Officer Gordon Whitlock kept his gaze moving across the crowd, looking for any who would threaten to disrupt the protest rally on the steps of City Hall. Events such as this had started to become more and more frequent, and their intensity increased with each additional gathering as if incensed by the lack of governmental response.

He thought the woman standing behind the podium at the top of the stairs was a combination of a science nerd and a cheerleader. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, and black plastic frame glasses were perched securely on her long and thin nose. The clothes she wore told nothing of her chosen profession, a generic t-shirt of dark blue and faded black jeans.

"I know you all want the Helix Corporation to answer for its reckless experiment with the catalyst," the woman told the crowd. "We will call them to justice."

She was forced to halt as the crowd cheered loudly and enthusiastically. When they quieted, she continued. "Right now, however, the priority is to focus on what can be done to end this problem. Blame can be assigned later if there is anyone left to do so."

The crowd went silent as her statement hit home.

"Already, militaries around the world are fighting against reptiles growing to massive size and in greater numbers than ever before," the woman explained. "Some countries are simply evacuating entire sectors of their territory as they don't have the resources to combat the problem. Animals affected by the catalyst age sooner than normal as their life processes are accelerated. Skin and organs begin to decay faster, and the body calls for more energy to make rapid repairs, creating insatiable hunger. Attacks from all manner of animals are up nearly thirty percent globally in the last week alone. What will happen if the catalyst mutates into a form that makes humans susceptible? What steps is the government taking to prevent the horrors that are sure to come? What plans have they made? What resources are being allocated to maintain order and ensure proper medical care? Do they have people working on a way to purge the catalyst from a living host? We need to know these answers, and we need to know them now!"

The crowd roared agreement. Gordon had only been half listening to the speech as his attention was on the people and the search for potential threats. With the assembled masses, it took longer than usual for him to realize some of the noise wasn't vigorous endorsement of the speaker's words or outrage over what the corporation had done, but terrified screams. People started moving in every direction within the crowd, making Gordon's job even more difficult as he tried to search through the mass of rushing people to find the source of the disruption.

"All units, hold for orders," Gordon instructed into his radio as he hurried along the upper terrace of City Hall to try and get a better view of what was going on without becoming swallowed up by the panicked crowd. As the people near the center of the disturbance fled, the immediate area cleared, and Gordon caught a glimpse of a man tackling another before wrestling with the victim on the ground.

"Sighting on one male attacker," Gordon reported. "Stay alert for any additional hostiles. Secure the speakers."

As his teams moved to clear the platform on the steps of City Hall of the blonde woman and her associates, Gordon raced toward the man being attacked. Lowering his shoulder, Gordon slammed full speed into the assailant, pushing him away from the downed man. Maintaining his balance by the narrowest margin, Gordon grabbed his cuffs with one hand, and the staggering assailant's wrist with the other. Quickly securing the attacker, he turned his attention to the victim, helping the man back up.

"Are you alright?" Gordon asked.

"Fine, I guess," the man replied, touching a hand to his throat. "That lunatic tried to take a bite out of me."

"Looks like it broke the skin," Gordon observed. "It's not bleeding too badly, so I don't think he got an artery."

The man's eyes went wide, and Gordon spun around to see what might be the cause. The attacker was pulling his hands out of the cuffs. The metal was restricted securely around the wrists, but the skin broke and tore like wet paper, skinning the left hand down to the muscle and bone. The blood was the same color and consistency of used motor oil. Freed from his restraints, the attacker lunged toward Gordon with a mindless scream of primal fury, hand of flesh and hand of bone grasping and clawing.

Gordon managed to draw his baton and swing a desperate blow to defend himself. The strike hit the onrushing man in the side of the face, but instead of knocking the man out or staggering him, the impact simply tore away his lower jaw, causing more of the dark fluid to ooze out and drip down the front of the man's shirt. The man didn't seem to notice the blood loss or injuries, staying focused only on Gordon.

Panicking, Gordon drew his sidearm and fired repeatedly.