Her voice began to shake as she reported what she saw next. “My God! The monster is grabbing the people who are trying to flee from the carnage and devouring them! With all of its arms and heads, it’s grabbing everyone in sight!”
She dropped her phone and screamed, “Randy!” when she saw her friend grabbed by the monster and devoured. The horror of what was occurring kept Latoya’s focus fixed on the monster, and as a result, she did not see the mob of people running toward her. The panicked mob ran into Latoya and knocked the med student to the ground. Her body was racked with pain as people trampled her. She could hear the screams of the terrified people as they stomped over her, trying to avoid the blur of death that was attacking the harbor. A foot kicked her in the eye, causing it to swell up and obscure her vision. Latoya was starting to lose consciousness when she felt the people who were trampling her being lifted off her body. She looked up through her bruised and bloody eyes to see the monster standing above her, snatching people up and throwing them into its countless mouths.
Latoya felt a hand grab her and as she was being lifted up into the air, she saw her phone still uploading to Facebook. She tried to focus on the phone and she yelled, “I did it, Mom! I saved lives! I love you!” Latoya then closed her eyes for the final time as the monster tossed her into its mouth and crushed her to death with its rancid teeth.
Chapter 5
Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Boston
Mike McGrath was doing his best to maintain his footing on the fishing boat as it rocked back and forth. He was trying to tie down everything that he could on the deck of the ship with winds gusts at twenty miles per hour and a pelting rain assaulting him. Mike saw a huge wave swell up in front of the boat and he was tossed to the floor as the captain tried to steer into the wave to keep the boat from capsizing.
Mike’s head slammed into the deck of the boat and he looked up toward the bridge of the ship to see the captain frantically trying to right his vessel. Mike felt a hand grab him and he looked up to see his friend Peter Jensen helping him up. Peter pulled Mike to his feet as a lightning bolt streaked over the ship and crackled when it hit the water.
Peter shook his head and pointed toward the lights in the distance as he shouted, “We are only a couple of miles from Boston! We should reach land within the hour!”
Mike nodded. “I know that we pulled in a ton of fish, but the captain should have headed to shore earlier if he knew that a storm this big was coming toward us!”
Peter shook his head. “That’s the weird thing. I was watching the satellite feed myself! An hour ago, there was no indication of a storm this big coming toward us! A few clouds in the sky but nothing that looked like this!”
Mike nodded. “Well, in that case, maybe the captain needs to upgrade the weather-tracking computers on the ship because we should have seen something this dangerous coming for us!”
Peter nodded. “That’s something that we can worry about when we reach shore!” A crate of life jackets ominously tumbled in front of them and spilled its orange contents across the deck.
Mike shrugged. “Let’s just clean this up and secure them. God forbid we should need them and they are drifting out to sea as we fight to stay afloat!”
Mike was bending over to pick up one of the life jackets when Peter dove on top of him and forced him to the deck. Before Mike could ask what was going on, a massive swell of water ran over the deck, carrying both the extra life jackets and other pieces of unsecured cargo into the Atlantic Ocean.
Mike watched in dismay as the life jackets floated away from the boat. He turned to voice his concerns to Peter only to see his friend staring up at the bridge of the ship. Mike could see concern on his friend’s face and he yelled, “Peter, what’s wrong?”
Peter shook his head. “I can see the captain. He has let go of the steerage. He is just looking out the window and screaming!”
Mike looked past his friend’s shoulder out toward the ocean to see more large swells of water coming toward them. The swells were so large that they blocked out the dim lights of Boston. The waves were intimidating but they were nothing that should have terrified a harden seafarer like the captain. Mike was still looking over the waves when a streak of lightning illuminated the night sky. As the lightning ducked behind the wave, Mike caught a brief glimpse of what the captain was screaming at. Mike only got a quick look before another large swell obscured the horror that was ahead of the fishing vessel.
Mike pulled Peter closer to the deck and then he grabbed onto a nearby stairway railing as the approaching swell washed across the ship. The swell was much larger and more powerful than any of the other swells that had struck them. The cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean ran across the deck, completely submerging both Mike and Peter. Mike could feel his arms nearly being pulled out of their sockets as he held onto the railing with one hand and onto Peter with the other. The swell had nearly passed over them when Mike’s grip on the railing was finally pried loose. Both Mike and Peter were pushed along with the swell toward the side of the ship and the open Atlantic. As they were approaching the side of the boat, both men reached out and grabbed a hold of the railing along the side of the boat. The tail end of the swell ran over them and rejoined the ocean.
The two men were breathing hard as wind and rain continued to pelt their faces. Mike had managed to climb back onto the ship as Peter started yelling behind him. Mike turned around to see a giant yellow crab claw with tentacles writhing around it and poking out of the water.
As the claw came crashing down back into the water, it sent another swell of water rushing toward the ship. Mike took one look at Peter still hanging onto the side of the boat and quickly resigned himself to the fact that his friend was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. Mike quickly wrapped his arms around the side railing of the ship and held onto it as tight as he could. A second later, the swell rolled over the deck. The force of the wave caused the ship to tilt onto its side and through the saltwater, Mike could see Peter being pried off the side of the ship and into the water. In his head, Mike prayed that the ship would right itself just long enough for him to reach the bridge. Mike knew that he was going to die. Between the storm and what was beneath the water, he knew that there was no way he was going to reach the shore alive.
Mike could feel his arms straining to hold onto the side of the ship as the vessel slowly listed back to its proper state. With the ship temporarily back in the proper position, Mike climbed over the railing and started moving across the deck of the boat as smaller waves rocked the vessel from side to side. Mike gritted his teeth and did his best to maintain his balance as he moved toward the bridge of the ship.
Just before Mike reached the door to the bridge, he saw the gargantuan tentacled claw rise out of the water closer to the ship. Mike grabbed the door to the bridge and pulled it open as the claw went crashing back into the water. Mike then ran into the bridge of the ship to see the captain balled up in the corner and screaming. The captain was clearly in shock and given what was happening to them, Mike couldn’t blame the man. The captain knew what was attacking them and his mind couldn’t handle it. Mike couldn’t afford to let his fear overwhelm him. He had a wife and son back on shore in Boston. He needed to give the city as much warning as he could to evacuate before the monster that was toying with his ship reached the city.
The swell from the giant claw slapping down into the water hit the ship and caused it to shift the left. The entire room spun around Mike as he, the still-screaming captain, and everything else inside the bridge of the ship went flying through the air and slammed into the wall. Mike shook his head to clear it and then he looked out the window of the bridge to see the deck of the ship tilted vertically in the air. The ocean was pressing against the window and Mike knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the water shattered the window, rushed into the bridge, and sank the ship. Mike quickly dashed toward the radio and switched it to the Coast Guard Channel. He screamed into the radio,
“Coast Guard, come in! This is the fishing troller Manda! We are outside of Boston and under attack by the Kraken! Call the armed forces to intercept and evacuate Boston!” He repeated the request again as the ocean water shattered the glass window to the bridge and poured into the ship. The captain didn’t even bother to stand. He simply remained in his crouched position and continued screaming until the water covered him. Mike knew the fate that awaited him but he was not going to just sit there and die. Mike made his way through cold water and when he reached the broken window, he climbed out of it onto the highest part of the ship that was still out of the water.
Another swell of water lifted the boat up and in the distance, Mike was able to see the lights of Boston one last time. A tear formed in his eye as he thought of his wife and son and he said, “Dear God in Heaven, please watch over them.” Mike had no sooner finished his prayer then an acrid smell struck his nose. He looked down toward the water to see long tentacles probing the sides of the sinking ship. He followed the tentacles to the water, and deep below the waterline, he could see the giant claw coming up toward the top of the ship. Mike continued to look at the water as the huge claw closed around the ship and lifted it out of the water. Mike slid off the side of the ship and fell into the Atlantic. When Mike hit the water, he immediately began swimming toward the surface. He had almost reached the surface when he felt something big and hard slam into him from below. The force of the impact disoriented Mike and when he was able to open his eyes, he found himself standing on top of something hard and yellow that was also covered in writhing tentacles. In the air above him, Mike could see his ship still being held in the grip of the giant claw. Mike shook his head in disbelief as he realized that, much like the Vikings who mistook the creature’s shell for an island, he was standing on top of the Kraken.
The majority of people today thought of the Kraken as a humanoid monster with four arms or maybe as a giant squid or octopus, but sailors like Mike knew better. The original tales that the Vikings told about the Kraken described a monster that was more like a giant crab covered in tentacles than anything like a squid or an octopus. The Kraken was also said to bring about terrible storms whenever he surfaced, which explained the storm that seemed to come from nowhere.
Sailors were well aware of the original tale of the monster from the depths. During the war with the gods, Mike and many other sailors and fishermen had worried that the mythical creature might reappear in the Atlantic. The one thing that the movies got right was that the Kraken was such a powerful and dreadful beast that even the gods themselves feared it. If the Kraken did exist and was under the thrall of the gods, then most sailors felt that Odin would be wise to keep the creature trapped in whatever wretched pit he had it in.
These thoughts were running through Mike’s mind until he felt the tentacles that were writhing at his feet wrap around his legs. He suddenly felt himself being lifted higher into the air as the monster that he was trapped on top of stood up. With Kraken standing at its full height, Mike had a clear view of the city of Boston. As he felt the tentacle that was wrapped around his body crushing him to death, Mike focused on the lights of the city and his last thoughts were of his family before the Kraken crushed him to death.
The Kraken brought the tiny ship that was trapped within its claw closer to its mouth and then it swallowed the vessel and all of the fish contained within it in a single bite. It had been centuries since the gods had driven the Kraken from the Earth and it had the pleasure of tasting meat. With its appetite whet, the Kraken turned in the direction of Boston and began walking toward the millions of people who lived there.
Chapter 6
Chimera Base, Virginia
Melissa pulled to a stop a half mile short of the outskirts of the base as Luke had asked her to do. As the car rolled to a stop, the well-trained Chimera stopped behind it. The behemoth waited patiently as he looked down through the trees that surrounded his ankles and waited for his instructor to give him his next command.
They were in a part of the forest that reached the back of the base. Luke figured that he could lead Chimera to the fence line from there. That would leave the monster roughly a quarter mile from the back of Hangar Eighteen and whatever Parsons had in there along with his usual entourage of highly trained soldiers and scientific advisors.
Luke first looked at his daughters. “I love you, girls. Keep an eye on your mom for me and make sure that she stays out of trouble.”
Sally laughed, “Dad, it’s Mommy’s job to keep us out of trouble!”
The younger Suzie stuck out her chin and said, “Don’t worry, Daddy, I will keep Mommy out of trouble.”
Luke smiled and gave the four-year-old a fist pump. “Thanks, honey. I knew that I could count on you to watch Mommy for me.”
Luke turned toward his wife and he looked into her loving brown eyes. She forced a smile and said, “Be safe out there when you’re saving the world. I love you and I will be at home waiting for you when this is all over.”
Luke smiled and kissed his wife which drew a collective “Ewww” from their daughters in the back seat. The parents laughed, and Luke once more looked his wife in the eyes. “I love you too. I will let you know what’s going on as soon as possible.”
Luke then jumped out of the SUV with his megaphone in hand. He tapped the side of the SUV, signaling his wife to drive away. After his family had driven away, Luke lifted his megaphone to his mouth and once again yelled, “Chimera, follow me!”
Luke then began running at a quick jog toward the back of the base with Chimera lumbering behind him. Since the loss of his horse Jason in the battle with Thor, Luke had resorted to using either trucks or helicopters to lead Chimera to where he needed to be. With the thought of Zeus and the other thunder gods still out there somewhere with the ability to shut down all electronics with an electromagnetic pulse, Luke couldn’t rely solely on machines to led Chimera. Luke was training other horses to replace Jason, but it took a long time for a horse to be comfortable enough around a kaiju to not freak out when it was walking behind him and not run in fear from the monster.
As an alternative to the horse, Luke had taken up distance running to lead Chimera if he needed to and did not have the option of using an electronic vehicle. Luke was not as young as he used to be and the process of training his body to endure that type of running was taxing for him. Luke knew that he did not have too many other options. He could not simply walk in front of Chimera. Each step that the monster took was the length of a city block. Even when Luke was jogging, Chimera had to take a step and then wait a minute before taking another step to avoid getting ahead of Luke or accidentally stepping on him.
Luke ran for about five minutes before he reached the exterior gate of the base. He stopped running at the fence and then turned to tell Chimera to stop. To Luke’s surprise, the kaiju was standing still and sniffing the air. Chimera looked briefly toward Luke then he looked at the base and roared.
Luke shook his head. “He smells something that he doesn’t like.” Luke held up his megaphone and yelled, “Chimera, stop!” He then held up his hand and said, “Chimera, stay!”
The monster looked at Luke and then he crouched down onto all fours. Luke smiled at the creature and gave him a verbal reward. “Good job, Chimera!”
Luke then jogged to the back entrance to the gate that Parsons had installed for instances exactly like this when Luke was training with Chimera and needed to return to base quickly. Luke ran up to the guard at the back of the base and he immediately began searching himself for his ID card. He cursed when he realized that he had left his ID in the SUV with Melissa and the girls. Luke didn’t recognize the guard, so he doubted that the man would let him in without his ID.
He looked at the guard and said, “I forgot my ID, but I am Luke Davis. You can call General Parsons and have him come vouch for me.”
The guard was staring up at the two hundred and fifty-foot-tall monster standing behind Luke and he just shook his head. “That�
��s OK, sir, I may be new here, but from what they told me at orientation, there is only one person who Chimera listens to. Plus, I figure if you are not Luke Davis and you have control of Chimera, there really isn’t much I could to do to stop you from coming onto base even if I wanted to.” The guard shrugged. “Besides, General Parsons already warned me that you were coming and to let you in and direct you right to Hangar Eighteen.”
Luke nodded at the guard as he opened the gate. He then sprinted toward Hangar Eighteen. When he reached the hangar, he took a deep breath and tried to slow down his heartbeat so that he could focus on whatever Parsons and likely Diana Cain needed him for.
In addition to being a key consultant for General Parsons, Diana Cain was also Luke’s best friend. Parsons was the man who was in command in the war against the gods, but Diana was the expert on the gods and their monsters. She was a professor of mythology and for her graduate thesis, she had written a paper on how the ancient gods could have been trans-dimensional beings who once actually lived on Earth. Once the Greek Gods returned to Mount Olympus and started doing things like using the Charybdis to unleash a vortex that would kill all of the humans on the planet, she was one of the first people that Parsons sought out. She knew who all the gods were, how they operated, and what the monsters and other horrors that they unleashed were capable of. She was also a self-proclaimed science fiction and fantasy geek, and in addition to that, she had a knack for injecting humor into tense situations. It was this trait more than anything that had caused Luke to be drawn to her. She was quick-witted and when Luke doubted himself or was scared of what he was going to face, Diana was always there to provide a quick one-liner to make Luke laugh and help keep him from getting so nervous that he became a detriment to himself and to the mission.
Atomic Rex_The Conquest of Chimera Page 4