MISCREATION OF NATURE
Got in the mood to do a story like this. Perhaps it is 2012?
For a drawing of a thing relevant to this story, see my "homepage" link at my profile. But don't go there until it appears in the story or it may spoil things. And trust me, you will know.
Saturday, 9:26 pm
Well, it had started out like any normal day. Hamtaro was hidden in a crevice in an alley with the only friend he could find, or actually, that found him. The only light was a small candle in front of them, but to Hamtaro the sight of more fire made him sick. All around were the horrid smells of smoke and death, and he could sense the fear and tension in the air. Why did this have to happen? His mind couldn't comprehend the scale of it all, and the quickness of which it occurred. Why couldn't things go back to normal?
Hamtaro would have given anything to just return to life before the destruction. His old life was gone.
Friday, 11:30 am
Hamtaro had joined his friends, the ham-hams, outside of the clubhouse for a picnic. Each of the hamsters had brought a unique item, such as a treat, to share with the rest. It was a perfect day for such an event, as the warm summer sun made the outdoors quite inviting around this time of year.
While Boss and some of the girls were busy setting up all the food, the other boys were just getting back from an impromptu game of acorn soccer.
"Whew! What a game!" Howdy exclaimed, looking worn out. "I knew the whole time we were gonna beat you. You didn't even stand a chance from the beginning!"
"Not true! We were tied up until the very end, when Sandy scored a goal for you! We could have had it!" Dexter argued. The two rivals butted heads.
"No time for arguing, boys!" Maxwell interrupted, pushing them apart. He had played the part of referee. "Both teams played very well. There's nothing to fight about."
"Bet you were cheering for Sandy's team, weren't you?" Dexter said.
"I was not!"
"Boys, boys! Enough of this! The food's all ready, lets eat!" Bijou called out. The soccer players decided to listen to their stomachs and hurried over. Each of them gathered heaping plates of food and sat down to eat. Hamtaro and Bijou were next to each other, as well as Maxwell and Sandy. They enjoyed their food for a few moments before anyone attempted to make conversation.
"Have you heard about what's going on in the mountains outside of town?" Panda asked the group.
"No, what?" Hamtaro asked. The others looked on in interest.
"I guess there's a large mining operation going on out there. Humans just discovered some very rare mineral and they're going after it like crazy. I guess it's extremely valuable," Panda explained.
"Oh, yes, I've heard about this," Maxwell said. "It's an element never before discovered by scientists. Some researchers found it while taking samples from the rocks in caves in the mountains. Unfortunately, mining companies have moved into that area and are stripping the mountains in search of the stuff. They have to go really deep into the earth to find it. I personally don't agree with it, because it's disrupting the natural environment there and there's nothing really special about the mineral itself. Just another case of greed, I guess."
"Why are humans that way? So many of them are so greedy …" Cappy said. "But not ours, of course!"
"Of course not ours! But the same cannot be said for so many others out there. I guess I can't explain that one," Maxwell said.
"So let me get this straight …" Boss started, "… the humans found some rock out in the mountains and they're tearing the place up to get to it? What about all the animals that live there?"
"I don't know, Boss …. it's wrong, but we can't do anything about it. Maybe if they don't find any more of it they will leave," Maxwell suggested.
"I'll keep watching the news to see what else I can find out about it!" Panda said.
"Good idea!" Maxwell said. "Keep us updated on it, okay?"
"Will do!" Around that time the ham-hams were just finishing their meals and it was time to pack up. There wasn't much left to do, and Hamtaro couldn't wait to get home to see his owner when she got back from school. He wished he could tell her all the interesting things he learned today. Hamtaro finished cleaning up and said goodbye to the rest of the ham-hams, then started on his way home.
Saturday, 8:42 am
"Morning, Hamtaro!" a friendly voice called out. Hamtaro yawned and stretched quickly and looked up at his human Laura's smiling face. He hobbled up to the cage bars to greet her. "It's Saturday! And do you know what that means? We're going shopping!"
"Yes! I love shopping days," Hamtaro thought to himself. "It's so interesting to watch everyone and see all the sights while Laura looks around." Laura proceeded downstairs to eat breakfast before heading downtown. Hamtaro silently followed her down the steps and hid by the stairs to see what he could overhear at the table.
"So Laura, is Kana coming with you today?" her mom, Marien asked. She absentmindedly stirred some sugar into her coffee.
"No, she's out of town with her grandparents. I'm going to meet my friend Yume-chan at the bookshop instead. She owns a hamster, too! It's the hamster festival this weekend, you know. Kana's so disappointed she'll be missing it."
"That's great, honey. I hope you have fun, then," she said, sipping her drink. Forrest suddenly walked into the dining area with a plate of scrambled eggs.
"Did you hear the news late last night?" he said. "I guess there was a big earthquake near the mining site in the mountains. A huge section of it collapsed and now they're afraid that many of the workers might be trapped."
"Oh, that's terrible! I knew it would be a bad idea for crews to be out there." Marien said. "I hope that the rescue teams can get them out of there."
"I'm sure they can, this kind of thing has happened before in other places. They'll need to work fast, though," he said.
"An accident at the mining site? I bet the ham-hams would be interested in this little bit of gossip," Hamtaro thought. "I'll have to tell Maxwell if I see him at the bookstore today."
"I better leave soon if I'm going to beat the rush to the shopping district," Laura said.
"Me too, except I have to work today. Ol' Gabriel called me in to work while he finishes his story. I've got nothing better going on today, anyway."
Hamtaro hurried upstairs ahead of Laura and got back into his cage just in time to be taken right out again. She placed the hamster on her shoulder and went back downstairs to put her shoes on. She would have to ride her bike all the way into the city. At least it was good exercise.
After biking for over a half-hour, she and Hamtaro finally made it to the shopping district. It wasn't directly in the heart of the city, but pretty close. Hamtaro could see all of the tall high-rises in the distance. Where they were at was at was just a walking area lined with small shops of all kinds. Cappy's convenience store was nearby, and Howdy and Dexter's shops were just a block or so away.
Laura proceeded to make her way past the shops, admiring the sales advertised in the windows as she passed. Hamtaro was busy watching the bustling humans going about their business. It was a beautiful morning to be out and about.
There was something thing that felt strange about today, though. It was as though he could sense it, not only within himself but in others around him. Many of the animals he saw seemed abnormally agitated. He saw some people's dogs barking at nothing, as though they were spooked. The chirping of birds was also infrequent, which was strange, since they were usually in a chorus of sound at this time. Hamtaro couldn't help his own feeling, either, as though he needed to leave. He wanted Laura to hurry and make it to the bookstore where he might feel more safe. Perhaps it was just the news of the earthquake in the mountain, and that one might happen again.
They finally made it. Laura looked around outside of the bookstore to see Yume-chan waiting for her. Maxwell was in her hands. She ran over to Laura to say hello.
"Laura! So good to see you!" she said. "It's been busy this morning. There's a lot of people out shopping, it looks like."
"I can tell!" Laura responded. "So much for beating the rush."
"Why don't you come inside for a while?" Yume asked. "Our hamsters can play for a while before the festival begins."
Laura agreed, and was just about to follow her when they noticed something strange. The ambient music that was playing in the background had stopped. That's when they discovered something weirder: the power in the entire district had gone off. Any electronic signs that were displayed showed a black screen, and the street lights were blank.
"What happened?" Laura asked.
"I dunno … this isn't normal …" Yume said worriedly. Without warning a cacophony of yelling was heard in the distance, closer to downtown. A huge tremor shook the earth and people around her screamed.
"It's an earthquake!" Maxwell shouted to Hamtaro. It looked like Hamtaro was right, that's why the animals had been so nervous.
The tremors got stronger, and they feared that this was going to be a very destructive quake. Suddenly a series of cracks erupted from the ground in front of them, spreading out and traveling further back down the shopping center and destroying the pavement where they struck.
"Quick! We've got to hide!" Yume said, grabbing putting her hamster on her shoulder and grabbing Laura. They were nearly knocked off their feet by a tremendous explosion followed by more loud rumbling. All around them were the sounds of fear.
"Hamtaro, I … I don't know if this really is an earthquake!"
"What's going on?" Yume shrieked in fright. More explosions followed, and people were now running past them away from the source. The terror on their faces was very apparent. Laura tried calling out to those around her.
"Sir! Mister, what's happening?" she shouted. The man she got the attention of did not stop, but cried a warning their way.
"GET BACK! YOU NEED TO GET BACK!"
The color drained from their faces. Suddenly, a deafening roar drowned out all other sound, forcing them to lower their heads and cover their ears. Another set of tremors shook the earth where they stood. Hamtaro and Maxwell looked up just in time to see what had brought about the fear.
Above the tops of the smaller buildings was a colossal hulking shape rising out of the earth, large hunks of dirt tumbling off of its back. Hot magma rolled off of its smoldering hide as though it were a living volcano rising before them. It was no mountain, however, but a titanic beast. The creature was impossibly huge, dwarfing all but the tallest buildings around him. The behemoth snorted, sending ash and smoke into the air as it continued to emerge from the ground. It was like a massive dragon, quadrupedal, but without wings. The beast's back was lines with spikes like an crocodile's, with larger horn-like spikes around it's head and jaw line. Its head slightly resembled the ancient tyrannosaurus's with a pair of huge lower fangs jutting upwards out of its jaw. It squinted its thin eyes as it got used to the bright light, causing the slitted pupils to dwindle to almost nothing.
As the monster steadied itself, it slammed its thick tail down on a line of shops, crumbling them into dust. The large spikes on the end of it had to be over 30 feet long. The behemoth roared, seeming disillusioned from its surroundings and uninterested in the people fleeing from around it.
Another stranger grabbed Yume-chan and Laura's arms as he ran past, dragging them away from the monster. Once they came back to their senses they let go of the man and ran on their own to someplace safer.
"Oh my … oh my goodness!" Maxwell said, clutching his chest. "What is that thing?"
"I've never seen anything so big before!" Hamtaro said to him as he hung on to his owner. Laura and Yume ran out into the main street where there was less obstacles to get in their way. Hamtaro and Maxwell looked back at the street to see a clear view of the monster. It had to be nearly 300 feet long from head to tail, though it was hard to tell in the chaos. Squad cars and ambulances rushed towards the scene, their sirens blaring. Some of the policemen had gotten out and aimed their guns at the creature, seeming to not know what they were doing. They didn't have any plan of action because they of course had not been trained to deal with an enormous monster. Shot after shot was fired at the beast, but none appeared to do any significant damage. Its armor had to be incredibly thick.
The shots did not go unnoticed by the titan, though. It whipped its head about, seeming frustrated by the barrage of tiny bullets hitting it, and roared at the crowd of people in front of it and only causing them to rush away faster. The policemen attempted to hold their ground but began to run backwards when the behemoth took a step closer to them. People screamed seeing it become even more angry, its destructive intent now evident. Once the monster came even closer policemen deserted their squad cars and ran for their lives. The beast lifted its colossal foot, large even proportionally to it in order to support its weight, and slammed it down in the row of police cars with an earth-shattering force. One was crushed completely, disappearing beneath the thick elephantine pad, and another was half destroyed. Luckily no one was inside.
The monster roared again, instilling fear into its audience, and swung its tail about into more buildings. It had clearly become enraged by its attackers. It stamped more cars and kicked them about, even using its head to knock some around. One had become speared on the small horn on its nose and it threw it off into a building.
As Laura and Yume were fleeing from the creature they heard a familiar voice call out.
"Laura!"
She spun around to find Hillary, the gymnast, running with Noel at her side. They were breathing heavily. Noel appeared to have a small hamster carrier under his arm, and both Stan and Sandy were sticking their heads out. What a weekend for the hamster festival …
"Hillary!" Laura shouted. The beast appeared to be distracted by destroying the cars and stopped moving forward, giving them a chance to talk. "I'm so glad to find someone I know!"
Maxwell called out to Sandy and Stan in the carrier as their humans conversed. "Sandy! Stan! Are you okay?"
Stan was hugging Sandy as she cried. Stan answered for her. "We're fine, for now. We were by Howdy and Dexter's shop when that thing appeared. Traffic was too thick by Noel's car to get it out in time so we ran."
Sandy mumbled to Maxwell through tears. "We're going to die, aren't we?" He didn't answer, but was overcome suddenly with the reality of the situation. There was a very real chance that they weren't going to make it out of this.
"Don't say that, Sandy! We'll be fine! Our humans will get us out of here!"
Laura continued to talk with Hillary briefly. "We were just about to run into one of these buildings for cover-"
"Don't!" Hillary interrupted. "The buildings aren't safe. You've seen how that thing takes out buildings. You can't hide from it, you can only get as far away as y-"
The monster's bellow cut her short. It turned back in their direction, and the group looked back at it nervously.
"-All you can do is run. Quick, come with us!"
The behemoth hurled and rammed vehicles in every direction, some even coming in close range to the group. They sprinted as fast as the could possibly go. Screaming and shouting was heard all around as the monster continued. It was as though it was having fun with the cars. The group had spread out while avoiding the rubble.
Suddenly a shadow appeared in front of Noel's vision and grew quickly larger. He looked back for only a moment to see a white blur coming at him. He gasped audibly before being plowed by a car that had been hurled by the beast, and was sent sprawling. The hamster carrier shattered on impact. Noel's body appeared motionless on the pavement, the two hamsters nowhere to be found, with the car rolling to a stop further ahead. Streaks of blood poured down his head and pooled beneath him.
"Noel!"
Laura and Hamtaro covered their mouths. Hillary immediately ran to him with Yume-chan following, Laura left behind in the chaos. "Wait, guys!"
The monster slammed the ground with both front feet sending forth a shockwave that knocked the nearby buildings off of their foundations. Debris and cement fell all around them and a cloud of smoke appeared which blocked their vision of those that had ran off towards Noel. The monster threw another car in their direction, it disappearing into the thick soot. Laura knew they had to get out of there and ran.
Coming in from further down the street was a line of military units. Men in uniforms marched forth with rifles as tanks rolled alongside, finally stopping in a row on the street. Laura and Hamtaro passed their line and continued going while more troops pulled in. As she was going she collided full-on with one soldier, sending Hamtaro flying off her shoulder. The hamster skidded across the pavement to a stop, then looked around for his human.
"Laura! Where are you?"
She was nowhere to be found, and had disappeared into the crowd. Hamtaro looked around desperately but knew he had to get out of there soon. He sprinted off away from the action before pulling into an alley to watch from a distance.
The military had arranged themselves and were ready to strike. The behemoth turned its attention to the strange actions of the creatures below it.
"FIRE!"
Every tank fired a missile at once. These hit with far more power than the police bullets earlier, but only served to further anger the monster. It lowered its huge head and roared at the men, nearly knocking them off their feet. The soldiers fired their automatic rifles at the beast. Another series of missiles came from a side street, as it appeared the military had attempted to surround it. One of these missiles stuck near its eye, and while not hitting it directly, enraged the monster into a frenzy.
The army continued shooting it as the beast lowered its head again. As it opened its mouth, it appeared to be roaring again, but this time an orange glow appeared from within its cavernous maw. It reared its head back slightly then let forth a powerful torrent of flame, consuming all in its path. It whipped its head around to spray the blast in all directions, the incinerating blow so bright as to make the sun look weak behind the smoke. The colossal beast turned and let forth another blast of flame into the side street where the rest of the military had lined up, and right into the street where Howdy and Dexter's shops were. Hamtaro feared for the worst.
The windows were completely blown out of any buildings that had been in the line of fire and were gutted by the flame. Pieces of smoldering wood and debris fell from the sides of the structures. A cloud of thick black smoke hovered over where the destruction had occurred. Hamtaro could feel the overwhelming heat all around him.
As though it did not get its point across enough, the colossal beast grabbed one of the blackened tanks in its mighty jaws, its occupants still inside thanks to the protective armor of the war machine. Unfortunately, that would not be enough to protect them from the monster's brute force. It crunched down on one half of it and ripped the other half away with its claws, the sound of twisting metal echoing through the streets. It dropped the rest of tank to the ground in a heap of scrap.
Hamtaro could not wrap his mind around the extent of the destruction that was occurring around him. Things were normal not more than a half hour ago. Hamtaro booked it away from the scene, taking him as fast as his little legs could, and his heart sinking as he knew he was deserting Laura.
The hamster eventually stumbled upon a news store with many TVs and newspapers in front of it that seemed untouched so far. On every news station there was footage of the monster showing on channels all over the world. He couldn't understand many of them, but one of them appeared to be local news. He tuned in for a little bit:
"…more footage of the monster is seen here … it is unknown how many casualties have been suffered so far. Eyewitness reports say an affront by the military has failed, and that the creature appears to be able to produce fire. Scientists so far say that the being may be centuries old due to the wear and tear on its hide and overall size, though it is unknown what exactly it is. Could it be a long forgotten dinosaur? Could it be the Behemoth of legend? And if so, where is the Leviathan, the creature of the sea, and the Ziz, the creature of the sky?"In a more scientific explanation, it is believed as of now that this being may have been disturbed by mining in the mountains and been the cause of the quakes in the area recently. Researchers believe it may have lain dormant within the mountains for thousands of years. How it remained undiscovered up until this point is a mystery."Those viewers who are in the downtown area or anywhere near this "ground zero" are urged to get as far aw-"
The news was interrupted momentarily by a blue screen with capitalized white letters. There were strange screeching noises accompanying it, possibly a warning, and the text on the screen was read by an electronic voice.
"AT 11:32 A.M. THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HAS DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY TO ALL CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY. A MANDATORY EVACUATION HAS BEEN PUT INTO EFFECT IN THE CITY AND ALL RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO LEAVE THE AREA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. TRAVEL ON INTERSTATES IS EXTREMELY SLOW AND RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO…."
Hamtaro stopped listening to watch an ambulance zoom past him, its sirens blaring. He looked back at the monster. It had turned away from the center of the city, instead focusing its attention to the residential district and suburbs. It was the direction of all of their homes and the clubhouse.
"NO!"
Instead of running away from the beast he ran towards it, as though he were going to chase it down. Things always worked out in the end, they always did! They would stop this monster before it could do anything else. His house would be safe, and he would return home and wake up in the morning with Laura smiling over him, and return to the clubhouse to see Stan, Sandy, and Maxwell alive and well …
"Hamtaro!" a gruff voice called out from above. "Hamtaro, it's me!" Hamtaro turned his head around to see a grey hamster atop a beautiful white dove hovering down towards him. It was Francoise and Sabu.
"Sabu? How'd you find me?"
"It was the orange. You stick out like a thumb, you know," he said, perching the bird on the ground. "It's not safe here. Get on Francoise, we'd be better off in the air." Hamtaro did not hesitate and quickly boarded the dove.
"Sabu, I need you to fly us over the monster! I need you to quickly land us by the clubhouse to pick up Boss. He's in danger! Please, Sabu, I beg you!"
Sabu nodded. "Don't worry, that's where I was headed. Right away!" As they flew ever higher into the air they got a full view of the titanic beast, its mountainous body stretching across neighborhoods. Each huge step it took covered at least 50 feet. It was not long before it was within range of both the clubhouse and Laura's house, positioning itself directly between the two and trampling anything that lie beneath its devastating feet.
"Look out!" Sabu said as Francoise dove sharply. A pair of fighter jets flew over them towards the monster's location. Once the planes were far ahead of them, two large missiles were fired from each and were headed directly for the titan's head. The beast, however, were not going to let them hit it. The orange glow once again appeared from within its throat as it released a huge blast of flame, incinerating the missiles before they struck. Both jets abruptly split, heading separate directions as the colossal beast targeted them. One managed to get away, but the other was not so lucky. The monster buffeted the second plane in a torrent of flame and sent it plummeting towards the earth.
It wasn't over there for the hamsters, either. Hamtaro and Sabu watched in horror as the monster turned about. Its thick tail eclipsed the park and the location where the clubhouse was, and eventually struck ground. The massive spikes drove deep ruts into the earth and uprooted the trees. Even from high in the air, Hamtaro could see that the clubhouse had been reduced to splinters. There was no way Boss and Snoozer could have survived that.
The final blow came quickly after. The behemoth reared its head back up and shot another burst of flame into the residential neighborhoods. It whipped its head around, spewing fire everywhere and causing as much damage as possible The overwhelming fire engulfed the houses there, including both Hamtaro's and Bijou's mansion, and obliterating everything else it touched. The monster roared and stomped while aimlessly shooting more fire into the air, seeming pleased with the destruction it had caused.
Hamtaro didn't think he could hate a single being as much as he did in that instant. Tears rolled down his fur, the realities of it hitting him - the fact that he could never return home. He got Sabu's attention again.
"Sabu … do you think we could check the shopping area again? I want to see if Howdy and Dexter are okay. Cappy too," he said.
"No problem," Sabu said, nodding. Though he did not know the ham-hams as well, he could only imagine the heartache Hamtaro was facing. He patted Francoise on the neck to coax her to head back downtown. They banked sharply to the left and started backwards in the direction of the city.
When they finally made it, the condition of the downtown area was deplorable. Everything had been almost so completely annihilated that it was difficult to distinguish areas apart. Buildings were charred and blackened, simply empty shells lining the deserted streets. Dust and debris coated nearly every surface. "There … land there. I know this is the place," Hamtaro said, pointing downwards. Sabu directed the bird to land.
It was even worse from the ground. The location was eerily quiet, and barely a soul in sight. The only sign that anyone had even been there was the occasional body lying on the street. Hamtaro attempted to look away, the sights distressing him. Though he had an idea of his location, it was hard to tell the shops apart. The interiors of each of them had been gutted entirely by the devastating flame released by the behemoth, as this was one of the streets it had hit directly. The smells of smoke and death overpowered him.
After a few minutes of silence, Sabu finally tapped him on the shoulder. "Hamtaro, I … I don't think they made it."
"I know."
The deafening silence was only penetrated by the occasional distant roar of the beast. The three walked solemnly onward, taking in the extent of the damage as they went. In one place as they walked they came across a human girl crying uncontrollably while being consoled by a fireman. The emotional scene caused both hamsters to turn away.
"C'mon, Hamtaro. Let's get up into the air again. It'd be better for us," Sabu said. Hamtaro agreed, and Sabu took them skyward.
Francoise brought them relatively within close range of the beast, and they circled about to watch as it continued its deadly rampage. More troops had been sent in to attack it but the titan had easily ripped through them as though they were nothing.
"Is it ever going to stop?"
The beast, seeming proud of its accomplishments, sent a blast of flame into the air. It had come so close to the hamsters that they had felt the heat from it. "Francoise, get us out of here! Quick!" Sabu cried out desperately. Another torrent came even closer to them, and the dove swiftly dodged. Sabu, being used to flying, easily held on, but Hamtaro was not so lucky. He had lost his grip on the bird's back and slipped, sent spiraling towards the earth. He twisted his body around trying to slow his fall to no avail. As he plummeted downward he hit the side of the beast, nearly knocking the breath out of him. He knew this was going to be the end.
A pair of talons suddenly gripped tightly to his back. Francoise had grabbed him nearly at the last second. Sabu directed the bird to a soft landing on the ground ahead of the monster.
"You okay? That was a close call!" Sabu asked.
Hamtaro's heart was still pounding. "Yes, I'm okay. You saved my life!"
He may have spoken too soon. The beast lifted its foot to take a step forward, pieces of dirt falling off the thick sole as it traveled through the air. Sabu pushed Hamtaro to move, but luckily it appeared that they would be killed. The massive foot landed just a few feet away from them, the force of it sending them flying.
Hamtaro was on his back and craned his neck upwards at the colossal beast. It did not stop there, but moved onwards. More dirt and debris stuck to its sole as it lifted off of the ground to a new spot another 50 feet away. It appeared to be disinterested in its attackers and only focused on one direction: the mountains. Was it returning to its home? The troops that had been firing at it took notice at its abrupt end to the violence. It was as though both sides had issued a mutual ceasefire. They watched in awe as the hulking shape moved towards the hills.
The titan did not retreat back into the earth, though, but remained on top of the surface. Its huge silhouette was apparent in front of the sun in the western sky. The creature could be seen in all directions as though it were a visual reminder of its own existence.
Was this it? Hamtaro wished he could have done /something/ to stop it. Usually when he and the ham-hams teamed up to overcome an obstacle they nearly always found a way to do it, no matter how offhanded. This monster was more than an obstacle, though. This being, this unholy miscreation of nature, had taken his friends away from him. It was godlike in its demeanor, destroying without discretion or care.
It was, indeed, the end of life as they had known it in their country and perhaps the entire world. There was no more government, no more rule, the humans were no longer in control. This creature had risen from the earth and singlehandedly obliterated thousands of years of progress. We were insignificant in its eyes, nothing special, and slaves to its will. Our lives belonged to it.
Moral of the story: don't dick around with nature. Oh, and -
The behemoth = nature. Spoiler.