I heard it first I think, the screaming roar of jumbo jet engines flying to
low. The strange sound aroused curiosity, a thing soon vanquished, as I
turned where I crouched to try and see where these sounds came from. Then I
saw the first, a shining object heading for the city fast. Maybe I was the
first to see it; I guess I will never really know.
I used my helmet to zoom in on the object moving though the airways at great speeds like some bird of prey heading for the kill, yes; this is the thing causing that noise. I knew something saw wrong, because the object, a primitive but effective air travel system, was flying too low for an area like this. Close now, I could only watch as its shadow passed me over. I could almost feel the heat from its engines.
And I did watch, with a blank horror as the human airship crashed headlong into the first of the great brother towers that this city was so proud of. Eruptions of flame and billowing black smoke spewing ash and brimstone darkened the sky. The sounds itself was horrible, twisting and warping metal screeching and screaming in protest. The whoosh of flammables going up in flames as the engines exploded. I even fancied I heard the dieing screams of the humans caught in the tower near the impact site. The airship had not even tried to avoid its target, this was intentional.
Crouching there on a rock covered rooftop that was, thankfully, a safe distance away from the falling debris, and smoke that the wind was already carrying away, I wondered how many innocent lives had just been lost, or were going to be lost as the chaos continued. The ash - Ashes of the dead perhaps? - was already reaching me, and was creating a fine layer of soot across my cloaked form. The sky above was dark with breath taking smoke.
I could not believe that such a thing had just happened, that something like this could be intentional, but it had and it had no signs to tell me that it had not been premeditated. I hung my head with my eyes closed, blocking the sites but not the sounds. Such a terrible, needless, waste of life.
Sirens. Here come the Sirens. Men coming to fight the fires, heroes to be. Lives would be saved, but I already knew that the number pulled from the wreckage would be minimal compared to the many that died. An ambulance with blaring sirens rushed past the building I crouched upon. Hurry little ambulance, save those you can for, for many it is already to late. I watched it vanish into the fog like cloud of ash, its sirens still loud in my ears.
I do not know how long I sat there like that gathering ash and soot, but the same horrible sound of low flying engines followed by the same explosions, mirroring the actions of the first. I raised my head and my eyes to see the second brother tower alive with smoke and flame, billowing its own macabre smoke and ash. Visions of humans feeding those flames, creating the ash and smoke screaming to their deaths or being crushed by falling metal and concrete then burning to oblivion danced like horrid dreams though my mind.
An honor less act, this is to be sure. I could not fathom what die situation could prompt such a proud race such as these humans into an action like this. The Brother towers were dieing, along with all those trapped inside. The humans were a prey species, worthy of the hunt because of their cunning and firepower, but none of them deserved to die like this.
I watched those towers burn and fall, proud spectacles vanishing in the course of one single day. Towers created in moths or years gone in what would only become a blink of the eye in this world's history. I watched the humans as well, that came to quench the fires came and die themselves. I saw it happen; I saw the entire chaos unfold. I sat there the entire day though, unable to take leave of the horrible sight that entrapped my vision. None of the modes my helmet provided offered any more hopeful view.
Gingerly I removed one of the human skulls I had culled from this vast city and traced my clawed fingers carefully across the polished brow, touching tenderly as if I was afraid the trophy would become ash and blow away just as those within those fires did. The trophy no longer held such specific importance to me, in view of what had happened here today. I could not really explain it, the importance and personal value of these little white skulls seemed to have just burnt up and blown away with the ash. I briefly thought of the families of those I had taken, well the ones that may have had them. Had these same families lost loved ones in those two towers of which now fell piece by twisted piece to the ground? I hoped not, I did not want to be responsible for causing those families more pain.
I tucked away the ever-grinning trophy again, and bowed my head, disturbing the ash that had settled on my locks, in prayer for those lost souls who died without reason in a dishonorable and cowardly act of mass destruction. I prayed them painless death and reward in the afterlife. Then I stood, shaking away the blanket of gray ash that had coated my armor and body. I retreated back into the depths of the city shadows, away from the rooftops view, no longer having the heart to continue killing in a city that had already seen so much death. The only message of my presence was left footprints in the ash, but these vanished soon as more soot floated earthward like some grim snow.
May whatever gods these people believed in accept their poor souls willingly.
I used my helmet to zoom in on the object moving though the airways at great speeds like some bird of prey heading for the kill, yes; this is the thing causing that noise. I knew something saw wrong, because the object, a primitive but effective air travel system, was flying too low for an area like this. Close now, I could only watch as its shadow passed me over. I could almost feel the heat from its engines.
And I did watch, with a blank horror as the human airship crashed headlong into the first of the great brother towers that this city was so proud of. Eruptions of flame and billowing black smoke spewing ash and brimstone darkened the sky. The sounds itself was horrible, twisting and warping metal screeching and screaming in protest. The whoosh of flammables going up in flames as the engines exploded. I even fancied I heard the dieing screams of the humans caught in the tower near the impact site. The airship had not even tried to avoid its target, this was intentional.
Crouching there on a rock covered rooftop that was, thankfully, a safe distance away from the falling debris, and smoke that the wind was already carrying away, I wondered how many innocent lives had just been lost, or were going to be lost as the chaos continued. The ash - Ashes of the dead perhaps? - was already reaching me, and was creating a fine layer of soot across my cloaked form. The sky above was dark with breath taking smoke.
I could not believe that such a thing had just happened, that something like this could be intentional, but it had and it had no signs to tell me that it had not been premeditated. I hung my head with my eyes closed, blocking the sites but not the sounds. Such a terrible, needless, waste of life.
Sirens. Here come the Sirens. Men coming to fight the fires, heroes to be. Lives would be saved, but I already knew that the number pulled from the wreckage would be minimal compared to the many that died. An ambulance with blaring sirens rushed past the building I crouched upon. Hurry little ambulance, save those you can for, for many it is already to late. I watched it vanish into the fog like cloud of ash, its sirens still loud in my ears.
I do not know how long I sat there like that gathering ash and soot, but the same horrible sound of low flying engines followed by the same explosions, mirroring the actions of the first. I raised my head and my eyes to see the second brother tower alive with smoke and flame, billowing its own macabre smoke and ash. Visions of humans feeding those flames, creating the ash and smoke screaming to their deaths or being crushed by falling metal and concrete then burning to oblivion danced like horrid dreams though my mind.
An honor less act, this is to be sure. I could not fathom what die situation could prompt such a proud race such as these humans into an action like this. The Brother towers were dieing, along with all those trapped inside. The humans were a prey species, worthy of the hunt because of their cunning and firepower, but none of them deserved to die like this.
I watched those towers burn and fall, proud spectacles vanishing in the course of one single day. Towers created in moths or years gone in what would only become a blink of the eye in this world's history. I watched the humans as well, that came to quench the fires came and die themselves. I saw it happen; I saw the entire chaos unfold. I sat there the entire day though, unable to take leave of the horrible sight that entrapped my vision. None of the modes my helmet provided offered any more hopeful view.
Gingerly I removed one of the human skulls I had culled from this vast city and traced my clawed fingers carefully across the polished brow, touching tenderly as if I was afraid the trophy would become ash and blow away just as those within those fires did. The trophy no longer held such specific importance to me, in view of what had happened here today. I could not really explain it, the importance and personal value of these little white skulls seemed to have just burnt up and blown away with the ash. I briefly thought of the families of those I had taken, well the ones that may have had them. Had these same families lost loved ones in those two towers of which now fell piece by twisted piece to the ground? I hoped not, I did not want to be responsible for causing those families more pain.
I tucked away the ever-grinning trophy again, and bowed my head, disturbing the ash that had settled on my locks, in prayer for those lost souls who died without reason in a dishonorable and cowardly act of mass destruction. I prayed them painless death and reward in the afterlife. Then I stood, shaking away the blanket of gray ash that had coated my armor and body. I retreated back into the depths of the city shadows, away from the rooftops view, no longer having the heart to continue killing in a city that had already seen so much death. The only message of my presence was left footprints in the ash, but these vanished soon as more soot floated earthward like some grim snow.
May whatever gods these people believed in accept their poor souls willingly.