it to the group before I can reload, I begin to rack the gun on my back. As I do, a small mechanical arm on my shoulder moves to pull the weapon into position. Just then the air shakes as the other mech unit fires their own shot. The projectile heads clean for the frontmost creature, creating a sonic boom as it flies. Just as it’s about to make contact with the creature, a wall of light appears and deflects the rod. The shot skids off the glowing barrier and slams into the third dog instead, blowing apart the creature’s head with the remaining momentum. 

With both of the big guns fired, and fear of friendly fire gone, the other soldiers let their own weapons rip. Just like the copper before it, the hot lead is deflected by the massive beast’s barrier. It just keeps charging, totally oblivious to the gunfire pummeling it. 

I open the line to the other mech unit. “Stay back and guard.” With that, I carefully step through the people around me, putting myself in front of the group. 

The sergeant yells something, but I ignore him, he can just discipline me later. I'm not letting ground troops get into a melee with this thing while I’m around. Free of worrying about squashing my comrades, I let my mech sprint. 

Massive chunks of asphalt are ripped from the road as the spiked soles of my feet tear into them. Mechs aren’t built for speed, but goddamn can they get going. Turns out sixty tons of alloyed steel moving faster than a jog starts really building up momentum. 

Speaking of size, this dog is huge. From my perspective inside the cockpit, the creature is perfectly proportional. Which is horrifying. Power armor is almost three stories tall for god sake!

The creature’s eyes turn in its misshapen head, switching to focus on my approach. Good doggie, I’m your target. Fight me, and ignore the little snacks behind me. Once it gets close to me, it leaps at my head, its massive jaws trailing froth. I bring my arms forward, forcing the mech’s to do the same. 

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Our collision is like two trains hitting each other head on. Sparks fly around my head as motors overload systems and blow out the wiring. One of my arms is torn off, the metal ones that is, if the display in front of me is to be believed. Ignoring the groan of the steel around me, and my own sudden migraine, I force the suit to move towards the grounded monster.

Servos screech as they go way past their capacity, but my mech obeys. It slowly limps forward, towards the slowly recovering creature. Both its front legs were pulverized in the clash, but it’s still alive. As I watch, the beast’s flesh begins to regrow, stitching itself back together horrifically quickly. By the time I make it to the thing, it's almost able to stand again.

Too late though. Using my remaining arm, I pin the creature to the road. It kicks against me, but muscles can do only so much against the mass I’m in control of. The creature seems to disagree with my conclusion, as it starts thrashing even harder against the palm of my armor. It seems to have no self preservation, breaking its body trying to get free. 

Then my world becomes one of white, the only sound a high pitch ringing. I can’t think, or even feel, as the world around me tilts. I have no idea how long I’m like that, but when I get my wits back, my view is horizontal. 

My mech fell sideways, onto the side without an arm. Directly in front of me is the remains of the monster, smoking with a disgusting smell… Wait, smell? Ignoring the ringing vibrating against my skull, I try to make the armor right itself. A few seconds go by, and nothing happens. 

I’m trapped. I immediately try the emergency eject, but the crisis battery is offline as well. What the hell hit me, a solar flare?

My eyes focus on the scene beyond the corpse, and my breath catches in my throat. Something’s going on with the others, something bad. I see them firing at something, and a few corpses are scattered on the ground already. As my hearing returns, I start to pick up the sounds of people screaming. There must be a crack in my canopy.

Another explosion rocks the side of the building near me, glass and metal twisting under the shock. That’s a mech rifle shot. Did they fire at me? When I was so close to the dog?! That’s what knocked me on my ass, friendly fire? I look closer at the troops, my eyes focusing better this time as the pain in my skull lessens.

The other mech unit… is attacking. It’s just crushing people around it, swiping at them like an enraged animal. Why? As I watch, I see something glowing on the cockpit of the suit. Something organic and pulsing. What the hell is happening?! 

I try to activate the mechanical eject, but after pressing the small black button, all that happens is a small thud somewhere in the armor. I push against the glass trapping me, desperate to get out. I could… I could free the railgun off my mech, and lie it against the ground to fire it. I might lose a limb or my hearing, but that’d be worth stopping that… thing.

But, no matter how much I hit the reinforced glass, it doesn’t budge. Of course it doesn’t, it's meant to take tankfire. I laugh ruefully at my situation, trapped by protective measures.

All I can do as things go to hell, is look forward and watch as my comrades are wiped out by one of their own. If that thing even counts as a person anymore. Flesh has grown over the entire head of the mech, writhing as if in pain. The mech fires its rifle again, blowing apart the sergeant in a singl—

I cough, almost falling down. I fan the smoke in front of me, quickly moving to open the nearest window. Goddamn it, burnt the fucking bacon. Once the pan is done smoking, I shake out its contents into the trash. Not like I’d want to eat it after that…

I open my fridge, looking at its sparse contents. The bacon is a bust, guess it’s… eggs then? I grab the carton of recycled cardboard and put it on the counter. Washing the pan out quickly, I get it heating again. 

Thought I was done reliving that. Guess not. Can’t complain too much, it’s been months since last time. I put a bit of butter in the pan, where it quickly starts sizzling. It’s honestly a miracle I even eat bacon anymore, with how much that exploded dog smelled of it. I crack an egg into the pan, my stomach growling.

Thunk.

…Thunk? I quickly pull my focus back to reality, planning on finding out what I could’ve possibly fucked up badly enough to make a thunk while cooking eggs. 

Sitting before me, in the pan of sizzling butter, is a naked toddler. It locks eyes with me, and smiles.

It giggles.