When Man Has Fallen; Chapter 2 - The Art of War

DEC 20 2012, 12:45 p.m.

<i>

Silas stumbled through campus, vaguely recognizing shops, and some faces as they flowed past him, terrified, tears streaming down through the coat of dust.

Names were being screamed, wails of pain resounding from groaning buildings, filling his ears, searing his mind.

The blast had been huge. As  they all held their breath, watching the rock fall from the sky on screen, something in the back of Silas’ mind kept saying, one was reported here.

It had begun with a rush of air, followed by something like a giant sucking noise, some void being filled… It was the noise that signaled the beginning of the end.  Silas often later wished that it had been the last sound that he had ever heard. That he had lived no longer than that moment. The terror that followed over the next few months was burned into the mind of every single surviving soul. No one would ever forget.

Silas later learned that this was the sound made by the quarter mile wide irregular mass, that had appeared slightly south of the beach he regularly visited, falling from the sky, and then plunging straight into the ocean, displacing massive amounts of water.

Silence still filled the room, though  slowly filled by a soft, static like noise, that quickly grew in volume, becoming a powerful roar.

Still, no one moved. Someone in the back of the room whimpered, saying, “The window.” As one, they all turned to look out the window, as the ground began to shake. The light fixtures swayed, then flickered and went out as the continued shaking threw off the balance of those few of them that hadn’t yet fallen to the ground in awe and fear.

A massive wall of water was coming straight for shore, maybe a hundred feet away, and building in power.

600 feet high, the Miami wave was one of the largest recorded waves in human history, owing to the fact that the Miami Vessel was the closest to shore, landing just off the shelf, plunging to a depth of about 300 feet within a single second. The single largest wave ever was attributed to the New Zealand/Australia Vessel, which fell to the ocean floor between the two landmasses, traveling across all of New Zealand, flattening the upper half of Australia, then continuing on towards Asia, killing nearly 432,000,000 total.

It reached shore within 20 seconds, growing to its full height in half that. It crashed into the shoreline, obliterating all that stood in its way, tearing buildings apart, uprooting trees in mere milliseconds. It was raw devastating power, and it would not stop until its appetite had been sated.

The wave was unstoppable, traveling through the city, flooding the streets, it pounded violently into skyscrapers and lower lying buildings, washing cars and people away in a horrific flood of death. Later, people would tell how the Vessel Waves all flowed red at their edges, as they neared their end, their waters tainted with the blood of millions, gushing from their bodies as they pulped against the buildings.

</i>

JAN 8, 2020

Running full speed for the gate, Silas felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the Infection taking over.  Stopping before the gate, he yelled up at the guard.

“What happened?”

“They followed the latest hunting party! A few Behomoths and a slew of Slinkers! Donovan is the only survivor, the rest were slaughtered! They've been throwing the heads over the walls!’

<i>‘Damnit.’</i> Silas paled. <i>’Behomoths and Slinkers? These fuckers mean business.’ </i>

Behomoths, or Titans, as they were sometimes known, were the tanks of the Infection army. Standing fifteen tall at the shoulder, with a massive, hulking frame, it truly lived up to its name. They were nigh invulnerable, taking out entire squadrons of soldiers in the early years, they could take a thousand rounds and keep going. Though, later on in the war, it was discovered that they had a weakness to fire.

In direct contrast to the Behomoths, Slinkers were the black ops of the Infection ranks, and seemed to be one of the most recent development, only having been seen in action within the last year or so. Slinkers were given the best the Infection had to offer, armor, tools, weaponry, but what made them truly terrifying was that they didn’t even need it. Slinkers were the perfect predator, with chameleon like skin, perfect night vision, and long retractable claws they utilized to scale walls and trees.

When the two worked in tandem, they were nearly unstoppable... But not completely. Sheer numbers could overwhelm them, and recently the Government had issued, for the first time in years, a new technology... It allowed them to see the slinkers and follow their movements. The odds had been evened out.

“Why didn’t you send me out there? Why the FUCK! Were they sent out alone?”

The guard suddenly looked fearful and began stuttering. Silas ignored him, waving for him to shut up.

Dec. 20, 2012, 12:57 p.m.

<i>Safe and away back on the slightly raised campus, the wave barely reached them, swirling around violently, the foam tinted red as it washed through the campus grounds. It flowed gently about the feet of the people who’d not managed to run for shelter before being tossed to the ground like the insignificant specks that they were in the face of the fury of nature.

Silas peered around through the settling dust. Nothing looked particularly familiar, it was all the same shade of grey, all coated in the same dull grey color. Though, he was sure he knew some of the places that he was looking at, but he just couldn’t remember from where. Something told him it didn’t really matter.

He heard a coughing off to his side. He wasn’t sure which. He glanced to his… left? He wasn’t sure. He saw a familiar face there, about level with his. He couldn’t think of the name.  He thought they might be friends with him. He didn’t really care.

“Silas! Silas!” someone was yelling something at somebody. It sounded in Silas’ already ringing ears, making his head hurt.

“SILAS!” It was the guy off to his side. Silas had no idea who the guy was yelling at. He waved his hand at him, waving him away.

“Silas! It’s Luke man! You’re hurt! Your head dude, its bleeding all over!”

Absentmindedly, Silas reached up to feel his own head, checking to see if it was alright. Feeling around tenderly, his fingers roved into a sticky, gritty substance. Slightly alarmed, he pulled his hand down to examine it. It was covered in filthy, nasty blood. His eyes widened in alarm and cognizance.

Gasping, he turned to Luke. Grabbing him by the arms, he began to shake him violently.

“FUCK! FUCK! I’m bleeding!”

“Silas, bro, you have to calm down.”

Calm down? There was no calming down. He hated blood!

Reaching up to feel his head once more, he felt something pull away and a sudden warmth running down his face. As it trickled across his lips, his tongue darted out to taste it. Salty and metallic. Grimacing, knowing what it was, he pulled his hand away from his skull, and immediately saw that it was covered in fresh, clean blood

He fainted. </i>