Before Elowen could work out how to comfort the red tree the grey tree took appeared at their side. Elowen stepped back, reticent. She watched people, she did not interact with them, not directly, and now there were two.

She slipped back to the shelter of her tree, laying on a low-hanging branch and seamlessly blending into it to watch and wait. She could feel the others nearby, drawn in by their inner light, and knew that soon she would have no choice but to speak, to interact with these strange creatures, but not yet, not now.

Now she let the steady presence of the tree soothe her as the chaos abated.

Deianira was beginning to struggle, arms straining as she tugged on the five cocoons behind her. One held the Beast person from before, and the other four were other spectrals on the run from the Bureau. Between directing respective souls to her office and minimising accidents and fires using her silk, she also used the commotion to catch more strays resulting in her extra baggage. She heaved a tired sigh in resignation at the large amount of paperwork that would undoubtably be on her desk the next day as she trekked down the office stairs and into the Bureau’s holding cells.

Well, holding cells would be a bit of an inappropriate term considering that it was actually just yet another of her giant webs. The silk sparkled under the dim basement lights as the webs clung to the side of the room, offering a slow slope from the floor to the ceiling in the farthest corner of the room. On the web were hundreds of other cocoons, some completely sealed and others with holes that allowed some much needed purchase for the souls within. Skimming the thin silk with all the grace and fatigue of an overworked ballerina, Deianira quickly placed her captives in her collection, making sure to tighten the threads onto the web securely as to not repeat the Clarence Incident.

As if summoned by the mere thought of him, she heard a brief ‘yo!’as she made her way back down the web. Sectioned off the web and directly stuck to the wall was yet another cocoon, yet this one was somehow more secure and wrapped tighter than the others, even having some barrier and caution tape wrapped around it and onto the wall. Suddenly, a red blob popped up from the bottom of the cocoon, revealing itself to be the upside down face of a fairly handsome yet ghosty man.

“Hey sweetheart, how’s it going?” The man let out a sharp grin as he saw her approach his cocoon, his red hair falling to the ground like spilled sangria. “Tired as always, eh?”

Deianira bent her legs as she lowered her body to face him. “Clarence. Had any more escape attempts in the last few days, hm?” She inspected his face with disdain, raising one eyebrow in question.

“Not any that were successful, as you can see, my dear.” Clarence smiled broadly, sticking his fingers out through the neck opening and wiggling them in jest, as if to display the fact that he was still very much stuck. Deianira knew better than to expect him to stay put though, the bugger was more slippery than the most cunning of snakes.

She rose back to her full height, nonchalantly adding a few more layers of silk to the cocoon as she skittered on past him. Ignoring his numerous catcalls, she shut the basement door and moved on into the streets.

One step into the frigid night air had her hackles raised. A strange instinct, unlike the warnings of her city web, was pulling her to the centre of the city. As Deianira moved closer and closer to the centre of the city, her mind became muddled as she witnessed numerous visions occur around her. First it was something small, like a tree on the sidewalk pulsing with a vibrant green glow. Then she witnessed stray candle flames bursting brighter and brighter. She watched numerous people tumble as if shaken by some mysterious earthquake, watched shadows elongate even in the presence of light, watched ice sprout from cracks in the buildings. At one point Deianira thought she could even smell a fresh spring breeze rush through the air, despite there being no natural springs in Saint Eloria.

Deianira rattled her head, trying to disperse the cloudy feeling as the visions swarmed her. She saw sparks of purple burst from her palms, her legs and even her spinnerets when suddenly, a body came tumbling into hers.

She stumbled a bit, the shock dispersing what was left of the fading cloud from her head. She realised that she must have materialised by accident, as mortals couldn’t perceive her when she didn’t. The person who bumped into her mumbled a half-hearted apology before stumbling away, eyes muddled with a similar cloud. Snapping out of her daze, she quickly observed her surroundings, realising that she had reached the city centre before she knew it. There were a few other people standing nearby, namely a Crow Beast person with a human at its side. She could also feel others nearby, even one who was up in a tree, strange enough as it is. They all watched each other, standing and staring as they waited for who knows what to happen.

As Deianira was watching the beast person and the human, another human bumped into her. The man tripped to the ground, soot covering him staining the square

“Sorry mate, did not mean to hurt you-“

Suddenly The young man began grabbing his forehead. He looked like he was having some sort of headache

“Ugggghh, I’ve been getting headaches for about an hour now.”

The young man Noticed the spider women staring at him intently

“Ah, i forgot my formalities, Im Alex Bob Rigel.”

Mira blinked as she took in the dimly lit square, only half-present. She coughed and tiny embers emerged from her mouth, causing her to lurch backwards in horror.

She didn’t know if she had started the fire, but for all intents and purposes, to stay sane, she had to work with the assumption that she hadn’t. The alternative would crush her, and she didn’t have the luxury of facing those emotions.

Mira didn’t know how to return to Hell, and even if she did, she couldn’t admit to humans that she was a demon. she had heard stories of what demons did to humans and vice versa. Only demons from Violetta’s domain had ever attacked humans, but according to the stories, humans all saw demons the same way. And the stories weren’t all wrong - human flesh imported from Violetta’s domain was a delicacy in Nuchni’s domain.

Mira held no hate towards humans, but she doubted the humans would feel the same towards her.

“Ugh, I’ve been getting headaches for about an hour now… Ah, I forgot my formalities, I’m Alex Bob Rigel.”

She snapped out of her stupor to see a man speaking to an arachnoid creature that looked awfully familiar.

“Hey!” Mira called out as she jogged to the pair, unsure if Sterling was still following her, “I know you. I saw you in a vision. Did you…” Mira paused choosing her words carefully as she eyed the human beside them, “Anyways, I’m Mira. Pleasure to meet you.”

Deianira stared, scrutinising the man that had bumped into her with a keen eye. They stared at each other, the air tense with distrust as Deianira stared down Alex.

Alex could feel the nervous chill run down the back of his neck, made worse by his ongoing headache as he started sweating profusely under her eye.

Just as he considered pulling out a knife and running away, Deianira’s serious face turned into an inviting smile.”Hi there, what brings you to this part of town?”

Just as Alex opened his mouth to reply, they were interrupted by the human from before.

“Hey!” The girl called out, “I know you. I saw you in a vision. Did you…”She trailed off, eying Alex next to them with caution. “Anyways, I’m Mira. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure to meet you too, Miss Mira.”Deianira replied, her years as a trainee working front desk kicked in as she did a little bow to both the humans in front of her. “Now then, it seems like there’s quite the commotion going on. How about we all take a seat and discuss what’s going on right now.”

She stepped forward, leading the group to a stray table off to the side. Hopefully they would end up conversing with each other so much that she could take the opportunity to go incorporeal.

“Huh, why do i recognize you from sometime in my past”

Alex tried to shovel through his memories to see where he recognized her from.
Alex tried everywhere from his university days to his childhood, everywhere but one place. . .
He peered into those horrid memories of war, destruction, and carnage. There, he finally found her

“Hey Mira. . . ., were you in the Hiolite war from 2046-2048, the one where all the remaining Hiolite’s in Greenland were eradicated?”

“And that brings your total to…. A whopping $8.47.”

Knobbed fingers clumsily dug through a faded pink floral coin purse, fished out the sum, and then plunked the silver pieces onto the wooden countertop.

Dominic reached out his own tattooed hand to cover the coins and dragged them toward himself, making mental note of their total as he did.

“Spot on as always, Mrs. Djokovic,” he smiled at the elderly woman, tucking the $6.37 she had given him into the slot of his register. Carefully, he began placing her purchases - a dozen young shoots of various flowers - into a black plastic tray. “How are the grandkids?”

Muriel Djokovic was a simple woman. She loved her family. She enjoyed gardening. She was fond of target shooting, back in her prime. It probably accounted for at least one or two of the dark spots that now graced her hands. But at the ripe age of 83, the one thing that truly gave her life meaning, purpose…. Was butting into the love lives of anyone under the age of 30.

Muriel placed both hands on her pinewood cane, leaning forward as though to share a secret. Silver strands of hair peeked out from her lavender silk headscarf as she gave Dominic a sparse-toothed, coy smile and raised a brow, inviting him closer.

Dom took the bait, placing his hands backwards against the edge of the countertop, and leaned forward conspiratorially.

“Rowena - you know the youngest, Rowena? Beautiful little blonde thing, just the spitting image of me in the old days - I was quite a catch in my time, you know - well, she and that no-good lawyer man she was dating?” Muriel dropped her voice into a mockery of a whisper - Dom’s eyes darted to her hearing aid, briefly wondering if the battery had died - and waggled her penciled-on eyebrows at him. “They’ve broken up!”

Picking up on the satisfied glint in the woman’s eyes, Dominic grinned at her. “And I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that?”

Muriel huffed and lightly slapped Dominic’s bare arm. “Boy, I’ll tell you… I wish I could take the credit, but that girl - Rowena, you know, the sweet one… well, she’s got a good head on her shoulders.” Her tone turned serious. “As a matter of fact, she’s a lot like you in that way. If the two of you, say, happened to meet…” Muriel tutted softly, giving Dominic a meaningful look.

The younger man threw his head back and laughed, a rumbling sound that came from deep his his chest. “So that’s what you’re getting at!” His chuckle softened and he opened his mouth to let her down gently, knowing that between the shop, Gwen, and his mother, he didn’t have the time to commit to a relationship - but at that moment, it happened.

A bronze beam of lighting struck him straight in the chest, knocking him back until his spine hit the shelves behind him. He stumbled, barely managing to keep his footing as his head was suddenly filled with images of strangers. A Revenant, roaring as he lifted his blade in battle. A female Elemental, watchful from her post in a beautiful old tree. A… a demon? He shook his head, but the images continued their onslaught.

His ears were ringing. He could feel hands pulling him to his feet, but all he could see were the faces in his mind. Faces he had never seen before, but somehow felt familiar - and critically important.

Dominic stumbled forward, his vision flashing between the world before him and the images of the strangers. He heard people around him begin to scream, saw panic in their faces. He saw a young man grab Mrs. Djokovic’s arm and escort her outside. More screams filtered in from the streets as the door to the shop opened then shut behind them.

Somehow, Dom managed to make his way out from behind the sales counter and through the front door. The images of the strangers had begun to wane, but what he saw now was even more disconcerting. The sky. There was something wrong with the sky.

Panic wound around his heart, squeezing his chest like a snake with its prey. He only had one thought. Gwen.

He didn’t bother to lock up.

Dom bolted through the streets, toward the small apartment he shared with his mother and sister near the city center.

His boots banged against the metal steps of their apartment building, keeping time with his racing pulse. Bursting through the door, he fought to catch his breath, but the panic just squeezed tighter when he realized the apartment was empty.

“They’re safe.”

Dom whirled at the sound of the voice - and nearly sank to the ground in relief. His own voice cracked as he asked, “Where are they?”

Julianna stood in the doorway, watching him carefully. “They’re safe,” she repeated.

Dom’s brow crinkled in confusion. “Are they in your apartment?” He started to move around her, but Julianna stopped him with a hand. He looked down at the shorter woman, his concern only growing at the uncharacteristic solemnity in her gaze.

Julianna looked at him just a moment longer, then dropped her eyes, stepping back into the hallway. “Something is different about you, Dominic.” There was a whisper of guilt coloring her tone, so faint that it was nearly imperceptible.

She wasn’t wrong. He could feel it - an unnatural energy, crawling beneath his skin, like roots creeping beneath the surface, spreading and deepening and intertwining with each other. It was as though the bronze bolt of lightning had planted a seed.

Dominic had always known that Julianna was a minor seer, descended from a long line of seers whose lineage of power had waned as magic had waned across the years. What Dom didn’t know, was that Julianna had had a vision. About him.

She looked up again to meet his gaze, pain in her voice. “Dominic, you have to trust me. Your family is safe. I’m taking care of them. They’re not in my apartment, and you will not find them. Not until you’ve dealt with… what you need to deal with.”

The words made no sense.

“… what I need to deal with? What I need to deal with is protecting my family!” He shook his head, the confusion dissolving into frustration.

“What you need to deal with,” Julianna said slowly, “is what is growing inside of you.”

Dom’s eyes sharpened on hers.

She continued. “You feel it. I know that you feel it. A tug. Like a guide wire, pulling you. Your family… they won’t be safe until you’ve followed it. Please, Dominic. Trust me. It’s the best way- the only way to protect them.”

And that was the thing. Dom did trust her. She had proven herself over and over again through the years, making sacrifices to put his needs ahead of hers - even when he didn’t realize, at the time.

The guilt still lingered in Julianna’s eyes, but there was also something stronger there. Resolved. Fully assured of what was right. And he trusted her.

Without a word, Dominic walked past Julianna, who didn’t turn to watch him leave. She listened as his footsteps faded into silence, still staring into the empty apartment. Her eyes squeezed shut against the tears that threatened to spill over as Dom took his first steps down the twisted path of the vision that she had hoped would never come true. A single tear trailed down her cheek as she felt the depth of her betrayal twist in her gut like a knife.

Dom had followed that tugging sensation until he reached the city center, and there, he found at least one answer to the plethora of mysteries that had uprooted his life today. Gathering in the space were the people from his visions. The Beast, following closely behind the Demon girl. The Arachne Ghost, conversing with a Human.

The tree.

Dominic approached silently, observing the people who were meeting for perhaps the first time. It was a strange sight - the smiling introductions, in stark contrast to the dark rip looming in the sky above them.

He glanced upward, to where he knew the Elemental girl waited. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything. If she had not yet revealed herself, he could only assume she had good reason. Instead, he leaned against the base of the tree and kept his distance from the rest. Perhaps Tree Girl knew something he didn’t.

It had just been a plain, regular day for Augustus, until the light enveloped the sky. Augustus put his language book down, looking around in confusion. Fireworks? Wasn’t this too early for fireworks?

But before he could wonder anymore, something sharp and cold seemed to hit him, and all of a sudden, visions began to come to him. Bright colours of magic, roaring flames, the rumble of falling rocks, vines growing faster than they ever should, shadows dancing with nothing to cast them, and finally, an overwhelming cold that seemed to sink deep into Auggie’s very bones. Then came visions of the town square, and something told him, that was where he must go.

He was only released from his visions by a crashing noise. He looked over to see… his sword. Usually, it was kept in a glass display case, only to be taken out for study. But now, one of the glass panes of the case was shattered, and there was now a strange cyan glow around it that was slowly fading away.

Take it, it’s yours, isn’t it? A voice in his head said.

Slowly, he walked towards the sword, the glow now completely gone. As his fingers brushed against the blade, energy seemed to flow from him into the sword, causing that same blue glow. And somehow, Auggie knew that he had to take the sword with him. It has been through one lifetime with him. Might as well another.

Quickly, he grabbed the sword and the scabbard that lay in the display case next to the blade and strapped it on. Now for the second task that his mind was telling him to do: get to the town square.

Most of the staff at the Historical Institute of Saint Eloria had gone to the festival, leaving only a few behind to look over their unique charge. Which meant it was relatively easy for Auggie to sneak out. And it wasn’t too far from the square either, which was a good thing.

As he walked, he looked up to see the rip in the sky for the first time. Scared, yet entranced, he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off it. Well, up until he walked right into a tree, causing the girl currently sitting in it to give him a dirty look.

Mira’s heart sank the moment she heard the man mention ‘Hiolite.’

And then she ran.

She ran past Sterling, whose perplexed expression grew even more so, and kept running. She knew from historical texts that “Hiolite” was one of the terms humans used for Violetta’s demons, and if this man was someone who had hunted demons in the past, she wanted nothing to do with him.

Mira didn’t look up as she ran by a tree and collided with a young man with white hair and a sword strapped to his back and she fell to the ground with an audible grunt. Mira quickly sprung to her feet and prepared to keep running, but something about the man was awfully familiar.

“Blue-green energy…” Mira said aloud as she recalled seeing his face flashed in with the visions, “Sir, were you struck by lightning recently?”

Sterling stumbled back with a violent cough, dodging the path of Mira’s sprint, lest she ran him over entirely. He took a step, his arm outreach as he called to her, but she was far quicker that he ever would be with how he was feeling. He turned, his glare spearing a dagger into the human that ran her off.

“Is it all demons you’ve got a problem with, or just her?” He spat a tar-like loogie onto the ground beside him, and cleared his throat. With a sigh, he stared off toward the direction she ran. He worried for her, but he somehow knew he’d find her again, eventually.

Looking off that way, he caught sight of a longer-haired human. He stared up into the central tree as he walked past him, resting at it’s base. He recognized him. Following his gaze, Sterling finally noticed the elemental. His feathers ruffled, in a sort of quiet delight. His vision of her, many years from now with a darling granddaughter, made him eager to speak to her, for he knew she had a pure-hearted and kind demeanor.

“Excuse me,” he chirped, and with a grunt he made a single beat of his wings, propelling him just high enough to grab the perch she sat on with his talons. “I know you…sort of. I’d wager you know us as well.” He held up an unpolished coin, literally, waging. He placed it on the branch between them before she could answer.

“What do you reckon is going on?” He asked her gently, but expected no answer as the question was more for himself. It was her guess that with the rising tensions, Sterling found her idea more favorable of observing more privately. He used the tall view to try to catch sight of Mira anywhere. He worried.

Elowen tilted her head to one side, watching the birdman curiously. Sometimes people like him visited her trees too but the humans were far more numerous and he was the first person of any kind to speak to her.

“The world awakens,” Elowen said, her voice soft and uncertain, sounding more like the rustle of leaves in the wind than actual words. She had never spoken to anyone before. Words were such cumbersome things, prone to misunderstandings. There was no need for words when she communed with nature.

“There are many beings in the woods but not all can thrive. We must tend to the trees so that the forest can live. The growth of the red tree is twisted and stunted but it can still be guided towards the sun, you need only look back.” She nodded to the back of the tree they were perched in to where the red tree and the cyan tree stood hidden from view.

The place Dom had chosen to quietly observe had quickly and unexpectedly become the point of convergence. Between the white-haired man’s collision with the tree, the red-haired woman’s collision with that same man, and the bird-beast’s flight into the branches above, the space was rapidly becoming crowded. It seemed his initial plan to linger back, unnoticed, would have to be scrapped.

He turned a keen ear toward the conversation which sprang up between the demon and the revenant, his pulse racing - his body’s response to its close proximity to a natural predator.

Dom had never met a demon before. Of course, he had heard the stories. The Hiolite War. Demons feasting upon the flesh of humans. The tales parents told their children at night - to behave, lest a Hiolite devour you in your sleep. It was one of his father’s favorite weapons in his arsenal to keep his son in line.

His palms turned clammy.

With a hard swallow, Dom pushed himself from the trunk of the tree to move toward the pair. In the visions, he had seen no evidence that this demon girl had a taste for flesh. And he needed information.

He offered a soft smile of appeasement to the demon as he approached, forcing his mind to quiet. He would keep an open mind.

He addressed them both: “Couldn’t help but overhear. The lightning struck you guys, too?”

That strange energy seemed to writhe beneath his skin as he drew closer - as though leaping in recognition of something within the others. It coiled around his muscles, vibrating; almost like the purr of a cat.

He couldn’t say he liked it.

Mira runs from Alex, prompting the Beast Person to run after too. As Alex was distracted, Deianira took the opportunity to vanish from his side, wanting to seize the chance and hide before anyone would notice. She knew that Alex would chase after her, too caught up in her impulsiveness to even realise that she had dipped.

As more and more people converged around the tree in the distance, Deianira began making her way over. She crouched up a nearby building, far enough away that most of the people wouldn’t be able to notice her, save for a few exceptions, and settled down to watch the drama.

Welp, he just made a bad mistake.

He never meant to scare anyone, but did so anyway. Funny, everywhere he went, at least one person was afraid of him, its part of the family tradition.

He didn’t want to follow them so that they could be scared more. He took a look inside his memory to see his first time meeting Mira.

Year, 2045

“This is Tally-1 to Bayonet-4, are you there, over.”

“This is Bayonet-4 to Tally-1, we hear you loud and clear, over.”

“Good, we need you to guard the west side of our flank, there’s an empty factory that you can hide in. Intel suggests that an anti-armour brigade will try to barge through there and flank us. Your also going to be joined by Speeder-5, Speeder-6, and Speeder-7 which are carrying Heavy Weapons squads. Make sure to guard them and defend the point. Were sending in a data-packet now.”

“We got that”

“Good, Tally-1, out.”

“Bayonet-4, out.”

Alex, the commander of his tank, put down the radio and hunkered down into the turret of the M4A6 Reaper MBT, its name, The Charger. Inside, Mac, the gunner, was checking the optics and the autoloader, while the driver, Henry, was reviewing the map of the area on the screen. It was freezing cold outside, but the designers of the tank decided they would care about tank crew comfort and decided to install a heater inside, creating a comfy environment inside the tank.

After Alex looked over the data, he turned to Henry. “Henry, how far is it to Hamlet Factory”

“Uhhh, that would take about 15. minutes, i must say, the history of this town is exciting, the first Hiolite outpost in north america is located near here, and Hamlet factory used to produ-“

“Cut the chit chat Henry, we have a job to do” said Mac, cutting off Henry sentence. Alex looked at him with an unapproving face, he knew that Mac could be cold, but he was also the best gunner he ever knew.

“Welp, let’s get back onto the subject, we have to escort 3 IFV from Speeder Squadron to the factory, there, we set up shop since intel reported some Demons will try to flank us there”

“What will we be facing” asked Mac.

“HQ is predicting that there will 2 light and one heavy platoon trying to flank us, there’s also the slight chance that they will have a light armor brigade there”

“Welp, let’s get moving”

and with that, Henry pushed forward on the throttle and the tank sped ahead at 152 KPH (95 MPH) towards Hamlet Factory.
Midway through the journey, they met up with the convoy they were supposed to escort.
“This is Speeder-5 to Bayonet-4, we were told you were going to escort us, can you confirm that”

“This is Bayonet-4 to Speeder-5, we can confirm you are escorting you.”

“Good, we need to get there soon and intel suggests that the Hiolites will attack Hamlet Factory in 3 hours, we need about 2 hours for the heavy weapons squads to set up the position”

“Okay, let’s get going, Bayonet-4, out.” Alex shut off the radio and went right back to checking the map of the factory grounds. The crew of the Charger led the convoy to Hamlet Factory were they were to defend the factory.

2 and a half hours later

Alex had just spent the past hour and a half watching Mac and Henry Bickering about where to position the tank. Mac picked a spot that was more suited to his liking but Henry rejected it stating that they will be too vulnerable and suggested a spot that was to his own likening, but Mac fired back with another reason. This continued until Alex couldn’t hold it anymore and told them to make a decision in half an hour or he will make the decision. Soon Mac and Henry made a decision to position the tank in an office building that was on a hill that overlooked most of the factory grounds. They had just got into position when all hell broke loose.

Alex had just got into the turret when a part of the factory started to crackle with small and heavy arms fire. Alex could hear the constant-

DAAKA DAAKA DAAKA DAAKA

The M7B3 Phantom IFVs that Speeder squad was manning constantly threw 40mm auto cannon rounds towards the Hiolites, who were being pinned down by other heavy weapons fire. The Heavy weapon squads had just finished setting up in the nick of time when the Hiolites showed up

“12 Enemy IFVs, 144 degree North azimuth, 7.21 degree altitude” Alex yelled as he spotted a convoy of IFVs coming and dropping off more demons

“144 azimuth, 7.21 altitude. Sending HESH Round” Mac aimed the railgun at the line of IFVs, targeting the leading one

“FIRE”

The HESH Round was sent flying at 7,063 KPH (4389 MPH) by the miniature fusion reactor-powered Railgun. The Shell pulverises the IFV and it is no more.

Before the enemy could even react, the autoloader on the tank ramed another HESH round into the chamber and Mac fired at another target, again pulverising it.

Alex just saw another IFV convoy coming in when an event that would change his life forever came in

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

“ARTILLERY” Mac yelled

Alex turned to Henry “GET US THE FRICK OUT OF HERE HEN-“

Just then, an Artillery Shell went straight through the roof of the office and hit right besides the tank, creating a massive fireball and a shockwave that sent the tank flying. Alex was knocked out.

30 minutes later

“UUggghhh” Alex had got up, looking around to see where he was. He realised he was not in his tank and turned to the office building. . . . . .

There, beside the now-levelled office building, now covered in rubble, the Charger. The charger was on its side, smoldering fire engulfing it. The tank was gone.

Alex sprinted towards the hulk of dead metal, he hoped that at least Mac and Henry were still okay, but when got closer, he could see their dead bodies in the wreckage. Alex collapsed on his knees and began to cry. these were his best friends in the army, they had lives ahead of them, but they were all smeared when war decided it did not matter. War is hell.

Slowly, Alex got up, equipped his family heirloom, the Luger PO8 semi automatic pistol and slowly walked to the factory where the battle was still raging. When he got to the battlefield, he quickly went up to the heavy weapons officer.

“Hey, can you give me a weapon.”
“Sure, we need all the help we can get after your tank was destroyed, i’m surprised that you survived that, since those looked like 240mm artillery shells. Oh well, you ca-.”

The 0fficer was interrupted by a Hiolite IFV firing its autocannon towards a machine gun emplacement, killing all the men manning the emplacement. Miraculous, the machine gun itself was not harmed, so Alex rushed towards the machine gun and with a couple other men and they began to fire the machine gun into the demon platoon.

Each burst of Machine gun fire cut deep into the Hiolite forces, cutting them down like how a rock drops into water, uncontested. Alex could hear screams of soldiers on both sides, screaming for their lives, screaming for their families, screaming for their mothers.

Their mothers. Even if soldiers were on different sides, different species, everyone missed their mother. When Alex stopped firing the machine gun, all he could see was a river of red.

“Hey, can you just watch over this machine gun?” Alex asked the private right next to him
“Sure” the marine replied.
With that, Alex walked into a desolate battlefield. The factory now looked like no man’s land from WW1, and everywhere there were dead bodies. Alex then noticed someone behind a wall that hadn’t been destroyed. Alex quitely tip toed over there and could see a demon women, it looked liked her shoulder was hit.

But before he could continue further, the female noticed him, and tried to back away, but she was backed into the corner. Alex slowly raised his Luger at her, pointing it at her head. The woman closed her eyes, accepting her fate. Alex tried to pull the trigger, but it felt as some outside force was trying to stop him from shooting her. Alex then shot the pistol. The woman, slowly opening her eyes, realised that Alex shot to the side.
“Hey, get away from here before the others find you, they won’t treat you as nicely as i did.”

“Uhhh, Thank you.” and with that, the woman ran away. Alex then turned away and began to walk back to the marines.

present day

Oh, she did not look like her.