Chapter 12: Game Change
Date: May 18, 2014
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"Sergeant Morales, gimme a hand," Ford requested.
"I thought these nukes all detonated by remote control," Morales responded.
"Well the MUTO's knocked out everything electric, including detonators. Thing is you can't even get in range without these things going haywire. But this, this on the other hand. This is old school, clockwork."
"Takes a lickin, keeps on tickin," Morales said with a smile.
Ford and Morales shared a laugh, but in the back of Ford's mind was a lingering doubt as to whether or not this was the right move. And at that moment, an explosion rang over the edge of the mountain ahead of the train behind the two men. Ford turned around and saw the fireball rising above the mountain peaks and the forests covering it, knowing full well that this was an ill omen of what was to come.
The train suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing Morales and Ford both to jerk almost off their feet. They managed to steady themselves quickly by grabbing the rails, but they wished they could do so without grabbing the rail as the screeching of the train tires was ear splitting. When the train came to a full stop, Ford looked up and saw gunfire flashing over the ridge with a couple of more explosions following soon after.
"Sergeant Morales, get down here with that radio on the double! Move, move, move!" Came an order from up ahead at the front of the train.
Ford looked back at him, and together they hopped off the train and made their way to the front with the radio to communicate with the forces up ahead.
"Hey guys, this is Bravo 2 November. Is the bridge clear, over?"
Over the radio came the sounds of shouting and gunfire, which almost sounded like a classic B movie suspense sequence. The irony was almost unbearable, and both Ford and Morales gave each other a shared look of understanding.
Son of a bitch.
That thought pretty much summed it all up for the two of them.
"I say again, we got a train of VIP cargo headed for the coast. Is the bridge clear, over?" Morales asked again.
As Morales called again, Ford turned around and started heading for the tunnel. It was eerily quiet and completely devoid of light save for a small patch of moonlight close to the opening.
"Secure or not? Over!" Morales called again, looking over to Ford.
More screaming and static came from the other end of the radio, and the soldiers all started when a deep and rumbling noise of unknown origin echoed through the tunnel and over the ridge. Ford tucked the butt end of his weapon into his shoulder and readied himself as he began to press forward.
A few moments later the soldiers had worked themselves into teams and moved into the tunnel. They clicked on their shoulder flashlights and moved slowly and cautiously. The tracks were in tact and the tunnel itself was calm and quiet. When they reached the end of the tunnel they saw that the tracks ahead looked to be in good shape. The valley around them was calm and peaceful enough, which was unusual given what they had seen from the other side.
"Seems in tact," Ford said, looking back to the others with him.
"Only one way to find out. Wanna take the top?" The master sergeant asked.
"Sure, you check below. Sergeant Morales, you come with me."
Morales fixed his helmet and followed Ford out to the tracks while the master sergeant and his companion moved down the long, long ladder to the valley floor below.
As they hopped off the ladder and shone their lights out ahead, they saw that a river ran below the tracks. For the moment it seemed normal, and so they kept searching. Ford and Morales on the tracks above moved very cautiously, watching each and every step so as not to slip and fall through. As Morales moved forward, one of the crossbars below snapped and his left leg fell through. He caught himself before falling completely, but he dropped his flashlight down into the valley below by accident.
"Shit," he mumbled.
The flashlight struck the ground a short distance from the master sergeant and his companion. Their own lights shone over towards it, and they looked up to Ford and Morales above and shook their heads. They exchanged a "really?" glance, and took a moment to breathe after the sudden start. However, the air behind them began to turn orange, and as they turned they spied the fiery remains of what looked to be a tank heading towards them at a fairly rapid clip. The tank struck the shore with great force, and the two men jumped away for cover before directing their lights towards the tank.
"Jones, you all right?" The master sergeant asked.
"Yeah, I'm good," he responded.
As they looked at the river they began to see more flaming debris floating down the river with the tank. It didn't last long, but it was more than enough to sound an alarm. The master sergeant took a whistle from around his neck and blew into it. One short whistle, one long whistle. He sounded it twice, and Ford caught the sound but continued onward until something made him stop. He saw the end of the tracks, and looked back to Morales.
"The bridge is in tact," he said.
"Bulldog, this is Eagle. All clear to move out, over." Morales called over the radio.
"Roger that Eagle," came the response over the radio.
However, on the ridge behind Ford, there was movement.
Back at the train the soldiers all hopped aboard once again and prepared to move the train all the way through and pick the others up. The train's front light came on and it blowed its horn to let everyone know to get clear of the tracks and let it pass.
They started to try and communicate with Ford and the others, but the radio began picking up interference.
"Say again?" Jones asked.
"I do not have a visual, what is your position? Over," The master sergeant called.
"Unreadable, say again. Over," he continued.
Suddenly, the ground behind the master sergeant and Jones moved. They spun around and shone their lights on the source, which turned out to be the tip of the long front claw arm of the female MUTO. It rose up higher and higher into the air, and Ford caught sight of her quickly enough to let Morales know to hit the deck against the tracks to prevent her from seeing them. At the same time, Ford shut off his shoulder and weapon light to avoid drawing attention.
The female moved slowly and deliberately, as if searching for something. Ford watched her and listened, trying not to flinch against the thundering sound of her clicking and grunting. The clicking went from a slow and even frequency to a rapid frequency. The grunting and groaning was almost like the sound of wood creaking, just with a much deeper sound. The female moved around the side of the tracks, and Ford kept a very careful eye on her as she moved into the valley and ducked underneath the tracks. He turned his head to the side enough to see those gigantic "eyes" of hers, which looked the same as the males, as she moved beneath him. She continued growling and as she moved her eyes flashed slightly and sergeant Morales's radio light flickered with it.
The female continued her movement along underneath the two of them, and Morales began to grow frantic in his attempts to shut off the radio so the sound didn't draw her attention. However she growled once more and stood up alongside the tracks, her body rising up several meters above them until she towered over them completely. Ford kept his breathing steady, but his heart was still in his throat. She began to look over to the tracks where Ford and Morales were, but the sound of the train's horn caught her attention and she let out a small roar and began moving back over the mountain ridge.
As she moved up and over the tracks, Ford saw a large orange glowing sack underneath her lower abdomen. He could only presume those were eggs, and the very thought of these things breeding and letting all those infants hatch and grow was horrifying to Ford as he watched her slowly disappear into the fog. Ford and Morales stood up on the tracks and pointed their weapons in her direction just in case, not that they would do anything. Still, it was a small comfort.
A single sharp crashing sound erupted from the tunnel, and after a few moments the silhouette of the train, now engulfed in flames, came barreling out of the tunnel in their direction.
"Run!" Ford shouted.
The two men turned and began sprinting across the tracks as fast as they could.
"Move it!" Ford shouted again.
Morales did his best to keep up, but as he called out to Ford the claw of the female MUTO ripped through the tracks knocking sergeant Morales from them and out into the valley below to his death. Ford had no choice but to leap off the tracks and down into the water below. It was a long fall, and the fact that he survived it was nothing short of a miracle. Underwater, Ford looked up just in time to see the flaming train coming down towards him. He remained under until the train impacted the water and then fought his way to the surface to take a breath.
As his head came above water, he saw the female taking the warheads and consuming them. One of them fell into the water at her feet, which she seemed not to notice, and continued until she had consumed both of the remaining warheads on what was left on the train. A combination of the waves generated by the train's crash and the MUTO's enormous weight shifting the water as well as the weight of Ford's gear prevented him from getting more than a few quick breaths before he was pulled under again. He continued fighting to stay on the surface, but eventually the shock and adrenaline leaving his system caused him to black out.
Back on the USS Saratoga, an alarm started blaring.
"He's going under!" A crewman shouted.
"Boats, sound the collision alarm! Bring about to 180," the captain of the vessel called.
Outside the window, Gojira's figure began rising out of the water just in time to begin diving right back under. Bit by bit, meter by meter, his figure disappeared beneath the waves. The splashing of the water around him caused large waves which began causing the boats following him to list off to the sides. In the planning room of the USS Saratoga, admiral stenz watched as one of his pencils rolled off to one side of the table as the boat beneath him began to list off as well. The mighty carrier was helpless against the waves generated by Gojira's descent.
"We're losing visual, admiral. He's diving."
Gojira appeared on screen via underwater camera on the main monitors.
"Changing course and moving fast, I've got him at thirty-three knots and picking up speed. He's gonna outrun us sir," said the crew woman.
Stenz released a sigh of frustration and could do little more than hope that this wouldn't get too far out of hand.
Back on the coast, Ford awoke covered in sand and surrounded by debris. The bodies of some of his fellow soldiers were scattered about as he coughed sand out of his mouth and tried to brush it out of his eyes. Ford was exhausted, and could barely even stand. All he could do for the moment was turn his head and look around. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees, branches, and logs all around him. Boxes of supplies and pieces of military vehicles were scattered about as well as the remains of the train tracks which the MUTO had destroyed.
A few minutes later Ford heard the sound of a helicopter approaching the area, and he forced himself to his feet. He noticed that they had found the remaining warhead and were airlifting it out. Ford stumbled forward through the debris towards the soldiers as they began working to load up the warhead, and one of the other men spotted him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, put his middle and index fingers up to his goggles and pointed at Ford. His CO turned to look in the direction he was pointing and saw Ford walking forward, still barely able to remain on his feet.
"MEDIC!" He yelled into his comms.
Back at Elle's hospital, the news reports were reporting that the West coast was now undergoing a full evacuation. Citizens were being advised to head into the BART stations as they were designated as shelters for the disaster.
"Wait! These patients are my responsibility. Where are you taking them?" She asked the soldier who was helping wheel her patients out of the hospital.
"Across the bridges. Critical and children only," the soldier replied.
"Shelters are gonna fill up fast Elle," Laura warned.
"Trust me they're gonna be safer outside the city. I can take Sam," she offered.
"No, no Ford's on his way." Elle responded.
"Well, if you change your mind the busses leave in ten minutes," Laura said.
"Come on, where are you Ford?" Elle asked.
Outside, the soldiers were helping load up children and critical patients on the busses and other vehicles to lead them out of the city as the helicopters carrying the warheads passed by overhead. Ford sat in one chopper, and the one carrying the warhead began to veer off to another location.
"Hey, where are they taking it?" Ford asked.
"Twenty miles off shore, convergence point. We're gonna lure them there!" The other soldier responded.
Ford began to look back out towards the nuke, worried about this course of action.
"Three birds, one stone," he continued.
The nuke was loaded up onto one of the warships in the bay, and prepared to move out when the alarms started blaring again. Word reached them pretty quickly as to what exactly was coming from the Pacific.
Back at the hospital, Elle was standing in the street with Sam in her arms as she searched for a bus that wasn't fully loaded. One bus came up behind and honked at her, and she flagged the driver down. When the doors opened, her friend Laura was there.
"Sammy, you remember Laura. She's mommy's work friend right? She's gonna look after you just for a little bit. Daddy's gonna be here soon, and I'm just gonna come get you right after. Okay? I promise."
"… Kay," Sam responded softly.
"Okay?" She said with a smile as she kissed his forehead.
"Come on sweet heart, you're gonna come with me," Laura said as she helped Sam find his seat nearby.
"Your mom is gonna stay here and help. Elle, I'm gonna take care of him okay? Say "bye-bye" mommy," Laura said to Sam.
"Bye mommy," Sam said sadly.
Elle could barely contain herself as he said that and forced herself to smile for him through her growing tears that welled in her eyes. As the bus pulled away she let them fall and kept waving to Sam's bus as it began to disappear around the corner of the street.
Meanwhile, back up in Oakland Ford was helped out of the chopper and walked over to an area where a medic began to give him a basic check up.
"Hey, did you lose consciousness?" The medic asked.
"I'm fine, I' m fine," Ford responded.
Admiral Stenz had just arrived himself from the USS Saratoga, and as he walked in he asked for the sit rep.
"Sitrep please, location of targets?" He asked.
"The male MUTO was spotted thirty miles off the Farallon Islands," one man said.
"We're showing seismic activity to the East, near Livermore, should be the fame closing in," a woman watching the readings said.
"And where is Gojira?" Stenz asked.
"Last contact was still five hours ago, maintaining a bearing of 050 degrees and descending below a depth of ten-thousand feet. He'll be here within the hour," she responded.
Stenz watched the news feeds, and what he saw worried him greatly.
"There are still busses on that bridge," he said.