Kaiju Storm (Kaiju Winter Book 2)

by Jake Bible

  “But you got both your daughters out,” Terrie says. “You saved them both.”

  “Because I sacrificed my wife,” Lester cries. “See? I’m useless!”

  Terrie gets right in Lester’s face, and he cringes, but she grips him by the shoulders. “You are not useless. You did not sacrifice your wife. She sacrificed herself. For her family. She knew what was coming, and she gave you the chance to run, to save your little girl. You did better than that and saved both girls.”

  “But what kind of man…?”

  “Shut up, you moron,” Terrie snaps and shakes him hard. “If you’d had the chance to sacrifice yourself for your girls, would you have?”

  “Yes! Yes, of course!” Lester replies.

  “Then don’t you dare ruin your wife’s memory by lessening what she did for you,” Terrie says. “Once they were done with her they would have started in on Lana. But you made sure that didn’t happen. Your wife made sure that didn’t happen. Honor that.”

  Lester stares at her through the moisture in his face mask. He takes it off and wipes his face, then puts it back on and nods.

  “You’re right,” Lester says. “But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “No, I suppose it doesn’t,” Terrie says. “And it never will. That pain you feel? Own it, Lester. It’s yours and can’t be taken away. Own it and use it. Because pain is what we have now. Pain is what the Lord has given us, and He has given that gift for a reason.”

  “What reason?” Lester asks. “What reason could God have for this kind of hurt?”

  “So we never forget, and we never quit,” Terrie says. She turns and looks out at the black water that laps at the marina’s docks below. “We’re going someplace that may keep us safe until we know what to do next. But that’s not the end. My own daughter and grandson are out there somewhere, and I will find them. I will use my pain to never give up on them. When the time is right, that pain will be my fuel. It will drive me to them, and then,then I will ask God what is next for me.”

  “Oh,” is all Lester can say in reply. A quiet, simple “oh”.

  “Help me get her into the cart,” Linda says. “We’ll wheel her down to the docks. Hopefully we can find a sailboat we can use.”

  “Oh, I know the perfect one,” Lester says. “I found it before the air got so bad. It’s tied to the third dock down. A sweet, little sloop, maybe twenty-five feet. Plenty of room for all of us. It was going to be a struggle on my own, but with you two to help, we can get it out on the water in no time.”

  “You know how to sail?” Linda smiles.

  “Well, yeah,” Lester nods. “That’s why I brought my girls here. I’ve been sailing since I could walk. The original plan was for all of us to get on a boat and sail as far out as we can in hopes of finding a ship that could takes us away from the US. That was the original plan.”

  “But the air got too bad, so you huddled up here and hoped to wait it out?” Linda asks.

  “I didn’t think the air would get better,” Lester says quietly. “I knew at some point I’d have to open the car and end it all. I don’t have a gun to do it.”

  “That would have been a shitty way to die,” Linda says. “No one needs to suffocate on ammonia gas.”

  “Is that what that is?” Lester asks. “I thought I knew that smell.”

  Terrie takes a few steps away and frowns, then looks back at the others.

  “I don’t see any of those broken eggs here,” Terrie says. “That’s good.”

  “No, they didn’t hit land,” Lester says. “I watched them all fall into the Sound.”

  Terrie and Linda share a look.

  “What?” Lester asks. “Is that bad?”

  Terrie looks out at the dark water.

  “Well, it’s not good,” Terrie says.

  ***

  Alvarez and Dr. Hall struggle to get the canoe up out of the Potomac and onto shore.

  “I don’t know why we don’t just leave it in the river,” Dr. Hall says.

  “Because it may not be secure,” Alvarez says as he pulls his pistol and scans the area. “We might need to get back in the water ASAP.”

  “Really?” Dr. Hall sighs. “I’d rather not.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” Alvarez says. “So let’s keep it quiet, okay? You’ve already left a trail of bodies, Doctor. I don’t need to be part of that.”

  Dr. Hall stays silent as Alvarez steps away from the canoe and motions for Dr. Hall to follow him. The two men slowly make their way up the short riverbank and into Gravelly Point Park.

  “Why did we get out on this side?” Dr. Hall whispers. “Why not the other side? That’s closer to the White House.”

  “Because I’m supposed to meet up with other agents here,” Alvarez says. He nods towards the dark shadow of Rochambeau Memorial Bridge that looms a few yards away. “That was the plan. If they aren’t here then we get across the bridge to the DC side. It’s only about two miles to the White House from there.”

  “A lot can happen in two miles,” Dr. Hall says.

  “I know,” Alvarez says. “Which is why I need to see if Agent Zakarian is here. We could use the help.”

  Dr. Hall has no argument against that and drops his questioning. His eyes flit from shape to shape as they hurry through the park and over to the street on the far side. An onramp is right before them, thankfully free of cars. The next bridge over is not so empty, and Dr. Hall can see the pile up of vehicles that clogs the on and off ramps, glad they aren’t using that one.

  “Down,” Alvarez whispers. He reaches back and swats at Dr. Hall. “Get down, and do not say a word.”

  Dr. Hall complies quickly and crouches low against the ground as Alvarez squat walks his way out into the street, his pistol moving from side to side. There is a slight scrape of something on concrete, and Dr. Hall has to use all of his willpower to not cry out. He scoots over and presses himself against the concrete of the bridge, hoping to become invisible in the night. He has no illusions that the ooze creatures can’t see in the dark since their continual screeches and wails followed them along the riverbank for most of their trip in the canoe. His professional guess is they have nocturnal vision or can see in the thermal ranges.

  That thought leads to a guess as to what the creatures’ exact physiology is, which leads to him wondering what, if anything, can stop the monsters. In a way, he almost wishes he can face one of the giant monsters from the satellite images he saw down in the White House’s situation room. Despite their enormity, they were solid and followed some basic tenets of zoology. Arms, legs, heads, bodies. They were knowable.

  But the ooze creatures? They make Dr. Hall’s head hurt. They shouldn’t exist. They aren’t like anything he has ever encountered. They start as a substance, an ooze that comes from jelly eggs that fall from the sky, released by monsters that also defy explanation. But the stingrays at least have form, whereas the ooze has none until it takes the form of whatever it attacks.

  These thoughts run through his mind as he squints into the night in order to keep Alvarez in sight. Dr. Hall never even hears the sounds from above him.

  “Hands where we can see them,” a voice commands quietly. “Slowly. You get twitchy, and I put a bullet through the top of your head, asshole.”

  Dr. Hall lets out a small squeak and complies, raising his hands into the air. He starts to glance up.

  “Do not move,” the voice says. “Eyes on the ground. You stay right there, you understand?”

  Dr. Hall doesn’t move.

  “You can nod if you understand,” the voice says.

  Dr. Hall nods.

  Rough hands grab him from behind, and one wraps around his mouth while another twists his left arm up behind his back. He panics and starts to thrash, but a hard shove on his arm ends that with a wrenching pain. Dr. Hall tries to find the shape of Alvarez, but he can’t see the man anywhere.

  He is dragged backwards to one of the bridge’s pilings, then lifted up, and spun about. The barrel of
a pistol is jammed against his left eye, and Dr. Hall just stands there, his right eye trying to get a look at his attacker.

  “Shhh,” the man says, and pats him down quickly. “He’s clean. Except for this.”

  The man with the gun holds out Dr. Hall’s kitchen knife. Another man comes walking out of the dark and takes the knife, then smiles at the Doctor.

  “This won’t do much against those things out there,” the new man says. “But it probably works better than bullets.”

  “Yeah,” Dr. Hall says, instantly feeling stupid for the inane response.

  “We good?” the voice from above asks, and Dr. Hall involuntarily looks up.

  “Three?” Dr. Hall asks. “Three of you?”

  “That you know of,” the man with the pistol says.

  The man next to him, the one still holding Dr. Hall’s knife, glances up and nods.

  “We’re good,” he says. “This guy is soft. He shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “I’m not soft,” Dr. Hall pouts. “I made it this far.”

  “Yeah, you did,” the pistol man agrees. “But how far? Who are you, and where are coming from?”

  “Where are you going, is the better question,” the second man says.

  “I...I’m just a guy,” Dr. Hall says. “Just a guy looking for a safe place.”

  “No such thing around here anymore,” the pistol man says.

  “If you wanted safe, then you should have left with everyone else during the main evac,” the man with the knife adds. “That would have been the best idea.”

  “I didn’t have time,” Dr. Hall replies. “I was...busy.”

  “Busy with what?” the knife man asks. “What’s your fucking name?”

  “Uh...Thomas,” Dr. Hall replies, not sure why he refuses to tell the men who he really is. But after everything the past couple days, he doesn’t feel the need to trust anyone. “Thomas Granger.”

  “Thomas Granger?” the knife man asks. “No, it’s not. You are a shitty liar. Tell us who you are, and then we’ll figure out where you’re going next.”

  “Why?” Dr. Hall asks. “What’s it matter who I am? If you’re gonna rob me, then you’re done. You took my knife. I don’t have anything else. If you’re gonna kill me, then just kill me. You don’t need to know who I am.”

  “So you admit you’re not Thomas Granger?” the knife man asks.

  “I admit nothing except I’m just a guy that wants to get someplace safe,” Dr. Hall replies.

  “He’s half lying,” the pistol man says. “He does want to get someplace safe, but he’s not just a guy. I can hear it in his voice. What are you hiding?”

  “A partner,” Alvarez says from the a few yards away, his pistol pointed at the men. “Now, lower your weapons, and back away from my man.”

  “I don’t think so,” the pistol man responds.

  “Not going to happen, sir,” the knife man says. “It would be best if you set your gun down and backed away from it. You are interfering with government business. We have an important job to do, and this man is part of that.”

  Alvarez lowers his gun and leans forward.

  “Collin?” Alvarez asks. “Neal?”

  The two men freeze, then start laughing.

  “Fucking A, Alvarez,” Agent Neal Neff says as he backs off from Dr. Hall and holsters his pistol. “You’re lucky you didn’t get shot, man.”

  “We’re glad to see you,” Agent Collin Whittier says as he drops the knife and extends his hand.

  Alvarez comes over and grasps the man’s hand, then does the same with Neff.

  “Are you two all that’s left? Where’s Zakarian?” Alvarez asks.

  “Behind you,” Zakarian says, his pistol held to the side. “You got sloppy, Paulo. You forgot to look up.”

  “I knew someone was up there,” Alvarez says. “I just hoped I could get to the Doctor first.”

  “I knew it was him,” Whittier says. “Even in the dark, he was easy to spot. Didn’t see you, though. Good stealth.”

  “Thanks,” Alvarez says, then looks up at the bridge. “We should get going.”

  “Whoa, you want to tell us where the rest of your team is?” Zakarian asks.

  “Do I need to?” Alvarez says. “You’re missing a couple men. I’m betting they turned out the same as mine did.”

  “The eggs?” Zakarian asks.

  “The eggs,” Alvarez says.

  “You know what those things are?” Neff asks Dr. Hall.

  “No,” Dr. Hall says. “But I know enough to stay away from them. The ooze overtakes its victims and absorbs them, becomes like them, but obviously not the same.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” Whittier says.

  “So we pretty much know what you know,” Zakarian says as he walks up to Dr. Hall. “I lost good men trying to find you. I really, really fucking hope that’s not all you know.”

  “He knows more,” Alvarez says. “A lot more. Or he thinks he does.”

  “Thinks isn’t worth dead agents,” Zakarian insists.

  “Thinks, I meantheories, are all there are,” Dr. Hall says. “No one in this world knows what’s happening. But if my theory is correct, then we will at least, maybe, know what we are dealing with.”

  “Oh? And what is that?” Zakarian asks.

  “Something really fucking big,” Alvarez says.

  “We already know that,” Zakarian laughs. “Big, giant monsters. That’s old news.”

  “No,” Alvarez insists. “Bigger.”

  “More like miles bigger, not feet or yards,” Dr. Hall says. “Something so large that it will be tearing itself out of the Earth’s crust, possibly destroying the world when it emerges.”

  The other agents go silent as they stare at Dr. Hall. Zakarian finally tears his eyes away and glances at Alvarez.

  “You buy that?” he asks.

  “I don’t want to,” Alvarez says. “But, yeah, I’m buying.”

  “Fuck me,” Neff says. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “The end of the world,” Dr. Hall says. “Unless I can get to the White House.”

  “Well, we have a much better shot than before,” Alvarez replies. “We should get going.”

  “Yeah, that’s gonna be a problem,” Zakarian says. “There’s a reason we waited here for you so long.”

  “It wasn’t because it was the plan?” Alvarez asks.

  “I wish,” Zakarian replies. “But we assumed you didn’t make it. It was a safe assumption.”

  “I don’t see what the issue is,” Alvarez asks. “Is the bridge blocked?”

  “In a way,” Whittier says. “We should show him.”

  “Come on,” Zakarian says. “You won’t like this.”

  He motions for Alvarez and Dr. Hall to follow, then makes his way to the on-ramp and hikes up to the bridge. They get to the top and weave past a few cars that sit across the lanes. Halfway across the bridge, Alvarez and Dr. Hall see the issue.

  “That stopped you?” Alvarez asks as he points to the gap in the bridge. A huge section has collapsed into the river, and except for parts of the railing, there is nothing left for a good thirty feet. “We can just use the railings to climb across.”

  “Oh, wow, we never thought of that,” Neff snaps.

  “Goodson was with us too,” Whittier says. “He tried it first.”

  Zakarian kneels down and pries a hubcap off one of the cars. He walks over to the gap, but makes sure to stay a few feet back from the edge. He glances back at Alvarez and Dr. Hall, then brings his arm back and tosses the hubcap over the open space. He rushes back to the group.

  Instantly it is swarmed upon by hundreds of green glowing ooze creatures before it makes it to the other side. The hubcap disappears instantly, is taken down through the gap, and into the water below. The sound of frantic splashing is heard, and then silence.

  “What the fuck?” Alvarez says, taking a step forward.

  “I wouldn’t,” Zakarian says, grabbing his arm. “I don’t know ho
w, but they can tell if anything is closer than two feet to the edge. We’ve tested it.”

  “That’s insane,” Dr. Hall says. “We made it all the way down the river in a canoe and never saw a sign of anything in the water.”

  “A canoe? You’re joking,” Neff says.

  “No, he’s not,” Alvarez says. “My feet are soaking wet and numb from pulling us ashore.”

  “Your feet would have been fish food if you’d kept going under the bridge,” Zakarian says.

  “This doesn’t make sense,” Dr. Hall says. “Fish don’t act like that. Sure, there are species like piranhas that will school together in a similar manner, but they don’t stay in one spot the whole time.”

  “Those aren’t fish, genius,” Neff says. “Fish don’t glow.”

  “Technically, that’s not true,” Dr. Hall says. “There are several species that have developed bioluminescence over time to…”

  “Those aren’t fish,” Alvarez interrupts. “No need for a science lesson, Doctor.” He looks towards the larger bridge just upriver. “So, we use the Williams Bridge.”

  “Nope,” Whittier says. “That won’t work either. You can’t see it from here, it’s missing its entire westbound side and most of the eastbound. The thing shouldn’t be standing.”

  “What happened?” Alvarez asks. “These bridges were intact when we crossed them before.”

  “A lot’s changed since then,” Zakarian says. “A lot.”

  “And if you try to cross over there?” Alvarez asks.

  “They’re there too,” Zakarian says. “Like little green trolls refusing to let the billy goats pass.”

  “Then we hike up to Arlington Memorial and go over that one,” Alvarez says.

  “Gone,” Neff says. “Trust us, man, we recon’ed up and down this river. There is no way across. Unless we want to go down to 495.”

  “No,” Dr. Hall says. “Pigeons.”

  “Say what?” Neff responds.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Alvarez says. “We can’t go south. Too many of those things. We probably don’t have much time before they get here.”

  “Then what’s the plan?” Zakarian asks.