Wind News Thorns

Erick Martin was a retired Colonel, who fought in the Thornish-Mollican War of 243. He was an interesting but quite odd fellow. He had the bearings of someone who served as an officer in the military, the ambition of a typical cowboy farmer, and the intellect of a learned scholar.

And in the latter laid the problem.

An awkward silence reigned in the living room. The colonel's glass reflected the fires of the fireplace, as he studied her daughter and the guests he had invited inside. His expression was unreadable, but by the end of it, he annoyedly huffed.

"Is this some form of joke?" Colonel Martin removed his reading glasses again as if to punctuate his question.

"No, we are serious dad. You did not see it on the news?" Clementine sat beside her father, pleading her case.

"You know we don't watch TV in this household," he replied, growing more furious by the second, "What happened Clementine? What trouble have you gotten into that you would lie like this?"

"No!" Clementine scratched her head, "Why would we involve an old wom- Mrs. Sheppard into trouble?"

"We don't know each other, Colonel. But I am too old to be messing around. The things I've seen… I've never seen it before." Mrs. Sheppard reasoned with her soft and shaky voice.

"And this is Pierre Acre, you remember him?" Clementine introduced. Pierre did not know how to respond in such an awkward circumstance, so he responded with a slight bow and a smile, "Didn't I mention to you that he became an assistant professor at Everett? He has no business lying and getting into trouble."

"Yes, I quite know Pierre," the colonel responded, there was no warmness in his tone, "He was a teenager when I last saw him. This is the same person who habitually stole my bike and was a mean bully. He made you cry more than anyone, Clementine."

"We were kids!" Clementine raised her voice, red in the face. Pierre saw Robert turn his face away trying to hide his smile.

"And now he's getting you in trouble again. I bet he's the one who got you in this mess. That wreck outside must be his as well."

He knew that the colonel wasn't fond of him because of the mischievous kid he once was. But he had thought that the man would know of the event by now, and would be willing to set it all aside.

"Colonel… I know how ridiculous it sounds, but everything Clementine told you is true. You can check the internet if you want." Pierre suggested, and at once, he got a terrible feeling.

"How convenient, because the internet is down," the Colonel responded, confirming his fear.

He had planned to connect to their internet and try to get in touch with his family in Thornston. Cellular data was out, what would make the WIFI connection any more immune from disruption, with the city razed?

"The TV… then," Pierre said, weakly, demoralized by what he just learned.

Without waiting for her father's response, Clementine stood up from the couch and stormed off towards the TV in the corner. A model from the previous century, from what it looked like, with the antennas and the bulkiness.

Clementine rifled through the drawers beneath the small desk where the Television set was housed. After a minute, she got the remote in her hands and pressed the button to turn the TV on.

The screen flickered to life… and disappointment came in the form of static. Clementine quickly changed the channel and the same white noise was displayed. So did in the next.

"That TV's old. It might have finally given up the ghost," her father said with a sigh.

"You must be great actors, or you're terribly desperate. But your excuse is just terrible. It's an insult to the ears and the brain. Greystone had been attacked by demons, huh? You could have done better than that," the colonel chuckled, "You will have my hospitality for the night. But if I don't get an explanation in the morning, I want you all-"

They heard a voice, and colors other than white, grey, and black, flowed into the screen. Clementine had switched to the Wind News Thorns channel, which if Pierre recalled correctly, was a national broadcasting network that primarily used satellite for distribution.

Harrowing footage of burning cities and raging demons silenced the living room. Everyone seated stood up and walked nearer to the TV. It did not take long for them to realize it was not a localized event. These demons did not only invade the county of Greystone or the country of Thorns. It was a worldwide calamity.

And as if that fact was not despairing enough, footage of the military trying to combat the otherworldly invasion was shown. Unlike what Pierre had expected, all there was to see, were helicopters in flight being dismembered by winged creatures, tanks being crumpled like paper, and soldiers being massacred in their thousands.

Pierre untightened his tie and weakly walked back to the couch. It was only a suspicion earlier, now it had been confirmed. He just saw Thornston in flames, its buildings ransacked, and the streets filled with corpses and demons. The chances of his parents, both in their sixties, and his sister, to have survived that… he did not want to think of it.

Cups shattered on the floor. Mrs. Martin had just emerged from the kitchen and saw something on the TV screen, that painted her face white.

"Dear God!" she gasped and her husband was quick to embrace her and block her view of the screen.

With the colonel stepping out of the way, he got a clear view of what was on the TV from the couch. The demons had reached the studio of the network. Things went flying and falling, the screams of staff reached the microphones, and in the clear view of the camera, unfolded a bone-chilling scene.

A demon, bigger than a minion, with ram-like horns, lifted the news anchor from his seat. The anchor, an adult man, fitted snuggly in the demon's grip. Laughter erupted as the monster, with two fingers from his free hand, wrapped the horrified man's head. Then with the greatest of ease, twisted the head off the neck.

Then the screen returned to the jarring view of the static. But compared to what they saw, it seemed like flowers and butterflies.