Previously
In
Captain America: The Island
The year is 1944, and flung across the folds of reality by the machine of HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola, Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America and Sgt. James 'Bucky' Barnes must survive in a prehistoric environment of monstrous predators lurking behind every shadow. Having run across Hansuke Hisakawa, a Japanese soldier likewise stranded on this island of death, the three must navigate the treacherous terrain and savage denizens of Lagos Island.
Arnim Zola too, along with a small troop of surviving HYDRA soldiers are pursued by bloodthirsty creatures and the growing realization that there may be no way out of this place alive.
And stalking all the hapless humans, is the dominate monster, the alpha predator of the island, named after the sea-dragon of legend; Gojira
PRESENT DAY, AVENGERS TOWER
Even in an adversary, there are qualities I can respect.
In the operations room, only the star-spangled Avenger sat at the circular table, reclined in his seat with a contemplating pair of thumbs under his chin. What the table ringed, was a column-like computer screen that allowed a full-seating to observe the display. The room around him was dim, making the screen glow like a pillar of light. Rogers' gaze was fixed on a piece of looped footage from the Kaiju invasion, where New York had been the landing site of one of the most powerful monsters of another universe.
Resourcefulness, determination, and cunning are great traits to have in an ally, and some of the worst traits to have in an enemy. When you're up against someone with the grit to chase you down high and low, you know it's not someone who's gonna tuck tail when things get hard. You know they're gonna get punched in the nose and not even blink.
Steve watched the brief encounter that took place between the Mole-Man's giant creatures and a foe that put them in its shadow. Then there was the distant view of something he remembered well: Chen Lu, the Radioactive Man disappearing among enormous fingers only to have his life-energy drained away. And he watched as worst of all, the Helicarrier physically seized and used to smash the Triskelion. Hundreds of people killed in collision of steel and fire, and more in the nuclear inferno that followed.
Godzilla, the reputed King of the Monsters on his side of the wall had played his part in defeating the truly malevolent kaiju that had crossed over by means still undetermined. But he had also committed his share of the devastation, wiped out the lives of the just and unjust alike with all the rage and indifference of a tsunami.
In the end, it was a good thing we were fighting the same enemy, or else the war with the other monsters would have been a lot worse.
Reaching out, he paused the video on a close-up of Godzilla's face, atomic fire still curling around the corners of its mouth. He stared hard into the gleam of the eyes, searching, trying to recognize something in those rage-filled irises. He leaned forward, under his elbows, a collection of files and old black & white photographs.
Did you remember me, that day on the Triskelion?
LAGOS, 1944
Hans, the injured HYDRA soldier collapsed to his rump in the ancient fountain pool, not caring about the filth and grime. The whole of his mind was absorbed in watching the exhibition fight of primal ferocity about to play itself out.
Gojira, the tyrant of the isle snorted at the small mammal in the water before returning its attention to the prowling red beast. Normally these crimson stalkers kept themselves clear of his ire, but today a powerful hunger was upon them, giving them the nerve to stand defiant in the face of the alpha predator. The first beast crouched low and began circling, conscious of its cohort approaching from the blind. Alone it stood little chance of contending with the Gojiran, but with the aid of its fellow predator, they just might bring down the king of the island, and eat well.
"Hans…" Heinrich said aloud, the HYDRA soldier seeing the unexpected intervention give his comrade a slight reprieve.
"We cannot reach him!" Arnim Zola pleaded, pulling at the man's arm to encourage the group to continue their flight. "You would be killed!"
Heinrich glared at the scientist for a moment, yanking his arm out of the grip. But cold logic reasserted itself and the grimace faded, looking back to the hopeless scene.
"Take care not the get injured, Doctor." He said to Zola as he turned and made his way to where the others waited.
Arnim swallowed a nervous gulp and followed.
Hans threw himself out of the fountain pool and scrambled for his life back towards the protection of the ancient temple. He might not survive for long in there, but it was something at least. It was then he spotted the second red beast skulking in, and it caught him as well. The two hesitated in stride, each making their decision in the moment.
The first beast made its attack, lunging low to snap at Gojira's ankles before the huge jaws could clamp around its neck. Gojira bellowed and advanced on his opponent, swishing his tail like a mace-strike into a tree and nearly breaking the wood. Its interest roused by the crack, the second beast switched its attention back to the larger target, creeping low and keeping directly behind it.
Hans took the god-given opportunity to fumblingly dash the rest of the way to the temple, not stopping until his back was against the far wall. Sweat dripped over his face as she stared with wide, fearful eyes at the entrance.
The brutish physique of the red beasts belied a deadly cunning, the one luring the larger target into position as the second moved in to strike at the advantage. What they could not scheme for however, was the preternatural instincts of the ancient champion.
As the second beast closed in, an eager glare on the vulnerable calf, Gojira's eye muscles twitched. A tail strong enough to break skulls swung back around and caught the ambush before it could reach its goal. Several tons of muscle and fury battered the monster into a skid, crashing through a stone wall with a pained yelp.
Seizing a chance as Gojira glanced backwards, the first red beast darted to the outside and pounced wolf-like onto its right flank, raking claws and getting a side-bite into the durable back scales. Gojira threw his head back with a wild cry, trying to reach over its shoulder with snapping teeth to find a way to pry the attacker off.
Shaking off the trauma and bits of rubble, the other beast saw the island alpha was occupied, dealing with the other. It bounded in, again aiming for the blindspot. Instead of a bite however, it spun at the last second and swung its spiked-cudgel tail into Gojira's left knee, buckling the joint. Gojira staggered, howling in pain, the leg almost going to the ground. Red beast one, still clinging on, carved its double-tiered claws into the haunches, ripping open even this armored hide to reveal the red flesh underneath.
Sensing the disadvantage of his position, Gojira folded its right leg and rolled laterally, burying the crimson mauler under its weight. Bleeding on one side and limping on the other, Gojira settled back on its feet and kept crouched waving its tail and threatening with teeth.
The red beasts conspired together, the uninjured one snapping at the other as it whined and turned over.
It's hurt… They sensed, low growls in their throats. It's weak…
Gojira recognized the predators' demeanor, understood that they now perceived it as lower on the food chain. It slammed its tail into the ground and issued a warning bellow, refusing to concede the idea that any other creature on this island could take his place as alpha.
The beasts however, considered otherwise.
Elsewhere…
"Odogaron." Hansuke Hisakawa said, once they'd gone far enough to take a break. The Japanese pilot pointing back the way they had come and overlaying his right hand on the left to mimic the claws of the red beast that menaced them at the chasm. " Ōkami no yōna hantā."
"Where's he coming up with these names?" Bucky asked from his seat on a fallen and overgrown log, catching his breath and gesturing with a thumb at their ally. "He some kind of monsterologist?"
"It's something to call them I suppose." Cap answered, leaning against a tree, wiping a torrent of sweat off his brow and flinging it aside. "The more we know about this place, the less frightening it'll be."
"I don't know about that, Cap." Barnes sighed, looking around at the dense foliage and letting his jaw saw back and forth. "The more we see and learn, just keeps getting worse and worse."
Steve shrugged, "Well, less mysterious anyway."
The brief reprieve of fresh water they'd stolen earlier was beginning to wear off, and while thirst was rearing its head again, hunger was now the predominant specter. He and Buck had downed a ration before the beginning of their mission to rout the HYDRA stronghold. Rogers' enhanced physiology could stave off the worst of the pangs for a longer time, but even his system was being taxed by the stress and endurance. He glanced over to see Bucky biting anxiously at his bottom lip and fidgeting where he sat.
"Hansuke.." Cap called. "Where ah…" Steve made a motion of holding food and eating.
The pilot took a second to translate the gesture's meaning before his expression opened and he nodded. "Kono hōhō de nanika o tsukamaeru koto ga dekimasu." He pointed towards their forward path, reshouldering his bag. "Soshite, watashi wa watashi no kakurega ni ikutsu ka no mono o motte imasu."
"'Suppose we'll have to take his word for it." Rogers yanked himself away from his lean and offered a hand to Bucky. "Come on, we need to keep moving."
But Sgt. Barnes did not follow when Captain America turned. "How we getting out of this one, Cap? Huh?" He slowly spun in place, raising his arms in an indication of fruitless hope. "There's nothing here."
"Hey…" Rogers came back, imposing his stature with a visible degree of displeasure. "You stow that negative attitude, you hear me, Buck? I need your head in the game, understand?"
Somewhat off-put by the shift in demeanor, Bucky straightened his back and swallowed his fear. "You're right, Steve."
Discomforted by his own tone, Cap softened his posture and gave his friend a pat on the back. "Come on, bud. We got a long day ahead of us."
Barnes smirked, "I'm with ya, Cap."
TEMPLE RUINS…
The Odogarons pounced, loosing fierce barks as they closed the distance in a few short bounds. But Gojira was ready, rearing up with a mighty roar and sweeping his tail to halt the enemies in their place, forcing them to duck the devastating limb. If the Odogaron thought their cosmetic advantage would incite a flight response in the Gojiran, they were startled to find the opposite.
The alpha predator of Lagos aimed a set of jaws at the one to its left, snapping them shut just as the beast leapt away. An opening was created and the second Odogaron dashed into the unguarded flank only to find the promise a false one. Gojira's relatively small but powerful arms snatched the beast on either side of its head, slammed it to the ground and lurched forward to grind its foot onto a crimson neck.
Execution was stayed for the moment at least when the other Odogaron latched onto Gojira's left leg and pulled, causing the opposite foot to miss at the last second. The leg shifted back, dragging the beast with it, putting its body within the range of Gojira's jaws. And clamp down they did. A bite pressure to put the Odogaron's armored hide to the limits of its durability enclosed on the red torso and in turn, pulled the beast away. Gojira's claws reached up and seized the large cudgelous tail, getting a profitable grip on the many bony protrusions.
Almost immediately, the Odogaron wailed in agony as it felt its skeleton being pulled apart, the tendons and cartilage ripping internally.
The other red beast was up and used its tail to batter the back of Gojira's right heel. The limb threatened to fold, but determination fueled by an exponential rage kept it steady. Undeterred, the Odogaron brought both foreclaws to bear, raking the flesh-rending tools into the alpha's thigh haunch. At this the Gojiran was finally forced to relent, letting his captive go to deal with the immediate threat. It pivoted around, but the Odogaron was savvy enough to move in tandem, using the sunken claws to anchor itself in place. The pair danced in a tight circle, Gojira snapping at any limb that strayed too close, the Odogaron fighting to keep from being caught.
Muscles flexed in the Odogaron's paws, retracting the secondary set of talons and snapping them back down to bite. Gojira's body surged suddenly and crushed the red beast into an adjacent tree, and more than wood was made to crack under the impact. Odogaron's claws went slack as Gojira pulled away, the beast slumping against the trunk.
Gojira inspected the inert foe, growling for the pain boring into his body, and saw but the weak movement of a devastated foe. A set of fangs burst up from underneath, the other Odogaron slinking into position while Gojira was distracted. Before the alpha could counter, the teeth closed around its throat and thrashed violently. Gojia felt the airway tighten, instinct screaming to pull away, claw frantically at the cause.
A mind keen to savage combat however, was not prone to such panic. The Gojiran's own foreclaw found the beast's underbelly and stabbed deep, ripping a gash in the abdomen. Blood spilled forth and viscera hung like loose vines. The Odogaron wailed as it let go and fell to the ground, its hind legs wobbling and collapsing. It might have been a fatal injury as it was, but experience gave the alpha a penchant for certitude.
Gojira kicked the mewling beast over onto its back despite frail protests and bit down on its lower jaw, removing it with one strong effort. Spitting the mandible out and issuing a vengeful roar, it turned its attention to the remaining enemy.
The other Odogaron peeled itself away, limping and breathing in shallow gasps. Incredible pain wracked its body, but already it could feel strength returning to its limbs and focus to its senses.
That was until Gojira chomped down on its tail and lifted it of the ground. Akin to a dog wringing its toy, Gojira swung its head back and forth, battering the captive Odogaron into trees and sections of the ruins. Instinctually leveraging the mechanical power of its long body, the alpha predator spun around and released the red beast, sending it through the air. Its body struck the façade of the hill-borne temple, reinforced by the rock. Muscle and bone surrendered to stone with a wicked crunch, and the Odogaron fell unmoving with an oddly-angled neck.
Gojira momentarily faltered on its lacerated hip, sweeping its view to make sure all threats were dealt with. Satisfied, its tail pounded the earth as its head reached towards the sky, loosing a roar of mighty triumph for all the jungle to hear.
Elsewhere…
The trio stopped… Hansuke, Steve, and Bucky catching the long echo of the bellow passing through the trees.
"What do you think it means?" Barnes asked.
Cap scrunched his mouth. "Not sure, Buck, but it sounds like our old buddy is still in charge."
"Shōri." Hisakawa noted with a measure of esteem.
The midday hours sweltered into the evening as they continued to trek through the tropical forest. Every now and then they came across the broken remnants of the ancient civilization that once occupied the island: stone totems, lichen-covered glyphs carved into trees. They even passed between two especially large trees with a bridge of stone blocks linking them almost 15-feet above the ground. Much like when a tree will grow around and incorporate fences over time as they grow, the stones were embedded in the trunks.
Hansuke pointed to the faded images painted across the separate blocks. "Kodai no kaiju."
Giving the images a look, Rogers was able to make out a few of the designs: a winged creature with a serpentine neck, a bug-like creature with mantid forelimbs, and what could be described as a hulking turtle with a set of horns on its head.
"Some kind of spiritual structure." Bucky postulated. "Representations of their gods?"
"Or the former big-shots on the island." Cap guessed. "Whoever lived here before found a way to coexist with these monsters."
"Not for that long, apparently."
A sound from Hansuke recalled their attention back to the journey, waving his arm under the archway. "Tōkunai."
Barnes sighed, "You know, Cap, when I said we could use a break from the frontline, this isn't what I had in mind."
"Aw come on, Buck." Steve smiled as they walked under the arch and down the steep incline that followed. "Plenty of sun, fresh air, exotic location."
"You're right, Cap. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and I'll never forget it as long as I live."
"That's the spirit."
Hansuke eventually led them to a dense grove of trees who's stumps must have been as thick as a tank by Rogers' reckoning, squeezing their bodies in between to make their way through. The canopy above was so complete that no ray of light penetrated to reach the floor, the only illumination coming from afore and behind.
Bucky flinched and gave out a small yelp when he thought he felt something graze past his neck as they crept among the primeval wood. He snapped his head to see what it was but failed to discern a culprit.
"Yeesh…" He cursed to himself, rubbing a hand over his nape.
When the dark forest finally broke, it was indeed a welcome sight. The shadow faded to reveal a magnificent valley in the bowl of a jagged ridgeline. A lake settled in the middle, with drooping trees in a perpetual narcissistic genuflection over the water. Steam rose from the placid surface, thin whisps of moisture dancing in the sunlight.
Hansuke put a hand on Rogers good shoulder and pointed up to where the side of the bowl was almost sheer. "Asoko de."
Cap managed to make out a spot in the rockface that disappeared into some kind of cavity that overlooked the basin. There was a slim trail that snaked up to the hideout from the edge of the forest, just wide enough for a man to shuffle himself up to it without much trouble.
"I think this is a caldera." Bucky observed, taking an interested view of the water. Steve gave him a curious look before Sgt. Barnes shrugged defensively. "Hey, I paid attention in school once or twice."
"Yeah, when you weren't passing notes with Ellen MacFarlane."
"Time well spent."
Pressing their bodies to the stone, the men made their way to the sanctuary. Cap could feel the heat emanating from the rough, porous rock. Comforting if not ominous.
The cavity was prefaced with a short landing, where they saw the entrance was blocked by the salvaged canopy from a fighter plane.
"Your apartment?" Rogers asked Hansuke.
The pilot seemed to gleam the slight humor in the question and smiled. "Jitaku no heya to hobo onaji ōki-sadesu."
Working together, Cap and Hisakawa moved the canopy aside with relative quiet while Buck kept an eye out behind them. "Nice neighborhood."
Once inside, Steve and Barnes found a not-unfamiliar den of scavenged supplies and makeshift living quarters, reminding them of many hasty overnight camps. A blanket lay folded at the side of a neat pile of vegetation, and a small array of personal items decorated a natural shelf above the bedding. The den was recessed several meters into the rock and not more than two meters wide, with a firepit of hand-sized stones in the center.
What Hansuke went to immediately was a bundle of fish hanging from a string that kept them off the ground. They were browned and blackened, already cooked, and he handed one to Cap and tossed another to Bucky.
"It's rough, but it'll do." Bucky said, eyeing the fish with a quick whiff.
Rogers was already a mouthful deep into his, tearing away a piece of the body with a hunger he hadn't realized was present. Growing up a poor Irish-Catholic kid, he was not unaccustomed to being famished. But ever since the experiment that gave him the incredible abilities of a super-soldier, part of him imagined a relative impunity to such basic weaknesses. Pretty foolish now that he thought about it, savoring the taste of the bite.
The pilot took a fish for himself and observed his company. Hansuke had never met an American before. It was the unflinching stance of the Imperial Army that Americans were selfish, greedy, cowardly, and above all, without a shred of honor. He had personally seen American POWs treated as less than stray dogs, a behavior encouraged to reinforce the Japanese soldier's sense of superiority over the soulless westerner.
But perhaps more than just a strange twist of fate had stranded Hansuke on this island. The son of a humble fishing community, hatred of anyone, nevermind Americans on the other side of the world had never found a root in him. Being a dutiful citizen and loyal to the emperor however, he did want to honor his country and ancestors.
Under different circumstances he might have tried to kill the brawny American. Doing so whether it cost him his own life or not. On Lagos Island however, where humanity itself was tested against an ordeal of primeval savagery, it seemed a curious thing in itself to consider them enemies.
Rogers glanced over to Hansuke's possessions and noticed a pocket-sized book partially open with a photograph stuck halfway through its pages. The pilot followed his gaze and made the connection.
Hansuke stepped over and took the book in hand, extracting the photo and showing it to Steve. "Asami" He said with a tight smile.
A pretty girl, Rogers saw, dressed in a traditional robe with her hair pinned into a bun. He reached into one of the pouches on his belt and extracted a circular brass object with a small bead-chain. Opening it, he showed the halves to Hansuke, the lower half being a compass, and in the top half a picture of a woman.
"Peggy." Steve told him, and the men shared an understanding nod.
"Steve, get a load of this." Bucky called back in a half whisper from near the entrance, crouched low and in the shadow. Rogers and Hansuke came up behind him, and likewise craned their necks to where he looked.
Circling in the sky was a large, winged shadow with a long fan-like tail. It let out a sound, somewhere between a chirp and a growl as it spiraled down closer to the caldera.
Hisakawa pointed to it, "Legiana."
Bucky elbowed Cap, "Alright, now I'm convinced he's just making these names up, that one doesn't even sound oriental."
Steve shrugged.
The formidable beast of the sky fluttered to a landing on the ridge and proceeded to crawl precariously on two legs to the water. A pair of long crests-fans on its crown flapped open and closed as it lowered a long neck to deliver its saurian maw to begin slurping.
Rogers raised an eyebrow, just watching it drink. "Not quite the pigeons in Battery Park."
"I seen a few mean pigeons that remind me of that thing." Barnes said.
"Or the Henderson's dog that used to chase me down the street."
"Mizu nakaniha yoi sakana ga ite," Hansuke said, alternatively pointing to his fish and to the lake. "Netsu de kirei ni tamota remasu."
"You got a nice little spot here." Steve told him. "Food and water, shelter. We can rest up here a night, but in the morning we need to start assessing how we get off this island and make contact with somebody."
"Not just anybody right?" Bucky asked cautiously. "If the Japanese get ahold of us…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
The Legiana lifted its head, listening to some noise, it cranial sails folding and unfolding.
Barnes sat with his back against the cave wall, looking out to the sun-bathed lake. "You know, I keep wondering what the boys back in Europe are thinking right now. We just disappeared on 'em back there."
"I'm sure they're doing fine enough on their own," Rogers said with a welcome hint of relief. "Howlett knows how to lead the men. Though I'm not sure how well he and the Colonel will get along."
Movement in the brush gave the aerial predator cause to scan the green more intently. Even for one such as this formidable sky monster, here on the ground the teeth of death were always within striking distance. Eyes capable of picking out a target from hundreds of feet above scrutinized every wavering leaf and shift in shade.
"What do you think 'ole Zola is doing right now?" Nibbling on the last few bits of meat on his fish, Bucky pondered a thought out loud. "Think he's still alive?"
"I'm sure he'll keep himself going so long as he can shield himself behind HYDRA soldiers."
"Yeah, say what you want about Skull: at least he'll put up his fists."
The Legiana growled, locking in on one particular patch of green where it suspected something was lurking.
Going back to his bag, Hansuke got out the small translation book, remembering he even had the thing after their harrowing trek. As his company enjoyed their snack, he sat down on his bedding, held the book up to where the light could catch it, and began searching through it.
While the sky predator scowled, two figures leaped from the brush behind it, landing on the wide back with wild screams. Velociraptor-like in build with not-dissimilar cranial fans, ripping into the wings with large claws on their feet, and sinking fangs into the softer dermis between limbs.
As the Legiana wailed and threatened to take the sky, a third green & red attacker came surging from the left and lunged for the flier's long throat, clinging like a child and biting down with its own canines.
The three humans in the crevice were stunned by the scene at the water's edge. In a matter of seconds the Legiana was covered in lacerations, blood and water flying as it thrashed. It managed to clamp its jaws around the torso of one assailant, even as the others shredded the membrane of its wings and hamstringed its legs.
"The hell are those things?" Bucky asked, whispering to Hansuke.
The pilot seemed to grasp the question and shrugged. "Dōsureba wakarimasu ka?"
After several seconds of the struggle, and the movements of the Legiana began to slow, limbs stiffened as it slid inexorably into the water. It was then a fourth, even larger specimen of the pack hunters emerged over the ridge of the caldera. Much too big to stalk such wary quarry in the green, it had waited until the smaller and more subtle ones could weaken their prey.
"For the love of God." Steve uttered, watching the savagely efficient kill play out.
The largest hunter came down swiftly, a brush of white feathers sprouting from the back of its head to accent the crests. It pounced on the Legiana, the huge talons on the feet ripping open its abdomen in two horrible wounds.
A final gurgling wail was all the beast had left in it before its neck went rigid and it fell into the lake, the paralytic venom of the pack finally overcoming its resistance.
Rogers' face darkened as the pack's jaws began feasting under the blue and white skin, using their side teeth to tear and twist away the meat. As they worked, the alpha seized it by the neck and dragged it out of the water, drawing it into the denser bush.
"Cap." Bucky began. "We gotta get the hell off this island."
Elsewhere…
A musical trill somewhere in the green, and Heinrich froze in place. He held up a hand and behind him, Arnim Zola, Oskar, and Luitger stopped as well. Drenched in sweat, filthy, and beginning to suffer from the other more subtle discomforts of a tropical habitat.
After a sharp wave, Heinrich ushered them to continue.
"Do we have a plan?" Arnim asked, waddling as he walked to keep his thighs from rubbing together. "Or are we just… walking until we run out of land?"
"We are walking until you figure out how to fix this mess you caused!" Heinrich snapped.
"Or some way to leave this cursed place." Oskar said, glancing around, clutching his weapon to his chest.
Zola grimaced in pain. "If I had my equipment I might be able to do something. But I cannot build the machine or a communications device from stones and leaves."
"We are all tense." Luitger reminded them, warily checking the path behind them. "Let us find some suitable shelter before nightfall."
Treating every rustle and chirp with suspicion, the HYDRA troop continued.
"Dr. Zola." Oskar asked after some time. "You've worked with the Red Skull quite a lot, haven't you?"
Arnim nodded as he surmounted a large tree root. "Why yes. For a few years now."
"I have only ever seen him from afar; rallies, formations, and such." The young soldier was nostalgic in his description, like a child recalling fond summer memories. "Always so powerful in his speeches and bearing. A great leader, surpassed only perhaps by the Führer himself. What is he like, Doctor? In close company?"
In truth, Zola disliked being the company of the Red Skull. There was always an aura of fear in his proximity, like being in a cage with a tiger.
"He is every bit the indomitable figure." Zola fixed his askew glasses. "It can be a bit… overwhelming at times."
A brief image flashed in the scientist's mind of a captured British spy in his knees in front of Herr Schmidt. A loaded Mauser held in a black-gloved hand inches from his forehead as the man refused to betray his country. Then a bang.
"He is quite the persuasive personality."
"Hey!" Heinrich called back from a short distance ahead. "Over here!"
The others hurried to see, and found their scout standing at the mouth of a great cavern.
"Something could be living in there…" Luitger gulped, eying the black yawn.
Heinrich reasserted the butt of his weapon into his shoulder. "Not for long."
Pressing into the dim light of the cave, the men kept their wits about them. None of them knew what kind of prehistoric terror might scream out of the darkness and rend them in whatever gruesome manner it had the capacity for. The rocks were slick with a green substance and the air was humid with a meaty stench that curled the nose-hairs.
Zola's foot slipped as he took a step, and his banged the side of his knee against a stone.
"Gah!" The exclamation echoed off the walls, and the others turned on him with angry glares. He righted himself, rubbing the bruised spot as he averted their silent chiding. It was as he looked downward that he noticed the oddly-shaped object on the floor, something that certainly was not another rock. Reaching down he picked up something relatively light for its size in his hand and turned it over to examine in the faint visibility.
A partial skull, he realized. Not quite humanoid, not quite bestial. A third of it was missing, the right side of the being's face. The remaining orbital socket faced forward, and behind it a large cranial capacity to house a comparable brain. The cheeks however were a bit wider than a humans', and the canines of the maxilla were extended like that of a snake. Though there was no accompanying lower jaw, Arnim's training in anatomy allowed him to discern the placement of the tendon attachments was set farther back.
What kind of creature was this? He wondered, pondering the combination of features.
"Zola, hurry up." He heard called. Tucking the skull under his arm, Arnim followed.
Eventually they came into a chamber, a cul-de-sac where the only illumination came from a lighter Oskar provided.
"Nothing alive in here at the moment," Heinrich said, crouching down to inspect the array of dead plants littering the floor. "But something definitely nests in here."
"And does a bit of fingerpainting." Luitger was standing by the wall opposite the entrance, and he pulled Oskar by the arm closer so as to reveal a dark picture on the rockface.
"What do you think it means?"
The image was not readily interpreted; a hooded serpent poised toward the viewer; its body coiled underneath in spiral. Centered in the layers was a black circle; no adornment, no symbol, just a void.
Oskar shook his head. "No idea, but it gives me the creeps."
"Another monster worshiping cult." Zola surmised, coming beside them. There was now a new dimension of theorizing concerning the skull he held. Did snake-people venerate serpent gods in this place?
"This island is not meant for humans." Heinrich spat, sitting down on a rock and hunching his shoulders. "It was abandoned by man a long time ago for a damn good reason."
Arnim sat himself down on a flat stone, feeling the crunch of dried plant and smaller bones underheel. "I think you are right; the people who lived here, found a way to leave."
Heinrich pivoted, the realization striking him like a viper. "Then we might too."
"I don't believe it!" All heads turned to Oskar, who was standing over a messy pile of fern leaves and bones. Luitger was close and stumbled over to share in the discovery, silently grabbing Oskar's arm as the two traded shocked glances.
"What? What is it?" Zola asked, he and Heinrich moving over.
As Luitger sifted through the debris he felt a warm, a sticky fluid splattered on the brittle leaves and broken bones, until he grabbed hold onto something solid and lightweight, round about the edges.
Indeed the HYDRA soldier lifted a familiar dish from the collection, gawking in amazement as the tricolor.
"Captain America's shield…" Oskar said.
"You see? Not even the invincible American can survive this place…" Cursed Heinrich before ambling off in dejection.
Trying to discern human bones from the collection would take a degree of effort Zola had no intention of wasting. Though he did suppose the skeletal structure of the super-soldier would be as improved over the average man as everything else effected by Erskine's procedure.
Stepping forward, Zola took the shield from Luitger and looked it over, feeling its heft and balance.
"Remarkable." He marveled, rapping a knuckle on it. "Uncanny."
"At the least, it may do you a bit more good than it did its former owner." Heinrich jived, giving Zola a pat on the back.
But Oskar was not a thrilled about the discovery. "What concerns me more is the blood. It's still wet."
Luitger traded him a grim nod. "Whatever left the shield behind is not long away and may return at any moment."
"I say we wait for it to come back." Checking the magazine and bolt of his weapon, Heinrich set his attention on the path out of the cave. "We've already killed one monster… we can kill another."
Zola held the shield over his chest. "Perhaps…"
Elsewhere…
As tall as a baby giraffe, the bipedal bird lapped cautiously at the river's edge, its eyes ever-vigilant to the approach of danger above and below the water.
A trembling in the ground alerted it to the coming of one of the island's larger denizens and it cut its drink short, now hearing the breaking of branches and snapping of wood. With a sharp shriek it bounded away from the river and into the bush.
A wall of green gave way to the mighty bulk of the Gojiasaurus as it strode through, parting the trees like tall weeds as it moved. Wounds still bleeding and abuzz with biting insects, they smeared crimson wherever they brushed against the environment. It lowered down, allowing its butchered hip to buckle and bear the weight on the ground, and began slurping loudly from the running water. After a few moments deep drinking, the Gojirasaurus leaned forward and rolled its body into the wide river with a rumbling splash.
It gave out a gratifying groan, naturally coming to a low buoyancy, the downstream current turning red as the wounds were washed out. Nostrils and eyes set above the surface, the theoretical observer might be given the impression that it was contemplating something, processing. Eventually its breathing slowed to a steady pace and it began to stride through the water, moving upstream.
Trespassers still remained on the isle, it knew. And it was not just on this patch of rock and sand they did not belong on, something about them irritated a primal instinct. Buried somewhere deep in the strands of DNA, encoded in Gojira's genetic memory was a warning against things that did not belong on this world. Via an undefined sixth-sense granted to it and others of a similar category, Gojira felt the presence of those not from this Earth, a sense inextricably married to a territorial hostility.
It submerged beneath the surface.
Elsewhere…
"They're still out there." Steve Rogers said from his seat at the threshold of the crevice. Behind him, Hansuke and Bucky sat around the small fire they'd started in the stone circle.
Still with the translation book in hand, Hansuke shot a brief glance to their sentry. "Fire," He began. "They… fear."
"Feels like we're starting all over again, Cap." Bucky said with a small chuckle, tossing a twig into the flame. "Just a couple guys sitting around a fire, keeping the wolves away."
I wasn't much, but the moonlight gave Rogers' enough depth of shade to detect movement in the brush. The occasional breeze might rustle the eaves and send a ripple through the green. But every so often, there would be something that didn't correlate, that wasn't a part of a rhythm. The sounds of their feeding had carried on for a while after they disappeared, and they had eaten well. He hoped that full bellies might persuade them to carry on. However, perhaps the potential of a meal conveniently stowed in a larder was too tempting to abandon.
Another familiar situation.
"Hey Buck," Steve called back. "Remember that pillbox we got stuck in for three days in the Rhine?"
"How could I forget? Whole German battalion decided to make camp right under our feet. It got reeeeeeally uncomfortable in that blind."
Steve smiled. "Heh. You were so relieved when they left you practically jumped down the 30ft."
"No," Barnes corrected. "My relief came after I jumped down."
"Biggest cathole I've ever seen."
A trill, rising and falling over several seconds came from somewhere in the caldera, on the opposite side of the lake by Steve's reckoning.
They're smart.
A different, more measured length of clicks responded from a position on the left.
Communicating.
Whether they thought of the humans as their next meal or as a rival pack of predators was a question for zoologists. To Steve Rogers however, it was a much more pragmatic matter of dealing with a hostile force moving in on their camp. Their options boiled down to three: try to fight the monsters and maybe they win, stay in the cave and try to wait them out, or make a dash for it and try to outrun them. None of these were particularly efficient options. The enemy possessed natural weapons and an animalistic fighting prowess, they also had the advantage of controlling the water and food supply. And while he could probably outpace the predators, Bucky and Hansuke would likely be caught in short order.
So what to do…
In the cave¸ the HYDRA soldiers remained at their prone positions aimed towards the tunnel entrance. They had elected to put away Oskar's lighter and lay in wait under the cover of darkness, oppressive and thick with humidity. Only the most ghostly of moonlight from the opening managed to reflect its way to the portion of walls visible to them, promising the observers little more than a silhouette of advance warning for any incomers. They had only slept sparingly, eating whatever edible bits they found along the way, their last good drink of water back at the temple ruins.
Heinrich wiped his left forearm across his brow, feeling the grind of the salt crystals that had formed on his skin after hours of sweating. It didn't make him feel any cleaner, quite the opposite, but at least it kept the beads from running into his eyes. Whatever other drops made their way around his mouth were lapped up by a tongue eager for moisture. A zealous devotion to HYDRA had prepared him well to endure this hardship, loyalty to the organization and above all, the Red Skull served to steel his nerve.
Arnim had fallen asleep, laid back against the wall with the shield over his belly and his elbow propped on the strange skull. Oskar and Luitger slumbered in place on either side of Heinrich, ready to assume their shift on watch when the time came. Their second night on this island was no less arduous than their first, but at least they possessed one more day of knowledge, one less day of mystery. And if there was anything that fortified Man against the Unknown, it was the acquirement of knowledge, the demystification of the world around him.
Heinrich watched the tunnel entrance, and saw the shadows shift.
Luitger awoke to the prodding of a boot in his thigh, a surge of pain behind his eyes protesting the command to wake. He quickly remembered to remain silent in case the creature had returned to its lair. Once he managed to discern Heinrich's shape in the darkness, realized the time had come. Oskar too, he could see had been roused on the other side and was fixing his firing position. Resetting the butt of his rifle into his shoulder pocket, Luitger winced and focused his attention on the hall.
An irregular silhouette moved across the rockface, its casting shape impossible to interpret. Though no sound had yet reached the men, it stopped suddenly, the shadow freezing in place.
Heinrich grimaced as a drip of briny perspiration wriggled its way into the corner of his eye, but he refused to let it distract him.
The unknown visitor moved, blotting out even more of the outside light, leaving them in virtual blackness. After a tense moment of terrifying blindness, the faint light returned, and Oskar wondered if that meant the monster had left or gotten closer. So they waited, and eventually they did perceive a scratching noise, though the source was still obscure.
Luitger swallowed a hard lump, heartbeat throbbing.
Where is it? Where did it go?
Sssst…
The sound was close, too close for Heinrich's comfort, and it dawned on him that they might have let their hyperfocus get the better of them. He lifted his gaze, scanning the walls for anything not standing rock-still. That was until his neck had bent towards the ceiling, where the sheen of two red eyes peered back down at him. A silent gasp escaped him, paralyzed as he was by an instinctual response to the sudden detection of danger. The eyes seemed to entrance him, making him feel the blood in his cardiovascular system pulsing.
There was nothing but the eyes in the darkness.
Arnim Zola was jolted awake by the sound of screams and gunfire.
Coming to where the river fed the pond, the Gojirasaurus lumbered painfully over the lip and spilled with a grunt into the collecting body. Lifting its snout above the surface to take in one long snort, it delved under, heading towards the increasing heat. Of course it had no concept of how long the hidden pass had been submerged here or how it had originally been formed. But like a bird or sea turtle, there was an instruction in its blood to seek this place out, to return when it required replenishment.
Down in the abyss of the pool its uncanny perception led it to the tunnel, widened to an appropriate dimension by eons of successive generations traveling through. The route being pitch dark was no obstacle for the amphibious alpha of Lagos, clawing along with its forelimbs to augment the propulsion of the tail.
Eventually the tunnel gave way to another expanse, a half-flooded subterranean chamber. Gojira breached the quiet surface, the ceiling above glowing with veins of veridian luminescence. It neither knew nor cared about the causation of the strange phenomena, merely that it confirmed the integrity of the enclosure. A few sniffs of the air likewise confirmed a sense of familiarity, with the unique particulates already enticing it onward.
Where the rock emerged from the water the stone was smooth, flat, worked by intelligent hands far downstream of the current year. Glyphs and runes that once held significance decorated the platform and the pillars that stood at each corner, unappreciated by the only being left aware of their existence. Large enough to accommodate the prone creature, Gojira let its bulk relax and laid itself out on the stone.
It was no mere act of habit that brought the creature to this place, there was a deliberate purpose. Abandoned long ago by the sapient race that formed it, the space resonated with an energy nourishing to the Gojirasaurus and those of a similar, special breed. Already it felt the pain from the lacerations easing, if only subtly, a sleepy haze settling over its mind.
Panic quickly set in, Zola scrambling to cover as much of his body with Captain America's shield as he could, vainly trying to use the muzzle flashes to piece together a coherent picture of what was happening. All he could tell from behind his terrified shaking was a large shape, fast and ferocious moving among the men, hissing and snarling at them as they attempted to pin it down with automatic fire. To no small degree of Arnim's astonishment, arcs of white electricity sparked over the creature's back, revealing a barbed carapace from head to tail and creating a mesmerizing dance of light and violence.
It leaped with frightening agility between the floor and the walls, screeching as it was hit by attacks it didn't understand. These intruders to its lair possessed some stinging offense it could not perceive which kept it at bay, but the attacks were inept, and it quickly appraised the vulnerability of the humans. Latching onto the wall momentarily, the red eyes peered down and picked out the perfect opening to counterstrike.
Arnim watched in terror as the creature descended among the others with tooth and claw, a short-wave electrical pulse that shocked the men, preventing them from evading what came next. A fore-claw lashed out and pinned one of them to the floor as the beast's maw closed around another, errant bursts of fire spraying out.
A brief window of reason found its way to Zola, and the idea occurred to him that while the monster was occupied with the others, he could rush past and escape. He tucked the skull under an arm and holding the shield close, began skulking his way against the wall towards the exit.
Red eyes flashed and caught the movement at the outskirts of the fight, but as the lone figure had yet posed no threat, it dismissed the fleeing man for the time being in favor of the immediate situation, allowing it to pass.
A tail swipe covered in jolting barbs knocked Heinrich to the floor, and while down, his muddled focus was able to spy the shape of the scientist retreating. Understanding that the foe upon them was beyond their strength, he got it in his head that the pragmatic Zola was on the right track. Crawling on his belly with all the serpentine grace he could muster, he headed towards the light and prayed that he reached it.
Luitger felt the last wisps of life escape from him as the fangs extracted themselves from his torso, the jaws setting him down in the center of the chamber atop the bed of brittle leaves and bones. The last thing he saw were the red eyes enveloped by a darkness that would never be dispelled.
Lean and muscular, the neck of the creature then turned back to the one it had struck down with a claw. Oskar moved his arms and legs weakly, a crushed rib cage and punctured lungs draining him of vitality with each second. Not wanting to die in this black isolation he managed to reach in his pocket and grab hold of his lighter. With the waning dexterity he still commanded, he flipped the cover open and depressed the lever of the sparkwheel. He held the small flame up to create a tight sphere of illumination about him.
An angular snake-like head entered the field of view, sapphire scales, and above the crimson eyes were set thorn-like horns to create a devilish visage. Its forked tongue slipped out and waved a curious greeting, tasting the mix of human blood, perspiration, and fear which it had recently become familiarized with. A scent it had learned to associate, with food.
"Heil… HYDRA."
Outside, Zola threw himself against a tree, wheezing sharply from the cramps wracking his right side, his face drawn in mortal terror.
Heinrich stumbled from the cave a few moments after, his upper body lacerated and eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. They shared a look of incredulity and wordlessly agreed that the perils of the night jungle were preferable to certain death in the cave. Assessing how many rounds he still carried, Heinrich counted a magazine and a half worth of rounds left to protect them.
He walked over to Zola almost in a trance and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Come on."
His body still shivering, Arnim nodded absently and fell in step behind.
THE NEXT MORNING
With the rise of dawn came the feeling of a ceasefire about the end. As Steve Rogers resumed the watch from Bucky with a tap on the shoulder, he looked out over the mist-layered caldera.
"Anything?" he asked.
"Nope." Bucky shook his head. "Unless they know another way out."
"That's about what I feared." Any hope Captain America had placed in the creatures forgetting or losing interest seemed to be in vain.
"A couple chirps back and forth, but that was about it." Standing up and stretching a kink from his back, Barnes gave out a tired sigh. "Can't tell if they fell asleep or they're just waiting for us to make a move."
Rogers scrunched the side of his mouth. "These things have survived for millions of years perfecting their lethality. I don't think they're about to get lazy on our account."
Sharing the same disappointment over their lack of appealing choices, Bucky gestured to the torn portions of Cap's outfit.
"You feeling any better today?"
"Actually, yeah." Exercising a shoulder, Steve considered how worse his situation might be without the benefits of Project Rebirth. "Doesn't even sting anymore."
"Good, wouldn't want those monsters to think you were holding back on 'em."
Cap smirked and turned to see Hansuke already awake and packing his bag. The stranded pilot met his eyes and smiled back.
"Another… Path." Hisakawa said in stunted English, hooking his arm to point up the caldera's wall.
"Away from them?" Cap asked, thumbing to the outside.
His comprehension still lacking, Hansuke tilted his head as he shouldered the bag. He came to the mouth of the crevice and once again pointed to the near wall, away from the bowl.
That could work. Steve thought. As dexterous as the creatures seemed, having to chase the humans up a wall might hinder the pursuers enough for the three to make a successful break for it.
"I think we should get going. The longer we give them, the bolder they'll become."
"And sooner rather than later." Bucky pointed down towards the pond, his expression suddenly more dire.
There, skulking among the fronds was one of the fanged raptors, almost imperceptibly camouflaged amidst the shadowed vegetation. It was crouched so as not to rise above its surrounding bush and staring straight up at them, waiting.
"A scout." Rogers noted. "Or a diversion. Either way our window is closing real fast."
"I show." With a grim tone of conviction, Hansuke stepped past the others and went to the right of the opening, and setting his hands and feet into small indentations began climbing.
"Buck, you go next." Steve stood sentinel, scanning for any more predators that might be maneuvering on their position. "Get an assessment on our terrain while you're up there."
"You got it, Cap."
The beast that had been watching stood, observing the humans with a cocked head.
"Hasst! Hasst!" It began to cry, undulating its neck.
Another one appeared across the water at the base of the incline below the crevice, gawking up at them and hissing.
Hmm. Steve grabbed the pilot canopy lid that Hansuke had used to plug the crevice in his absence, and followed Barnes as soon as the space allowed.
"They'll be coming."
On the opposite side of the water the alpha emerged from the tree line, issuing a long growl, sensing the pack was about to lose its intended prey. Charging to their alpha's will, the three others surged towards the foot of the wall, digging in with their claws like pitons to scale their way in pursuit. The leader tracked the human's climb with a calculating eye, a primeval cunning at work to outwit and ensnare them. Powerful thigh muscles helped to drive the saurian hunters upwards, stopping only for a moment at the ledge of the crevice to sniff at the vacated lair.
We won't outrun them for long. Cap realized, glancing down. "Get to the ridge! They won't be able to surround us!" He called up.
The trail that formed the crown of the caldera wasn't more than two feet wide at the flat sections, enough for the men to run on, but difficult for the wider hips of their enemies. Hansuke scrambled onto the path and squatted to help Bucky over and when he did, that was when they both found something to stare at.
One of the tallest elevations on the island, a person atop the ridge could see beyond the treetops and out to the ocean itself. And thereupon the water some distance out, was a Japanese warship. Barnes' and Hisakawa's jaws went slack in disbelief.
"Shinjirarenai…"
"Guys!" Rogers didn't know what had stalled their movement at the top, but the tenacity of the creatures would only be stymied for so long by sheer climb, they had to keep moving. He thrust down with the end of the canopy and butted the snout of a hunter that had gotten too close for his liking. "Keep going!"
"Steve, you're gonna wanna see this!"
Cap threw down the canopy where it missed the nearest hunter and collided with the second, knocking it off the rock. Now freed of the encumbrance, he threw himself to the top in one leap where the others reached down to pull him up. The sight of the Japanese ship was simultaneously relieving and concerning. In a flash, he and Hansuke shot tense glances to each other.
But there was no time for that now. Snapping teeth crested the ridge, and the three men began a tight sprint.
Below, reptilian slits narrowed as the alpha receded into the shadows.
TEMPLE RUINS
Incredibly, Han's constitution had seen him through the night and into an incoherent morning of dehydration, hunger, and fever. With eye lids half-drawn and a stalactite of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, he mumbled a song in his native tongue.
"Und jetzt… dreht sich… das Rad…"
The war of attrition between the urge to sleep and the fear of leaving himself so vulnerable forced him to occupy his mind with anything that would help him remain conscious.
Then he began to experience a new sensation, like a painless burning in his fingertips. It was enough to bring him closer to sobriety by a few degrees, and he held up his right hand to stare at it with clouded interest. It was as if the very molecules of his matter were becoming disentangled and all feeling faded to nothing. Before his bewildered eyes the fingers dissipated into a fine mist before vanishing entirely.
Han's lungs couldn't decide if they wanted to gasp or scream, so instead they choked him with terror. He tried to shuffle himself in the opposite direction, but it did no good, the phenomena continuing down the rest of his arm. It was the lack of pain that frightened him the most, the nothingness his body was dissolving into.
The struggle ended when his legs too began to leave him, only a futile writhing of his torso remained loyal to his willpower.
Before his mind could fully break under the strain of panic, it too dematerialized.
/