The air in the gymnasium-turned-briefing-room was thick with the scent of fear, unasked questions, and the faint, metallic tang of recently decontaminated gear. Rows of military troops, National Guard reservists, and grim-faced local law enforcement officers sat on folding chairs, their expressions a mix of confusion and grim determination. They were all uniformly outfitted in bulky, uncomfortable hazmat suits, their faces obscured by clear visors. Beside each chair, propped against their legs, were the gleaming nozzles of flamethrowers and heavy packs filled with incendiary devices.
On a massive projection screen at the front, a highly detailed map of New York City glowed. It was filled with a constellation of red dots, each pulsating with an unsettling rhythm. As they watched, new dots would appear, sometimes morphing into fleeting blue or green. The map seemed to be updating with a slow inevitability.
A stern-faced colonel, his voice amplified by the room's acoustics, spoke from the podium. "Listen up. Your orders are simple, unambiguous, and non-negotiable. You are not to ask questions. You are here to execute a containment protocol of the highest national security priority." He gestured to a small, hand-held device being distributed by a junior officer. It resembled an old-fashioned Geiger counter, sleek and black. "This device will be your eyes. Watch it at all times. If it indicates a presence, you are authorized to use lethal force. Any sign of life in the designated zones, any indication on your device, is to be neutralized. Burn it. Burn all signs of life. Confirm complete thermal sterilization before proceeding."
He paused, letting the severity of the orders sink in. "This is not a suggestion. This is a directive. Lives depend on your unwavering commitment."
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Meanwhile, outside the secure perimeters, the operation hadn't gone unnoticed. Social media was a raging firestorm of speculation, outrage, and fear.
@ConcernedCitizen76: They're putting hazmat suits on soldiers in NYC! Is this about the illegal immigrants? Are they planning to burn people alive?! This is like the Holocaust! #NYC #ImmigrationCrisis
@UFO_WatcherNY: Troop in hazmat suits with flamethrowers in NYC... after that official alien leak? It's not immigrants, people! It's an invasion! THEY'RE HERE! #AlienInvasion #NYCIsDoomed
@TruthSeekerNow: If the military is deploying flamethrowers, evacuate New York NOW! Don't let what happened in London happen here! Get out while you can! #NYC #EvacuateNYC #LondonIncident
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Inside the city, amongst the swirling confusion and mounting public panic, a four-man team of NYPD officers moved through a darkened apartment building in Queens. The officer gripping the flamethrower, its tank heavy on his back, kept his eyes darting to the tablet-like device in his gloved hand, which displayed a zoomed-in section of the city map, a single, pulsating red dot indicating their target apartment on the third floor.
"This is insane," another officer muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his suited hand. "What the hell is really going on? 'Don't ask questions'? We're supposed to be protecting people, not... burning down homes."
"Don't ask too many questions," a third officer replied, his voice muffled by his respirator. His eyes flickered nervously towards the back of their formation, where a man in a crisp black suit and dark sunglasses, utterly devoid of any protective gear, was. He wasn't military, wasn't NYPD. He was just there. "Something is clearly going on."
The suited man offered no explanation as they reached their target door, his expression unreadable behind the dark sunglasses. The Geiger-counter device in the lead officer's gloved hand began to emit a rapid, frantic series of clicks, intensifying with each pulse. Without a word, the suited man simply waved his hand. There was no visible lock, no sound of a mechanism, yet the door instantly clicked open and swung wide open.
The familiar, cloyingly sweet aroma, hinted at by the briefing, immediately filled the space beyond the threshold – though, through their sealed hazmat suits and respirators, the officers could not smell it. Black goo, glistening and viscous, coated patches of the floor and walls, a disturbing décor in what appeared to be a standard apartment living room.
The officers froze, flamethrowers poised but unmoving. The figure was utterly, undeniably human. Their training screamed to protect, to verify, but their briefing had been chillingly clear: no questions. Still, the lead officer hesitated, his finger twitching on the igniter.
The suited man's voice, calm and utterly devoid of emotion, cut through the tension. "Burn it."
One officer flinched, then, with a choked sound of internal conflict, pulled the trigger. A terrifying torrent of roaring flame erupted from his flamethrower, engulfing the resident in an instant.
"What are you doing?!" another officer screamed, recoiling in horror from the sudden, fiery inferno.
The 'human', engulfed in the blistering heat, let out a piercing, unearthly shriek. Its form shimmered, wavered, and then, impossibly, began to transform. The human skin bubbled, melted, and peeled away, revealing a terrifying being of shifting black ooze, still vaguely in the shape of a human, writhing within the flames.
"That wasn't human," one officer whispered, his voice trembling as he watched the grotesque transformation.
The suited agent remained impassive, his voice flat. "Continue to decontaminate the room."
Another officer, visibly shaken, turned towards the suited man. "Hey! Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?!"
The suited man offered no words.
"Don't ask any more questions," the lead officer commanded, his voice now steely, his initial hesitation vanished, replaced by a cold, hard resolve. He tightened his grip on his flamethrower. "Let's get this done. It seems the situation is more serious than I ever imagined."