?I took a breath. The words felt insane on my tongue, even to me. I started at the diner, an event that now felt like it happened in another century. I laid it all out: the farm, the mangled bull, the twelve-foot lizard clawing its way out of a chicken coop. I told him about the blue screens, the stats, the impossible strength. With every word, I expected him to pick up his desk phone and call for the guys with the butterfly nets.

  ?Kira stood beside me, a silent, steady presence, chiming in with a detail here and there, her voice grounding my unbelievable story in fact. Through it all, the Chief just listened. He didn't interrupt. He didn't scowl. His face was a stone mask, his eyes locked on mine, weighing every impossible word.

  ?When I finally finished, the silence in the room was deafening. The Chief stared at the map, at the little pins marking riots and looting, none of which mattered anymore. Finally, he looked up, his gaze level.

  ?“Proof,” he said, his voice flat. It wasn't an accusation. It was a request for data.

  ?I pulled out my phone, thankful the battery was still clinging to life. I swiped to the gallery and slid it across the table. The photos were grainy, taken in a panic, but they were undeniable. The impossible made real in shitty cell phone pictures.

  ?“Their scales are like armor plate,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Rounds from my AR just glanced off. But this…”

  ?Time for the magic show. With a thought, the Jian sword materialized in my hand, its weight familiar and strange all at once. The Chief didn't flinch, but his eyes widened, the first crack in his stone-faced composure. He leaned back in his chair, a long, slow breath escaping his lips. I made the sword vanish again before someone got spooked.

  ?“What is happening to this world?” he muttered, more to himself than to us.

  ?“It’s changing, Chief,” I said. “And we need to change with it if we want to survive.”

  ?He nodded slowly, his eyes distant for a second before they snapped back into sharp focus. He reached across the cluttered map and picked up a single sheet of paper.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  ?“This came over the last working teletype before the blackout,” he said, sliding it to me. “From North District. I was about to dismiss it as a prank or some horseshit propaganda to stir up panic. But it felt too real.”

  ?The paper had an official seal. The text was terse, professional. My eyes scanned the lines, and my heart started hammering against my ribs. "...unidentified hostiles, reptilian in nature... multiple casualties... reports of a localized energy phenomenon at the old Portalis Park entrance..."

  ?My head snapped up to meet his gaze. “Holy shit. Someone else has seen them. They found a source.”

  ?“That’s what I was thinking,” the Chief said, a grim look on his face. “I have to verify this,” I said, the words tumbling out. “We have to.”

  ?A rare, thin smile touched the Chief’s lips. “I knew you’d say that.” He stood, once again the commander in complete control.

  ?“The riot squad can try to put a lid on the looting,” the Chief said, his voice all business, the shock replaced by tactical focus. “But this... this is the real fire. You two have experience with these things. You're the tip of the spear.”

  ?He pointed a thick finger at the map. “This report mentions a possible source. I want you to go check it out. Take the new kid, Peters. If it's real, send him back with a list of what you need. Guns, ammo, a goddamn tank. Whatever it takes.”

  ?“Sir, we might need a quick exit,” I said, a plan already forming. “A second vehicle would be useful.”

  ?“Done,” he said without hesitation. “Follow the main tactical vehicle out. Break off when you can.”

  ?He grabbed his helmet, then paused, his gaze locking onto mine. The commander was gone for a second, replaced by something older, more weary. “Listen to me, Elias. This is a recon mission, you understand? Your job is to assess, not to engage a superior force. If that report is true, I don't know what you're walking into.”

  ?He took a step closer, his voice dropping so only Kira and I could hear. “Your lives are the priority. If it looks bad, you pull out. You send Peters back, and you wait for reinforcements. That is a direct order. No heroics. I'm not losing good officers to a goddamn science fiction movie.”

  ?That was the difference between a leader and a bureaucrat like Howard. Howard would have sent us out to die for a commendation. The Chief was sending us out to get answers, but he wanted us to come back alive with them. It’s why any of us would follow him straight into hell. And we just might have too. The image of the twelve foot tall lizard flashed through my mind. It could very well be a creature from hell.

  ?“Yes, sir,” I said, and I meant it.

  ?“Good,” he said, the commander snapping back into place as he settled the helmet on his head. “Now get moving.”