0400 hours. Under a cloudless sky embroidered by an unusual multitude of sparkling stars, the incessant alien-sounding explosions finally ceased.

"Jesus Christ," I heaved a sigh, oblivious of my sweat-soaked appearance. "They've stopped," I said quietly, lest the utterance of such a statement rendered it untrue.

"They're not going away, man," Admiral Beckett said, a touch of dread creeping into his voice. "The shapes... They're just hovering there."

It was true. The monstrous entities had arrived perhaps an hour prior, but I would not attest to that. Time was immeasurable amidst the chaos of destruction, the tumult of screamed orders. Despite our impending subjugation, a fellow marine had managed a quip that North Korea had actually been conservative in their militaristic claims.

But it had been obvious from the very start that this was no human weaponry.

"There's some sort of residue left over from the explosions. I want you to help out the scientists as they harvest it. Stay calm," Came the emotionless voice of the commanding officer.

The colour of the residue, which slicked the ground strewn with countless mangled bodies, was incomprehensible. It somewhat hurt my eyes the longer I stared at it, my brain ached, my eyes yearned to escape it's fuzzy glare. The scientists had a tough job ahead of them, but I admired their bravery as they shoved aside friends and scooped up the inconceivable material.

The dark, complex forms insidiously lingered in the sky, the moonlight shone on their sinister, perhaps metallic complexion. I gazed and gazed, a fearful curiosity sprouting in my gut.

And then hell rained down again. And I ran, for this was worse than before.