The apes hit them like a wave.
No coordination, no formation, just pure aggression backed by numbers and those crude weapons that shouldn't have worked but did. Diana's dead zone caught the first molten blast mid-air, freezing it in space like someone had paused reality. The superheated energy hung there, suspended, while apes swung down from branches overhead screaming that mechanical-howl sound that set teeth on edge.
Valencia rolled left, her rifle coming up to track one of the creatures. She fired three shots center mass. The ape jerked with each impact but didn't fall, just shifted its grip on a branch and launched itself at another recruit.
"They're not going down!" Valencia shouted, firing again.
