Impact

August 6th, 2034. Giant cylinders of a white material unknown on the Periodic Table fell to the surface of the planet seemingly with no warning. The PDCO had no warning signs of an incoming atmospheric breach by space debris and as such when the readings began to come in it was already too late. Analysts predicted an incoming extinction event from the massive pillars impact on the surface. A extinction event similar to the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. However, the massive pillars slammed into the earth with much less force then expected. Still enough to cause devastation to their surroundings but nothing cataclysmic. A total of 72 pillars were reported in different locations on the planet, most having landed on land, and were being investigated in real time. A worldwide panic and fear spread over in a period of hours only starting to settle after a week of seemingly no activity after that.

By December of the same year countries had all blockaded the surrounding area's of the pillars. Some had more difficulty, with some of the pillars landing in the middle of cities including the capital of France Paris, but all came to the conclusion they must be investigated carefully. The fact that the material had no place on the periodic table and the lack of impact suggested too many unknown factors. Each country dealt with it differently, but all dealt with it carefully. The pillars were researched and it became quickly apparent that there was not known material or force strong enough to damage the material leading many leading minds to frustration and bafflement.

It's now 2038, 4 years after the event known as Spire Fall. Activity has begun to be noticed of different degrees in the varying sized pillars. The largest ones showing many energy responses within while the smaller ones had little to none. The governments of each country have begun to respond in their own manners but they all have come to the same conclusion. Something, was about to change.

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Ventus stifled a sigh as he leaned against a wall of the convenience store late at night. He looked out into the darkness between the street lights and let his mind drift into a haze of non thought. He opened the candy bar he had bought and absent mindedly took a bite. The rush of sugar gave his wear mind a flash of satisfaction and he let out the sigh finally.

Ventus took out his phone and opened up the messaging app he used most. His boss had sent him a message telling him that he could skip work this weekend if he wanted. The factory had enough workers that those who wanted could take it off. He thought about it for a moment before sending the message to his boss that he'd take up the offer. It wasn't likely they would see it, with it being 2:30 in the morning and all, but he wouldn't have to worry about doing it later.

He began to walk down the street towards his apartment, it was a tiny place squished between two larger hotels but it was all he needed. Ventus didn't need a lot. Enough money to get by, a room big enough to keep his furniture, and the appliances that made things convenient. He gave a yawn as he walked down the barely person wide alley to the side entrance of the building. The old brick showing just how long the building had been there resistant against the change of the city of Boise Idaho. The door made a noise of screeching metal as the hinges protested his entrance. He had tuned the noise out over the year he had lived here and simply trudged up the stairs towards his room on the 3rd floor.

The phone in his hand buzzed and Ventus took a look at the screen. It was a message from his friend Alex. "You want to play anything tonight?" Ventus thought about it before deciding against it. He didn't have anything better but he just wasn't feeling it. He felt tired and on edge, he had worked a long week but not anything crazy, leaving him without the desire to do much of anything then watch some TV and let his mind blank out. He texted with one hand and unlocked the door to his apartment with the other. "Nah, chillin"

He slipped into the door and closed it behind him, locking the door with a flick of his wrist and unceremoniously tossing his jacket to the side. He hopped over the side of his couch and grabbed the TV remote, clicking it on with practiced ease. He paused and frowned as the screen came on however. Some sort of news article was playing. He knew he hadn't left it on that channel, he didn't watch the news. Anything important he would learn about whether he wanted to or not at work.

"Several towns have been put in quarantine after a terrorist organization has made strikes on several parts of the country simultaneously. The state is recommending you stay inside and keep watch against any odd activity. The state also asks those who see anything suspicious to report it to the number shown on screen, if it can't be reached call 911 in emergency.

"Huh... Sounds serious..." Ventus sat up and rubbed the tattoo of a lightning bolt wrapping around his right arm. He liked the feeling of the slightly raised skin and often did so to calm himself. He swallowed the worry in his throat and switched the channel to a cartoon. Leaving it on in the background as he went to the mini-fridge in the corner. He pulled out a package of pepperoni and grabbed a handful of meat to hold him over. He felt no desire to cook and this was good enough.

He got back on the couch and set his head down to enjoy the cartoon only to drift off into sleep only moments later.

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He woke up later to his apartment shaking. He sat up in panic and looked around as the pictures of video games and anime figurines on the shelves fell to the floor. The shaking only lasted for a moment before the lights went out in the building. Ventus dryly swallowed and grabbed the phone next to him to pull up the flashlight app. Swinging it around he cursed quietly. "God damn it... An earthquake? The worlds going to shit I swear." He swallowed his worlds however when a loud boom echoed through the night. He anxiously slid over to the curtains over his singular window and pulled it open only to see an explosion downtown a couple miles from him. The mushroom cloud lit up shapes in the night, helicopters?

"Jesus!" Ventus felt fear claw at his stomach and he bit his lip. He sat down for a moment with his hands to the bridge of his nose and began to think out loud. Talking his way through his unorganized mind. "This might be the terrorist attacks. It probably won't be safe in the city if it's this obvious. I need to get out for a bit." Ventus didn't have a car, he distrusted the other people on the street and found it easy enough to use public transport or his own legs. He made a plan to grab some cash from his account and take a trip for the weekend. Thankfully with the time off from his boss it was quite easy to do if he simply took a lift towards the town a half hour away. He could take a plane from there and maybe visit his family in Texas for a bit.

Ventus grabbed his jacket and looked around his apartment. He grabbed his phone threw it in his pocket and looked around. He hesitated as his sight landed on a knife in his bookshelf. It was a replica of knife from his favorite anime with a red veiny handle. It was perfectly functional though and this was hardly a normal time. He grabbed it on impulse and pocketed it before hopping down the stairs two steps at a time on his way to the atm.

He had barely made it to the second floor about to turn around the corner of the stairs down when he paused. He felt unease for some reason and questioned it before realizing that he had just heard the door to the building open, that squeaky noise giving it away. He cursed himself in his head, it was probably someone just coming home or leaving like him but... if there were terrorists in the city it was better to be safe. Ventus wrapped his left hand around the knife in his pocket and turned off the light on his phone. His eyes took a few moments to adjust to the darkness and he cautiously tilted his head to look down the stairs. He felt fear chill his heart as he looked to the bottom floor. A bloody trail was snaking from the open door to the hallway of the first floor right in front of the stairs.

His heart beat in his ears loud as a drum. Why? This was the most important question and it needed to be figured out immediately. Why was there a bloody trail? Likely someone was injured, but for the shape of the trail... They must have been dragged. A terrorist? Unlikely, there's no reason for an organized force to do such cruelty in a suburban area. It would be much better to show no trace then make such a violent display. Perhaps it was a show of power to get something out of someone? No it just didn't make any sense...

Ventus crept down the stairs slowly, placing his feet as lightly as he could to avoid making any noise. As he reached the bottom he could hear noises to his left where the trail led. He turned to look and saw an open door with the trail leading inside. The odd guttural noises were coming from within. Ventus had a choice in front of him, he could continue with his plan or he could investigate the noises. The smart choice was to avoid it, whatever was in there was violent. But.... He knew that apartment.

Having lived in the apartment for a while Ventus naturally knew some of the residents. All sorts lived here and that one just happened to contain a mother named Elizabeth and her eight year old daughter Emily. He hadn't really interacted with them more then a greeting passing them but...

Ventus felt his will harden, he lived by simple rules. Live in a way you won't regret. If he left now he'd regret it forever. He slowly crept toward the doorway before pressing himself against the wall flat. Careful not too step in any of the blood as he dreaded what he would see. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket with his left hand and propped it at an angle next to the door, seeing in with the reflection on the dark screen. His heart dropped at the same time as his jaw.

Scales. Green sharp looking scales. Talons and teeth covered in blood. What could only be described as some kind of velociraptor was inside eating what must have been left of poor Elizabeth. Her eyes lacked any kind of light of life within them though this could only be expected with her intestines decorating the floor like spilled spaghetti. This was shocking enough but what made his heart pound even more was what he saw under the couch in the middle of the living room seen through the door. Emily.

The girl was covering her mouth, tears streaming down her eyes as she desperately choked back her sobs. The poor girl was watching her mother being eaten. He was impressed she wasn't freaking out and revealing herself. However, this left him with a clear issue. He had to help. He couldn't leave a small child to be eventually discovered by a, what appeared to be, dinosaur. He looked at the knife in his hands and thought for a moment.

The knife likely wouldn't get through those scales easily. That meant if he was going to kill the thing he would have to hit something vital. The eyes were the best bet. Going up through its jaw was also possible but idiotically risky given the teeth. The razor sharp talons on the end of its limbs were just as threatening as its teeth so going in from the front was impossible. He thought for a moment and came up with a plan.

He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it inside the room over the dinosaurs head as it bent down to go for another bite. Naturally it hit the wall on the other side and drew its attention. As it turned to look in the direction Ventus was already moving forward. As the creature was turning its body he was already a couple seconds away from it with knife in hand. Luck however was not on his side. There was glass hidden in the carpet of the floor, likely from the shattered picture frame on the end table above it. As he stepped on it the cracking noise drew the dinosaurs attention again. Ventus was a second away from contact and he met the eyes of the creature.

The creature moved faster then he expected, sweeping a clawed hand at his throat. Ventus reacted instinctively, ducking his head back like limbo as the claw swept over while whipping his hand up in an arc towards the eye. The creature was still a danger however and brought its head down to bite into his shoulder even as his knife pushed through the eye and into its brain. With its dying impulses it bit down savagely on his shoulder with a sickening crunch. Ventus let out a loud yell and angrily pushed the knife further in. The creature lost all control of its body and fell down. Its teeth came out of his arm and he brought a hand to it quickly.

Ventus moved fast after a moment. Closing the door to the apartment and grabbing a dish towel from the nearby attached kitchen. He wrapped it around the bleeding shoulder using his basic first aid knowledge as Emily crawled out from under the couch with a runny nose and teary face. The sobs she had been keeping back finally escaping as she began to cry fully. He took a look at her not knowing her all that well. She was Asian. Probably Korean if he had to take a guess with medium length black hair and a shirt with a book on it that said 'Reading's Great'. An average young child.

Ventus now having stopped the important things kneeled down in front of the girl, blocking the sight of the girls mother at the same time, and spoke to her with a calm voice and face.

"Emily. Do you remember me? It's Ventus from upstairs."

The girl nodded tearily and tried to look past him at her mother but he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't look Emily. I'm going to make sure you're ok but we're gonna have to be strong here for a bit. Can you be strong for me?" Emily shakes her head as she began to cry louder. Stuttering words through the tears and snot. "M-Mommy!"

Ventus let out a deep breath. He was holding in all the feelings right now do too the adrenaline but he couldn't keep this up. He wasn't good with kids he was just doing what he thought someone who was would do. He picked up the girl with his left arm, it was difficult but he didn't trust his right with the injury, and began to walk outside with her while she was crying.

It was clear that this wasn't a terrorist attack by now. There were dinosaurs around after all. There was definitely something unimaginable going on. The first order was to find somewhere safe but he simply didn't have enough information. He walked into the hallway questioning what he was going to do only to stop in his tracks.

At the other end of the hall from the open door was another unimaginable sight. What he could only describe as a lizard person combined with a roman soldier was at the end of the hall wearing red and bronze armor and holding a spear. Its reptilian eyes looking at him with a cold and collected gaze. It readjusted its grip and let out a hiss like voice while Ventus was left reeling from the shock.

"A human that could deal with a Hunter? Interessssting... You could be usssseful in the dungeon. We'll take you asss a sssslave for the emperesssss."

The creature took a stance with its spear and slowly crept forward. Ventus was not understanding what was going on but put Emily down and pulled out his knife with his right hand. He lifted it threateningly as he tried to predict his opponent, commenting without moving his eyes. "Go back inside Emily."

The lizard man gave a laugh like steam escaping. "How noble. You have the heart of a warrior human. You'll make a great gladiator." It leapt forward with incredible speed. It's spear whipping up in an arc towards his neck. He tried to lean back again but the lizard simply extended its arm to lengthen the reach of the weapon while stepping forward. An intelligent trained fighter was much different then an animal. It had been the wrong choice so he raised his left arm to stop the blade. It cut into his forearm and hit bone leaving him screaming in pain even as he tried to kick with his right leg to take out the lizards own. It wouldn't be able to respond properly if it lost its footing. However the creatures leg was like an iron rod. Unmovable. It laughed again and simply pushed forward with brute force and speed to grab his neck choking him.

"You have good instinctssss, but no power. We'll see what happensss with you." He saw its scaled fist approach his face and that was the start of it all. The world would never be the same again after that.