by Alan Spencer
GARGANTUAN
A Deep Sea Battle
Alan Spencer
Copyright 2014 by Alan Spencer
PART ONE: COAST ATTACK
On the Boardwalk
Five o'clock on a California summer afternoon, you bet the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk was busy with tourists. The boardwalk bustled with citizens enjoying the classic amusement park rides, like the Giant Dipper, Cyclone, Logger's Revenge, and Double Shot. Across from the vintage rides, the beachgoers were trying to catch what was left of today's sunshine.
What they would also catch was death.
Surging from the Pacific Ocean, the two-ton creature displaced enough water to cause a rolling tsunami wave to smash into the boardwalk. Rides were shattered into high-flying tatters by the force of the enormous wave. Helpless citizens were sucked under the water's wicked power. Those who were far away enough from the shoreline were screaming and running for their life. Barbara Hampton, who had been about to relax on the beach, called the police on her cell phone. Barbara was screaming for the authorities to send help, and send it now.
What can the police do about this, Barbara thought, even as she heard the dispatcher talking on the other end. Every ounce of gall drained from her body once she saw the beast surface from the ocean. The eye really had to take in the enormity for several seconds before recognition of any kind could be made. This was like no beast she had ever seen before. The thing was spinning like a thrown disc and traveling high up in the air. The chopping sounds were deafening as it kept taking flight. There was only one thing she could compare it to, and that was a giant starfish. The five prongs were made of thick bone and caked in an ancient greenish-black algae. The rest of its mass was a drab gray color. Each prong was slashing through the air, slicing through the tops of skyscrapers, tearing highways into pieces, and colliding into cars and downgrading them into steel pulp.
Ten city miles were turned inside out in less than fifteen minutes. Flames were breaking out in pockets of the city and spreading in residential and business districts. Fire trucks and emergency response crews struggled to help the citizens in need because most of the roads and highways were in shambles. Emergency crews wouldn't be able to save Barbara. The flying starfish creature flew above her, eclipsing her in its shadow. Before the starfish splashed back into the ocean, Barbara's heart stopped dead in her chest.
Golden Gate Terror
"Whoa, whoa, whoa shit! Sorry for the crazy driving, folks. Jesus, did you see that thing? Holy mother of God!"
Arnold Goodman steered his cab towards the shoulder of the Golden Gate Bridge. The suspension bridge was jolted by the impact of the raging waves below. The other cars also pulled over in unison to the side, right after the giant geyser of water spewed from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Arnold had seen many things in San Francisco he would rather not have seen, but this, this, topped everything in his prior life experience.
Arnold's patrons, a young couple who couldn't be older than twenty, stared in horror through the window with their eyes bulging from their sockets.
They won't help me one damn bit, Arnold thought. Wet behind the ears, dry inside the brains. Young kids have no common sense or ability to think critically. Generation dumbasses, that's what they are. The "do everything for me" generation. I guess it's up to me to deal with this mess, as always.
"Leave it to me, folks," Arnold said with incredible determination, "I'm not taking any chances. Whatever that was, it's not coming near us."
The cabbie dug under his seat for his .45 revolver.
"Stay in the cab, folks, I turned off the meter and I'll be right back."
Arnold thought the young couple was going to piss themselves. Leave it to me, he kept thinking. Leave it to Arnold fucking Goodman to deal with the world's problems. Like always. Like fucking always.
The geyser of water stopped spewing. The moment that happened, something blasted high up in the sky. Arnold swore it was a government aircraft of some kind. It was thin, aerodynamic, and made of shiny black material. Definitely an aircraft, Arnold thought.
Figures. This is some kind of government testing ground. I'll not be a part of any cover up. I'll shove this .45 up their bureaucratic assholes, and I'll never stop popping rounds until every last one of 'em are dead. I don't care how many times I have to wipe the shit off my gun. You can't keep me silent. I know what I'm seeing, damn it. Arnold fucking Goodman can't be silenced.
Arnold realized in the next moment that he was dead wrong about his observations.
This was no government aircraft.
The black mass was almost as long as the Golden Gate Bridge itself. It hovered over the bridge waiting. Arnold could hear air hiss through the numerous holes in its body. The hermetic pressure caused the water in the San Francisco Bay to boil.
Arnold fired four shots at the black mass. He ducked back into his cab when the mass lowered itself closer to the bridge. The bullets got the floating mass's attention, and it was not happy.
Arnold flipped the meter back on and started driving down the bridge. "I know when it's time to get the hell out of here. My watch says go! Strap your seatbelts on, kiddos!"
The couple in the back was screaming. Arnold said everything in his customer experience canon to calm them down. Nothing would work. Arnold's heart was running a marathon in his chest. He was almost to the point of losing his cool, too.
The thing looks just like a giant string ray.
No damn way.
The suction sound of air, like a hundred airplanes engines about to take off at once, kept increasing in power. So deafening, Arnold had to stop the car and cover his ears. Every window in the car burst. Glass shattered on the hundreds of vehicles scattered about the bridge.
Arnold ducked down when the hood and trunk of the cab were wrenched upwards and flung aside by the massive surges of air. Cyclone forces spun vehicles on their wheels. Some vehicles were pitched over the side of the bridge, flung like toy cars. The bridge became a deadly high-speed destruction derby of chaos.
Right when Arnold shouted, "Hold on, folks!" the top of the car was peeled back like a tin can. Arnold was lifted up so hard that it snapped the seatbelt restraining him. The young couple hadn't worn their seatbelts and were spring-ejected upwards immediately. Arnold did four upside down, right side up spins. Massive numbers of people were hovering in the air after being forcibly removed from their vehicles.
Arnold craned his neck as he was suctioned towards the string ray's body. Black sleek skin covered its underbelly, as did thousands of mouths with lips the texture of black licorice. Arnold was sucked head first into one of the champing maws and devoured alive.
Blood rained down upon the Golden Gate Bridge.
Laguna Beach
Carter Johnson knew the pleasures of people watching. Skin, sin, and dumbass college students paraded Laguna Beach liquored up and ready to party. Carter owned three of the seaside resorts on the white sandy beach coast. It was four in the afternoon, and the party was just getting warmed up. Wet T-shirt contests, navel shots, booming bass party music, and the promise of sex and self-discovery filled the owner with a sense of immortality. Carter was sixty years old, but the crazy kidder felt like he was in his twenties, vicariously living through the youth surrounding him.
He was about to deliver free Jell-o shots to a pack of babes at the edge of the beach when he saw something happen so fast, he wasn't sure it even happened. Once he saw the sight of red tinge the otherwise crystal clear blue water, Carter dropped his tray of shots and reeled in horror.
A hideous mouth with shark teeth swept across the water and took in every swimmer. Over a hundred people were swallowed up in the giant maw in seconds. The mou
th was the length of a bus! Carter saw a beady black eye, then a dorsal fin, and a tail that propelled the mega-ton mass with impossible agility to the other side of the beach.
Out the shark's gills, plumes of spurting blood spewed for over twenty yards. Carter heard bones crunching and screams abruptly snuffed out.
This shark had the body of a commercial cruiser. Its length was covered in thick bony scales colored in green sea muck. It created a deep-sea camouflage color scheme over its body. The shark looked like an ancient sea monster.
The shark arched its body and made another b-line for the swimmer's it had missed. Carter sprinted into the main building to call for help when something sticky slapped his back. His feet left the ground. His limbs swatted helplessly at empty air. Carter could only see streaks of fast movement. Higher and higher, he was being hoisted. Carter couldn't move. The stuff on his back was like glue. He imagined himself a fly stuck on flypaper.
Carter looked down. He was being carried well above the height of a skyscraper. He was looking down at Orange County with a bird's eye perspective. Then he witnessed something that made him forget about the prehistoric looking shark in the water.
Eight tentacles were sweeping the streets. The side of the tentacles with the sticky nodules were slapping down on roads, sidewalks, and streets, and grabbing people up into the air. Fifty people were stuck to each tentacle, screaming and calling out for help. Carter saw bodies thrash above and below him.
The hideous squid was all black with a white underbelly. Those eyes glowed an unnatural ruby red color. Below the eyes, a giant mouth opened. The reek of salt water, rotten fish, and ice-cold air struck Carter. He didn't have a chance to experience the full effect, for the tentacle he was stuck on flexed, shifted, and swung. Carter was thrown into the squid's gaping mouth like a piece of popcorn. His body clashed mid-air with the dozen other victims on their way to being devoured. Carter's skull hit another man's skull, and it was lights out for the both of them.
Trance
Junior Dempkey had a fetish, and Junior was quite proud of that fetish. The problem with every fetish was introducing the concept to the opposite sex and having them agree to the terms. Junior received many slaps to the face and punches to the stomach in his time. However, Holly Knox wasn't like every woman. She was game for anything, including Junior's special fetish: screwing women in open windows. Holly had her top half sticking out of his sixth story apartment building in San Diego. Junior was pumping her hard doggy style. There was nothing like the thrill of someone from another building spotting them. The thrill and adrenaline was a freakin' rush of testosterone boiling in his balls.
Holly stopped enjoying their sex. "Junior, we have to stop!"
"What, somebody spot us? What are they going to do? Pick us out of the many apartments in this building and have us arrested? They can't do anything. I'm not stopping for anybody. Once I'm in, I'm in."
Holly's body seemed to go stiff. Her head was craned up to the sky. Her face was in awe of what glowed neon pink from up in the sky.
"Holly, you okay? Hey, Holly? Hello, my dick is in you. Care to take notice?"
Junior shook her and waved his hand in front of her face. He felt like an idiot doing this from a doggy position. Holly's eyes were unblinking. She didn't respond to anything.
Junior turned his neck just right to see what was so spectacular. The neon pink colors were coming from a colossal-sized jellyfish floating in the air. The glowing pink ball spread its magnificent colors over the city. People on the streets and in their homes had stopped to appreciate the sight.
There wasn't fear in their eyes.
It was awe.
What nobody saw barreling into the city was the four-headed tortoise with the shell made of the thickest bone. The mega-ton turtle stomped into the city, causing every building to shift and nearly topple. The four turtleheads kept gnashing at the air with mouths that were bloodthirsty and hungry. The mouths dripped saliva down upon the city like a sick rain. Then the head and legs retracted into its body. The shell flew from one city block to another, spinning and smashing through buildings with the speed of a bullet. The wrecking turtle cleared the way for its counterpart to take action.
As the people of San Diego, including Junior and Holly, stared at the pink color, the jellyfish swooped down, sucked up the wreckage of entire buildings, and swallowed everything up. Out its back end, concrete, brick, and steel were shot out like excreted matter. The victims were kept inside its see-through body, where thousands kept beholding the power of the pink light. Soon, digestive juices turned those people into liquid protein.
The city of San Diego never stood a chance.
The Reports Are In
Kristie Gaines
News Channel Eight Report
"This is Kristie Gaines for News Channel Eight. As you can see behind me, the entire city of San Francisco is in flames. Every person in direct vicinity of the Golden Gate Bridge has disappeared. Sightings of a flying object have been reported to the authorities. Valid sources claim a monster in the sky has torn the roofs off homes and attacked residents. So far, the local authorities and the military have failed to control the situation. Meanwhile, San Francisco is a disaster area."
Text Message:
Tori, don't go outside. There's a giant fucking turtle in your backyard!
Frank Turner
CNN Correspondent
Special Report
“All along the Pacific coastline, cities are under siege by sea monsters. This is not a hoax. According to scientists, prehistoric monsters have broken free of the ocean floor and are rampaging the city streets. We are their food. We are their prey. Everybody is in danger. We are at the very bottom of the food chain. Hey, don't push me out of my seat. I'm telling the citizens the truth. We are all in danger. You can't stop me from what I'm trying to tell the world. We shall be eaten if our military doesn't put a stop to this awful carnage! Save yourselves. WE ARE THEIR FOOD!”
Gloria Tanner
Channel Four News Field Correspondent
“Attack jets have cleared the affected west coast areas. It appears the missile attacks are slowing the monsters down. They've retreated into the ocean. The California coast has been declared a disaster area. Citizens have been relocated. The unbelievable events are coming to a close. The area is safe, but for how long?”
Private Conversation between President Ted Yearling and Naval Defense Coordinator Captain Guy Mendel
President Yearling: “We can't have unsubstantiated reports of monster attacks driving our country into a frenzy. First, I have to confirm the stories. Is this really happening?”
Captain Mendel: “The reports are verified. Aquatic enemies from the ocean are attacking the west coast. The causalities are mounting. Entire cities along the California Coast are simply...gone.”
President Yearling: “I depend on you to advise me, Captain. Americans think I have my thumb up my ass. Tell me what to do and I'll sign the order. Any plan, I'll back you up. My only requirement, just make the killing stop.”
Captain Mendel: “Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I know what to do. We've had a secret committee researching the ocean floor. There has been a looming threat down there for centuries. They've anticipated one day that this might happen. Our reservations on acting on this threat may have cost millions of people their lives. My advice, we strike back hard. Our naval forces and air forces are ready to be deployed, but there's one thing I need you to understand.”
President Yearling: “What's that, Captain? Make it quick. We're wasting valuable time.”
Captain Mendel: “We have to use the super sub. You remember The Annihilator?”
President Yearling: (sighing hard) “Of course, I do. I thought that project was scrapped. It cost too much, and there wasn't a threat to use it against. It was a waste of tax dollars. Iraq was already costing us an arm and a leg.”
Captain Mendel: “Well, there's a threat now. We've got The Annihilator on reserve. There's only one of
its kind remaining. The rest of the subs were left incomplete. It's the only way to stop our real enemy. Gargantuan. That's what the scientists have named the creature that's broken free of the ocean floor approximately six hours ago. The monsters that attacked the city were Gargantuan's spawn. You stop Gargantuan, and you stop its spawn. The Annihilator is our only hope.”
President Yearling: “But that's a nuclear sub. We can't unleash nukes on American soil.”
Captain Mendel: “This will all take place under the ocean. I promise taking the risk is absolutely necessary.”
President Yearling: “Then deploy, Captain. Do whatever's necessary. If we contaminate the ocean, we can fix it somehow, but if everybody's dead, what does a little pollution matter?”
Captain Mendel: “One more thing, sir.”
President Yearling: “Yes, anything.”
Captain Mendel: “We need Andrew Stevens.”
President Yearling: “You mean, the Andrew Stevens?”
Captain Mendel: “Yes, I'm talking about Anchor Stevens. Anchor's the only one who can pilot the Annihilator. Okay, a few others can pilot it, but nobody can steer that sub like Anchor can.”
President Yearling: “I never thought we'd be in this situation. Things are coming back to bite us in the ass. Just when you thought you buried someone under the system, they come back. What else can we do? Goddamn it. What choice do I have? The nation's about to jump out of their skins. These monsters have the nation by the balls. I can't hold off on the decision. I'll sign the order. Just do what you need to do, Captain. I put my trust fully in you. Remember, my term's up in a year. I'll promote you if all goes well. This could help or cripple my political future. If you need Anchor, you got him. Just end this as soon as possible. I want every monster crushed.”