People were running en masse back towards the shore, screaming as they ran.
Alton grabbed a father running past with his family. "What is it?" he barked at him.
"Komodo dragon!" yelled the man, taking in their uniforms and light armour.
"Dragon!" Alton called to his team. "Niko, Wolf, grab whatever you can find for shields."
The men had come out lightly armed with only their swords and bows.
Niko and Wolf peeled off into one of the nearby restaurants. They rejoined the group holding a motley collection of pot lids, woks and trays, handing them out among the men.
"Thanks man," said Magnus sarcastically. "This should do a good job protecting my pretty face," he waved a long-handled wok at Wolf.
"You're lucky I didn't give you the tray," said Wolf, indicating the flimsy looking tray with flowers etched into the surface that the giant blond Niko was wielding. "And your face isn't that pretty."
Magnus was traditionally handsome, with dirty blond hair, green eyes and a finely chiselled face that spoke of his Scandinavian heritage. He and Cormac were ribbed mercilessly by the other men for their pretty boy looks.
"Alright, protect your faces and anywhere you don't have armour," their Commander ordered. "Don't bother with your arrows, they can't pierce their skin. Use your swords. Stay together, in formation. Let's go!"
They could see the dragon now. They'd practised this in drills many times, but this would be their first time fighting one for real.
They weren't real dragons, they were tubiàn, mutated animals created as weapons during WW3, now run rampant across the uninhabitable Mainland.
"What's it doing this far south?" asked Wolf. "How do you think it got past the Great Wall?"
"Puzzle for another day," said Commander Meyer shortly. "Right now, let's focus on killing it."
A young girl screamed as the dragon, standing on its hind legs, snatched her up and stuffed her into its mouth, crunching noisily.
The victim's mother stood on the dock, crying hysterically.
Alton started to run. His unit kept pace with him step for step; they were incredibly tightly trained.
"Pick her up Baer," the commander shouted, indicating the victim's mother, who was too overwrought to flee. "Take her to the restaurant and tell them to lock the doors."
"On it!" Baer grabbed the crying woman, threw her over his shoulder, and ran.
The creature, still munching on the girl, saw the group of armed men and turned to defend itself.
It carefully put down the rest of its meal for later, protecting the girl's body which it wrapped with its long tail.
The front row of four men formed a semi-circle around the creature, which had its back to the ocean. It stood at least fourteen feet tall and seemed as comfortable on two legs as it was on all four.
Niko darted in and attacked it with his sword, slicing at its feet, holding his makeshift tray aloft. He rolled back out after failing to make a scratch through its hide.
Alton tried from the dragon's right, thrusting his sword into the creature's side with all of his strength. It was like stabbing a brick wall and he felt the aftershock fly painfully back up his arm.
"Hiiiiissssss," it made a long, low sound, flicking its forked tongue in and out.
"The swords are not piercing its skin. Go for the belly or the eyes!" shouted Commander Meyer.
"The eyes are a little high, Sir," said Niko grimly, looking up in the dim night sky at its reptilian eyes.
Dragon spit dripped down his serving tray and he threw it aside in disgust, snatching a wok lid from Cormac, who stood in position behind him.
"Keep back man," he said to the shorter man, who now lacked any form of protection from the poisonous acid.
Han ran forward and dropped into a commando roll to avoid the dragon's snatching claws. He managed to get a thin slice into the soft part of its lower belly as he rolled past.
The creature immediately dropped down on all fours, where it still stood taller than the men, its belly was now protected from them.
"Good job Han, it's bleeding," grunted the Commander.
The creature hissed again and started to spit huge gobs of poison at them, hurling them off its long, forked tongue with great precision.
Niko dodged a large wad of dragon spit, turning to flatten and roll Cormac clear at the same time.
"Thanks man," Cormac panted.
Niko gripped Cormac's forearm and yanked him to his feet with a nod, striding back to his position on the frontline.
"Has to be the eyes," shouted the Commander. "Niko, Wolf, slingshot me!"
Niko and Wolf rolled forward and crouched, half-kneeling, scant metres from the beast. Their Commander ran towards them and the pair propelled him into the air towards its head.
Commander Meyer sped towards the head of the giant creature, smashing his sword deep into its eye socket.
The blade sank through its eye and into its brain, quivering there for a moment before the creature rolled over and dropped from the pier into the dark water.
"Time for a new sword, Sir," said Wolf wryly.