Kaiju Winter: An End Of The World Thriller

by Jake Bible

  “Thanks,” Kyle says, instantly wishing he can take the word back as he gets to the top and rolls away from the edge of pit.

  “Ah, there’s the Morgan politeness,” Linder says.

  “My last name is Holden,” Kyle says instantly.

  “Please,” Linder laughs. “If you’re going to have any last name other than Morgan, it should be Linder, not that Holden alias.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Kyle asks. “And don’t say you’re my father. I don’t believe that for a second.”

  “If I can’t say that, then I can’t answer your question,” Linder says. “How about you just call me Tobias then?”

  “How about you not call me little shit?” Kyle sneers as he gets up and puts some space between himself and Linder.

  “Yes, sorry about that,” Linder says. “My temper can get away from me sometimes. But I’m fine now and I promise not to call you names again, okay?”

  “No, not okay,” Kyle says. “What you’re going to do is get the hell away from me. I’m going this way and you’re going that way, got it? I’m going to find my dog while you fuck off and die.”

  “And the politeness is gone,” Linder sighs. “That’s your mother right there. As much as I disliked your grandmother, she at least had humility and the good Lord on her side.”

  Kyle glares at the man, but Linder just shrugs.

  “Suit yourself, kid,” Linder says. “You want to wander alone through the forest, you go for it.”

  A high wailing echoes through the trees and the ground starts to shake.

  “I’m thinking we should stick together, though,” Linder says. “Things aren’t quite right.”

  Kyle looks at the world around him and is frozen with indecision. Huge trees are uprooted and lie at angles against each other while the ground is pocked with pits and crevices. A huge wall of stone is a few yards away, pushed straight up out of the earth by the eruption. Kyle wonders what the land must look like closer to the volcano if it’s this messed up here.

  The ground keeps shaking and Kyle realizes there’s a rhythm to the tremors.

  “Are those…?” he whispers.

  “Footsteps,” Linder grins. “Something wicked this way comes.”

  Kyle isn’t sure what’s scarier: that something is big enough to shake the ground as it walks or that Linder is grinning like the cat with a canary over the situation.

  ***

  Dr. Probst jolts awake, a scream forming on her lips, but it doesn’t have a chance to escape as a hand clamps down around her mouth.

  “Don’t make a sound,” Coletti whispers into her ear. “We aren’t alone.”

  Dr. Probst reaches up and slowly takes Coletti’s hand away as she looks around them. She wants to ask were they are, but Coletti holds a finger to his lips and then points up with his other hand. She cocks her head, puzzled. Then that scream Coletti had averted previously finally makes its escape as everything shudders around her from the loudest roar she’s ever heard.

  Coletti glares, but doesn’t try to shut her up since the doctor quickly figures out her folly and clamps her own hands over her mouth this time. The roar sounds like a foghorn filled with glass and is so powerful that the fillings in her back molars begin to vibrate. As does the earth she’s seated upon.

  Dr. Probst looks about and realizes the two of them are buried under a pile of fir boughs. Needles rain down on her head and she is covered in pitch, but those aren’t her immediate worries. The most immediate worry is what is making the noise that should only exist in nightmares. Her eyes find Coletti’s in the gloom and he points again towards a small opening between the boughs. Dr. Probst slowly shifts her position, terrified that even the slightest movement will bring their cover crashing down on them.

  Outside their hide, the world is nothing but smoke and flame. Geysers of fire shoot high into the air, and Dr. Probst is able to see that they are maybe six or seven hundred yards from the edge of the massive hole. She turns her head and looks behind her, realizing Coletti has them covered and backed up against a huge slab of granite. Their backs are protected, which Dr. Probst realizes is a wonderful thing, considering what else is around them.

  Monsters.

  That is the only word she can think of as she watches giant creatures crawl around. Four-legged beasts that stand a hundred feet tall walk on thick, tree trunk legs, clawed toes sticking out from all sides of feet that are the size of cars. The monsters’ heads are bulbous, with deep black eyes protruding from each side, covered by sharp, scaled ridges.

  Eyes on each side. Predators have eyes that face front. At least, they do normally…

  What Dr. Probst sees is far from normal.

  The creatures hurry past, almost scurrying in fear, as they pour up out of the volcanic hole. Again, she is grateful for their position as it keeps them from being trampled by the things.

  Then another roar and she jams her hands against her ears.

  The creatures cry out, wailing with a fear she easily shares. They rush forward faster, their huge legs moving in a way that she has never witnessed with quadrupeds. There isn’t a side by side rhythm, but more independent movement from their center mass. Dr. Probst’s scientific curiosity almost makes her forget the horror of what she is seeing, until reality comes slamming down. Literally.

  What the woman had mistaken for part of a mountain, or rock formation forced up from the ground by the eruption, is in fact the leg of an even larger nightmare. All bits of scientific reality she had been trying to cling to, fall away as the leg is lifted into the air and comes crashing down onto one of the fleeing monsters.

  The ground under Dr. Probst and Coletti shakes so hard that small cracks form in the dirt and chunks of the granite wall behind them crack off. Neither has time to brace themselves against the tsunami of monster blood and guts that slams against their shelter. Blue/black blood sprays in through the boughs, while nearly translucent bone fragments rip apart the tree limbs, exposing the two to the danger beyond.

  Dr. Probst scurries back against Coletti and the man instinctively wraps his arms around the woman as they watch a ten fingered hand reach down and pick up the crushed carcass. They crane their necks, having to look almost straight up, as the broken monster corpse is lifted a thousand feet into the air towards an open mouth of unspeakable horror. The corpse is lost from sight as it is devoured, torn apart by a thousand teeth, each as large as one of the fir trees that used to fill the landscape around them, but are now lost and broken. Just like Dr. Probst’s sanity.

  “Hold on,” Coletti whispers to her, his face pressed into the back of her head. “Keep it together.”

  But the doctor can’t, and once again, Coletti finds he must hold his hand over her mouth as the woman begins to scream uncontrollably.

  Five

  The situation room is nearly silent as everyone watches the last satellite images of the supervolcano before all transmissions went dark.

  “Tell me we have someone figuring out what those things are,” President Nance says, breaking the silence and sending everyone back into hyperactive chaos. “Tell me I’m not witnessing giant demons coming up from Hell.”

  “No one knows what they are, sir,” Joan says. “Images have been sent to every zoologist with the proper security clearance.”

  “Send the information toall the damn zoologists!” President Nance yells. “I don’t care what their security clearance is! It’s not like we can hide those things from the world!”

  “Sir, we have F-15s in the Carolinas ready at your command,” Air Force General Mark Tulane states, his eyes watching the president carefully. “I just need your authorization.”

  “The Carolinas?” President Nance asks. “Surely, we have jets closer than that. What about Peterson or Nellis?”

  “We have lost communications with every base within a thousand square miles of ground zero,” Joan states. “While we can talk to NORAD, we can’t reach any other military installation within that zone. We think the erupti
on created a massive EMP the likes of which we’ve never seen. Even shielded equipment and facilities are down.”

  “Jesus,” President Nance curses. “This is unreal.”

  “That’s one word for it,” Joan frowns.

  “Sir?” General Tulane asks. “Your orders?”

  President Nance looks at the rest of the Joint Chiefs. “Talk to me.”

  Admiral Quigley clears his throat, his eyes drawn to the replayed scene on the main monitor. “It is my opinion that we are under attack, Mr. President.” There are assenting murmurs from the other chiefs. “We don’t know what those things are or where they could be coming from-.”

  “They’re coming from a goddamn hole in the fucking ground!” Army General Lawrence Azoul shouts. “Stop tiptoeing around this like it’s some political issue! It’s not! We have been attacked by goddamn monsters, Mr. President, and the sooner we come to grips with that, the sooner we can retaliate!”

  “Monsters,” President Nance says, shaking his head. “Do you know how you sound, General?”

  The man stands and points at the main monitor. “I don’t need to sound like anything! Look at those things! Look! A third of our country has lost all electronic capabilities. That means they are in the dark, literally, about what is going on. Are we going to wait around and establish diplomatic relations with these things? As unbelievable as they are, they’re here! We need to blast them from this planet and then sort through the mess afterwards!”

  All of the Joint Chiefs look from General Azoul to President Nance.

  “How soon until we can establish satellite imaging again?” President Nance asks.

  “Six hours, sir,” Joan replies. “We had every major satellite positioned above the supervolcano. When the EMP hit it didn’t just go out, but up as well, killing every satellite observing the volcano. The soonest we’ll be able to get imaging again is six hours.”

  “My God, we’re blind,” President Nance says. He looks at General Tulane. “Launch the fighters. Orders are to engage at will. I want all video of those engagements relayed here immediately.”

  “Of course, Mr. President,” General Tulane nods as he reaches for a phone in front of him. “They’ll be up and over ground zero within the hour.”

  “Good,” President Nance sighs. “Now someone get me reports from the ground. I want to know what people are seeing!”

  “Sir, the power is out,” Joan says. “We can’t talk to anyone within that thousand mile radius.”

  “Then send people in that can! The EMP didn’t make the place a dead zone! I want boots on the ground and communications set up ASAP!” President Nance yells as he gets to his feet, his fist pounding the table. “We may not know what we are at war with, but we are at war!”

  ***

  “Found another one!” Lu yells as she hurries to a hand reaching out from under a fallen shed. “And there’s someone over there!”

  Lu grabs onto the sheet metal and shoves it aside. Underneath is a woman clutching her two small children and the family dog. All look terrified.

  “Are you hurt?” Lu asks.

  “Just bruised a little,” the woman says. “What happened?”

  “The volcano erupted,” Lu says. “It knocked out power and fried all electronics.”

  Lu helps the woman and children away from the wreckage, dusting off the kids while the small dog cowers behind the mother, its tail between its legs.

  “Where’s the light coming from?” the woman asks, looking up at the dull, red glow in the sky.

  “We aren’t sure,” Bolton says as he comes up, helping a limping man stay upright. “It could be the volcano erupting and reflecting down from the atmosphere. There’s an ash cloud up there the size of the whole country is my guess. With all the minerals in that ash, it’s a wonder we aren’t seeing a rave light show.”

  “The wonder is why we aren’t all choking on ash right now,” Lowell says, standing off to the side next to a half-demolished house, his eyes studying the sky. He’s dressed in dirt caked jeans and a heavy winter coat. “That shit comes down and it’s bye bye lungs.”

  Everyone looks up for a second before Lu clears her throat and turns to the woman.

  “We’re heading west. We’ve been finding people along the way,” Lu says. “If you have any food and water, plus warm clothing and salvageable bedding, you need to get it together and come with us.”

  “Why west?” the man asks as Bolton lets him go and he hobbles over to the woman and children. “I thought we were supposed to head south?”

  “We’re military,” Bolton says, pointing at his uniform, even though it isn’t his normal one. “We can get folks onto ships and get off the continent.”

  “Gonna be a long walk,” Lowell says, pointing over his shoulder at a rag tag group of people standing near the cracked and broken street. “Especially with the refugee parade there.”

  “Hopefully we can find working vehicles soon,” Lu says.

  “What’s wrong with the cars?” the man asks.

  “Nothing electronic works,” Bolton replies. “That means batteries and alternators. We haven’t found a car that will start in miles.”

  “Maybe Coeur d’Alene wasn’t hit,” Lu says. “If we can get there, we can regroup and figure out how to get everyone to Seattle.”

  “What do you meanif?” the woman asks.

  In answer to her question, one of the loud roars fills the air, bouncing around the area like a warning claxon telling them to flee.

  “Mommy?” one of the kids whines.

  “That’s the if,” Lowell laughs.

  “We’ve stayed ahead of the things, but they are gaining on us,” Bolton says. He pats the M-4 strapped to his back. “If you have weapons, you’ll want to bring those as well.”

  The family just stands there.

  “And they’re gone. Checked out like the rest,” Lowell laughs, turns, and walks back to the group out near the road. “We have to keep walking.”

  “I know you have questions,” Lu says, getting in close to the parents. “But none of us have answers. We’re just as lost as you are. The only thing we can do is keep moving and hope things get better.”

  “Right. Better,” the man nods then looks up at the sky.

  “Can you walk?” Bolton asks him. The man doesn’t respond and Bolton snaps his fingers. “Hey! Can you walk?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I think so,” the man nods. “I broke my leg a few months ago, that’s why I’m limping so bad. Must have hurt it again. I have crutches inside.”

  “Get them,” Bolton says. “And anything else you will need for the trip. Essentials only. Don’t bring pictures or mementos. They’ll just weigh you down. You can come back for those later.”

  “Okay, yeah, fine,” the man says and limps off to the half-demolished house with his family.

  Lu waits until they are inside before turning to Bolton. “Come back later? No one is going to be able to come back here for a long time.”

  “It got them moving,” Bolton says. “It’s a trick I learned in Afghanistan when evacing civilians from combat zones. Tell them what they want to hear now, deal with what they need to hear later.”

  “So, lie to them,” Lu frowns.

  “Yeah,” Bolton says. “If it gets their asses into gear. This isn’t grey area time, Lu. This is life or death. Most non-combatants make the wrong choice without realizing it. It’s my job to make the right choice for them.”

  “Non-combatants?” Lu asks. “This isn’t a war, Connor.”

  More roars and several high, keening wails make the group by the road jump and cry out.

  “You may be wrong on that,” Bolton says. “I hope you’re right, but those sounds aren’t exactly friendly.”

  “We don’t know what those sounds are,” Lu says.

  “I think it’s safe to assume at this point that my bear theory isn’t holding up,” Bolton says. He looks towards the road. “How about you get people calmed down while I hurry up our new add
itions?”

  Lu sighs heavily and nods. “Okay, but be nice and don’t push them too hard.”

  “I’m always nice,” Bolton smiles. “You know me.”

  ***

  “Your leg hurting?” Kyle smirks as Linder hobbles behind him.

  “I could ask you the same,” Linder says. “You’ve got a hitch in your step as well.”

  “I’m fine,” Kyle replies.

  “Same here,” Linder says.

  “Good.”

  “Good.”

  They keep walking, dodging crevices and cracked earth, working their way over or around fallen trees, fording small streams that look like they just came into existence. All while continually looking over their shoulder for the source of the wails, shrieks, roars, and giant footsteps.

  “If you hurt my dog, I’m going to kill you,” Kyle says.

  “I don’t enjoy hurting animals, you know,” Linder replies. “I want you to know that.”

  “Whatever,” Kyle replies. “Most sane people don’t have to point that out.”

  “Your implication isn’t lost on me,” Linder laughs. “But I can tell you I am more than sane.”

  “So, what? You’re super sane?” Kyle snorts. “Great. Everything is fucking peachy keen then.”

  “Watch your language,” Linder says. “You disrespect your grandmother by saying that word.”

  Kyle stops and whirls on the man. “You mean the grandmother you killed? Fuck. You.”

  “Couldn’t be avoided,” Linder shrugs. “That woman wasn’t the person you thought she was. She has more blood on her hands than you can imagine.”

  “Seeing you shoot her has helped me imagine a lot,” Kyle snaps. “So, again, fuck you.”

  More wails, more screeches, more footsteps shaking everything.

  “We should keep moving,” Linder says. “Walking will cool our heads.”

  “Whatever,” Kyle says as he turns and hikes away from the man. “If this hadn’t all gone to crazy end of the world shit, I’d fucking kill you with my bare hands.”