A city of monsters

"Private, report," a middle-aged man with a head full of grey hair and crimson eyes said, addressing the man in a camouflage soldier's attire.

"Sir, the human mutants, designated as ghouls, have taken root in the city. Chaos has ensued, and most of the citizens have lost their lives. A few of them have taken up arms to fight the ghouls, but they are still at a disadvantage as the ghouls seem stronger despite their meager numbers compared to the humans present" the private reported, his chest up, his tone emotionless.

"How many ghouls are in the city?" the middle-aged man inquired.

"Approximately a thousand," the private responded.

"A thousand," the middle-aged man muttered under his breath. He added, "If the engineers are done with the choppers, gather the forces and go rescue the survivors of the city. We will be nuking the town in a few days."

The private saluted and made his way out of the room.

********

After the flood and metamorphosis, humans all over the world had woken, some waking as monsters; ghouls while most as superhumans.

The momentary confusion that lingered after their awakening allowed the monsters, fueled by their hunger and bloodlust, to rampage and dominate the new world.

Ghouls, humans who couldn't survive the metamorphosis, became creatures who craved blood and flesh.

Animals that had been mutated in cities, towns, and other residential areas joined in on the chaos, massacring other monsters, humans, and ghouls alike.

After a few days of chaos and panic, the remaining humans regained their calm, allowing them to analyze the situation and explore the perks of their new world, mana, and the system.

Fueled by the will to live, their intentions were made known to the system, converting their "soul energy" into power with which they fought against the monsters and ghouls.

Government officials who were aware of Pandora's box and the details of the apocalypse formed strongholds against the monsters, serving as humanity's last line of defense together with those who refused to give up.

They fought for days, but the monsters, who had already gained strength from their kills, overwhelmed them, taking hold of the cities, towns, and villages.

After weeks of chaos, some of the ghouls, the more powerful ones, gained intelligence after their numerous kills and level-ups. To completely eliminate the humans, they gathered weaker ghouls from other towns and cities to form groups against the humans and monsters alike. Their savagery and brutality made it easy, as they used the inherent trait of all beings—fear—to get what they wanted. They enslaved the lesser ghouls and weaker monsters as they raided the human shelters and strongholds.

*******

"WHIRR!! WHIRR!! WHIRR!! WHIRR!!" The helicopters' moving blades echoed throughout the streets as the soldiers made their way into the city, a city where ghouls and monsters roamed freely.

"Sam, behind you," a young soldier warned his comrade as a ghoul jumped towards them, its crazed red eyes locked on them, its claw-like fingers extended as it opened its mouth full of fangs, attempting to mutilate Sam, the soldier closest to it.

Sam, heeding his friend's warning, jumped back without turning, pulled the trigger, and skillfully blew a hole through the monster's head.

"Guys, be careful, we are surrounded," Sam said as he noticed the ghouls had surrounded them, hissing as they hesitated to attack.

"I hope the other team has reached the shelter," Sam thought to himself, a sense of hopelessness clouding his mind. They were armed with guns, but they were outnumbered by about twenty ghouls. The horde that surrounded them consisted of approximately fifty, while they were only a group of thirty. He feared that he might not survive, as he had heard rumors that some of these monsters were impervious to bullets.

His thoughts were interrupted as John, his comrade, shot at a ghoul who had dashed towards them. The shot pushed the ghoul back, but it got back up almost immediately, seemingly unscathed.

"We're in serious trouble," John admitted, his voice laced with panic and a deep sense of dejection. He added, his face etched with fear and panic "I didn't enlist in the army for this. World War III had ended, and I joined, thinking I could enjoy the perks of being a soldier without the life-threatening risks. That's why I signed up, not for this."

"Hey, stop your overly sad monologue... You are on a battlefield," Sam said as he pushed John, saving him from the bite of a ghoul.

The soldiers began their attack, shooting at the monsters as they stood side by side, serving as each other's protectors. Most of the ghouls were only pushed back by the shots, with a few of them dying from a single bullet while others required a barrage of shots.

John got up, tears and snot dripping down his face. As a Generation Beta who had been sheltered from the world war, he had little to no courage and easily faltered in the face of the horrors he was witnessing. He wiped his face as he tried to put on a brave facade.

"AHH," a heart-wrenching scream resounded through the sounds of bullets and growls.

John slowly and fearfully turned toward the sound, his gaze meeting that of a ghoul whose fangs held the neck of an unfortunate soldier.

All thoughts of bravery disappeared from his mind as he ran, his logic overshadowed by fear.

The ghouls, noticing the lone soldier, rushed towards him.

"Guys, this is our chance. Board the choppers; we're out of here. Our mission is over," Sam shouted.

A few minutes ago, he had received a voice transmission via the earring he wore. The rescue mission was a success, as the ghouls in the vicinity had been drawn toward them. The distraction allowed the other soldiers to stealthily escape with the survivors via their camouflage, soundless aircraft.

It was cruel, but such is the nature of war. John's actions had made a way for them to escape. They all knew it was impossible to save him. It would be suicide if anyone tried, given the distance he had crossed, in addition to the monsters chasing him, making it an impossible mission.

Emptying their magazines, they pushed back the monsters who were still attacking them, giving them enough time to board the choppers and fly off.

"How many men did we lose?" Sam inquired his tone firm yet holding a bit of hesitation.

"Sir, fifteen men, including John," a soldier answered, his tone dejected.

Sam remained silent as he felt the weight of losing those men. He was the commander, the one placed in charge of their platoon. Losing a man was something he felt responsible for as the platoon was under his care.

He looked out the window of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, the chopper they rode in. A sharp pain of guilt struck him as he noticed his men being fed on by the ghouls.

John who had run off had been quickly caught by the ghouls, his throat ripped, his limbs torn apart, his lifeless gaze starting at the chopper fly into the horizon.

The soldiers sensed their commander's dejection but decided not to offer comfort, as they knew that sympathy sometimes made one feel worse than before.

No one spoke as they quietly rode the chopper back to their base. The once luxurious Palace of Westminster had now become the stronghold for the military.

"Report," the commander-in-chief asked Sam, who stood before him, ready to give his report.

"We were able to distract the ghouls enough for team A to evacuate the survivors. The rest of the teams completed their missions, with losses of less than half of their members," Sam reported his tone monotone, showing no hint of emotion.

"Good, we can now proceed. You can leave," the commander-in-chief said, satisfied with the report.

Sam saluted as he made his way out.

"You have the go-ahead, the perimeter is clear," the commander-in-chief spoke, addressing no one in the room, as there was no one present.

"Roger that," a voice reverberated in his ears, its source the earring on his left ear.

"You heard the man," a voice echoed in an underground chamber. Men dressed in white attire moved purposefully toward an old computer screen.

They exchanged glances, their faces etched with unwavering seriousness. With practiced precision, they punched in the codes. Then, they turned a key and pressed a seemingly inconspicuous red button on the desk before them.

WHOOSH!!

The calm sea surface shattered as the projectile broke free from its depths, hurtling toward its destination: Oxford, a city overrun by monsters and ghouls.

BOOM!!!

A colossal mushroom cloud bloomed as the projectile struck the city grounds, instantaneously obliterating a 12-mile radius of land, buildings, monsters, ghouls, and anything unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. The blast wave swept aside all in its path.

The school building where Leo, Anne, and Mark were trapped quivered as they felt the shock wave of the cataclysmic blast.