The Rebirth Future of Destruction

Flame flowed through the streets of LA like a tidal surge. People scream in terror as their lives burn away. An alien spaceship soared through the sky as it blasted apocalyptic fire down onto the city. More screaming; more cries of agony. A strange creature the size of a husky appeared on the Hollywood Hills sign, its ant-like mandibles filled with razor-sharp spikes, chattering at a woman. The creature's blue insect body quivered in anticipation of a quick meal.

Its long front legs had sharp membranes in between its wrists and shoulders, and three sharp talons on its fingers. The alien curved its spine, preparing to pounce on this woman. As the girl screamed, the creature leaped off the hill and landed on the woman's chest and started tearing her flesh. The woman screamed, and then there was only silence. This Eviscerator severed her head and feasted on the flesh. The monster looked in my direction; fear engulfed me as I waited to die.

     The red-headed psychic Azral awoke from the horrific dream of apocalyptic doom. She had been riding the subway train, on her way to the LAPD. She was their first and most accurate psychic investigator. She was the secret weapon against the evils of the city. Shaking off the overwhelmingly dark images, Azral walked out the doors into the subway terminal. She looked at the stairs leading up to the street. She sighed as she took in the brisk winter landscape. It had snowed the previous day, and the weather conditions hadn't changed. She looked down and scowled as her new leather dress shoes got wet. "Great weather today," she said under her breath. She jumped as a fire truck suddenly turned on its sirens. Images from the dream played in her mind: fire, death, and frightening destruction. She could still hear the terrified screams filled with pain and desperation. She had been having the same dream for the past two weeks, and she knew that the images were more than recurring nightmares; they were visions of the future. She gulped as she hailed a cab. Within moments, a yellow taxi pulled over to the curb, and Azral smiled because shortly, she would focus on the LAPD's latest case. She had heard that it was a major one involving serial mass murders with unusual characteristics. The thought of a serial killer frightened her but not as much as what was to come. The ride to the LAPD was bumpy and filled with honking horns, slowly walking pedestrians, and dancing corner-store mascots. She felt herself becoming anxious as she got closer to her destination.

     Moments later, the taxi pulled over to the side of the road, and the driver said, "That'd be thirty-nine dollars, miss." Azral nodded and quickly paid the man, and then proceeded to walk into the LAPD building. Even though she had been working with them for many years, they still gave her strange looks. She didn't let their skepticism bother her; she kept walking to Tom Damon, her contact within the department."Hey, Azral! Thank Christ you're here; as you know, we have our hands full with the serial killer. We need you to look at these pictures, and do your magic." The lieutenant opened up a file folder containing seven photos. Most were of dead women, but two showed male victims. These bodies had strange talon-shaped wounds on their chests, and their eyes seemed to have been eaten. Azral gulped as she realized what had caused those injuries. She had, after all, seen these same wounds inflicted on the woman from her visions. Azral could only stare at them in disbelief. Tom could see it on her face; she knew who the murder was."Azral." He looked into her emerald eyes. "You know who this is, don't you?" Azral nodded slowly and said, "Yes, but this is not a typical serial killer. An unusual creature caused these injuries. I've been seeing them for weeks - in my visions. But, to see them killing this soon is very, very bad news." Tom looked down to the photos and touched one. "Are you telling me that some creature is committing all of these killings? You know that we can't run with that. Besides, the coroner reported that an animal couldn't have created the wounds." Azral looked into his eyes and said, "Tom, is it alright if I connect with your mind?" Tom raised an eyebrow but then nodded. Azral brought her hand to his temple. Suddenly, a wave of thoughts and memories washed over Tom's mind. He saw images of the beast ripping and tearing a woman to pieces, then leaping toward him.Tom shouted as the last frightening image entered his mind - Azral's seeming death. All of the officers who heard the outburst looked at him incredulously as he brushed his hands on his vest. Tom blushed as the Commissioner walked over to him. "What information has our psychic brought us today? Hmm?" Tom only said, "Nothing that is actionable as of yet, sir." The Commissioner smiled at Azral and said, "You better step up your game, miss! We got bad guys to nab and clowns to lock up!"

     Suddenly, Azral felt a familiar dark presence. She quickly put her hand on Tom's shoulder and said, "We got to get out of here! Now! One of these monsters is close by!" Screams of terror broke out in the streets. People ran by the front windows, and Azral knew that she needed to escape the building soon, or she would certainly die. She grabbed Tom's arm and with a desperate look said, "We go now, r we die! What's your decision?" He nodded to the staircase and took off. Azral followed close by as she heard the sounds of gunshots and horrifying screams that were silenced all too quickly. The end had come. They dashed up the staircases until they reached the roof. As they wandered to the edge, Azral found herself tearing up. Alien ships were firing on buildings, and she could see people set aflame. Azral looked at Tom and said, "I saw this rooftop in my visions!" She turned around and started to weep. There was graffiti on the side of the door. "Tom! Look!" She pointed at the graffiti, and Tom said, "Hollywood Hills, Fine Entertainment and Fine Women. Classy." A Woman screamed from down below. Azral sprinted to the edge and looked down, as tears ran down her cheeks. The same woman from her prophesy screamed in terror as an alien beast pounced from a mound of dirt, no doubt created by a massive blast. She died in the same fashion of her dream, in all the gory details. The beast looked up at Azral, and its teeth chattered. It jumped onto a nearby car; then, with extraordinary strength, it leaped into the air. It crashed into the side of the wall then drove its talons in and started climbing. The creature looked from Azral to Tom, trying to decide whom to kill first.

     Tom shrieked as the monster jumped on him, tearing his eyes out, flaying flesh from his face, while dismembering him with its free arm. Azral looked down in shock at her friend's dead body. The alien beast turned and faced her, blood dripping from its mouth. She knew that this was her last moment. The creature leaped on her and tore her arms off, followed by her legs. As blood drained onto the roof's pebbles, the alien plunged its teeth into her neck. Azral felt a sharp tug, and she found herself floating above her lifeless body. She looked up as a brilliant light came crashing down on a nearby building. She stared in awe as the light overtook her. Night had fallen; her soul was no more. The war for Earth had begun, but already, Earth was losing.