The manhole cover rolled around on the asphalt like a flipped coin delaying its revelation for a few moments. The first responders jumped away staying out of its path until is settled bottom side up. The loud clang made Casey Jump from the stretcher now wide awake for a second before falling on his knees. He was blinded by the sun looking up into the sky as the paramedics rushed to help him. He turned his gaze to Mongrel being loaded into an ambulance to be rushed to the hospital. His mind barely comprehended what had happened since he lost his hand. He was put back on the stretcher by the paramedics to be driven to the hospital. John Martins looked on Casey being loaded into the ambulance with grave concern beside him stood an army officer who said,<span style="color: #004000">"you know as soon as he is walking he will dragged away right?"</span>Casey's handler just nodded and turned away.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>The posse walked out of the smokey black charred room making their way to the front of the building. Progeny walked up to Casey's handler and said,<span style="color: #8000FF">"I told you there was a rake. My job is done I am out of here. Come on Blizzard."</span>Progeny shoves the WaBoCz (Washington Bureau of Cryptozoology) folder on rakes into John who takes hold of it with a scowl. He opens it and the Army officer peaks over his shoulder reading things he didn't have the security clearance to read. John Martins reads aloud out of astonishment,<span style="color: #00FF00">"Rakes were cloned from specimens found in the Siberian wilderness by Dr.Mieszaniec in 1964 to be used as weapons by the Red Army. The project failed and the only surviving specimens in 1965 were dropped by plane into the Canadian norther wilderness where a small population lives to this day. You have got to be kidding me."</span>John looks up from the dossier and watches Progeny and Blizzard depart in their classic sports car. The Army officer just turns and walks away hoping that he tomorrow he will just be a normal staff officer in a normal infantry brigade.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>The words,<span style="color: #000000">"You couldn't have done better."</span>come from the dark void as Aimpoint left the room. It seemed to flicker for a moment before it receded deeper in the room deciding to allow its host have his body back. The soldier came to the door and asked the obvious questions about what happened. Dr.Mieszaniec explained everything he was at liberty to say while filling out the paper work transcribing the things that the shadow king had said.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF00FF">"He was very nice. I couldn't have had a better Brother. He was very religious, I remember he went to the Orthodox church with our grandparents since he could drive to the day he enlisted. Our parents didn't like that though."</span>Sabina said elaborating on her brother's tenuous relationship with their parents. Sabina smiled disregarding the thought that her brother's kindness came from his way of life instead thinking that he had always been like that. Sabina turned to Kira and said,<span style="color: #FF00FF">"do you want to play some video games? We have a ton we can all play."</span><br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>Sergeant Caleb Krakowitz pulled the charging handle back twice on the M249 mounted to his MEDEVAC humvee loading a live round. Soldiers rushed around the ammo pad frantically preparing for real combat they could barely have trained enough for. All the Sergeant knew was that there was a rogue tank roaming the California desert and it would be his job to save those slain by it. Already the infantry platoons of his company had roared off into the desert with live weapons to attempt to head off the tank as it rolled ominously east. Caleb shouted to his driver to hurry up loading the Humvee with the last things they needed to roll. He was intent on catching up to the rest of his company. A tank platoon rolled up screaming at the soldiers working the ammo pad to load their tanks first. Caleb ignored the rowdy tankers and helped his driver finish loading the Humvee before they in turn roared down the dusty desert road towards their company.