Chapter 7:
The Cavern
Takashi Tomakane ignored the masses of protestors at the base of Mt. Myoko. The man may have aged ever since the 1993 incident, but he had never once learned from it. Not even one single minute. The Marutomo Company wasn't going to change its ways. He had come down to the digging site after being informed of a problem. All he was really told was "It's serious."
As he stepped out of his van, a young foreigner executive named Clark Nelson ran up to him. "Mr. Tomakane, glad you could make it."
Takashi rolled his eyes as he stepped out. "You said there was a problem with the digging, what's the hold-up aside from the picketers?" he asked.
Nelson swallowed, hoping his words didn't invoke the wrath of his boss, "W-well, we keep hitting a stop that's been halting digging procedures."
That's it? I was called all the way from Yokohoma for this?
"Then get the drills running and remove it." Takashi snapped.
"Well, that's just the thing, sir. Whatever's blocking our path is hard enough dent the drills. Just take a look for yourself."
Takashi was led over to a drilling device and, true to Nelson's word, it was worse for wear. The cutting edge of the drill looked like a crushed soda can while the lip angles seemed chipped away. This seemed odd. The drill was said to be sharp enough to pierce even diamonds so either the person who sold his company this drill either lied or exaggerated.
"Do we at least have teams working inside the caverns?" Takashi asked.
Nelson nodded, "Yes, sir. We've currently got four men down there assessing the situation right now. Though, I doubt we're going to get any legitimate results."
"Put me on speaker with one of them," the Marutomo CEO commanded, "I would like to at least know what the Hell down there is strong enough to dent a drill."
Nelson handed his boss a walkie-talkie without question. Takashi fiddled with the knobs to the right signature and pressed the button.
"This is Tomakane, what's going on down there? Over."
"This is Tomakane, what's going on down there? Over." The voice of Shiro's boss crackled from his walkie-talkie as he voyaged deeper and deeper into the nearly endless catacombs. "This is Shiro Mayama, right now I am currently closest to the obstruction. I'll keep you updated. Over."
Shiro let out a sharp smoker's cough. He desperately needed a smoke right now, despite the doctor's warnings. He just couldn't help it. The middle-aged man had tried everything to overcome his addiction but none of it had worked and in the darkness, far away from the full moon's glow, with only his headlight illuminating his path, his craving was growing by the second. Just then, he finally came across something other than endless darkness. It was a large black object, easily the size of his two-story house.
"Boss, I think I've just found the obstruction. Over." Shiro spoke into his walkie-talkie.
"Boss, I think I've just found the obstruction. Over." Shiro's voice crackled in Takashi's ear. Just outside of the caverns, the picketers had left, either having grown tired or just gave up. Now, with the lack of any annoying protests, Takashi could focus on the problem at large.
"What does it look like? Over."
"What does it look like? Over."
Shiro stared at the strange obstacle in front of him. It didn't appear to be made of any rock he'd ever seen and it smelled assaulting, almost like brimstone or volcanic gas. He slowly removed his left glove and brushed the surface of the object. It didn't even feel like rock either. It felt almost... reptilian.
"It's not even rock, at all, sir. It's like a big piece of alligator skin. Over."
"Are you telling me the drills are being stopped by a giant gator-skin patch?" Takashi's angry voice demanded over the walkie-talkie.
"No, sir, it's not exactly alligator skin, and it's not even a patch. I think we've just stumbled upon a Kaiju. Over."
"Well of course it would be a Kaiju, you twit. Can you at least estimate how big it is? Over."
"Where I'm standing right now, I can't really know for certain. Over."
He could hear his boss mutter something on the radio-phone. "Just stay there and I'll have the other three come your way and assess it. Over."
Right, sure. Stay here with a giant killing machine. Nice idea, boss. Shiro thought sarcastically. His boss could be such a dick.
"Roger. Over." he ended up saying instead.
With that, he popped out his newly bought box of cigarettes, considering his colleagues were going to take some time getting to him, he might as well have a smoke break while he waited. Shiro tore off the clear, plastic wrapping on the box and removed one of the twelve rods of rolled up tobacco and nicotine. As he placed it in his mouth, he got out his lighter and flipped the lid, starting a small flame. However, just as he was about to have the flame and cigarette make contact, the flame blew out like candlelight bowing to a breeze. This was followed by a glowing light behind him. Slowly the man turned around... only to see himself reflecting off a giant, blood red, slitted eye. The last thing he ever uttered was a scream.