Chapter 2: Creature's Landing
June 24, 1998, 8:04 A.M. Hanger 3 Sandy Point Military Base
Nick walked into the hanger where Godzilla's remains were being studied. He noticed that what remained of the monster's right arm was being lifted onto a transport truck. The crane that was being used was huge and even it barely managed to lift it five feet into the air.
What remained of Godzilla, even after a month of dicing and cutting, was going to be lowered into a specially designed cooling unit for freezing it and keeping the tissue they hadn't already cut apart, ready for them when they got back from this little trip.
"Hey Nicky!" a woman shouted from across the room.
"Elsie, how long have you been here?" Nick replied as he walked towards her.
Elsie Chapman, once the researcher for the National Institute of Paleontology, then the lead scientist with the hunt for Godzilla, and then the supervisor of the same creature's autopsy, tried to pay careful attention to how the arm was being loaded up.
"Long enough to make sure these military guys don't take apart our prized specimen. Hey! Careful with that!" she shouted to the crane operators.
"Where's Mendel?" Nick asked, looking for the mechanical specialist.
Elsie pointed to her left. "Over there, taking some last minute cuts before the army chills our science project."
Mendel Craven held some specimen trays and tried to save some of his cuts of Godzilla's long tail. Occasionally he sneezed, fortunately, away from his specimens.
"Pack it up doctors, plane leaves in 10!" Hicks ordered as he walked through the hanger.
"Colonel!" Nick shouted. "You mind telling me why we are being pulled away on this little field trip?"
"If you must know, worm guy, the Japanese have asked for the American military's help."
"But why? We have work here we really need to finish."
"That's classified until we get there." Hicks turned and shouted at more officers.
"He's been like this all morning." Mendel said, walking up to Nick. "Hicks won't even tell Elsie what all of this is about."
"Now that's strange." Nick started to think of the reasons.
"It must be something big." Mendel commented.
"Could it be another creature?"
Nick and Mendel looked at each other and then looked away, each lost in thought.
"Hey, why the glum faces, we've got a plane to catch guys." Elsie asked, walking between Nick and Mendel and punching them both playfully in the arms.
The two scientists followed the energetic Paleontologist out onto the tarmac and to the transport plane.
June 25, 1998, 10:47 A.M. Tokyo International Airport, area closed off to the public Tokyo, Japan
The C-141 Starlifter, a American military transport plane, landed in Tokyo a few minutes earlier, giving the several scientists aboard time to check their equipment in the cargo hold as the plane was pulled into it's own hanger. Colonel Hicks was already on the tarmac, speaking to several Japanese men in militaristic clothes.
"I wonder what the Japanese government would want with us?" Mendel asked as he, Nick, and Elsie made sure all of their equipment was still intact after the 26 hour flight, with only a short fuel stop in Guam.
"Maybe," Nick began.
"Maybe what?" Elsie asked.
"I can't remember exactly, but it has to do with Tokyo. It's at the back of my mind,"
"Don't sweat it Nicky, you'll think of something. You did before." Elsie replied, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder from behind.
"Yeah, and it almost meant the end of the human race." he said before moving out of Elsie's reach.
"Grumpy," Elsie mumbled under her breath.
June 25, 1998, 1200 Hours Prime Minister's Office Tokyo Japan
Hicks lead the three scientists as they were escorted by members of the Japanese Secret Service. They entered the meeting room. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table, several seats on each side. Out of all the seats, four where left open for them only. Those already seated rose to their entrance and some even bowed, the Japanese custom of showing respect to a social superior. Hicks saluted to those dressed in military clothes, before he took his seat. Nick sat next to Elsie, as Mendel sat on the other side of the paleontologist.
Japan's prime minister spoke first. "I would like to thank the American Military for allowing us use of their personal and scientists." His words where understandable, even with a noticeable Japanese accent. "Now what we are about to discuss, does not go beyond these walls. Doctor Saegusa, would you please begin?"
An elderly Japanese man, sitting a few seats away from the minister, pulled out a file before beginning. "I am Doctor Yoshi Saegusa, and I have been studying for the later half of my life one possibly the greatest threat to human kind." He opened the file and several black and white pictures where passed around. At the end of the table, Nick was a little concerned with the change in faces after the others looked at the photos, that is, until he looked at them himself.
There, on the worn black and white photograph, a creature stood, it's head glancing down at the Japanese seat of government. The hood's over it's eyes gave it a feral look as the wedged-shaped head had a catlike appearance. The arms where spread and the hands open, allowing Nick to almost count how many fingers it had. The broad chest molded into the lower torso, the legs disappeared behind the Diet building. The second photo had a complete full body picture, showing even part of the tail.
It all started to come back to him. During several of his college classes, points where made about creatures mutating twice their original size. Only this creature's name escaped his memory.
"The creature you are looking at is a direct result of the nuclear tests done on Bikini Atoll in 1954," Yoshi started.
1954, Nick thought So these pictures are real.
"Much the same as your Godzilla, this creature mutated far beyond whatever it could have evolved into. When it first appeared off of Oto Island, the islanders mistook it for their legendary sea monster, Gojira."
"Why does that sound so familiar?" Nick asked himself under his breath.
"The last time Gojira entered a populated area, 179,000 people died, and thousands more where injured. Afterwards, an outbreak of radiation sickness spread through what remained of Tokyo. It took over a decade for the capital to be rebuilt."
"If I may ask, doctor," Nick said, trying not to interrupt. "But if I remember correctly, wasn't the creature destroyed?"
"Yes, it was believed that Doctor Serizawa's creation destroyed Gojira, but a body was never recovered of the beast." Yoshi replied. "Which also brings us to the reason for your presence here."
Everyone was silent as Yoshi Saegusa brought out another folder and took photos from it.
"These are pictures taken by a research vessel, searching the area south east of Japan for Giant Squid. They found this," he pointed to one specific photo. "It is a Japanese nuclear sub that was reported missing several months ago."
"How come nothing was ever reported?" Mendel asked as he looked at a few of the photographs.
"The government decided it was best to dismiss the incident and put a media blackout covering everything surrounding the sub." General Tanaka replied. "The press has tried several times to get information, but they have been stopped."
"The submarine's reactor and most of the hull had been recovered, but what we found out was shocking. The reactor was completely drained of any radiation."
That last comment grabbed everyone's attention, and shocked the scientists and Hicks.
"Gojira may be alive." Yoshi continued. "And if any of the information we have just told you will not get out to the public, the whole world would plunge into chaos."
June 25, 1998, 12:13 P.M. West Coast Time Santa Monica Beach Los Angeles, California
Lifeguard Mike Stevens was enjoying the warm weather at his post looking at the sea for anyone in trouble. This was his second year and he was still considered a rookie by many of the older lifeguard at Santa Monica. True, he was the one of the few who got left behind when something big happened, but he never complained. Besides, he thought it was more fun watching the girls in between his shifts.
Out to sea, lights flashed under the ocean. Extreme heat was making the sea boil and foam. Because the sun was reflecting off of the ocean, no one hardly noticed.
Several swimmers felt the ocean around them get warmer, it soon got scalding hot.
Mike's attention snapped to people running up to the shore and shouting. He pulled his binoculars out and focused on the people in the water. They where thrashing as they tried to get to the beach. Mike jumped down off of his post and grabbed his walkie-talkie. "This is post 12, I've got a situation."
"Same here," Mike recognized Charles, at post 3, "Swimmers are screaming their heads off. Something about the sea getting too hot."
"Ditto, I've got the same story." José, from 7, added.
"Then get them out of the water!" the chief lifeguard, Rich, said, annoyed at their jabbering.
Mike sprinted to the surf, swimmers where already being pulled out of the water, their skin a bright red, looking worse than a sun burn. He jumped into the water to get some stragglers out and he could instantly tell what they where screaming earlier about. The sea was almost boiling hot and it burned every part of his body that hit the water. In seven strokes he reached two young girls who where trapped on a inflated inner tube, the only safe place in the hot sea.
Pain clouding his thinking, he managed to grab onto the tube and began to pull the girls back to shore. Halfway back to the beach, he heard someone shout, "The sea is boiling!" The tube and the two girls where in his way so he couldn't see.
A blast of blue fire erupted from the ocean. It was undirected and flew over the skyscrapers that defined the L.A. skyline. Mike had seen that just as the two girls he saved and himself where being pulled onto the beach.
"What the hell?!" Mike said to himself. Every one was astonished and puzzled at what had just happened. Mike was about ready to check in with Rich when a roar brought everyone's attention back to the sea.
A bulge formed out of the Pacific. It continued to rise until what was causing it, broke the surface. Three rows of irregular dorsal spines sliced through the water as a creature began to rise out of the ocean. Slightly ahead of the spines, the head came out. It was wedge-shaped and cat-like, with a feral look. The creature began to stand up, showing a bulky neck, connecting the head to a broad chest. It's arms rose with it, the four-fingered hands flexing.
The creature stopped rising at the waist. Water washing off of its grooved hide in torrents. It's eyes scanned the shore, unaware of the people on the beaches. The head reared back and the mouth opened, showing two rows of six-foot long teeth. A bell-like roar echoed through the metal canyons of Los Angeles.
A Japanese man, old and tired, just sat on the beach as the monster rose from the ocean. His eyes couldn't see, but he could hear. The roar petrified him. It was what his nightmares had been about for almost 50 years. That monster. That terror. The same reason he moved away from Japan. "Go-Gojira."
Piercing the sounds of the frightened beach goers, two fighter jets raced over head. They sped towards the behemoth in the sea.
Above Santa Monica Beach...
The F-14A Tomcat was the most advanced fighter plane in the United States military. The Tomcat's main purpose was to only carry the lethal air intercept Phoenix missiles, but its maneuverability, speed, and range proved to be more than what the original designers had hoped. Currently the Tomcat could carry any type of missile from the AIM-7E/F Sparrow to a nuclear tipped warhead. The two lone jets made their way towards the monster.
"Falcon One to base. We have spotted target and are on our attack run."
"Roger that Falcon One. You are clear to proceed with attack run."
"I copy that base. Okay wizzo let's get those missiles armed"
The term "wizzo" was a shortened term for the weapons systems officers who operated the targeting and firing of the assorted missiles that the Tomcat could carry.
"10-4 Tombstone but I have a problem with the Sidewinders."
"What's wrong Bull's-eye?"
"I'm not getting a heat signature from the target."
"That's impossible." announced
The two F-A14s aimed their sidewinders at the creature and fired. The missiles streaked at the target in a tight curve. The sidewinder crossed each others path then hit the behemoth right square in the chest. The explosions clouded the giant in a blanket of smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared the behemoth was still alive, and unsaved.
Danny was amazed, "That thing should be dead. We hit it right square in the chest."
Mark reported in, "Mission control target is still alive. I repeat target is still alive."
The creature tilted his head upwards towards the two jets. His irregular shaped dorsal spines luminated bright blue as lightning danced up and down them. Out of his mouth came blue radioactive fire, heading to the closest jet.
Mark's jet was being targeted by the giant and when the flame hit him the outer metal of his jet melted away. The extreme heat caused the fuel tanks to catch fire and explode. When the tanks exploded, the rockets and missiles detonated, enlarging the fireball. Danny saw the fire beam and managed to bank to the right at the last second.
"Falcon One what happened?"
"Falcon One is gone mission control."
Angered at the death of his wing man, and trying to keep his cool, Danny started firing all of his missiles at the creature. Danny dived at the behemoth shooting it with his guns. Most of the missiles hit the animal simultaneously, engulfing it in a cloud of smoke. He circled the creature, still shooting. He was right behind it when a slender serpentine object came out of the water and hit his jet sending it spinning away from the behemoth. Danny tried as hard as he could to regain control of the jet, and when he had the creature saw the jet and zeroed in. Blue fire blasted forward, engulfing the Tomcat and causing it to explode.
Roaring in triumph, Gojira continued moving toward L.A.
Prime Minister's Office, 1423 Hours
"This monster has to have some weakness," Nick said to himself as he looked through old pictures and theories he hadn't seen since college.
"Of course it does," Mendel replied, looking over his own set of notes. "If it was stopped forty years ago, then it has to have a weakness."
"One problem, a body wasn't found." Elsie chimed in.
"I said stopped, not killed." Mendel corrected her.
Yoshi took a seat next to the three arguing scientists. He sipped the tea in his cup as he listened.
"If this thing was stopped before, it can be stopped again." Mendel repeated.
"No," Yoshi said, stopping the conversation. "It would be impossible to create the same weapon. Serizawa died with his invention at the same time as Gojira. The only mind who knew how the Oxygen Destroyer worked, died with it's activation and had destroyed any notes the day before."
"What about weapons?" Elsie asked.
"Planes, bombs, rockets. They where all used before, and many good soldiers died as a result. No weapon can harm him now."
Then the door flew open, Hicks rushed in, a newly sent message in his hand and a frustrated look on his face.
"Something surfaced off the west coast."
"What is it?" Nick asked.
"It's big, large, and already blasted two Tomcats out of the air."
"Gojira," Yoshi said, a determined look on his face.
Los Angeles, California, 1:15 P.M.
It had been an hour since Gojira first appeared in Santa Monica Bay. As he neared land the army had mobilized troops to stop the behemoth from reaching land. Most of the defenses were 20 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and two squads of AH-64A Apache helicopters. On reserve, in case the tanks and choppers could not stop it, were two squads of F/A-14 Tomcats.
The tanks made a front line as Gojira neared the beach. By the time they had set up a defensive line, the monster made landfall. Gojira's foot slammed down on the beach, causing a shockwave to ripple through the sand. He stared down at the strange creatures as they pointed their gun barrel's right at him. A roar escaped his mouth seconds before his body was covered with explosions.
In a mix of pain, confusion, and rage, Gojira roared at his attackers, and yet the attack continued to be relentless. Hunks of flesh were blasted off of the monster's body, landing on the sand at his feet. Gojira narrowed his eyes at the machines on the ground.
The monster's spines began to glow as lightning danced up and down the three rows. Gojira opened his mouth, showing off two rows of six-foot teeth, a blue glow in the back of the throat. The fire ray blasted out towards the row of tanks, the extreme heat forced the payload of each tank to explode, the tanks erupting in a row of fire balls.
The pilots in the Apaches only momentarily heard the tank's crews scream in pain before static covered the radio. The helicopters moved away from their safe points behind the skyscrapers, maneuvering into position around Gojira. The monster paid no attention as he continued to move through the beach-front property of Los Angeles. Then the attack came from all sides.
The explosions of the rockets were drowned out by Gojira's roar of pain and confusion. With an unrelenting assault, the Apaches fired every warhead on their wings into the monster, and when the rockets were spent, they used the laser guided machine guns.
Gojira roared in rage. The rockets and bullets sliced through his hide and causing waves of pain through his body. Even the whirling blades deafened his ears as flashes blinded his eyes. His spines danced with radioactive lightning before a burst of blue fire flew from his mouth, scattering the Apaches in front of him. His vision cleared, Gojira narrowed his eyes.
Once again blue lightning danced up his spines as Gojira targeted three Apaches several blocks away. The blast of radioactive fire covered the distance in seconds, engulfing all three attack helicopters in a giant fire ball. The force of the explosion blasted the fire ball apart into three different sections. One slammed into the San Diego Freeway, some of the escaping LA residents had already begun driving away, causing the biggest traffic jam in Los Angeles history. The fireball slammed right onto the freeway, smashing several cars and igniting the gasoline inside, causing them to explode. The cars continued to blow, causing the San Diego Freeway to become a line of fire and death.
Gojira roared before blasting more fire towards the helicopters buzzing his face. Of course the Apaches were just buying time, trying to hinder Gojira's progress until the F-14s could be deployed from the El Toro Air Force Base. The pilots just maneuvered out of Gojira's firing range before their hulls melted and ignited the fuel inside. Gojira's anger and frustration was causing him to fire his ray with out looking, hoping to hit something to ease the assault on his body. Then the helicopters began to retreat, backing away from the towering monster. Gojira was still enraged and blasted the retreating helicopters, blowing several up in one shot.
The monster roared in victory as the helicopters disappeared into the smog over LA, and a fire blazed through the city. He continued to stomp his way through Santa Monica, unopposed. Gojira turned east, and walked by the Santa Monica Freeway. The 20th Century Fox studios was crushed to rubble under his feet. The monster stopped, his head turning from side to side, unsure of which way to go: east or southeast. High above Gojira, Tomcats flew out to sea. The latest attack was going to come from the last place the monster would expect.
Twelve F-14 Tomcats banked back towards the California coastline. They headed towards the monster from behind, targeting Gojira from far out to sea. The missiles leapt from the wings, and blasted towards Gojira. The missiles had a heat signature lock on Gojira and covered the distance in minutes, flying at Mach 2. The missiles narrowed in on their target.
Gojira walked along a street, the monster's feet flattening cars and kicking rubble. The pavement cracked and buckled under the creature's 66 thousand ton body. Every time that Gojira roared, glass shattered and rained down in the street. Smoke pillowed into the air as gas lines ruptured and ignited, causing fire to spread through more buildings. Gojira came up towards two structures taller than him, he roared a challenge towards the skyscrapers on either side of the street.
Out of nowhere, missiles careened towards Gojira. Two slammed into his back, four hit the buildings directly in front of him, while the rest headed for the fires that blazed out of control along the ground. Gojira let out a roar of pain and confusion as the two explosions blasted chunks of flesh out of his back, between the three rows of dorsal spines. The buildings he saw, as a possible threat, began to crumble and rained down on the street. The sound of engines met his ears and Gojira looked up. Above him, a dozen objects flew overhead, back inland. He zeroed in on his latest targets.
Gojira gave a roar of challenge and rage as the jets banked and split into two different groups. The F-14s fired hundreds of rounds of machine gun bullets towards Gojira in waves. After the first sweep, the planes split off in their own attack runs.
Through the assault of both bullets and missiles, Gojira found a target. The ray blasted from his mouth, and scrapped the wing of one F- 14, causing a few leftover missiles to detonate. Its wing disintegrated, the fighter jet spun to the ground. The pilots never ejected.
A pair of Tomcats banked on a second run, because their heat- sensitive missiles had failed to hit the monster, they went with the radar guided Phoenix missiles. Originally the Phoenix could cover distances of up to 120 miles, but that accuracy wasn't necessary with a 100 meter-tall monster less than 20 miles away. The missiles leapt from the Tomcat's wings, careening towards Gojira.
Gojira's body turned, following a formation of three Tomcats. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the other jets when the two Phoenix missiles slammed into the right of his back. The monster spun around, his speed betraying his size. His tail flipped and the tip whacked into one of the jets that was passing him, before slamming into a small apartment complex. His eyes followed the other jet that managed to fly past his tail.
Again his spines lit up and the blue ray blasted from his mouth. The blast of atomic energy melted the Tomcat and the missiles under the body blew up, causing a fireball. Gojira bellowed before swiping his forearms, swatting a Tomcat out of the sky. He unleashed his fire ray, swiping his head and the ray sliced through everything in its path.
Gojira stood there, the fire lapping at his legs. His eyes scanned over the destruction he had just caused. The monster ignored the two Tomcats that had barely escaped his assault.
His rage satisfied, Gojira reared his head and roared into the sky. The bell-like yowl echoed through the suburbs of Los Angeles and drowned out the screams of the panicking humans, scrambling to get away. Now Gojira slowly made his way into the heart of the United States of America.
June 27, 1998, 10:47 El Toro U.S.M.C. Marine Air Station Southeast of Los Angeles, California
The Starlifter landed at the El Toro Air Base, and already the four scientists and Hicks had headed into the rubble that used to be downtown L.A. Driving in a humvee, they saw the kind of destruction that Gojira left in his wake. Emergency relief vehicle were everywhere, leaving the dead in the streets and only concentrating on finding survivors.
Yoshi watched as the skeletons of skyscrapers jutted into the sky. Fires continued to burn, reducing some of L.A.'s famous landmarks to ash and debris. The stench of burned flesh and melted steel permeated the air. Yoshi began to remember that horrid night in 1954, the fear, the smell, it all came back to his mind, making his heart race with terror.
He held his chest as he concentrated on stopping his breathing from being too noticeable. Forty years, it's been over 40 years and I am still haunted by the destruction you reek Gojira.
"Yoshi?" Nick asked. The older scientist had failed in making his labored breathing unnoticeable.
"I am fine Nick. I am not used to seeing such devastation." He replied.
"Devastation is the only word to describe this." Mendel commented. "Most of these buildings have been leveled."
"Gojira's blast must have one hell of a punch." Elsie said.
"According to the reports, Gojira's fire can melt an Abram tank in seconds and blasted both high-speed helicopters and planes out of the air."
"Colonel, how many casualties have been found?" Yoshi asked, a slight worried tone to his voice.
"Not counting the military loss, about 30,000 civilians." Hicks replied. "We are still checking the debris so the number I just gave you is a rough estimate."
"Then we shall expect it to rise," Yoshi replied. "Gojira attacked with such speed and force that a great many would have been killed before they knew what had happened."
"That monster just walked right through," Mendel commented.
"Yes, now you all see what kind of destruction Gojira is capable of, however, it could have been worse." the scientist said. "Much worse."
"So this is what we're dealing with," Elsie thought out-loud. "A 330 foot, nuclear-powered monster that can level a city with just his breath."
A solider flagged down the humvee and saluted to Hicks.
"What is it?" Hicks demanded.
"Sir, we've found more victims."
"How many?' Nick asked.
"The building was hit by two missiles during the Tomcats strike. It collapsed, and some fleeing civilians where caught under it. We've found almost 600 bodies."
Hicks closed his eyes. The scientists could see him wince in pain from the news.
Nick scanned the rubble and debris with his eyes. He looked ahead of the humvee and the military personal cleaning up the rubble. His eyes fell on a slab of rubber, skewered on a steel beam. What grabbed Nick's attention was a dull green mark that ran along the steel beam from the piece of rubber.
He jumped out and cautiously walked over the debris in his way. As Nick neared the black rubbery material he could smell an odor of rotting flesh. Nick stopped and looked at the slab. Two feet long, it was a charcoal black and had two deep groves that ran along the length of it. Suddenly realizing what it was Nick ran back to the humvee and grabbed the biohazard kit from the back.
"What is it Nick?" Elsie asked, confused at Nick rushing back towards the vehicle and scrambling through the back.
"Elsie, Mendel. Grab a medical kit. Yoshi, help me out."
Nick and Yoshi went back to the piece of Gojira's skin that had been blasted off during the attack. They both put on sterile gloves and began to cut pieces of the skin chunk away from the main part. Elsie came up behind them, holding a plastic bag to put their cut in until it could be frozen and studied.
"So this is your big rush. A shish-kabob bed piece of Gojira?"
"With any luck," Nick started before slicing another piece, "This will give us some idea of how to stop Gojira long enough to destroy it."
"Just be glad that Gojira is the only problem we have right now." Mendel commented, bringing the two scientists another batch of bags for samples.
June 27, 1998, 12:34 Seawall Blvd., Galveston, Texas The Beach
Galveston, Texas lay on a small stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. Being surrounded by water, the city has had its fair share of disasters. After it was flooded in 1900, the city was rebuilt 6 feet above where it had been originally. For extra security a seventeen foot high seawall was built along the seaboard. The seawall held after another hurricane came through, and Galveston remained in one piece.
On this fine sunny day Jack and Helen Carter took their six year-old daughter Moriah to the beach.
"Honey, maybe we should have gotten here earlier." Helen said when they pulled into the beach parking lot and noticed the number of people already crowding the stretch of sand.
"Nonsense," Jack replied, parking their van. "It's the first day we've both had off since Moriah got out of school. We've been planning it for weeks, and traffic was murder this morning."
Moriah ran ahead of her parents as her father carried their cooler as well as other beach necessities and her mother held towels and some sun lotion. She stopped running and watched several groups of people each building different castles out of sand. One was almost seven feet in the air with a spiral tower in the center.
"Hurry up mommy! Daddy!" she shouted towards her parents.
"Moriah, settle down, we'll be here all day." Helen replied to her daughter.
"Maybe not if this crowd gets bigger," Jack said to himself.
"And I thought you said we've been waiting for weeks." Helen commented, overhearing Jack's conversation with himself.
Avoiding a friendly argument Jack and Helen found a place on the beach to lay down their towel. As Helen and Moriah left to go change into their swimsuits, Jack sifted through all of their belongings to search for his camcorder. He had already recorded important moments on tape, Moriah's birth, his daughter's first steps as well as her first word. Jack was a man who felt that he should get every shot on tape.
"We're back daddy!" Moriah yelled to him from behind.
Jack looked behind him and saw his wife and daughter in their swimsuits. "Ta-da!" Helen said, striking a pose.
Jack took the camera and pointed it at the two. "Picture perfect!" he commented.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the sun reflected off of the surface of the sea. In a small fishing boat, Henry Kilad took another gulp of whiskey from his flask. He had been out since dawn and some of the fish traps he set had gone missing. Henry knew he had marked them with buoys but he hadn't seen any of them yet.
"Where the hell are they?"
Under his boat, something large and fast swam underneath. Henry had caught a glimpse of a green and blue form. As fast as it had appeared, it was gone.
Henry blinked his eyes and looked again. Nothing.
He tossed his flask out of the window and into the ocean.
Jack listened to the radio as Helen and Moriah tried their hand at making a sand castle closer to the surf.
"And still no word on the missing trawler that disappeared off the coast of Miami. The Coast Guard has mobilized several ships to search for the trawler, but it has already been named a victim of the Bermuda Triangle. Now the main news item is the legendary monster Gojira stomping through California. Currently the monster's impact on the nation is apparent. The Stock Market is in a downward spiral, areas hit by Gojira are showing signs of a new disease that shows threw direct exposure to the monster's blood. Greenpeace has stated that Gojira is an endangered species, and should be protected, much like the whales. In other news the president.." Jack turned it off.
True, Gojira was walking through the U.S., unopposed, but why was it making such a big deal? All Gojira was is a overgrown dinosaur. Just blast it and call it a day.
He looked up at Helen and Moriah building a small castle. That monster's over in California, so we're safe here. he thought, smiling to himself.
Over at the sand castle contest, a winner was declared. As the sponsor handed out the first three place ribbons to the teams whose castles won, a slight tremor went through the ground. No one noticed.
The third place castle was declared, and the tremor got slightly stronger. Second place was given, and stronger vibration went through the ground. Jack thought he felt something. Finally first place was announced, this time the tremor was strong enough to reduce the winning castle, and every other, to piles of sand.
Everyone on the beach was quiet. The vibrations got stronger. All of those who where standing now had to keep their balance when the ground shook beneath them. Then the vibrations stopped, all of the beach goers watched and waited.
A dull roar seemed to come from everywhere. Its haunting sound forced more people to stand up and look in amazement and wonder.
Now the ocean began to grow in a bulge. Something began to heave its way from the sea's depths.
"Look!"
Everyone stared at the sea. Jack stood up staring in a stupor. The importance of it brought him back to reality and he reached for his video recorder. He checked the battery and saw that it was still charged, even after recording his wife and daughter for a few hours. Jack flipped the recorder on and zoomed in on the bulging sea.
The sea rose and rolled off of something huge. Water began to fly into the air as something broke the surface on opposite sides of the bulging sea. The shaking hit the beach once again, and this time it was stronger and rhythmic, like the footsteps of a creature.
Now the bulge rose up, water rushing off of something gigantic. Spines split the water, slicing through it. Three rows emerged and continued to rise. Then a slender body emerged from the ocean. The neck rose up, a reptilian head rising high above the sea. A spiked gullet ran under the lower jaw to the collar bone. Arms hung under the chest, the clawed hands staying close to the body. A long tail balanced the creature on two legs that disappeared under the waves lapping at its scaled hide.
"It's Godzillaaah!" someone screamed, sending the crowd into a panic. Godzilla roared, the sound drowning out the screams of the fleeing humans.
The mob ran into Jack, who tried to make his way to the surf, towards his wife and daughter.
"Helen! Moriah!"
"Jack! Jack where are you?!"
"Daddy!"
Helen sat there, her arms around Moriah as Godzilla got closer until only his feet remained submerged. Godzilla roared as his feet shook the earth.
He stopped, his nostrils taking in every molecule of air. Godzilla ignored the screaming creatures below him, and instead sniffed the air, searching for a scent. He found it and stared northward. The monster looked down at the sandy beach and saw two creatures huddled together.
Helen and Moriah just watched in fear as Godzilla's monstrous head lowered and an amber eye opened just yards away. The eye's white pupil seemed unearthly as it focused on Helen and then moved to Moriah. Godzilla's eye seemed to burn into their souls, and shake their very being. Then the head rose and Godzilla started northward.
Godzilla's left foot slammed down behind them, sand blowing into the air and raining down on Helen and Moriah.
"Helen!" Jack had seen Godzilla's foot slam down in front of his wife and child, but from his view it looked like the three-toed foot had actually squashed them.
The giant kaiju took another step, this one hitting the ground behind Jack, where the fleeing crowd had went. People where trampled over as they tried to escape from the mountain of flesh and bone. The kaiju's foot had flattened almost two dozen people in one step.
Godzilla's foot moved and Jack turned to see where it would land. As it lifted he saw two huddling people, mostly covered in sand.
"Helen? Moriah?"
"Daddy!" Moriah cried, her tears mixing with the sand.
Jack ran over to his family and held them both as they hugged him back with just as much force.
The sweet reunion was shattered as Godzilla's roar echoed through the towers of glass of Galveston. Screams of panicking humans could be heard after Godzilla's roar ended.
One thing was certain, Godzilla was back, and now two monsters where walking on American soil.
June 24, 1998, 8:04 A.M. Hanger 3 Sandy Point Military Base
Nick walked into the hanger where Godzilla's remains were being studied. He noticed that what remained of the monster's right arm was being lifted onto a transport truck. The crane that was being used was huge and even it barely managed to lift it five feet into the air.
What remained of Godzilla, even after a month of dicing and cutting, was going to be lowered into a specially designed cooling unit for freezing it and keeping the tissue they hadn't already cut apart, ready for them when they got back from this little trip.
"Hey Nicky!" a woman shouted from across the room.
"Elsie, how long have you been here?" Nick replied as he walked towards her.
Elsie Chapman, once the researcher for the National Institute of Paleontology, then the lead scientist with the hunt for Godzilla, and then the supervisor of the same creature's autopsy, tried to pay careful attention to how the arm was being loaded up.
"Long enough to make sure these military guys don't take apart our prized specimen. Hey! Careful with that!" she shouted to the crane operators.
"Where's Mendel?" Nick asked, looking for the mechanical specialist.
Elsie pointed to her left. "Over there, taking some last minute cuts before the army chills our science project."
Mendel Craven held some specimen trays and tried to save some of his cuts of Godzilla's long tail. Occasionally he sneezed, fortunately, away from his specimens.
"Pack it up doctors, plane leaves in 10!" Hicks ordered as he walked through the hanger.
"Colonel!" Nick shouted. "You mind telling me why we are being pulled away on this little field trip?"
"If you must know, worm guy, the Japanese have asked for the American military's help."
"But why? We have work here we really need to finish."
"That's classified until we get there." Hicks turned and shouted at more officers.
"He's been like this all morning." Mendel said, walking up to Nick. "Hicks won't even tell Elsie what all of this is about."
"Now that's strange." Nick started to think of the reasons.
"It must be something big." Mendel commented.
"Could it be another creature?"
Nick and Mendel looked at each other and then looked away, each lost in thought.
"Hey, why the glum faces, we've got a plane to catch guys." Elsie asked, walking between Nick and Mendel and punching them both playfully in the arms.
The two scientists followed the energetic Paleontologist out onto the tarmac and to the transport plane.
June 25, 1998, 10:47 A.M. Tokyo International Airport, area closed off to the public Tokyo, Japan
The C-141 Starlifter, a American military transport plane, landed in Tokyo a few minutes earlier, giving the several scientists aboard time to check their equipment in the cargo hold as the plane was pulled into it's own hanger. Colonel Hicks was already on the tarmac, speaking to several Japanese men in militaristic clothes.
"I wonder what the Japanese government would want with us?" Mendel asked as he, Nick, and Elsie made sure all of their equipment was still intact after the 26 hour flight, with only a short fuel stop in Guam.
"Maybe," Nick began.
"Maybe what?" Elsie asked.
"I can't remember exactly, but it has to do with Tokyo. It's at the back of my mind,"
"Don't sweat it Nicky, you'll think of something. You did before." Elsie replied, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder from behind.
"Yeah, and it almost meant the end of the human race." he said before moving out of Elsie's reach.
"Grumpy," Elsie mumbled under her breath.
June 25, 1998, 1200 Hours Prime Minister's Office Tokyo Japan
Hicks lead the three scientists as they were escorted by members of the Japanese Secret Service. They entered the meeting room. In the center of the room was a long rectangular table, several seats on each side. Out of all the seats, four where left open for them only. Those already seated rose to their entrance and some even bowed, the Japanese custom of showing respect to a social superior. Hicks saluted to those dressed in military clothes, before he took his seat. Nick sat next to Elsie, as Mendel sat on the other side of the paleontologist.
Japan's prime minister spoke first. "I would like to thank the American Military for allowing us use of their personal and scientists." His words where understandable, even with a noticeable Japanese accent. "Now what we are about to discuss, does not go beyond these walls. Doctor Saegusa, would you please begin?"
An elderly Japanese man, sitting a few seats away from the minister, pulled out a file before beginning. "I am Doctor Yoshi Saegusa, and I have been studying for the later half of my life one possibly the greatest threat to human kind." He opened the file and several black and white pictures where passed around. At the end of the table, Nick was a little concerned with the change in faces after the others looked at the photos, that is, until he looked at them himself.
There, on the worn black and white photograph, a creature stood, it's head glancing down at the Japanese seat of government. The hood's over it's eyes gave it a feral look as the wedged-shaped head had a catlike appearance. The arms where spread and the hands open, allowing Nick to almost count how many fingers it had. The broad chest molded into the lower torso, the legs disappeared behind the Diet building. The second photo had a complete full body picture, showing even part of the tail.
It all started to come back to him. During several of his college classes, points where made about creatures mutating twice their original size. Only this creature's name escaped his memory.
"The creature you are looking at is a direct result of the nuclear tests done on Bikini Atoll in 1954," Yoshi started.
1954, Nick thought So these pictures are real.
"Much the same as your Godzilla, this creature mutated far beyond whatever it could have evolved into. When it first appeared off of Oto Island, the islanders mistook it for their legendary sea monster, Gojira."
"Why does that sound so familiar?" Nick asked himself under his breath.
"The last time Gojira entered a populated area, 179,000 people died, and thousands more where injured. Afterwards, an outbreak of radiation sickness spread through what remained of Tokyo. It took over a decade for the capital to be rebuilt."
"If I may ask, doctor," Nick said, trying not to interrupt. "But if I remember correctly, wasn't the creature destroyed?"
"Yes, it was believed that Doctor Serizawa's creation destroyed Gojira, but a body was never recovered of the beast." Yoshi replied. "Which also brings us to the reason for your presence here."
Everyone was silent as Yoshi Saegusa brought out another folder and took photos from it.
"These are pictures taken by a research vessel, searching the area south east of Japan for Giant Squid. They found this," he pointed to one specific photo. "It is a Japanese nuclear sub that was reported missing several months ago."
"How come nothing was ever reported?" Mendel asked as he looked at a few of the photographs.
"The government decided it was best to dismiss the incident and put a media blackout covering everything surrounding the sub." General Tanaka replied. "The press has tried several times to get information, but they have been stopped."
"The submarine's reactor and most of the hull had been recovered, but what we found out was shocking. The reactor was completely drained of any radiation."
That last comment grabbed everyone's attention, and shocked the scientists and Hicks.
"Gojira may be alive." Yoshi continued. "And if any of the information we have just told you will not get out to the public, the whole world would plunge into chaos."
June 25, 1998, 12:13 P.M. West Coast Time Santa Monica Beach Los Angeles, California
Lifeguard Mike Stevens was enjoying the warm weather at his post looking at the sea for anyone in trouble. This was his second year and he was still considered a rookie by many of the older lifeguard at Santa Monica. True, he was the one of the few who got left behind when something big happened, but he never complained. Besides, he thought it was more fun watching the girls in between his shifts.
Out to sea, lights flashed under the ocean. Extreme heat was making the sea boil and foam. Because the sun was reflecting off of the ocean, no one hardly noticed.
Several swimmers felt the ocean around them get warmer, it soon got scalding hot.
Mike's attention snapped to people running up to the shore and shouting. He pulled his binoculars out and focused on the people in the water. They where thrashing as they tried to get to the beach. Mike jumped down off of his post and grabbed his walkie-talkie. "This is post 12, I've got a situation."
"Same here," Mike recognized Charles, at post 3, "Swimmers are screaming their heads off. Something about the sea getting too hot."
"Ditto, I've got the same story." José, from 7, added.
"Then get them out of the water!" the chief lifeguard, Rich, said, annoyed at their jabbering.
Mike sprinted to the surf, swimmers where already being pulled out of the water, their skin a bright red, looking worse than a sun burn. He jumped into the water to get some stragglers out and he could instantly tell what they where screaming earlier about. The sea was almost boiling hot and it burned every part of his body that hit the water. In seven strokes he reached two young girls who where trapped on a inflated inner tube, the only safe place in the hot sea.
Pain clouding his thinking, he managed to grab onto the tube and began to pull the girls back to shore. Halfway back to the beach, he heard someone shout, "The sea is boiling!" The tube and the two girls where in his way so he couldn't see.
A blast of blue fire erupted from the ocean. It was undirected and flew over the skyscrapers that defined the L.A. skyline. Mike had seen that just as the two girls he saved and himself where being pulled onto the beach.
"What the hell?!" Mike said to himself. Every one was astonished and puzzled at what had just happened. Mike was about ready to check in with Rich when a roar brought everyone's attention back to the sea.
A bulge formed out of the Pacific. It continued to rise until what was causing it, broke the surface. Three rows of irregular dorsal spines sliced through the water as a creature began to rise out of the ocean. Slightly ahead of the spines, the head came out. It was wedge-shaped and cat-like, with a feral look. The creature began to stand up, showing a bulky neck, connecting the head to a broad chest. It's arms rose with it, the four-fingered hands flexing.
The creature stopped rising at the waist. Water washing off of its grooved hide in torrents. It's eyes scanned the shore, unaware of the people on the beaches. The head reared back and the mouth opened, showing two rows of six-foot long teeth. A bell-like roar echoed through the metal canyons of Los Angeles.
A Japanese man, old and tired, just sat on the beach as the monster rose from the ocean. His eyes couldn't see, but he could hear. The roar petrified him. It was what his nightmares had been about for almost 50 years. That monster. That terror. The same reason he moved away from Japan. "Go-Gojira."
Piercing the sounds of the frightened beach goers, two fighter jets raced over head. They sped towards the behemoth in the sea.
Above Santa Monica Beach...
The F-14A Tomcat was the most advanced fighter plane in the United States military. The Tomcat's main purpose was to only carry the lethal air intercept Phoenix missiles, but its maneuverability, speed, and range proved to be more than what the original designers had hoped. Currently the Tomcat could carry any type of missile from the AIM-7E/F Sparrow to a nuclear tipped warhead. The two lone jets made their way towards the monster.
"Falcon One to base. We have spotted target and are on our attack run."
"Roger that Falcon One. You are clear to proceed with attack run."
"I copy that base. Okay wizzo let's get those missiles armed"
The term "wizzo" was a shortened term for the weapons systems officers who operated the targeting and firing of the assorted missiles that the Tomcat could carry.
"10-4 Tombstone but I have a problem with the Sidewinders."
"What's wrong Bull's-eye?"
"I'm not getting a heat signature from the target."
"That's impossible." announced
The two F-A14s aimed their sidewinders at the creature and fired. The missiles streaked at the target in a tight curve. The sidewinder crossed each others path then hit the behemoth right square in the chest. The explosions clouded the giant in a blanket of smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared the behemoth was still alive, and unsaved.
Danny was amazed, "That thing should be dead. We hit it right square in the chest."
Mark reported in, "Mission control target is still alive. I repeat target is still alive."
The creature tilted his head upwards towards the two jets. His irregular shaped dorsal spines luminated bright blue as lightning danced up and down them. Out of his mouth came blue radioactive fire, heading to the closest jet.
Mark's jet was being targeted by the giant and when the flame hit him the outer metal of his jet melted away. The extreme heat caused the fuel tanks to catch fire and explode. When the tanks exploded, the rockets and missiles detonated, enlarging the fireball. Danny saw the fire beam and managed to bank to the right at the last second.
"Falcon One what happened?"
"Falcon One is gone mission control."
Angered at the death of his wing man, and trying to keep his cool, Danny started firing all of his missiles at the creature. Danny dived at the behemoth shooting it with his guns. Most of the missiles hit the animal simultaneously, engulfing it in a cloud of smoke. He circled the creature, still shooting. He was right behind it when a slender serpentine object came out of the water and hit his jet sending it spinning away from the behemoth. Danny tried as hard as he could to regain control of the jet, and when he had the creature saw the jet and zeroed in. Blue fire blasted forward, engulfing the Tomcat and causing it to explode.
Roaring in triumph, Gojira continued moving toward L.A.
Prime Minister's Office, 1423 Hours
"This monster has to have some weakness," Nick said to himself as he looked through old pictures and theories he hadn't seen since college.
"Of course it does," Mendel replied, looking over his own set of notes. "If it was stopped forty years ago, then it has to have a weakness."
"One problem, a body wasn't found." Elsie chimed in.
"I said stopped, not killed." Mendel corrected her.
Yoshi took a seat next to the three arguing scientists. He sipped the tea in his cup as he listened.
"If this thing was stopped before, it can be stopped again." Mendel repeated.
"No," Yoshi said, stopping the conversation. "It would be impossible to create the same weapon. Serizawa died with his invention at the same time as Gojira. The only mind who knew how the Oxygen Destroyer worked, died with it's activation and had destroyed any notes the day before."
"What about weapons?" Elsie asked.
"Planes, bombs, rockets. They where all used before, and many good soldiers died as a result. No weapon can harm him now."
Then the door flew open, Hicks rushed in, a newly sent message in his hand and a frustrated look on his face.
"Something surfaced off the west coast."
"What is it?" Nick asked.
"It's big, large, and already blasted two Tomcats out of the air."
"Gojira," Yoshi said, a determined look on his face.
Los Angeles, California, 1:15 P.M.
It had been an hour since Gojira first appeared in Santa Monica Bay. As he neared land the army had mobilized troops to stop the behemoth from reaching land. Most of the defenses were 20 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and two squads of AH-64A Apache helicopters. On reserve, in case the tanks and choppers could not stop it, were two squads of F/A-14 Tomcats.
The tanks made a front line as Gojira neared the beach. By the time they had set up a defensive line, the monster made landfall. Gojira's foot slammed down on the beach, causing a shockwave to ripple through the sand. He stared down at the strange creatures as they pointed their gun barrel's right at him. A roar escaped his mouth seconds before his body was covered with explosions.
In a mix of pain, confusion, and rage, Gojira roared at his attackers, and yet the attack continued to be relentless. Hunks of flesh were blasted off of the monster's body, landing on the sand at his feet. Gojira narrowed his eyes at the machines on the ground.
The monster's spines began to glow as lightning danced up and down the three rows. Gojira opened his mouth, showing off two rows of six-foot teeth, a blue glow in the back of the throat. The fire ray blasted out towards the row of tanks, the extreme heat forced the payload of each tank to explode, the tanks erupting in a row of fire balls.
The pilots in the Apaches only momentarily heard the tank's crews scream in pain before static covered the radio. The helicopters moved away from their safe points behind the skyscrapers, maneuvering into position around Gojira. The monster paid no attention as he continued to move through the beach-front property of Los Angeles. Then the attack came from all sides.
The explosions of the rockets were drowned out by Gojira's roar of pain and confusion. With an unrelenting assault, the Apaches fired every warhead on their wings into the monster, and when the rockets were spent, they used the laser guided machine guns.
Gojira roared in rage. The rockets and bullets sliced through his hide and causing waves of pain through his body. Even the whirling blades deafened his ears as flashes blinded his eyes. His spines danced with radioactive lightning before a burst of blue fire flew from his mouth, scattering the Apaches in front of him. His vision cleared, Gojira narrowed his eyes.
Once again blue lightning danced up his spines as Gojira targeted three Apaches several blocks away. The blast of radioactive fire covered the distance in seconds, engulfing all three attack helicopters in a giant fire ball. The force of the explosion blasted the fire ball apart into three different sections. One slammed into the San Diego Freeway, some of the escaping LA residents had already begun driving away, causing the biggest traffic jam in Los Angeles history. The fireball slammed right onto the freeway, smashing several cars and igniting the gasoline inside, causing them to explode. The cars continued to blow, causing the San Diego Freeway to become a line of fire and death.
Gojira roared before blasting more fire towards the helicopters buzzing his face. Of course the Apaches were just buying time, trying to hinder Gojira's progress until the F-14s could be deployed from the El Toro Air Force Base. The pilots just maneuvered out of Gojira's firing range before their hulls melted and ignited the fuel inside. Gojira's anger and frustration was causing him to fire his ray with out looking, hoping to hit something to ease the assault on his body. Then the helicopters began to retreat, backing away from the towering monster. Gojira was still enraged and blasted the retreating helicopters, blowing several up in one shot.
The monster roared in victory as the helicopters disappeared into the smog over LA, and a fire blazed through the city. He continued to stomp his way through Santa Monica, unopposed. Gojira turned east, and walked by the Santa Monica Freeway. The 20th Century Fox studios was crushed to rubble under his feet. The monster stopped, his head turning from side to side, unsure of which way to go: east or southeast. High above Gojira, Tomcats flew out to sea. The latest attack was going to come from the last place the monster would expect.
Twelve F-14 Tomcats banked back towards the California coastline. They headed towards the monster from behind, targeting Gojira from far out to sea. The missiles leapt from the wings, and blasted towards Gojira. The missiles had a heat signature lock on Gojira and covered the distance in minutes, flying at Mach 2. The missiles narrowed in on their target.
Gojira walked along a street, the monster's feet flattening cars and kicking rubble. The pavement cracked and buckled under the creature's 66 thousand ton body. Every time that Gojira roared, glass shattered and rained down in the street. Smoke pillowed into the air as gas lines ruptured and ignited, causing fire to spread through more buildings. Gojira came up towards two structures taller than him, he roared a challenge towards the skyscrapers on either side of the street.
Out of nowhere, missiles careened towards Gojira. Two slammed into his back, four hit the buildings directly in front of him, while the rest headed for the fires that blazed out of control along the ground. Gojira let out a roar of pain and confusion as the two explosions blasted chunks of flesh out of his back, between the three rows of dorsal spines. The buildings he saw, as a possible threat, began to crumble and rained down on the street. The sound of engines met his ears and Gojira looked up. Above him, a dozen objects flew overhead, back inland. He zeroed in on his latest targets.
Gojira gave a roar of challenge and rage as the jets banked and split into two different groups. The F-14s fired hundreds of rounds of machine gun bullets towards Gojira in waves. After the first sweep, the planes split off in their own attack runs.
Through the assault of both bullets and missiles, Gojira found a target. The ray blasted from his mouth, and scrapped the wing of one F- 14, causing a few leftover missiles to detonate. Its wing disintegrated, the fighter jet spun to the ground. The pilots never ejected.
A pair of Tomcats banked on a second run, because their heat- sensitive missiles had failed to hit the monster, they went with the radar guided Phoenix missiles. Originally the Phoenix could cover distances of up to 120 miles, but that accuracy wasn't necessary with a 100 meter-tall monster less than 20 miles away. The missiles leapt from the Tomcat's wings, careening towards Gojira.
Gojira's body turned, following a formation of three Tomcats. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the other jets when the two Phoenix missiles slammed into the right of his back. The monster spun around, his speed betraying his size. His tail flipped and the tip whacked into one of the jets that was passing him, before slamming into a small apartment complex. His eyes followed the other jet that managed to fly past his tail.
Again his spines lit up and the blue ray blasted from his mouth. The blast of atomic energy melted the Tomcat and the missiles under the body blew up, causing a fireball. Gojira bellowed before swiping his forearms, swatting a Tomcat out of the sky. He unleashed his fire ray, swiping his head and the ray sliced through everything in its path.
Gojira stood there, the fire lapping at his legs. His eyes scanned over the destruction he had just caused. The monster ignored the two Tomcats that had barely escaped his assault.
His rage satisfied, Gojira reared his head and roared into the sky. The bell-like yowl echoed through the suburbs of Los Angeles and drowned out the screams of the panicking humans, scrambling to get away. Now Gojira slowly made his way into the heart of the United States of America.
June 27, 1998, 10:47 El Toro U.S.M.C. Marine Air Station Southeast of Los Angeles, California
The Starlifter landed at the El Toro Air Base, and already the four scientists and Hicks had headed into the rubble that used to be downtown L.A. Driving in a humvee, they saw the kind of destruction that Gojira left in his wake. Emergency relief vehicle were everywhere, leaving the dead in the streets and only concentrating on finding survivors.
Yoshi watched as the skeletons of skyscrapers jutted into the sky. Fires continued to burn, reducing some of L.A.'s famous landmarks to ash and debris. The stench of burned flesh and melted steel permeated the air. Yoshi began to remember that horrid night in 1954, the fear, the smell, it all came back to his mind, making his heart race with terror.
He held his chest as he concentrated on stopping his breathing from being too noticeable. Forty years, it's been over 40 years and I am still haunted by the destruction you reek Gojira.
"Yoshi?" Nick asked. The older scientist had failed in making his labored breathing unnoticeable.
"I am fine Nick. I am not used to seeing such devastation." He replied.
"Devastation is the only word to describe this." Mendel commented. "Most of these buildings have been leveled."
"Gojira's blast must have one hell of a punch." Elsie said.
"According to the reports, Gojira's fire can melt an Abram tank in seconds and blasted both high-speed helicopters and planes out of the air."
"Colonel, how many casualties have been found?" Yoshi asked, a slight worried tone to his voice.
"Not counting the military loss, about 30,000 civilians." Hicks replied. "We are still checking the debris so the number I just gave you is a rough estimate."
"Then we shall expect it to rise," Yoshi replied. "Gojira attacked with such speed and force that a great many would have been killed before they knew what had happened."
"That monster just walked right through," Mendel commented.
"Yes, now you all see what kind of destruction Gojira is capable of, however, it could have been worse." the scientist said. "Much worse."
"So this is what we're dealing with," Elsie thought out-loud. "A 330 foot, nuclear-powered monster that can level a city with just his breath."
A solider flagged down the humvee and saluted to Hicks.
"What is it?" Hicks demanded.
"Sir, we've found more victims."
"How many?' Nick asked.
"The building was hit by two missiles during the Tomcats strike. It collapsed, and some fleeing civilians where caught under it. We've found almost 600 bodies."
Hicks closed his eyes. The scientists could see him wince in pain from the news.
Nick scanned the rubble and debris with his eyes. He looked ahead of the humvee and the military personal cleaning up the rubble. His eyes fell on a slab of rubber, skewered on a steel beam. What grabbed Nick's attention was a dull green mark that ran along the steel beam from the piece of rubber.
He jumped out and cautiously walked over the debris in his way. As Nick neared the black rubbery material he could smell an odor of rotting flesh. Nick stopped and looked at the slab. Two feet long, it was a charcoal black and had two deep groves that ran along the length of it. Suddenly realizing what it was Nick ran back to the humvee and grabbed the biohazard kit from the back.
"What is it Nick?" Elsie asked, confused at Nick rushing back towards the vehicle and scrambling through the back.
"Elsie, Mendel. Grab a medical kit. Yoshi, help me out."
Nick and Yoshi went back to the piece of Gojira's skin that had been blasted off during the attack. They both put on sterile gloves and began to cut pieces of the skin chunk away from the main part. Elsie came up behind them, holding a plastic bag to put their cut in until it could be frozen and studied.
"So this is your big rush. A shish-kabob bed piece of Gojira?"
"With any luck," Nick started before slicing another piece, "This will give us some idea of how to stop Gojira long enough to destroy it."
"Just be glad that Gojira is the only problem we have right now." Mendel commented, bringing the two scientists another batch of bags for samples.
June 27, 1998, 12:34 Seawall Blvd., Galveston, Texas The Beach
Galveston, Texas lay on a small stretch of land between the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay. Being surrounded by water, the city has had its fair share of disasters. After it was flooded in 1900, the city was rebuilt 6 feet above where it had been originally. For extra security a seventeen foot high seawall was built along the seaboard. The seawall held after another hurricane came through, and Galveston remained in one piece.
On this fine sunny day Jack and Helen Carter took their six year-old daughter Moriah to the beach.
"Honey, maybe we should have gotten here earlier." Helen said when they pulled into the beach parking lot and noticed the number of people already crowding the stretch of sand.
"Nonsense," Jack replied, parking their van. "It's the first day we've both had off since Moriah got out of school. We've been planning it for weeks, and traffic was murder this morning."
Moriah ran ahead of her parents as her father carried their cooler as well as other beach necessities and her mother held towels and some sun lotion. She stopped running and watched several groups of people each building different castles out of sand. One was almost seven feet in the air with a spiral tower in the center.
"Hurry up mommy! Daddy!" she shouted towards her parents.
"Moriah, settle down, we'll be here all day." Helen replied to her daughter.
"Maybe not if this crowd gets bigger," Jack said to himself.
"And I thought you said we've been waiting for weeks." Helen commented, overhearing Jack's conversation with himself.
Avoiding a friendly argument Jack and Helen found a place on the beach to lay down their towel. As Helen and Moriah left to go change into their swimsuits, Jack sifted through all of their belongings to search for his camcorder. He had already recorded important moments on tape, Moriah's birth, his daughter's first steps as well as her first word. Jack was a man who felt that he should get every shot on tape.
"We're back daddy!" Moriah yelled to him from behind.
Jack looked behind him and saw his wife and daughter in their swimsuits. "Ta-da!" Helen said, striking a pose.
Jack took the camera and pointed it at the two. "Picture perfect!" he commented.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the sun reflected off of the surface of the sea. In a small fishing boat, Henry Kilad took another gulp of whiskey from his flask. He had been out since dawn and some of the fish traps he set had gone missing. Henry knew he had marked them with buoys but he hadn't seen any of them yet.
"Where the hell are they?"
Under his boat, something large and fast swam underneath. Henry had caught a glimpse of a green and blue form. As fast as it had appeared, it was gone.
Henry blinked his eyes and looked again. Nothing.
He tossed his flask out of the window and into the ocean.
Jack listened to the radio as Helen and Moriah tried their hand at making a sand castle closer to the surf.
"And still no word on the missing trawler that disappeared off the coast of Miami. The Coast Guard has mobilized several ships to search for the trawler, but it has already been named a victim of the Bermuda Triangle. Now the main news item is the legendary monster Gojira stomping through California. Currently the monster's impact on the nation is apparent. The Stock Market is in a downward spiral, areas hit by Gojira are showing signs of a new disease that shows threw direct exposure to the monster's blood. Greenpeace has stated that Gojira is an endangered species, and should be protected, much like the whales. In other news the president.." Jack turned it off.
True, Gojira was walking through the U.S., unopposed, but why was it making such a big deal? All Gojira was is a overgrown dinosaur. Just blast it and call it a day.
He looked up at Helen and Moriah building a small castle. That monster's over in California, so we're safe here. he thought, smiling to himself.
Over at the sand castle contest, a winner was declared. As the sponsor handed out the first three place ribbons to the teams whose castles won, a slight tremor went through the ground. No one noticed.
The third place castle was declared, and the tremor got slightly stronger. Second place was given, and stronger vibration went through the ground. Jack thought he felt something. Finally first place was announced, this time the tremor was strong enough to reduce the winning castle, and every other, to piles of sand.
Everyone on the beach was quiet. The vibrations got stronger. All of those who where standing now had to keep their balance when the ground shook beneath them. Then the vibrations stopped, all of the beach goers watched and waited.
A dull roar seemed to come from everywhere. Its haunting sound forced more people to stand up and look in amazement and wonder.
Now the ocean began to grow in a bulge. Something began to heave its way from the sea's depths.
"Look!"
Everyone stared at the sea. Jack stood up staring in a stupor. The importance of it brought him back to reality and he reached for his video recorder. He checked the battery and saw that it was still charged, even after recording his wife and daughter for a few hours. Jack flipped the recorder on and zoomed in on the bulging sea.
The sea rose and rolled off of something huge. Water began to fly into the air as something broke the surface on opposite sides of the bulging sea. The shaking hit the beach once again, and this time it was stronger and rhythmic, like the footsteps of a creature.
Now the bulge rose up, water rushing off of something gigantic. Spines split the water, slicing through it. Three rows emerged and continued to rise. Then a slender body emerged from the ocean. The neck rose up, a reptilian head rising high above the sea. A spiked gullet ran under the lower jaw to the collar bone. Arms hung under the chest, the clawed hands staying close to the body. A long tail balanced the creature on two legs that disappeared under the waves lapping at its scaled hide.
"It's Godzillaaah!" someone screamed, sending the crowd into a panic. Godzilla roared, the sound drowning out the screams of the fleeing humans.
The mob ran into Jack, who tried to make his way to the surf, towards his wife and daughter.
"Helen! Moriah!"
"Jack! Jack where are you?!"
"Daddy!"
Helen sat there, her arms around Moriah as Godzilla got closer until only his feet remained submerged. Godzilla roared as his feet shook the earth.
He stopped, his nostrils taking in every molecule of air. Godzilla ignored the screaming creatures below him, and instead sniffed the air, searching for a scent. He found it and stared northward. The monster looked down at the sandy beach and saw two creatures huddled together.
Helen and Moriah just watched in fear as Godzilla's monstrous head lowered and an amber eye opened just yards away. The eye's white pupil seemed unearthly as it focused on Helen and then moved to Moriah. Godzilla's eye seemed to burn into their souls, and shake their very being. Then the head rose and Godzilla started northward.
Godzilla's left foot slammed down behind them, sand blowing into the air and raining down on Helen and Moriah.
"Helen!" Jack had seen Godzilla's foot slam down in front of his wife and child, but from his view it looked like the three-toed foot had actually squashed them.
The giant kaiju took another step, this one hitting the ground behind Jack, where the fleeing crowd had went. People where trampled over as they tried to escape from the mountain of flesh and bone. The kaiju's foot had flattened almost two dozen people in one step.
Godzilla's foot moved and Jack turned to see where it would land. As it lifted he saw two huddling people, mostly covered in sand.
"Helen? Moriah?"
"Daddy!" Moriah cried, her tears mixing with the sand.
Jack ran over to his family and held them both as they hugged him back with just as much force.
The sweet reunion was shattered as Godzilla's roar echoed through the towers of glass of Galveston. Screams of panicking humans could be heard after Godzilla's roar ended.
One thing was certain, Godzilla was back, and now two monsters where walking on American soil.
