Marvel Monsters Unleashed: The Gruesome Gorgilla!

by Steve Behling

  “Good point,” Amrita said, and they ran into the nearby woods.

  It was only a few minutes later that the red light on the tracking device had stopped blinking. It was now a solid red, which meant that Gorgilla had to be very close.

  A soft growl let Amrita know just how close they were.

  She peered into the trees in front of her, and saw those eyes. Gorgilla’s eyes. They looked at Amrita, and she melted. Running ahead, she leaped at Gorgilla, grabbed the mighty beast’s right leg, and gave it a big hug.

  “You made it!” she shouted. Gorgilla growled softly in response.

  Standing right next to Gorgilla was Fireclaw. Kid Kaiju ran over to his friend and gave him a big pat on his leg. Fireclaw let out a roar.

  “The gang’s all here,” Kid Kaiju said. “Better take that homing device off of Gorgilla now. There, Fireclaw!” He pointed at the small smoke alarm–like device on the back of Gorgilla.

  Fireclaw nodded, and using his paw, grabbed the device, ripping it free from Gorgilla’s fur. Then Fireclaw dropped it at Amrita’s feet. She picked up the homing device and held it in her hands.

  “This sure caused a lot of trouble,” Amrita mused. “And it’s my proof!”

  “Proof?” Kid Kaiju asked.

  “For my story! My scoop!” Amrita blurted out. “This is gonna be the biggest story of my newspaper career! Imagine what will happen when the world finds out about Gorgilla. Look out, world, here comes Amrita Lakhani! Hello, Daily Bugle!”

  Kid Kaiju was silent as Amrita’s thoughts raced. He didn’t respond to Amrita, but tapped her on the shoulder gently. Amrita’s daydream was broken. Kid Kaiju pointed at Gorgilla.

  What Amrita saw was incredible. Scotty, without saying a word, approached Gorgilla. Man looked at monster, monster at man. Both seemed to tear up. Gorgilla reached down and picked up Scotty in his massive hands.

  “Kei, what’s going on?” Amrita whispered to Kid Kaiju.

  “Old friends,” Kid Kaiju whispered back. “Scotty hasn’t seen Gorgilla in forever. But see? Gorgilla still remembers him.”

  Scotty gave Gorgilla a squeeze on his huge thumb. “I missed you, pal,” he said, wiping away a tear. “I’m sorry for what they did to you. I’ll never let anybody hurt you again.”

  Amrita watched as Scotty and Gorgilla sat there in silence. They just looked at each other, but their looks said everything.

  AMRITA STOOD, watching the reunion between Scotty and Gorgilla with a mix of joy and sadness. “I can’t write the story, can I?” Amrita said to Kid Kaiju.

  Kei looked at her, shaking his head. “No.”

  “If I tell the world about Gorgilla, he’ll never know any peace. How could I do that to him? How could I do that to my friend?” She couldn’t, was the answer.

  Kid Kaiju put an arm around Amrita. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “Gorgilla will come with me and Fireclaw. I think they’re best buds now anyway. I promise that Gorgilla will have a great home.”

  Amrita wiped a tear from her eye. “I can’t imagine him being any safer than with the monster man himself,” Amrita said, chuckling. “But what about Scotty?”

  “What about it, Scotty?” Kid Kaiju called up.

  Looking down from Gorgilla’s mighty hands, Scotty smiled. “The big guy and I have a lot of catching up to do,” he said. “And I want to make good on my promise to protect him. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to tag along!”

  Kid Kaiju flashed a thumbs-up. “Okay by me! I think Gorgilla would love having an old friend keep him company!”

  Gorgilla grunted, and the corners of his mouth turned upward. Was that a smile? Amrita wondered.

  The sun was just starting to come up as Amrita said her good-byes to Gorgilla. She gave him one last big leg hug. Then the monster bent down, gently grabbed her with his right hand, and picked her up. He hugged her close to his right cheek.

  “Now, you be good,” Amrita mock-scolded. “Don’t make me have to come after you again.”

  Gorgilla growled and put Amrita back down on the ground. Then she turned to Fireclaw.

  “And you,” she said, pointing at Fireclaw. “You better keep an eye on my friend. I don’t want to hear about you two getting into any fights or anything.”

  Fireclaw gave Amrita a gentle pat on the head with one of his paws.

  Amrita walked over to Scotty and extended her hand. He took it, and they shook. “I’m glad I got to meet you,” Amrita said. “Gorgilla’s secret is safe with me.”

  Scotty smiled warmly. “I know it is,” he answered. “And I expect to read your stories soon, reporter.” Amrita grinned from ear to ear.

  Gorgilla picked up Scotty, and the two headed off into the woods, toward the coming dawn. That left Amrita with Kid Kaiju and Fireclaw.

  “What about those goons in white?” Amrita said.

  “I know some people,” Kid Kaiju replied. “I’ll make a call.”

  He walked toward Fireclaw, and the tiger creature picked him up. “Keep in touch,” Kid Kaiju said. “You’re pretty good at this monster stuff.”

  “I just might be,” Amrita said. “I’ll see you on Tales to Astonish.”

  “I’m just one post away!” Kid Kaiju said, waving.

  “Stay cool, Kei,” Amrita said.

  “You too, Amrita.”

  And just like that, Fireclaw and Kid Kaiju disappeared into the woods.

  Amrita stayed for a while, listening to the sounds of heavy footsteps and breaking branches, until she couldn’t hear them anymore. They were gone.

  “Aw, man,” Amrita said out loud, to no one. “Now I gotta walk all the way home.”

  IT WAS JUST a couple of hours later that morning, and Amrita was back in the office of the school newspaper, busy as always. She was exhausted, tired beyond belief. Her feet were killing her. Her body was one big ACHE. She hadn’t slept since the night before, and had just spent the last twelve hours being chased, getting captured, running from goons, and helping two monsters make their escape.

  Amrita’s dad was waiting for her on the sofa when she got home. He was even angrier than before, if that were possible. Amrita explained that she was studying at Courtney’s house and lost track of time. Her dad knew she was lying but also knew that the more he tried to control Amrita, the more she would pull away from him. He was just happy she was home safe and sound.

  Amrita’s mind was racing with thoughts of Gorgilla, Fireclaw, Scotty, weird guys wearing white suits, and Kid Kaiju. Meeting the young monster master had been an incredible experience. Amrita didn’t know how she would have survived her monstrous adventure without his help.

  She was at the computer, working on the front page of the latest edition. There was a light knock on the door, and it opened quietly.

  “Amrita, you’re here earlier and earlier every day!”

  It was Ms. Malloy.

  “Ms. Malloy!” Amrita called out. “I am so glad you’re here! I’m just setting the front page for the new edition. I think this is going to be my best story yet!”

  Ms. Malloy opened her eyes wide. “Is that so? You mean, bigger than the processed-cheese scandal? Or Gorgilla? Fantastic! Let me see what you have going on….”

  The teacher moved into the tiny office, sliding behind Amrita’s chair. There was barely enough room for her to squat behind Amrita and see the computer screen. Ms. Malloy started to read silently, nodding her head slowly.

  “‘Pothole Panic! Streets Must Be Fixed,’” Ms. Malloy read out loud. Accompanying the article, there was a photograph of one of the huge potholes that plagued the streets, along with an image of the broken-down white van Amrita and her friends had driven to safety in. To Ms. Malloy’s surprise, the story made no mention of monsters. There was nary a Gorgilla in sight!

  “I’m impressed, Amrita,” Ms. Malloy said, breaking out in a smile. “After that Gorgilla story, I wasn’t quite sure if you were going to pursue serious journalism or creative fiction! I mean, you’d be good at either one. But
this is great—sensational reporting! You’ve identified one of the biggest problems facing our town, and you’re sounding the alarm. That’s exactly what a good reporter should do. Point out the problems. Deliver the facts. You can be a real force for positive change, Amrita!”

  Amrita blushed a little.

  “Soon as we have this printed, I’m sending a copy to the mayor’s office. I bet we’ll see some action on those potholes after this!” With that, Ms. Malloy left the newspaper office.

  Amrita smiled to herself. She was glad she made the decision not to write about Gorgilla. It would have been an amazing story, she thought. Writing a story about the menace of potholes wasn’t even in the same class. But the price for writing about Gorgilla was too high. There was no way she could sacrifice her friend’s peaceful existence.

  Especially when almost everyone in town wouldn’t even believe what had happened that night.

  On the bus ride home, Amrita and Courtney held on tight. It was the usual:

  BUMP!

  BUMP!

  “So, what happened?” Courtney babbled. “Tell me all about it! You went with that kid to the principal’s office, but you never came back!”

  “Oh, he uh…helped me with my front-page scoop!” Amrita couldn’t wait to tell Courtney all about her incredible adventure with Kid Kaiju. But she didn’t want the entire school bus to hear. She would wait until they were alone. Amrita knew Courtney was going to literally die when she told her about the monsters she had seen.

  “The pothole story?” Courtney asked. “Man, that was good! Everyone in school is talking about it!”

  “You’re kidding me,” Amrita said.

  “I am NOT kidding you,” Courtney replied. “Who hates these potholes more than everybody on this school bus? No one! And because of you, it looks like they might actually get fixed. No more concussions on the way to class!”

  Amrita laughed at her friend’s joke. “It feels good to help people,” Amrita said.

  But she wasn’t thinking about the potholes.

  She was thinking about Scotty and Gorgilla. They were with Kid Kaiju and Fireclaw now. She hoped they’d be happy.

  Amrita’s life had changed so much since meeting her new friends. She remembered the awkward kid that had walked into her class that day. Kei. She would always be grateful to him. He was her first big step into the world of real-life Super Heroes. The world she had always desperately dreamed to be part of in New York City. Not to mention, he was also pretty cute. She couldn’t deny that!

  As Amrita looked out the window and into the woods, she couldn’t help but miss Gorgilla. But she realized that if she ever wanted to see him again, all she’d have to do is visit talestoastonish.com and post a message for Kid Kaiju. For Kei.

  BUMP!

  THE SIGNAL from the tracking device was coming in stronger and stronger. A person in white was clutching the device with a gloved hand, staring at it, while another person drove the white van. They were rumbling down a bumpy road near some woods when she cried, “Here! The tracking device says Gorgilla must be here!”

  Immediately, they pulled the white van over to the side of the deserted road. Opening the doors, the pair got out, and opened the back of the van. Four more people in white emerged, each carrying strange, heavy weapons in their arms.

  They followed the woman with the tracking device down the road. Approaching quietly, carefully, the people in white weren’t sure what they would find. And then they saw it. Plain as day, right in front of them.

  A broken-down white van, about one hundred yards away.

  “Be ready for anything,” the woman said.

  The people in white approached the van with caution. What had happened to the vehicle? One of the tires had blown out, and the front bumper was resting on the ground. A thin stream of steam escaped from the hood.

  The woman peered inside the driver’s side and looked at the steering wheel. Stuck to the middle of it was a small, round, white object that looked like a smoke alarm.

  It was a homing device.

  The homing device.

  The homing device that had been placed on Gorgilla.

  There was no sign of the enormous creature. Or, for that matter, of the other one, Fireclaw. And the two kids and the old man were nowhere to be found, either. Very smart, the woman thought. Ditch the van, remove the homing device from Gorgilla, and place it inside the van.

  “Search the perimeter!” she shouted. The people in white fanned out, looking in the woods.

  “They’re not going to find anything, are they?” said the driver.

  The woman shook her head. “No,” she said. “They’re long gone.”

  The driver scratched the stubble on his chin. He looked up, squinting in the bright sun. “What about that other thing they had with them? It looked like something that had the DNA of a tiger and a…dragon.” He shuddered at the memory.

  The woman’s icy stare never wavered from the dense tree line of the woods. “Gorgilla and that new monster are miles from here by now. And we need to leave. It’s only a matter of time before the Avengers find us.”

  “The Avengers?” the driver asked. “What do we tell the Committee? Won’t they be angry?”

  “What do we tell them? We tell them that it’s not a total loss,” the woman said as she walked back to their van. “We still have the DNA samples. There will be more Gorgillas….”

  THE END?