Shivans

Shivans

Ten minutes ago, Detective Jonathan Ghaly's biggest concern was tracking down a suspect in a burglary in Galaxy City. That all changed once the meteors slammed into the city. Ghaly found himself trapped beneath a pile of rubble. He could hear the screams of civilians as they ran. Ghaly managed to pull himself out of the rubble and surveyed the scene. He could hear loud explosions in the distance, but he couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of him; smoke from the destroyed buildings filled the streets. In the distance he heard an odd, alien sound, as if some sort of creature was groaning. Ghaly drew his pistol and pointed it toward the sound, waiting for something to appear.

A young man ran out of the smoke, waving his hands in the air, screaming for the detective's attention. "You've got to help! It's right behind me!," the young man yelled as he continued running.

Every instinct told Ghaly to run. But Detective Ghaly had taken an oath to protect the people of Paragon City, to put the safety and lives of the people above his own. He might not be a super-powered hero, but he was a darn good detective, and he was going to do everything in his power to serve the people in this crisis.

The groaning grew deeper. The sickening sound of a gelatinous substance sliding against the ground echoed through the area. Ghaly's eyes widened when he saw the creature appear. It was a giant blob of a monster, faintly humanoid in shape, covered in thick, sickly veins that pulsed with an alien aura. Its body had parts of the street sticking out of it, parts that seemed as if they were being absorbed into the creature. In the creature's center pulsed what looked like a meteor fragment. There were no distinct eyes on the monster, yet Ghaly was certain the monster saw him, its form jerking toward him. Its two arms pounded against its chest as it let out a roar, charging straight for the detective.

Detective Ghaly leaped to the side, barely avoiding the creature. Ghaly spun around and unloaded his entire clip into the monster's back, only to see the bullets sink harmlessly into the blob. His pistol wasn't going to be enough to take this creature down. If Ghaly's car was still in one piece, he could retrieve his 12-gauge shotgun and do something about this--thing. The monster turned once again to face Detective Ghaly, who took off in a mad dash into the dark fog that surrounded him.

Ghaly could hear more of those creatures in the distance. It sounded as if the city were infested with them. Had they come from the meteors? Was this some sort of alien attack meant to destroy the world? Detective Ghaly had served during the Second Rikti War in Brickstown, helping to secure the Ziggurat from an invasion of Ritki. He was used to dealing with alien threats, but at least the Rikti had some human qualities. The creature chasing him had no humanity to it. In fact, it seemed to have only one thought: destruction.

He saw his car, somehow still in one piece. The cars parked in front and behind were destroyed. Ghaly's car being spared was a gift, and he wasn't going to waste it. The detective kicked open his trunk and picked up his shotgun. He could hear the monster getting closer to him as he loaded the shotgun--three shells in the chamber, six shells in his pocket. Detective Ghaly jumped onto the roof of his car and aimed the powerful weapon. The monster emerged from the dust, roared, and charged. Ghaly took a breath and waited until the monster was nearly to the hood of his car before firing his shotgun directly at the meteor fragment lodged in its chest. The force of the gun stopped the monster in its tracks.

"Felt THAT one, didn't you?!" Detective Ghaly yelled as he pumped his shotgun and unloaded another shell into the beast, causing it to reel backward. The center of the monster's chest was exposed, allowing Ghaly to clearly see the pulsing meteor fragment. The gelatinous substance of the monster began to furiously regenerate to try to cover its inner heart. The detective stepped forward and aimed once more for the center of the monster. He fired another shell into its chest, shattering the meteor fragment. The monster let out a roar of pain before exploding violently. Goo was flung in every direction, some of it spattering onto his dark suit.

The detective reloaded his shotgun, then ran to his car to see if he could radio someone for information about what was happening. After a few moments, he got a reply from a Hero named Blue Steel, one of the few Heroes associated with the Paragon Police Department. "Detective Ghaly, this is Blue Steel, do you read me, over?"

"Loud and clear, Blue Steel. Can you tell me what's going on here? What are these monsters, over?"

"They're called Shivans, similar to what we've seen before, but . . . these seem different. Something has changed, over!"

"Roger that. What's the word on what to do? I've taken down one here, but . . ."

Ghaly paused as a meteor crashing nearby caused a large burst of wind to blow away the fog. He saw Galaxy City engulfed in flames. People were stranded in office blocks and apartment towers, yelling through the windows for help as the alien Shivans crawled along the sides of the buildings to reach their prey. Smaller meteors streaked across the sky, slamming into the occupied buildings. The Heroes of Paragon City flew through the sky, some saving civilians from skyscrapers, others being slammed to the ground by the falling meteors. No one was safe, not even the mightiest heroes. Detective Ghaly fell to his knees at the sight of the destruction. How could this have happened?

The ground beneath Detective Ghaly's car shook violently, as if something was trying to burst out. Detective Ghaly rolled away from his car and ran. Three Shivans erupted from the ground beneath the car, sending the vehicle flying as if it were a small toy. Ghaly was horrified by the sight. The creatures were in the ground beneath Galaxy City! What hope would he have of stopping them? He destroyed one, but three more appeared to take its place. Down the street, Detective Ghaly saw another group of Shivans chasing several civilians, and realized he had to do. He might not be able to stop the Shivans, but he could do everything in his power to save the people of Galax City while the Heroes of the city handled these monsters.

Ghaly charged down the street, the three Shivans following him like bloodthirsty animals. He got the attention of another pack of Shivans by firing his shotgun at the group, hitting the three. The detective continued running, now with six Shivans trailing him. The Shivans seemed to be powerful, but dumb; a useful combination. As he ran, more Shivans emerged to join the chase. Soon, Detective Ghaly had 15 Shivans chasing him through the streets of Galaxy City. Better him than civilians, he thought.

The detective ran into a small alley, hoping to bottleneck the beasts. He had no illusions that he would be able to survive this, but his instincts told him this was his best shot of taking the most number of them down. Ghaly reached a dead end and turned to face the horde of Shivans. Their monstrous glow bounced off the walls of the alley, and their groans and roars echoed around him. He looked past the horde of Shivans closing in on him to the civilians running frantically past in the street beyond. All safe, thanks to Detective Jonathan Ghaly, although none of them would ever know this.

Detective Ghaly, pumped his shotgun, aimed at the Shivan in front of him, and prayed for a miracle.