Chapter 7: Kindling the Memories
Blackness.
Glistening, marble blackness. Various black shades flowed around in an endless space, seemingly vibrating off all sides of this infinite dimension. A kaleidoscope of sensations couldn't determine exactly what was transpiring. The only knowable thing was that one could somehow sense this fuzzy dark landscape constantly changing in the shadows.
Then a new color faded in. Pure blinding white in the far distance, with dashes of blood red and golden-yellow ballooning into a massive mushroom cloud. A large boom reverberated in this eerie, brightened landscape, followed by a constricted roaring sound.
From the center of the mushroom cloud, grey haze jettisoned outwards towards a far away being witnessing these events. The haze moved at lightening speeds. Animating it's center were two glowing amber eyes on a huge charcoal-grey outline. The plume of grey haze quickly enveloped this mass and surged onto the onlooker. Its fury ruffled the surrounding shades, yet passed without so much as fazing the conscious being.
One last constricted roar weakly echoed from the dissipating haze on the dark horizon.
The blackness slushed in again, followed by a trickling of opaque blues and purples from the sides of this dimension. The multitude of tiny gushes grew into a monstrous surge of swishing oceanic waves.
The waves began losing energy, slowing to a still, reflective surface right in front of the onlooker.
"It's so placid," the old yet calm voice of the conscious being said. The vocal waves from the being vibrated off the water, etching a series of twenty-meter long footprints. The sound waves rebounded up into the great black beyond far above the source.
"How did I get here," pondered the old voice. It looked around. The voice approached the still waters of shoreline and looked into the reflection.
"I'm, I'm an old man, I think." He shot his head up; a low rumbling sound echoed over the waterbody. Straight ahead beyond the dark blue-purple waters formed a small dark green island.
"I know...something about that island."
Then murmurs echoed above him, creating minor ripples in the dark waters. The old man could make out some of the words in the rebounded murmuring.
"...ould you tell Yamane nothing about what we kno-."
Then another murmur, this one a complete.
"He knows Erika. He's known, and we should confront him!"
"Erika," the old man thought curiously, "I know that name from somewhere. Come to think of it, I somehow remember the name Yamane too." Quietness enveloped in the space for a moment. The ripples disappeared.
Then a complete sequence of whispers echoed from above. They seemed louder in intensity and volume, as if more passion were being fed into these words.
"Masako wants him to be at peace right now, not push him into another psychological breakdown Akane!"
"Masako...Akane...I, I know those names. I know all these names. How do I know them," the old man pondered, trying to think of some reason he knew these names. He kept listening, looking above for the next wave of words to rain down.
"Professor Sato wouldn't back down Erika. He's not the kind of man that would willfully ignore these incidents."
"What incidents?" he said, his voice bouncing off the still waters to the pitch black beyond.
"Erika! Did you hear that?"
"I did, he must be waking up. What did he say?"
"I don't know...some mumbling, but I think he might be coming to."
"Hello?" the old man spoke up, louder than before. Silence permeated the landscape again, no sounds coming. It was chillingly calm now.
The old man closed his eyes tight. Darkness within blackness; he felt light on his feet, as if ascending off the ground to a new spot in this beyond-realm above him. He could sense something else.
Warmth.
His head was resting on something fluffy and warm. Tingling sensations on his skin, as though there were patches of some substance on it. Eyes still closed, he began trying to pry them open. The picture forming in his eyes, blurry at first, began to produce partially better views of this landscape; more of a room really, a dark angular enclosure with tints of light in the backdrop. He could feel his arm, the nerves gaining control again. He could see it, move it around. He rubbed his eyes.
"Professor Sato?" said a blurry images to his left. He rubbed his eyes again. The overcast view rapidly increased in detail; two wome, one to his left, the other his right. They were watching intently, observing him, studying him like he was a major discovery.
"Professor Sato? Are you awake?"
"Hm...I recognize your voices," he said, "but I can't seem to recall you...or this place for that matter."
"Professor Sato. Does the phrase Odo Island mean anything for you?" Erika asked tentatively.
He thought for a moment. The young woman to his left walked over to Erika.
Ishiro looked to his right. He was hooked up to an electrocardiogram and had an IV in his left arm's vein.
"Odo Island...Odo, that name seems somewhat familiar. Tell me, are we on such an island right now?"
"We are. How about this Professor Sato," Akane responded.
"Wow, I'm a professor. Neat," the old man said with a smile. "That's good, right?"
"Yes. That is your formal title. Your full name is Ishiro Sato. Do you remember that?"
"Uhm, let's see...yes, yes I think I do...my name is Ishiro Sato. What am I like?"
Akane and Erika huffed in partial defeat.
"Amnesia...great," Akane grumbled to herself.
"You remember your name at least, that's good," Erika said comfortingly while rubbing the temple of her head.
Ishiro gave a small smile and nodded in agreement, confusion to his identity still plastered on his face.
Just then Yamane, Shinzo, Emiko and Hideo entered through the tent entrance.
"Ishiro, I hope you are doing better now," Yamane said quietly, seeing Ishiro awake and feigning a smile on his worried face.
"We hope you didn't lose one too many marbles Professor Sato," Shinzo said, awkwardly trying to relieve the strange tension in the room with a bit of humor. Erika punched him in the shoulder, garnering a few chuckles from Hideo and Emiko.
"We hope you can recover well Professor Sato. You gave us all a scare," Emiko spoke over the rustle.
Ishiro blinked several times, a blank expression at these newcomers. He then smiled brightly and said, "Hello everyone. I don't remember any of you but I feel as though I should. Very nice to meet you all."
"Uh oh, that's not good," Hideo huffed out. Sighs of concern circled the room.
One of the researchers who doubled as a medic came in the tent. He walked over to Erika and talked to her privately for a moment. Then he focused on Ishiro.
"Try and take it easy Professor Sato. Rest and relax for as long as you need."
He then bowed to the group, exiting promptly.
"Question time," Akane said to herself, leaning in a bit closer to Ishiro to directly connect with him. "I better work up to the big one."
She readied herself, offering Ishiro a bottled water. He gladly took it, and drank the whole bottle in a single chug.
"Ishiro, can you recall anything from the last few hours?"
"I can't say I can, uhm...Akane I think, right?"
"Exactly right Ishiro. Cool. So, nothing...strange at all?"
"Well, it's curious that I don't know who I am, but beyond that I can't recall anything anomalous beyond right now."
"Weird how he's so nonchalant about not having any memory, don't you think Hideo?" Emiko whispered over to him.
"Well, he's relaxed, nothing stressful is happening right now, so keeping everything calm is probably making this ordeal easier to handle."
"I have one more question Ishiro...one that may help you remember."
"Akane...?" Erika asked in an abrasive, worried tone.
"You know we're going to have to ask that question to him eventually Erika. It may bring him out!"
Akane and Erika debated each other on how to proceed. Ishiro stared blankly at the bed sheets. Yamane leaned over to Shinzo and whispered, "Since when have Professor Shiragami and Ms. Yashiro been on a first name basis?"
"Since they've been half-sisters," Shinzo whispered back in Yamane's ear.
"Really? There's got to be at least a decade between them," Yamane said in subtle surprise.
"Same mother?"
"Same father...the man wasn't exactly committed to Erika's mother, if you know what I mean," Shinzo growled, the information oddly upsetting him. "Best not to mention that fact; they keep it very secret."
"Understood," Yamane replied.
"FINE...alright Akane!" Erika said, "I'll ask the question, only because it may jostle his mind back, on a slim chance! This could be worse for him than anything, you know that, right?"
"What else have we got? The medic can't say for sure whether this line of inquiry is good or bad. We've got to act!"
"Hastily and prematurely no less, but I'd prefer Masako not to deal with Ishiro in his state...I'll ask it."
She sat in a chair and handed Ishiro a thermos.
"It's tea Ishiro, it may help in jogging your memory back."
He sheepishly took a sip. "That's good."
"Now, Ishiro, please think carefully about this question. Do you remember anything about a dress and a...a silhouette?"
The whole room froze in silence. Everyone tried not staring at Ishiro: a futile effort. He could tell the gravity of this question, so he relaxed and thought about anything that would pop up.
"Hm...a dress...a silhouette...' he repeated. Yamane walked over to Erika and Akane, whispering, "Do you think this is wise? In his state?"
Before Erika could respond Ishiro kept repeating the word.
"Silhouette...silhouette...silhou...SILHOUETTE!" He yelled out. Torrents of memories coming back to him, he started sweating profusely.
"EVERYONE! EVERYTHING! I REMEMBER IT ALL!"
He rose his upper body from the covers, pulled the patches off his chest and ripped the IV needle from his arm. He coughed several times. It looked as though he forcibly regained his composure, putting on a straight face. It was calm, yet had a somber quality, his eyes with dark circles, the color in his skin gone from the shock his body underwent.
"My colleagues. My students...my friends. I'm deeply sorry. I...couldn't control myself when I saw those remains. Seeing them set me off somehow and... I've put you all threw a horrible, traumatic experience."
Ishiro paused, then faced Akane.
"Especially you Akane. I'm sorriest to you." Ishiro bowed his head in strained shame.
"Don't worry Professor Sato. I've been through worst," Akane said smiling, trying to lighten the ordeal she and everyone went through.
" I didn't harm you in any way, mentally or physically Akane, did I."
"I'll admit, it was unnerving to see you like that, but never did you harm me. You were trying to keep me safe from...a silhouette."
"Right,' Ishiro huffed out, "..the silhouette."
"We're just glad that you're fully with us Professor," Erika said kindly to him, beaming a warm smile towards him.
"My wife...did she elaborate anything with you? Maybe why I had that breakdown?"
Erika and Yamane shook their heads, although Yamane seemed to radiate a sagacious facial appearance.
Ishiro thought to himself, "He has something of an idea about me now. It's only a matter of time till I can verifiably know what's on his mind."
"Ishiro, can you explain what you mean by a silhouette," Yamane hesitantly asked, walking to the foot of the bed.
"Yamane, I need to borrow you and Professors Oguchi and Otani to help study and analyze some GIS and LiDAR data taken for the island...you have taken LiDAR readings for Odo, right?"
"Yes I, we...uhm," Yamane coughed, trying to figure out where Ishiro was going with this, "we have several LiDAR screen shots and GIS models for the island, but you need to rest for a while after that episode."
"Nonsense Yamane. I've rested for," Ishiro paused and looked at his wrist watch, "almost three hours. Some green tea and a bit of food is all I need."
"With all due respect Ishiro, that is nonsense. I must insist that you recover for at least the rest of the day."
"You want nonsense Yamane? Alright," Ishiro said, putting his glasses and getting the excess medical equipment still attached off. "Nonsense is inviting a team of biologists to an archaeological dig site for unspecified purposes in the hopes of determining what happened over half a century ago, which is supposedly already known according to the Japanese Government, which means we're just wasting out time. Nonsense is having a team of paleontologists helping archeologists on an island that most definitely has no fossil remnants to speak of. Nonsense is having a tent full of Geiger counters and other kinds of radiation-detection equipment."
The occupants slowly back away from the intense drilling Ishiro directed to Yamane, who looked visibly shaken from Ishiro's words. Shinzo looked over at Erika with a great big, "I TOLD YOU SO,"face.
Ishiro continued on.
"I can go on, or I can state that I have a feeling we both know why we're on this island right now; a similar purpose, to find answers, for different reasons, for different purposes. Let's dispatch the secrecy, shall we?"
"Ishiro, you and everyone here have signed the confidentiality agreements several hours ago. If I divulge the details of this project, and you discuss your experiences what happened sixty years ago, we can all succeed in finding the answers, together. I need you word," Yamane backed up to let the whole group hear him, "I need everyone's word. If you all agree, what we're about to discuss, quite possibly endeavor on does not leave our group or agency awareness. This is a matter of national security under the Japanese Government. Is this clear?"
"Whoa...this just got serious," Hideo whispered to Emiko and Shinzo.
"What is this Professor Yamane, some clandestine government operation on an archeological dig site?" Shinzo asked curtly.
"Students, Professors Mafune and Shiragami, do you agree to keep this information top secret? If you don't want any part of this, I'd recommend leaving now and returning to the cabins," Ishiro announced.
"This is going kind of fast Professor Sato. Shouldn't we think about this a bit longer?" Erika asked worryingly.
"Well..." Yamane coughed out awkwardly, "technically... you are all legally required to be part of this operation now, given what you've seen, heard, and experienced. I can maybe get you released, provided you sign another security release form; just so you know, a few people that took this option were relocated to Sapporo."
"I'm done with signing off secrecy documents! I plan on being involved in this investigation as long as needed," Ishiro announced loudly.
"Grandfather," Emiko asked, "is this dig site that serious? A matter of national security?"
"I'm afraid it is Emiko. Recent discoveries and sightings in the last three decades have pushed the government to create an emergency department to covertly search for a special set of unknown phenomena."
"Phenomena?" Shinzo asked, curiosity replacing his tactless mood.
"Yes, abnormal phenomena not grounded or predicted by the current understanding of nature or science."
"Just what kind of phenomena are we talking about Professor Yamane? Geophysical? Atmospheric? Astronomical?"
"Actually," he replied to Shinzo, "the direction is leaning more biological. I believe Ishiro knows what we are looking for."
"Again, if anyone takes exception to getting conscripted in this investigation team, please retreat to the cabins now and we can try resolve the bureaucratic issues later," Ishiro stated again.
"I'm in," Akane said immediately, almost yelling out in exasperation. "I only need an anthropology credit to finish my B.S. degree; I can easily retake it again."
"If we agree," Hideo spoke up, "will the university and our anthropology professor pause our progress in the class?'
"Consider it done," Ishiro replied happily. "In fact, I can arrange for this investigation to count towards both your required internship and research experience for both Bachelor and Master degrees."
"What do you think Akane?" Hideo asked.
"We'll also reimburse you financially for your time," Yamane said, adding to the appeal of the deal.
"Then I'm defiantly in!" Hideo said with a big smile.
"Erika, Shinzo, your research and classes will have to be put on hold. I can find temporary replacements to teach them for you. Will that be okay?"
"As long as Erika and I can chose the lecturers and assistants to care for our samples, we'll be fine. Is that permissible Ishiro?"
"Certainly Shinzo."
"Erika?" Shinzo asked. "Do you want to be part of something potentially huge, or continue work on studying plant DNA and cell reactions to various types of ionizing radiation?"
"The prior Shinzo. I'm in too Ishiro."
"Thank you everyone. We'll spend a few more days here, then head back to Tokyo to work with the agency...what's the agency called Yamane? I think we can know now that everyone has agreed to be officially part of it."
"It's not... officially recognized and doesn't have a set name; right now it's generally called the Anomalous Abiotic and Biotic Events Agency (AABEA). It's a covert joint operation between the JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force) and the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency). Only the highest officials in government know if its existence. Welcome to the club."
"Well then, lets be off, "Ishiro said, fully clothed now. He beckoned everyone to follow him. As they began moving, Yamane held back to his spot to pull his granddaughter to the side and discuss privately.
"One moment Emiko. I want to make sure you are certain you want to be part of this investigation. Once you're in, there's no easy way of returning back. This isn't just top secret government affairs; this also has the extremely likely potential to become a military operation."
"I highly doubt oddball research is going to conscript me into the JSDF grandfather."
"You'd be surprised Emiko. Please, don't get involved if you don't have to."
"Please understand this grandfather. I've always wanted to apply my degree in Paleontology to some kind of effort or research with you."
"It's spectacular you already have a Paleobiology Bachelors degree for being only twenty-two. You know that, right?"
"Yes, I know grandfather. To be honest with you though, I don't want to go back to the college yet. Not until I've had some time to think about my relationship with Daisuke."
"I've been wanting to ask about that. What's happened?"
"He's become too obsessed. He's absolutely genius when it comes to chemistry and the physical sciences, but he's stupid when it comes to people. Daisuke's drifted from me, maybe not intentionally, but he's not making any effort to keep our relationship afloat. I'm passionate about my field, but I don't let it alienate me from my friends or family."
"So then, are you and Mr. Ogata...?"
"Well, Hideo is a spectacular friend. We're sort of becoming more than friends now, so I need to figure out if I want to stay with Daisuke or not."
"Well my grandchild, either the theoretical chemist or the molecular biophysicist?" Yamane said jokingly.
"No!" she replied, her eyes and face slushing a tint of red, "the one who cares for me."
"Probably the molecular biophysicist then?"
"It doesn't matter what he studies grandfather, just who he is."
"You are too wise beyond your years Emiko. I trust you to take any action you feel is required for your well-being. It's your business. You can be part of the investigation team."
"Thank you grandfather," Emiko beamed back up, revealing in the joy of now being able to do work alongside her grandfather on official business, and having more time to contemplate.
"Just be ready to have some your major biological conceptions shattered several times; it's brutal."
"My conceptions shattered? Grandfather? Grandfather, wait for me," she said yelling for him as he walked ahead to catch up, knowing full well she'd be hot on his trail. Halfway to the main conference room stood Hideo, waiting patiently for Emiko and Professor Yamane.
"What about my conceptions? You mean minor details or larger concepts grandfather?"
"Column A, column B. You'll know soon enough. First we need to check with the others."
"Emiko, Professor Yamane, is all well," Hideo asked as formally and respectfully as possible.
"All is well. Let's go," Yamane said, before turning to Hideo and saying, "...and thank you for supporting and caring for my granddaughter Mr. Ogata."
Hideo's color drained, his facial movements froze. He mumbled out, "ehm...[cough], the pleasure is all mine sir. Thank you for the compliment."
"Keep it up. At this rate I may be a great-grandfather."
"GRANDFATHER!" Emiko shouted, shock and embarrassment plastered on her and Hideo's faces. Yamane was having a hardy internal laugh.
As they regained control they walked up the steps. Akane was on her personal computer about to head inside. She held the door, then all three proceeded to available seats huddled around a small circular table with a projector in the center. Ishiro was talking with Professors Oguchi and Otani. Professor Oguchi loaded up several GIS database models of the island, along with the most recent patched-together LiDAR map of Odo Island.
As soon as the LiDAR screen came up, Ishiro asked for control. He took a tablet from his pack and connected it with the main terminal, now having his own mouse. He pulled out a digital pen and started drawing on the screen. He first circled over the landslide area, drawing arrows and placing symbolic landmarks. Center of the landslide was a mark dubbed "tower." Another was dubbed "Dress,"by the most recent dig site southeast of their location. The third site was "Whale Jaw" by the center coast while the fourth was "School," the southwest-most area.
"Getting your bearings are we" Yamane asked.
"Sixty years is a long time. It doesn't help when there's twenty-five meters of earth over your memories."
He traced an erratic path through the landslide, making a note between two ridges that this area was once the existing hillside. Ishiro traced a path from there heading north behind a small ridge, before backtracking to a small valley and ridge directly northeast of the landslide. This was the same area the team found Ishiro during his episode. A series of large surficial impressions at the base of the valley stood out. Ishiro began edging them in with the digital pen; they looked like massive four-toed footprints.
Meanwhile Akane was searching through multiple video media websites while tracking the progress on the projector screen above. The new search yielded the same results: nothing.
"DAMN IT! There's got to be something," she said internally.
Nothing she did was garnering any useful results. She tried one more website: Youtube. She entered a new search for "strange fog beast." Multiple American monster movies and dubbed anime/cartoon videos came up, with a few songs towards the middle list. She was about to give up until she scrolled to the bottom screen; a series of personal camera videos were posted as a playlist set called, "Trinidad, Ca Oil Disaster Footage: Parts 1-4." Posted only thirty-seven minutes ago on an obscure user account, each video had a handful of views. She clicked on the videos and watched them one by one.
In a span of eight minutes she watched something...nightmarish. Horror and reality aligned in the most ugly, sublime way possible.
"I've got to show this to Professor Sato!"
Akane downloaded the videos from Youtube; it would only be a matter of time before the US government would find and take these videos offline permanently. She pasted them together in a single video composed of four parts.
She walked over to the huddled Professors at the computer terminals near the projector, trying to figure out extra meaningful details from the LiDAR data and make a model GIS track. Akane noticed a long, deep indentation between the digitally outlined gently tapped Ishiro on the shoulder.
"Yes Akane?"
"Professor Sato, I've found some video footage of a disaster that happened hours ago in the US that I strongly believe pertains to this investigation."
Yamane, Oguchi and Otani looked blankly at her, Oguchi formed an annoyed face, as though he was just rudely interrupted.
"Do you mind if I play the footage for you to evaluate gentlemen?"
"Can it wait Ms. Yashiro? We've come upon some extremely important findings. Come back to us later on it, will you?"
"Now hold on Professor Oguchi," Yamane responded, "We are all contributing members in this investigation. If Ms. Yashiro claims to have found something of relevance, then we must view it."
"How can you be certain she understands the basics of discerning credible information?"
Akane screamed in her head, "Right in front of me? Ass!"
"I can personally vouch for Ms. Yashiro's abilities. She's done much more rigorous research with me in her advanced classes," Ishiro replied back. Oguchi just mumbled.
She silently laughed in her head at the irony of the research method, "Youtube, who would have thought."
"Let's all see this footage, shall we Ms. Yashiro?" Yamane asked amiably.
"Yes Professor Yamane. Professor Sato, I should warn you. This could be unsettling to watch. That goes for everyone."
"I'll inform you if I feel another episode coming on."
Akane put a small USB device in the computer. A file popped on screen called "Disaster Footage." She opened the file, activated a program that would convert the English dialogue into Japanese subtitles, and pressed play.
Temporary black, then two young American men in their twenties came on screen. They were in a vehicle, the passenger with a big smile holding the camera phone taking the video, the other driving with a bit of a sour look on his face. The passenger refocused the view out the passenger car window and recorded; wisping fog of varying thickness enshrined the dark sunset beyond view with sparse opaque outlines of homes and streetlights. The footage looked extremely clear and hardly pixilated. The driver began speaking, the converted subtitles now popping up.
"This fog is messed up. You couldn't have chosen another time to see Trinidad dumbass?" he said, huffing out a large breathe. He turned the volume on the radio down a bit.
"It's beautiful Dan. The fog makes it cool and eery. Gives Hitchcock and Twilight Zone vibes. No wonder he filmed down the coast. Besides, I've driven in worse."
"Your mom's driven in worse," he said in a mocking voice.
"Kind of like how she drove you in my life?"
"You know that was totally accidental, right Steve? Never meant for her to knock your dinner in my lap."
"Best spill ever! Who'd have thought she did it on purpose? Your Dad took the news pretty well too."
"You know they made bets on my orientation? My mom won apparently."
"She knows you too well. Oh, neat. We should try that Eatery on the way back," he said looking to his right, smiling while fiddling with the camera phone.
"You kidding Steve? Two restaurant visits? Jesus, it's like a ball-and-chain with you. Sometimes I wish California didn't legalize our marriage...that or my Dad didn't object at the ceremony," Dan said, laughing under his breath.
"DAN! You are such a hypocritical Rihanna-hating, wasabi tuna eating closeted otaku with the most disgraceful fashion sense imaginable!"
"Wow," Dan choked out laughing loudly and clapping his hands together, "...that just made my day. I'm kidding Steve. I just hate driving in fog is all...and losing all my money."
"OH LORDIE! Let me drive if you hate it then, alright? Besides, it looked like there was a fire at the Eatery, so it's probably closed. Trinidad lighthouse shouldn't be too far off now..."
"It should be on our left...hm, what's that in the road ahead of us?"
As the vehicle kept moving, the camera zoomed in on a lantern lying in the road, dark and brass-colored. The light kept fazing on and off inside its broken glass fixture.
"Well...sucks for whoever lost that on the way to the harbor; it looks neat," Steve said.
"Look further out, to the right by the house."
The video panned out to the overall view outside the windshield. The sea cliffs and lighthouse to their left, and homes to their right. Looking past the lantern they saw a pile of wood, crossing a grassy front yard where a boat was smashed in the front entrance of a home.
"Holy crap! How'd that get there?" Dan said loudly. He turned the radio off.
"We should check and see if anyone's hurt. I don't see any emergency personnel around," Steve stated, his head swiveling around.
They moved their vehicle to the side of the pile of broken wood when Steve yelled out, "SHIT DAN! PULL LEFT! PULL LEFT!"
The camera showed an object flying right towards them, smashing into the front of their vehicle before it ricocheted out of view. The video cut to black for several seconds, before images with gargled audio came live again.
The camera was on the floor. The men's legs could be seen.
"COME ON STEVE! WAKE THE HELL UP!"
The camera jostled to a new view. Dan was pulling Steve out of a wedged spot between the airbag and seat. One huge tug from Dan and they disappeared out of shot through Dan's side. A hand reached for the camera and grabbed it. Steve looked at it to see if it was damaged.
"Are you alright Steve?"
"I'm okay...My god, your Lexus Dan."
"I could give two shits about the car. You're okay! It's a God Damn miracle. Wait...WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL VIDEOTAPING?"
"That's what hit us Dan," Steve said, focusing his camera from their car with a collapsed front-end to a fishing boat split in two in the middle of the intersection.
"We're going to need this footage for your insurance company," Steve continued, before fire engines in the background blasted the air with their sirens. They headed their way, accelerating once past Steve and Dan. Both tried waving them down; they continued towards the harbor.
"Jerkoffs!" Steve said loudly as they disappeared in the foggy street. Seconds later sounds of tire-skidding, metal crunching and multiple car-horn blasts echoed out. The lights on the fire engine flipped at an angle out of sight.
"What's happening Dan?"
"Some serious shit Steve. We've got to get out of here."
More skidding sounds. Steve turned the camera behind them; an old pathfinder, grey and black came hurtling around the corner. Then a massive crash came from their left.
Steve turned the camera quickly enough to catch glimpse of a large white ship smashing into the Lighthouse, flipping at an extreme angle several times and crushing the speeding pathfinder, rocketing it off the cliff.
"HOLY SHIT!" both said and ducked.
The ship's bow passed inches above their bodies. It barrel- rolled into multiple homes on the street, shattering them and catching the debris on fire. Several large explosions on the properties followed.
The video footage cut black, followed by the title "Part Two."
Dan and Steve were running towards a church. Hidden in the fog towards the harbor horrific sounds of metal warping and explosions filled the air, mixed with faint cries of screaming.
"PICK UP GOD DAMN IT!" Dan yelled into his phone. "911 is not answering Steve! All operators are busy!"
"Our luck! Think this something to do with the earthquake earlier Dan?"
"No clue, though I'm pretty sure this isn't because of a tsunami. There's no wave. DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! I'm gonna try again."
Steve ran down the street towards the settled commotion, his camera still on. Dan yelled in the background at him to come back. He turned to the corner left and zoomed at the wreckage down the street. The outline of the ship in the fog was partially visible; large in size and white in color, the stern was in total flames. A thud came from it; something big dropped off the ship to the ground.
The camera zoomed to lettering further along its side reading, "NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER." Next to the name was a huge tear in the metal hull along the entire lower bow.
A bluish-white flash in the dark harbor fog glared into view from the right. Multiple explosive sounds boomed across the landscape, followed by sounds of tearing metal thundering far off in the distance.
"What the hell was that," Steve said in a hurried state.
Steve ran back down next to Dan, still standing by the church waiting for 911 to clear up. A series of huge vibrating thuds grew bigger and bigger until a dark outline in the fog barreled towards them, saturated in the resonance of twisting, shredded metal.
"Oh [BEEP]ing lordie...RUN! RUN!"
They ran. The camera refocused on the goliath object coming closer to view; a massive, torn-apart oil tanker drenching the landscape with fiery oil, bulldozing dozens of homes to wreckage. The ship flipped several more times until the bow smashed into the front entrance of the church where they stood only ten seconds ago.
The screen went pitch black again, the words, "Part Three," rolled over the screen.
The two men were frantically running down a steep trail, Dan with the makeshift bandages on his left hand and right arm, Steve walking with a minor limp. He still held onto the camera. A quick glance from the camera showed above them the outline of the destroyed lighthouse's base structure. They passed a white anchor that was wedged in the bushes. The camera focused to the left up the hill, garnering glances of roaring flames and huge black clouds of smoke choking the fog. The sight juxtaposed the green scenery along the trail they rushed through.
"You sure this is safe Dan?'
"No. Nowhere is safe, but this is the farthest from up there."
"Why is this happening? WHY THE FU-," was all he could say before a deep, resonating low roar rocked the landscape.
"What in God's name was that?"
Several explosions echoed above the hillside. When they arrived at the shoreline, they saw the outline of the flattened pathfinder flipped on its side.
"STEVE YOU IDIOT! THIS WAY!"
"I'M CHECKING TO SEE IF ANYONE'S STILL ALIVE!"
"NO ONE COULD HAVE MADE IT THROUGH THAT!"
The camera motioned as close inside the vehicle as it could. The sight was horrifying. The bloody, flattened bodies of a man in the passenger seat and a woman in the drivers seat. Out of view, the sound of gaging and vomiting from Steve. Dan's voice came in.
"JESUS CHRIST...I..there' nothing we can do for them Steve."
"GOD DAMN IT! YOU ASSHOLE!" Steve roared in the fog, staring straight upwards in the sky.
Steve noticed on the ground by the pathfinder a cellphone, still on and in good condition.
"Still works...after all that?"
Steve got a good look at the bent license plate number and said in a chocked voice, "California 2015, license plate number NWEST720."
They jogged up the shoreline. Steve messed with the phone and tried to find the last recent call. The camera viewed the screen contact listing. The last call log was, "Son."
Then the video footage cut black again for the final part, followed by the title "Part Four."
The camera appeared to have been set on a picnic table, getting a view up along the shoreline where they came from southwest of the town. The fog in their vicinity cleared. One could get a good view of Trinidad harbor, the fog, fire and smoke still enveloping the area around it. A brilliant, gold-yellow raging inferno could be made out from the far distance. A small stream of oil seemed to be spilling into the waters. Dan and Steve were sitting on an opposite picnic table, facing the same direction as the camera in the corner left.
"We're alive...thank god, I can't believe we're alive?" Dan exclaimed.
"I can't believe any of this is happening," Steve chocked out, his voice cracked.
Then thunderous, rhythmic steps vibrated through their feet.
Booms rumbled the camera's audio on the ground. Steve picked it up and tried refocusing on the landscape view above them.
The camera then zoomed towards the source of the thundering steps. A moment passed. Nothing
Then, one by one, a row of massive, jagged spike-like objects rose high out of the fog, creating turbulent flow patterns in the black smoke. Seconds later a massive, moving entity popped into view. The jagged spikes were attached along the colossal dark moving figure. It was taller than the hill on its left. In the bottom left screen, partly hidden in the fog was a serpent-like tail waiving around. The entity was only in view for about six seconds, then it could only be heard. The mass seemed to be reverberating growls and rumbles.
"What the [audio bleep] is that?" Dan whispered, horrified by this view.
"OH MY FU-."
A wailing, horrible eardrum-rupturing roar blasted the audio. The sound waves vibrated the camera speakers, before the audio cut off, and the camera footage ended.
The group just stared, silent for minutes, trying to grasp what they just witnessed. Then Akane spoke up.
"Was that a giant monster?"
The color in Ishiro's face drained away again, wide-eyed at the screen. He threw up in a trash can, shooing away a concerned Erika, telling her that he was alright, just taken aback.
"I can't believe it's still around," Ishiro said in disbelief. "After all this time, it's come back."
His face made a strange combination of being both petrified and...curious.
Emiko now grasped what her grandfather meant by "shattered conceptions in biology."
"What ever it was, it seems like that was the cause of all that death and destruction," Hideo said.
"I just checked for the video link again. It's been taken offline already. No other media site I can access has it now, or any reference to it. Luckily I saved copies of the display screens before that happened."
"Ms. Yashiro, are you absolutely certain this isn't faked footage?" Otani asked, still noticeably disturbed.
"It isn't fake. That's it..." Ishiro said, a low, solemn tone in his voice. "The silhouette."
"Can we confirm anything from this footage to be authentic or viably accurate?" Professor Oguchi asked.
"I can," Shinzo interrupted. "In the part two footage, the white ship that flipped onto land and crushed that vehicle? I worked on that white ship in the part two footage ten years ago, the research vessel Okeanos Explorer; we were performing various types of marine research and deep-sea sampling."
He turned his laptop around and showed the group two pages, each with a different set of search results. One was a search for "Trinidad Disaster," the other, "Marine Traffic Positions." The first paged showed several news articles only hours old detailing an oil disaster and explosion from an unknown oil tanker in Trinidad, California. The second showed the locations of ships off the California coastline. Shinzo focussed on the first page, downloading, saving and backing up all the available news related to Trinidad. Next he went to the second page, clicked on an online tracking system for commercial ships, zoomed in on Northern California, getting closer to the area until finally over Trinidad."
"See that?" Shinzo asked the group.
"I see it...I just..can't believe that's real," Erika said.
"There are two ships on land according to this GPS tracker. One is labelled the NOAA Okeanos Explorer just by the cliffs...the one in the footage that those two men zoomed in on; the other is called the Cygnus Voyager, a massive oil tanker in the center of the town. So yes, it seems that we can tentatively confirm that a major event that's within the confines of research for this team has happened."
"Good God," Otani remarked.
"Only a matter time before those ships are taken off the public database," Oguchi opinionated.
"We need to go there," Ishiro said. Everyone froze.
"Go...there...ha...ha ha..Ha! You're kidding, right Ishiro," Oguchi said, "to a disaster zone?"
"Yamane has many connections for immediate travel and site investigation approval. I think this AABEA agency will want a team to investigate. We're the best qualified," Ishiro responded calmly, a blank expression on his face while sipping some of the tea in his thermos.
"You realize what you're asking of me, right Ishiro?" Yamane said, walking towards Ishiro and leaning against the table. "You want me to somehow assemble a flight plan to fly across the Pacific as soon as possible to a site that's arguably under military and scientific quarantine by the US government, no telling if we can get permission to do our investigation so we can analyse what's arguably hell-on-Earth? "
"That's a pretty good summation Yamane...yes. Can you get us there?"
"It's not a question of can...it's a question of will. I can get us there, I can get approval from the US federal government with help from ours since this is also partly an American operation too, so-"
"Wait a second," Ishiro interrupted Yamane, "you didn't elaborate that fact to us. Since when has the US been involved in this operation?"
"Since the US possessed important information that helped start the investigation here on Odo, but never mind that. Are you sure you want to get us involved to this extant?"
Ishiro made a small smile, then relaxed his muscles to an expressionless face. He sipped his tea, looked at the bandages on his arm, then at the projector showing an article Shinzo just popped up with a nighttime photo of a highway clogged with a huge traffic jam, emergency responders and military personnel. Another photo on the website showed people running past a four-car accident next to a Chevron gas station. The foggy night sky was lit up by the mammoth flames and belching smoke in the far background. The minor outline of a very large ship in the middle of the town could be made out.
"I think you and I suspected, quietly and in private, that Odo would not be unique for much longer. Something's happening right now..."
Ishiro turned to the video screen and scrolled the footage to the outline of the entity. Seething with rage, he roared out, "...AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I DON'T FIND OUT WHAT IT IS AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO DESTROY IT!"
His face contorted with hate; pure hatred and anger, frightening everyone in the room.
"My...my apologies. I didn't mean to lose myself."
"Clearly," Shinzo said, "you have some history that needs unpacking. When you're ready, just let us know."
"Absolutely Ishiro," Erika joined in.
"I fully approve this idea myself," Otani said, "but Oguchi and I need to stay on Odo for further investigations."
"I'm not so certain that I'm needed here now, "Oguchi chimed in. "My missing vector forces seem pretty explainable by that unknown organism in the footage."
"Which is why you and I need to compile the report and finally resolve those model prediction errors you're having. Odo will be our first report. Trinidad will be the second."
"I see you point," Oguchi said, nodding in defeat.
Shinzo then spoke up.
"So, in regard to this small coastal town in the United States, what's the principle plan of action," Otani asked."
"Well..."
"Well what Yamane," Ishiro asked.
"I do have the seaplane loaned out for another day. On the way over we can write up our proposed investigation and methodology; get the ball rolling on the report writing, if you will."
"That Albatross seaplane you've got can't go very fast though," Hideo said. "It's best speed is probably two-hundred kilometres per hour. Not counting the time and sparse touch-downs to fuel up, we could be losing precious investigative time just travelling."
"That's right grandfather. We'd need a plane much faster, something on the order of nine-hundred kilometres per hour," Emiko added.
"Good thing I have a wealthy friend who's living in Saipan right now. He owns a Bombardier business jet, and just happens to owe me a favour."
"That's settled then," Ishiro said triumphantly. "We all need to pack up and get ready to leave as soon as possible."
"Hold on Professor Sato. Remember that I am technically still in charge of this operation,"Otani said, rising out of his seat and heading towards an equipment container.
"I"ll agree to this, but in return you need to tell to us in as much detail as possible about what happened here when you were a boy. You're both an advisor and key witness now. We can spare thirty minutes before your team departs," Otani said, pulling out a video camera and voice recorder, setting it on a tripod next to him. Oguchi began ushering everyone else except Yamane out of the room.
"Let them stay Professor Otani," Ishiro said forcefully. "They're members; they have a right to hear this too. That's my condition."
"Alright then. Sorry. Just thought you wanted some privacy with this," Otani responded sheepishly. "You're permitted to stay everyone. This is going to be taped and recorded, so please do not interrupt. You're welcome to perform research on those monitors while this recording happens."
Yamane walked up and wished him luck. All took their seats, Emiko and her grandfather at one terminal, Hideo on her left, Erika and Akane to their right. Akane got back up and grabbed Ishiro's thermos and brought it to him.
"Thank you Aka-."
Akane gave him a gentle hug. "Please don't stress yourself, okay Professor Sato? Or I'll call your wife. Speaking of which, she needs to be informed of this new development."
"I'll call her when this is over. She'll be very understanding...after the first few minutes of chewing me out," he chuckled. Akane went back to her spot.
Otani turned a few of the brightest lights off and turned on a gentler yellowish light, to get less luminous glare in the interview tape.
"Shall I start?"
"Yes please. First please give me an overview of what you'll discuss, then an elaboration on your experiences," Otani said encouragingly.
Ishiro looked into the video camera and began.
"Thank you. Now, I must submit on record that these events took place over sixty years ago, so the details may pop up sporadically; my memory is not as it use to be. I will try and recount my observations, experiences and the unusual horrors that caused the deaths of almost every villager here on Odo Island. Most importantly, I will talk about what caused this calamity, an enormous, unknown organism that I've invested my professional career secretly trying to comprehend and understand. I refer to it as... the was Friday, August 20th, 1954, a cloudy and foggy morning on Odo Island..."
