The Pratt & Whitney F119 engines roared harder as the jet accelerated.

Supercruise engaged.

The aircraft surged forward at high speed without afterburners, cutting through the night sky silently compared to the violent noise of earlier combat.

Back in the command center, the blue marker representing Raptor One closed rapidly toward the massive red contact.

"Distance?" Adrian asked.

"Twenty kilometers... fifteen..."

The operator paused slightly.

"Sir... the contact is climbing."

The radar signature suddenly rose several thousand feet in altitude in mere moments.

Too fast.

Far too fast for something that large.

Inside the cockpit, warning tones remained quiet.

No missile locks.

No radar interference.

Just, one enormous heat signature ahead.

"Command, I’m approaching visual range," Raptor One transmitted.

The pilot tightened his grip slightly on the controls as the clouds ahead thickened, moments later...

The pilot’s eyes widened immediately.

"Holy shit."

The creature was enormous.

Its wings stretched across the sky like a living bomber aircraft, blotting out sections of the clouds around it. Its body glowed faintly from within, cracks of orange heat running beneath dark armored skin like molten lava trapped inside flesh.

Every wingbeat displaced clouds around it.

The turbulence warning inside the cockpit immediately spiked.

"It’s huge..." the pilot muttered.

Back inside the command center, Adrian stepped closer.

"Raptor One, report."

For several seconds, he was silent.

Then the pilot answered slowly.

"Command... visual confirmed."

Another pause.

"That thing is not a flyer."

The creature turned slightly in the sky.

And for the first time, the pilot saw its full shape clearly against the moonlit clouds.

Massive wings.

Long tail.

A monstrous predatory head.

It looked less like an infected creature, and more like something ancient flying through the storm.

Then it roared.

Even through the cockpit canopy, the sound came through as a deep vibration that shook the aircraft itself. The turbulence warning flashed again as the shockwave rolled across the air.

Inside the command center, several operators stared silently at the feed coming from the Raptor’s forward camera.

No one spoke for a moment.

Because they all understood the same thing instantly, that this is something different.

Because they all understood the same thing instantly.

That thing was not part of the swarm.

It was above it.

Adrian kept staring at the live feed coming directly from the Raptor’s forward camera. The image shook slightly from turbulence as the massive creature continued flying through the clouds ahead, each wingbeat disturbing the air around it hard enough to affect the fighter aircraft itself.

"How far is it from the base?" Adrian asked.

One of the operators checked quickly.

"Still outside engagement range, sir. But closing fast."

Adrian’s eyes stayed on the screen.

The creature continued forward without slowing, its molten cracks glowing brighter every time the clouds parted around it.

Then he made the call.

"...Raptor One."

The pilot immediately answered.

"Go ahead, Command."

Adrian folded his arms tightly.

"Fire on it."

The room looked toward him.

"We need to know if that thing can be killed."

Inside the cockpit, the pilot swallowed once as he kept the fighter steady.

"...Understood."

The F-22 adjusted slightly, climbing higher to gain a cleaner firing angle. The targeting system attempted to establish a proper weapons lock against the massive heat signature ahead.

The creature was so large that the targeting box almost looked absurd stretched across its body.

"Tone established," the pilot reported.

Inside the weapons bay, one of the remaining AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles armed itself.

The pilot steadied the aircraft.

Then squeezed the trigger.

"Fox Three."

The missile dropped from the internal bay before igniting hard beneath the aircraft, accelerating toward the creature at extreme speed. Its rocket motor burned bright against the dark clouds as it closed distance rapidly.

Back inside the command center, everyone watched the feed.

The missile streaked across the sky. Seconds later, it crashed into the monster.

The explosion lit up the clouds violently as the missile slammed directly into the creature’s chest area. Fire and smoke burst outward across one side of its body, briefly engulfing the massive wing in flame.

The shockwave rolled across the airspace. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Direct hit!" one of the operators shouted.

For a moment, the creature disappeared inside the explosion.

Then it emerged, still flying and moving.

The flames faded quickly across its body, revealing blackened armor-like skin beneath. The missile had done damage.

But not enough.

Far from enough.

"It’s still airborne..." one analyst muttered.

The pilot stared in disbelief through the canopy.

The impact zone was visible now.

A noticeable dent.

Scorch marks.

Fragments of its outer armored skin had cracked away slightly near the chest.

But that was all.

"Jesus Christ..." the pilot whispered.

The creature slowed.

Its massive head turned slowly through the clouds.

Toward him.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot immediately felt something shift.

The thing had noticed him.

Warning tones suddenly erupted across the aircraft as the creature folded its wings slightly before accelerating.

"Oh shit."

The creature roared again.

This time the sound came stronger, rattling through the cockpit canopy as the massive airborne monster surged forward through the clouds directly toward the F-22.

"Command, it’s coming after me!" the pilot shouted.

The Raptor banked hard right instantly, thrust vectoring systems kicking in as the aircraft rolled aggressively through the night sky.

The creature followed.

Clouds exploded apart as it accelerated, massive wings beating violently enough to leave visible turbulence trails behind it.

"How the hell is it that fast?!" one of the operators shouted inside the command center.

The radar confirmed it immediately.

The creature’s speed had nearly doubled.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot pushed the aircraft harder.

The Pratt & Whitney F119 engines roared as the F-22 surged forward at maximum speed.

But the radar warning behind him kept getting closer.

"Distance collapsing!" the operator warned.

Adrian stepped forward immediately.

"Raptor One, lure it away from the base!"

"Already trying!" the pilot answered.

The fighter rolled again, veering westward away from the direct approach corridor to Basa Air Base. The aircraft cut through the clouds at high speed, changing vectors repeatedly in an attempt to drag the creature away from the base perimeter.