Five
…
Amara was left alone with Godzilla while Whyley went to get Ren.
Godzilla leaned down bringing his nose close to her.
Before, I felt you calling out to me, asking for my power.
I needed Kong's attention. It was the only thing we could think of.
Without my power, it is hard to reach you, but if another threat should cross your path and that...human cannot protect you, you must call upon it again.
Does it work on people?
Your species have proven time and time again that they have grown aloof to basic intuition and instinct.
You can't stand there and disrespect me like that. We still have both, just not to the greatest extent.
He bowed his head closer. At least you have me.
It is an advantage. She placed her palms and cheek against the scales of his nose.
Movement in the bushes drew her attention away. Godzilla rose back up and stepped back, his body submerging into deeper waters.
Ren came out of the trees first. Whyley followed, rifle in hand. They headed towards the birds. All the while Ren's eyes never left Godzilla.
An overwhelming urge overcame her.
Don't you dare roar. You'll scare the birds.
He has ill intentions.
Whyley and I will keep an eye on him, don't worry. Plus, he's hardly a threat.
Do not underestimate your enemies. Even the weakest ones will attack when they are cornered.
She joined Whyley, getting into the saddle in front of him. I'll see you soon.
He inclined his head. Heed my words, Amara. I await your call.
When she looked away from Godzilla, Ren's cold gaze was on her.
"Ren, you're leading," Whyley said. "Don't even think about trying anything."
"What, going to shoot me? I'm sure that's going to go over well with the others. You'd have to explain the entire situation and I don't think Amara here would want that."
"Go," Whyley commanded.
Ren sneered and kicked his bird into action. They followed him out of the clearing and away from Godzilla.
And though he was out of sight, his growl persisted around them like a looming threat.
…
The raptor-like birds seemed to run even faster after their meal. It hardly felt like an hour by the time they began to climb up to the transfer zone. Reaching the peak, they effortlessly spread their wings, jumping up and catching the gravity inversion like an air current. Her stomach flipped as the birds did, and a moment later, they landed on the mantle side.
Instead of taking the spiraling path back down the steep mountain, they jumped again, gliding down the entire way. Wind whipped her hair in her face as she held on to the saddle. It was like a drop on a rollercoaster.
The temple was visible below them, surrounded by a sea of trees. Beyond that was the newly formed crater that interrupted the river they had followed to get to the transfer zone.
As the ground leveled, so too did the birds, until finally they could glide no longer and landed back into a run.
It wasn't until they reached the crater that they stopped to eat.
Whyley was uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, looking out at the vast crater that was slowly forming into a lake as water from the river poured into it.
Back on the birds, they crossed the crater and jumped over the ridge. Like the other side, the forest was reduced to black ash. As they traveled, remains became more distinguishable as burnt logs, then blown back trees snapped at the base…
And then the campsite came into view.
Or rather what remained of it.
None of them spoke.
What remained of the tents was blown up against the cliffside buried in dust, rock, and tree limbs.
But that wasn't the issue.
While one of the HEAVs was where they landed it, looking fine other than rubble pushed up against it, the other was blown back to the river, water lapping onto its hull. But that was of little concern compared to the tree trunk that protruded from the windshield.
Whyley swore as he dismounted.
Amara followed suit.
While Whyley looked around the campsite with his hands behind his head, Ren ran over to the damaged HEAV.
Though tempted to follow Ren to assess the damage, she stayed with Whyley.
One HEAV meant one thing. Not all of them were going home.
"We should go look, it might be fine," she said to Whyley.
"It's got a tree sticking out of it." He shook his head looking from the HEAV to the campsite. "There's nothing left."
"I'm sure we can find some supplies."
"Where? Look around, everything's buried!"
Before she could suggest that they look, Ren called out.
"Help me open the door!"
Whyley closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"You go. I'll see if I can find any supplies."
She left him and Ren to get the door open to the HEAV and began climbing over rubble to get to the tents.
Though he tried to hide it, the Hollow Earth was definitely getting to Whyley. While the lack of sky was becoming more and more familiar by the day to her, it was having the opposite effect on him.
It didn't help that he had hardly slept since they left the temple.
Beyond the Hollow Earth itself, there was Hollow Godzilla, Hell Hawks, Nathan's infection, Kong, and now Ren to worry about. And it was his job to worry about all of it. He was here to protect and guide all of them.
Metal groaned as she bent over to pick up a heavy duffle bag under some rocks.
Ren and Whyley got the door open and disappeared inside.
She opened the bag. Inside were bags of dehydrated food, canned goods, and protein bars. Without waiting, she tore open the wrapper of one of them and took a bite. Few things had ever tasted better.
None of them ever brought it up, but if they didn't have the birds, they probably would have run out of food and starved before reaching the campsite.
Whyley exited the HEAV, boots slashing the water. She held up a protein bar to coax him over. Sure enough, his eyes lit up at the sight of it.
"You found the food!" He sat on a fallen tree across from her and began to eat.
"Is the HEAV okay?"
Whyley shook his head not meeting her eyes. "Between water damage and the tree lodged in the control panel, it's not going anywhere." He took another bite, chewing in contemplation. "Ren did finally have something to contribute. He's going to remove one of the seats."
"Just one?"
"Only room for one more in the other HEAV, the second pilot's seat."
"And install it in the other HEAV? Do we have the tools for that?"
"He says he can make it work on the condition that he gets the seat."
"Didn't want to offer it to me or you? Weird…"
Whyley almost laughed. "Never would have expected it, I know."
"So five of us are getting out of here," she said after a moment of silence.
"Maybe Jia can share a seat with me or Ilene."
"You know that won't work. There's no proper head support. Her weight would break ribs under the g-forces."
"I'd rather risk injury than leave someone here." He gave her a long look. He didn't have to say it. They both knew who the others would suggest leaving behind.
"Whyley, crushing ribs usually leads to death. You know it's not an option."
He grimaced, looking away. "I'm not going to leave you here."
"Well I'm not going to let you volunteer. I'll get out of here with Goji once he's got his power back."
"Which would mean defeating Hollow Godzilla. And that's not even accounting for how Godzilla would actually get you back."
"Goji isn't going to let me leave until we deal with Hollow Godzilla anyway. We started this, we have to end it."
Whyley rubbed his temples. "I get that, Amara, but we have to be realistic about the situation. Do you think that one crystal is going to fully recharge him? And then he'll have to leave some so Kong can use it as a weapon. So now the fight is a Godzilla with all the radiation in the entire Hollow Earth versus Big G with barely above baseline radiation and Kong with a pickaxe."
"Godzilla and I have overcome the odds before, and we'll do it again."
"Will he even be able to use his atomic breath? Would his atomic breath even affect Hollow Godzilla?"
"We'll figure it out, when the time comes, Whyley." She reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"When the time comes?" He took her hand from his shoulder and held it between them. "Amara, we're leaving with the HEAV as soon as Ren gets that seat out. We'll be back at the temple in a few hours. Then we need to get Nathan out of here. If we're going to fight Hollow Godzilla, we need to figure it out now."
"Hey bodyguard, give me a hand with the seat!"
"Speak of the devil." Whyley gave a half-hearted nod to Ren before turning back to her. "We have days Amara, not weeks." He let go of her hand and got up.
He was right. It was like time was slipping by. The trip back to the base would only take an hour if that, then she'd have to call Godzilla.
And what about the Iwi, would they just let Godzilla walk in? It's not like there was anything to do to stop him, so maybe that part wasn't important. Godzilla would get to the crystal. Jia would call Kong so he could come get it as soon as Godzilla finished absorbing the radiation. And then what? Lead Hollow Godzilla away? But what if Hollow Godzilla got there too quickly after Kong and destroyed the temple? Surely the Iwi would leave if Goji came, so that wouldn't be a problem.
Right?
And then there was the fight itself. Kong had the right idea if stopping Hollow Godzilla's atomic breath had been intentional at the canyon. Though it had to be, the footage from Hong Kong showed him doing the same thing to Goji.
So Kong had a strategy. Aim at the head.
But what could Godzilla do?
Whyley was probably right as much as she didn't want to admit it. Goji likely wouldn't have enough strength to use his atomic breath, and if he did, would it affect Hollow Godzilla? It would be no different than trying to bomb Goji, it would hurt for a moment, but in the end make him stronger.
Wait. Was that it?
If the rolls were reversed, and Hollow Godzilla used it against Goji, then it would charge him.
Unless Hollow Godzilla just reabsorbed it again…
Jet engines roared to life. Whyley was headed back toward her.
"We have the seat loaded. Ren figures the HEAV will get us back to the temple, but it needs some repairs before it's ready for the trip back to the surface."
She got up as Whyley grabbed the duffle bag full of food.
"You didn't find anything else, did you?"
"No, it's all buried. Let's just get back."
Whyley pointed at something behind her. "We still have one more thing to do before we go."
The birds were still there. One was preening its feathers while the other was drinking from the river.
She approached them with Whyley at her side. They untied the saddle from the bird's legs and the halters from their necks. She and Whyley stroked the soft feathers of their necks for the last time and headed for the HEAV.
"Just keep me between you and Ren in there, okay?"
"You really don't think I can take him?"
"I'd rather not let the situation happen in the first place."
"I'm sure after one little punch in the face he'd never go near us again."
"You know, I thought your patience and understanding were rubbing off on Godzilla, but I think maybe his fighting tendencies are rubbing off on you."
She shrugged. "It is a two way street."
They entered the HEAV and as Whyley asked, she took the seat furthest from Ren While Whyley sat between them. Since the confrontation at the lake, he strapped his rifle across his chest instead of his back.
At least there was a positive if she was left behind. Ren would be out of the picture.
…
What took them days to walk, the HEAV took minutes. It was infuriating really, how much time and effort they would have saved if they didn't have to preserve so much fuel, or electricity, or whatever magical fairy dust these things ran on.
It felt like less than ten minutes before the temple came into view. The field of lichen that filled the crater around it was duller than ever, its glow brightest around the temple, slowing fading outward.
Ilene and Jia ran out of the stone door as they landed, the look of relief was clear as day despite the distance.
"You guys made it!" Ilene exclaimed, taking the time to give each of them a hug.
Jia practically jumped on Whyley who hastily moved his rifle out of the way before she came and gave Amara one too.
"How's Nathan?" Whyley asked.
"He's not great but not getting too much worse either. I've been boiling the water before letting him drink it and I think it's helping to delay the spread of the infection. How soon can we leave? I can see if he's up to getting the other HEAV now."
"About that Ilene, we have to talk," Whyley said.
"The other HEAV is too damaged to fly," Ren cut in.
Ilene looked between them as if waiting for one to say they were just joking.
"What does that mean?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
Jia was watching them closely now.
"Ren took a seat from the other HEAV, so we have five in total."
Ilene swallowed before slowly nodding. "That's fine… We'll just have to come back and get someone."
While Ilene convinced herself that it would be fine to leave someone behind, Ren sent Amara a sideways glance, a ghostly smirk on his lips.
It was for his own good that Whyley stood between them.
"What about this HEAV? Was it damaged at all?"
"I have to install the seat," Ren said, looking back at Ilene. "Then I have to run full diagnostics and inspection to assess the total damage. Then repairs. Hopefully minor."
"But what caused the damage? Did a Titan tear through the camp?"
"Hollow Godzilla's atomic breath," Whyley said. "It missed the camp by miles, but it was hit by the shock wave."
"We did find our rations," Amara supplied, gesturing to the bag resting against her hip."
Noticing the bag, Jia came up and unzipped it, grabbing out a couple of granola bars. She ran back into the temple through a crowd of onlooking Iwi.
Ilene turned back from watching Jia. "How long will it be before the HEAV is ready to go?"
"A couple of days if everything goes well," Ren replied.
Ilene let out her breath and nodded again. "I think Nathan can wait a few more days."
They went back to the temple after Ilene offered to let Ren rest before starting on the HEAV. The Iwi stepped aside to let them through and went back to their beds. Most were already sleeping which meant she could finally sleep too.
"I'll let you guys rest. We'll talk more in the morning." Ilene parted with them. She and Jia had moved their sleeping bags by Nathan and the crystal.
Amara stopped as Ren took the spot near the old campfire. With one look, she and Whyley turned to join Nathan, Ilene, and Jia.
They set up their sleeping bags a bit further away from them to provide some sense of privacy. Ilene was whispering and signing quietly to the two, likely telling them what she'd just learned.
As Amara lay down, Whyley once again pulled out his sketchbook and sat on his sleeping bag.
"When touch crystal?" she read when he passed it to her.
"When everyone is sleeping," She wrote.
He looked at it and nodded before writing, "I'll wake you."
She put the sketchbook down. "You need to sleep too," she whispered.
Whyley pursed his lips and went for the book but she put her hand over it.
"I'm not tired," he whispered back.
"I can see the circles under your eyes. He's not going to try anything."
"Neither of us know that."
"Then I'm not going to sleep either." She went to get up.
Whyley practically shoved her back down. "Don't be stupid 'Mara, you need your strength for whatever's going to happen. I told your Uncle Gary I would keep you safe, and I will."
She really must have been tired because she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "Don't worry so much about Uncle Gary, he knows you're doing your best."
Whyley rolled his eyes. "We'll take turns then. I'll set a timer and wake you up in a couple of hours."
"You promise?"
"Yeah."
She held out her pinky.
Whyley squeezed her hand instead.
…
Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think! If it wasn't for the stats page that works once in a blue moon, I'd think this story is almost dead here! (thank you to those that do leave reviews!)
I'll just have to spur you guys on and say controversial stuff like thank god Adam isn't directing the squeal! And that I'm very optimistic about the new director! :D