The soldiers stood frozen, their breaths shallow, eyes locked onto the shifting distortion in the air.
The very fabric of reality trembled before them, rippling like a heat mirage.
The distortion began to stretch as if trying to split itself apart.
As it grew in size, it eventually reached its limit.
However, the tear had no intention of stopping.
As if pressured by some outside force, it continued in a frantic attempt to grow larger.
Forced beyond its limit, the shimmery distortion broke.
The ear-splitting clamour of shattering glass rang out through the air as a large crack split its surface.
It was as if the world itself was being torn apart.
Then, from the depths of that newly formed Tear… Something emerged.
A grotesque, clawed hand forced its way through the crack.
It was massive, its skin an unnatural shade of grey, slick with seawater. The texture resembled both flesh and something disturbingly rubbery.
The hand's long, webbed fingers twitched, their ends tapering into razor-like claws that looked as though they could slice through steel with ease.
Seven fingers in total, disproportionate and alien, flexed as though testing the air of this new world.
Then came its head.
At first glance, it was nothing more than an oblong, misshapen mass, but as it forced its way through the breach, its horrifying features became more apparent.
The creature's face was a chaotic mess, an affront to nature.
Nine bulbous eyes of varying sizes dotted its grotesque visage, arranged with no care for logic or symmetry, each containing two to three pupils that darted wildly as they took in their surroundings with morbid curiosity.
The monster's misshapen head seemed to lack any semblance of a nose… Only two small, twitching slits were positioned too low on its face as if misplaced in some cruel joke.
Its gill-like structures flared and contracted along the sides of its neck, pulsating unnervingly in the cold morning air.
While the creature was already the stuff of nightmares, its mouth was undoubtedly its most horrifying aspect.
A jagged, ear-to-ear maw stretched across its face, revealing countless rows of jagged, serrated teeth.
These affronts to nature weren't merely designed for biting or cutting.
No…these bony white spikes had a different purpose entirely.
They were instead made to tear and shred, inflicting the most excruciating pain imaginable onto their victims.
Irregular and jagged, the creature's teeth resembled shards of bone, protruding at unnatural angles.
Witnessing the abomination before them, the soldiers could feel it… An overwhelming sense of wrongness.
Their instincts screamed at them to look away, to close their eyes and cover their ears.
To pretend the monster wasn't real.
Every fibre of their being rejected this thing, this Unknown, an entity never meant to exist in their world.
Some of the soldiers managed to clench their jaws, forcing themselves to stand their ground.
Others gave into despair as they felt a deep, primal terror settling into their bones, whispering that this was not a battle they could win.
But amidst the creeping dread, one woman stood firm.
Captain Linda Whitaker, clad in her white military blazer adorned with blue and golden insignias, narrowed her eyes in grim determination.
Her uniform, crisp and pristine, bore her name on the right breast pocket. The silver rectangular bars on her shoulders marked her as a Captain of the army, a leader who had stared death in the face more than just a handful of times.
Unlike her subordinates, she did not flinch or show any signs of weakness or doubt...At least on the outside.
Internally, however, she was cursing so eloquently that it'd make even the devil blush.
The fact that the creature was still breathing meant it was amphibious.
They weren't lucky enough for the creature to suffocate in this world's atmosphere.
However, there was nothing she could do about that.
Instead, her efforts were better focused elsewhere.
Gripping the microphone attached to her uniform's collar, she inhaled sharply and barked a single command.
"FIRE!"
In perfect unison, nearly eighty soldiers sprung into action.
Their fingers squeezed the triggers of their guns, unleashing a relentless barrage of searing light.
Unlike conventional firearms that relied on bullets, these weapons emitted concentrated beams of energy, the sheer intensity of their heat warping the very air around them.
The battlefield erupted into chaos as the torrent of light collided with the abomination's rubbery flesh.
The creature recoiled, its many eyes dilated as the burning sensation of pain finally registered.
Its mouth gaped open, revealing the full horror of its insides… A glistening, unnatural fleshy tendril lined its throat, writhing like a snake in search of prey.
"SCREEEEEEEEEE!"
The sound was an assault on the senses, a piercing, guttural wail that sent vibrations through the air, loud enough to be heard for kilometres.
It wasn't just noise… It was something more profound and malicious, capable of gnawing away at the minds of those unfortunate enough to hear it.
Some of the younger, less experienced soldiers faltered, their hands trembling on their weapons.
And yet, despite the relentless barrage, the creature continued its emergence.
More of its body pulled itself through the Tear, revealing a torso far too long, with two additional, smaller arms sprouting grotesquely from its bony stomach.
These lower limbs twitched and curled, their thin, skeletal fingers grasping at the air as they adjusted to this world.
However, they appeared to be vestigial structures without any real function, being too small to be of use.
The primary arms, however, were far larger and more powerful. Stretching its fingers, the monster's blade-like claws raked against the barrage of light.
The beams of energy singed the creature's skin, leaving blackened scars.
Yet the damage wasn't nearly enough to stop the creature from coming through.
After pulling the rest of its grotesque body through the tear, the ten-foot horror now stood before them in all its disturbing glory.
A jagged dorsal fin ran along its spine, smaller fin-like protrusions jutting out at its knees and elbows. Its hind legs were impossibly lanky, ending in massive, seven-toed webbed feet. Each digit bore a talon sharp enough to carve through steel.
Before the soldiers could process this development, another grey seven-fingered hand emerged from the Tear.
The creature hadn't come alone.
However, the first creature wasn't going to sit idly, waiting for its companion.
The horror's many eyes flicked across the battlefield before locking onto a target… A lone soldier, standing too close to the barricade.
With terrifying speed, the abomination dropped onto all fours, its limbs bending in unnatural angles.
Then, with a powerful kick, it launched forward, breaking into a bestial sprint.
Despite a white SUV standing in its path, the creature didn't stop.
Its massive frame collided with the vehicle, sending the armoured transport flying with enough strength to send it airborne.
The force of impact hurled the SUV backward, slamming into two unfortunate soldiers who had no time to react. The sickening crunch of metal and bone filled the air.
They were dead before they hit the ground.
The surrounding soldiers hesitated to continue their assault.
The towering abomination had already broken through their perimeter, rendering their formation useless.
Many hesitated to fire, fearing friendly fire in the chaos.
Something that the creature took full advantage of.
Rising onto its hind legs once more, it swept one of its long, gangly arms outward.
Clawed fingers closed around a nearby turret operator and lifted him effortlessly into the air.
The man gasped in horror, his fingers instinctively clawing at the creature's grip, but there was no escape.
"No… Gods, please… I don't want to di—"
Sadly, even if the gods could hear his desperate pleas, they had no help to offer him.
With a sickening snap, the creature tilted its head back and split its mouth wide open
Bringing the soldier's head into the waiting jaws, the monster's maw closed shut with a grisly crunch.
The man's body spasmed violently for a brief moment before finally going limp.
Crimson blood trickled from between the creature's jagged teeth as it swallowed greedily.
After savouring its morbid meal, the creature turned its head.
Nine eerie eyes surveyed the battlefield, hunger glinting in their chaotic depths.
The soldier it'd just consumed did little to satiate its ravenous appetite.
…Not when there were so many more meals just waiting to be devoured.