Having fought and slain several alpha mutant pit bulls prior to this one, Atomic Rex was fully aware of what the dog would do after he threw it to the ground. As soon as Atomic Rex started the motion of tossing the giant canine to the ground, he continued forward with his momentum and spun his body around. As the mutant was in mid-leap back toward him, Atomic Rex completed his turn and sent his thick tail crashing into the dog, once more knocking it down.
This time when it hit the ground the mammalian horror rolled over several times to put some distance between himself and Atomic Rex before regaining his feet. As the dog stood up, blood gushed out the wound on its shoulder. The crimson liquid streamed down the mutant’s leg and paw, creating a small pond of blood at his feet. Severed strands of muscle tissue and pieces of bone hung loosely from the bloody gashes on the dog’s side as the alpha canine eyed his enemy.
The dog barked at Atomic Rex as the kaiju moved toward him. The pit bull’s eyes were fixed on the small wounds he had created on Atomic Rex with his attack. The beast was looking for a weak spot that he could exploit on the leviathan. The dog took a step back in confusion when he saw the wounds on Atomic Rex healing almost instantly as a result of the nuclear energy in the kaiju’s body hyper accelerating his healing abilities.
Seeing that the dog was injured, Atomic Rex stalked closer to his prey. Before he reached the canine, the injured pit bull lunged forward and sank his teeth into Atomic Rex’s right shin. The beast then immediately pulled back on the kaiju’s leg. The move caused the saurian creature to tumble onto his back.
Atomic Rex crashed into the ground back first and then he looked up to see the canine leaping toward him. Just before the dog landed on the nuclear theropod, Atomic Rex lashed out with his right foot and used his claws to slash open the dog’s stomach. The mutant yelped in pain as the claws on Atomic Rex’s foot latched onto his intestines and ripped them out of his body.
The mutant dog was still alive as it came crashing down into the street next to Atomic Rex. The gargantuan canine had just enough time to shift its eyes up and see the open jaws of Atomic Rex coming toward it. The Leviathan sank his teeth into the pit bull’s skull and then he tore it off. The kaiju tossed the creature’s decapitated head aside and then he feasted on its remains.
Once his hunger was satisfied, Atomic Rex returned to the beach to rest while his body healed itself from his battle with the alpha dog. With his stomach full and his body healed and rested, Atomic Rex would be ready the following day to defend his territory from this new kaiju.
As Atomic Rex closed his eyes, he could hear the remaining mutant pit bulls fighting over who would succeed the creature he had just defeated as the ruler of the small town and as his future meal.
Chapter 16
Beach of Southern Mexico
Kate sat in silence for roughly a minute but it seemed more like an eternity to her, as she stared down at the burly kaiju standing on the beach below her. Her heart was racing as she kept telling herself that this creature was not Ogre.
She took a deep breath as her mind swirled with thoughts about how what she was about to say could impact the lives of everyone she cared about. She wondered if this creature was the living nightmare she feared it could be, was it the dream scenario Emily envisioned, or was this monster one of the thousands of possibilities between those two extremes? Kate was still thinking of what to say when the monster took a step closer to the hovering Steel Samurai 2.0.
Gurral was getting tired of looking at the floating mech and waiting for it to do something. He sighed and moved toward the mech. “I don’t know what you’re after, but if you’re not gonna fight me, and you’re not gonna lead me to ol’ Rexy, then I’m gonna have a snack and a rest.”
Kate and Chris both looked at each other as their eyes went wide. Chris momentarily switched off the external speakers. “Rexy? Is that thing actively looking for Atomic Rex? Does he want to challenge Atomic Rex for this territory?”
Kate shook her head. “I don’t know. What I do know is that to find out I need to get over my own concerns and start acting like a leader instead of sitting here like a confused coward.”
Kate turned back on the external speakers. “Hello, my name is Kate Myers and this mech is known as Steel Samurai 2.0. I am inside the mech with my husband, Chris. We have no desire to fight you. We only want to talk to you. We just want to know the answers to questions like who you are and what you are doing here.”
The Smasher shrugged. “Name’s Gurral. I fight for the Arena Lords. I’m here to catch Atomic Rex, and bring him back to fight on Arena World.”
Kate was once more taken aback by Gurral’s statements. She turned off the external speakers and looked over at Chris. “He’s from Arena World? So, he’s some kind of alien or something and he wants to use Atomic Rex to fight in some kind of gladiator style arena?”
She shook her head. “That’s not something I was expecting. I mean that opens up literally more than a world of new questions.”
Chris sat in silence for a minute as what Gurral said ran through his mind. For a moment he was tense, then his body seemed to relax as a wave of tension seemed to roll off his body. He smiled as he looked at Kate. “He’s here to take Atomic Rex off the planet.” He shook his head as his smile grew even larger. “Gurral is exactly what Emily’s been hoping for! He’s a monster that can help protect us from the kaiju! He can take Atomic Rex off to a place where he’s no longer a threat to us!”
Chris shrugged. “Hell, maybe we can set up some kind of arrangement where he can pick up other monsters near the settlement and take them off world too!” Chris shook his head. “Kate, that alien monster could be it! He could be the long term answer we’ve talked about! If he is what he says he is, then we no longer have to worry about using Steel Samurai 2.0 to protect the settlement. We can just live out our lives and enjoy ourselves, enjoy each other, enjoy our children and future grandchildren!”
Kate’s heart sank as she listened to her husband. She knew what removing Atomic Rex from their lives would mean to him. While Atomic Rex had never physically held Chris captive like Ogre had done to her, the nuclear theropod still held Chris’ mind in his clutches. As long as Atomic Rex was still alive, Chris would never feel that he and everyone he loved was safe. The monster had taken so much from Chris that he always feared one day it would come and take more.
Chris’ fear was only compounded by the fact that, even when Steel Samurai and Chris himself were in their prime, they had never been able to defeat Atomic Rex. Kate knew that Chris’ greatest fear was that one day Atomic Rex would show up at the settlement. That he would be unable to stop the monster from killing everyone he loved and leaving the human race in ruins.
She also knew that Chris unfairly blamed himself for not being able to save his fellow pilots and complete his mission to stop Atomic Rex when the monster first entered North America. In many ways, Atomic Rex was Chris’ own personal demon.
Kate was also aware that over the years, Chris had come to terms with the fact that, were it not for Atomic Rex, the two of them never would have met, that they never would have had their children. In destroying the old world and ruining Chris' life, the monster had also paved the path for Chris to find the greatest joys in his new life.
This cognitive dissonance befuddled her husband. He wanted Atomic Rex gone but he did not necessarily want the monster dead. Gurral’s stated plan of action would solve all of Chris’ Atomic Rex issues in one fell swoop.
Before Kate had a chance to respond to her husband, he continued his excited thoughts. “Think of it, Kate! That monster could be the key to a world where we no longer have to live with the threat of Atomic Rex attacking always looming over us! I mean, what does Atomic Rex do here anyway but fight other monsters, kill them, and eat them. He’ll be able to do exactly what he likes to do without being a threat to us or the kids!”
It almost broke Kate’s heart to tamp down her husband’s enthusiasm. She knew what ridding himself of
Atomic Rex would mean to him and honestly to her and what remained of the human race. However, in her years of leadership of the settlement, Kate had learned to be careful when an offer seemed too good to be true.
She leaned over toward her soulmate. “Chris, on the surface the idea of just shipping off Atomic Rex seems like a dream come true, but take a moment and think about what this talking monster, and remember the word monster, is saying. He seems to be claiming to be an alien from another world who is capturing Atomic Rex to fight like a gladiator on some Arena World. Now, I’m with you, this Gurral could still be the new path forward we are looking for but we need to slow down in dealing with him. We still need more answers. Answers to questions like, are aliens who use monsters to fight to the death for entertainment the type of creatures we want to deal with?”
Kate could see the anger building in Chris at the merest suggestion of not immediately agreeing to what Gurral wanted to do. Chris threw his hands up in anger. “Kate, getting monsters to fight each other is exactly what I did when we used Atomic Rex to take out the other monsters in North America! It’s exactly what you just praised Emily for doing with Ramrod! It’s exactly what we would be doing here! We would be having monsters kill each other instead of killing us! How can you even be considering this to be a question?”
Kate grabbed her husband’s hand to try and calm him down. “Chris, there is a difference between you acting to help save the lives of other people by drawing monsters into each other’s territory to kill each other off and using monsters to fight for entertainment. Not that I’m advocating for kaiju conservation or anything but again we have to ask ourselves what kind of creature are we dealing with in Gurral? Are kaiju the only thing he wants for his arena or are humans things he would want fighting in there as well? Because if he does, we need a plan to battle something like him right now.”
On the beach below Steel Samurai 2.0, Gurral’s typically thin patience had almost been worn out. He shouted up at the mech, “Look, are you going to say anything else or can I start eating and finally have some dust?”
Kate turned the external speakers back on. “Our apologies. The idea of you being from another planet caught us off guard.” Kate took a deep breath. “To be clear on what you’ve said so far, you are from another planet, and you are here to collect Atomic Rex to fight in an arena for you?”
Gurral nodded and replied with marked frustration in his voice, “Yeah, that’s the job.” He looked at the dead sharks he had planned to eat prior to Hagan’s arrival. “I’m going to eat now, you can keep asking me questions but you had better make them quick. Once I get some dust in my system, I tend to drift off a bit.”
As Gurral was walking over toward the dead sharks, Chris called out to him, “Did you say that you eat dust? Like you live off sand and dirt floating in the air?”
Gurral shook his head. “Have you tried eating dirt and sand?” He pointed to the dead sharks. “I eat meat like what’s on those sharks.” Gurral pointed to the bag attached to the strap on his hip. “The dust I’m talkin’ about is Impervium dust, and I put it on meat because it makes me feel good.”
Chris floated Steel Samurai 2.0 over toward the dead fish.
Kate put her hands into the air in confusion. “What are you doing?”
Chris smiled. “I may not be the diplomat you are but one thing I am is a warrior.” He gestured toward Gurral. “From the look in that monster’s eyes, so is he.” Chris shrugged. “If we want answers, we need to convince that thing we’re friends and the best way to get on a warrior’s good side is to offer him a hot meal.”
Chris then had the robot point its finger at the dead fish. “Do you want those sharks cooked? We can use the rockets on the mech’s feet to hover over the sharks and roast them for you.”
Gurral smiled and nodded. “Yeah, some cooked food would taste pretty good right about now.”
Chris once again turned off the exterior speakers as he talked to his wife. “Okay, I’ve made a gesture of good faith and bought us some time before he takes that dust or whatever and ‘drifts off’ like he said. Now’s your chance to get some answers from him.”
He looked his wife directly in her eyes and spoke with as much conviction as Kate had ever heard him use in all their time together. “Kate, no matter what Gurral really wants, even if there is a chance that he wants every human left here to fight in his arena, before we do anything, we let him get Atomic Rex off the planet, agreed?”
Kate took a deep breath as Chris turned up the thrusters on Steel Samurai 2.0’s foot boosters to cook the sharks. “Chris, you know the saying about the devil you know and the devil you don’t know, right?”
Chris nodded. “I do. I also know that Atomic Rex is a devil we can’t beat. I don’t know if we could take Gurral or not if we had to. What I do know is that we can talk to Gurral, and maybe we can reason or barter with him.” He shrugged, “Hell, we can even try begging if we want to, but we can’t do any of those things with Atomic Rex. When it comes to him, all we can do is hope he stays away or that we can escape our next encounter.”
Kate kissed her husband. “I know you don’t think you’re as smart as me, but sometimes you say the most profound and well thought out things I’ve ever heard.”
She turned back on the speakers. “So, Gurral, we can help you find Atomic Rex. He’s a danger to us and we do our best to keep track of him. If we help you find Atomic Rex, how do you plan to catch him and take him back to your home planet?”
Gurral pointed to the taser strapped to his chest. “I got a thing here to shock ol’ Rexy and knock him out.” He then shifted his finger to the portal device. “Then this thing opens a portal back to my home dimension. I figure I toss Rexy in, and then he’s the Arena Lords’ new champion.”
Kate’s eyes went wide when she heard the term Arena Lords. She took a deep breath to calm herself and then she continued. “So, you work as a trapper for these Arena Lords and they sent you here to get Atomic Rex and other monsters to fight in their arena?”
Gurral nodded. “Yeah, I work for them but I’m no hunter, at least not usually. I’m a gladiator.” He smiled. “Not just any gladiator. I’m the Arena champion. Most days I fight monsters and get paid in food and the dust, but this one Arena Lord says if I bring them Atomic Rex, I can quit. They’ll keep giving me food and dust, and I can just lay back and watch other things fight.” He looked at the sharks roasting beneath the giant mech. “Are those sharks about done?”
Kate made an upward gesture with her hand. Chris nodded and had the mech rise several meters in the air so it would still roast the sharks but slow down the process a bit.
Kate talked back into the speakers. “They’re almost done. You said your home dimension. Does that mean you’re not just from another planet but an entirely different dimension?”
Gurral shrugged. “That’s what the Arena Lord told me.” He took the dimensional portal generator off his strap and activated it. A bright blue vortex suddenly appeared and through it, Chris and Kate could see what was clearly an alien world.
Kate whispered, “The portal Kyle saw on the radar both when Gurral appeared and Atomic Rex disappeared and reappeared a while ago.”
Gurral turned off the portal generator, causing the vortex to dissipate. He then gestured to the sharks. “I think those things are ready, I don’t like my meat burnt to a crisp.”
Chris flew the mech higher into the sky as Gurral opened his bag of dust and sprinkled a pinch full of it over the cooked meat.
As Gurral was preparing his food, Kate continued to question him. “That portal you showed us. It’s how you got here, right?”
Gurral nodded as he sat down on the beach, picked up the first shark, and brought it to his mouth.
“We know you’re here for Atomic Rex. Did you use one of those portals to capture him before?”
Gurral shook his head. “Nope. I never heard of Rexy before a few days ago when that Arena Lord showed up and offered me retirement.”
Gurral slurped down a large piece of shark and then shook his head. “Nope, Rexy is the only monster they told me to get.” He gestured to the small hover-bots still floating around him. “I can take out other monsters on the way though. These things are sending the feed of everything I do back to Arena World. The Arena Lord said that if I fought other monsters when I got here, it’d be good for the crowds and it’d get Rexy to notice me and come calling.”
Chris watched Gurral closely as the monster ate. He could see the Smasher’s eyes starting to flutter and he watched the beast’s movements slow down. With all his years in the military, Chris had seen plenty of people rely on various narcotics to take their minds off all the horrors they had seen. He knew the effects of a drug when he saw it.
Chris leaned over to Kate. “Whatever that Impervium dust is, I’m pretty sure he’s getting high off it. He wasn’t lying about drifting off. Keep asking him questions, if he’s not being honest with us already, he might be more honest before he’s too far gone to talk to us.”
Kate nodded. “Gurral, if you capture Atomic Rex, will you or the Arena Lords ever come back to this planet?”
Gurral shrugged. “I won’t be back if I can help it. I doubt the Arena Lords would either. This whole dimension hopping thing isn’t their usual style.”
As Gurral talked, Chris stared at the monster and contemplated the similarities between the two of them. Both he and Gurral had spent their lives fighting monsters. Chris knew what a life like that could do to someone. Before he met Kate and fell in love, Chris was in a deep depression. Had he not met Kate, he could have easily seen himself descending into a drug addiction to escape the horrors of his life.
Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral Page 13
