Kaiju World

by R. F. Blackstone

  "To stop the Kaiju wandering freely," snarks Teresa.

  Pryke chuckles, "Not exactly Teresa." He is behaving like they didn't argue earlier. "All of the fences are in place to make sure that our guests don't go off and get in trouble."

  "Who'd be stupid enough to go looking for a city destroying monster?" Emmerich snorts.

  Another chuckle from the owner. "You'd be surprised. Very surprised." He slows the vehicle slightly as they come to a thick clump of trees. "So far, lady and gents, you have all seen the more family friendly aspects of the park."

  "Yeah, including a cage fight ring," Teresa says again. Everyone in the car knows that both Pryke and Mako are right in having the arena. Professor Ikari made that abundantly clear. So to the investors it is silly that the reporter is acting a child.

  "Nothing so mundane," Pryke says as the vehicle enters the small forest. He flicks on the six lights adorning the front.

  "Are we in a Mizayaki movie?" Beacham says.

  "As long as it isn't a Paul Cooley book," Tull replies. This gets a chuckle from the other investors.

  "Could be worse," Winston rumbles. "Could be a Michael Bay movie."

  They laugh loudly at that except for Emmerich who looks hurt. "I like Bay," he says sullenly.

  "You also like Sharknado," Tull roars with laughter.

  "No accounting for taste," Teresa says expertly ending the frivolity. "Where are we going?"

  "To what Publicity says is going to be the most popular experience Kaiju World has to offer. This is really the chance of a lifetime. Adventure like no other," Pryke pauses to focus on turning the wheel. "The extreme sports fans are going to love it."

  "Just spit it out man!" Winston growls.

  Gideon Pryke laughs, "What is the best part of Neon Genesis, Gundam and Pacific Rim?"

  The question hangs in the air as the ATV nears the exit. A bright light grows bigger the closer they get to the exit. "Anyone? No?" Pryke is genuinely surprised at the blank stares. He shrugs. "The best part of those is what humanity uses to fight."

  "No fucking way!" Tull says excitedly. He's figured out where they are going.

  Pryke nods and winks at Teresa before saying, "Yes fucking way. Gentlemen...and dear lady. Welcome to our Mech-Yard!" The vehicle bursts from the tunnel of trees into the sunlight. Even with the dark storm clouds forming they have to blink before their eyes adjust to the rays. When each one is able to see clearly again the men and woman gasp and marvel at the structure towering over the vehicle and land; it looks the same as an ancient temple from Mesoamerica, stone steps and cement forms each level of the impressive construct. It looks old, aged and cracks spider-web across the rocks and moss grows strategically on the corners and in the cracks.

  "Is that Mexican?" Teresa asks with a confused tone.

  Below the pyramid a large electric-fence surrounded ring is visible. Like all other fences on Maikeru Island they are reinforced with steel beams and each wire is as thick as a man. At each of the four corners stand towers with security bunkers atop each one, they are fully automated. Each one has a huge rail-gun that throws the view slightly askew.

  "Mexican?" Pryke is confused. "Why would we have anything from the Americas?"

  "The Aztec Temple."

  Gideon Pryke laughs as he brings the vehicle to a stop. He looks at the six people. "On top of the temple, which is not from any particular place," he winks again at Teresa. "At the top is the greatest treasure known to mankind. Whenever the moon is red a challenger will be brought forth to battle for the treasure. If that challenger can beat the champion in three rounds then the treasure shall be theirs." He opens the door and the others follow suit. With the cloud covering the sun the area is much cooler and the ring seems much more ominous.

  "What's the prize?" Emmerich asks, his eyes big and hungry.

  Pryke shrugs. "Could be money, a free stay at Kaiju World or something amazing...Just think of it as fortune and glory. Would you believe this is my favourite thing to do when I'm feeling stressed."

  The group begins walking and their eyes go to the armed towers. The armaments track them, the barrels following every single step each person takes.

  "Anyone else not comfortable with those?" Crichton says.

  "Don't worry m'boy," Pryke says offhandedly. "They only fire on the Kaijus. They are programmed to track and attack their DNA."

  Beacham says, "So the Kaijus are needed for this too?" It isn't so much a statement and the man waits for an answer.

  "Obviously," Teresa beats Pryke to the punch. "What were you expecting? A T-Rex." This gets a good laugh from the others and Teresa glares at each man. "I'm not being funny," she snaps before pointing. "What's in there?"

  They follow her arm and see the large dark building. It stands at least four-hundred meters high and is clearly a hangar. Pryke stands in front of it and holds his arms out wide, "Lady and Gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! Welcome to the very best--"

  "--Get on with it!" Winston rumbles deeply.

  The wind promptly taken out of Pryke's sails, the man tries to hide his pout of disappointment by turning to the doors. "Here is the crowning achievement of Kaiju World!" He presses a button on a remote and sirens blare, screaming to life as the heavy doors begin to screech open. "Mechs Versus Kaijus," Pryke says as three giant human-shaped robots are slowly illuminated.

  #

  "How much farther?" Rick Shaw whines again for the tenth time in the past hour.

  Jeremy stops hiking and slowly turns. His face is covered in sweat and his long dark thick hair is matted to his neck and brow. With the circles under his eyes the man looks quite crazy and totally don’t-fuck-with-me.

  "Well?" Christopher asks ignoring the death stare he is receiving.

  "Keep your mouth shut," Jeremy says while tapping a finger on Shaw's chest.

  "Why?" the man says all bluster. "You wanna go again?"

  It's Rick Shaw who steps between the two men quickly, saying, "You know what guys? How about we get a beer and watch some tits fly, huh? Then after that how about we go for wings and then catch a movie? Sounds good, yeah?"

  "The fuck you talking about?" Christopher glances at Jeremy who shares the confused look.

  "Or, how about some horse racing? A bit of gambling, yeah?" Shaw continues.

  Jeremy turns to Ellen, "Is he okay?"

  "That's exactly how you two idiots sound everytime one of you opens your cock-sucking mouth," Shaw says, slapping both men up the sides of their heads. "Get the fuck back in the game...okay? Do you wanna end up like Lloyd? Because the way you two keep screaming and carrying on, there is bound to be another attack and I for one do not want to be goddamn Kaiju shit anytime soon...So calm the fuck down!" Without another word he starts off again stalking into the lush forest of the island.

  Ellen follows him and says softly as she passes the two men, "Keep your periods from syncing up, okay."

  "So, how far to go?" Christopher asks again with an outstretched hand as an apology.

  Jeremy shakes the hand as he quickly looks around. "Hang on." Without warning he scampers up a tall tree, easily finding foot and hand-holds. He grips a vine and hangs slightly forward, his heavy body causing the vine to groan and stretch. "Not far," he calls down with a big grin. "Another hundred meters or so."

  "Then get your ass in gear!" Ellen calls to the two stragglers.

  "Yes Ma'am!" Christopher salutes with a chuckle as he takes off at a jog, leaving Jeremy alone.

  The tall man lands on the ground in a crouch and grunts. He looks at his right hand; fresh blood covers his palm and drips down onto the dirt. Slowly Jeremy finds the rough end of the shard of bark and yanks it out. The moment it is free more dark blood flows. He has to cup his hand to keep it from overflowing.

  "This is for you, my Gods," he whispers while wiping the bloodied hand onto the trunk of a tree. He looks at the odd angular symbol he has painted and whispers again, "When your judgment is upon this world, remember my sacrifices."


  "Jeremy, nut up or shut up!"

  The call makes the man blink. Looking around he takes off at a gallop, his long legs allowing him to catch-up quickly with the group.

  "You okay?" Ellen asks as they all fall into a matching pace.

  "Yep, needed a better view to place us."

  "And?"

  He gestures, "About fifty meters that way."

  Ellen nods and glances at the direction pointed. "Then let’s move out."

  Christopher goes over to Shaw. "Can't wait for a cool beer."

  The other man smiles. "Got a six-pack cooling on the boat."

  "Then what are we waiting--"

  The roar stops the men cold in their tracks. It's higher in pitch than the previous one they heard. Jeremy smiles slightly as Christopher and Shaw hurry over to Ellen and him, their eyes wide and it's obvious that they are scared.

  "Do you think we can make it?" Ellen asks as another roar shakes them.

  "Depends on where it is."

  "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Shaw says with a big sigh.

  "Don't say it," Christopher sighs as well.

  Shaw nods and instead of speaking he uses his head to gesture, alerting the others to the heavy breathing behind them. They don't want to turn, not wanting to see the gaping maw filled with gigantic teeth, and none want to be swallowed whole.

  "How the fuck did it sneak up on us?" Christopher whispers.

  "The roar was probably a distraction," Ellen says.

  "What do we do boss?" Shaw whimpers.

  "Get to the generator."

  "When?"

  The deep hurricane breathing stops and the entire jungle goes quiet. All that the four people can hear is their own breathing, the rapid beating of their hearts and the slight crunch of the dried leaves under their feet.

  A hundred to one we make it, Ellen calculates the odds of outrunning the monster and the defeatist in her knows that it would take a miracle. "Don't breathe," she whispers.

  Loud, hungry, agitated sniffing surrounds the members of Animal Alliance. The Kaiju is trying to track them.

  "Its vision must be based on movement," Shaw says with a chuckle.

  In response to the laughter the beast roars again. Spittle flies and covers the backs of the people from head to toe with thick saliva. The smell makes the three men and the woman gag and they have to force themselves to not lose their food.

  "Go," Ellen says. If we can make it to the generator maybe the blast will take out this monster. She realizes what she just thought and for a brief moment Ellen Scott hates herself.

  Fucking humanity, she thinks as her legs carry her forward. Always putting itself before the lives of animals. Ellen blinks and ducks, dodging a low hanging tree branch.

  Quickly she glances to the left and then the right and smiles slightly. Her team is right there, they are in a line; each one doing their best to make it to the generator.

  "Is it following us?" Shaw yells.

  In answer they hear the thundering footsteps and the crashing of trees behind them.

  "Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!" Christopher screams as his legs pump harder and harder.

  "There!" Jeremy shouts as the Power Generator comes into view; the large squat cement buildings have no wires or transformers running from the roof nor are there any fences, it is as unremarkable as any building ever constructed.

  "You sure that's it?" Christopher cries out as he leaps over a fallen tree.

  "Doesn't matter," Ellen speeds up. "It goes down which is good for us. Get in there now!"

  The thundering of the Kaiju is growing closer which forces the small tiny people to run harder and faster. They are not only racing certain death, but also each other.

  The door is unlocked and Ellen slams it shut.

  The sudden darkness renders them blind but it doesn't take Shaw long to find the light-switch. As the lights flicker on, the members of Animal Alliance see a long steel and mesh corridor that leads to a staircase going down. Ellen goes over, ignoring her men who are trying to catch their breaths and not pass out, and looks down the staircase. It goes down to a small door. Above is a sign that reads: DANGER POWER GENERATOR & CONTROL.

  Ellen smiles and turns back saying, "Jeremy, you stay and keep an eye on that thing outside." Outside they can hear stomping thundering steps as the monster stalks about in frustration. "Shaw and Christopher get yourselves down there and plant the bombs."

  Without a word the two men march past her and disappear down the stairs. Ellen looks over at Jeremy and frowns slightly, "How's the hand?"

  He grunts and opens the door a crack. An ear-splitting roar fills the room and the man quickly slams the door shut. "Not too smart is it?"

  Ellen shakes her head and goes over to him, "So, do you really think they are Gods...or are you just bullshitting?"

  The look Jeremy Smith gives Ellen speaks volumes but his words hit her hard. "In a world where the major religions have no definitive proof of the existence of divinity, why wouldn't you get down and worship them?"

  "But what about the destruction each one of these things can--"

  "--All ready boss," Shaw says with a grin on his face. The man has always loved blowing shit up.

  "Okay," Christopher hands Ellen the detonator and taps her shoulder. "So, how do we get out of here?"

  "Just run," she answers. The looks her men give her are all the same; total disbelief. "I know it's slim,” she says. “But that's the best we can do...How big is the blast going to be?"

  Both Shaw and Christopher quickly look at each other, then to their leader and they shrug. "No idea boss," Shaw says.

  "Yeah," Christopher joins in. "Could just take out the building, but looking at the setup there it could go bigger. We are using at least twenty pounds of C4."

  "Could it take out the Kaiju?" Jeremy sounds genuinely concerned for the safety of the monster that can kill all of them as easily as a cat could a mouse.

  "Nah," Shaw shakes his head. "It'd take more than this to do any real damage."

  "But there is a chance?"

  Shaw sighs and looks to Ellen. "It's your say boss. Either we blow it the moment we get to safety and risk hurting the little tyke...or we run like hell and risk the explosion."

  Ellen looks at her watch, We're running out of time..."Fuck it," she says after a moment of silence. "We go now and blow it. There are plenty of these things on this island." She looks to Jeremy. "Chances are it'll get burnt a little, but that'll be all. It'll be fine."

  Her tone is the same that parents use on children when they are obviously lying to them. But just like every child in the world who accepts it, Jeremy nods after scanning each face of his teammates.

  "On the count of three," Ellen says as they line up behind Jeremy. "The moment we hit the tree-line I'm gonna blow it."

  The men nod and their muscles tense up. Ellen Scott takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "One," she counts slowly. "Two," she can feel her own muscles begin to tense as she gets ready to run past the monster. This is their only chance and if it looks like the Kaiju is going to get her then she'll blow the generator. Her hand feels slick and wet squeezing the plastic detonator; it only has two buttons, one for arming and the other to cause the actual explosion. Is there a range on this thing? she thinks but pushes the thought away as the adrenaline fills her veins.

  "Three!"

  CHAPTER NINE

  Ten seconds.

  That’s how long it takes before the emergency lights cast the containment room in an eerie beautiful purple glow. The blue lights mix with the glowing orange blood from Ishiro, the park's only Category 5 Kaiju. Professor Mako Ikari's brow furrows as she silently counts down to when the geothermic power should kick in. One minute delay, she reminds herself. Of course with how many problems the island facility is being plagued with, Software & Programming only focuses on the most important matters. In other words; whichever one Gideon Pryke tells them to do first.

  The low rumble from the heavily sedate
d Kaiju has the same timbre as that of a lonely cat’s cry. Mako places a gentle hand on the jowl and says softly, "I'm sorry. I am so so sorry but it is for your own good."

  When Mako had arrived at the Control Room in Containment and saw the violence and bloodshed for herself, the woman had no idea how to react. She wanted to fire every man and woman on her team who had allowed this to happen. A part of her screams at her to ignore all procedures and run into the massive chamber to check on the beast. The amount of blood and the stump made her want to vomit. Mako is a true bag of mixed emotions.

  But as always it is the rational side of her that won. Mako rattled off her commands, biting off each word; Sedate. Clean up. Stop the wound from getting infected. She would go down and see to the Kaiju herself.

  Now, standing in the faintly lit room Mako can feel her pulse begin to speed up. She closes her eyes. It's only darkness, she tells herself. The power will come back on. It has to! The woman doesn't want to think about all the possibilities if it doesn't return. She knows that Gideon Pryke is a little worried that the investors will pull all of the funding for the park. But Mako isn't worried. Her keen mind has already started working on a contingency plan; there are only two people so far who know about it, Mako and Pryke. "You'll do just nicely," she whispers to Ishiro.

  She gasps as her phone starts vibrating, pulsing quickly and buzzing loudly. Mako had forgotten that the cell phones use their own satellite, thanks to one of the many divisions Pryke owns. Without another moment's hesitation she pulls her phone out. "What's going on?"

  Brad Carsten's voice is a little shaky as he speaks, "There's been an attack!"

  "What?" Mako walks away from the sedated behemoth.

  "You heard," all formality is gone from the man's voice. "We got the notification just before the power went down."

  So it is an outage, Mako thinks. But why hasn't the backup kicked in?

  "Boss! Didn't you hear me? There was a Kaiju attack!"

  Looking up to the control room, Mako Ikari sees almost her entire team trying to watch her, their faces illuminated by the glows of each cell phone causes her to shudder. The view reminds her of old horror movies. Taking a deep breath she begins pacing. "Where? I received no news about a possible sighting."