Panic was staved off for the first few days after the creatures had been discovered. It was obvious that they were hostile and carnivorous, but they were just animals, after all. They had to be, right? No one understood exactly what had happened. It started in Russia. The Kremlin sought to cover up the affair at first, but before long, the death toll and the mysterious communications blackout was too big to keep contained. Surveillance satellites discovered large groups of creatures that could only be compared to something out of a movie or a child’s nightmare. These monstrous beasts were about the same height as a human, but were covered in thick scales, with long, rigid tails, and sharp claws. They looked very similar to what scientists had believed velociraptors looked like. And then it wasn’t just Russia. Australia started to report similar sightings, and then they appeared in the deserts of the United States. They were aggressive- beyond territorial. It was as if they sought out prey just for the sake of seeking it out. These creatures were intelligent as well, and some combination of their senses made them perfect night-stalking predators. They appeared and moved in packs with a kind of coordination and precision that had scientists suggesting they had a hive-mind, responding to commands from one leader almost instantaneously in perfect synchrony. Weeks went by, and most of civilization watched on with fascination, but then they reached the cities, and it was no longer a new species to observe on Animal Planet. These things were vicious, fast, and intelligent, and they seemed to believe that it was their purpose to wipe out all of humanity. Some kind of strange design of their clawed hands allowed them to operate doorknobs and manipulate objects like a person would- it wasn’t exactly an opposable thumb, but a weird cartilaginous joint-system. They watched and learned before attacking. Las Vegas never had a chance. The military was mobilized once it became apparent that there was no sign of their progress receding. But even they were too slow and ill-prepared. Their anatomy and dense bone structure had a strange design that made it difficult to take them down with bullets alone. But it was almost too late by the time we learned this.