They did not go back the way they came.
Tara chose a longer route along the outer ridge of Crater Valley, away from the breathing walls and the deeper tunnels. The truck groaned as it climbed broken ground, suspension screaming with every hit. Dawn was trying to happen, but the sky stayed dark, thick with low clouds that moved too slowly.
Nobody talked.
Xin sat in the back, jaw tight, staring at his hands. Rion stood near the open side, eyes scanning the horizon. Alaric kept checking his device, tapping it like it might wake up and tell him something useful.
Talla sat near the rear door, helmet loose, breathing fast.
"We get back to base," Tara said, calm but firm. "We regroup. We prepare. No detours."
Alaric frowned at the screen. "Something's off. The field noise is rising again."
Rion's head tilted slightly. "Above us."
Scene: The Signal
The device screamed.
Not a beep. Not a warning tone. A sharp electronic shriek that cut straight through the truck.
Alaric shouted, "Contact incoming. Multiple. Fast."
Tara slammed the accelerator.
The sky answered.
Shapes tore through the clouds, dozens at first, then hundreds. Winged things with thin bodies and long arms, moving in tight patterns, like they shared one mind. Their wings made a slicing sound, not flapping, more like knives cutting air.
Xin reached for the door.
"Talla," Tara yelled. "Hold on."
It was too late.
One of the creatures dropped straight down.
It did not grab. It did not hesitate.
It struck.
Talla was lifted off the floor in a blur, her scream cut short. There was a violent impact in the air and then silence. Something dark splashed across the truck roof and windshield.
Her remains fell back down in pieces, hitting the metal with dull, wet sounds.
Xin froze.
Rion's grip tightened on his sword.
Alaric went pale.
Scene: Move or Die
Tara did not scream.
She did not stop.
"Keep moving," she shouted. "Don't look back."
She leaned out the window and opened fire.
Her shots were clean. Controlled. Every burst took a creature out of the sky. Bodies fell, spinning, slamming into the ground.
More came.
Xin grabbed the mounted rifle and fired upward, bursts tearing through wings and torsos. The creatures shrieked, a sound like metal scraping glass.
Rion jumped onto the roof, blade flashing.
He cut through the air, slashing creatures as they dove. Each strike was precise. Efficient. No wasted motion.
But there were too many.
Scene: Tara's Memory
Another creature slammed into the side of the truck.
Tara's hands tightened on the weapon.
For a split second, she wasn't here anymore.
She was a child again.
The sky above her old village was black with wings. Her mother pulled her close. Her father shoved her toward a cellar.
"Run," her mother said. "Don't stop."
The screaming followed.
The memory snapped.
Tara roared and leaned farther out, firing until the barrel glowed. Her aim sharpened. Every shot mattered. Creatures fell in clusters now.
She was not panicking.
She was hunting.
Scene: Breakthrough
Rion shouted, "Front clear."
Xin fired one last burst, then slammed the hatch shut.
The truck surged forward, bouncing hard as it broke through the swarm's edge. The remaining creatures circled, then peeled away, vanishing back into the clouds like they had never been there.
Silence returned too fast.
The road stretched ahead, empty.
Only the marks on the truck proved anything had happened.
Scene: Aftermath
They did not stop for a long time.
When they finally did, it was under a collapsed bridge far from the crater. Tara killed the engine.
Nobody moved.
Xin stared at the floor where Talla had been sitting.
"She didn't even have a chance," he said quietly.
Alaric swallowed. "Those things. They were scouts. Or feeders. Dive used them years ago to clear zones."
Rion wiped his blade and sheathed it. "They follow strong signals. Big fights. Big monsters."
Tara stepped out of the truck and leaned against it, breathing hard.
"They killed my parents," she said flatly. "Same wings. Same sound."
Xin looked at her.
She met his eyes.
"We don't freeze anymore," she said. "We don't run blind. Next time, we wipe them out first."
Scene: Moving Forward
They loaded up again and drove on.
Far above them, something else watched the road.
Not the swarm.
Something smarter.
Something patient.
And deep beneath the earth, Andy felt the echo of the fight ripple through the Bloom.
He smiled to himself.
The world was getting louder.