The watchers still roamed the abandoned city like wraiths, unaware of the storm gathering at their doorstep. Their twisted forms lurked between shattered buildings, crawling along crumbled roads with jerking, unnatural movements. Some moved in silence, others released high-pitched screeches that echoed through the hollow streets—a symphony of dread.
The operation was in full swing. Trucks rumbled out of the military base, kicking up dust as they moved toward the front lines. Soldiers sat in silence, each of them carrying not just weapons, but the heavy burden of fear and hope. Angelo stood among them, armored and expressionless, though inside him, the whispers were growing louder. "They'll all fall… just like before…" the voice hissed. Another murmured, "You're wasting time helping them. Let me out."
He shut his eyes and clenched his fists. Not now… I need control. I need focus.
Before departure, Dr. Grant met him near the gate, holding out a small, black device.
"Keep this on you at all times," Grant said, his voice lower than usual. "It's an experimental cam-link. I'll be able to watch the entire battle from my lab and collect data. Your perspective is invaluable."
Angelo raised an eyebrow. "What about the standard ones? We all have them, including me."
Grant adjusted his glasses with a smirk. "Yeah, but I don't have access to the colonel's system. He thinks I'll 'tamper' with things. This one's mine. Think of it as… insurance."
Angelo nodded. "Alright. I'll wear it."
Grant hesitated for a moment, then added, "Listen… I heard about what happened yesterday. With your family." His voice softened. "Don't let that darkness take you down, kid. You've come too far. And I still have way too much stuff to teach you, so don't even think about dying out there."
Before Angelo could reply, Hale approached, arms crossed and with a knowing smile.
"So, what? You don't care if I die, huh?"
Grant raised his hands defensively. "Hey, hey, that's not what I meant—"
Hale cut him off and looked at Angelo. "Grant's right though. If you die out there, I'll kill you myself." Her grin was faint, but the concern in her eyes was real.
Angelo chuckled, the tension easing for a brief moment. "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself. Just make sure you don't slow me down."
The three shared a rare laugh, a sliver of normalcy amid the chaos. Then came the moment.
The gates of the base creaked open with a deep metallic groan. Rows of soldiers stepped out, boots thudding in synchronized rhythm. The sky was heavy with clouds, as if nature itself held its breath.
Grant stood at the gate, watching them disappear into the fog of war. "Don't die, kid," he muttered under his breath, then turned back toward the lab, dread growing in his chest.
The convoy came to a halt just outside the decimated city limits, dust clouds billowing in the pale morning light as the engines cooled with a low groan. Burnt trees clawed at the sky like charred skeletons, and the silence around the city was heavy—too heavy. Everyone felt it.
Soldiers quickly filed out of the vehicles and assembled into lines, their boots crunching against broken gravel and scorched dirt. Lieutenant Colonel Hayes stood atop a makeshift platform, his presence commanding. His voice boomed across the formation.
"Listen up! You all know why we're here. Those things in the city—we're not just going to kill them. We're going to erase them from existence. The moment they appeared, they brought death and destruction. Now, it's our turn."
He let that linger for a moment before continuing. "Remember your training. Stick to the plan. Don't let your fear control you. And most importantly—watch each other's backs."
The colonel's gaze swept over the rows of tense faces. "Squad leaders, confirm positions now. Heavy gunners, set up on the north and south flanks. Snipers, you know where you need to be. We'll make our way in a single line—keep your spacing, maintain your focus."
His eyes landed on Angelo, standing near Hale.
"Special Operative Angelo will be under Lieutenant Hale's command. Treat his words like mine. He's your backup and your guide through this. Is that clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the soldiers responded in unison.
"Good," the Lieutenant Colonel barked. "Move out!"
With military precision, squads began to fan out, forming their pre-assigned units. Radios buzzed with short commands, team leaders confirming positions and objectives. Everyone had a job, and there was no room for hesitation.
Angelo stayed quiet, eyes locked on the horizon. The voices in his head hadn't stopped. In fact, they were louder than ever—whispers overlapping each other, arguing, warning, mocking. Amid them, one clear voice rose.
"You are slowly becoming less human by the day."
Angelo clenched his fists, feeling a flicker of something inside him—uncontrolled, untamed, eager to be let out.
The squads took cover on elevated terrain and vantage points overlooking the city's edge. The ruins of the once-bustling town stood like a haunted memory—shattered glass, twisted steel, and collapsed buildings bathed in a gray morning light.
Angelo stepped forward, leaving cover, exposing himself to the watchers.
They noticed him instantly.
Their heads snapped in his direction in eerie unison, their eyes glowing faintly beneath distorted, pulsating skin. They began to move. The earth trembled under their synchronized footsteps, a low growl building from their throats.
Then, one of them spoke. Its voice was gravelly, layered with a wrongness that made every soldier stiffen behind cover.
"You… you must die by our hands. We will eat your soul and take your powers."
Angelo narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? I'd like to see you try."
He stomped the ground once. A sharp rumble cracked through the silence—and four massive walls of reinforced stone erupted from beneath, encasing the watchers in a towering square formation like a colossal cage.
Some of the creatures reacted fast, slipping through the closing gap—but not all. The trap sealed with a deep boom, dust erupting into the air as watchers inside screeched in anger.
Angelo turned toward the soldiers hiding behind cover and raised his hand into a fist. That was the signal.
Snipers took aim. Heavy gunners positioned themselves. Squad leaders barked into radios.
"Snipers, take the left side! Gunners, focus fire on the right—now!"
The battle to reclaim the city began.
Inside the trap, the watchers screeched, clawing at the rising stone walls as they tried to escape. Their elongated limbs scrambled like grotesque spiders, some managing to latch onto the jagged edges as they scaled upward. A soldier's voice broke the silence on the radio, eerily calm in the chaos:
"Watchers are climbing the walls."
Angelo stepped forward. His eyes were cold and focused, radiating a controlled fury.
"Like hell you are," he muttered, then snapped his fingers.
A deep, guttural whoomph echoed through the battlefield. The top of the cage sealed shut with a thunderous slam. In an instant, brilliant orange flames erupted from the seams, licking the insides of the prison. They were no ordinary flames—they clung like a predator, swirling with intelligent hunger, burning hotter than natural fire.
The watchers within howled in agony, their bodies flailing and writhing as their flesh sizzled and melted. The air filled with the stench of burning corruption and the sound of unearthly shrieking. Soldiers nearby flinched at the sound, but then—something changed. They began to cheer. For the first time, they saw these monsters bleed, suffer, and die.
"We can win this," a young soldier muttered to himself, gripping his rifle tighter.
Outside the flaming prison, other watchers had slipped through the closing walls. They charged the soldiers, screeching with primal rage. The troops split into coordinated units, keeping their distance, drawing the creatures toward designated kill zones.
Hale's voice came through Angelo's earpiece:
"Three on your left flank. One on the rooftop. I'll mark the coordinates—go."
Angelo didn't wait. He bolted forward in a blur, his feet cracking the ground beneath him. To the soldiers watching, he was no longer just a human. He was a weapon—a force of nature.
He met the first watcher head-on. It lunged at him with a blade-like arm, but he twisted, ducked under it, and launched an uppercut into its gut. The impact sent it flying backward, smashing into a brick building with a shockwave that rattled windows.
The creature screeched, its body twisted and mangled. But it wasn't dead. Black tendrils bubbled from its wounds, stitching it back together at a horrifying pace. It let out a war cry and charged Angelo again.
This time, he didn't hold back.
Angelo raised his hand, the skin on his palm already glowing from inner heat. A sphere of white-blue fire ignited, humming with a piercing intensity. He hurled it forward with a thunderclap. The watcher tried to dodge—but the fireball expanded mid-air, swallowing it whole.
It didn't scream. It didn't have the chance. The creature was vaporized on impact—nothing but ash.
But there was no time to rest. Hale's voice snapped again through the comms:
"Two more are closing in behind you!"
Angelo turned just in time to see two watchers racing toward him. Their limbs whipped and stretched unnaturally as they ran—fast, too fast. He tried to summon another flame, but the voice in his head whispered:
"You're growing stronger… but with each power you use, you drift further away."
A deeper voice echoed in his mind, colder than the rest.
"This power is peeling away what's left of your humanity."
Angelo didn't answer. His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing as heat shimmered faintly around him. He stepped forward once, the ground beneath his foot cracking from the pressure.
A Watcher lunged.
Without hesitation, Angelo tilted slightly to the side—just enough. His fist, wreathed in concentrated flame, met the creature's jaw mid-air. Bone crunched. The Watcher spiraled backward, smoking.
Another dropped from above.
Angelo simply looked up. A flash of heat surged outward—not with a grand gesture, but with a breath. A sudden burst of fire ignited in a precise, circular flare around him. The falling Watcher struck it mid-descent, was repelled mid-air, and crashed to the pavement, charred and twitching. But still alive.
More watchers were closing in. Gunfire echoed all around as soldiers provided cover, peppering the monsters with suppressive fire. Angelo dashed forward again, weaving through rubble and shadow, his fire blazing brighter than before.
The battle was just getting started.