“Sir, I don’t see the value of this move.” Cassandra said from a screen, her expression stoic as always.

Cassandra Orsini was to Michael Devos what many Sentire Clan heads called their Second. An Individual pulled out of the common hierarchy, taking orders directly from the top and nowhere else. A confidant and, often, a friend.

“Showing our cards like that while counting on the pack to deliver the message as intended. It seems desperate.” Cassandra continued.

Michael sighed and took a sip from his glass. A rich, perfectly aged aroma hitting his supernatural senses, easing the discomfort he had felt while riding in one of the cramped SUV’s squished between his bodyguards as they traveled up the mountain roads.

Few things could beat the spacious luxury of a limousine.

“Things are changing Cass, we need to stay ahead of it... I have no doubt the Covens will find some new carrot to dangle in front of our noses as soon as they need to, hell, We’ve already heard as much from Courts in the old world. Daylight charms of a mediocre quality paid for with their allegiance.” Michael said with disgust.

“They don’t have much reason to change their approach, its obviously working.” Cass replied with a nod.

“Exactly, But do you want to know what I see when I look at the rings the Eve Clan wears? The pride of a true craftsman, someone with standards and the resolve to discard anything below those standards.” Michael told, unable to keep himself from smiling.

He was struck with a feeling of nostalgia; the situation reminding him of when he’d told Cass that he wanted to base their organization out of a yet to be built oasis in the desert, a city of sin where all were welcome as long as they abided by the rules of the house.

Everyone had thought him crazy then... All except for Cassandra.

“We haven’t exactly put our best foot forward.” Cass stated.

“Don’t remind me.” Michael groaned, his mood immediately soured. “Of all the moronic things that idiot could have done... Well, can’t cry over spilled milk, as they say. For now, we can only hope that our message is received.” Michael finished.

“And Exactly what kind of message are we hoping to convey with handing out raw ore?” Cass questioned.

“A true craftsman’s biggest vice will always be quality materials... And we’re sitting on a mountain of it.” Michael grinned greedily.

***

The protestors had scaled the walls and made their way deep into the badlands, but it wasn’t long before they regretted their decision.

Instead of camps filled with magical creatures tormented and enslaved like animal testing labs, they instead found the desolate wreckage of a city.

There had been no pursuit of them as they had expected, instead they were met with an eerie quiet, unnatural in its scope as not even the sound of birds pervaded its silent domain.

A few of the less determined turned back after the first day turned to night, but many chose to continue, some out of a vague idea of justice, others simply out of curiosity.

The first night, just as campfires were lit and people gathered with hopes still high, the screams began.

Like choirs of distant wails encompassing the night, horrid screams spread like the sound of the wind. None slept nor dared to leave the safety of their fires for the empty darkness of the night.

As the sun crested the horizon and morning came, it was with frayed nerves and pale faces that the would-be liberators turned back, their desire for adventure and righteous acts entirely lost.

But as their self-appointed leaders looked around the endless expanse of rubble, they came to a chilling realization... They didn’t know from whence they came.

Panic struck as they found their electronics unresponsive. Fear set in as the Prepared produced a compass which’needle spun, and it was with horror that upon climbing one of the few barely standing structures that no end could be seen in the horizon.

Calmer heads prevailed, and a plan was thought out. They knew from where they had come, and information about the rough diameter had been spread on the news. The group decided to follow the rising sun east to where they had entered from.

But as dawn turned to day, and day to evening, the group began to waver, discourse arose as logic was challenged, one pitted against the other, blows were exchanged and in the middle of the madness, an inhuman scream pierced the chaos and sent a chill down their spines.

They stood stunned, as humans often do when reality ceases to follow the rules of logic and science, and what is known is replaced by what is feared.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

In the distance, each and every person locked eyes with a humongous creature of deformed flesh and uneven proportions, like a child’s drawing, it was a mockery of reality, a torso only loosely reminiscent of a human, like an incomplete sculpture it ended at the waist and drove itself forward with its grotesque arms of irritated skin.

The group was collectively stunned, like some supernatural force had frozen them in place. What felt like minutes passed before a low sobbing spread among them, longer still, before some regained control of their limbs and attempted to bring their compatriots back to their senses.

With the horrid creature almost upon them, some chose to run and abandon others to their fate, while some seemed intent on staying behind until the very last moment.

The creature was near enough that those whose hearts were still seized by fear could make out the individual bodies which made up the whole. Like candle-wax they were melted together by purplish skin and puss ridden abscesses.

It was only now that a few among them realized that the pained wails they had heard came not from the creature’s facsimile of a mouth, but from the mouths of all the people making up its body, as if crying out in eternal torment as some part of them remained conscious.

***

Jamie tore at his brother’s shirt, trying to pull him away, before resorting to simply pummeling him in a last ditch effort of snapping him out of it, but his eyes remained locked on the nightmare approaching them.

Jamie felt a pull on his backpack and in a strange change of fate he now resisted it to remain with his brother, but whoever it was did not struggle and plead like he had, instead he felt a pressure around his neck as his vision blurred before slowly fading to black.

And as if waking up in the exact same moment he rose with a gasp flailing and screaming, desperately trying to get to his feet only for his footing to slip as he fell and hit a tiled floor, a massive weight throwing itself on top of him as he again tried to get to his feet.

“CALM DOWN.” A voice hissed at him as others covered his mouth.

A tense air of silence settled over the room and remained for minutes as the sound of an immense weight being dragged slowly faded into the distance.

After almost fifteen minutes, a faint whisper announced, “All clear.”

And the hands and cloth covering his face were removed as his eyes struggled to adjust. He found himself surrounded by a group of unfamiliar people, the remains of what had once been a brick wall covering the sunken room like a lid.

“Listen kid, I saved your life, but if you freak out like that again and put us all at risk, I’m gonna reverse that decision real quick, understood?” A large man wearing a white uniform, Jamie remembered seeing it on people who practiced martial arts. A small patch embroidered onto the white fabric read Samuel’s Dojo.

“Wha-What’s happening, what was that thing?!” Jamie began his panic rising along with his volume until the man put a threatening finger in his face, his expression a cold acceptance of violence for the greater good.

Jamie covered his own mouth in a show of having realized his mistake.

The man sighed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he shook his head.

“Son, I’m gonna need some answers from you.” The man began. “Your group looked prepared, climbing gear and supplies. Were you in a camping store or something when it happened?”

“It?” Jamie asked, confused until he looked around. The other people huddling in corners with fearful eyes and resentment on their faces all had one thing in common... All of them wore clothing as if they’d been on their way to work.

A waitress in a skirt, a man in a suit and tie, another in slacks and a blue shirt with a company logo on it, all dirty and torn.

“You were here when it happened.” Jamie stated as it hit him.

The group all grew wide eyed and straightened up like a pack of animals, suddenly shocked.

The man held up a hand to halt the barrage of questions everyone was about to unleash.

“My name is Samuel. I ran a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym near Evans Park. Where are you from, kid?” Samuel asked.

“Uhm, Tacoma, my name is Jamie.” Jamie replied. “I came here with a group to find the camps.” Jamie continued.

“You came from the outside?!” A man in a suit and tie demanded, gripping hold of his collar.

“Yes, please, I just wanna go home!” Jamie pleaded, and he backed away fearfully.

“Listen, son, I don’t know how to say this... But this place ain’t normal, we’ve been traveling for days and... It just keeps going, there’s no end to it.” Samuel struggled to find the words.

“As if it was supernatural?” Jamie muttered to himself, and Samuel’s eyes narrowed.

“Yeah... What do you know?” Samuel demanded, his voice dropping an octave.

***

“In all we’ve lost contact with thirty-six drones and almost double that in personnel, we’ve had people stationed at guard towers monitoring them, but as soon as they move a mile or so in, it’s like a mirage just swallows them whole.” An officer reported to a room composed of high-ranking officials.

Naomi Woods pitied the officer as each and every person currently staring at him had perfected the military scowl to the point their faces were simply stuck that way.

She, like every other person standing at attention with their backs to the wall, had been brought along by someone who outranked her by such a margin. The only words she could say in their presence were No sir and Yes sir.

“I think now might be a good time for the experts responsible for this colossal fuckup to step forward and announce their plan to fix this mess.” President McKenzie suggested. “Well? Don’t fall over each other to take credit... Who had the brilliant plan to place a weapons research facility in the middle of downtown Seattle?!” McKenzie finished, his volume increasing until yelling.

“Sir, The department responsible technically doesn’t exist anymore as it was folded into the Department of Abnormal Defense.” The newly appointed director of the D.A.D. informed.

“Ted, I swear to God, if you tell me it was another department or throw the ball to the next guy, you won’t have a job by the time you leave this room.” McKenzie seethed.

“Sir. We created the D.A.D. precisely because there were too many covert divisions to keep accurate track of. If you want someone to blame, then I’m afraid you’ll have to take it up with the people who threw the ball to me.” The director of D.A.D. replied as strongly as one dared when speaking to the president of the United States.

The two of them staring silently at each other before McKenzie sighed and moved on.

“What are our options?” McKenzie asked the room.

“We have no idea what’s happening inside, as we have yet to have anyone come back. The best course of action would be to increase awareness of the dangers and reallocate personnel to secure the perimeter.” An Admiral suggested reading through the brief.

“We’re still researching the anomalous items retrieved from the quarantined zone before its sudden change.” Ted informed the room. “But I’ve been informed that we’re nearing a possible solution.” He continued.

“Alright, we’re gonna secure the area around the quarantine zone. Until then, Cooper, reach out to the media and don’t sugarcoat it.” McKenzie ordered as he stood up.