The fall in Kloern always had a special feel. The Ouitch leaves, of a minty scent, rolled with the cool breeze through the streets. The people of Kloern were also in quite the happy mood. Smiles and laughs between merchants and customers, families – even the moodbirds were smiling.
It was harvest season, and the working class were reaping the benefits of their spring work. The markets were filled with the classic cultural Kloern foods and fruits. In addition, the festivals were just around the corner, so the kids were extra bubbly.
Klaus was a happily married man with a toddler and a beautiful daughter. He hummed as he walked through the hallways of the large Kloern wall.
"Yo, Klaus! You heading out?" a voice called out from behind him.
"Ya, got the ladies expecting me soon," Klaus replied, turning to his colleague, Pern.
"Haa, I'm jealous y'know… Now's the time to feel warm, eh?" Pern asked, rolling his neck dramatically.
"You'll get there. You're a nice enough guy. Besides, you've got your siblings. Comparison is the thief of joy. Hold on to them, yeah?" Klaus advised.
"You're right, boss. Well, I won't hold you longer. Even I know not to get women angry." Pern's smile cracked for a moment.
"Haha! That's right. See you tomorrow, then." Klaus turned back around, laughing.
"Yep, enjoy the Kareshmek!" Klaus's laugh was cut short by Pern's sly comment. Also, his walking – just enough for Pern to notice.
At Pern's raucous laughter, Klaus's ears turned red as he quickly hurried away.
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Klaus lived in a modest Kloern-styled home with his wife and 2 daughters. All of which welcomed him warmly. His wife and the youngest were the warmest. The older daughter was a teenager, so a "Welcome back!" with a smile was all she could muster.
Klaus greeted them all back, happy to be home after another successful working day at the walls. His house was decorated in the oranges and reds signifying the fall season, also complemented by the sweet and savoury aromas roaming the building.
"-I said we should call him Barky, but Charlie said Rufus was better. Rufus was good, but Barky was just too good! But when we were talking, he disappeared! And then Charlie started to blame me!" His youngest, Genevieve, spiralled from excitement to rage. Nothing the veteran father Klaus couldn't handle.
"Barky sounds way better than Rufus, Gene. I don't know what Charles was thinking. Rufus sounds way more dangerous, y'know."
"Mhm!" Geneveive agreed.
"So, what did the puppy look like?" Klaus asked. Just to keep an eye out. Or perhaps a surprise later.
"It was sooo small and cute! It was black and had 4 eyes that looked like beads. And also two long fangs, like a cute monster!" Gene explained, looking to the ceiling as if thinking nostalgically.
Klaus had a suspicion, "Real-"
"Charlie said it was a Niedar Doge puppy, Daddy. Oh! What if its name was Niel? Why didn't I think of that earlier?" she palmed her forehead.
Klaus chuckled nervously, 'Perhaps Rufus was a better name…' he thought as he imagined trying to control a furious Niedar Doge. The imagination ended when he and his family were about to die.
"Niedar Doges are really, really dangerous, Gene. Even if Barky is just a puppy, it still is dangerous to kids like you and Charlie." Klaus warned in his fatherly voice.
"But Niel was so cute! I can't think of him hurting anyone!" Genevieve whined.
"Maybe B- Niel was an outlier, but always be careful around animals, alright?" The tall man put his hand on his daughter's head.
"Hnn." Gene nodded with a pout. Klaus kissed her forehead before picking her up in a quick swoop, causing the child to squeal in glee.
"Why do I even try?" with a sigh, Ouide, the older girl, snapped her book closed. She entered the kitchen where her mother worked.
"So, what's the special occasion?" Ouide asked. Her mother usually only cooked enough food. But today, she had outdone herself with a plethora of dishes. Unusual, even for special occasions.
"Eh, umm, let's say… another day we are alive and together as family, yeah… that works." The glistening woman nodded before turning back to take a pan out of the oven.
"Shoh, Bleyt, and even Kareshmek! You've really outdone yourself today." Ouide complimented.
"Thank you. Now, if you would please help me by calling those two headaches." Her mom replied as she kept her eyes focused on her work.
"On it!" Ouide saluted.
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"As we sit here together, we thank the lord for providing for us in happiness, success, and sustenance," Klaus said as he opened his eyes. He looked at the Kareshmek and then at his wife, Lara.
Klaus's eyes held a very visible love that Lara returned in full force. Their eyebrows softened, and their eyes widened in an invisible connection. Love was in the air.
"Blegh, get a room. I'm trying to eat over here." Ouide commented, picking at her food while staring at them squinting her face.
Snapped out of their stupor, Klaus blushed and Lara flinched, "Ouide!" Lara scolded.
"What?" Ouide questioned innocently. Her mom sighed.
"Are you going to eat that?" Gene asked her sister after having finished her plate already. Well, most of it, as pieces of food were scattered all over the table
"Of course. If we can all keep our dignity, that is." She snorted at her own joke. It was Klaus's turn to sigh.
"You can have my 'dignity'! I want more Lavah!" Genevieve asked kindly.
"Unfortunately, I also want my Lavah. Doubly, I don't want your 'dignity'."
"Oh gosh."
"Ok, guys, how about we just eat. Gene, here you can have my Lavah, but you should also have some Shoh. You're still growing after all." Klaus directed his daughters.
Genevieve took a piece of Shoh from the middle of the table and started to nibble on it, exploring the richness of the taste. The family ate in a comfortable silence.
"So, how's school going, Ouide?" Klaus asked.
"Boring, nothing ever happens!" Ouide whined.
"Maybe that's a good thing. Then you can focus on studies." Lara piped.
"Boring," Gene droned.
"Ditto." Ouide agreed, "But on the topic of studies, we have a new project."
Klaus raised his eyebrows, "Well, there's something! C'mon, what's it about?"
"Haha! Got you excited, didn't I? It's just media studies. Research, Analyse, Theorise. Writing, my bane! Presenting, my second bane!" Ouide exaggeratedly dramatized.
"I thought you were all about reading books-"
WAAAAAAAAAAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Gene was interrupted by the loud sirens. The lights flickered once.
Klaus was quick to act. He knew what it meant. He worked at the wall. He was trained for situations like these. He stood up suddenly and picked Gene up from the chair.
"Come on, go to the basement. There is an attack." Klaus walked to the living room and pulled open a trap door hidden under a rug. He took Gene down. The rest of his family followed after him.
After confirming the safety of the emergency bunker, he headed back towards the ladder. He looked back at his family. They all held frightened expressions. Gene was on the verge of tears. He pursed his lips.
"You will be safe here. So, I will be back, I jus-"
"No!" Ouide interrupted him.
"I'm just-"
"No! You are staying here with us; nothing can happen to you." Ouide was firm as she ran up to him and held his arms.
Klaus put his arms over hers, and they looked each other in the eye. He caressed her cheek as her eyes wetted.
"I will be back, I promise. Okay? I just need to check what exactly the situation is. I will be safe."
Lara tore a piece of cloth and tied it around his forearm. A show of trust.
"Bullshit!" Ouide shouted from the back. "You can't go now, we need you!"
Klaus sighed, "I'm sorry…"
He climbed the ladder and left his family behind. The siren had told him exactly what to do. Secure his family and make his way immediately to the wall for further instruction.
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The loud, blaring siren continued to sound throughout the street. Together with the stray animal noises, crying children, and chaotic shouting, it made for a very disorienting run to the wall. Klaus had a lot to think about. Maybe that's why he couldn't fathom what the cause of the siren was.
At the wall, he and the rest of his colleagues, upperclassmen and lowerclassmen, gathered around the gate.
Pern, one of his closest buddies, came to him, "Yo, you got any idea what this is about?" he asked.
Klaus shook his head.
"Right, you were probably in the middle of that Kareshmek when this shit came up, my B." Pern snickered.
Klaus looked at him unimpressed. Now was not the time.
"Now's not the time, got it." Pern raised his hands in resignation.
"What have you heard?" Klaus asked.
"Nothing formal, just whispers and guesses. The threat seems to be consistently from the oceanfront. What's more erratic is the threat itself. Some say beasts, others say invaders. All in all, it seems like nobody knows."
"I see," Klaus nodded. His mind taking the information and thinking of the most plausible situation.
"Attention!" A loud voice struck all the uniformed men into proper posture and silence. On a balcony attached to the wall, the general spoke. He was in charge of all the military in the city, so proper procedure was important no matter the situation.
"From the alarm, you all must be curious as to what is happening right now. Let me cut right to the chase, I don't fucking know. It's like nothing we've ever seen before on a scale we've never seen before. It's heading straight for us, and none of our weapons are working."
Mutters.
For Klaus, he blanked.
"Silence! What does this mean? Does this mean we are going to sleep while our homes and families get destroyed? Do we understand what lies before us? Do we understand what to do to it and what it will do to us? Your answer might be 'no', but ours, Kloern's, is 'it doesn't fucking matter'. Because if we don't stop it, nothing is going to stop it. We have no time to run; our home and people will be gone. So that's why we have to try, with all our might, to protect what we have. If we fail, our legacy will be remembered through those we've saved.
"If you are scared of death, so be it. But being a man, a Kloern man, means to stand even in the face of fear and death. So, we will say let this be the end, and let them say proudly, 'they stood together and fought for us'. Now, hold your weapons tight, each and every one of you, because there is no running from this. Raise your heads and remember why you fight. Let's show this beast, a Kloern man's resolve! SEYA KLOERNIS!"
The uniformed men pumped their hands in the air, "YAK LO KLOERNIS, SEYA KLOERNIS!" they all yelled in unison. Including Klaus.
Klaus looked at Pern. Klaus was ordered to be at the frontlines. Pern was tasked with evacuation.
"Please, my family, they are in my basement, take them. Save them!" A tear fell from Klaus's eyes.
"I promise I will." Pern had the most determined face he had ever had.
"And tell Lara, I'm sorry. Tell them all, I'm doing this for them. And I love them!" Klaus's voice shook violently as he sobbed. "Go! Hurry!"
Pern looked at him once more before sprinting away into the chaotic city. He didn't look back; he couldn't. Or he would have to tell Klaus… that his wife was pregnant.
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"What the shit is that?" Klaus asked, his mouth wide.
It was just black. The sky should've been black at night. But this was different, there were no stars or moon. Just the darkest black. A black storm that seemed to be as thick as solid yet as mobile as fluid. It was indeed unlike anything ever seen ever in the records of human history so far.
The storm reached the shore, and they came. Black-clad aquatic monsters. Klaus watched as they grotesquely grew legs on the spot and started to sprint towards them. They were large and ugly. With sharp fangs, fins, claws, and insane speed.
But Klaus's eyes didn't waver. Instead, they sharpened with a glint. A smile greeted his face. "Pern, good fucking luck!"