I'm now hiding in a a small creek bed.

Earlier a military helicopter took off and launched several missiles into the crater. They never made it, instead exploding well outside of the rim. Moments later some sort of beam of intense light shot out of the crater and hit the chopper. It immediately exploded, and some of the falling debris hit several soldiers on the ground. The others began to scatter. Some ran towards the woods, others went for the SUV's. Looked like one group was going for one of the remaining helicopters.

Suddenly something emerged from the crater. Hard to say exactly what it was, except that it appeared to be some sort of mechanical giant that stood maybe 30 or 40 feet tall. It began firing the same bursts of energy (or light or whatever) that had brought down the first helicopter. Whenever the beam hit a person, he or she ended up bursting into flame. It pretty much had the same effect on the helicopters and the SUV's, reducing them to smoldering piles of twisted metal. Then it started going for the remaining firetrucks, destroying them as well. At this point there must have been hundreds of people running and screaming. Unfortunately for them, they were way out in an open field, with no cover nearby.

The group of spectators I was with were further away, so we had a little more time. I decided to head for the cover of some trees and a stream. My neighbors, unfortunately, made a break for their truck. Last I saw them was when that beam caught up with them.

The robot eventually trudged off towards the east, which also happens to be the direction towards DC. I started to come out of my hiding place when suddenly another of those machines whirred to life in the crater. Over the course of the next hour or so, six more of them emerged from the crater.

As near as I can tell, all of the giant robots are finally gone. After they made mincemeat out of everyone and everything within their range--which appears to be line of site regardless of the distance-- they went off in various directions. One actually passed within fifty yards of me. I thought for sure I was about to die, but it just kept going.

Since then I've been checking various news sites. For the most part they're all showing the same headlines about the Fed's latest rate cut, or presidential poll numbers, or the World Series. And that's what's curious: They're ALMOST always the exact same headlines. It's been that way since this morning.

I have found, however, a number of other sites claiming that the government has stepped in and taken over all official news outlets. Apparently it's part of an effort to prevent panic from sweeping the country. I've never been one for conspiracy theories, but based on what I saw earlier, it makes sense.

I'm going to try and make my way back home.