Ellen, Shaw, Christopher and Jeremy don't hear the pop. Instead they see Lloyd Behm explode, his skin tearing then disintegrating in a vaporous cloud. The Kaiju happily begins chewing on the flaps of skin and other remains and it seems to be purring contentedly.
"Now!"
The order spurs the men, who get to their feet wobbly and run. Following Ellen Scott who is doing everything in her power to push away the image of the exploding man. Move your ass, she repeats to herself over and over.
Each man catches up to her and they all run in silence letting Jeremy lead the way while they all try to forget the sight. But each knows deep in their heart of hearts that it will never happen.
#
"Ah excellent!" Gideon Pryke exclaims happily as the wait-staff finish serving the delicious food. "Chef has really outdone himself. Really he has."
Before Pryke, Teresa Hernandez and the five investors is a plethora of culinary delights; fresh sushi, smoked salmon, a variety of chicken dishes, dim-sums, spring rolls and what could only be described as duck burgers. Being served along with the smorgasbord of food is a bevy of the finest alcoholic beverages; whisky, tequila, rum, wine (both red and white) and beers.
Pryke looks at the guests who are all staring at the food with a mixed look of hunger and disgust. "That's always the reaction first time at the arena," he says with a wave of his hand as she sits. "You'll get over it quickly. Think of it like watching Discovery Channel." He sniffs the food then smiles eagerly, "Wonderful!"
One by one the men begin to sit and pick up the steins filled with fine ales. Only Teresa stands, her face ashen grey and her eyes burning with passion. Pryke notices this and sighs, "What is it Teresa? Another ethical dilemma?"
Slowly the reporter nods. "You can call it ethical or moral. What I call it is cruelty to animals, barbaric and savage!" Her raised voice stops the six men who all turn to stare at her. "Are you out of your mind?" the woman continues hotly. "How dare you force these animals to fight!"
Gideon Pryke motions with his hands for the investors to continue eating and drinking. As they do he locks eyes with Teresa and takes a moment before speaking, "Who said I was forcing them to do anything?"
His calmness fans her fury even more. "Out there is a coliseum! Why else would you have it?"
"A tribute to the Romans."
"Mister Pryke, do not patronize me," her tone is deadly serious.
The owner of Kaiju World slowly gets to his feet and begins to walk the length of the table towards Teresa. "Miss Hernandez," he begins with a similar tone to hers. "You seem to misunderstand what I'm doing. The island, the park, the Kaijus are all for one reason. To educate. Right now, at this very moment, all over the world people, scientists and governments are scared of these 'devils'. Kaiju World's aim is to teach the planet that they are nothing but innocent animals surrounded by the worst monsters on the entire planet. Humans."
Teresa chuckles and shakes her head, "You sound just like Sean Drummond."
A champagne flute shatters against the wall as Pryke snarls, "Don't you dare compare me to that charlatan! What he did was create a cash-cow that bit his own hand. I've taken my time, hired the best of the best and I am not taking anything for granted."
Teresa smiles. "If this is a place of education, then why have the arena?"
The man blinks as he realises that she has him trapped. This makes him laugh. "Why else? To give the people what they want...Please, sit." As the reporter glides into her chair Pryke goes back to his own seat. "Think about the King of Monster movies. What were the highest grossing ones? The ones that are always talked about by the fans?" He is expecting the blank faces from the gathered people and Pryke smiles. "The battles against other monsters! 'All Monsters Attack', 'Godzilla vs King Kong' and 'Destroy All Monsters'...hell, any time Godzilla fought another monster the public came out in droves...Look, what I'm saying is that the paying public love to watch titans do glorious battle. And if they are paying to come to this place and seeing real monsters, up close and personal, why shouldn't they get to see them fight?"
"Because it isn't right!" Teresa says sounding exasperated. "Do you enjoy the bull fights in Spain? Or how about the way the Japanese make their food from sea-animals while the poor things are still living?" She continues talking, cutting off the philanthropist, “Would you agree, Mister Pryke, that just because we have sentience, the ability to experience existential terror we have dominion over the planet? That we have the right to treat animals of any kind, however we want to?”
"Well, no, not exactly," Pryke is forced to admit.
"Then!" the woman says victoriously. "Why have them fight? Isn't it the same thing? The bull fights, seafood restaurants, our own fears? Aren't you being hypocritical?"
"No," a small voice says from behind Teresa. Spinning, the reporter is startled to see Mako Ikari. She bows to the men as she walks over to the table. "Forgive my lateness."
"Think nothing of it," Pryke says as he helps Mako into her seat.
"Who is this?"
"Mako Ikari," Mako says. "I'm the head of Kaiju Research."
Teresa nods suspiciously even though she is happy to have another woman in the room, "So, why do you say 'no'?"
Mako swallows the piece of sushi she is chewing on and has a sip of beer. "These are not animals as we think of the term. The definition of an animal is; any living thing other than a human. The Kaijus have trace amounts of DNA that we can find in humans. This means that they are related to us on some distant level."
"So? Can’t we trace all life to the same beginning?"
The professor nods. "True, but, the thing about these creatures, which is a better definition, is that we don't know where they come from."
"What?" Teresa scoffs.
Mako nods and looks to Pryke who says, "That is the sad truth of the matter."
"Which is why you can't say that they have the same rights as any other animal?" Teresa asks sceptically.
"In a word, yes. But it comes down to something more important than your own ideas of ethics and morals," Mako says. "These beings have a natural need to fight and destroy. In the same exact way that us humans have that natural need.”
She sips from the beer again before continuing, “The Romans had the games in the Coliseum which leads us to sports. First there was wrestling which was the tamed version of the gladiatorial battles. After that we had boxing which is more of the same.”
Mako looks at the entire table and smiles slightly. “Take that away from us and what happens? Reality TV. They are the same, without this outlet of energy and aggression they become depressed and eventually die," she glances to Pryke quickly. "This is the reason for the arena. So they can do what it is they have always done, destroy and fight."
"Let them fight," Crichton says eliciting a small chuckle from his partners.
"You laugh," Mako says sternly. "But the truth is that it would be crueller not to let them fight."
#
"What is it doing?" James McTiernan asks no-one in particular as he stares at the monitor.
On the screen the Kaiju's tail swishes back and forth, in a steady rhythm that is almost hypnotic. While the tail sways and bounces, the front legs tap on the floor in a gentle beating as if playing the bongos. But the thing that has gotten the entirety of Security on edge is the enormous, scarred ferocious face. Ishiro's eyes seem to be staring at the multitudes of cameras and every time McTiernan moves slightly, the eyes shift, seemingly following his every move.
"That's not right," Chris Winder says softly and he sighs when he hears the various agreeable grunts. Nearly all the men and women who work in the security department have been trained, whether subliminal or standardized, to withstand anything that can be considered out of the ordinary or F.U.B.A.R. Which, considering the gigantic city destroying monster currently staring at them through the monitors is pushing their training to the limits.
JR Handley shakes his head and quickly turns away, "I didn't sign up for this."
"Then what did you sign up for?" Donna Mixon barks at him from across the room. "You wanna go back to the firing line?"
Handley shakes his head as he mutters, "Not really, but it might be better than having to stare at that thing all day."
"Turn it off," McTiernan says tiredly. "Save us having to hear you bitch and moan about it." That gets a slight chuckle and the Head of Kaiju World Security glances at his tablet. It has various alerts flashing on the screen. "Anyone know where A.R. Team is currently?"
Simpson raises his hand. "Sir, they haven't set out yet."
"Damn it," McTiernan says clenching his hands. "Show me satellite."
The main screen flashes from the grinning Ishiro to a high-quality live streaming image of the island. The topography isn't hard to decipher and after years of staring at it McTiernan is an expert at reading the layout. "Zoom in on the LZ," he says with a sigh. Should've sent out my own boys, he thinks as the satellite image becomes pixelated each time the camera zooms in.
"Google Maps would be faster," Nathan Pedde says without a trace of sarcasm.
"Stow it," McTiernan orders even though he agrees. Fucking S&P, he thinks, as useless as tits on a bull.
As the image clears, everyone in the room can clearly see the small outline of the boat. James McTiernan swears and tosses the tablet to the tiled floor where it cracks. "Where the fuck are they?!" he barks as his eyes scan the faces of his team. "How could that," he points to the main screen, "how could that happen?"
"Sir," Donna says not afraid of their CO. "You might want to see this." She isn't asking or advising. Not Donna.
"Fine," McTiernan says with a wave of his hand.
Once more the screen flashes and the room gasps. These men and women have seen violence like no other; Afghanistan, Burma, Mexico and South Africa. They've witnessed killing fields littered with the dead, lynching of entire families, disembowelled bodies left on the streets as warnings, dog fights, children used for target practice and every conceivable way to hurt, maim and kill a human. But nothing has prepared them for this sight.
Bright orange fluorescent blood covers the walls, ceiling, floor and any other surface of the holding pen. "Looks like a Pollack," Donna mutters but even she is taken aback by how quickly the blood splattering happened.
"What the...Zoom in on that thing!" McTiernan’s order is rapidly carried out and the entire Security Team can see the cause. Most wish they had not.
Ishiro smiles at the cameras, its four eyes unmoving and unblinking. From the enormous mouth hangs tatters and shreds of dark leathery flesh. Slowly and deliberately the monsters raises a leg and waves a bloodied stump. From where the foot used to be McTiernan and his team can just make out the tip of a shard of bone protruding from the bloody pulp.
"Did it do that to itself?" Simpson asks quietly.
McTiernan begins to open his mouth then forgets what he was going to say. The Category 5 Kaiju begins to chew on its own flesh and bones, the large horrid tongue slurping and flicking up the meat so the gigantic fangs can further tear up the meal. What makes the sight seem truly unnerving is the way the eyes never seem to move. They stare defiantly into the cameras, as if saying "Whatcha gonna do now?"
"I want that thing sedated and the room completely sealed off from everyone," McTiernan says. He glances at his people who are still in shock. "Move it!" His commanding voice pushes the team into action. The CO watches the screen and smiles slightly as the small tranquilizer darts fire rapidly, embedding into the thick skin and injecting the sedative. "Don't stop until that thing is down."
He looks to Winder and Handley, "Send another message to A.R. Team. Get their asses moving." McTiernan doesn't bother waiting for a reply as he looks back to the main screen. "Send a screenshot to Ikari. She'll want to see this."
"Already done," Donna says.
James McTiernan nods his thanks as he thinks, What else can go wrong? The moment they had gotten word of Ishiro's appearance in Acapulco he had been the only one to protest the idea, the only one to remind Pryke about Dino Park and how it had been the lack of control that had caused its downfall. Gideon Pryke had laughed it off and soothed him with just one small sentence, "That's why I have you. Control."
How can I control a God? McTiernan now thinks as his mind begins pondering all of the worst case scenarios. Each one bloodier and more terrible than the last.
#
"That's a God!" Jeremy Smith exults the moment he finishes catching his breath.
None of the members of Animal Alliance know how long they ran for, nor how far. The only things that they are one-hundred percent positive about are that Lloyd Behm is dead and that a creature from their worst nightmares ate him. It was only when they couldn't hear the thundering crashing of massive feet or the earth-cracking roar that the four people collapsed. Their lungs and muscles burning after the extreme effort. And it is Jeremy who speaks first.
"That was a God!" he repeats, his voice filled with shock and awe.
Christopher Michael scoffs and shakes his head. "You dolt! Why would a God eat Lloyd?"
Jeremy scratches his head as he thinks. It is a good question, he must admit, but there is a reason for everything.
"While he thinks," Christopher says looking at Rick Shaw and Ellen. "What's the game-plan? We turning back and getting the flying fuck out of here?"
Ellen Scott looks frazzled; her expression is one of disbelief and abject terror. "I thought they were joking," she whispers.
"Boss," Shaw says gently shaking her arm. "You okay?"
"Divinity affects us all in different ways," intones Jeremy. His eyes are wide and filled with joy. "Poor Lloyd could not handle the stress of being so close to a God."
Christopher’s face clouds over and he snarls, "That's not a God. It's a monster!"
A monster not a God, Ellen blinks as the thought hits her mind. For the briefest moment she felt as if the universe had opened and she knew that humanity was insignificant, but Christopher’s words brought reality back to her. "And that is the reason we're here," she says, her voice sounding less shaky and her eyes now looking clearer. The woman wipes sweat from her face, "Some say they--"
"--They!" Shaw says frantically. "There's more than one?!"
"There's always more than one and we should all endeavour to be loyal servants."
"Pipe down," Christopher hushes Jeremy before turning to Ellen. "What did we actually sign up for?"
"Protect and help all living creatures from the evils of men," Jeremy says. He cries out and grabs his nose, trying to stave the blood flowing from his nostrils.
"Feel better?" Shaw asks with a slight grin.
Christopher nods then winces, holding his hand and checking his knuckles. "Damn! That hurts."
"You sucker punched me!"
"Well, I did tell you to keep ya trap shut."
The two men stare at each other, both sizing the other up, ready for a fight. But neither is ready to throw the first punch. Robert Shaw and Ellen Scott watch and wait.
"You're not worth my time," Jeremy says after a tense minute. "My God will smite you."
"Oh," Christopher says. "He'll smite me! Oh please don't let the God get me--"
He cries out as the ground smacks the back of his head hard. Jeremy and Christopher roll through the underbrush; fists flying, arms flailing and legs kicking up dirt and dust. Every third hit lands with wet sounding slaps. The fight looks more like a tussle or lovers embracing.
"How come real fights never look as good as movie ones?"
Ellen shrugs, "Maybe because nobody wants reality."
Shaw nods. "So what is the plan..? Tell me you have a plan?"
The woman smiles slyly. "Don't I always?"
Before Shaw can answer, the woman gets to her feet and is quickly over at the tussling men. Two rapid kicks later and the men groan and roll apart, holding their groins. Ellen looks down at them. "Done?"
Jeremy nods through the pain while Christopher tries not to vomit from the
kick.
"We need to get a fix on our position. From there we can get back on track and finish this," Ellen says with a nod.
"So," Shaw slowly says, drawing out the word. "We're still on?"
"Naturally. I've never failed a mission and don't intend to start now." The three men watch as their leader crouches down in front of them. "What attacked us is a Kaiju or a monster if that’s easier to swallow. This island is littered with them. We're here to make sure that none are used by humans. Specifically two; Gideon Pryke and Mako Ikari."
"Fuck me," Christopher sighs. "It's another Dino Park."
"More or less," Ellen says after a slight pause. “The only difference is that here the animals have the ability to destroy a city. But,” she holds up a hand, silencing the men, “it doesn’t mean we give up. We must finish the job.”
Shaw looks sceptical as he speaks, "That's all well and good. But what's the plan? We blow up the generator and then what? Saunter back to the boat?" He laughs. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but once the power's gone won’t all hell break loose?"
"Yes," Ellen says her voice full of confidence. "All we have to do is mingle with the workers and be evaced with them. Piece of cake."
"All while not getting eaten or stomped," Christopher snarks.
"There are worst things," Jeremy says as he sits up. "These are gods and when they get a taste of freedom nothing will curb their vengeance."
The smile Ellen Scott gives the men chills every single one of them. "I'm counting on it."
CHAPTER EIGHT
"I'm not going to bore you with the attractions for the kids," Pryke says as the Tour ATV roars across a bridge.
Lunch had ended quickly the moment Mako Ikari received the message. She hurriedly excused herself and ran from the room leaving the confused people to be guided back to the long protective vehicle. Gideon Pryke chatted happily as they passed through gates and next to fences.
"What are the fences for?" Crichton asks from the back.
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