• Houston, Texas – I-45 Northbound near FM 517 •
• October 15th, 6:45 AM CT •
[Senior Trooper Marcus Webb, Texas Highway Patrol]
Marcus found himself standing in the middle of the highway, his back stiff as a board and his mind in total disarray.
This should have been a routine call. One he'd decided to handle on his way home. The usual.
It was not.
When they received the call earlier, the hysterical rambling and heaving and yelling painted a picture that wasn't pretty—'Drugs' they thought—Cause what else would you think when a hysterical woman calls and says her boyfriend dropped dead because he touched the crack in the air?
Still, he was a trooper. He had to check it out. Plus it was on his way home, so if it was nothing? Great. Dinner and bed.
That was half an hour ago. Probably more. He hadn't checked the time, nor did he want to.
"What do you think this is?"
The question snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned and saw Greg—his partner of ten years—standing a few steps behind him, watching the now six-foot-tall crack in the air with a face full of fascination.
"I don't know," Marcus replied. "Would've looked like someone drew on the sky, if it wasn't pulsating like a heart."
He was unsure about a lot of things these days. His marriage. His job. His life. God…
Shaking his head, he turned to Greg. Distraction. He needed a distraction.
"What do you think they're doing?" He pointed at the people in hazmat suits and the massive equipment loaded in the backs of trucks.
"I don't know." Greg glanced over, shrugged, then immediately returned his sharp focus to the fissure. "I don't think even they know what they're doing."
Yeah. He should have expected that. Ten years as partners, and the man was still something of an enigma. Oh, Marcus knew Greg. He knew Greg's wife, his kids, everything in between. But sometimes he couldn't shake the feeling that Greg operated on a different wavelength than the rest of them.
"Oh, look. The military finally finished setting up the perimeter."
"Well, it's about time." Marcus scanned the area. "Though where'd they put the ambulances? I don't see them anywhere."
"All the way in the back." Greg pointed. "You didn't see 'em because you've been standing there for the last ten minutes. The hazmat guys said anyone close to the crack can't leave the second perimeter circle. That includes us."
"Wait, what? I still need to go home and sleep."
"Yeah. You can forget about that now."
"Ugh, okay." Marcus knew a losing battle when he saw one. "Did they at least take the woman and her boyfriend to the hospital?"
"Nope. Medical tents. The man's got a slow heart rate for some reason—still alive, but they've got him surrounded by plastic bubbles, like that'll do anything. The woman had to be sedated. Kept screaming."
Marcus chuckled, shook his head, and sighed in quiet disbelief. It was only starting to hit him now. He'd known they were out of their depth from the moment he'd arrived and seen people laying face first on the asphalt, a lone woman screaming a few feet away, somehow in rhythm with the sound of the ambulance.
It was why he'd called it in fast, requesting all kinds of support.
He hadn't expected the military to be this fast, but that was just one odd thing among many.
He took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts and figure out what to do.
Marcus liked to think of himself as a simple man. He, like most Texans, believed in three things: God, football, and barbecue. He didn't care for much else. Work, home, repeat. That was the rhythm.
That's why he was in shock.
And he still was.
Bzzzzzzzzz
Vooooooooooom
Crack~ zzzzzz
The crack started emitting sound—an annoying, consistent buzz overshadowed by other noises every now and then. He could have sworn he heard something like a lightsaber in there…
"Marcus!" A hand grabbed his shoulder. "Let's retreat for a bit," Greg said as he started dragging him back.
He looked around and noticed the hazmat people retreating too, leaving the trucks full of equipment behind. That's my tax money, he thought, but Greg was dragging him faster, so he didn't have time to voice his dissatisfaction.
"What's the big deal?" he asked his partner, who had his serious crime scene face on. He noticed the military starting to advance, weapons ready.
"I don't know, but you see those people in robes?" Greg leaned in closer and said in a hushed voice, "Those are the special units of the government. Wizards and witches, they call them."
Marcus turned his full attention to his partner, his face conveying his inner feeling of are you fucking kidding me? Greg noticed and chuckled. "I'm not kidding. You'll see…"
He couldn't continue his questioning as the crack started to violently shake and compress until it was the size of a football. It stayed like that for a few seconds as the soldiers formed a full circle, shields up and ready.
Brrrrrrrr
Zzzzzz
The ball started to vibrate, its colors shifting before settling on sky blue. Then, before he could blink, it expanded—forming a 10? 12? Maybe 15-foot blue circle that hovered a few steps above the ground.
Oh, this is not good, he thought as dizziness overcame him. The last thing he saw was Greg, trying to catch him…
---
• Houston, Texas – I-45 Northbound near FM 517 •
• October 15th, 6:45 AM CT •
[Greg Morrison, Texas Highway Patrol / MACUSA Auror]
Somnus, he recited in his mind, the tip of his wand peeking from under the sleeve of his uniform, pointing directly at the back of his partner of more than a decade.
It stung that he had to knock him out, but he was just making sure Marcus stayed alive and safe. The man had a child that needed him now more than ever, and he'd be damned if he allowed him to die because he participated in something he was ill-equipped for while sleep-deprived.
"Whoa there," he reacted instantly, reaching to catch his friend and stopping him from falling headfirst into the asphalt.
His movement caught the attention of the MACUSA Aurors, military personnel, and what few troopers, medics, and other government officials were gathering here.
"A little help here, please," he called out, and two soldiers rushed over to assist.
"What happened?" one asked.
"Well, the man's sleep-deprived, so I think the shock of it all finally hit him."
"Oh." The other nodded. "He was the one who called all this in, right? First on scene?"
"Yeah," Greg nodded, as they quickly moved Marcus toward the medical tents.
He didn't stay much longer, as he left soon after putting his friend in the care of the medical team. He still had to report for duty after all, not to mention that the situation could get worse very quickly. He moved through the crowd, ignored the questioning gazes he received as he power-walked toward the magical unit.
"Greg Morrison reporting for duty, ma'am." He saluted, his wand between his thumb and palm as he placed his hand over his heart.
"At ease…" Kat Williams, the head of the MACUSA Fast Response Unit—also known as his sister-in-law—nodded at him. "You were the one who sent the signal, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded. " I sent it as soon as I heard my Marcus call this in, and drove here directly."
"Hmmm." She hummed thoughtfully. "What can you tell me about this? Anything we might have missed?"
"Well, this isn't magic," he replied, stating the obvious as she rolled her eyes at him. "But it's a fascinating thing to watch. I really want to study it…"
"You and me both. And probably everyone else in the world," she retorted after a brief pause.
"Yeah, what about you?" He paused slightly as he looked directly into her eyes. "What can you tell me about all of this?" he asked, genuinely curious about the situation.
"Well, we only started receiving news not even an hour ago. Reports say the Archive screens started glowing red and showing warning signs. Then there was an attack by goblins in Italy not even ten minutes ago, and apparently an angel saved them." She paused, probably to help him digest the bomb she just dropped.
He only had one thought in that moment, though—a sarcastic retort that didn't leave his head. An angel? Yeah right… and I'm the Easter Bunny. He shook his head as he listened.
"The news needs more verification, but the initial information we received from the authorities back in Italy and the church urged us to quickly deploy armed forces. So here we are…" Kat continued her explanation in the same flat tone she used in official settings because she thought it made her seem more professional.
"Oh, so that's why the response was so swift? Even aerial support…" He commented as he looked up, his eyes roaming over the helicopters and fighter jets circling the perimeter.
"Yeah." She nodded. "The higher-ups sent us ahead as they prepare more forces to follow. If this turns into a disaster, they won't be able to defend themselves."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, word is that the only reason Italy was quick to respond is because they have a more active policy when it comes to their government employees connecting to the Archive, thus receiving a heads-up. We, on the other hand, have to hear about it from civilians and low-level employees." She elaborated. "And you know how bureaucracy works…"
"Yeah…" He drawled, dragging his hand over his face. It was bureaucratic shit that had him move from New York to Texas in the first place.
A beautifully worded demotion disguised as a promotion—despite the slight increase in pay—had him leave his post and turned him into a first responder unit member here in Texas. One that worked undercover with muggles, too.
He didn't really hate the situation anymore. He'd come to love it here. Especially since he received double pay from both sides of the government. Something he was almost entirely sure none of the higher-ups on either side were aware of.
He sighed and turned around, directing his focus back toward the Gate. Much like everyone else was doing at the moment as they felt the very air vibrating.
The tension in the atmosphere was suddenly more palpable than ever before. Something was coming out of the portal. He was sure of it.
Soon, a reddish-brown leg—covered with what looked like slightly scaly leather—stepped out of the portal, followed by the rest of the body. He felt his shoulders stiffen. There was something about witnessing something absurd for the first time that he couldn't quite process in a few seconds. And he was a wizard. He could only imagine what those No-Maj were feeling.
He tilted his head, his mind working at top speed as he observed the monster that stepped out of the portal.
The red, almost brown humanoid body. The reptilian head, eyes, and mouth. It looked like someone had experimented to see what a cross between a crocodile and a human would look like. His mind filed the details for later review.
"A kobold!" someone shouted.
He turned his head, but there were so many people here that it was impossible to find the source in a few seconds. Not that they had the time.
The monster—now temporarily identified as kobold—looked around for a few tense seconds before letting out an inhuman roar and jumping over the obstacles, heading directly toward them.
"Raaaaawwwwwwrrrr!"
It didn't succeed. It quickly found its head separated from its body by a spell. But they couldn't really celebrate, as more and more kobolds started to emerge.
Their roars and dying shrieks blended together with the sound of firearms, spell incantations, and general chaos.
He pointed his wand toward a kobold that seemed to want to break in a different direction and sent a Confringo spell at it, making it explode into green mist.
He didn't have time to focus on one target alone, though. He soon pointed his wand toward the portal and cast a Bombarda to blast the newly emerging monsters and give them a moment of respite.
His thinking failed as more and more kobolds seemed to emerge, and he started to feel a little more tired by the second. He hadn't used magic at this intensity in a long while.
He noticed they were starting to get more people injured despite their best efforts to shield the No-Maj. Their squad was far smaller, and they couldn't focus on two things at once.
He turned his head to see his sister-in-law bombarding the newly emerged monsters consecutively and couldn't help but shake his head. This might work for a while, but how long could she realistically keep this up?
"Attention all units—"
He looked up toward the helicopter and sighed as he saw the big gun mounted on it. He had a feeling this wouldn't work as a long-term solution either.
"—retreat to behind the first line. I repeat, retreat to—"
The voice was drowned out by the sound of the heavy machine gun firing.
Ratatatatatatatatatat!
He took a moment to breathe and collected his thoughts as the numbers of monsters were culled. They didn't get to relax or celebrate, though—the monsters started stepping out in groups now. He didn't know if they could hear the dying shrieks of their kin from the other side, but that would certainly explain the new vigor they seemed to have. They quickly jumped into combat as soon as they stepped out, unlike earlier.
Ratatatatatat… click.
The sound of the machine gun stopping was felt across the battlefield. Like someone had hit a pause button for a split second. The monsters didn't seem to care, though. They continued jumping, using the corpses of their fallen kin to help them reach higher.
Chaos soon reigned on the street as shouts, incantations, gunfire, shrieks, and groans of pain blended together like a symphony of death.
It was only when the monsters seemed on the verge of gaining the upper hand that a sudden, overwhelming pressure weighed upon them.
He didn't know what it was, but he instinctively looked up—with great difficulty—only to witness golden projectiles... arrows, he thought... falling down like rain.
It was a morbidly fascinating scene to witness. Still, his eyes caught the sight of the source of the death rain, and he paused. His mind came to a screeching halt.
That's an angel.
That's a fucking angel.
He didn't know how long it took his mind to restart working. He kept repeating the same phrase over and over. Each time feeling more ridiculous than the last.
Said angel was now descending upon the battlefield, his every movement seeming to carry a weight that was metaphysical in nature. Everyone and everything stopped. Even the monsters stopped coming out of the portal.
What followed was him standing there like an idiot as he watched the angel seal the area surrounding the Gate—if what he said was true—and heal those in need, pray for the souls of those who died, and move toward the medical tents to continue his healing.
There was a strange, almost monotonous feeling in the air as everybody seemed to be processing what was happening at different speeds. Some muttered prayers. Others thanked God. Some cursed. But none seemed to find a shred of doubt that what they'd just witnessed was an actual angel.
Despite how his features were covered in golden light. Despite how everything felt heavy and sluggish.
It was only when one of the commanders responsible for a No-Maj army unit pointed a gun toward the angel and announced loudly through the megaphone—"Halt! Raise your hands in the air! You're coming with us!"—that the spell seemed to be broken.
The angel just turned his head, looked at the commander, and made the most human sound he'd ever heard.
The angel snorted.
He fucking snorted. Derision and sarcasm seemed to seep out of him into the very environment. He and almost everybody present felt that.
The angel just shook his head and took off into the skies, his form literally blurring into a streak of golden light at the speed he'd taken off.
It was then that Greg's legs gave out, and he found himself on his ass on the asphalt. The only indication that he hadn't hallucinated all of this was the pain he felt from his backside.
X_
A/N: this chapter has been rewritten two times so I hope you like it.
Also, can someone do me a favor and join my p@treon/hunter20 and convey my apologies to my patrons there. My app stopped working cause apple is a bitch and made it so that the new update is only available on for new phones that support a new OS that my phone doesn't have…
Also, of any of you would like to support me, here's my Ko-Fi/ moonpie99
😊 thank you…