Prologue

The grey skies clung to the New York City sky line. Thunder rolled harshly, reverberating off of the iron and stone, amplifying its force. However, this wasn't normal thunder, as there was no lightning. Also, unlike normal thunder, it was localized around a tall tower of a building. As the thunder blast around the building, flashes of red could be seen. If one were to stand under this building, one would realize that it wasn't thunder they were hearing: it was gunfire. Automatic gunfire to be exact, as well as a few explosives, by the sound of it. And by the ferocity and frequency of these sounds, it sounded like a war was going on. Of course, when there is a war, there are casualties.

Such was nearly the case, as large boulders of concrete plummeted towards the streets below. Like mighty fist from God himself, each boulder crashed into the ground, shattering not only themselves, but anything they landed on. Streets cracked to rubble, cars flattened, glass and metal flying. Panic and fear ran rabidly among the people on the streets. Everyone tried to avoid the falling debris, for fear that tonight might be their last night. Fortunately, there was not one fatality, but many were injured. The local New York Police Department, better known as the N.Y.P.D., was rushed in to keep not only the peace, but everyone alive. Everywhere one looks, blue police vehicles crowded the streets. Among all these blue cars, however, stood one red convertible.

The doors of the convertible opened, revealing a pair of police officers within. One of the officers was a tall man in his early 20s. He had messy black red hair, red facial stubble, brown eyes worn behind a pair of square framed glasses, and a scar on his left cheek. His physique was that of a track and field star, tall and thin, with some slight muscles on him. He was dressed in old camouflaged pants, a black and white polo shirt, tan hiking shoes, and a World War 2 pilot's jacket. The other passenger, emerging from the driver's side, was a fairly lovely looking woman. She had tan skin, flowing raven black hair, amber eyes, and a very lovely physique. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, black hiking shoes, and a red jacket.

Observing the scene around them, the two officers, clearly partners ran into access the situation. The man ran into the ground zero of the epidemic, while his partner went to the nearest fellow officer. "Maza and Champion, 23rd Precinct" stated the woman, revealing the badge of a high ranking detective to one of the lesser cops. The male, Champion, returned to Detective Maza, carrying an injured woman with him. As he took the woman to a waiting ambulance, he revealed his badge as well, showing that he, like Maza, was a detective. "Mind telling us what's going on up there" asked Champion, as he carried the woman past the two. "I was hoping you'd know detectives" stated the officer, looking up at the sky, "Sounds like somebody's having one hell of a party up there."

The gunfire and explosions grew more intense, more rubble falling into the streets. Before even thinking, Detective Maza ran into the rubble, casting all thoughts of self-preservation aside. Seeing this, Champion followed suit, calling out to his partner. Once inside, Maza instantly set forth, helping anybody that looked like they needed it. One of them, a man trapped underneath his own car, was almost the end of her. As she pulled, she failed to notice a large boulder of concrete falling in her direction. The only time she noticed this was after the man was freed, and when the boulder nearly crushed her. Fortunately, her savior came. Champion reacted quickly, tackling Maza away from the boulder. The next thing she knew, Champion had her pinned down, panting heavily. "Thanks" was all she said. "You owe me one, again" stated Champion as he helped Maza to her feet. "The usual" she quipped. "You know it, and make sure it has extra pepperoni."

The two detectives tried to reach closer to the building, hoping that by reaching the roof of the impressive structure, obviously where the chaos was taking place, they would find the source and stop it before innocent civilians got hurt. However, there advances were cut short by many things, including the large boulders. "Clear out, now" commanded Maza to a few stragglers. Needing no more incentive, the pedestrians ran to the far side of the street, hoping for safety. Champion groaned, "We're in no mood to be mopping up some grease stains." Their train of thought came to a sudden halt, as they felt something out of the ordinary. For one thing, the boulders were not made of modern concrete, but ancient granite. But that was not what grabbed their attention; it was what was shaped on the granite that did it. Looking over at the boulder, the two detectives saw three large gashes on it, and deep ones to. "Are those" asked Champion. "I think so" answered Maza. Both of them were mesmerized by these gashes, these strange markings, these "claw marks?/!" Looking up, their curiosity was taken to a whole new level.

However, their curiosity would have to wait, for as they looked, they noticed another boulder, biggest one thus far, fall straight towards the two. Without haste, they ran back behind the barricade, narrowly missing it. As the boulder crashed into the ground, it shattered into countless pieces, smashing the large amount of the markings with it. One of the pieces flew straight towards the nearest fire hydrant, busting it out of the ground. As the water shot skyward, adding artificial rain to the artificial thunder, the minds of the two detectives raced. "Hey, Elisa." "Yeah Travis" asked Elisa. "I've got a riddle for you." "Shoot." Travis and Elisa gazed at each other, then, to one of the stones, one that had three deep gashes on it. As they looked with a detective's intuition, Travis asked "What on Earth could be strong enough to leave claw marks in solid Granite?"