Gurral’s eyes widened a bit, and he ran his hand over his bare chest. “I must have lost it after pushing Rexy through the portal.”
The nymph shrugged. “No matter. In time I can create another one. Until then, assure me I have your support, and I’ll make it available as soon as it’s complete. Plus, I’ll keep the Impervium dust coming your way. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Bon appetit!”
Gurral settled down to eat as he always did, and began sprinkling the dust over his meal, making his mouth water intensely as his body began to demand satisfaction. Then his hand stopped, and his eyes flared to a brighter red in anger. “Dust made me who I am. It made me strong,” He snarled and slammed his other fist down on the floor, leaving a massive dent and spilling his steak, “but I’m getting sick of wearing a leash.” He picked up the slab of dust-sprinkled meat, imagined what it would have been like to live on Earth with people who really cared for him, and took a bite, sinking into the bliss of it.
Chapter 24
The Settlement, Northern California
The sun was shining brightly as Chris Myers woke up and rolled over in his bed to look at the love of his life. He was surprised to see Kate wide awake and smiling at him.
She gave him a quick kiss and stood up. “Today’s the day. The day you get to walk our daughter down the aisle.”
Chris smiled. “One of the happiest and saddest days in any father’s life.” He shrugged. “Overall though, the happiness far outweighs the sadness.” He stood up as well. “I still can’t believe Emily is getting married.”
Chris took a decent looking flannel shirt and a pair of jeans out of his closet. “I also still can’t believe these are the best clothes I have to give my daughter away in.” He sighed and frowned. “She deserves so much better. I should be able to give her more than this.”
Kate put her hands on her hips. “We’re not doing this again today. Emily is happy. Her generation has grown up in a world where things like tuxedos and dresses don’t matter. She’s also grown up in a world where her father loves her more than anything and is the greatest hero on the planet. Believe me, from her perspective and the perspective of all her friends, it’s a dream come true to have you walk her down the aisle in your best flannel.”
Chris smiled “You’re right.” He walked over, grabbed Kate, and kissed her passionately.
Kate pulled away from her husband and grinned. “No time for that right now. We have a wedding to get to.” She started to change into her best clothes as well as she looked over her shoulder at Chris. “Later tonight though, for sure.”
Chris had a goofy smile on his face as Kyle came running into the room. He stopped when he saw his mom half undressed and turned his head. “Geez. Mom, really?” He did his best to push the image of his naked mother out of his mind and moved on to the reason he came running into his parents’ bedroom. “I’ve got some really bad news and then some weird news.”
Chris sighed. “Start with the really bad news.”
Kyle nodded. “Okay, well in the past two days two different portals seem to have opened again. The first was in South America. The pictures I was able to find show Atomic Rex walking out of it. So, he’s back here and in South America.”
Kate shook her head. “He must have defeated Gurral and when the Arena Lords realized they couldn’t control him they sent him back here.” She looked at Chris. “I’m sorry about Gurral, Chris. I know you two formed a bond.” She walked over and hugged her husband. “At least if Atomic Rex is here, he’s down in South America.” Chris was silent as he hugged his wife.
Kyle waited for them to let go of each other and then he continued. “The second portal opened in Japan at the base of Mount Fuji. It’s hard to tell from the grainy pictures we have but it looks like there’s a giant sack there in the parking lot of the old mech factory.”
Kate looked at Chris. “A giant sack in front of a mech factory? Who put it there, Santa Claus?”
Kyle shrugged. “I have no idea, but it would be easy to find out. I mean Japan is pretty much monster free now.”
Chris smiled. “Maybe we can all benefit from this. I know Emily and Sean don’t really know what weddings were like before the kaiju came, and that’s fine as long as they are happy. Still, maybe we can give them something from the time before the kaiju. We can take them to a monster free Japan for their honeymoon in Steel Samurai 2.0.” He looked over at Kate. “You and I can check out that bag and give them some time alone away from all the pressures they have from monsters, farming, and running the settlement. We can give them the chance to really enjoy each other.”
Kate smiled. “I like that. Plus, Japan is a big place. I’m sure we could find an area where both Emily and Sean can have some alone time and then we can find another place for ourselves.”
Kyle let loose a loud groan. “Yes, please go away for a week. Having you two, Emily, and Sean out of here for a week would be a much needed vacation for me too.” He shrugged. “I keep telling you two how thin these walls are and you just don’t care, do you?”
Kate smiled. “Sorry, honey but you know that’s how you got here.”
Kyle shook his head. “I’ll say it again, gross. Anyway, the wedding is going to start so let’s get going.”
Chris and Kate finished getting dressed then they walked out of the house holding hands with Kyle following behind them. When they were halfway to Sean and Emily’s farm, Kate turned around to see Steel Samurai 2.0 looming in the distance on the far side of the settlement from the farm. She nudged Chris. “I’m glad you finally moved the robot off the farm.”
Chris shrugged. “Well, Ramrod proved his worth to me.” He ground his teeth. “And it’s their wedding night so, I figure having my giant robot looking over them isn’t the most appropriate thing.”
Kyle walked up to his parents. “Well dad, if you want grandchildren you know how they’re going to get here.”
Chris playfully elbowed his son in the ribs as Kate sighed. “I hate having my own words used against me.”
When they reached the farm, they could see Sean standing in front of a backdrop that had been decorated as best it could with the resources they had. The young man was beaming with joy as he stood at the end of an aisle with every member of the community standing on either side of it.
Kate kissed Chris and then smiled. “Well, I have to go preside over this ceremony and Kyle has the best man duties. So, good sir, we shall leave you to your fatherly duties.”
Chris smiled and walked to the barn where Emily was waiting. When he saw her in her simple dress, he was struck by how beautiful she looked. He smiled and did his best to fight back tears.
Emily smiled back at her father and began to tear up as well. “I finally know what mom meant when she said someone could be so happy, the only way they could show other people how happy they were is to cry.”
Chris hugged his daughter as hard as he could. “Emily, I know I say it all the time, but I love you more than you could ever know, and know that no father has ever been prouder of his daughter than I am of you. I know you and Sean are going to be happy together and that’s more than I could ever ask for in life. You’ve made my life so much brighter by simply being in it, you’ve brought me so much joy and now you are going to share that brightness and joy with Sean as well.”
Emily hugged her father as hard as she could. “No daughter has ever loved her father more or been prouder of him than I am of you. You’re my hero, dad. You’re my hero for all that you’ve done and your ability to grow and change. I hope I live up to the example you’ve set for me.”
Chris smiled. “You passed my example a long time ago, honey. It’s me who looks up to you now.” He laughed. “Now let’s get going. Sean will be patient enough to wait a few more minutes but your mother won’t”
Emily laughed. “That is so true.” She then took her father’s arm, and as the barn doors opened before them, Chis escorted Emily to the next phase of both their lives.
&n
bsp; Epilogue
Arena World
Allison’s projection was in the negotiations room with several of the Arena Lords reviewing a plan on how they could hunt down and capture new monsters to join her army as she prepared to crush what was left of the resistance on her Earth.
After they had finished reviewing where they could find the most battle ready monsters, Allison commanded several of the guards. “Bring Gurral another sack of Impervium dust.”
The Arena Lord closest to the projection interjected. “That is far more dust than we usually provide him.”
Allison smiled. “As I said, Gurral is a potentially dangerous wild card to my plan and I have no intention of angering him. A sedated Gurral poses no threat and if he is willing to sedate himself then I am more than happy to provide him with the means to do so. Now let’s send out that first team of hunters to gather additional beasts for my forces.”
Two of the Arena Lords slipped away from the main group and walked into a nearby hallway. They stopped in a dark corner and one of them pulled out Gurral’s discarded transporter from beneath his arms. “With the help of our mechanics, we have managed to repair the device. Now with one fell swoop, we shall regain control of the arena from nymph, end her life, and give the crowd an opponent for Gurral who will provide a challenge to him greater than even Atomic Rex.”
The Arena Lord turned on the device causing a dimensional portal to open in front of him. The aliens scrolled through several different dimensions until they found the one they were looking for. With the desired dimension located, the Arena Lords stepped into the portal and found themselves in a thick forest full of trees.
The Arena Lords saw an opening ahead of them where they could see a full grown human male and female as well as two adolescent females standing in the middle of the camp. The Arena Lords started walking toward the family when one of the youngsters noticed them.
The little one screamed, “Daddy, monsters!”
As the rest of the family turned around, the trees behind them suddenly exploded into the sky as a huge monster with the head and skin of a sperm whale, the mane and teeth of a lion, and the torso of a gorilla rose up into the air. The monster then leaned down so that his head was between the humans and the Arena Lords.
As the two Arena Lords looked up at the monster, visions of the beast battling Gurral ran through their heads.
The man called out to the monster. “Chimera, hold!” The beast shifted his eyes toward the man then the kaiju took a half step backwards.
The man walked up to the Arena Lords. “My name is Luke Davis. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The nearest Arena Lord nodded. “Indeed, we do. We are from a different dimension where our civilization has been co-opted by the nymph known as Allison. She is using our resources to gather monsters to attack this dimension and a beast known as Chimera.” He pointed to the hybrid beast towering over him. “Is that the beast the nymph fears so much?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, that’s Chimera all right. So, Allison took over your world, she is using it to build an army, and you want us to help you fight her.”
The Arena Lord nodded. “Indeed, we thought that the enemy of our enemy might be our friend. We also thought you might prefer to engage her on our world, before she can come here and threaten the lives of your people.” The Arena Lord pulled out another device from under his arm. “We also come with a weapon that might be able to help in defeating the nymph.” He held out the device for Luke to see. “The nymph referred to this as Zeus’ Thunderbolt.”
The End
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Atomic Rex vs Gurral by Daniel Gray
Kaiju Rampage
Captain Daichi watched his crew hard at work on the deck of the Hiroaka. The day had just begun, but already the ship’s hold was filling up with fish from her nets. Daichi had never seen the kind of loads his men were hauling now before in his life. It was almost as if something out there in the water was driving the fish his way. He whispered a prayer of thanks and smiled. This was Daichi’s first run as captain. He had feared he would not live up to the expectations of his father and let the old man down. Even at the age of thirty-one, Daichi was somewhat afraid of the old man. Though his father was pushing eighty, he could still make his words cut deeper than the sharpest of swords.
The two of them had never seen eye to eye. Daichi had never wanted to be a part of his father’s fishing company, much less the captain of the old man’s best remaining boat. Daichi had dreamed of being a writer, going to America, and becoming a star. At first, he had some success. He had sold his first ever story to a paying magazine and almost immediately got an offer to write one for another. That sort of thing was rare in the writing world, and Daichi allowed himself to believe that he could make it. He spent the next few years doing his best. His work sold, he made money, but it was never quite enough or dependable enough to be all he did in terms of a job.
Daichi’s father had been there for him, if at a price. His father had given him just enough work to keep him afloat and chasing his dream for a time. After five years had passed, his father became more and more demanding of him, pushing more and more work onto him. His father’s health had begun to fail with age. The old man needed someone who could take over and continue to bring honor to the family name. Daichi was the only son. He had three sisters, but his father wanted him, not them. His father held with the old ways and wanted Daichi to surrender his failed dream to step up and do what he had been born to do.
When this fishing season had started, the old man had given Daichi a choice. Take over as captain of the Hiroaka or leave the family business behind for good. Daichi had known it was no idle threat. Either he stepped up or he was out. His self-published sales were down, and short stories weren’t paying what they used to, not that it had ever been enough. With his rent already close to being late and a stack of bills on his desk, Daichi was left with no choice. Now, here he was on the deck of the Hiroaka, doing the job he had sworn as a child he would never do.
The Hiroaka was an old ship, only weighing in at a displacement of around one hundred and fifty tons. Her entire crew, counting Daichi himself, was composed of two dozen sailors. She ran nearly one hundred feet from bow to stern. What she lacked in size and crew, though, she more than made up for in the tech aboard her. Her sonar and comm. gear was top of the line. That fact was one of the few things Daichi liked about her.
Natsuo approached him wearing a concerned expression that gave Daichi cause for worry.
“Good morning, Natsuo,” Daichi offered.
“Captain Daichi, sir,” Natsuo responded with a quick nod of his head. “I would be most grateful if you would accompany me inside.”
“Is my father calling again?” Daichi asked. His old man, though wheelchair bound, had followed him to sea in a sense, thanks to the very state of the art gear that Daichi liked that the Hiroaka had onboard. Even in the worst of storms, the ship’s communications worked flawlessly.
“No, Captain Daichi,” Natsuo told him. “There is something you must see.”
Daichi grunted his consent and moved to follow Natsuo to the heart of the small ship where her helm controls and sonar station were. Tomo, the ship’s comm. and sonar specialist, was there waiting for them. Tomo got up from his station as Daichi entered. He gave Daichi a quick bow of respect.
“What is it, Tomo?” Daichi asked. “Natsuo has been rather vague about why you needed me here.”
“With good cause, Captain,” Tomo said. “We did not want to cause a panic.”
Daichi’s eyebrows rose at the bizarre disclosure. “Panic? What are you talking about, Tomo?”
“Look for yourself, sir,” Tomo told him, gesturing at the sonar screen.
Daichi studied the screen. At first, he didn’t have a clue what Tomo was trying to show him, but then he saw it. The blip was so large Daichi had thought it was j
ust part of the screen.
“What is that?” he asked.
“We don’t know, Captain,” Natsuo told him. “Whatever it is, though, it’s coming straight for us.”
“And fast, too,” Tomo added. “It’s moving at twenty knots.”
Daichi glanced back at the sonar screen, quickly doing the math in his head. “So we have about ten minutes until whatever that is reaches us?”
Tomo and Natsuo nodded in unison.
“Could it be a ship?” Daichi asked. “Have you tried hailing it?”
“I don’t think it’s a ship, sir,” Tomo said. “Something about the way it moves. . .”
“We have tried making contact with it, Captain,” Natsuo informed him. “On every channel available to us. There has been no reply.”
Daichi rubbed at his cheeks with the fingers and thumb of his right hand. “I am man enough to admit I don’t have an answer to this one. Both of you are more experienced with all this. What do you suggest we do?”
“Run, Captain,” Tomo said almost instantly. “We certainly can’t fight something that size and that fast if it’s hostile. The Hiroaka is a fishing boat. Yes, we have some small arms aboard in case of pirates but nothing that could give us a chance against something like that.”
“I have to agree, sir,” Natsuo nodded.
“The men are in the middle of pulling up the nets,” Daichi protested. “All the fish in them here will be lost if we run. And what we will tell the rest of the crew? Won’t running cause exactly the sort of panic you were hoping to avoid?”
Neither Natsuo nor Tomo had an answer.
“You said this thing is moving at twenty knots correct?” Daichi asked, still weighing his course of action.
“Yes, Captain,” Tomo replied.
“The Hiroaka’s max speed with her engines at full is only eighteen knots,” Daichi reminded them. “If we run and whatever that thing is decides to come after us, we won’t be able to outrun it.”
Atomic Rex: Challenge of Gurral Page 21
