The convoy rolled to a stop just outside the city limit. The silence that followed was oppressive, broken only by the faint hiss of air brakes and the creaking of metal as the squad got out. The troops moved purposefully, but their faces showed the uncertainty that was chewing them up.

They were the only ones out there, the place felt dead, like some wasteland. Everything was still in place no one had bothered to take anything with them, it felt unsettling. Shop lights were still on but no one was there tv’s still played but no one watched, it was kind of lonely and depressing.

The first sighting came moments later, emerging from the shadows beyond the flickering streetlights. At first glance, it was impossible to define—a shifting mass of blackness that seemed to drink the light around it, a shade of black that you couldn’t even see. Its form twisted and stretched unnaturally, flowing like liquid one moment and solidifying into jagged, sharp angles the next.

"Contact," Kara's voice crackled over the comms, steady but tense.

Titus froze, his heart hammering as more of them appeared. Some were tall and slender, their limbs elongated like grotesque shadows come to life. Others were squat and wide, hulking brutes with shapes that defied logic. No two were alike, each a chaotic manifestation of form and function, yet all radiating the same sense of danger.

The creatures moved with an uncanny fluidity; their shapes blurred and slid into new configurations as they progressed. One moment, a sinuous, serpentine form crawled along the road surface; the next, it heaved itself up to reform into a spiky, impossible tower. A second entity elongated its body, insinuating its misty form into the intervals between the barricades before hardening into a clot of thorns.

"Jesus Christ," Sunny whispered, her voice trembling. "What are they?"

"Don't matter," Kara snapped. "Focus up. Engage on my mark."

Titus gripped his rifle tightly as his mind worked. They had trained for combat, for battlefields of flesh and blood. But this? This was something else entirely. The creatures moved like predators, their shapes blurring with each change in intent. They were malleable yet immovable, adapting to every obstacle with uncanny precision.

The first shot cracked out, flat and rippling through the street. One of the bigger creatures recoiled as a bullet struck it, its form rippling like water. For a moment, it seemed to falter; then it surged forward, its mass hardening into a spear that lashed out with deadly speed.

"Open fire!" Kara barked.

Suddenly the street erupted into chaos. In strobe light of gun fires, the tracer rounds shot out to meet the oncoming horde. The creatures did not fall like any living thing Titus had seen: some went down, their bodies unspooling into pools of inky blackness that hissed and spat against the pavement; others soaked up the impact, morphed, changed shape and form, adapting—and the more they were attacked, the less predictable they became. One of the smaller creatures sprang forward, its form compressing into a lean, low-slung shape that moved with terrifying speed. It leapt at titus, its limbs hardening into jagged spikes mid-air.

"Malik, left!" Titus yelled.

T responded instantly, a well-placed explosive tearing the creature apart mid-leap. But where one fell, two more emerged, their forms writhing as if born from the shadows themselves.

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As the fight kept blared the convoy was almost in a retreat, they kept losing ground to the abominations, less and less shots landed and the creatures movements became more and more sporadic and irregular.

"They're learning," Titus muttered under his breath, his stomach sinking.

"What do you mean?" Sunny yelled back, his voice tight as he let loose with another burst.

"They're learning to adapt to us," Titus said, his face grim. "Every shot, every move—they're learning how to fight us.".

KARA: "Fall back to secondary position. Regroup and reassess. This is not a fight we can win head-on." Her voice was calm but urgent, cutting through comms.

The squad began to fall back, movements coordinated but strained, as the creatures pressed forward. Each step backward felt like a yielding, the weight of the unknown bearing down with each passing moment. Titus spared a last glance at the creatures: their fluid shapes an incarnation of chaos and death; formless, black, endlessly mutable, they were like nothing humanity had ever known.

Malik, despite the beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, nodded and sprinted toward the mounted heavy weapon on the rear vehicle. The sound of gunfire and unearthly screeches filled the air, but Malik’s focus was unwavering.

Titus gritted his teeth, watching the creatures’ relentless advance. They weren’t just adapting—they were evolving. Every time one fell, it reformed, reshaping into something even deadlier. What had started as scattered forms now moved with an almost hive-like coordination, their shifting shapes adjusting to the squad’s every tactic.

“We need to keep them guessing,” Titus muttered to himself, his mind racing. “If we let them get ahead of us, we’re done.”

The heavy weapon roared to life, its booming reports momentarily drowning out the chaos. The rounds tore through the advancing creatures, their amorphous bodies splattering into pools of inky blackness. For a moment, it seemed to work, the relentless advance slowing as the creatures retracted, their movements hesitant.

“Yes! That’s it, T! Keep firing!” Sunny yelled, his rifle still barking in tandem.

But Titus wasn’t so sure. He watched as the pools of darkness began to stir, the liquid-like forms coalescing back into shapes. This time, their bodies seemed denser, their movements more deliberate. One of the creatures shifted into a jagged form, its hardened exterior deflecting the heavy rounds with sharp, metallic clangs.

“Damn it,” Titus cursed under his breath. “They’re not just adapting—they’re learning. Faster than I thought.”

Kara’s voice cut through the comms, her tone sharp. “Brains, we can’t hold them off like this. What’s the plan?”

“We need to keep switching up our attacks,” Titus said quickly. “Change patterns, change weapons, anything. The more we make them adapt, the more time we buy. But…”

“But what?” Sunny pressed, his tone frantic.

Titus hesitated, his mind grappling with the grim reality. “But it’s a stalling tactic at best. We don’t have infinite ammo or infinite options. We can’t outlast them like this.”

The squad fell silent for a beat, the truth of Titus’s words sinking in even as the fight raged around them.

“We need an edge,” Kara said finally. Her voice was steady, but there was an urgency beneath it. “Something they can’t adapt to.”

“Like what? A miracle?” Sunny shot back, his frustration bubbling over.

Titus’s gaze flicked to the sky, where the choppers still circled, their searchlights sweeping the battlefield. An idea began to form, reckless and desperate.

“Not a miracle,” he said slowly, his tone thoughtful. “But maybe we can use their own adaptability against them.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kara asked.

“These things adapt to whatever we throw at them, right? But adaptation takes time—at least a few seconds. What if we hit them with something they can’t adapt to fast enough? Multiple attacks, layered and simultaneous.”

“You’re saying overwhelm them,” T said from the gun, his voice strained but steady.

“Exactly,” Titus replied. “They’re fast, but even they have limits. If we can throw enough at them at once—different weapons, different tactics—it might be enough to break through. Even if it’s just for a moment. And if that doesn’t work, lets hope someone nukes this place”

Kara nodded. “Alright, Brains. Let’s do it. Everyone, listen up. Sunny, you’re on explosives. T, keep that heavy gun firing. I’ll coordinate fire patterns. Titus, you come up with the rest.”

Titus took a deep breath, his mind racing as the creatures pressed closer. If this gamble didn’t work, it might be their last. But it was a chance—and right now, a chance was all they had.

“Alright,” Titus said, gripping his weapon tightly. “Let’s give them hell.”