Chapter Three
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CHAPTER THREE

 

Dom fell backwards onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. For a moment, both of them were silent. What Yuzuha had just told them had great impact. Not only was this creature much bigger than Dom had expected, but it was also more than just an animal. It was a mutant, and a pretty mean one. Mean enough to destroy an entire city, anyways.

“So…” Dom said eventually. “We got a lot of information from her.”

“Yeah,” Will responded. “But you forgot to ask her about getting under water…”

“I didn’t forget.” Dom said, sitting up. “I changed my mind. If this Godzilla thing is three hundred feet tall and able to tear a city to pieces, then I don’t want to get in the water with it. Not anymore.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Will chuckled. He was glad Dom had changed his mind. “But how are we going to get it on tape now?”

“You know the answer to that question, Will.” Dom said sullenly, looking out the window.

“No…” Will whispered.

“Yes.” Dom responded quickly. “It’s the only way, Will. We have to stay here and wait for Godzilla… to come onto dry land…”

“But you heard Yuzuha! It burned Tokyo to the ground, man! If it comes on shore and starts stomping on buildings, what are we gonna do?” He exclaimed.

“We’ll keep our distance, get some footage, then run for the high ground and keep shooting from somewhere safe.” Dom said.

“Dom…” Will muttered, staring at his friend. “Either you’re the bravest man I’ve ever known, or the stupidest man I’ve ever known. But either way, I guess I don’t have any other choice but to follow you and this overgrown dinosaur.”

“Got that right.” Dom said, laughing. “Hey. I know what I really should’ve asked her.”

“What?” Will asked, looking up.

“I should’ve asked her if she knew any good restaurants with English menus!” Dom remarked.

They both had a good laugh, but in time quieted… and found themselves looking out the window, into Tokyo Bay. They both knew that it would be all uphill from here. Nothing would be easy. And if they didn’t play their cards right… it might cost them both their lives.

That night, Dom slept like a baby. His bed was comfortable, he had no nightmares, and was not woken up by the snarling of his boss or the roaring of a T-Rex. He awoke the next morning feeling rejuvenated, but soon noticed that Will wasn’t looking very energetic. He was sitting at the desk with a cup of coffee and had bags under his eyes.

“Good morning, Will…” Dom muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “What’s up? You look like you stayed up all night.”

“Well… you’re not far off.” Will said. “And you’re not gonna believe this.”

“Try me.” Dom said, getting out of bed.

“Alright, come here and take a look at this.” Will said, turning on the camera and pointing. “I shot this last night while you were asleep.”

Dom pressed his face closer and watched the small replay screen. At first all he could see was the night sky and the bay, with vague outlines floating on the horizon. The picture was shaking a little, but Dom remembered that the camera was on a tripod. The shaking wasn’t because of Will.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a brilliant flash of blue light from the bay. Then another, and another. The flashes stopped, and Dom watched curiously. At the origin of the flashes was a blue glow coming from below the surface. The glow remained for a few seconds, then faded away. Then everything went back to normal. Or, at least, he thought so. He squinted, looking harder. The coast guard ships were gone.

“What happened?” Dom whispered.

“I have no idea.” Will said, sipping from his mug of coffee.

“Hey… where’d you get that?” Dom asked, pointing to the coffee.

“Huh? Oh, the coffee. Yeah… that lady at the desk dropped by this morning and gave it to me. There’s a mug for you, too… but you were asleep when she came. It’s probably cold by now.” Will said, pointing to a second mug.

“Huh…” Dom muttered. “What time is it?”

“It’s eleven.” Will responded. “But don’t worry about sleeping in. Nothing’s happened this morning. I stayed awake all morning and watched the window. Godzilla hasn’t done anything since the flashes… assuming he’s what did that.”

“Heh, if there’s one thing you are Will, it’s dedicated.” Dom said, patting Will on the back. “Good work.”

“Thanks.” Will said, putting down his cup of coffee and covering a yawn with his hand. “So, what do we do next?”

“We should go down to the pier and check things out.” Dom suggested. “Maybe check in on that Mishubishi guy?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Will said, finishing his coffee and standing up. He retrieved the camera as Dom brushed his wily hair and picked up his microphone. “And let’s check in on Yuzuha again. We still need to find a good place to eat.”

“Yeah.” Dom said, opening the door and pulling the key from his pocket.

They walked down the hallway to Yuzuha’s room, and knocked twice for good measure. There was no response. Will tried joggling the handle- it was locked. Yuzuha couldn’t have been inside, they didn’t hear any sound at all.

“She must’ve already left.” Dom whispered. They couldn’t help but feel a little frightened. Godzilla was going to show up soon. Yuzuha had known that. And so did they.

“Come on…” Will said, pointing. “Let’s go. We’ll just go to the same place we went yesterday and try asking if they have an English menu.”

“Yeah…” Dom muttered, looking at the door solemnly.

They moved through the hallway and down the stairs without saying a word. The woman at the front desk was gone. Yuzuha had probably asked her to come with her when she left. Dom pushed the door open and let Will out first. Dom looked at the sign hanging from the door coldly. “CLOSED”.

The streets were just as busy as ever, though. Yuzuha was right… no one remembered what had happened before, and no one knew Godzilla was coming. They probably didn’t see the flashes, either. They were probably all asleep… Dom thought, Or maybe they did see them. Maybe they just didn’t care. As they treaded the streets of Tokyo, neither one of them could resist from staring out at the bay. Godzilla could show up any minute. He might be lurking just below the surface, ready to burst out at a moments notice. Or perhaps he was farther out in the bay, biding his time. It was impossible to tell… and it made them both uneasy.

“Let’s eat first.” Will said quickly, turning away from the bay. Dom followed eagerly.

They ate their meals in silence. There were no English menus, but they were too busy worrying to care. They ordered randomly, and ate their food without any complaints. The whole time they were watching the bay. Neither one would admit it out loud, but facts were facts. They were scared.

After finishing and paying for the food, they reluctantly moved to the pier. The Mountain Majesty had been recently docked, and Dale Mishubishi was nearby. He whistled at Dom and Will and waved for them to come. As they approached, Will got his camera ready just in case.

“Good morning, fellas.” Dale said. “I want to show you this morning’s catch. I went out this morning and found it after those coast guard ships cleared out.

Dale stepped aside, and they stepped onto the ship. Dale lowered his nets onto the deck and opened them. Along with a few crabs and odd looking fish, were large pieces of wood. They were broken and blackened, as if briefly set on fire. Will was already rolling as Dom reached out and picked up one of the pieces of wood.

“It’s not driftwood.” He announced, looking it over. He turned the piece of wood over and gulped. There were Japanese letters on the side. The same letters on the side of the coastguard ships. “It’s wreckage.”

“What?” Dale asked, getting closer. “Wreckage from what? There was nobody out there this morning.”

“Exactly.” Dom muttered. “Those coastguard ships didn’t leave, Dale. They were destroyed.”

“We’ve got it on camera, I think…” Will spoke up.

“Yes, last night he filmed some flashes in the bay. It must’ve been… the monster.” Dom said, avoiding the words Gojira and Godzilla.

“Oh, wow…” Dale moaned. “That thing took out all those ships? But how?”

“I don’t know,” Will said. “But on the tape, after the flashes stop, the ships are gone. All of them.”

“And this is what’s left…” Dale whispered. He thought of all the men on those ships, and of what must’ve happened to them. He went pale.

“Thanks for letting us know.” Dom whispered. “I think we’ve seen enough… goodbye, Dale…”

“Yeah, bye…” Dale muttered, staring at the charred pieces of wood. Dom and Will made a hasty retreat.

“How does an entire fleet of ships just fall to pieces in the blink of the eye?!” Will asked, raising one arm. “And what was that glow all about? This isn’t making any sense, Dom!”

“I don’t know, Will, I don’t know.” Dom said, shaking his head. “I don’t get it either.”

****

Satomi Tokogawa knew exactly what the glow was about, however. Fifty-two years ago, her parents were in Tokyo city when Godzilla came ashore. They fled from the giant monster as it tore down their home and set their neighborhood to flame, and were forced to look on as Godzilla killed everyone they knew. Satomi’s parents had never fully recovered from those horrific events… they were cold and paranoid, mere husks of the people they had once been.

As a result, Satomi had not had a loving childhood. Her parents offered little love or care for her, though she didn’t blame them. She was amazed they even had the will power to live, let alone raise a child. Satomi was never angry that her parents were so much colder than those of her friends… it was not their fault. There was only one being responsible for that. And he was were all her anger was centered.

Satomi joined the military after completing high school, and worked from sunrise to sunset every day. Her determination and thirst for revenge drove her straight to the top, and made her who she was today. Now she was a general in the Japanese military, and she was preparing her troops. Several coast guard ships had been destroyed in Tokyo, as well as a commercial fishing vessel. Satomi knew there could only be one culprit, and she was looking forward to finally coming face to face with him.

She would mobilize the troops at dusk, and an evacuation order would be given to the citizens of Tokyo. They would be sent to Osaka with military escorts and kept safe as Satomi and her troops faced Godzilla. All the clues lead to the same conclusion, Godzilla was going to come on land very soon. The sooner she could move her troops to Tokyo, the better.

Godzilla’s going to pay for what he did to my parents, Satomi thought bitterly, and all the other people who were in Tokyo… She paced around the room, watching as infantry men loaded RPGs and bazookas. They donned protective helmets and bulletproof vests, not to protect them from Godzilla, but from the shrapnel and debris that would surely occur during his rampage. Meanwhile, mechanics prepped tanks and missile launchers, and pilots double checked every last piece of equipment on their fighter jets.

Everything was running smoothly. In fact, they were ahead of schedule. At this rate we can send the evacuation order by two o’ clock and have troops in the city by morning. Satomi thought, smiling. Finally… revenge…

****

“What time is it, Will?” Dom sighed, staring out at the bay through the window of the hotel. The door had remained unlocked.

“It’s almost two.” Will yawned, laying on his bed. Dom exhaled deeply.

“And still no sign of Godzilla.” Dom said. “This has been a slow day, Will. Don’t get me wrong- I’m glad that Godzilla hasn’t shown up yet. But we need material for Jerry… we need as much footage as possible.”

“Too bad.” Will snorted. “We’ve already got footage. Interesting footage. That’s what he wanted, isn’t it? And if Godzilla comes on shore and we get HIM on camera, then Jerry hasn’t got anything on us.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Dom muttered.

Dom walked away from the window and sat at the foot of his bed. He looked down at the floor for a moment. Suddenly both men were caught off guard as the sound of a blaring siren cut through the air. They scrambled to their feet as the siren wailed. They could hear the sound of people panicking in the streets.

“What’s going on?!” Will yelped, gawking at the window.

“They’re evacuating the city!” Dom growled, grabbing his microphone.

“What? Evacuating?” Will gulped. “But we have to get Godzilla on film! We can’t leave now!”

“I’m not planning on it.” Dom said resentfully. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“We’re staying here?” Will gasped.

“Of course we are.” Dom said, stuffing his mike in his back pocket. “All the action is here! Not wherever they’re sending these citizens… Besides, you knew there was going to be an evacuation order sooner or later, Will! What did you think, the government would just tell everyone to go inside and lock their doors?”

“I guess I knew, but…” Will trailed off. “There’s a big difference between thinking about it and doing it!”

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.” Dom said, looking at Will. “Remember that little speech about keeping our distance?”

“Yeah… distance…” Will muttered.

“Now, take a deep breath, and calm down. Everything’s going to be alright. We can stay in here until he shows up… we’ve got all our equipment, we’ve got a view of the bay, and we’ve got beds to sleep in. We have everything we need.” Dom said, patting Will on the back. “We’re going to get Godzilla on film, and we’re going to live to tell about it.”

They spent almost the entire rest of the day in their room. They ventured out only once, to get something to eat. Unfortunately, the restaurant was locked down. Just like everyone else, the management was gone. The streets were virtually empty. Every now and again Dom thought he could hear someone out by the pier, but he didn’t see a soul. Tokyo city had become a ghost town.

Hungry and apprehensive, they went back to their room and waited for nightfall. Will was practically glued to his camera, and was only taken away from it by the nagging urge to sleep. He finally dozed off, and so did Dom. As they snoozed, night fell, and the lonely city was enveloped in darkness. There was an ominous silence throughout all of Tokyo. The calm before the storm…

“Come in Alpha-One, do you read me?” Satomi Takogawa said into her com-link.

“Roger that. I hear you loud and clear.” Replied the pilot of the Alpha-One, a F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.

“We’ve just been informed by satellite intelligence that Godzilla is moving.” Satomi said. “He’s swimming towards shore.”

“Roger that.” The pilot replied. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

The Alpha-One soared through the clouds, followed by the Alphas Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven in “V” formation. The Hornets streaked through the sky, carrying their deadly payload. Each Hornet was equipped with an M61 Vulcan gattling gun and 13,700 lbs of air-to-ground missiles. Trailing behind the Hornets was an A-10 Thunderbolt II bomber, fully loaded with AGM-15 Maverick missiles and a GAU-8/A Avenger Cannon with 1,350 rounds of depleted-Uranium shells.

Below, a wave of five battle tanks trudged along on their muddy treads. Behind them were two mobile rocket launchers. The plan was simple. The ground artillery would station itself around the bay and wait for the signal to open fire. After they depleted their munitions, they would fall back. Then the Hornets would attack Godzilla, with the Thunderbolt II bomber as backup. Hopefully it wouldn’t be needed.

Perched on the tanks were infantry, who would lend support to the artillery. Along with the troops was Satomi, an RPG hung over her shoulder. She was going on the front line against Godzilla, and she knew just how dangerous that was. But she didn’t care… all she wanted to do was fight Godzilla. It didn’t matter if she lost her life. As long as she got to fire at least one shot at that atomic abomination…

“GET UP!” Will shouted, waking Dom immediately.

“What is it?!” Dom gasped. “Is it… him?”

“No.” Will said, grabbing Dom’s arm and pulling him out of bed. “It’s the military! A jet just flew right over us!”

“We’ve got to get out there then!” Dom gasped, rushing to his feet and pulling out his mike. “They’re getting ready to fight Godzilla!”

“That’ll be killer footage, Dom, absolutely killer!” Will said, lifting his camera. “But we’ve got to be even more careful! We can’t let them see us!”

“That’s right… they’ll push us back. We’ve got to sneak past them!” Dom said, clenching his fist. “Come on! Let’s go!”

They hurried down the stairs and through the doors, and walked out into the dark streets. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but there was enough moonlight to illuminate the streets. They stopped and listened… they would hear the whir of engines and the clanking of tanks. Dom crept past the Laundromat next door and peered around the corner.

“They’re down the street.” Dom whispered, pointing.

“This way, then!” Will said, pointing the opposite direction. “We’ll stand in front of this shop and start rolling! If they get too close, we’ll go inside…”

Dom hurried back to Will and they crouched down on the porch of the candy shop. Will lifted the camera onto his shoulder and aimed at the bay, and started rolling. Dom cleared his throat and spoke softly into the microphone.

“The city has been evacuated,” Dom said. “But we have stayed behind to get this exclusive footage for Channel Four News! The Japanese military is entering the city as I speak, preparing to meet the monster called Godzilla…”

Just then, the nozzle of a tank protruded from around the corner. Will spun the camera around and watched as the tank pulled up to the edge of the bay and halted. Men with bazookas leapt off of the tanks and spread out. Farther down, Will spotted more tanks pulling up. Dom gulped. The infantry was awfully close.

“I think maybe we should back up, Dom.” Will whispered.

“Definitely.” Dom agreed, slinking away. Will followed, keeping the camera pointed at the bay.

As they crept farther away from the tanks, they noticed that there was no activity in the bay itself. Godzilla must not be coming ashore yet… the military was waiting for him. Dom wondered just how long they’d have to wait. More importantly to him, how long would HE have to wait?

Meanwhile, Satomi loaded her RPG and stepped forward in the line of infantry. She glared at the bay, anxious to fire. She hoped Godzilla would rise soon… she was growing impatient already. She wanted her vengeance, and she wanted it now. Already she had waited so long…

“I’m tired of waiting.” She announced. “Infantry: Permission to open fire!”

With that, the infantry let loose. Rocket propelled grenades and bazooka shells flew threw the air, sending puffs of smoke into the air. The shots hit the water and exploded, throwing plumes of sea spray upwards. The infantry was unfazed as water poured down on them, and watched the flashes or orange and yellow before them.

“Hold fire!” Satomi ordered, reloading. She stared hard into the bay, watching the churning waters.

First nothing happened. For a second, Satomi wondered if Godzilla was even awake. Perhaps he had lost interest and gone into hibernation again. But then the water began to churn and bubble, and the entire bay seemed to rise.

Satomi stepped back and gawked in awe as the entire bay DID rise, and rise, and rise. It gave way into a gigantic spire, which drenched the soldiers and their tanks. They gawked up into the dark sky, and gasped. Two bright yellow eyes stared back at them, and an ear shattering roar pierced the night. Towering over them was Godzilla, water streaming off his titanic body. He bared his teeth and snarled fiercely, and spread his clawed fingers. He inhaled deeply. The smell of human filled his nostrils. He hated the smell of human.