Once a God drowned here

Part 1

The task at hand is easy. Kill everything not human. The town of Beachswallow called for our help. Reports from the town reached the officials telling stories about fishmen controlling the city. To ensure the sovereignty of the United States we are tasked with driving any foreign force back into the ocean. The reports are not fully trustworthy. Because of the scarce informations regarding the actual existence of the fishmen and because it is our standard procedure, we are glance over the city from a safe distance. An other interest is that the population is not unnecessarily frighten by fully geared soldiers marching through their streets. In about an hour the sun should be rising. Until then we are waiting. My right hand man Peter steps to my side.

"Sir, we could not observe any movement inside the town. Neither humans or fish. Nothing points to the fact that the city is controlled by fishmen let alone has ever seen a fish swimming along its shores."

The fish folk is a strange tribe of human-like creature. Not much is known about fishmen. Records of them go back to the middle ages where they were once a threat and other times capable of trading. They live in the oceans, mostly across the northern hemisphere. Interactions with humans have been rare. Occasional they are spotted across the shores but they flee when being spotted. The longest time their existence has been denied and put aside as banter or folk tales. Even now it has not been acknowledged by the government not only because a large scale civilisation could not be proven but also because confirming a second species reigning beneath the sea would cause problems. Research on them is scarce. Only around five bodies could be captured and examined. The dissection displayed nearly the same organ structure of a human. From the heart to the liver. Everything about the same. The biggest difference lays inside the lungs and the head of course. If not living in a totally different domain they could be regarded as a cousinly species to our own. Maybe they are in some aspect related to us humans. I would bet that they are a species of apes that dwelled to long in the waters until they could not leave it any more. At least not for a long period of time. No fish men has ever been seen further away than the nearest ocean. No one has ever been observed inside sweet waters such as rivers or lakes. The full strength of my Company is present and armed. We have prepared artillery on the hills before the town. Cavalry riders are ready and a Gatling gun is mounted onto a cart and pushed into the place. I turn around and walk between the soldiers preparing for battle. The only woman in our company stares though her binoculars.

"Joseph we can't make out any sea dwellers." Eve Callahan has joined our ranks after we raided the factory. She accustomed fast into the military service. She is already used to shooting guns as she proved back inside the factory. She can also ride a horse. I talked to her about the dangers of our job and that she could find a way better paid place inside any other branch. But on the other hand, other branches do not conscript woman. We thought that the fishmen, if they are even real would act by night but up until now not even a single blade of grass has moved. We will establish a base inside the town from where we will advance. We will check every single house and flip every mattress. Everything that even remotely looks like a fish will be shot on sight. The town is centred around a market place. We will make this place our base of operation. So we enter the place from the main road. The sun hasn't risen fully yet. We will catch them off guard while they are still sleeping. The whole place is as quiet as it gets. The window doors are still closed, no rooster is to hear. The whole town is engulfed in the disgusting smell of rotten fish. The smell of the ocean mixed with dead animals. For someone like me who is a stranger to fishing and the whole process around it the smell of dead fish is instantly and penetrating. At this time at least some people should be awake and walking the streets going after their businesses.