» Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:33 pm The market was bustling with activity, as man and ghoul alike wandered between stalls made of scrap metal and old bed sheets. It was quickly approaching noon, and the shade granted by the ruined office buildings of Crystal City was being stripped away with every second. The crowd began to hug the edges of the market aisles, hoping to take cover under the awnings of the various stalls. Not even Nuclear Hellfire could defeat the region’s infamous humidity, and direct sunlight only served to amplify the sweat inducing temperatures.
Suddenly, and without explanation, a roaring sound ripped into the psyche of the crowd. It was equally loud at all points, as if a localized explosion had occurred within their ears. Nothing could silence it, nothing could muffle it, and the crowd began to scatter in a desperate attempt to escape the thing that had penetrated their minds. Without warning, it stopped, and the crowd noticed that their bodies were not being warmed by the sun, and that they were no longer casting noticeable shadows. Looking up, they saw that twisted and dark storm clouds had gathered, and lightning began to strike the long abandoned buildings. The booming thunder the lightning created further terrified the crowd, and as the children began to scream and cry in terror, the Sky started to turn red like blood seeping through a bandage. They could only stare in terrified awe as the sky churned into a red, hellish nightmare of lightning and unnatural color.
Then, a different kind of screaming started. The ghouls that had peaceably intermingled with their human brethren for generations began to scream like ferals, and they charged at any human in their vicinity. Ripping apart limbs, separating muscle fiber from skin and bone, they ruthlessly attacked men, women, and children. Entrails were ripped out of bodies as the ghoulish rampage forced those remaining to retreat. The people’s vision started to blur, suddenly becoming more sensitive to light and then resistant to it, compounding their attempts to flee and causing many to stumble and be devoured by the ferals. Wives, husbands, children all torn apart in front of family and friends as their minds were flayed and disoriented by unkown forces. Desperate, they retreated into the old tunnels beneath one of the city blocks, hoping to gain shelter in the long abandoned service tunnels, parking garages, and even the crystal city metro.
As they fled, some managed to catch glimpses of a massive, floating structure, surrounded by a glorious ring of yellow light. Its massive cylindrical center was taller than any building, and sitting upon its top was a halo of metal, rotating around it without any connection. The Halo possessed massive wing like structures that jutted away from it's surface like a blade embedded in flesh. And below it, as all who glimpsed knew, was the obelisk, the Washington Monument, the last great stone edifice on Earth.
