Firefighter Maria Rodriguez-Herrera

  It was a block of buildings on fire, orange-red light illuminating the black sky as red and blue sirens flashed back and forth and the scream of sirens mingled with the crackle of flames and cries of pain. Something moved in the smoke and shadow, stirring it, there one moment and gone the next as the camera panned further away.

  “Rodriguez! Get your ass in gear!” A white man with a clean shaven face barked as he leapt from the truck. The camera angle started to bounce as the bearer started to run, heading toward a glass door that had people streaming out of it as doors poured free. A heavy glove came out and started pushing and shoving as she forced her way through the crowds and into the building.

  The man was in front of them, bowling his way through with broad shoulders heavily burdened with primitive gear. He was cursing loudly as he fought through the swell of panicking people and suddenly the camera was shoved forward and then the pavement filled the view before rising back up again to look at the faces of horrified people.

  “Come on, Maria!” a new voice shouted out and another firefighter was there in his thick coat as he grabbed Maria’s elbow and pulled her through the crowd. The lobby was lit with bright white light that shone with harsh luminescence as the thinning crowds of people poured out. Greasy black smoke was coming from a bank of elevators and the firefighters ran past them and into a stairwell lit with red light.

  “Damnit, I hate stairs Trent!” Maria’s voice was husky and deep as she started to tromp up the stairs. A broad headed axe popped into view, red with a silver head as she pumped her arms as she followed after Trent.

  “Sixth floor! Move It!” Trent yelled back behind him, and they kept running. For a few minutes it was just the video of the three firefighters running up the stairs with random people rushing by with barely a pause as they passed the firefighters.

  A bright red six was on a landing and Trent threw the door open and raced in without hesitation as Maria followed right after. More black smoke came swirling out of the door as Maria entered and the nightmare took shape. Dunn held his breath as he looked over the diamond patterned rug, beige walls, and line of brown doors.

  Blood was stretched across in bright lines, splattered wide as partial corpses littered the hall, inches from their doors. Flickering gray-violet flames licked from an open door and they all watched in silence as a monster scuttled out and into the hall.

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  Eight bone white legs capped with black carapace, an oval yellow body with half a hundred glittering black eyes. A maw of dagger teeth was wide open and strips of human flesh and clothing dragged across the carpet as it came scurrying toward them.

  “What the!” Trent screamed in shock and fear, but his axe was coming down instantly in a blur to crush the three foot high monster in a singular into the floor. Blue blood splashed out as the hard carapace cracked and the creature screamed in pain as it tried to get back to its many legs.

  Maria raced forward, her own axe coming down to break a leg, severing it from the beast’s body as it howled in rage. The third firefighter came running with a heavy crowbar that he brought down with crashing weight and the piercing screams cut short as the shaky camera footage suddenly backed up and took in the fire coming from the room.

  “Boss, what the hell is this?” Maria whispered as she looked about, camera panning toward a glass case with a fire hose raveled up in it.

  “I…I…don’t know. Get the hose out! Burt, radio to the cops outside. We need…I don’t know…” Trent trailed off as Maria was already walking over to the hose and grabbing it, stretching it out as she walked closer to the gray-violet flames. As she turned another monster came rushing out of the flaming room and leapt on Trent’s turned back.

  The big firefighter yelled in pain as he was driven to the ground, legs punching donw and through him, blood flying as scraps of fabric flew around.

  “Trent!” Burt yelled, rushing towards their downed comrade, swinging his thick crowbar with both hands. More chitin cracked and the beast flew back, but another one was rushing out of the room. Then another, and another, and another.

  “MARIA! RUN!” Burt yelled as he placed himself in front of the horde of skittering monster and above his fallen comrade. Maria turned and ran, heading toward the stairs but the camera angle changed, stairs flashing this way and that, walls blurring and a guttural scream of pain as something cracked. The camera stabilized and Maria was looking up at one of the spider beasts as it raced down the stairs toward her.

  It lunged off the stairs, long talons extended as it reached for her and the camera cut off.

  Caspar appeared again as the camera footage disappeared. The man looked around for a moment before saying something.

  “The entire city fell in four days. We didn’t know that the rifts self-propagated. The flames kept out first responders after the first crew was killed by the spider-crabs. Nearly a million and a half people were displaced or killed in four days. One of the worst disaster in history at the time. Of course it got worse afterwards. A team was sent to infiltrate the city a few days later.” Caspar looked around for a moment before collecting himself.

  “This reintroduces Sergeant Dupont back into the narrative. After the killing of the rift beasts, especially the anchor beasts, powers began to appear on those who were the first to get close to the remains. Dupont was the first and it was around him that the Order of Rift Knights began. Of course, he didn’t call it that, but the media has a way of running away with things.