Jumping to the side, JD dodged a huge piece of metal that came flying and threatened to tear him to pieces.

Next to him Fahz was thrown across the air and smashed into Del. Together, they lost their balance and crashed to the ground.

Quickly, JD fired a few shots to keep the tentacles from chasing down on them.

"This is bad!", Del screamed and picked his gun up, just in time to safe his own life. "They just keep coming!"

Holes opened along the thick, fleshy things to push put wave by wave of little creatures that were making this mess hell on earth.

Kait smashed one of the things underneath her foot.

The little body exploded into a slimy mess of blood and bones.

"Paduk, a backup would be nice!", she shouted into the communicator. "We're kind of battling an issue here!"

JD pushed her to the side, threw a grenade and pulled his head in. Together, they hid behind a wall, which looked like it was about to shatter.

He grabbed his ear to get a signal.

"(Y/N)!", he shouted. "Can you hear me?!"

She patted his shoulder.

"Leave it, it's useless! We just have to fight this thing on our own."

With a determined war scream, she rushed forward to put an entire magazine into the creature.

More of the Swarm came out of the holes. They filled the air and made the sky go as dark as night.

"Oh, we're so fucked!", Del huffed and jumped down some stairs to reach a lower part of the tentacles. "To hell with this, we need to get it away from the satellites!"

Fahz chased after him.

"To the elevator and down to the ground would be a good idea!", he gasped and took the lead with Del.

Kait and JD exchanged a gaze before nodding and following.

The group ran across the platform, dodging and shooting whatever was in sight. Breathing heavily and covered in sweat, they reached one of the elevators and jumped in.

Trying to calm his breathing, JD squeezed his eyes shut. The air was burning inside his chest. He was almost unable to stay on his feet.

"Holy shit...", he gasped. "What the fuck?"

Again, he tried to get a connection through the communicator. But all he could hear were crackling sounds that filled his ears.

"I don't want to be a bitch...", Fahz mumbled. "But... why is so silent all of a sudden?"

Struck by surprise, the group raised their heads.

A warm wind stroked over the terminal. It looked abandoned all of a sudden. Not a single monster was in sight, no screaming or creatures flying around.

Frowning, JD tightened his grip on the gun.

"What is going on?", he looked at Kait and Del.

They were both as tense as him.

The elevator stopped on the platform below. The only thing that kept them from setting foot on solid ground again was a set of stairs.

"Let's keep moving...", Kait suggested and walked towards the exit.

But as soon as she reached the edge of the stairs, the ground ground started to shake.

Struck by surprise, the group turned their heads around to look at the sky.

A wall of sand grew before their eyes, so high and broad that it cast a shadow over the entire area. As the veil of red broke, a creature appeared, which looked like the mixture of a dragon and a snake. Strange horn-like limbs were covering its face, but as the huge mouth opened to let out a cold scream, they moved as if they were petals of a blooming flower.

"Is that its fucking face?!", Fahz asked in horror and jumped back.

Screaming in rage, the creature rammed the metal construction with such force that the shockwave was enough to blow everyone off their feet.

With a gasp, JD slid off the edge and fell into the depths. To his luck, the ground wasn't far anymore and the sand was high enough to welcome him with a soft embrace.

"Shit!", he cursed and fought himself free again.

His hands reached for the gun he had dropped. But before he could get his hands onto it, Kait, Del and Fahz hit the ground, making sand splash into the air.

"Everyone okay?!", Kait asked, coughing.

"Yeah...", Del gasped and looked up. "But we're under the goddamn engines!"

JD coughed. It felt like sand was scratching in his lungs but maybe it was just the aftereffect of the fall.

"We gotta get outta here!", he shouted and pointed at a gate. "In there!"

Without a word of objection, the group started running for their lives.

Meanwhile, the creatures head hunter them as if they were prey to a wolf. Salvia dripped from its long teeth, filling the air with a nasty stench of rotten flesh and blood. Every movement it made caused the earth to tremble, equal to an earthquake.

The shock made Kait stumble and fall to the ground.

As JD noticed he turned on his heel and rushed to her aid.

"Don't look back!", he said and pushed her on. "Just run!"

But as he glanced over his shoulder, all hope that the creature could be outrun left him.

It wasn't just huge, but also quick. And the size did not seem to turn into a disadvantage in matter of agility. It just danced like a snake across the sand while most of its body was still buried underneath the surface of the earth.

"This is it.", Del coughed. "We can't go anywhere anymore."

Frowning, JD looked up to the sky where the creature screamed.

"I can't die like this...", he whispered. "I need to return to (Y/N). I want to."

But before his words could turn into a cruel reality, the attention of the creature was caught by something that came chasing though the sky. At first it looked like huge birds, but as the missiles came closer, the confusion turned into hope again.

With godly speed, they ripped the sandstorm apart while a hissing sound accompanied their arrival.

The creature seemed confused and as it realised that a threat was near, it was already too late.

The missiles crashed into its face with full force, forming an explosion that was so powerful, it made a heatwave chase across the desert.