Pyrrha: A New Beginning

Episode 9: We Were Prepared for The End of The World

It was an ordinary evening.
The sun was down and lights out had just been ordered. All of the floodlights were switched off with a powerful whooshing sound and the entire campsite was engulfed in darkness. A few kerosene lanters could still be seen bobbing around as people made their way to bed or to the mess hall to hang out for a few more hours, but all in all the base was too dark to be seen from any distance.

Johnson and Alex patrolled through tent city to make sure people weren't causing any trouble. They were un-armed, but their mere presence was enough to deter any conflict. They casually strolled through, passing tents that were either lit or not, talking as they did so.
"And man, I swear, that guy had sprinted faster than the Cole Train at a Thrashball game." Johnson finished. Alex burst into laughter.
"Oh, bloody hell, Jonesy never was the courageous type." Alex said sheepishly.
"I mean, this was a bat." Johnson said, frolicsome. "A single bat and he freaked out thinking it was a Kryll."
The two tried to restrain their laughter to make sure people could still sleep.
Johnson came to a halt.
"Well, man, this is me." Johnson announced. "Justin will take over, Glenn is also with him." Johnson said, pointing towards the other end of the tent lines.
"Bout time." Alex sighed exhaustedly while he started heading off. "I'll see you in the morning."
Johnson entered the darkness of the tent and reached for the torch that was hanging by the door.

Click!
The world was suddenly illuminated by a bright white light. The white circle of light danced on the floor as the torch swung back and forth on its small length of rope. Johnson noticed the bed was empty.
Again? Johnson thought. Where is she this time?

Pyrrha was sitting on the wooden fence by the crops, staring at the full moon in the sky. She could gaze at it forever and she loved the way the moonlight hit everything. Dim lit and beautiful. It was like the night-time's own version of a sunset.
"Thought you'd be out here." Gabrielle's voice called out. Pyrrha, of course, had seen her coming, but for some reason that was completely alien to her she decided to ignore her. Pyrrha saw the amber glow of the kerosene lantern swing up and down in the corner of her eye as Gabrielle approached. Pyrrha sighed.
"I come her virtually every night now." Pyrrha said, not taking her eye off the moon. She felt Gabrielle's weight apply itself onto the stretch of fence next to her.
"What, you mean two nights in a row means every night now?" Gabrielle joked.
"I said virtually." Pyrrha said, repositioning herself on the spot. She was trying to shield her perfect view of the moon from the distracting glow of Gabrielle's lantern.
"Why're you out here again, Pyrrha?" Gabrielle asked with a sense of nurture in her tone. Pyrrha sighed and looked to the floor. She gave up on the moon idea, it wasn't going to work with that lantern in her face.
"I wish Glaster had told me." Pyrrha said sadly, guiltily even. "This was a bad idea."
"What do you mean?" Gabrielle's brow furrowed.
"It's strange." Pyrrha replied. "Their voices don't hurt anymore. I guess I have you to thank for that, but what I meant to say was..."
Pyrrha looked to Gabrielle slowly with bright white eyes.
"They're coming." She said with a haunting tone that sent shivers down Gabrielle's spine. "The Lambent are on their way."

Gabrielle sprinted for her life, breathing heavily as she did so.
"Glaster!" She shouted hysterically. "Glaster!"
Glaster spun around with a confused expression, holding a lantern of his own. Gabrielle wasted no time in rushing up to him.
"Lambent are coming!" Gabrielle proclaimed. That's when she realised the man she was speaking to wasn't even Glaster. She roughly pushed him aside and sprinted for the farmhouse, almost a hundred meters away.
Each stride was fuelled by pure adrenalin, but Gabrielle felt like it was taking too long to get anywhere. She really wished she had quit smoking a long time ago.
Gabrielle came storming up the now repaired steps and rushed down the other end of the porch. She took a hold of the stick next to the door and stabbed in into the wooden floorboards beneath her. She then turned the crank on the side of it without stopping.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A siren sounded as she turned the crank. It oscilated from a low droning sound to a screaming high pitch, the sound of a World War II air-raid siren. Gabrielle watched as every tent in the base lit up one by one along with the sounds of panic in the air. Silhouettes eventually came rushing out of each individual tent, scrambling in any direction.
Bang!
The explosion startled Gabrielle beyond belief. Her heart skipped a beat and before she knew it the world was engulfed in a thick silence.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Glaster shouted as he snatched the siren from her. He had appeared through the slamming screen door. There was no explosion.
"There are Lambent coming! They're on their way here now!" Gabrielle panicked. Glaster furrowed his brow.
"Lambent?" He replied with doubt. "What on Sera are you talking about?"
Gabrielle punched Glaster in the chest.
"For fuck's sake!" Gabrielle shouted. "Get the men ready!"
Glaster caught Gabrielle's wrists and held onto them tight.
"Just calm down." Glaster said soothingly. "Do you hear that?"
Glaster waited for something to happen. Gabrielle was waiting as well. She heard nothing but distant shouting and the barking of orders, telling the people to go back to bed and that it was a false alarm.
Oh, Gabby. Gabrielle thought. What the hell were you thinking? Pyrrha was just playing a trick. Even Johnson said its best to leave her alone sometimes, maybe that was it? Probably just having an off night...
Gabrielle sighed apologetically.
"Glaster, I'm sorry." She breathed. "I've just been so on edge these days."
Bang!
The explosion came after all.
A firey ball flew outwards, enveloping anything in it's path.
Bambambambam!
The world was filled with the sounds of war. The sounds that nearly everyone here had forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind.
Glaster gave Gabrielle the siren back and sprinted inside.

There was a gaping hole in the foot thick wall. There was a flaming red outline around the large hole which was producing an unpleasant amount of smoke. A squadron of soldiers immediately formed a defensive perimeter in front of the gap and pointed their weapons towards it, waiting for something to happen.
Whoosh!
A distant sound echoed. The soldiers all exchanged glances and took aim once more. A few seconds passed.
Then it hit them.
A gurgling ball of Imulsion came hurtling towards them. It exploded on contact with the first person it hit, sending all the soldiers around them to the ground like bowling pins. Imulsion sprayed out everywhere and an intense burning sensation was left on the few injured men who were left.
Crash!

The hole just got a hell of a lot bigger as a monstrosity of a being came lumbering through with its enormous weight. It stood at least 9 feet tall and it was easily the ugliest thing you could ever lay your eyes on.
It's face was distorted with unnatural mutation and it roared a gurgling roar. It produced slimy tentacles from it's mouth that constantly slithered over one another like a nest of snakes. One could see the Imulsion circulating though it's body through thinner parts of the creature's skin, which gave the impression that there were windows into the creature's disgusting body. It's arm ended before it's elbow and the other half was missing. There were strips of blackened flesh hanging freely from it's misplaced arm and thick spaghetti-like strands of Imulsion came drooping out.
Then the arm began to glow.
And before anyone could react another ball of pure Imulsion came flying out and crashed into a group of tents, searing the canvases to oblivion. A few hapless screams could be heard coming from inside, but within moments they were silenced.