Gfantis vs the Guest Monsters

by Matthew Dennion

  Chapter 4

  A Place in The Sun

  May 5th, 2048, 6:20 A.M.

  -28.85 Lat, -84.78 Long

  The South Pacific

  The creature from another time and another place, known there as GFantis, swam unevenly through the warming waves of the Pacific. The experience of traveling through a cosmic gate had left the monstrous, dragon-like being dazed and lethargic. Lack of exposure to sunlight during the journey had also contributed to his weakened state as solar absorption was his body’s chief method of energy production.

  GFantis’ instinct led him eastward towards the brightening horizon and towards land. He sought any plot of earth on which he could lay undisturbed and replenish his energy stores. Once accomplished, he would go about establishing his territory and investigating any threats in the area.

  As the massive reptile approached the South American coast, large chunks of debris crashed in and broke upon the creature’s scaled body. Thousands of wooden planks, the remains of human structures from all along the beaches of Chile, floated on top of the briny Pacific. The ebb of the tide had also pulled scores of human bodies out into the deep, resulting in sharks gathering in pools beneath the floating remains.

  With the coastline coming into view, the land began to rise, GFantis’ body slowly lifting out of the water. Feet fully planted in the sandy ocean floor, the creature rose full upright, hundreds of gallons of water and seaweed cascading down his 30-story frame.

  Now standing in the shallows of a natural harbor, GFantis surveyed the landscape and let out a guttural roar to announce his presence to any challengers within range of his call. His keen, reptilian eyes scanned the coast for miles in either direction, finding no sign of life. The ground shuddered with GFantis’ massive steps as he moved inland, pulverizing even more the ruins of a human city destroyed by the tidal waves created by the monster’s arrival.

  Not far from the coast, GFantis came to a secluded stretch of land nestled in a mountainous valley. The sun was above the horizon line now, a heavy globe of shimmering red, gathering heat like the bowels of a blast furnace. The giant reptile could feel the temperature rising by the minute and he proceeded to secure a place in the canyon to rest his weary frame.

  In a matter of hours, the full rays of the sun would render him as strong and resilient as any Gargantua that had thus far walked the face of this planet.