WhenOverrunIsNotJustaGame
Haveyoueverplayedagamewhereyouhadtoprotectaspaceordefendyourselffromanenemy?Ifyouhave,youknowhowdifficultitcanbetosurvivewhenyou'reoverrun.Butwhathappenswhenthisisnotjustagame,butareality?Thisisthestoryofwhathappenswhenatownbecomesoverrunwithsomethingfarmoredangerousthananyvirtualenemy.
TheInvasion
ThetownofEaston,intheheartoftheUnitedStates,hasalwaysbeenaquietandpeacefulplacetolive.Thatwasuntilstrangecreaturesstartedtoappearoutofnowhere.Atfirst,peopleweren'tsurewhattomakeofthem.Theylookedlikegiantbugsthatcouldspitacidandhadsharpteeth.Butasthenumberofsightingsincreased,peoplebegantopanic.
Policewerecalledin,buttheywerequicklyoverwhelmed.Thecreaturesseemedtobemultiplyingatanalarmingrate.Itwasn'tlongbeforethetownwasdeclaredano-gozone,andaquarantinewasestablished.Themilitarywascalledintocontainthesituation,buteventheywerehavingtroublekeepingthecreaturesatbay.
TheResponse
Asthesituationworsened,thegovernmentmobilizedresourcesfromalloverthecountrytoaidEaston.Scientistswerebroughtintostudythecreatures,buttheycouldfindnotraceofthemeverexistingbefore.Meanwhile,themilitaryhadtoadapttheirtacticstodealwiththeuniquethreat.Theydevelopednewweaponsandtactics,butprogresswasslow.
ThecitizensofEastonwereforcedtoevacuate,leavingeverythingtheyhadbehind.Thetownbecameaghosttown,withonlytheoccasionalmilitarypersonnelseenpatrollingthestreets.Thequarantinewasexpanded,andnoonewasallowednearthetownforfearofspreadingtheinvasion.
TheFallout
TheinvasionofEastonhadfar-reachingconsequences.Itwasawake-upcallfortheworld,asitbecameclearthathumanitywasnotthetopofthefoodchain.Thegovernmentpouredresourcesintoresearchtobetterprepareforanyfutureinvasions,andnewlawswereenactedtoprotectagainstbiologicalthreats.ThetownofEastonitselfwasabandoned,anditremainsuninhabitabletothisday.
Forthosewhosurvivedtheinvasion,lifewasforeverchanged.Traumaandlossremainedaconstantcompanion,andmanywouldneverfullyrecover.Thelegacyoftheinvasioncontinuestobefelttoday,asthestoryofEastonistoldandretold,awarningofhoweasilylifecanbedisruptedbytheunknown.
Inconclusion,overrunningatownmightseemlikesomethingoutofamovieorvideogame,butitcanhappeninreallife.TheinvasionofEastonservesasastarkreminderthatwearenotinvincibleandthatwemustalwaysbepreparedfortheunexpected.
