Chapter 124 A New Monster

124 A New Monster

Angela reacted sharply. "Lisa, back up, now!" she shouted.

Lisa wasted no time. She slammed the gear into reverse and the JLTV Oshkosh lurched backward. The creature charged, its heavy footsteps cracking the asphalt like eggshells. It plowed through abandoned cars as if they were made of paper, sending them flying aside in its rage.

"Harder, Lisa! It's right on us!" Denise yelled from the back as she looked in front of the windshield.

Denise's warning came just as the creature swung a massive arm towards them. Lisa pressed the accelerator to the floor, the JLTV's engine screaming as they shot backward. The creature's blow narrowly missed, sending a shockwave that rattled their teeth.

"Left! Go left!" Ella instructed sharply, as a massive fissure opened up in the road directly in their path.

Lisa yanked the steering wheel to the side, the vehicle skidding on the uneven road. They missed the crack by inches.

The creature roared, a sound that vibrated through their very bones, and continued its pursuit.

"Call your brother! Call your brother now!" Angela shouted.

"Shut up! I'm driving! Go do it yourself!" Lisa yelled

Lisa's hands were a blur on the wheel as she kept the JLTV Oshkosh hurtling in reverse.

Ella grabbed the radio with shaking hands, punching in the frequency for their camp. "This is Unit 4, we're under attack by an unknown entity. Requesting immediate backup!" she shouted into the receiver.

The radio crackled, and a voice responded

"Callsign Unit 4, this is Blackwatch. Repeat your last."

"I say again, Blackwatch, we are being pursued by an unknown hostile," Ella repeated sharply. "We are heading southbound on Fifth, approaching the mall. We need immediate support—this thing is like nothing we've seen in the orientation before!"

Static buzzed over the line for a moment, a brief pause that felt like an eternity under the creature's looming threat. n/-OvelbIn

"Copy, Unit 4. Can you please describe the appearance of the hostile in front of you? Is it a variation of mutated zombies?"

"ARE YOU REALLY ASKING ME THAT?!" Ella said exasperatingly but still answered. "No, Blackwatch, this is not a mutant or any kind of infected we've been briefed on. It's something else—like a walking mountain with cracks that glow like lava!"

The radio was silent for a moment, then crackled back to life. "Understood, Unit 4. We are dispatching a strike package to your location. ETA is two minutes."

"Roger that, strike package, two minutes, out here," Ella hung onto the receiver and relayed the information to the team. "We have two minutes until air support arrives. We just need to hold on."

"Wa-wa-wait! What's it doing?" Angela said as she noticed the monster stopped and picked up a large chunk of rubble from the ground. Its massive hand gripped the concrete and rebar like it was clay. With a grunt that seemed to shake the very air around them, the creature wound up and hurled the debris with terrifying force at the Oshkosh.

Lisa's eyes went wide in the windshield.

"Hold on!" she shouted. Without hesitation, she swerved the vehicle hard to the right, the maneuver throwing everyone against their seatbelts. The rubble smashed into the road just where they had been a second ago, the impact sending shards of asphalt spraying in all directions.

The creature, seeing its attack miss, let out a bellow of frustration and resumed its pursuit. But instead of charging towards it, it lowered its hip down. The creature's legs coiled beneath it, muscles and stone contracting with a power that seemed to pull at the very gravity around them. Then, it launched itself into the air.

As it soared, the ground where it had stood moments before cracked in a vast spider web pattern from sheer force.

Lisa, watching this unfold through the windshield, knew immediate action was needed. "Brace!" she yelled over the din.

The Oshkosh's occupants tensed, readying for the creature's landing. The monstrous figure cast a huge shadow as it descended, aiming to crush the vehicle under its colossal weight.

Lisa managed to swerve the Oshkosh just as the creature came crashing down. The impact sent tremors through the vehicle, and a shockwave from the creature's landing buffeted the Oshkosh. The force was so great it lifted the vehicle off the ground, and for a moment, they were airborne.

Time seemed to slow as the Oshkosh flew. Lisa's hands were still on the wheel, but steering was useless without tires on the ground. Everyone inside braced for the inevitable crash-landing.

The JLTV Oshkosh hit the ground with a bone-jarring crash, the suspension groaning under the stress. Miraculously, it landed upright. Lisa didn't waste a second; she slammed her foot on the accelerator—only to find out that it wasn't heeding her command.

The engine was dead, the dashboard was lit up with warning lights, and the Oshkosh was no longer responding to her urgent commands. The shockwave from the creature's landing had done more than just throw them into the air; it had crippled the vehicle.

"I can't move the vehicle!" Lisa shouted.

"Lisa...you are bleeding," Angela pointed out, and Lisa felt blood trickling down above her eyelashes, blurring her vision momentarily.

"Just a scratch," Lisa said quickly, wiping the blood away with the back of her hand. "Are you alright you all?"

"I'm fine," Angela confirmed.

"Me too," Denise added, checking her own gear and body for injuries.

"Me as well," Ella asserted, her focus still on the radio, ready to call in their status at a moment's notice.

Lisa nodded sharply, her mind already on their next move. "Ella, keep HQ informed. We're abandoning the vehicle. Angela, Denise, grab what you can carry—weapons and ammo."

"This is Unit-4, our—" Ella paused as she noticed that the radio was broken from the impact. She tossed it aside and started gathering her gear. "Radio's busted. We'll have to move without comms."

"Yeah, looks like mine as well," Lisa added, and so does the other two. All radios down.

Suddenly—

The JLTV Oshkosh rag-dolled along the streets as the monster broadsided it with its enormous arm, the force of the blow akin to being hit by a wrecking ball. The armored vehicle tumbled end over end, throwing the soldiers inside against the restraints of their seatbelts.

When the Oshkosh finally came to a stop, it was on its side, wheels spinning uselessly in the air.

Inside the JLTV Oshkosh, the soldiers quickly took stock of their condition. They were bruised and battered from the violent tumbling but miraculously alive.

Lisa, with a gash above her eye, was the first to move, unclipping her seatbelt and falling against the side door with a grunt. "Status report!" she barked out, her military training overriding the throbbing pain in her head.

Angela, rubbing her shoulder where the seatbelt had cut in, replied, "Alive, but this isn't good."

Denise checked her limbs and concluded, "Bruised, but nothing's broken."

Ella, who had been thrown against the interior, winced as she moved but managed to say, "I'm okay."

They all knew they couldn't stay in the overturned vehicle for long. Lisa gave quick orders. "Let's scuttle the vehicle."

One by one, they climbed up out of the Oshkosh, helping each other as they went.

Meanwhile, the monster that was relentlessly attacking them walked menacingly towards them. It didn't rush or move quickly to catch them, it simply walked, as if sending a message that running is futile and there was no escape.

Lisa felt her adrenaline start to wear off, and she felt her heart beating fast as she nervously thought to herself that this is where she might die. And just like in every precarious situation, she uttered the word.

"Brother..."