Chapter 12- The Predator
Hey there guys, gals, and non-binary pals! This is Tardispilot297 here bringing you another long awaited and thrilling chapter of Godzilla: New Dawn! I hope everyone had a fantastic summer. It was certainly pleasant for me. Now for this time around we're going to be diving into a truly heart pounding and terrifying chapter! The concept was originally suggested a while back by long time reader HEROS Central, who as many of you know was the brilliant mind that helped to shape chapter 8. And now after much work and fine tuning I present it to you all for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
The moon shines bright in the night sky. Down below a solitary predator stalks the deep forest. A large sabertooth tiger-like creature around half the size of a minivan trudges its paws across the ground as it lowers its head to sniff along the grass. In its search for prey it picks the scent of something closeby. The tiger lifts up its head and looks in the direction that the scent is coming from. Utilizing its natural night vision, the tiger spots something lurking in the darkness.
The tiger emits a threatening snarl, baring its teeth at the unknown shadowy creature. The tiger lowers its body in a threatening manner as the creature seems undeterred by its attempts to intimidate it. The tiger growls once more before being suddenly charged and pounced on by the mysterious creature. Its roars cut short and replaced by a loud high pitched and raspy cry like the pained squeal of a dying rabbit.
The very next morning the sun rises over the hills nearby as The Group walk along the mountain path. Having fully recovered from their battle inside the beast's cave, Goji and the others continue heading north in hopes of finding remnants of the organization known as Monarch and saving the planet from a dark fate. As well as reunite Jaime with her lost mother. They continue walking down the other side of the mountain until they reach the entrance of the forest just below them. As they enter the forest, Goji starts to pick up on a subtle scent hanging in the air. The smell of something foul and rotting. And most importantly, the smell of blood. Goji holds up his hand in a closed fist to signal the others that something was up ahead of them.
The Group stops walking and raises their defenses with everyone slowly forming a protective circle around Jaime. Goji looks over at Rodney and silently gestures with his hand to follow him a little ways forward. Rodney nods his head and takes out a small pistol while Goji grabs hold of his broadsword. The two of them quietly and carefully move a few feet ahead while the rest of the group stays where they are. The pair make it a few steps until they both start to hear quiet buzzing and spot the edge of a large stain of blood just around the next tree.
Rodney and Goji glance at each other as they both ready their weapons before continuing forward. They walk a few steps around the tree when their eyes widen at what lays before them. Strewn across the bloodied grass lay the remains of a large sabertooth tiger-like beast. Its innards spread out along the ground. Its lower jaw ripped off and tossed a foot away from the head. Its body mangled and ripped open exposing its ribcage to the open air. Its limbs bent and broken like fragile twigs. Its eye laying on the ground in a small stain of blood. A swarm of flies gathering around the area and feasting on the rotting flesh. Rodney covers his face with one hand while Goji walks closer to kneel down next to the remains. Back behind them Jaime calls out to Goji.
Jaime: Hey Goji, what'd you find?
Goji quickly turns in the direction of her voice and shouts clearly back at her.
Goji: Don't come over here!
Jaime, sensing the seriousness in his voice, remains with the rest of the group. Her body moving subconsciously slow towards Maya as her hand takes a hold of hers. Maya glances down at her hand and gently squeezes Jaime's hand in an attempt to try and comfort her.
Goji turns back to the remains and starts examining them closely. Rodney walks over to him still covering his face in an effort to shield himself from the odorous smell.
Rodney: (slightly muffled voice) What do you think it was?
Goji presses two fingers slightly into the torn flesh and brings them up towards his face to examine them. His thumb brushes against the stained fingers of his glove.
Goji: Never seen anything like this before.
Rodney watches this in disgust.
Rodney: Geez, don't let that stop you from smearing it all over yourself.
Goji turns to Rodney and stands up to face him. He rubs his stained hand on Rodney's vest. Rodney groans in further disgust as he tries to wipe the blood stains off of himself.
Rodney: God! Dammit Goji! Ugh, it stinks!
Goji turns to look in a different direction of the woods. Another small swarm of flies buzzing just a few feet away from them.
Goji: Whatever it was, it's got a twisted sense of hunting.
Rodney looks over in the same direction where he just nearly spots a small blood trail leading to more discarded remains of the same creature in front of them. Almost like just before killing the tiger, the predator let it get a few feet away from it as if to toy with the poor animal and prolong its suffering.
Rodney: Damn. Talk about "nasty".
Goji glances further along the treeline for any other signs of the predator that butchered the tiger. When he finds none he turns back around and starts walking back the way they came.
Goji: Come on. Best not hang around waiting for that thing to come back.
Rodney: Yeah. Good point.
The pair walk away from the corpse and head back to the rest of the group. Maya looks over at Goji as he walks over.
Maya: What did you find?
Goji: It doesn't matter. Let's just keep moving.
Maya nods her head and looks back down at Jaime. Their hands still intertwined. Maya gives her a gentle smile.
Maya: Come on Jaime. Let's see if we can spot any unique wild flowers in this forest.
Jaime's expression perks up a bit thanks to Maya's suggestion to help distract her from what just happened. Unaware of the horrific scene just a few feet from where she's standing. The group continues walking through the forest with Jaime and Maya playing a small game of finding different types of flowers as they go. Hours pass and the sun eventually starts to set causing the sky above to darken in a mixed shade of red and orange.
Night falls over the forest as a creature begins to stir inside a massive burrow dug into the ground. It climbs out partially sticking its head out to look around the foggy area of the forest. It then immediately bursts out of the burrow running at incredible speeds in one direction before stopping and turning around to start running in a different direction. Only one single thought runs through its mind… KILL! KILL! KILL! The predator stops just a few feet away from a small herd of large buffalo-like creatures walking through the forest. Atop their heads incredibly large horns that have forked into at least three branches grow. Patches of algae covering much of their bodies. Their backs possess a large amount of foliage, most likely as a form of camouflage.
The predator begins to stalk the herd from within the shadows and fog as they walk through a shallow stream. One of the buffalo in the rear stops and leans down to take a drink from the stream. Its long tongue scoops up the water into its mouth until it pauses and catches the scent of something nearby. It lifts its head towards the direction of the predator and plants its feet firmly into the ground to take on an aggressive stance. However as soon as its gaze meets that of the predator's, its eyes grow wide in fear and it turns its head in an attempt to run away as the predator charges at it through the fog. The buffalo's cries echo into the night followed by the high pitched roar of the predator.
A long way away the group sits around the campfire when they start to hear the cries carry on the wind. The sounds cause each of them to tense up and look in all directions.
Angelo: Oh my God!
CeCe's ears stand straight up to listen more clearly.
CeCe: A ghost must be out walking in the woods.
CeCe's comment causes Jaime and Angelo to start shaking slightly in fear and dread. Angelo closes his eyes tightly and brings his hands together in desperate prayer.
Angelo: I promise I'll glance at no more dirty books. I promise I won't say any more bad swears. I promise I'll eat all my lima beans!
Angelo feels a sharp prod on his shoulder causing him to jump with a loud "Ah!" He turns around and sees CeCe smirking at him with her hand balled up into a fist.
CeCe: Two for flinching.
CeCe punches Angelo's arm as Jaime stands up and moves close to Goji.
Jaime: What is it, Goji?
Goji: I don't know.
Rodney: Maybe it's bears.
Jaime: It sounds like a woman screaming.
CeCe: It's not bears. It's a ghost.
Angelo: Oh, Don't say that.
CeCe stands up and starts to walk away from the campfire.
Rodney: Hey CeCe, where're you going?
CeCe: I'm gonna look for it. I wanna see the ghost!
Angelo: Don't say that!
CeCe walks a few more feet away from the camp.
Goji: CeCe, get back here!
CeCe: I just wanna see it! I just wanna see what it looks like...
CeCe takes one more step when suddenly the cries grow louder and louder causing her to jump and fall backwards before speed crawling across the ground back to the campfire.
CeCe: Jesus H Christ!
She makes it back and immediately grabs her pipe hammer ready to start swinging. Goji grabs his broadsword and holds his arm out to guard Jaime. Rodney pulls out his pistol while Maya readies her bow. The loud cries continue to sound seemingly all around them putting the group further on edge. Eyes darting in all directions. Until finally as quickly as it came cries go silent leaving an eerie atmosphere over the forest.
Angelo: Maybe we should stand guard.
Everyone starts to relax a little in response to his suggestion.
Goji: Yeah, that's a good idea.
Maya: Agreed.
Jaime: No complaints here.
Rodney nods his head in silent agreement while CeCe holds her hand out to him.
CeCe: Gimme the gun. I'll take the first watch.
Rodney turns to her and hands her the pistol without saying a word. Needless to say, no one among the group slept well that night.
Finally dawn creeps into the sky casting away the shadows and fog. The group is now resting by a small river with Goji and Rodney using some makeshift spears to catch fish to eat. Despite lack of sufficient sleep from last night, everyone's mood remains calm and relaxed. The events of last night feeling like no more than a bad dream. That is until the sound of rustling bushes nearby causes everyone to jump and grab their weapons. Jaime gets behind Angelo as Maya and CeCe ready their respective weapons with Goji and Rodney relying on the spears in their hands.
All eyes turn to the large log laying on the other side of the river. An eerie silence falls over the group. Foreheads beading with nervous sweat. Grips tightening onto weapons. Eyes staring at the log unable to blink. Moments feel like seconds. Seconds feel like minutes. Minutes feel like hours. Until finally jumping out of the bushes and onto the log is….. A small lizard chasing after a flying bug. The sight causes everyone to involuntarily jump and then relax a little. Jaime walks out from behind Angelo and picks up a small rock from the ground and throws it at the lizard.
Jaime: Fuck you, asshole!
The lizard lets out a small shriek and runs off the log back into the bushes. Goji relaxes his shoulders and turns to look at everyone else. Each of their faces showing signs of annoyance mixed with fear, fatigue, and relief. Goji then catches the sound of crows nearby. He looks up at the nearby trees and walks over to one of them. Maya turns to him with curiosity.
Maya: What are you doing?
Goji: I'm gonna climb up top to see how much farther we need to go before we're out of these woods.
Goji grabs hold of the tree trunk in front of him and starts to climb up the tree. By the time he makes it to the top he's already high enough to get a vast look at the forest around them. The view is almost breathtaking in terms of beauty and vastness. However what really catches his eye is the large murder of crows circling and swarming a few yards away from where they are. Even from such a great distance Goji can just make out the large gathering of torn up animal carcasses staining the forest floor with excessive amounts of blood and organs. No doubt the aftermath of last night's nightmare.
Goji continues to stare for a brief moment before turning his gaze away and lowering his head. Almost like he's offering silent condolences for the dead. Afterwards he sets his sights along the horizon scanning the very edges of the forest. As he does this he can't help but keep a close eye along the tree line for any signs of quick movement heading in their direction. All the while his instincts are constantly screaming that he and the others need to leave this forest as fast as they can. Goji finishes getting his bearings and climbs back down to rejoin the others. He says not a single word to them about the crows or the mass grave nearby.
After a few hours of walking a swift and heavy windstorm blows through the trees and pushes against the group. The loud howling is almost deafening to everyone's ears and the force so great they can hardly open their eyes to be able to see a foot in front of them. Even so the group slowly continues walking while Goji takes a few brief glances to look for temporary shelter from the storm. He raises his arm to brace himself against the wind as he takes a long look around him. Through the stream of leaves and twigs he spots a large boulder with one side completely shielded from the wind. Goji tries to call out but his voice is nearly drowned out by the louder torrents of wind.
He reaches out and grabs Rodney by the shoulder to get his attention. Rodney turns and sees Goji pointing towards the large boulder just a few feet away from them. Rodney nods his head and the two of them split off and reach out for the others one after the other to guide them to the boulder. The group trudges over to it and sit themselves down on the side facing away from the wind. Each member panting and sweating after their difficult excursion. It was no secret that the weather up in the north was much stronger than any other region, but actually feeling the full force of it first hand made it seem almost impossible for any living creature to survive for very long.
A thought that is shared by everyone until they suddenly hear a loud screech almost similar to the sounds they heard last night. They each stand up wide eyed and clinging to the side of the rock with the screech still sounding close by. Rodney slowly moves to peek out from behind the boulder to see just what kind of creature is making it. For the most part all he can see is tree branches swaying against the wind. He squints his eyes in the direction the sound is coming from, raising his hand to help him see through the wind. He manages to spot a set of branches scraping themselves against another rock. The resulting motion being the cause of the slight screeching sound to be heard. Rodney relaxes and lets the others know what he found, helping everyone relax a bit themselves as they wait out the remainder of the storm.
Night falls once again as Goji watches closely at a fly being devoured by a praying mantis. It's scissor-like mandibles slicing up the flesh for it to consume and devour. While it was is turn to take watch over the camp the others all have their eyes wide open as they keep looking at the trees around them. Every so often the shriek from the other night echoes through the darkened woods. And every so often Goji is prompted to put more wood on the fire to keep it burning bright. After about an hour silence falls with only the subtle sounds of crickets and the crackling of the fire filling their ears. For the longest time everyone had fought to stay awake out of fear of closing their eyes. However eventually their bodies' need for sleep won out with each member of the group having closed their eyes shut. Including Goji who remains still in a sitting position with his arms crossed over his knees.
The fire dwindles down to a meager flame before eventually being blown out by the quiet breeze. Darkness falls over the campsite as the group continues to slumber blissfully unaware of the shadows creeping in all around them. Soon even the crickets fall silent as the night grows darker and darker. The only sound left is the quiet breathing of each member of the group. Until suddenly the silence is broken by a much louder shriek causing everyone's eyes to snap open and quickly stand up with their weapons drawn. They take up a defensive circle around the camp and stare out into the blackness of the forest. Sweat drips down their faces with their eyes practically going bloodshot as neither one of them refuse to so much as even blink for the most briefest of seconds.
CeCe's ears stand up straighter than they've ever gone before but the only sounds she is able to pick up is the pounding of their hearts in their chests and their breath speeding up inside their lungs. Until at long last another shriek utters through the trees from one single direction. All eyes turn towards the source in shock. Then suddenly a loud creaking sound like trees being torn down echo forth and slowly grow louder and louder with each passing second. Whatever was coming was big, fast, and clearly coming straight for them. Goji and a few of the others take a few steps back in sleight fear as the noises continue to grow louder. Until all at once everything falls back into complete silence once again. Instead of feelings of relief however, the group instead feels intense feelings of dread. Goji's instincts are now screaming out only one word…. RUN!
Goji immediately takes off running with the others quickly following behind him as they run through the dark forest. Not a single one of them tries to look back behind them to see whether or not something is actually chasing them. They enter a thick fog bank as they continue running without even the slightest hint at slowing down or stopping. They find themselves running down hill until their bodies start to give out from all their running. At the bottom of the hill, as the fog begins to slightly lift, the group stops and starts panting heavily trying to catch their breath.
Jaime: (panting) Did… we… lose it?
Rodney: (panting) I… sure as… hell… hope so.
Angelo: (panting) Just… what… the fuck… was that… thing!?
Another loud cry sounds in the wind. Everyone's heads immediately turn back behind them.
Maya: I think we're about to find out.
The fog changes from thickening to thinning and vice versa as they all choose to stand their ground. All the while a large creature speeds through the woods at incredible speeds. Everyone slowly moves back to back keeping their heads on a swivel, unsure of where the first strike will come from. The creature speeds closer and closer as the fog grows thicker and thicker all around them. Each one of them breathes heavily as they wait for the predator to finally appear. When suddenly something large comes charging at them from out of the fog emitting a loud shrill cry. With only a split second to respond the group jumps out of the way and splits up with a massive tree being smashed apart in their place.
Each person lands and skids across the ground to turn back to the tree as it breaks apart and falls down hitting the ground with a loud crash. The fog combined with the cloud of dirt keeps them from spotting the predator as it swings back around to try again. It hones in on Maya in particular and charges straight for her. Maya bolts into a run and swiftly moves to avoid the predator's massive jaws and jagged teeth. Maya opens her wings and uses them to rapidly leap from one tree to the next in hopes of slowing the predator down. Instead it proceeds to smash its way through each one seemingly stopping or slowing down.
As the chase continues, Goji and the others run to try and keep up with Angelo picking up a large piece of wood from one of the broken trees and folding himself into a ball to start rolling and high speeds after the predator. He manages to get alongside it and leaps out of the ball to stab the wood into the predator's side. The wood penetrates causing a black ooze to gush out all over Angelo before he gets tossed off and falls onto the ground. The others gather around him to see if he's okay.
Rodney: Ang, you alright!?
Angelo stands up waving his arms in an attempt to remove the black ooze covering most of his upper body.
Angelo: Ugh! Gross! What is this stuff?
The predator emits a much louder shriek causing everyone to cover their ears and cry out in pain. The shriek continues seemingly without end as the group each falls to their knees with tears streaming from their eyes and small trickles of blood coming from their ears. Finally the shriek ends allowing the cries of the others to carry through the fog. Unfortunately the reprieve is brief as the predator emits another loud shriek as it moves in for the kill.
Jaime spots the large silhouette of the predator charging straight at them. She moves one of her hands along the ground for a weapon and manages to grab CeCe's pipe hammer. She then stands up in front of the group swinging the pipe wildly and shouting at the top of her lungs. The predator moves in closer with its teeth just mere inches away from Jaime when the end of the hammer strikes at a stone sticking out of the ground at her feet. The strike causes a small spark to flash which forces the predator to hastily retreat back to the fog with a cry of fear before becoming silent.
Jaime and the others all gasp in surprise. Jaime looks down at the stone at her feet as the predator charges at her again with a loud cry. Jaime looks back up and swings the hammer striking the stone again. This time sparks fly and create a small fire in front of Jaime. The sight of which causes the predator to utter another cry of fear and speed away back further into the fog and across the forest away from her and the others. Jaime stands there panting as the others start to stand back up and walk over to her.
Maya: Are you alright?
Jaime: Yeah, I think so.
All eyes turn towards the direction that the predator ran off to.
Rodney: How the hell did you do that?
Jaime: I don't know. The first strike made it back off, so I just did it again.
Angelo: So what? The thing hates sound?
Goji: I don't think so.
Everyone turns to look at Goji as he crouches down holding a small branch over the fire Jaime made. The branch burns as he brings it up to his face for him to take a closer look at the flames. His heart rate slows as he manages to gather his thoughts. He then remembers how the predator didn't attack them until the fire went out. He turns to Angelo and stands back up to scrape off some of the black ooze on his body. He then sprinkles some of it over the flame which suddenly ignites without warning. The others stare at what they just witnessed and suddenly one shared thought goes through each of their minds. The dawn breaks and the group gets straight to work preparing for the fight ahead.
Since arriving in this forest, they had felt nothing but unease. On the first night, that unease evolved into fear, and dread. The second night, the predator had come for them and they barely survived. But on the third night, this time it will be the predator that will experience fear. This time, it will be the prey.
The sun sets over the treetops. The sky once again turns red and black. The predator awakens from its slumber and utters a loud cry as it runs through the forest. It begins searching for its next prey, saliva flooding from its maw. It makes it a few miles into the woods when suddenly something runs past it clashing against rock and causing sparks to fly up. The predator shrieks and swiftly runs off in a different direction.
It continues running until another flash followed by sparks forces it to run in another direction. This pattern occurs several dozen times until parts of the forest begin to erupt into columns of flame all around it. Suddenly something glides overhead wielding a spear with its tip aflame and circles around igniting the ground and trapping the predator in a massive ring of fire. With the flames burning brightly, the predator's form is at last in full view.
A large serpentine creature with only two long forelimbs and no hind limbs. Several aspects of its appearance are noticeably skeletal, particularly their back and their head. Its head closely resembles that of a mosasaurus skull, particularly a Tylosaurus. Additionally, the predator has four digits in total on each hand, with the thumb being the smallest digit and the rest of the digits being larger and of the same size. The head of the predator is predominantly gray and white in coloration, with the creature's eyes being situated behind two round eye socket-like depressions on the sides of its head.
The predator stands between 12 to 20 feet tall, and possesses distinct spikes on its elbows and a more pronounced, sand-colored transparent ridge running down its spine, along with a wide, flat, crest-like structure on its scalp and possesses a thorny tail.
The predator roars as it turns its head back and forth in fear desperately searching for a way to escape. Its search is cut short when a flaming arrow flies through the air over the ring of fire and imbedded itself into the predator's skin quickly igniting it on fire. In a matter of seconds the predator is engulfed in flames as it flails its body all over and crying out in pain. Until finally it collapses on the ground and is slowly reduced to a flaming skeleton.
Maya lowers her bow as she and the others watch as the flames continue to engulf the predator's body as well as the forest around them. After a few brief moments they turn and walk away from the flames as the smoke forms a massive pillar in the sky. On the very edge just outside the forest the sun begins to slowly rise over the horizon. Its light shines across the land until it falls on the group huddled together laying on the ground. Their breathing calm and their expressions relaxed. For the first time in the last few days, the group sleeps soundly and without fear.
Man, that was certainly intense. Well I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. You certainly waited for it long enough. Lol. And I know this is probably the shortest chapter in this story but that to me just makes it all the more special. Speaking of special, be sure to be on the lookout for the next chapter in the Mega-Man: Robotic Hero series coming soon. A brand new spin-off story starring the red Maverick Hunter himself.
List of KKs
Goji: Godzilla
Jaime: ?/Oxygen Destroyer Hybrid
Maya: Mothra
Rodney: Rodan
Angelo: Anguirus
CeCe: King Caesar
Predator: Skullcrawler
Buffalo: Sker Buffalo
And now, replies to reviews!
HEROS Central: I don't know if it's THAT epic, but you're welcome all the same.
So until next time, this is Tardispilot297 saying… ALLONSY!