Yuri was cursing loudly even as his tanks began to concentrate their fire on the kaiju’s heads. Where in the devil is my air support? he wondered. General Akio should have had plenty of time by now to scramble whatever fighters or copters that were on standby in the area.
The concentrating of the fire on the heads worked to a degree. Six tanks trained their main guns on one of the hissing, fire-breathing heads. Their shells blew chunks of flesh away from its face that spun through the air, flinging black blood as they went. One of the tanks got lucky. Its shell actually landed inside the head’s mouth and detonated there. Colonel Yuri saw the eyes of the head burst from their sockets to dangle by strands of sinew on the sides of the head’s face. The head bucked about wildly, before the strength of its neck muscles gave out, and it flopped to bounce against the scales of the kaiju’s chest, hanging there limply and clearly dead.
Shouts of triumph and excitement filled the unit’s communications net. Even Colonel Yuri allowed himself a smile. It was a start at stopping the giant monster and a sorely needed one. Yuri’s smile vanished as the kaiju’s remaining three heads all cried out, and the monster picked up its pace. The earthshaking strides of its thick legs quickened as the monster all-out charged the cluster of remaining tanks between it and the city of Tokyo.
Colonel Yuri braced himself for the end as the kaiju neared the position of the APC he was using as his command center. The tanks had fallen back to gather around it as a rallying point in their retreat. The end didn’t come, however. A wave of fighters came howling in over his APC and the tanks on a direct course for the kaiju. Their forward cannons were already blazing as missiles leapt from the launchers on the underside of their wings. The missiles stabbed at the kaiju’s central mass like spears, their explosions digging deep into the already-weakened armor of its scales. Their impact brought the kaiju to a dead stop, ending its charge.
The kaiju was far from out of the fight, though. One of the monster’s heads lashed out, catching a fighter in its teeth. The plane exploded there as those teeth ground into it, tearing it apart. The blast was a flash of blinding light as all the plane’s fuel and remaining missiles went up at once. There wasn’t much left of the head that had grabbed the plane afterwards. The neck supporting the mangled mass of burnt meat that had once been the roaring head of the kaiju went limp and flopped downward to dangle beside the beast’s other destroyed head. The kaiju was reeling about now like a drunken man. Its steps were awkward and ill placed, barely keeping the great beast upright.
A crackling bolt of blue energy took out another of the fighters as they sped passed the kaiju. The sole remaining fighter didn’t swing about to engage the kaiju again. Instead, it veered away from the great beast, making a run for it. Colonel Yuri understood that fighters pilot didn’t want to die, but neither did his men. Shaking his fist at the fleeing plane, Yuri slid down from the turret he had been watching the battle from into the APC that was his command center. Even as he was sealing it above him, he was barking orders to the commanders of his tanks.
“Keep concentrating on the heads! We’ve almost got this thing!” he yelled.
Shells flew to slam into the kaiju’s two heads that were still dangerous, and this time, they were just enough to bring down the beast. It rocked back and forth on its legs before it took a final step and collapsed forward. Unfortunately for Colonel Yuri, the kaiju had closed enough space for its body to fall directly onto the most forward tanks of the new formation his forces had retreated into and on top of his own APC as well.
The roof above Colonel Yuri bent inward, crushing down upon him. His scream became a sickening, gargling noise as he and the APC he was in were flattened by the kaiju’s weight.
****
Captain Eito suddenly found himself in command with Colonel Yuri and most of the other ranking officers either dead or at least unresponsive to the chaos of desperate voices crying out over the unit’s communications net. Eito smacked the wall of the tank next to him as he shouted for his driver to throw the tank into reverse. He quickly ordered all the remaining units to report their status. Five other tanks and one APC answered, reporting that they were battle capable. Five tanks out of three dozen, Eito thought as his stomach twisted up in knots. So many dead, so fast.
“All units, Colonel Yuri is dead. This is Captain Eito of the Battle-Hardened. I am assuming overall command of this unit.”
Eito paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in before he continued. “I want all units to fire two more rounds each into that thing out there! We can’t afford it getting up again.”
The body of the kaiju didn’t so much as flinch as the new barrage of fire ripped away at its scales. Eito nodded inside his tank, admitting to himself that the monster must surely be dead.
“This is the Honor-Bound!” Eito heard one of the other tank commanders shouting over the comm. “We’ve got new incoming from the ocean, sir!”
“All units, maneuver around this thing’s body to get a clear shot at the water. We’ve got more kaiju inbound!”
Eito’s half-formed hope that the battle might be over died as he saw the swarms of lesser kaiju rushing up the beach. There were more of them than he could count, maybe thousands. On the upside, as terrifying as the monsters looked, none of them were that much larger than man-sized.
“The worst is over,” Eito assured the others. “The big one is down. We have to hold these little bastards, though. We’re all that’s left between them and Tokyo!”
“Roger, Roger!”
“Read you loud and clear, Captain!”
“On it!”
“Die, you little…!”
Eito smiled as he heard the others reporting in and confirming his orders. The Battle-Hardened lurched on her threads as her main gun fired, hurling a shell into the ranks of the charging kaiju. Bits and pieces of kaiju bodies flew skyward around the shell’s point of impact. The main guns of the other tanks were thundering, too. Explosions raked the beach, killing entire packs of the lesser kaiju. The kaiju kept coming, though, oblivious to their brothers and sisters dying around them as they charged forward.
Two of the remaining tanks had lost their secondary weapons, but those that still had functional machine guns let loose on the kaiju, even as the tanks’ main guns continued to fire. Kaiju fell like wheat struck down by a farmer’s scythe wherever the orange flashes of tracer rounds guided the tanks’ fire.
“Holy…those little buggers are fast!” Eito heard one of his fellow commanders shouting.
And then the lesser kaiju were on them. The monsters ran up to the tanks, slashing at them with claws that shredded the metal hulls. Others of the kaiju spat streams of a greenish liquid that burned like acid. Still others scampered up onto the tops of the tanks and began to try to tear their way into them to reach their crews.
The gunner in the cupola of Eito’s tank, above him, died as greenish, glowing acid melted the flesh from his bones. Drops of it sprayed onto Eito, even as he tried to duck deeper inside the tank to avoid it. The drops that hit him smoldered on the sleeves of his jacket as they ate through it to touch his skin. Eito screamed as he looked at his arms to see the newly formed holes through his flesh and bone alike.
The kaiju that had killed the gunner grabbed the man’s smoking corpse and flung it aside to ram its head down into Eito’s tank. Eito’s eye went wide as it came face to face with him in the enclosed space. Despite his pain, he struggled to draw the pistol holstered on his hip. Before he could, though, the kaiju opened its mouth and a stream of glowing green washed over him.
****
“We’re getting slaughtered out there, Akio,” Karza growled at him.
General Akio couldn’t argue with her assessment of the current situation. Both the joint Japanese/American naval task force and the armored divisions he had placed in the city’s harbor had failed to stop the kaiju. He still had plenty of infantry in the city and had held back most of his air forces in reserve, but even so, he had been in e
nough battles over the years to know they were royally and totally screwed.
“It’s time to go after Director Diasuke, and you know it…sir,” Karza made the last word sound like an insult.
“Agreed,” General Akio admitted solemnly. “We have failed. It’s also time to evacuate the city, no matter what may come of such an order.”
The powers above Akio and Karza had given them carte blanche over the city and whatever forces they needed to defend it just to prevent such an order from being given. There would be Hell to pay for them both later if they survived the night.
“Get the car ready,” General Akio ordered. “This is something that we should do in person.”
“We?” Karza asked, surprised.
“Yes, we,” General Akio replied. “Things may get a bit…rough, and I want you there.”
A feral grin parted Karza’s lips. “I can tell already. This is going to be fun.”
General Akio had selected the building he was using as his command center in Tokyo partly because it was close to the Daisuke Corporation headquarters. Even so, the car ride took some time. The streets of the city were flooded with panicked civilians trying to escape the coming kaiju attack. The word about what was happening was out now, and despite the presence of General Akio’s soldiers, Tokyo was in utter chaos. The general’s limo was accompanied by two trucks full of armed troops, or even he and Karza might not have gotten through the various checkpoints his soldiers had set up. He was proud of the men under his command. They were truly doing the best they could under such grim circumstances.
The last reports he and Karza had received had brought both good news and bad. The only true kaiju to emerge from the ocean so far had been eliminated, and there was no sign of more of its kind. The winged kaiju who had engaged the American air wing and slaughtered it hadn’t shown themselves above the city either. Both of those things were extremely good news. The bad news was that a literal army of lesser kaiju had come ashore in Tokyo’s main harbor and were pouring into the city. His men were engaging the creatures throughout the city, but it was a hit-and-run type of game. His soldiers, as yet, hadn’t been able to hold any position. They were being forced back as the lesser kaiju pressed forward. General Akio had more armored divisions in route to Tokyo, but by the time they reached the city, it was likely there wouldn’t be anyone left to save. He wanted to turn loose the last of the helicopters and fighters at his disposal, but Karza had cautioned against it. If either the winged kaiju or more of the giant kaiju entered the city, they would be his only means of combating them, so he could see the wisdom in Karza’s reluctance to deploy them at this point.
The front entrance of the Daisuke Corporation building was heavily guarded by mercs. Each of them armed to the teeth and not shy about breaking the bones or caving in the teeth of any panicked civilians who tried to gain access to the building. General Akio’s expression was one of disgust as he watched one of the mercs bash the butt of the rifle he was carrying into the face of a teenager who refused to back up from the steps that led to the building’s main door.
“Those guys are Black Company,” Karza said. “They’re the worst of the worst.”
General Akio nodded. “I thought I recognized their uniforms.”
“I’d wager Director Daisuke has at least two platoons worth of them in his employ. These jerks outside the building can’t be the only ones.”
Three of the mercs were approaching General Akio’s limo. They were stopped by several of his soldiers. He knew from experience just how quickly such a situation could go south, so he opened his door and stepped onto the street.
In a booming voice that could be heard over the ruckus around the front of the building, he shouted, “I am General Akio. Director Daisuke is expecting me.”
His bold declaration certainly captured the attention of the Black Company mercs. Their focus shifted instantly from his men to him. General Akio’s soldiers stepped aside as he walked towards the leader of the mercs.
“Follow me, then,” the leader of the mercs said. “But your troops remain here.”
General Akio feigned a polite smile. “Thank you. That will be fine. However, my aide, Ms. Karza, will be accompanying me.”
Karza had gotten out of the limo and stood behind General Akio. Her lithe figure only enhanced by the black business top she wore above its matching mini-skirt. The leggings she wore were black as well. Her hair was pulled up into a tight bun atop her head.
“You’re American?” the leader of the mercs asked, his eyes moving over Karza’s figure and lingering too long on the paleness of her skin.
Karza nodded. “Is that a problem?”
“No, ma’am,” the merc replied in a thick Brooklyn accent.
General Akio grunted, signaling his impatience.
“Right this way, sir,” he said with an edge of sarcasm.
The merc led them into the building’s lobby where six more armed members of the Black Company stood guard.
“The elevator’s right over there,” the merc pointed. “I’ll call up and let Director Daisuke know you’re coming.”
“Thank you,” Karza told the merc.
When she and General Akio were inside the elevator and its doors had closed, she turned to him. “Those guys are going to be trouble.”
“They already are,” General Akio said, frowning. “I’d have them all arrested but…”
“Given the state of Tokyo at the moment, we don’t need to turn this building into another war zone.”
“Exactly,” General Akio replied.
The doors of the elevator opened into the same wide, waiting room that General Akio had visited before. The receptionist was gone as was all pretense of welcome. Two Black Company mercs met them as they stepped out of the elevator and four more stood blocking the doorway to Director Daisuke’s office.
One of the mercs who wore heavily tinted shades and a beret was clearly in charge of the others in the room. “Search them,” he barked at the others.
Karza moved into the path of the two men who approached General Akio.
“This man is a general in the Japanese army,” she informed them. “You will show him some respect.”
All of the mercs broke into outright laughter. The two who had been approaching General Akio paused, staring at Karza. She met their stares without flinching.
“If you’ll move aside, ma’am,” one of them said to her. “We’ll search you next. I promise.”
“And we can make it take a while if you want,” the other said, smirking.
General Akio saw Karza give him a questioning look. He sighed knowing what she was about to do if he gave the word. There was no one else in the room except for the two of them and the six mercs so he nodded.
The two mercs who had been ordered to search him began to move forward again, ignoring Karza. Neither of them saw her attack coming. She leaped into the air, the point of her right boot striking the closer of the two in the center of his neck. The man staggered backwards, clutching at his throat, his cheeks turning blue, unable to breathe. The other merc was too stunned to even move before Karza slipped by him and came up by his side. She slipped her arms around his neck and snapped it with a sharp cracking sound.
The leader merc with the shades yanked the barrel of the P-90 he was carrying up at Karza, but by the time he had, she was already on him. She yanked the weapon from his grasp with her left hand. The palm of her right hand slammed into his nose, over and over, as blood sprayed from his face with each impact.
General Akio’s sidearm had cleared his holster by the time the other mercs began to come out of their shock and react. His pistol barked as he fired into the trio of mercs who remained outside Director Daisuke’s office. Two of them were falling before the trio got off a single shot. One of the two mercs that General Akio had shot managed a wild burst from his weapon that ripped at the room’s ceiling as he toppled over with a hole in his forehead. The third did return fire.
Throwing himself to
the floor, General Akio avoided the burst from the merc’s weapon that had been aimed at him, if barely. He heard the rounds whistle through the air above him. It was all up to Karza now. There was no way he could reposition him for another shot before the last merc swept his barrel downwards to end him.
General Akio heard a P-90 open up on full auto. Instinctually, he flinched at the noise, expecting the rounds to tear into him. When he realized he was okay and looked up, he saw Karza standing over him with the P-90 the merc with the shades had been holding, still smoking, in her hands.
“Get up, Akio,” she told him. “We’ve got work to do.”
Without waiting on him, Karza started for the door that led into Director Daisuke’s office.
****
Nori stood in a corridor of Hell. Well, at least that’s what it looked like, she thought. Somehow, Nori had managed to get Ruri through the city to the hospital they had set out for whatever good it was going to do. Ruri lay on a stretcher, barely conscious, and babbling about wanting her phone. It was still in Nori’s pocket, and she had no intention of giving it back at the moment.
The entire corridor was full of injured people on stretchers. More rested propped against the walls of the corridor with relatives or friends kneeling beside them, trying to tend to them as best they could. The few nurses and members of the hospital’s staff that Nori could see were clearly pushed past their limits. Their clothes and uniforms were smeared with red, and their bodies stunk of sweat. The wounded outnumbered them over a dozen to one. One nurse had given Ruri a quick look over before leaving her where she laid to move onto another patient. Nori had wanted to grab the nurse and demand that she help Ruri, but the patient the nurse had moved on to was a kid. The boy couldn’t be older than six. There was no sign of his parents. He sat on the floor, shaking the stump that had once ended in his left hand. Drops of blood were flung from his stump onto the white of the corridor walls, spotting it with red, as he wailed loudly for his mother. The nurse was trying desperately to calm the boy without much luck. Nori couldn’t so much as imagine the pain the kid had to be in. Finally, the nurse poked a needle into the side of the boy’s neck. He slumped over, and as he had, the nurse started binding and applying pressure to his arm.
Kaiju Rampage Page 6
