Two days had passed since Glen informed his boss that they'd come across a second giant beast. Despite Glen's protests, Hal Watson insisted on sending a second crew to "assist" and "gather extra intel" on the situation. They're scheduled to arrive sometime today, last Glen heard.
He enjoyed the drastic change in scenery and lifestyle, despite only being there for a few days. Things felt less hectic in the village. Hal had ordered him to not revisit Varan's lair until the others arrived, so he filmed a few quick scenery shots and a couple more villagers stories about the monster, then went into full on relaxation mode.
It was on the way back from helping feed the cattle that Glen and Tick saw the two incoming helicopters. Tick pointed to them from the back of the jeep and asked, "Why'd we have to drive, and they get flown in?" Glen shrugged.
The scene was a mess by the time both parties arrived at the village. The two choppers had landed, and five men were removing equipment from them both. The locals were scattered around them, shouting. Glen turned on his camera as the jeep pulled up and approached the newcomers.
"They're mad at us for flying in. They said flying in this area is very dangerous." The tall man unloading what appeared to be a boxed up tent offered up this information, disregarding a proper greeting. "You must be the documentarian."
Glen nodded.
"You can call me Kerns. Mr. Watson sent us in to dig up a little meat for this film you guys are making."
The villagers suddenly started making an uproar as one of the men unloaded a crate of weapons. He kept about his business as one of his comrades explained to the people that they were merely precautionary measures, which didn't seem to appease them in the least.
"We're onto something big, here." Kerns paused. "Pun not intended. Godzilla shows up out of the blue, takes a chunk out of California and disappears. All of a sudden, another giant reptile appears. No human has ever seen one of these things before, but suddenly there are two in a half year period. Something's up, and Varan is key in finding out just what that is. Get your gear ready for tonight."
Later that night, another expedition lead by Kerns is sent to the lake where the beast sleeps, despite the protests of the locals. They set up a small camp on the shore, and began readying various types of equipment. Geiger counters, underwater microphones, large spotlights, as well as two rifles that appeared large enough to take out a whale in a single shot manned by two of Kerns' men.
Glen readied his camera and got a few shots of the lake before approaching the man in charge.
"Could you state your name and business here for the documentary?"
"My name is Henry Kerns, and I am the head of a fact finding team here in Peru. Our goal is to gather as much information on this creature as possible."
One of his team members approached with a small device in his hand. "Sir, no radiation levels in this area. We're going to test the water next."
A commotion arose at the top of the cliff surrounding the lake. A group of villagers that were watching the ordeal started shouting as soon as they saw equipment being lowered into the water.
Tick offered up a translation; "They're insisting you don't put anything inside the lake."
The crew that was lowering a small, round metallic object via miniature, makeshift crane stopped upon hearing this, and looked at Kerns for orders. He nodded toward them to continue.
"Cole and Simms are here in case anything goes awry." He motioned his hand in the direction of the two men carrying extremely high powered rifles.
Glen shook his head at Tick. "Let's go back up to the top. This can't turn out well." The two gathered up the recording equipment they brought along, told Kerns they were going to get some top-down footage and headed back up the trail.
Spotlights turned on, illuminating the entire lake area. The crane had dropped the device, which will give a 3-D readout of everything under the water.
Upon reaching the top of the cliffs, Tick asked a member of the crowd what was going to happen if they disturbed the lake.
"We feed Varan only when we know he is ready to eat. Any time besides that, the lake is off limits. He does not like to be woken up. People have died."
"He's killed people?" Glen asked, through Tick.
"Yes. Varan is smart. He knows when it's time to be fed, and that we are the ones who will bring him food. Any other time, though, he will destroy anything that is in his home."
Shouting is suddenly heard again, this time from down below. The crew around the lake scatters away from the shore. The surface of the water is shattered as Varan emerges from beneath. He takes a single look at the humans all over his home, and lets out an enormous, angry roar. The miniature crane is destroyed with a single swipe of his clawed hand, and he then makes his way out of the water.
The beast stands about 130 feet tall, much smaller in comparison to the previous giant monster, Godzilla, but still larger than anything else humanity is used to. Varan lets out another guttural roar before swiping three crew members that were trying to escape by running up the spiraled path out of the lake. If they weren't killed by the monster, the fall definitely did them in. In response to this, a thunderous crack echoes from the lake's shore. Varan shrieked in pain as a tremendously powerful bullet pierced his skin. Another bang and another cry from the monster are heard.
Simms quickly reloaded his weapon, keeping his eye on the monster… who was staring him down. The massive, green, reptilian eyes were fixated on Simms and Simms alone. His heart skipped a beat. He fumbled and dropped the gun, just as Varan reared his head back, ready to attack. A third, deafening crack echoed throughout the landscape. Cole hit the monster in the arm, and took a second shot at his shoulder. Varan turned in his direction and snarled, but ultimately did not fall for the distraction. He turned back to Simms and smashed his hand down; snuffing out the rifleman like a man might do to a hornet that just stung him. He turned back to take care of the second nuisance, but it seemed to have disappeared.
Everybody at the top of the cliffs piled into their jeeps and fled the scene. Glen, camera still rolling, was a mess of thoughts. He's never seen anybody die, not to mention a giant monster go on a small rampage before.
"What about the others?" Tick asked Kerns.
"Nothing we can do for them, they're going to have to fend for themselves. I know it sounds cold, but…" Kerns' response was cut short by what he saw in the rear view mirror; Varan had crawled out of his den and was making short work of the remaining crew members and villagers trying to escape the mayhem.
Satisfied that he defended his territory, Varan's attentions turned to the fleeting lights racing through the jungle. With a grunt, he leaned down on all fours and gave chase to his new prey.
He caught up to the first jeep in no time at all, and swatted it with enough force to send it flying into the nearest tree. The explosion startled him, but he kept on toward the next. They drove erratically in and out of the trees in hopes to lose him, but he again caught up with little effort and took it out. He let out a gleeful shriek that filled the night air. The animal hadn't done this much in a very long time, and he felt awakened.
Kerns shut the lights off of the jeep and parked it deep under a thick canopy. He killed the engine. The four men exchanged glances, but didn't say a word. Impact tremors came every so often, as did the sound of trees being torn down. After ten minutes of searching, Varan gave up and turned back in the direction of his home.
He didn't approach it, however. Varan took in the jungle around him, and the warm, night. He let out a few croaky growls, as if talking to himself. He wasn't ready to go back home and go to sleep. Excitement was a good feeling. He wanted more. Varan wandered away from his lake, and wandered north through the jungles of Peru, unsure of, but ready for whatever he would come across next.