It was just like any other day, that mid-summer afternoon on the hill by her house. She smelled the heavy air, thick with pollen and the smell of wild grasses. Dandelion puffs floated gently on the breeze, softly caressing the air with a subtle grace. The warm sun shone gently down from its lofty perch, sweetly kissing her skin as she lay in the tall grass. Clouds danced slowly in the skies, trailing their cyclopean masses diligently and peacefully towards some unknown goal that their ceaseless journey took them on. The trees in the distance swayed calmly with the winds, waving to and fro as the westward winds softly embraced the aged behemoths. It was as if nothing could go wrong on this seemingly perfect day.
But then the skies darkened, thick blackened clouds obscuring the sun from view and casting a cold glare on the world. The winds stopped completely, trees gradually halting their sways and grasses stood still. The very air chilled almost instantly, snapping her out of her near sleep trance with nature. Carefully sitting upright, she turned her gaze all around her. No sounds escaped the nearby city, the usual droning of factories and cars had been silenced somehow. Nothing came from the forest, no creaking of trees nor rustling of leaves, no warbling or chirping of birds, not even the music she'd sworn was just playing from inside her house. The silence of everything was ironically deafening. The skies darkened more, turning an odd shade of purple. A confused frown slowly crept across her face. Just what was going on?
A dimmed flash of green lit up the sky behind her, causing her to turn and face the city once more. To her horror a ball of what appeared to be rock and green flame plummeted from the clouds and landed in the middle of a mass of corporate buildings. Earth, steel and cement exploded upwards from the landing point, which would later be known as Ground Zero to survivors of the area, and rained down silently on the devastated scene. She brought a hand to her chest and drew her hooded sweater closed, shock from the event setting in. What had just happened? Without warning a second flash came from the foreboding skies, producing yet another green fireball that would smash into an unsuspecting house not three blocks from her own. She immediately stood up and rushed to warn her family.
That's when a single cry echoed throughout the air.
Suddenly she could hear the screams. Where there had once been only silence, there was now a cacophony of sounds, ranging from small explosions to blood curdling screams. Covering her ears from the maddening cries of innocent people screaming in pain and fear, she ran inside to her family. They were all standing in the living room at the window, which faced the nearby destruction and carnage. Her mother and father embraced each other half-heartedly, gazing out the window with mouths agape in horror and shock. Her younger brother clung to their mother like any young child, crying and choking out words that the girl failed to understand. She stood at the window and followed her family's gaze, recoiling in pure horror as she encountered what they had witnessed through the glass barrier.
Death and destruction was a simple way to describe the scene before her eyes, but the carnage was just too much for her to completely process. Homes were destroyed and burning, forcing their owners to retreat for safety. People were running in fear from massive stone goliaths that burned with the green flames she'd seen earlier falling from the sky. Horned beasts, some with massive wings and some with oversized swords, converged on the townsfolk from anywhere and everywhere, ripping them to shreds with large claws or cutting them down with larger weapons. There were even large wolf-like beasts with tentacles sprouting from their shoulders trampling and rampaging in the streets, groups of them encircling and devouring helpless people with no mercy or remorse. Hell had surely come to the world, and it brought with it its most foul demons and monsters.
Her cell phone suddenly rang, pulling her from her awed trance-like stare out the window and compelled her to drop to the floor and answer the device.
"Amelia, are you seeing this?" said the male voice on the other end of the call. She knew it to belong to her best friend Mikoto. After a moment of silence from her, Mikoto tried again.
"Amelia, are you there? Tell me you're alive and say something, please!"
Amelia shook her head and cleared her throat as she croaked out, "Yes, Mikoto. I'm here."
Mikoto sighed, and muttered something that sounded like 'thank god'.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm home. What's going on out there? Monsters are killing everyone. What's going on?" she blurted, choking back sobs as she spoke.
"I need you to get to your computer and sign on to instant messenger," Mikoto said, his voice trembling slightly. "I'll be able to explain more then."
Amelia didn't have time to ask why when she heard the line go dead, the phone quietly droning a single note. With a slightly renewed sense of calm, she stood and walked quickly to her room. She located and turned on her laptop and found a place on her bed to sit while the computer finished its startup. Immediately she turned on and signed into her messenger and sent Mikoto a message.
Amy91:Hey I'm on. Whats going on here?
M-89: Amy, I have no idea how to explain this, but I think I know whats happening right now.
Amelia stared at her computer screen for what felt like ages when she finally received a link. Curious, she clicked the internet link and stared in disbelief as her computer took her to a website for an online game. She disbelievingly read the title of the web article: The Burning Legion Comes To Azeroth and the World of Warcraft. Seriously?
Her concentration was broken suddenly as her computer beeped a couple times, signaling a new instant message.
M-89: Amy, are you still there?
Amy91: Are you freaking kidding me? What the hell is this link you sent me?
M-89: Did you read it?
Amy91: Of course I read it. Why the hell did you send me a link for that stupid game you always play?
M-89: That link is an article that relates to exactly what is going on outside this very moment.
Amelia blinked and stared at her computer screen for a few moments, dumbfounded. Was he serious? How the hell could a video game be wreaking havoc like this to the real world? Her computer beeped once more, another message containing a link. This one took her to a Youtube video this time. A few minutes into the video Amelia paled and her eyes widened. Some kids, obsessed with this game, tried to create a portal to the world of Azeroth. At first she thought it was just a stupid cult-based idea, but then the kids in the video did something she would have thought impossible: they actually opened their portal. It was made of stone and adorned on either side with, what the kid seemingly in charge had described as exact duplicates of statues from the video game. The entire point of the video, it seemed, was to make contact with the world these kids had so loved in an attempt to get away from real life.
Inside the stone doorway, encased on both sides with menacing statues and topped with a coiled snake, the space there seemed to undulate. A purple and then green glow emitted from the emptiness that was there before, pulsating with a sickening green and evil looking glow. Small wisps of the energy within escaped from the whirlpool of jade and vanished a few feet from the frame. One of the kids excitedly voiced his victory and strolled confidently through what Amelia now understood was known as a Dark Portal. Silence was everywhere as his companions anxiously awaited his return, whispering to each other and glancing to the camera now and then. Moments later, a deep guttural scream was heard. Everyone gathered at the portal turned suddenly and gazed deep into the swirling abyss.
Another scream gave way to the one who had only minutes before calmly entered the portal unharmed and cloaked, now bloodied and missing an arm. Amelia silenced the scream that stirred in her throat, watching with a new and enhanced horror as a massive and clawed hand groped through the stone doorway, reaching and grabbing at the young boys gathered. Several had been caught and subsequently pulled into the portal, their screams trailing off as they were pulled into the swirling mass. The cameraman dropped the camera and fled, and now all she could see was feet scrambling the other way in an attempt to escape the horror they had unwittingly unleashed.
The lighting dimmed after a few moments, soon replaced by a sickly green glow that seemed to fill the entire room. After another small amount of time, a large figure pulled itself from within the Dark Portal. It was gargantuan, stooping as not to hit the ceiling with its horned head. Massive, purple tinged wings folded and unfolded several times as the creature stepped forward with large, cloven feet. With a sinister grin, it peered around the room until it spotted the camera. In a single sweep, it collected the item from the floor and leered at it inquisitively. In a foreign language that was obviously not of this earth, it muttered something and smiled, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. Dropping the device to the floor, it stooped one more time and passed back through the unholy gate that produced it. Once through, darkness filled the room until the camera stopped recording. Evidently, someone came and retrieved the video, posting it on the internet for the world to see.
Amelia could do nothing but stare at her computer, tears fighting their way to her eyes. For a few more minutes it was all she could do to not throw her computer across the room right then and there and smash the thing to pieces. She felt disgusted and scared and maddened all at the same time. How the hell did those kids manage the impossible? What was that thing that came through the portal? How did more of those things get through? Her questions would have to be answered later, as she had a more pressing matter at hand.
Amy91: What did I just watch?
M-89: A video showing the successful opening of a portal to another world.
Amy91: What can we do?
M-89: Right now? Pray.