A/N: Hello readers! This work is from my fellow author MyLordReaper. They actually won a contest on this amazing piece of work (Congrats)! Please check out their books, and maybe give them a follow! Okay, now for the story-

The clouds temptingly glided over the summer night sky, shadowing over the few glittering stars that weren't hidden by light pollution. The city was promised rain, but not a single cloud lingered, for they were swept away like a feather caught in the breeze. Down in the city, the sounds Mother Nature intended to hear on a summer night- crickets, rustling leaves, the call of a crow, or the clack of a woodpeckers beak against a tree trunk- were drowned out by the sound of fans and air conditioners at full power. The summer night was searing hot.

In the midst of a dark alleyway, two men with mysterious backgrounds met up with each other. Strangely, despite the hot weather, they were wearing winter clothes.

"How did it go?" Asked the first man.

"It worked, I left it almost at the spot," answered the second.

"Did anyone see you?" The first man continued.

"Yes, but I got out just in time."

"That's okay, it will work anyway." The conversation between them stopped for a moment, then the second man broke the silence. "What about you, did you make it?"

The first man shook his head no, and revealed a package that was clumsily wrapped in brown paper. It shook slightly, just enough to be visible. "I couldn't get close enough," the first man had disappointment in his voice. The second man scratched his head as he walked around the alley.

"What do we do now? The whole missioned planned on us!" The second man stressed.

"Easy, don't panic. It can still work with one in place." The first man replied.

"It won't, we will have to do it ourselves." The package shook harder, as if eager.

Somewhere in the middle of the city...

A person stood by a dumpster, burning money in a metal barrel. Behind the dumpster, a strange package trembled.

"Huh? 'At's strange," The person mumbled blearily, shaking his scraggly beard from his eyes. He opened the package.

Bang!

A huge black cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah) erupted from it. It had burning teal zigzags running along it's back, irredescently shining from the fire. The cobra's eyes pierced a glowing teal, and the pupils were emotionless, and moved coldly. The man jumped back in surprise as the cobra slithered forward, its mouth curling into a merciless sneer as it revealed the skull pattern on the inside of its hood. It flicked its tail around the man, tightening around him in coils until his last full breath. The cobra exited the alley, glitches surrounding it as it grew in size. A dark teal tongue licked the head of a baby cobra, who, along with its alleymates, were now feasting on the dead man. The cobra waited for her children to have their fill, and led them into the prey-rich streets of New York.

Somewhere else in New York...

The man from the alley way, still dressed in heavy winter clothes, slid into a store labeled 'Lavender's Antiques'. The store owner, who was in the back, did not notice the man lay the package on a shelf between rusted tin pots. Shortly after the man left, two teenagers who were looking for old camera parts, walked in the store. The owner greeted them as they entered.

"Could this be one?" One of the teenagers questioned as they unwrapped the newly placed package.

Crash!

They screamed in terror as a fully grown, black female Gila monster (Heloderma Suspectum) leaped from the package. The shadowy monster was massive, and about a dozen baby Gila monsters poured out after her. The monster had teal splotches on it, and sharp white teeth. Her teal tongue slid in and out, her narrow pupils narrowed even further as she examined the chaos they had caused. She raised a claw. Faster than the mighty cheetah, she lashed out at the teenagers. Moments later, she sucked the life out of her prey, and left them for her children. The monsters shadowed themselves in glitches, and grew larger. The baby monsters swarmed the two bodies left for them by their mother.

On the news...

"The shadowed 'octopus' monsters that had taken over Chicago had just been transferred like a virus to New York. They have been killing victims and deviating into massive lethal monsters. Most of the U.S. has been destroyed, and some report monsters sighted in parts of Canada and Mexico, along the borders of the United States. Despite many efforts, the U.S Military and Air Force can't seem to stop these terrifying monsters. Will the human race stop the shadow monsters? Or will this end in a tragic global epidemic? I'm Nicholas Callimeyer, and you've been listening to News Global Radio."