[ IP ] Leviathan

A leviathan. I'd heard of these beasts in old folk tales and horror stories, a Lovecraftian figment of the imagination. 
 
 But it was as real as the night before us. Blue orbs of light radiated from its spiny face, made brighter by our searchlights and the lightning of the storm. The towering behemoth looked as if it was born from the fusion of a thousand angler fish. Sharp, jagged teeth protruded from the floor and roof of its cavernous mouth, meeting at fine points and threatening to pierce anything so misfortune as to land in between. Giant, rolling waves crashed against its form as it thrashed about. 
 
 `` Firing!'' 
 
 I smashed the red button on the control stick. My helicopter shuddered as the rockets ejected from their pods and headed straight for the beast below. Some of the explosions ripped off its tentacles; it reared its head in pain and pierced the air with its hellish cries. The storm lit up the sky. I was in awe of the sublimity of the scene, a mixture of beauty and horror. 
 
 `` Get in formation!'' 
 
 Our squad of helicopters circled the beast. Surrounded, it continued to trash left and right, trying to pick a target. We fired in sync and waves of rockets crashed against its serpentine form, leaving pussy sores. Immediately, the beast submerged itself. 
 
 `` Command, we've lost sight of the leviathan,'' I radioed over. Nothing but silence. `` Command, I repeat, we have lost sight of the leviathan.'' Moments later, still nothing. Only static. `` We're on our own, men. Keep your eyes peeled.'' 
 
 `` Roger that.'' 
 
 A few moments passed idly by. Our searchlights swept over the surface of the ocean and found nothing but the water. Aside from the crackling sounds of the storm and the whirring of our helicopter blades, there was utter silence in the air. My hairs stood on end and sweat piled on my brow. My finger hovered an inch from the button; I was ready to fire at a moment's notice. 
 
 My ears popped from the cries of one of our pilots. Within seconds, the beast had leapt into the air, its body twice the size of a whale and adorned with rows of sharp, long fins, and had torn through one of our helicopters in a fiery explosion. It plummeted into the waters from which it came, alongside the wreckage of the helicopter. 
 
 And then, there was silence. The remaining pilot and I searched the surrounding perimeter for nearly half an hour, but to no avail. We were running low on fuel, and it seemed the beast had receded into hiding, seemingly content with its victory over one of our men. There was nothing left to do but to return to the base. 
 
 -- 
 
 Our squad had suffered a single casualty; the two of us had lived to tell the tale of our encounter with this monster. Yet, who would believe us?
