Jessica was scared. 

    For the first time since her father passed away, everything seemed lost. Her team was picked off one by one as they sacrificed their lives, entrusting the mission to their captain. She raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. At the top, she grabbed a hold of the railings to pull herself into the opposite direction and into another flight of stairs. Jessica rushed through a set of doors, revealing a long and wide hallway; the exit at the very end of it. She took a glimpse down the stairs, flinching at the sound of drywall crumbling, wood snapping, and cement shattering. Dust fell from the ceiling as heavy steps continued to shake the building. Not wasting any more time, Jessica threw all her remaining strength into a running sprint. 

    A being of monstrous size broke through the wall behind Jessica, rubble flying everywhere. Its red eyes trained itself on Jessica as it roared, revealing 3 rows of teeth alongside the saliva it spit out. It was a massive creature with the sharpest of talons growing from its fingers. Scales that covered parts of its body gathered to the lower back of the creature, extending out of the body to produce a tail. It was an oversized human, skin as white as snow and limbs of animals. Although its large size slowed it down, its massive strides carried it closer to Jessica.

    The monster was right on Jessica’s heels. She clenched her teeth as she dove through the glass doors, tumbling over the ground and into the sun. When she turned around, the monster had torn through the entrance, concrete and metal demolished around her. It stood over Jessica and let out another roar before grabbing her. Just as Jessica imagined joining her team in the afterlife, she heard a sizzling sound. Looking at the source, she saw smoke emerging from the monster’s back. The monster dropped its captive at the searing pain it felt from the sunlight. Jessica quickly got up on her feet and backed away as she wiped her tears away. She watched the monster grasp at an imaginary perpetrator. It dropped to its knees as the burning intensified, eventually consuming it’s entire body, leaving behind a pile of dust.

    Jessica stood in the middle of a street as she watched the wind disperse the remains of the monster. In front of her stood a hospital, partially damaged by the monster’s rage, partially eroded by the absence of people. It’s dark corridors revealed itself at the erratic flicker of the lights. Surrounding the hospital was a ghost town littered with warnings of danger. The houses weren’t simply abandoned, they were torn apart. Cars were thrown unto rooftops and lamp posts ripped from the ground. Beyond the remains of the small town was a vast desert wasteland. Nothing but dirt and rock for miles and miles. No one to realize the kind of monster that inhabited the desecrated town.

    Sweat travelled the length of Jessica’s face, dripping off her chin. Her breathing was heavy as she looked into the hospital. She pulled the hair tie from her ponytail, letting her golden brown hair loose before tying it back up. Her hands moved systematically as she tightened her gloves, adjusted her vest, checked her supplies, and tied the laces on her boots. Once her breathing calmed down, she walked back into the hospital to retrieve the bodies of her teammates.