I

Chapter I

The decaying town of Slateston had picked up a fresh coat of paint and, for once, was beginning to look like something other than the usual disarray that its inhabitants had grown so content with. Where there had previously been piles of scrap and rubbish now stood steel pillars, topped with loudspeakers as big as a car tire. The roads which had been atrociously littered with all sorts of rot and other nastiness were now cleared and even the dirt that formed the road beneath all the filth looked a little cleaner.

However, this wasn't any doing of the residents. A strange and rather mysterious mega corporation had recently constructed a large facility on the outskirts of town. Nobody was quite sure why their town had been chosen, Slateston could easily be confused with a random inkblot on a dingy old map. Most inhabitants couldn't wait to leave, not that there was anywhere to go.

An extraordinarily tall building had been erected well outside city limits, it was covered in a dark matte paint and was of a very modern design. The windows were all tinted to pure darkness and one wondered if they were even windows at all. A large gear logo was plastered on the side of huge structure, standing stark white against the black background. Eight teeth protruded from the gear, with a large section of the inner diameter cut away, it was a simple design and easily recognizable.

The day had just begun and it was rather smoggy out. Luckily for the residents the old foundry near the town square was long since abandoned else the pollutants in the air would've been so abundant one would have to take a gasp of air before leaving the house and pray that their destination was within walking distance. There was something different today though, the fog was somehow menacing and the eddies and currents running through it twisted into violently grotesque shapes though not a single draft could be felt.

A young man stood by his window, examining the scenery outside. He could just make out the outline of the large corporation building in the distance, but it was quickly fading. The fog was beginning to darken bit by bit, gradually blocking out the natural sunlight and leaving the entire town in an eerie twilight that was quite reminiscent of old horror films. Suddenly a loud klaxon leapt from the loudspeakers that had been dotted throughout the small town. Everything drew silent shortly after and the already surreal scenery began to take on a new light.

The faint sound of jet planes began to roar in from the distance, the klaxon sounded again. People in the streets began to shout to one another in panic, something wasn't right. As the jets hit a crescendo over the town the siren stopped. Unheard due to the planes soaring overhead a convoy of large transport trucks rolled through the center of town, troops of unknown affiliation sprang out of the backs and began setting up folding barriers around the square. A voice rang out over the speaker system,

"Please remain calm. For your safety, and that of others we kindly advise that you move to the town center as soon as possible to guarantee safe passage out of the affected areas."

The man standing in his window began to panic, 'affected areas'? What on earth could that possibly mean? Had there been a viral outbreak? Had some lab experiment been accidentally released? He darted towards the door, forcing it open just in time to hear a woman scream. He couldn't see where she was, the fog was so thick he could barely see across the street, and it was so heavy that the sound reverberated everywhere at once. Something was horribly, horribly wrong.

He ran towards the town center at full speed, following the sound of the trucks' diesel engines. Hearing the sounds of panicked people he quickly moved to get inside the barrier that the troops were almost done building. Whatever it was that was causing this, he wanted to be as far away as possible.