Chapter 9: Finding A Way Out

Alpha Six continued their way up the street, weapons at the ready as they passed amongst the abandoned cars and trucks. In the distance, they could hear the roars and crashes as the two monsters continued to battle. That kept the team on their toes to move as fast as possible.

Rounding a corner, they pushed up with Dusty and Rook on point. The entire block up ahead had almost been completely wiped out; most of the buildings had been levelled and the roads was littered with rubble and destroyed vehicles; among them a wrecked black car with US Flags on the hood: The Vice President's vehicle.

"Oh shit." Rook muttered as they closed in on the car. "This doesn't look good, man." He said worriedly. "I don't think they made it out."
Cade went over to inspect the overturned car. Grimacing, he steeled himself for the worst as he approached the vehicle. If the VP was in there, Rachel would likely be too. And that would be a sight that would crush him completely. Peering into the broken windshield, he saw splattered blood and a dangling corpse.
"We've got a body. Looks like Secret Service." He said. Shining the flashlight in the back, he saw the two rear seats were empty and their seatbelts hanging open. The rear side door was also missing; they must have gotten out. It would be an understatement to say Cade was relieved.

"Looks like they managed to get out of the car." He said. Walking around the other side, he saw the mess of scrapes and footprints in the dust on the ground. "If we follow the tracks we might be able to get to them."
"Roger that."

Following the footprints, the team pushed up towards the end of California Street. They came to a halt at the end of the next block as the entire street had been blocked by a collapsed building; stopping their trail dead.
"Dammit." Dusty remarked. "We'll never get over that." He looked around for solutions. Cade did the same, eyes darting around the street corners for any way around. Spotting a manhole cover, his eyes lit up. Jogging over, he called the squad to follow.
"I have an idea." He explained; "Dusty, Rook and I will try and find a way around via the sewer system. Everyone else remain here for now."

Calling over Rook, he watched as the SEAL took out a crowbar and began to gradually lift the manhole cover. Once it was open wide enough, Cade reached in to help him pull it the rest of the way off. Looking down into the blackness, he popped a flare and dropped it down. The flare dropped a couple of metres and splashed down in the water at the bottom. Satisfied, Cade grabbed the rungs of the ladder and began to make his way down into the sewer tunnels, followed by Dusty and Rook.

"Smells like shit." Rook muttered as he reached the bottom, splashing into the ankle deep water.
"Why do you think that it, genius?" Dusty retorted, flicking on his weapons' flashlight. Cade did the same and waved the light around.
"Okay, this way. This should take us underneath the collapsed building and over to Drumm Street." He explained, slowly beginning to creep forward.

Several minutes passed as the three crept through the pitch blackness, trying to ignore the stench as they walked. Up ahead was a junction and what appeared to be a doorway into another underground system. As the SEALs approached it, they read the sign on the door:
SUBWAY MAINTENANCE ENTRANCE
"Which way now?" Dusty asked as they hopped up onto the platform where the door was to get out of the muck.
"I vote the way not filled with the entire city's crap." Rook said smugly, hovering at the door ready to get out of the sewer, eagerly looking to Cade for agreement.

The Master Chief nodded,
"Alright, we'll head into the Subway." He explained. "From there, there should be an easier way back to the surface."

….

Another ten minutes passed as the three advanced down one of the subway tunnels, passing an abandoned metro train. Shining their lights in the windows they saw that everyone must have fled when the power was cut to the underground. Checking inside, they found all kinds of luggage and sorts left behind by the former occupants; briefcases and backpacks had been ditched in a panicked attempt to get off of the train faster.

Kicking open the back door, they hopped back down onto the tracks and prepared to move on when they could see a faint orange glow from around the corner of the tunnel.
"Light up ahead." Cade said, raising his HK416 to the source of it.
"Light at the end of the tunnel? I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does." Rook said, cautiously backing up against the wall of the tunnel.
There was faint sound coming from around the corner; not the rattle of an oncoming train on the tracks but the scraping of footsteps on gravel and the faint echo of worried mumbling and whispers.

Gradually, several shapes emerged from around the corner and stopped dead when they saw the soldiers pointing guns at them. It was a dozen or so people holding flashlights, mobile phones and improvised torches.
"Lower your weapons. We got civilians." Dusty said, taking the lead towards the group. At the front of the cluster of people was a man holding up a flaming torch in one hand and carrying an injured person with the other.
"Military? Thank God you're here." He said, sighing with relief. As Cade got closer, he recognised the man as their objective; Vice President Meechum.
"Mister Vice President." Dusty said, saluting. "We're here to evacuate you out of the city." He said. Going onto the comms, Cade tried to get through to the others up top.

"Stump, you there?" He asked.
"Y..h….We're….Wai…..g..O..er." The radio crackled, interrupted by the ground above their heads.
"We've found the VP along with some civilians. I'm sending them back up to you now. Over."
"Solid….We…Got…..h…Out."

Turning back to the Vice President, Cade began to question him.
"Sir, do you know where your Chief of Staff is?" He asked.
That hit Meechum hard as Cade could see a pang of regret in his eyes as he realised who he was talking about.
"We… We got separated. I don't know if…" He trailed off, looking to the floor in shame. "We were on Market Street, she might still be there."

Cade turned to Dusty,
"Dusty, I want you to take point and escort the VP and the civilians to the surface. Regroup with the others and head to the evac point." He began to walk off down the tunnel alone.
"What about you?" He asked
"I'll be fine. Just get out of here." He said. "Good luck, brother."
"See you in Hell." Dusty replied.
….

"Director. I don't think its' working." Davis said as he watched the viewscreen in horror. Ghidorah had gained the upper hand in the fight and was now pushing Godzilla further and further back, tearing into the other monster, seemingly growing stronger with each strike.

Yamane wasn't pleased. Staring at the live feed of the battle, he grimaced and bit his lip. "He has to defeat Ghidorah: There's no other way." He said determinately. Walking across the bridge to the window, he set his cane aside and groaned. "How many have been evacuated?" He asked.
"Most of the city, sir." Davis answered. "There's still about an eighth of the population still inside the lockdown perimeter. A targeted Nuclear Strike is waiting as a failsafe."

"ABSOLOUTLEY NOT!" Yamane suddenly boomed, causing even the grizzled veteran that was Admiral Davis to jump. "Nuclear Weapons are not an option in this battle. They never should be." He sighed, taken aback by how loud he had been, "They've already caused enough damage in the past."

….

Tearing at the rubble, Cade fought his way through the cave in and clawed his way out into the lobby of the train station. Hopping the turnstiles, he staggered up the steps and out onto the street. Panting and wheezing, he walked over to a nearby car and rested against it to regain his stamina. He had been on his own for about half an hour now. The others would have likely reached the extraction point by now. He told them not to wait for him so if he did find Rachel they would have to find their own way out of the city. Summoning up his strength, he pushed on up the street towards the coast.
SSKKKREEEEOOONNNKKK
Suddenly the earth shook violently as an ear-splitting roar erupted behind him. Wheeling, he watched as Godzilla was thrown into a nearby building and collapsed amidst the cloud of dust. Thrown off his feet, the SEAL landed on his back and sat up, levelling his rifle. Through the dust, he could see the massive reptilian face lying on the ground.

Slowly getting up, he limped over towards it. He was truly gigantic, his head alone towering higher than a house, fangs and teeth taller than Cade himself. As he got closer, he saw the small golden eyes shift and look down directly at him. He was awestruck in the presence of the monster. Looking into its' eyes, he recognised the gaze of an old, wise being who had seen the world grown and change around him for millennia. The old wise eyes blinked slowly and painfully as the beast tried to readjust itself but to no luck. Settling back down again, Godzilla let out a long, pained growl which eventually faded out and the beast closed his eyes. Stepping closer, Cade reached out, placing his hand on the monster's snout. It was rough and cold like that of an armored lizard.
"Easy there, pal." He said softly. "It's alright."
Backing away as the monster fell quiet, he picked up his weapon again and got ready to move on. There really was nothing he could do for Godzilla if he was dead.

Moving on, he left the defeated monster behind and began to jog towards the coastline when the ground shuddered again and he turned to see Ghidorah right behind him. He had not been this close to the other monster since Fort Letchi. Pointing his rifle to the sky, he fired at the monster. Hissing, it flicked a claw at him and he was sent hurtling through the air. Landing hard on the asphalt, he rolled and skidded to a stop.

Groaning in pain, he forced himself upright as one of the massive heads came down to snarl at him. He knew he was going to die. In a futile attempt, Cad raised his HK416 again and fired, holding down the trigger until the weapon was empty. When the rifle stopped firing, he cast it aside and closed his eyes, awaiting the end as Ghidorah closed in for the kill.

Preparing what would be his final thoughts, he pictured himself stood with his wife smiling with their arms around each other; one of their old photos from before they were married. He wanted Rachel's face to be the last thing he ever pictured in his mind when it was interrupted by a deep blue glow coming from down the street. Averting his eyes, he saw the glow begin to grow more intense in the dust cloud as Ghidorah stopped and also turned to see what it was.

Movement in the dust cloud as a massive armored tail curled into the sky. The short stubby spikes that ran along the top of the tail were the source of the blue light. Glowing almost crystalline, they seemed to emit a low electronic throbbing sound as the light began to move up the tail. The spikes which ran along it each began to glow one by one until they reached the base. That was when the bipedal reptile form emerged from the dust cloud, the glow still moving up his spines up his back. A bright blue, they sparked with energy as the monster summed up immense amounts of power.
Spikes still glowing, Godzilla threw his mouth open and the world was filled with light…

An icy white beam of fire shot from the monsters' jaws. Striking Ghidorah in the back, it burned into the creature, who recoiled, howling in pain. The beam ceased as Godzilla drew another breath. Letting another beam fly, he continued to scorch Ghidorah, pushing the monster back against another building. Slamming into the side of it, Ghidorah slipped away around the street corner as Godzilla pushed forwards, roaring into the sky before pursuing the fleeing dragon. Godzilla was back in business.

Taking the opportunity Cade scrambled to his feet and ran for his life.

Yeah it was only a matter of time before I screwed up on the Daily Uploads thing. Sorry about that.
There's not much to go now. After finishing posting Landfall, There'll be a couple of days delay before I start posting a sequel in order for me to finish it or finish it to a point where the chapter I post and the chapter I write are far enough apart to guarantee steady uploads.
Thanks for sticking around :)