NOVPUBIn the cramped clinic, Kevin and his two companions shifted things around to set up a small table.
Amidst the clutter, they ate their simple meal, chatting and laughing now and then, enjoying a harmonious atmosphere.
"You know," Henry suddenly said, "a patient just told me that an Eldorian Army base over a hundred kilometers away has had an incident."
Chelsea, curious, asked, "What happened?"
Kevin looked over, interested in the story.
Explaining to their attentive gazes, Henry continued, "That’s what I was muttering about earlier.
The patient told me that although the base has been operating for a long time, it’s always been quiet. But today, several helicopters suddenly took off from there."
"I’m guessing they were the same helicopters that went to look for the satellite debris," he added. "Not long after their return, the base was enveloped in thick smoke.
His family, living in a nearby village, called to warn him to steer clear of any Eldorian Army personnel."
The Eldorian Army in Aedorich was indeed infamous, enough to scare children.
Kevin’s brow furrowed. As a former member of the Eldorian Army, he knew all too well their modus operandi. Regardless of the cause of the base incident, it would likely lead to a major operation, not out of concern for the soldiers, but more likely for something as trivial as a 1000 Eldorian Dollar coffee cup. He sighed internally, knowing the nearby civilians would probably suffer harassment again.
Suddenly, cries of alarm from outside were followed by the dull sound of gunfire.
"Machine guns?" Kevin recognized the sound instantly.
The three exchanged a glance and dashed outside. The war-weary people of Lukesburg were panicked, screaming in terror, scrambling to find places to hide.
Why was there a sudden gun battle in Lukesburg?
Unable to see the distant commotion due to obstructed views, Kevin ran towards the source of the sound. Having lived here for so long, he felt compelled to understand what was happening.
"Kevin! Don’t be rash! Wait for us!" Chelsea and Henry hurried after him.
After several minutes of running, the view opened up. On top of the most thoroughly destroyed ruins, a Golden Eagle helicopter was continuously strafing a hidden target below.
Kevin heard intermittent screams of agony and loud crashing noises.
Then, suddenly—
"Boom!"
Without warning, the Golden Eagle helicopter in mid-air exploded into a ball of fierce flames. The intense blast even caused the glass on the outskirts of the town to tremble.
Kevin stood in shock amidst the blaze.
He saw the shattered remains of the Golden Eagle crashing to the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, and for a moment, he glimpsed something covered in black scales before it quickly disappeared.
Just then, Henry and Chelsea arrived, speechless at the scene before them.
In the National Palace of Eldoria, staff hurried across beautifully patterned floors. Despite excellent soundproofing, the roar from the conference room was unmistakable.
Taking a deep breath, a staff member pushed open the door. Under the gaze of high-ranking officials, he spoke uneasily, "It... it has appeared!"
Meanwhile, the Eldorian Army arrived in Lukesburg sooner than Kevin had anticipated.
Helicopters with searchlights scanned the area while rumbling armored vehicles took up positions on the streets. The usually quiet town was now a hubbub of military activity.
Inside the cramped clinic, Henry and Chelsea looked worried, while Kevin sat in the corner, lost in thought.
Just hours after the Golden Eagle’s explosion, the Eldorian Army had swarmed Lukesburg, implementing martial law and blockades.
"What could have caused such a massive military response?" Chelsea paced back and forth anxiously.
Kevin, who had been silent since witnessing the helicopter explosion, finally spoke up, sharing his sighting of the scaly behemoth.
Henry and Chelsea exchanged glances, both understanding the gravity of Kevin’s words. They knew him too well to dismiss his claim as a mere hallucination.
"Could it be just a lack of rest?" Chelsea suggested tentatively.
Before Kevin could respond, Henry, suddenly struck by a thought, interjected, "No, remember, the army first followed something that fell from the sky."
"But that was satellite debris!" Chelsea argued.
"That’s the key," Henry exclaimed, "It was Kevin’s guess that it was satellite debris, but no one knows what it really was."
"And shortly after those helicopters returned to the base with the object, smoke was seen rising from it," he continued.
"And don’t you find the army’s swift and exaggerated response unusual?"
Influenced by numerous Eldorian sci-fi movies, both Chelsea and Henry grasped what Henry was implying.
"You mean… alien life?" Chelsea asked.
Henry nodded affirmatively. "Do you have a more reasonable explanation? You saw it yourself, how the helicopter exploded out of nowhere."
Chelsea, hugging herself tighter, found Henry’s theory increasingly plausible. No other explanation seemed to fit the bizarre events they were witnessing.
Kevin, not a man out of touch with reality, pondered for a moment before standing up decisively. "If what I saw really is an extraterrestrial being, then our little town is in big trouble."
Henry snapped out of his initial excitement at the revelation. "Those damn bastards, do they want to turn this town into a battlefield?" But they knew they were powerless against the military.
In a neglected corner of the town, a lizard-like creature covered in black scales observed the circling aircraft with its cold, calculating eyes.
It continued to grow and shrink intermittently, absorbing and digesting.
Meanwhile, in the temporary camp, the situation was tense. "Have you checked it?" asked a colonel, his face shadowed. The deputy replied that the Yellow Pie’s radiation levels had significantly decreased. "So it likes radiation," the colonel deduced, planning to use radioactive sources as bait.
The next day, as dawn broke, Martin stepped off the international flight at Southern Aedorich Airport.
The first rays of the sun illuminated his coat as he left the airport, facing the sparse and dry landscape of the capital.
Using his Power of Wishing again, Martin visualized the situation in Lukesburg: the panic-stricken townspeople, the heavily armed Eldorian Army, and the black lizard.
He sensed the creature’s power rapidly expanding, more akin to a revival than growth. "Could it be shedding its old body for a new one?" Martin wondered, realizing the urgency of the situation.
The airport was hundreds of kilometers from Lukesburg. Deciding to use his Power of Meteorology, Martin slipped into an inconspicuous alley to begin his journey to confront the emerging threat.
In the narrow confines of the clinic, Kevin, Chelsea, and Henry managed to set up a small table amidst the clutter for their modest meal.
They chatted and joked, a semblance of normalcy in the cramped space. During the meal, Henry mentioned something intriguing.
He’d heard that an Eldorian Army base, located over a hundred kilometers away, had encountered a serious incident.
Initially, he suspected it might be a satellite debris crash, but the timing and subsequent events suggested something more ominous.
As they discussed this, sudden panicked shouts from outside broke their conversation, followed by the unmistakable sound of heavy machine-gun fire.
Kevin instantly recognized the sound and rushed out to investigate, followed closely by Chelsea and Henry.
They couldn’t fathom why their small town would suddenly become a battleground.
Upon reaching a clearer view, they were confronted with the shocking sight of a Golden Eagle helicopter firing relentlessly at something hidden from view.
Without warning, the helicopter exploded in mid-air, turning into a fiery ball and crashing to the ground.
Amidst the wreckage, they caught a fleeting glimpse of a creature covered in black scales before it vanished into thin air.
As the helicopter’s explosion echoed through the town, the Eldorian Army swiftly moved in, establishing a military presence in Lukesburg.
They declared martial law, imposing a curfew and restricting movement, which brought an uneasy tension to the town. Kevin, Chelsea, and Henry returned to the clinic, discussing the possibility that the creature they feared was indeed an extraterrestrial being.
Meanwhile, hidden in an unobserved corner of the town, the creature, resembling a lizard but covered in black scales, lurked.
It seemed to be absorbing radiation, growing and changing in a cycle of expansion and contraction.
At the hastily established military camp, the commanding officer ordered the deployment of radiation sources as bait to lure the creature out.
Despite the deputy’s concerns about civilian safety, the officer insisted on the necessity of their strategy, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
The next morning, Martin arrived at Southern Aedorich Airport after a long flight.
He immediately sensed the urgency of the situation and prepared to use his powers to reach Lukesburg quickly.
As the first light of dawn illuminated the day, he vanished into an alleyway, leaving behind the quiet airport.
Back in Lukesburg, the day began with a deceptive calm. As residents ventured out, the town was suddenly rocked by a massive explosion.
An armored vehicle was hurled into the air, crashing down amidst fleeing people.
The terrifying realization dawned that the alien creature was indeed in their midst, hidden yet deadly, turning their town into a war zone.
