WHUMP.

WHUMP.

WHUMP.

The sound of helicopter rotors echoed faintly across the forest.

At first, only Tomas heard it.

Then Rolf.

Then everyone.

The rhythmic thumping grew louder with every passing second.

Rescue One was coming.

And strangely enough, the giant heard it too.

The massive creature’s yellow eyes narrowed.

Its head slowly tilted upward.

The wolves stopped growling.

Several of the humanoid warriors looked toward the sky.

Confusion.

Curiosity.

Apprehension.

This was a sound they had never heard before.

But for Tomas and his men, it was the most beautiful sound imaginable.

The giant lowered its gaze back toward the six humans. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Then it raised one hand.

The wolves immediately crouched.

The humanoid warriors tightened their formation.

Tomas’s eyes widened.

It was giving orders.

It understood discipline.

It understood command.

And now, it was preparing for battle.

"Marcus."

The radio immediately answered.

"Go ahead."

"We have visual on the giant. It seems to be reacting to the helicopter."

Marcus nodded inside the command center.

The Predator feed showed the same thing.

The giant’s entire attention had shifted.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

This civilization had never encountered aircraft before.

The unknown would make them cautious.

Or aggressive.

Neither option was ideal.

The pilot’s voice suddenly crackled through the radio.

"Rescue One to Atlas Actual."

Marcus immediately answered.

"Go."

"We’re approximately ninety seconds out."

The command center became slightly less tense.

Ninety seconds.

That was manageable.

Hopefully.

Marcus switched frequencies.

"Raven One."

"Go."

"Rescue One is ninety seconds away."

"Copy."

The six men gripped their rifles tighter.

Ninety seconds.

They could survive ninety seconds.

Probably.

Then the giant suddenly roared.

The forest shook.

The wolves immediately surged forward.

"Contact!" Tomas yelled.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The M4s erupted once more.

Muzzle flashes illuminated the darkness.

The first wolf collapsed.

Then another.

But the remaining beasts continued charging.

One leaped.

An infantryman sidestepped.

The creature crashed into a tree.

Another reached the perimeter.

Its jaws snapped shut.

Rolf fired three rounds into its chest.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The wolf stumbled.

But didn’t fall.

"Oh, come on!" Rolf yelled.

Tomas stepped beside him.

CRACK!

A single round struck the creature between the eyes.

The beast collapsed.

More arrows suddenly flew.

THUNK!

THUNK!

THUNK!

One arrow struck a tree.

Another buried itself in the dirt.

The third struck an infantryman’s helmet.

The man nearly collapsed.

The arrow bounced harmlessly away.

Everyone stared.

The soldier slowly touched his helmet.

"...I love Kevlar."

Nobody had time to laugh.

More arrows came.

The enemy had closed considerably.

The nearest humanoids were less than eighty meters away.

Their silhouettes became visible even without thermal optics.

Broad figures.

Animal hides.

Bone armor.

Spears.

Crude bows.

And all of them were screaming.

Tomas’s radio crackled.

"Raven One. Fifty seconds."

Good.

Very good.

Because they needed those fifty seconds badly.

The giant stepped forward.

THUD.

Another step.

THUD.

The creature’s enormous club dragged across the ground.

Its smile had disappeared.

In its place was something worse.

Curiosity.

It looked almost fascinated.

As though trying to understand what exactly these six humans were.

Then it pointed.

Immediately, nearly thirty humanoid warriors rushed forward.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!" Rolf yelled.

The forest erupted.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The M4s roared.

The first warrior dropped.

A round punched directly through its chest.

The second took multiple rounds and collapsed.

The third turned to flee.

Another burst cut it down.

The charging warriors suddenly slowed.

Because this was something they had never encountered before.

Thunder.

Flashes.

Invisible death.

Their comrades were falling without being touched.

The entire charge faltered.

Several warriors looked genuinely terrified.

The giant noticed.

Its expression hardened.

Then it roared again.

The warriors resumed their advance.

Marcus watched everything through the Predator feed.

His expression remained grim.

"They’re forcing themselves forward."

Elaina nodded.

"The giant’s making them."

"Yeah."

Interesting.

Fear existed.

The creatures could be intimidated.

Good.

That was useful.

Then another voice filled the radio.

"Rescue One, thirty seconds."

The helicopter was almost here.

Tomas heard it too.

The rotor noise had become much louder.

WHUMP.

WHUMP.

WHUMP.

Several warriors suddenly looked upward.

The giant did as well.

Then something emerged above the trees.

A shape.

Dark.

Fast.

Growing larger.

The Black Hawk burst over the forest canopy.

Its navigation lights shone against the night.

Its engines roared.

Its rotor wash blasted leaves and branches in every direction.

And the reaction from the hidden civilization was immediate.

Panic.

Absolute panic.

Several warriors screamed.

Others stumbled backward.

A few simply dropped their weapons.

The wolves began whining.

Even the giant froze.

Because from their perspective, something impossible had just appeared.

A flying steel beast.

One that roared like thunder.

One that had no wings.

No feathers.

No visible means of flight.

It simply descended from the heavens.

The Black Hawk swept directly over the ridge.

The downwash nearly knocked several warriors off their feet.

The pilot’s voice filled the radio.

"Rescue One on station."

The side doors opened.

And the civilization’s collective fear became worse.

Because inside the flying beast—

Were more humans.

Humans holding strange weapons.

Door gunners.

Fully equipped infantry.

The M134 Miniguns sat mounted beside the openings.

The giant stared upward.

For the first time since seeing it, Tomas noticed something.

The creature looked afraid.

Not terrified.

But uncertain.

The unknown had shaken it.

"Raven One, prepare for extraction!" the pilot shouted.

The helicopter descended.

Trees bent beneath the rotor wash.

Dust exploded outward.

The wolves retreated.

Several warriors outright fled.

The giant remained standing.

Watching.

Thinking.

Then it suddenly roared.

The warriors stopped retreating.

The wolves regained their courage.

The giant pointed at the helicopter.

Every Atlas soldier saw it.

And understood.

The creature wanted the flying beast.

Or perhaps it wanted to stop it.

Either way, it had made a decision.

It charged.

THUD.

THUD.

THUD.

The giant sprinted.

And despite its size, it was horrifyingly fast.

"OH, SHIT!" Rolf yelled.

The giant closed the distance rapidly.

It raised its club.

Then hurled it.

The tree trunk spun through the air.

Straight toward the Black Hawk.

"Incoming!" one of the door gunners shouted.

The pilot reacted instantly.

The helicopter banked.

The club missed by perhaps two meters.

It smashed into a tree behind them.

CRASH!

The trunk exploded.

Wood fragments flew everywhere.

Silence followed.

Everyone stared.

Because had that thing connected—

The helicopter would’ve been crippled.

The giant roared.

The wolves howled.

The warriors screamed.

Marcus immediately made his decision.

"Door gunners, suppress the giant."

The response was immediate.

"Copy!"

The miniguns spun.

Their electric motors whined.

The sound alone confused the enemy.

Then—

BRRRRRRRRT!

The forest erupted.

Streams of tracers tore through the darkness.

The giant’s eyes widened.

Rounds slammed into the ground around it.

Dirt exploded.

Trees shattered.

Entire sections of undergrowth vanished.

The giant stumbled backward.

Because it had never seen anything like this.

Nobody had.

The miniguns weren’t even directly targeting it.

Just suppressing.

And already the effect was catastrophic.

Warriors fled.

Wolves scattered.

Several creatures threw themselves to the ground.

The giant itself retreated several steps.

The command center watched in silence.

Because they were witnessing something extraordinary.

First contact.

The first direct clash between modern military technology and an undiscovered civilization.

And the results were exactly what one would expect.

Terror.

Pure terror.

"GO! GO! GO!" Tomas shouted.

The six-man team sprinted toward the helicopter.

The rescue infantry covered them.

The miniguns continued firing in short bursts.

BRRRRT!

BRRRRT!

Entire trees exploded.

Branches collapsed.

The enemy line completely disintegrated.

No formation survived.

No discipline remained.

Just panic.

The giant watched everything.

Its yellow eyes remained fixed on the helicopter.

Then on the fleeing humans.

Then on the tracers.

Its expression slowly changed.

Not fear.

Not anger.

Understanding.

It realized something.

These humans were different.

Dangerously different.

Tomas reached the helicopter first.

Then Rolf.

Then the others.

The wounded infantryman was dragged aboard.

The pilot shouted.

"Everyone on?!"

"GO!" Tomas yelled.

The Black Hawk lifted.

The skids left the ground.

The helicopter climbed rapidly.

The enemy could do nothing.

They had no answer.

No way to pursue.

No way to reach the sky.

The giant stood below, illuminated by the moon.

Watching.

Silent.

Its people gathered around it.

Wolves circled nearby.

Nobody moved.

Nobody attacked.

They simply watched the flying machine ascend.

Watched the humans escape.

Watched the impossible disappear into the night.

Inside the helicopter, nobody spoke.

Everyone breathed heavily.

Sweat covered their faces.

Adrenaline still surged through their bodies.

Rolf finally broke the silence.

"...I really hate this forest."

This time, everyone laughed.

Not because it was funny.

But because they were alive.

Barely.

Far below, the giant continued watching the retreating helicopter.

Its yellow eyes never left the aircraft.

And for the first time in perhaps centuries, the hidden civilization had encountered something beyond its understanding.

Something that flew.

Something that breathed fire and thunder.

Something capable of killing from afar.

And somewhere deep inside its ancient mind, a new realization began to form.

The world beyond the forest had changed.

And now—

It knew.