Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral

by Matthew Dennion

  The first Arena Lord gazed at the Newcomer. “Titans and gods. Are you telling me these beings are using some kind of magic?”

  The Newcomer shook his head, “Not magic, merely a form of science that is slightly different from our own. As I told you, once we use these rifts to secure the monsters we need, I shall explain the entire process to you.”

  One of the other Arena Lords spoke up, “What is that blast the creature unleashed?”

  The Newcomer changed the image again to show Atomic Rex unleashing his Atomic Wave against opponent after opponent. “The blast is an attack of pure radiation that expands outward from the beast’s body. The blue dome is known as the Atomic Wave by the inhabitants of the monster’s home world. The attack strikes its opponent with tremendous force and intense heat.”

  The first Arena Lord floated over toward the Newcomer. “You have shown us that Atomic Rex has great power and fighting prowess but what separates him from the other monsters you’ve shown us as an ideal opponent for Gurral?”

  The Newcomer shook his head, “As I stated, the other creatures you saw before are either influenced or controlled by higher intelligences or see themselves as heroic creatures. Fighting in the arena would not be something they would accept.” He shifted the images back to Atomic Rex, “This creature on the other hand, only cares about food and territory. He is also extremely aggressive, attacking nearly anything that crosses his path. If Gurral were to approach him, Atomic Rex would most assuredly attack.”

  The first Arena Lord responded with a concerned look on his face, “You want to send Gurral to Atomic Rex’s dimension? We have only just now learned of the existence of other dimensions and you want to access some defeated god’s leftover portals to send Gurral there to fight this kaiju? What if we lose Gurral in the process? We will have nothing!”

  The Newcomer shrugged. “We were just speaking of the need to retire Gurral due to the fact that he is nearly unstoppable and thus runs the risk of becoming boring to our fans. Think of the intrigue of sending him to a new universe. Aside from Atomic Rex, this version of Earth is filled with other giant monsters. Think of Gurral taking on creature after creature as he makes his way toward his showdown with Atomic Rex. Then if Gurral can capture Atomic Rex and bring him back here, we will have an entirely new monster to battle in the arena.”

  The Newcomer brought up an image of a series of calculations. “All we need to do is take Gurral to one of the dimensional rifts leading to Atomic Rex’s home world, arm him with a device to subdue the monster, and let him enter it. My analysis of these rifts show that they will stay open for several weeks. Furthermore, I dare say that we could create our own rift if we needed to, should Gurral become stranded on Earth.”

  The first two Arena Lords were still considering the Newcomer’s proposition when he decided to press the issue by playing on their greed and vanity, “You’re not scared of such an endeavor are you? We are the mighty Arena Lords who pride ourselves on sport and wagers. Our race would not back down from such an opportunity as this to protect a mere gladiator, would they?”

  A look of anger flashed across the faces of the two lords who had been insulted. The first shook his head in anger, “Of course not! We were simply considering how we would convince Gurral to undergo such a perilous quest.”

  The Newcomer smiled. “Leave that to me.”

  Chapter 3

  Earth: Northwest California

  The sun broke through the window and struck the sleeping man on his face. Chris Myers yawned as the smell of the wildflowers in bloom in the nearby meadow wafted into his nose. He rubbed his eyes and then rolled over to see his wife Kate sleeping next to him. Her eyes were closed and Chris was sure she was still asleep. He looked down at his wife in awe. With her athletic build and now salt and pepper colored hair, she looked as beautiful as ever.

  It had been almost thirty years since he and Kate had helped form the last human settlement on Earth. Back then the settlement was merely an abandoned town in the woods that had been overlooked by the kaiju without functional power or plumbing. In those early days, Kate’s natural leadership caused the people in the settlement to elect her their leader. As the leader of the settlement, she organized the people and their skill sets. Under Kate’s leadership, the people of the settlement had restored a hydro-electric plant to provide them with limited power. Once the power was partially back on, she led the effort to restore enough of the plumbing system for the sewers, toilets, sinks for drinking water, and even a few public showers to operate.

  All the while, Chris and Kate continued to use the mech known as Steel Samurai 2.0 to fight off any of the giant mutant animals and bugs that threatened the settlement. Chris' role as the pilot of Steel Samurai 2.0 caused some of the people in the settlement to see him as a leader as well, but he knew the truth. He was a soldier, a fighter, a grunt. It was Kate who was the true leader.

  He smiled as he continued to stare at his wife and whispered, “I can’t believe it’s been over thirty years since I first met you. You saved me that day. You gave me a reason for living.” He took a close look at her face. “How did I end up with you? Even at almost fifty years old you're still as beautiful as when we first met.”

  Kate opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. “Let’s not get started on this who saved who thing. It was you who saved me from Ogre. Well, I guess Steel Samurai did most of the work but you helped a little.” She moved in closer to him and placed her hand on his salt and pepper colored unshaven face. “Even so, I still love it when you tell me how beautiful I am, but you can leave out the part about me being almost fifty.”

  Chris laughed, “Hey, before we cleared out North America from giant monsters, thirty was considered old. The fact that we’ve made it to fifty is pretty good.”

  Kate tickled Chris. “You’re fifty! I’m almost fifty.”

  Chris laughed, “Well either way we have a daughter that’s getting married in a few days,” Chris sighed. “I can’t believe my little girl is getting married to a lunk head like Sean McDuffy.”

  Kate gave her husband a sarcastic look. “First of all, Emily is twenty-two years old. She’s hardly a little girl. Heck, she’s practically the second in command around here and the people like her more than me. She’s pretty much the de facto next leader of this place when I step down. As for Sean, while he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to common sense, he is a hard-working farmer, which in the world we live in is one of the most important jobs someone can have. He is also very kind to Emily and he loves her very much. Plus, he’s pretty damn handsome and rugged looking.”

  She smiled at her husband. “You can’t blame her for falling for a ruggedly handsome man who, while not what we used to call book smart, is adept at surviving in a world ruled by monsters. Her mother fell for the same type of guy some thirty years ago.”

  Chris smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah you’re right. Sean is a good guy and he treats Emily well, even though, like her mother, she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.” He then shook his head as he looked in his wife’s eyes. “The one thing you’re wrong about though is that even if Emily is no longer a little girl, she’ll always be my little girl.”

  Kate smiled back at him. “She’ll always be our little girl.”

  Chris sighed, “Yeah, I just wish we could give her the wedding she deserves. You know, like the ones they had before the kaiju. Like the one we should have had. Instead of us standing in a crumbling hotel to stay out of the rain as a guy pronounced us man and wife before two other people.” He shrugged, “You deserved better than that and so does she.”

  Kate smiled as she fought back quickly forming tears. “That’s why I love you and that’s the same type of thing Sean would say to Emily which is why she loves him.” She grabbed her husband’s hands. “First of all, compared to the warehouse that Ogre kept me trapped in for years, that crumbling hotel was a mansion to me. Even if we were getting married in a cave it would have been the
happiest day of my life because I was marrying you.” She squeezed Chris' hands tighter. “Emily will be getting married at Sean’s farm in the middle of spring. It will be beautiful. She is beloved in the settlement so everyone there will be overjoyed by the wedding, meaning you will get to walk her down the aisle surrounded by all of her friends and family.” The tears building in her eyes began to increase as her smile grew. “Then as the leader of the settlement, I’ll get to preside over our daughter’s wedding. In this world, the world before the kaiju, or any other world in the universe, can you imagine a better day for us or Emily?”

  Chris shook his head. “You’re right, I really can’t.” He started to climb out of bed. “The only thing that could ruin it would be a giant mutant attack or something worse.”

  Kate nodded as she wiped her eyes dry. “Which is why we’ve been doubling our patrols with Steel Samurai 2.0. We’re doing our best to make sure there are no large mutants close enough to the settlement to pose a threat to us. As for the other threat, our son has recently been able to use an old computer and what’s left of the internet to access the Google satellite to track Atomic Rex. Kyle told me that as of yesterday, Atomic Rex is in the South American rainforest, far away from us and with plenty of food to occupy him.”

  Chris stood up. “I know Kyle’s doing a great job keeping an eye on that demon. Even so, I still worry about Atomic Rex. I mean, what about that anomaly or whatever it was that Kyle called it? That blue light that appeared next to Atomic Rex. It was like he vanished in it for two weeks and then when the light re-appeared, that kaiju just walks right out of it.”

  He turned back toward Kate. “The weird part is whatever that light did to Atomic Rex, it seems like his body no longer needs to constantly feed on nuclear energy. It’s not like he hasn’t been using the Atomic Wave. Kyle has several pictures of him using it. I mean, where is he getting the energy from? Is he just making it himself?” Chris was starting to shake as he thought about the nuclear theropod.

  Kate leapt out of bed and put her hands around her husband’s neck. “Chris, calm down. I know how many times you’ve fought Atomic Rex. I know how many friends he’s taken from you, but you have to let it go. That monster is down in South America, countless miles away from us and still far away from the settlement in Peru. I don’t know what happened to his need to feed off nuclear energy but as long as it’s gone, that’s a good thing. It means he’s less likely to come looking for it because all he needs is food. The ambient radiation he is giving off creates all kinds of mutants for him to eat. He’s basically supplying his own food chain down there. He has no reason to leave South America. He’s got the entire continent to himself. With there being no other True Kaiju around either, he has no reason to come up here and defend his territory.”

  Kate shrugged. “Maybe that blue light was God finally giving us a break, maybe it was some kind of freak accident, maybe it was Gandalf the Gray, who cares as long as Atomic Rex is not bothering us.”

  She kissed her husband, then pulled away. “I know how much of your life that monster has ruined but he won’t ruin anymore of it if you don’t let him.”

  Chris kissed his wife back. “I know. I know. I’m not freaking Captain Ahab; I can’t let my fear of Atomic Rex ruin my life.”

  Kate tilted her head. “Fear? I’ve only ever heard you use the word hatred when talking about him.”

  Chris sighed. “You know I don’t like to talk about things like this much with me being a tough guy and as you said not the sharpest tool in the shed.” He took a deep breath. “Back when we first lured Atomic Rex to South America, I realized that if it wasn’t for him destroying the world and me leading him on a wild goose chase across the county to kill off the other True Kaiju, I never would have met you and we never would have had Emily and Kyle. It sounds weird but if Atomic Rex hadn’t destroyed the rest of the world, I wouldn’t have my world.”

  He was now tearing up as he looked at his wife. “You and the kids,” he smiled, “you and our adult children are my entire world and, in a way, I have Atomic Rex to thank for that. While I can appreciate that, I still fear him coming here and hurting you, Emily, and Kyle or destroying the settlement we have all worked so hard to build. That thought scares the hell out of me.”

  Kate hugged her husband. “And that, Captain Myers, is again why I love you. You always think of others before yourself. Atomic Rex is content in South America and as long as we don’t bother him, there is no reason to think he will come up here. Even if he did make his way up here, we would have plenty of warning to clear out or devise a plan to lure him away.”

  She looked out the window at their small settlement and the forest that surrounded it. “We haven’t seen any mutants within one hundred miles of the settlement in the past several days. As the leader of the settlement, I’m going to say that we can push back our patrol with Steel Samurai 2.0 a little bit.” She grabbed Chris and pulled him down on top of her as she fell back into their bed. “That is if you still find your almost fifty-year old wife attractive?”

  Chris smiled again as he looked down at her. “Just as attractive as the day I met you. Actually, you’re even more attractive now without all the gross leg and armpit hair you grew from not shaving for a couple of years.”

  Kate laughed as she rolled her husband over and pressed herself down on top of him. “That’s it, Captain Myers. You are going to get it now.” She then leaned in and kissed Chris passionately as she began to take off his clothes.

  Chapter 4

  South American Rainforest

  Lightning streaked across the sky, as thunder crashed, and rain poured down in thick sheets, pelting the tree canopy. The kaiju known as Atomic Rex had been resting on the banks of the Amazon River, enjoying the storm. The nuclear theropod felt equally at home on both land and in the ocean. The monster felt as if the rainy season of the Amazon jungle provided the best of both worlds, as he could walk around on land while still feeling the cooling rain running down his scales.

  Atomic Rex lay on the bank of the river and watched the awesome display the lightning was giving off for nearly a half an hour before he finally saw what he was looking for. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky to reveal the silhouette of a cyclopean bird with a crest surrounding its face, flying through the night sky, carrying a massive snake in its talons.

  The saurian kaiju roared when he saw the mutated harpy eagle flying above him. Since he had absorbed the power of the phoenix when he was transported to another Earth, he no longer craved nuclear energy. The power of the phoenix that now ran through the monster’s cells served as a perpetual source of radioactive energy. This phenomenon satiated what was once an unyielding hunger for Atomic Rex.

  While his body no longer needed nuclear energy, it did require food and the radioactive leviathan was hungry. The monster began moving through the rainforest in search of his prey. The tallest tree in the expansive jungle barely reached the kaiju’s knees as he moved through the forest. As he walked through the jungle, his body gave off ambient radiation that would cause other fauna to mutate and grow to gigantic proportions. The creature’s pursuit of food today would inadvertently provide food for the future.

  The nuclear theropod kept his eyes fixed on the sky as the lightning flashed once more to show the giant eagle flying farther east and easily outpacing its hunter. Atomic Rex had no concern of the eagle being faster than he was. He had hunted other harpy eagles that his radiation had mutated into giants. From past experience, he knew full well that he would be unable to catch his prey in a flat-out chase. However, Atomic Rex was far from an unthinking brute. When he hunted the giant birds, he studied their behavior. He had learned that when the harpy eagles were hunting to feed themselves, they would eat their prey wherever they caught it. Atomic Rex had tried to attack one of the eagles when it was eating only to find that when he charged the colossal bird it flew off into the sky.

  One time when Atomic Rex was hunting, he saw one of the giant birds grab one of th
e forty-meter-long snakes in its talons and take to the sky. Intrigued by this exhibition of new behavior, Atomic Rex followed the bird as it flew back. While the bird was much faster than he was, tracking the avian mutation through the sky was not an issue for the keen-eyed kaiju.

  When Atomic Rex finally caught up to the harpy eagle, he found the bird in a giant nest built on the ground. Inside the nest, were three harpy eagle chicks, each standing over ten meters tall. When the nuclear theropod charged the nest, the mother eagle had no choice but to try and defend her family. After a vicious battle, Atomic Rex was able to feed on the mother eagle, the chicks, and the remains of the snake. He knew full well that if he could follow this giant harpy eagle back to her nest and defeat her, he would enjoy a similar feast.

  The chase went on for dozens of kilometers through the thick jungle and raging storm. Atomic Rex kept a steady walking pace as he followed his prey. He knew full well that he had to conserve his energy to sprint at the bird when it finally landed. Another hour of chasing the bird passed before it finally circled around for a landing.

  The massive raptor was roughly eight kilometers ahead of Atomic Rex when it descended into the jungle’s tree canopy. As soon as Atomic Rex saw the harpy eagle starting to land, the monster quickly broke into a full out sprint. Due to his massive size, hunting using stealth tactics was not an option that was available to the saurian beast. Atomic Rex’s heart was racing and saliva was dripping out of his mouth at the thought of a much-needed meal as he ran through the trees like a living building.

  The moment that Atomic Rex started running, the mother harpy eagle’s head popped up above the canopy. The raptor screeched at the oncoming predator and then spread its wings. The mutant sprang into the air. Then with her wings spread to their full one-hundred-meter span, the mother harpy eagle began flapping. The wind from the storm was already at the eagle’s back and when she started flapping her wings, the gusts generated by the tropical storm soon surpassed the force of the most powerful hurricane Mother Nature had ever developed.