1036 June 18th, 2020 CE

San Francisco

Gun fire opened up from the police line on another creature that lumbered towards them. Andrew felt his AR-15 jerk back onto his shoulder every time he pulled the trigger. The creature quickly went down. There were corpses of these creatures spread across the street in front of them. Some were huge while others were much smaller. 

The rotor blades of a helicopter could be heard above him. Andrew looked up as a police helicopter positioned itself with its side facing down the street. A single shot came from the open side door of the helicopter and streaked down the street towards an unseen target. The police sniper on the helicopter stayed silent for a few minutes before they opened fire again. 

A shout near him caught his attention. “Andrew!”

It was a coworker he was close to at his station. “Oh, Terry. You are here too.”

Terry nodded. “Just got here. Where you get that AR? I don’t remember you being issued one.”

Terry was carrying an AR-15 that was issued to him. “Someone had a spare and gave it to me while I was evacuating people.” 

“That’s good. I don’t think we have to do much now though. They got a .50 cal sniper on that helicopter. It definitely put a stop to those monsters.”

 

The shots from the .50 cal started becoming constant and faster. Every few seconds, the sniper opened fire. They seemingly only stopped at intervals to reload. Somebody further behind him shouted, “We have a wave of them! Brace yourselves!”

 

A few minutes later

“Holy shit. Open fire!”

A mass of black was just lumbering towards. There were so many creatures that they seemingly blended in together. Andrew put his empty magazine down on the ground and reached for another one of the magazines that he kept on his waist only to grasp at nothing. “Anybody got a spare mag?”

Terry tossed him two and continued shooting. Andrew slammed the magazine in and gave Terry a quick thanks. The mass of creatures slowly but surely inched towards the police line. 

A SWAT officer besides him shouted, “I don’t think we can hold this!” 

Andrew didn’t know who but somebody responded. “Keep shooting! Don’t let them through!” 

“Fucking hell. Start backing up!”

 

Washington D.C.

One of the TVs in the Situation Room was set to a local news station in San Francisco. <<<“The Governor of California has declared a state of emergency. San Francisco County, Marin County, San Mateo County, Contra Costa County, and Alameda County are under evacuation orders. All civilians are required to evacuate from these counties. Sonoma County, Napa County, Solano County, and Santa Clara County are under evacuation warning. Although not required,all civilians are suggested to evacuate further inland from these counties. If you live in a county under evacuation orders and are unable to evacuate by your own means, it is recommended that you travel to one of these locations for evacuations.”

The screen switched from a new anchor to a list of locations. 

“Please locate the one closest to you on this list.”>>>

Stephen had a concerned look on his face. “Mr. President, that’s nearly 5 million people under evacuation orders.” 

“Are there any reports of Lancefish sightings in Hawaii or Guam?” 

Cralson shook his head. “None whatsoever so. People there are being restricted from accessing the beaches. The Hawaii National Guard and the military units on Guam are on high alert.”

Ronell sighed. “We can only hope for the best at this point. When will the Air Force arrive in San Francisco?” 

“Within minutes, sir.” 

“Have we found out what those mysterious ships were? Any more information on that?”

“We have sent a drone to investigate. It will take some time to arrive.”

“Well, do we have any information we can gather now?”

“They are described to be the same jet black as the creatures ashore but closely resembles a ship. That's mostly what we know from witnesses far away”

An aide walked into the room. “Mr. President, the Governor of California is on the phone.”

“Give me that.” 

 

1055 June 18th, 2020 CE

Fremont, California

Even though class was supposed to end 20 minutes ago, Mr. Johnson continued with his lesson.The PA system went on again.  <<<“Attention all students and teachers, we will begin evacuating from the school. Please remain with your teachers and class as you exit towards the front of the school. Your parents have already been informed of the evacuation location. You will be able to meet your parents there. Please refrain from asking your parents to come pick you up at the school as we want to avoid traffic jams. Please remain calm and follow all instructions from your teachers.”>>>

Luke looked around. There was a moment of silence before voices arose. “What’s happening?” 

“Oh my god.”

Some people got out their smartphones. Mr. Johnson had a surprised look on his face but it quickly wore off. “Ok everyone.”
The student's voices drowned out Mr.Johnson. “Holy cow! We’re under attack by strange monsters. Look at this.” A few of the students crowded around the smartphone of the student who said that. 

Mr.Johnson bellowed, “Everyone!” 

A silence fell on the students as they looked at Mr.Johnson.

“I don’t know what is happening but we will be following these instructions. We will be leaving the classroom in an orderly fashion. Please stay together and do not stray from your classmates.” 

 

Luke exited the school building following his classmates. He just had to keep an eye on Mr. Johnson’s bald head. A line of yellow school buses lined the school driveway. There were also three police cars. Two near the exit of the driveway and one behind the line of school buses. His class came to a stop at the pavement near the buses. One of the front office ladies was talking with Mr. Johnson. Shouting caught Luke’s attention. On the grass a few yards away, a police officer and a school faculty member were arguing with a woman.  “Why can’t I just grab my child and go?”

The school faculty member shook his head. “Sorry, m’am, we aren’t giving anybody preferential treatment. You can follow the buses to their location.”

“But it’s my child. Mable Darrison. Can’t you just go find her really quickly?”

The policeman took over the conversation. “It will take time to do so and we don’t have time. We aren’t sure how long we can hold them off. That is why we aren’t letting parents pick up their kids. We can’t have traffic snarling up the evacuation. Those things will get here before even half the students would be able to get picked up. There will also be people trapped in a traffic jam. It will be a massacre. Please return to your vehicle. You may follow the buses towards the evacuation site. All students will be returned to their parents there.”

The argument continued but Luke couldn’t listen for much longer. Mr. Johnson turned to the class. “Quickly. Onto the bus everybody.” 

 

Luke sat down by himself. He didn’t really talk much to the classmates he had in Mr.Johnson’s class. Another class started boarding the bus. A person sat down to Luke and he brightened up as he saw who it was. “Hayden. Your class is on this bus too?”

Hayden nodded.

Luke did a small laugh. “Huh. What are the chances?” 

A third class started filing in. Luke looked around. “Isn’t this bus getting a bit crowded?”

Mr. Johnson shouted, “Everyone, please sit close together we need at least 3 people per seat.”

 

1113 June 18th, 2020 CE

California State Route 58, 70 miles from Los Angeles

Bishop was at the wheel staring at the back of a Bradley as they traveled at 35 mph. Tate looked out from the window of the Humvee at the vast expanse of nothingness. A long convoy of Bradleys, Abrams, and Humvees were on the highway. 

Tate sighed “How long till we get there?”

“Should be 8 more hours.”