by Greg Keyes
This is you? she asked, pointing at the smaller figure.
Jia nodded.
Ilene pointed at the second figure with legs, which was holding a spear but did not have it raised in defense.
And this?
You, Jia said. And still she showed no expression.
Ilene nodded. Stay in here, she said. I’ll be back.
* * *
In the ship’s commissary, Nathan tuned out the clatter of cooks and other crew. He turned his little spaceman between his fingers a few times, laid it down, and then took out the picture of him and his big brother Dave. The last picture of them together, in fact, and the last time he had seen him, preparing to enter his modified aircraft.
Unto the breach.
Over time, the irony of the phrase had grown on Nathan. It came from Shakespeare’s Henry V, spoken when the king was rallying his men to renew their attack on the French Army despite seemingly hopeless odds. Although Dave had never meant it that way, in retrospect it suggested that entering Hollow Earth was an act of war. If so, the first victory went to Hollow Earth. But the phrase had acquired another meaning over time: try again.
We’ll get there, Dave, he thought. Just wish we could do it together.
He noticed Ilene coming toward him with two coffee cups. He tucked the picture away.
“Here,” she said, handing him one of the cups.
“Thank you,” he said. “How’s Jia?”
“Calm,” Ilene said. “So calm it’s scary.”
He pictured Kong’s hand again, forming the sign.
“That was extraordinary,” he said.
“I had been signing the alphabet,” she said. “Basic commands. But he never…”
“Do you have any idea how long they’ve been communicating?” he asked.
She didn’t answer right away.
“No,” she said. “I mean, I knew that they had a bond. He trusts her. Without her, he’d be tearing this ship apart. You know … Jia’s parents were killed on the island. When the storm took over the island, it wiped out the native people. But Kong saved her. She had nowhere to go. So, I made a promise, then and there, to protect her. I think that, in some way, he did the same.”
“Do you think he’d take directions from her?”
“No,” Ilene said. “No way.”
But he heard something in her voice. She was protective of the girl, obviously. She felt responsible for her. When it came to Jia, he couldn’t necessarily trust Ilene to tell the truth.
“If we have someone who can keep the reins on Kong…” he said, attempting to persuade her.
“No one can keep the reins on Kong,” she said. “And she’s a child.”
Monarch Office, Pensacola
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “Can you repeat that?”
“It’s why I wanted you to come here,” Director Guillerman told him. “There’s a lot going on, and frankly, I need an experienced man at my side.”
“Sure,” Mark said. “But just go over that bit again, will you. About moving Kong.”
“We’re moving Kong to Antarctica,” the director said. “It’s part of a new initiative to enter Hollow Earth. Apex has discovered a power source down there; they think it’s the same energy Godzilla draws on. It may be our key to defeating him.”
“Apex,” Mark said, slowly. “As in the company that owns the facility in Pensacola that Godzilla attacked.”
“Exactly.”
“And you think this is a coincidence?”
Even as he said it, he realized he was echoing Madison, who was doubtless channeling her favorite conspiracy theorist. And yet it was now beginning to sound less crazy. Simmons had publicly declared war on Godzilla after his plant was attacked, but if he had this new information about some energy source in Hollow Earth, he must have been working on this way before that even happened. How long had Simmons and Apex been interested in Godzilla—and Kong—and why?
“Doubtless it isn’t,” Guillerman said. “We’ve worked with Apex in the past, mostly contract projects. But Walter Simmons has shown interest in the Titans since Godzilla first appeared in 2014. That’s hardly surprising, when you think about it.”
“Sure,” Mark said. “It makes sense for someone who made their fortune in tech to be interested in the Titans. Any one of those things is a walking source of potential technology. The question is, when and why did Godzilla become interested in Walter Simmons?”
“Agreed,” Guillerman said. “We’re looking into that.”
“And how did Apex end up running a Monarch expedition?” Mark pressed.
“They aren’t,” the director replied. “They’re supplying the tech, but Dr. Lind is heading up the project.”
“Dr. Lind. You mean Nathan Lind?”
“I believe you know each other.”
“Sure, but I mean—his track record with Hollow Earth isn’t exactly, ah, stellar.”
“We’ve seen his plan,” Guillerman said. “With these new Apex vehicles, he should be able to overcome the technical problems of the last expedition.”
“And they need Kong because?”
“Hollow Earth is huge. Dr. Lind believes Kong will lead us to the power source.”
“Oh my God,” Mark said, sitting down. “Again.”
“We have every chance of success this time,” Guillerman said. “The Apex vehicles can withstand the strain of the gravity reversal.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Mark said. “Again we’re rushing into a situation we don’t understand. Dealing with power we have only the faintest comprehension of. Have you asked Walter Simmons what he plans to do with that ‘energy source’ once he gets it?”
“He claims he will be able to control Godzilla,” the director said. “Take him out, if necessary.”
“Take him out,” Mark said. “How? With what? What were they building in that factory?”
Guillerman nodded. “As I said, we’re looking into it. If you have any thoughts on the matter, I would love to hear them.”
Mark sighed. “I know,” he said. “Answers are hard, and questions are cheap. But that’s all I have right now.”
“You and me both, Dr. Russell,” Guillerman said. “I know I had big shoes to fill when I stepped in to take over where Serizawa left off, but—”
“You inherited a mess,” Mark said. “A mess I had a part in making. I’m trying to come up to speed, too.”
“We’d better both come up to speed, fast,” Guillerman said. “If we don’t, I’m afraid there might be hell to pay.”
“Been there,” Mark said. “I’ve got the ticket stub and the receipt.”
TWELVE
From the notes of Dr. Brooks
And through the two of them heat took hold on the dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the beaches round and about, at the rush of the deathless gods: and there arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live with Cronos, because of the unending clamour and the fearful strife.
Hesiod Works and Days, circa 700 BCE, trans.
Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914
Tasman Sea
Playing with her Kong totem, Jia could feel the Titan’s heartbeat through the metal skin and bones of the ship. It was smoother now, more even than it had been earlier, but she knew he was still angry, confused. More than that, he felt lost.
He had felt that way back in the fake jungle, too. He had known things weren’t right, that the island that had been the home to their kind for so long was no more. But at least the rocks had still been there, just as the bones of his parents had remained to remind him that they had once been real. Now even that was gone, and all that remained of the island was the two of them, Kong and Jia. The last members of their people.
She felt the loss, too, but she also had a mother. She k
new Ilene wasn’t her real mother, of course, the one who had given birth to her. But with the Iwi, all women were mothers, whether they had given birth or not. Men, too for that matter, although that was sometimes difficult to explain to outsiders. Anyone who looked after you was a mother, and Ilene looked after her.
And in that same sense, Jia was a mother of Kong, and he of her.
Right now, he could not look after her. So she had to look after him.
She wondered exactly what others felt when someone’s mouth moved, when language came from the tongue and lips—from the wind passing through them—instead of the hands, the face, the body. It would be useful, at times, to know what someone was saying when you weren’t looking at them. On the other hand, she could feel things that they did not. Like Kong’s heartbeat.
And … something else. What was that? Kong’s heartbeat was picking up; he was more alert. More than alert, worried. More so than when he had first awakened, tied down. And his heart continued to beat faster.
But Jia felt something else. Something that wasn’t coming from Kong, but which he also was aware of. The thing that was making him anxious.
She put her hands against the metal wall, and felt it more strongly, tremoring through the water and into the skin of the ship. She had never experienced the pulsation before, or anything like it, but she knew what it was. Because he knew what it was. Kong had heard this back on the island, when he stood and pounded his chest. He had told her about it, but it was too faint for her to feel back then. Or maybe she just hadn’t been ready to feel it. But now she did. A heartbeat, like Kong’s, but different. And there was another vibration, high, then sharp.
As if he had a star inside of him.
And he was close, almost here, strong, getting stronger. And Kong, even with the stuff they had given him to subdue him—was becoming frantic. He knew what was happening. The old war had come for him, the war her people once told of. And Kong was helpless.
Understanding, Jia didn’t hesitate any longer, but sprinted out of the room, searching for Ilene-Mother.
She ran into one of the many people on the ship; she signed, asking him where Mother was. He looked at her as if he didn’t or couldn’t understand.
Useless. She ran on, searching.
* * *
“I know Jia is only a child,” Nathan said. “But she’s the only one he’ll communicate with. And we need Kong to find that power source. The world needs him.”
Ilene was forming an answer when red lights began flashing and the ship’s alarms blared. She turned and saw Jia standing in the doorway, signing like crazy. One of the signs was a new one—fingers held up, spread wide. Ilene had no doubt what it meant. She suddenly felt heavier, as if every molecule in her body had doubled in mass.
“What’s she saying?” Nathan asked.
“Godzilla,” Ilene replied.
* * *
When they reached the bridge, the crew was working frantically. Something—something big—had appeared in sonar, only to vanish in radiation interference as it got closer.
“Radiation readings are off the chart,” someone said.
“Did we change course?” Ilene asked the Admiral.
“No,” Wilcox said. “We’re nowhere near the areas you flagged.”
Nathan was staring at the monitors. “Well, it looks like he’s coming for us anyway.”
“He’s not coming for us,” Ilene said.
“What?” Simmons said, looking at Kong. “Him? Then dump him! Dump the monkey.”
“Why don’t we throw you off instead?” Ilene snapped.
Set Kong free! Jia signed frantically.
Kong seemed to agree. He was testing his chains again, but he also kept casting his vision out to the waves.
Ilene knew Jia was right. Their plan had depended upon getting Kong to Antarctica without Godzilla noticing he’d left Skull Island. It was now clear that they had failed. She did not know if Kong could survive a confrontation with the other Titan under the best of conditions, but he certainly had no chance tied up like he was, all prepped for vivisection.
“We need to release him,” she told the others. “We have to let him go.”
“See?” Simmons said. “I knew you’d come around.”
“Not dump him,” Ilene said. “Set him free.”
“If we lose Kong the mission is over!” Nathan said.
“He’s a sitting duck out there,” Ilene said. “If Godzilla kills him, if he destroys this fleet, the mission is over. We have to let him protect himself. And us.”
Nathan looked down, then away.
“It’s your mission,” Admiral Wilcox told him. “Call it.”
But Nathan still didn’t say anything; he just pursed his lips and seemed to be looking at something that wasn’t there. The Admiral’s expression shifted; Ilene thought it looked like disgust.
“Do something, Nathan!” Ilene shouted.
An explosion shattered the air; out on the water, a destroyer went up in a fireball. Black smoke boiled toward the sky.
The Admiral turned away from Nathan, disdain now written clearly on his face. “Scramble fighters!” he commanded. “All stations, acquire target lock and fire at will, fire at will!”
* * *
Nathan watched, paralyzed, as missiles and shells fired from every part of the fleet converged on a distant, still unseen target. They ruptured in the ocean, hurling up plumes of water and smoke, sending a shock across the ocean and in the air. It seemed impossible any living being could withstand such power. But then he saw Godzilla’s fins appear as the monster cruised out of the smoke.
On deck, Kong was thrashing ever more desperately, trying to break his shackles, and for a terrible instant the Titan looked straight up at the bridge, directly, it seemed, at Nathan, both puzzled and angry at his helpless state in the face of his enemy. And there was something else in that look. Ilene believed the Iwi and perhaps other humans had gone to war with Kong in the past, and there was evidence that Godzilla, too, might have once had human followers. Did Kong feel … betrayed?
Or did Nathan just feel like a betrayer?
He glanced at the Admiral, who was no longer paying attention to him. Why should he? Nathan had shown what he was made of, again.
He should have known better than to let Dave bully him into continuing the Hollow Earth mission. He had known in his bones that something was wrong, that he didn’t have enough data, that his calculations were somehow off. He had let it happen anyway. He could not make the wrong decision again. He couldn’t. Not with so much at stake. And yet the choice he had to make was impossible. There was no workable solution.
He watched in helpless horror as Godzilla cut a destroyer in half with his dorsal fins. Bombs tracked along his back; the unstoppable Titan kept coming, still swimming with his head down and his back out of the water, like an alligator. A pair of jets dropped down low over him and pounded him with missiles, which erupted in impressive columns of flame. Before they could reach safety, Godzilla’s tail lifted from the water, curling as high as a skyscraper, swatting one of the jets from the air as if it were an insect. Then he brought the tail back down, bisecting a pair of warships, sending their crews running toward the rails as flames roared up from their fuel and munitions.
And on he drove toward them, toward Kong.
To make matters even weirder, one half of the destroyer the Titan had just annihilated suddenly jerked in the water and then began racing behind Godzilla, reminding Nathan of a fishing bobber after a big fish hit the hook.
Must have caught the anchor chain, he thought numbly, watching as the Titan came on, dragging half a freaking battleship behind it. Surreal didn’t even begin to cover it; part of him wondered if it had finally happened and he was experiencing a psychotic episode.
He saw Ilene grab Jia and pull her toward the bridge elevator. Where was she going? Kong? What did she think she could do?
Then Godzilla went under, and a moment later, so did what was left of the
destroyer.
Kong, meanwhile, was slamming the deck, desperately trying to tear free of his restraints. Nathan glanced at the controls that would set him free, but he was still paralyzed with indecision. Was Ilene right? Was setting Kong free the only solution? Surely not. Surely with all of the firepower the fleet commanded, they could drive Godzilla away. Maybe he was already gone; it seemed like a long time since he vanished beneath the surface.
Then Godzilla came out of the ocean like a killer whale breaching, smashing into Kong and the deck he was chained to. Nathan watched, aghast, as the entire ship tipped over. It took him an instant to realize that this wasn’t just something he was watching, that it was the ship he was on, that it wasn’t just the deck tilting but the bridge, too. And him. And everyone else.
As he fell and slid across the swiftly tilting deck, he smelled seawater, and then everything whited out.
* * *
Ilene pulled Jia into the elevator and sealed the hatch behind her. She was acting on instinct now, trying to put one more barrier between Jia and the monster outside. As much as she had studied Godzilla, as much as she thought her experience with Kong had prepared her for other Titans, the reality was terrifying. In a handful of minutes, Godzilla had shrugged off everything the fleet could throw at him, destroyed three battleships, obliterated a fighter plane, and capsized a vessel large enough to carry Kong. Now they were upside down, and water was pouring into her chosen hiding place—and into the bridge even faster. She gaped, horrified, at the sight of Kong, underwater, still in chains, fighting a losing battle for his survival. All of Monarch’s planning, all of their military might swept aside with no more effort than someone on a picnic brushing their blanket clean of ants.
They had to release Kong. It was the only chance any of them had. But the pressure outside was too great, preventing her from opening the hatch. She began banging, trying to get Nathan’s attention before the bridge filled completely with water and he drowned.