by Russ Watts
“Stacey, are we aware of any other survivors at this stage?”
“None. None at all, Trent. As I said, rescue teams at this point in time are very thin on the ground. The local police and fire service are not operating and the state is very much relying on the US Army and National Guard for assistance. The President has committed all available troops to the search and rescue effort now being arranged, and the US Missouri is being recalled from training in the Pacific to help. This ship has over two thousand personnel on board and is expected to reach us sometime around 2100 tonight.
“Trent, I don’t know if you are really able to understand the scope of the devastation wrought upon this once beautiful city. It is almost incomprehensible. We’ve been up in the air for a couple of hours now, and it is horrendous. For miles and miles, there is hardly a standing building. We’ve been over the city center and some of the outlying suburbs too. We weren’t allowed to fly over Redwood, but the CAA has just given us approval so we are heading over there now and hope to bring you information soon. I can’t…yes…um, Trent, I just received word that the President is going to be making an announcement soon, so stay tuned.”
James strolled into the room wiping his hands on his jeans. “Any mention of dinosaurs terrorizing the nation yet?”
“Nothing,” said Vic.
The news report continued and they heard various reports of buildings that had collapsed, schools buried under tons of rubble and hospitals that were now morgues. They heard Stacey report from over the Golden Gate Bridge, deserted save for a few abandoned cars. Some of the rivets and cables had come loose, but the structure was still intact and could be repaired. They listened to a variety of talking heads, all with their own suppositions and ideas about why this had happened and now. They heard from meteorological experts, geological experts, and scientists: all hypothesizing, but none with any real factual, useful information. They didn’t hear any more reports of wild creatures, or giant beasts.
As they listened to Stacey fly closer to Redwood City giving an impassioned speech about helping one another, a can of lemonade fell off a back shelf and rolled out of sight into a dark corner. Another did the same, and then more of the items still on the shelves began to jump about. The floor and the walls of the store began to roll and shake, sending fear rippling through the tour group cowering in the back of Maria’s store.
“Is everyone okay?” asked Akecheta as the trembling stopped.
Mutterings and exclamations followed as everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Other than some churning stomachs and shot nerves, nobody had been injured.
“We can probably expect a few of those,” said Akecheta.
“You think? That fucker’s right outside our front door, probably figuring out how best to pick us off one by one. I’d say it’s just having a stretch before it takes our damn heads off.” James sighed and ordered Vic to find them something to eat. “Listen to this shit. This is some jumped up media spokeswoman for the US Army who apparently knows better than any of us.”
“The exact test sites are under military control, and we have rigorous procedures in place to ensure that their location is safe and secure. No harm can come to anyone from our testing which is done under the strictest supervision and controlled conditions. Allegations that the army are responsible for what happened at Goodsprings, or the loss of life of any civilian as a result of our officially sanctioned tests are entirely unfounded, unwarranted, and will be defended in court. We deny fully any culpability for the death of a single American civilian.
“We are also aware of the rumors of sinkholes appearing in the Mojave and have sent specialists to investigate. It would be normal given the magnitude of the earthquakes today for such phenomena to occur at this time. In the meantime, we would encourage everyone to stay calm, and let us do our job. We are working in coordination with the local authorities to ensure the safety of everyone in the area. Whilst we would not normally comment on gossip, you have asked us about the appearance of the monster that reportedly destroyed Goodsprings and killed all its inhabitants. It is disrespectful to the good people of that poor town to suggest anything other than the truth that led to their deaths. Due to the unchecked tunnels and disused coal mines beneath the town, it was dragged down into a sinkhole. The resulting fires and damaged buildings meant nobody could survive. You will be let in to view the area in due course.
“As for the rumors of a dinosaur, or other such animals, I can assure the people of this fine nation that no such creature exists. This so called monster is nothing more than a fictional story created by the media desperate to fill air-time. It is no more real than Chupacabra or the Loch Ness monster. The army will not enter into any further discussion on this ridiculous matter.”
“We’re fucked,” said Vic. “Everyone knows Loch Ness is real.”
“Jesus, what a shitstorm,” said James. “This is bullshit. They’re denying everything.”
“All right, James. What did you expect?” Mackenzie looked at James with something approaching pity. If he wasn’t so annoying, James just might be worthy of some sympathy. “The army are hardly going to front up and admit they created a monster are they? Look, sooner or later, they’ll have to admit it.” Mackenzie tried to placate James, but he knew it wouldn’t be an easy task. “Someone out there is going to find us, find evidence that this thing is real, and then we’ll be okay. There’s no way that giant can stay hidden for long.”
“You heard them, man, they’re going to cover this up. Goodsprings is just the start of it.” James began pacing back and forth. “How many people died there? A hundred? A thousand? I bet you your last dollar that the military are there right now declaring it an accident, telling everyone that it was a natural sinkhole that swallowed up the town. They won’t let cameras in to see what a mess they created. Once they find out it’s here, we’re as dead as those people who lived in Goodsprings. Nobody is coming for us.” James grabbed a chocolate bar from Vic and shoved it into his mouth. “We’re so screwed.”
“Yeah, okay, James, just keep a lid on those thoughts can you?” Mackenzie nodded at Alyce. “For her?”
James shrugged and continued shoving the chocolate bar into his mouth.
“You doing all right, princess?” Michele hugged Alyce close, fighting back the tears. Her little girl seemed fine, but the weight of responsibility was growing. How was she going to get her daughter safely out of here? Where were they even going to go? It sounded like their home was probably gone, so where could they turn now?
“Can we go home now? I want to go. I miss Daddy.” Alyce yawned and looked up at her mother with sad tired eyes. “I just want to go home.”
“You’ll be okay. We’ll find a way to get home soon, pumpkin.”
Laurel crouched down beside Alyce and patted Beers. She looked up at Michele. “We’ll figure it out. Just hang tight.”
Seeing James and Vic tear into a box of chocolate bars reminded Maria that the others might be hungry too. It had been hours since they had first arrived, and despite all that had happened, despite the wonder and fear and death, some of the others might want to eat too. Maria announced that if anyone had the stomach to eat, she was going to serve up some food. She still had some cold sandwiches and fruit, which she had prepared for a tour group that was due in later in the day. It was packed up behind the counter in the front and retrieving it shouldn’t be too hard while the monster was still under the ground.
“I could eat something,” said Laurel, “but can you bring it back here? I can’t go out front. Not with…you know.”
“Of course. I’ll be quick, but I want to see what it’s up to. Apart from the shaking, it’s gone remarkably quiet, don’t you think?” Maria. “No point in attracting any unwanted attention, so I’ll be quick and quiet.”
“Not on your own. It’s too risky. I’ll come with you,” said Akecheta. Together, they ventured in silence to the front of the store.
James and Vic took a seat as Mackenzie tried to make
the radio signal clearer. Laurel was busy trying to keep Alyce entertained, and he didn’t want to miss anything. With San Diego in trouble, he needed to know what exactly was going on and what was being done about it. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Amy might need help. There was currently an ‘expert’ discussing the manifestation of people’s fears and how terrorism had changed the way people thought and acted under duress. He said a traumatic event could skew one's perception of reality which may explain the rise in reports of large dinosaur-like creatures emerging from the rubble of the earthquakes. Once the idea took hold then mass panic was liable to set in, and so they had to look at it logically. The expert said there was no way anything could have lived underground undetected for so long; that it just wasn’t rational.
“Rationalize my ass.” Mackenzie wondered what it was going to take before they actually accepted what was happening. He didn’t doubt for one moment that they weren’t alone in this. Other creatures had appeared, by all accounts all over California. They were isolated by geography, but united in their cause. Everyone wanted answers, but as far as he could tell from listening to the idiots on the radio, nobody was asking the right questions. After the interview was over, they started to advise on where local shelters were being set up, complete with supplies and medical facilities. He tried to listen out for anything nearby, but he didn’t recognize any of the names that were mentioned, and there was no more information forthcoming about San Diego.
Maria and Akecheta returned armed with two bags of food which they handed out to everyone.
“What’s it looking like?” asked Mackenzie as he took an over-ripe banana and meatball sub from Akecheta. “Any sign of it?”
Akecheta sat down wearily. “Nothing. It’s there all right. You can feel it. It’s not gone anywhere. Maybe the heat of the day made it go back underground. I don’t know. It’s not a nice feeling being out front. The windows are all smashed in, and you can hear it breathing. Plus there’s…” Akecheta glanced at the corner of the room where Chris lay. “Plus there’s, you know, blood on the road. Mr. Stepper didn’t stand a chance.”
“Did you work with him long?”
“He was a tough old bastard.” Akecheta smiled wistfully. “Ex-military. He left them about ten years ago and a few years back started up this tour business. He was born and raised in San Bernardino, but he always loved this area. He was a great help to us.”
“How did you get involved with him? You do this for a living?”
“No, no, no,” said Akecheta. “I only help out at the weekends in summer, or school vacation. I teach at Fort Mojave full-time. My family live on the Fort with me. Two boys,” he said smiling. “You know, I enjoy this. It gives me a chance to teach you guys about the desert and the area I love. Well, usually. My family have been here for generations. Mr. Stepper didn’t have to take me on, but he appreciates that I’m honest about life out here, and I have a lot of knowledge that I like to pass on. The Mojave is a beautiful place to live. I can’t imagine raising my boys anywhere else.”
“Don’t suppose you know anything about giant dinosaurs, or how to get rid of them?”
Akecheta thought how to answer as Maria came around with bottles of water or soda. He took two waters, one for himself and the other he handed to Mackenzie. Maria sat down beside them, wanting to gather any ideas the group might have in how to escape the store and avoid the monster.
Akecheta wasn’t sure he had any real answers. The longer they had to sit around pondering their fate, the more the memories of the stories of the Moerkhanee came to mind. Maybe his grandfather had encountered these things. Maybe there was something in those stories he could use against it. If only he could recall more. It had been thirty years since he had spoken about them, and even back then, they were dismissed as nonsense, just children’s bedtime stories based on myths and legends.
“Well, there’s really not much that would take on anything of that size. What did that reporter call it—a goliath? I can’t imagine it has any concerns. Humans are probably their biggest enemy. But unless the Incredible Hulk turns up, I guess that’s out. I’ve been trying to remember more of the tales my grandfather used to tell me, to see if I couldn’t come up with something useful. It’s difficult. My father wasn’t around a lot, so my grandfather had a lot to do with my upbringing. He used to tell me and my brother stories. You know the usual collection of boogeymen, monsters and how I was going to be a star quarterback for the Chargers?”
“I’m sure he meant the Packers, but go on,” said Mackenzie slyly.
Akecheta merely raised an eyebrow and continued. “Well, the Moerkhanee was different. He seemed apprehensive when he spoke of them, as if he was scared almost to mention their name. It was as if even talking of them would anger them. I used to think he was doing it for effect, but now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes, I’m inclined to think he wasn’t just making it up. There were different stories he told us, and there were different creatures too. The Moerkhanee was the collective name for them, but there were three types of monsters: those that live under the ground, those that live in the oceans, and those that dwell only in the sky.”
Mackenzie rubbed his injured leg. “Akecheta, don’t jinx us. One giant animal is all we need thank you.”
“Supersized monsters,” said Maria. “Akecheta, you really believe this Moerkhanee stuff?”
Akecheta smiled. “Maybe.”
Mackenzie watched as Laurel helped Alyce to sort through some colored pens. They were leaning over a black and white book, yet to be colored in. There was almost a smile on Laurel’s face. Alyce was a good distraction. They were good for each other. Mackenzie glanced at Michele. She looked terrible, as if tiredness had a grip on her and was forcing her eyes shut. She hadn’t touched the sandwich that Maria had left for her.
“You know, I think Chris was onto something,” said Mackenzie. “He said this thing was a relic, a relative of the dinosaurs. Before he died, he was telling us about the Yucca Flats, remember? The radiation? I think what we have on our hands is a good, old-fashioned fuck up. Whatever it once was, a lizard, an alligator that someone flushed down the toilet, or maybe some long lost dinosaur, it was affected just like Chris said. All those bombs, all that radioactive waste and pollution and fallout —it all stayed underground, mutating and twisting that thing and its family until they finally got so pissed off that they decided to come for us. Hell, I don’t know.”
“How did the stories end, Akecheta?” asked Maria. “What happened in the end?”
Akecheta looked down uncomfortably. “My grandfather said the tales foretold of a new race that would one day walk the Earth: the Moerkhanee. The Moerkhanee were Gods taking the form of giant creatures that were larger and deadlier than anything that had walked the Earth before, bigger and more fearsome than even the dinosaurs. He told me they would take many forms; some would have long tails with teeth, some would have a hundred eyes, and some with senses so acute they could smell a man a hundred miles away. Yet they would all have one common trait; a hunger for man. He said they would wipe out all existing life on Earth, and then the natural Gods of the land, the ocean and the sky would live forever.”
“I’m not sure who I would prefer was right,” said Maria. “Mac with his radioactive dinosaurs, or you, Akecheta, with your Gods here to reclaim the planet.”
“It doesn’t mean anything.” Akecheta sighed loudly. “For all I know, my grandfather made the stories up. Perhaps he just remembered them from his childhood.”
“Hey,” said Vic loudly. “You’re going to want to hear this.”
Mackenzie noticed that Vic and James were sat by the radio, a beer in each hand. “What do they want now?” he muttered.
“The radio. They’re finally saying that these creatures are real.” Vic almost seemed happy at the news. He held the radio up and put a finger to his lips, indicating that they should all listen to what was being said.
“There’s more of them,” announced James solemnly
. “Just listen. Jesus, we are so fucked.”
CHAPTER 13
“America will not only survive this, but grow stronger from it. Nothing can destroy us; not our cities, not our resolve, and certainly not our spirit. These Goliaths have but temporarily stopped our tracks of progress. I am with you in this time of need. Have no doubt that we are all in this together, and we will pull through. God Bless America.”
“So there you have it, Trent. As usual, the President’s speech is full of rhetoric and soundbites, but has little in the way of concrete information about these attacks. We now know the official line is that they are calling them Goliaths. Quite what type of creature they are is still unclear. The official stance is that we are looking at a new breed of carnivore, one we have not encountered before. The term ‘Goliath’ seems to have taken off as more and more sightings come in; however, the government is refusing to categorize them until, I quote, ‘further research and analysis can take place.’ Trent, surely we’ve all heard the…”
“Turn it off,” said Mackenzie. He was disillusioned, hoping that the President’s speech might have provided them with some hope. Instead, he felt more scared than ever. Reports of the monsters were coming in more frequently. The media had come up with a name for them, simple yet accurate: Goliaths.
“Try to rest, Mac.” Laurel had laid herself down and was resting her head on his lap. “Close your eyes and ignore it. There’s nothing we can do right now, so save your energy.”
