章 9: Black stain.

"We're almost there," Mark said to the two boys. "Hang in there just a little more."

Lara went out to execute their plan not that long ago and now they were waiting for the right moment to play their part.

A few seconds later, the shrill cries of the two lizardmen reached the alley informing them that the maid had done her part.

Mark approached the corner with careful steps and took a peek. Once he saw that the two abominations were distracted he motioned for the boys to follow him and began making his way to the other side while using the abandoned cars as a cover.

'Something doesn't feel right…'

A really bad feeling was starting to pull at the back of his mind. There was no rhyme or reason to it, but Mark still felt like he was making a really big mistake.

He tried to ignore it even when his mind picked some strange signs scattered around. For one, some of the cars were burned or smashed, but almost all of them had their doors ripped off.

There were blood stains all over the place, but no bones or other remains could be found anywhere.

Something clearly happened in that street, but no matter how much he tried, Mark couldn't begin to guess what it was.

With the three children in tow, he made his way to the back alley on the other side of the road then continued toward the police station. His mind wandered to Lara for a moment.

She was able to kill one of those things in just a few seconds so keeping two of them distracted shouldn't be much of a problem. It wouldn't be long before she rejoined them so he tried to not worry about her.

As they approached the exit, the bad feeling he had kept getting stronger. By the time he realized what he was missing, it was already too late.

There were monsters in the area and a police station close by, but the sound of sirens and gunfire was getting farther from where they were.

Faint groans and sobs reached his ears, and weak voices accompanied them, each crying for help despite the pain. He unintentionally filtered all of it out, Believing them to be a natural byproduct of a world that has been invaded by monsters.

Once they exited into the main road, Mark finally understood why he got the bad feeling.

Cars weren't just abandoned on this side; most of them were crushed flat. No sound of gunfire could be heard because all of the policemen who stood their ground were dead.

The police station, a large white building with a lot more thought put into its design than those surrounding it, had half of it turned into rubble, the other half encased in orange flames.

Black lizardmen roamed around with sluggish steps, licking their jagged teeth to remove the cloth and bone stuck to them. Some of them were moving in a single file, each carrying a person on their shoulder.

Those still awake struggled to free themselves, but most remained motionless.

Mark didn't want to see where they were heading. He didn't need to. It was clear as day what the abominations were doing so he had no reason to confirm it. Unfortunately for him, his body moved before he could make the decision to turn back.

To the left, around the intersection on the other side of the block, a strange phenomenon was taking place.

The air shimmered, making everything beyond it appear somewhat blurry, as if a hazy veil was spread along the road.

At its center, a web of sharp lines spread out from a crooked shape, like a glass window smashed with a single rock.

Despite it being early in the morning with the autumn sun shining brightly in the sky, a shadow formed inside the crooked shape. The contrast made the darkness feel much deeper, and though it was faint, Mark could swear he felt a strange something pulsating on its surface, like a very weak wave spreading from the center.

The monstrous lizardmen were walking toward the black stain on the invisible veil. Just a couple of meters away from it, a number of people were huddled in a single place, surrounded by several monsters that seemed to be standing guard.

Though he wanted to question the reason they were doing that, Mark had already made his guess.

'This is bad…' he thought. 'We need to get out of-'

No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the strange darkness began to change.

The broken lines spread farther and the hole at the center swelled. In only a few seconds, it grew to the size of a four-story building, the shadows held inside it rippling like the surface of a jet-black lake.

Something was coming out of it. Something big. The asphalt road cracked under its weight, but a closer look revealed that the whole thing was nothing but a single limb.

A second one followed a moment later, and gradually the creature slipped out of the darkness and into the real world, bringing with it unimaginable terror and the certainty of death.

Though he was sure he had never seen one of them with his own eyes before, there was no denying the distinct features such creatures shared throughout all of fiction.

With a rough gurgling sound, the monstrosity slowly lowered its head, its eyes glowing with the same ominous red as the other abomination.

Though it shouldn't be possible, anyone who saw the thing could swear it smiled at the sight of the gathered humans. As if to show its delight, it raised its head toward the sky and spread the wings on its back, releasing a blood-chilling roar from its massive jaws.

A heavy pressure emanated from the black dragon, and following its celebratory cry, the other lizards began hissing and roaring.

Having witnessed the scene with his own two eyes, Mark could only hope the nightmare would end right then and there. Unfortunately for him, this was reality, and though he didn't know it at the time, the disaster was only getting started.