Inside the cockpit, the crew watched as the beast disappeared beneath the shining wreckage, hundreds of tons of debris crashing down on top of it. The world around them was muted by the electronic filters, Grimmgarl’s fall sounding unsettlingly quiet. Her tail twitched, the only part of the Kaiju still visible, and then went still as the last of the building came down. A storm of dust blocked out their vision, but Andrea watched the sensors like a hawk. If Grimmgarl so much as gasped for air she would know, but the beast lay still as the rubble slowed and started to settle.
“And she’s done!” Gerry shouted. “Take that Jansen.”
Andrea heard Will breathe heavily in relief at her back, but knew their euphoria would be short lived. Sure they’d beaten Grimmgarl, but that wouldn’t stop General Jansen from screwing them to the fullest extent of his authority. They’d stolen a powerful weapon from the government, and Andrea couldn’t see Jansen letting them get away with it regardless of what they’d just done.
It wasn’t like they could rally the public to their cause, either. Outside of a handful of people, no one knew who piloted KRASER. That was for safety purposes, they’d been told, but she also knew it was because it would be easier to replace pilots if no one knew who the hell they were. To the people of the world, KRASER was just a robot. As long as it kept fighting, no one would care who was plugged inside.
“You all right,” asked Gerry. The weight of his stare bore down on her.
Andrea lied. “Yeah, I was just—” The shriek of the motion sensors stole her breath.
Grimmgarl’s tail disappeared into the wreckage, but the rest of her surged from the shambles of the collapsed building. Something golden gleamed in her jaws.
“What the fuck is that?” Gerry managed to ask before the answer became apparent.
Grimmgarl clenched one of KRASER’s arms in its mouth. It leapt from the wreckage and whipped its head to the side, the massive steel fist slamming into KRASER’s metallic cheek. Feedback squealed through the headphones at the impact, sparks flying through the cockpit as sensors exploded. The acrid stink of burning rubber filled the room.
“We’re going down!” Andrea shouted as the robot did exactly that, handless arms flailing as it the robot fell to its back with a resounding crunch.
“We are so fucked.” Will clasped to his harness with one hand while the other flew across the controls trying to rein in the damage.
“I remember this being your idea,” Gerry told Andrea as the pair struggled against gravity to get the robot up before Grimmgarl followed up. “Got any more good ones?”
Andrea just growled in response as the Kaiju alligator filled the viewport, giant teeth slathered in ichor and rot, the maw closing in on them. Her stomach knotted as she manhandled the controls, noting the sluggish response. She wouldn’t be in time.
Grimmgarl slammed into KRASER with the force of a nuclear blast. The viewport went black as Andrea whiplashed into her seat. Her vision followed.
~
Colonel Ausum saw the robot go down. Still a block away, he cursed his weakness but ran on. He hadn’t fully recovered from his Shin Bakutetsu, but he was all out of time. The pilots had given him a breather, and it was time to return the favor. He reached out and ripped an I-beam from a half-demolished building, the steel snapping from a solid tug with his arm. Without bothering to aim, he turned the beam in his hand and threw it at Grimmgarl as though it were a spear. It hurtled clumsily through the air, but that was good enough.
The beast had clamped its teeth down on KRASER’s torso when the beam thudded off its skull. Grimmgarl’s head was snapped sideways, its maw ripped loose from the robot, shards of metal glistening between its teeth. Its legs slid off its opponent as she tried to catch her balance.
Ausum wouldn’t have any of that. He closed the distance between them and jumped over the prone robot, wrapping his around Grimmgarl’s neck. He knew there was no chance to choke the air from her undead lungs, but if he could keep her head immobilized long enough, KRASER might get to its feet and finish the fight. Ausum tightened his grip, feeling his arms warm from the effort. He’d already reached his limits, but sheer force of will kept him going.
The two rolled as Grimmgarl struggled, sharpened wreckage stabbing and tearing at Ausum as he held tight. He concentrated on holding on. There was no doubt he’d tire before the Kaiju did, but he had to give the mech’s crew time to recover. That was his last hope.
~
Andrea groaned as she started coming to. Smoke filled her lungs, and she choked, fighting its invasive touch. Gerry hacked up a lung beside her, and Will quietly coughed into his sleeve. Lights flickered across the controls, warning of failures across the board.
“Everyone okay?”
“Define okay,” Will asked.
Andrea glanced over her shoulder at him to see a trickle of blood running from his forehead down his cheek. Other than that, he looked fine. She glanced over at her co-pilot. Gerry looked like he was growing another shiner, but he looked alright too.
“How’s the mech?”
Will’s eyes scoured the panels and punched a couple buttons. The hum of KRASER’s engines coming online was sweet music.
“No hands, half the sensors shot, lots of structural damage, left leg servos burnt out, and about fifteen minutes left of filtered air before we’re forced to crack a window so we can breathe,” he answered, “but other than that, KRASER’s peachy.”
Andrea snorted as she and Gerry rolled the robot onto its side and used the stumps of its arms to climb back to its feet. “Peachy will have to do.”
Gerry shrugged as the robot trundled forward. “I’m not complaining.” One leg dragged as the mech chased after the Kaiju and the Colonel.
As the pair appeared on the cracked screens, Andrea cursed, fingers flitting across the controls. “You forgot to mention we don’t have any weapons left, Will. Jewel Cannon’s offline.”
“Minor details,” he said, following the same pattern along the controls as she had. “Well, that’s not entirely true.” He pointed to the panel.
She glanced over at him and slumped into her harness when she saw where his finger led.
“You’re kidding.” Gerry breathed, looking back and forth between the pair.
“You got a better idea?”
Gerry grunted. “Fuck it.” This was the last hurrah anyway, right?
Andrea drew a deep breath and nodded.
Will closed his eyes, trying to stay calm.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Andrea said.
Gerry grinned and leaned into his controls. “It’s go time!”
KRASER lumbered forward, Andrea timing its approach so it was Grimmgarl on top of the roll when they reached the struggling pair. She and Gerry maneuvered the stubs of KRASER’s arms and shoved them between Ausum and the beast, stopping their motion. Grimmgarl squirmed and screeched at the unexpected interference, but the robot had her. KRASER slid her arms under the creature until the two forearms clanged together.
“Lock them,” Andrea called out, and Will followed through.
A metallic hum sounded inside the cabin as the arms became one, servos sliding gears together until both limbs were joined at the forearms.
“You sure you want to do this?” Gerry asked. “Last chance to back out.”
Andrea shook her head. “It’s all we’ve got.”
Gerry nodded and opened the rear escape hatch. “Then take a walk while I take care of business.”
“Screw you,” she told him. “My plan, my responsibility.”
“There’s no way I’m letting—”
Will’s huge frame appeared between them. His hands yanked Gerry’s harness open and had him out of the chair before he could complain. Andrea gasped and released her own belt, but before she’d even slipped out of the chair, Will had tossed Gerry through the hatch. Gerry screamed as he fell away, a parachute flaring to life within seconds.
“What the hell are you doing?” Andrea shouted.
> Will grabbed her arms and spun her around with ease. “If I make it, you owe me a stiff drink.”
With that, he threw Andrea after Gerry. She watched the hatch slam shut as she landed on the ground alongside Gerry.
Will flipped on a speaker, speaking to the Colonel. “Better move your ass. I don’t think you want to come with us.”
Ausum scrambled out from beneath the thrashing Kaiju as KRASER stepped back, dragging the beast with it.
“Don’t do this,” Andrea screamed. Gerry stood beside her in stunned silence.
“Too late,” Will said, the words nearly drowned in the sudden wash of roaring engines.
Dust whirled up around them as Colonel Ausum slid his giant hands in front of Andrea and Gerry to keep the whipping debris from, striking them. Andrea peered through the cracks of the Colonel’s fingers as KRASER’s boot jets roared, flames spewing from beneath. Before she knew it, the robot shot into the air, carrying the massive alligator with it.
Andrea barely heard herself shout a desperate plea as she watched the mech and Kaiju fly higher and higher until they were nothing more than a black speck in the hazy sky.
“How far are they going?” Gerry asked, his hand cupped over his eyes,
Andrea stared off after them. “The rockets have enough juice to get him into the lower atmosphere, maybe a little further.”
Gerry’s head snapped her direction. “Do you really think he’d…?”
The question trailed off as Andrea nodded. “Anything less and Grimmgarl will shrug it off.” Even then she wasn’t sure.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as they stared off into the blank emptiness where Will and the giant beast had just been. Andrea tried to think quickly—was that going to be high enough?
“Is that them?” Ausum asked, pointed upward.
Andrea followed his finger and spied a tiny darkness. It grew larger as she stared, her heart pounding in her chest. It was Will.
KRASER plummeted toward earth, sunlight gleaming off its steel frame. Andrea could recognize the darker shape of Grimmgarl still clutched in the robot’s arms, writhing around to get free. The pair plunged back towards the ground, jet boots flickering on and off in one direction. It was clear they weren’t landing anywhere near where they’d taken flight.
“Where the hell is he going?” Gerry asked.
“Leading her away from the city,” Andrea answered, pride tinting the gloom in her voice. Will had steered KRASER toward the airport, the robot and Grimmgarl careening towards one of the runways. “It’s not the fall that kills you...”
Moments later the robot and the Kaiju crashed, their impact sending shockwaves across New Orleans.
~
Andrea stood beside the wreckage of the robot, tears in her eyes. Gerry was beside her and Colonel Ausum hovered at their backs. He’d carried them across the city to where KRASER had crashed, but there was seemingly nothing left to be done.
The robot laid in a shattered heap, parts and pieces strewn across the tarmac. Andrea feared the worst, feared that his machine would be his resting place. But against all odds, Will was still strapped into his chair inside what was left of the cabin. He was covered in blood, his limbs clearly broken in several places. Will might never walk, or do much of anything again, but he’d lived. Gerry and Andrea huddled around Will, his breathing labored. That was enough for them both, who felt relief as they turned to see what was left of the Kaiju.
Grimmgarl had fared only slightly better. The beast’s back was twisted and mangled, its lower half torn nearly off and turned backwards so that it rested upon the creature’s skull. Foul guts littered the runways and had repainted the terminal in rancid greens and blacks. The smell was overwhelming, but Andrea couldn’t bring herself to care. They’d won, but at almost too high a price. And while they’d dodged a bullet with Will stubbornly refusing to die, there was more to come. Andrea hadn’t forgotten what they’d done, what price their victory had come at.
The sirens that had howled for the last fifteen minutes closed upon the airport, a single car screeching to a halt at their backs flanked by ambulances. Gerry slumped against the cabin walls, still watching Will breathe in shock.
“He is a true teammate,” the Colonel said as footsteps stamped en masse toward them.
“Excuse me.”
Someone came up alongside them, and Andrea saw a giant of a man in a beige suit appear. He tugged at his green tie. “Pardon me, are you Nadler and Jenkins?” His hair was an unruly mess, more like white moss than hair.
Andrea nodded. “That’s us. You here to arrest us?”
The man looked at them befuddled. “Arrest you? I think not. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Harg. I’m here to offer you and your crew a job.”
“Are you fucking blind?” Gerry shouted. “A third of our crew is crippled for life and our robot is right there with him.”
Mr. Harg gave a solemn nod. “My condolences for Mister Taswell’s condition, but the ruin of your mech is exactly why I’m here, Mr. Nadler.” He tossed a thick manila envelope to Gerry while medics slipped by and started to cut Will free of his restraints. “I’m here to do everything I can to ensure the three of you and your robot continue to do the job you’re best suited for: fighting Kaiju.”
Gerry went slack-jawed. He just stared at the man. “But Will is—”
“Let my doctors worry about him. There are new procedures for men in his state.”
Andrea was more curious than anything. “What’s the catch?”
“Only that you three continue to put up a fight against the other Kaiju.” Mr. Harg’s smile was gentle. “That’s the only point I must insist on.”
The wail of sirens grew even louder as an army of police and military vehicles roared to a stop a short distance from the ambulances.
Andrea motioned to them as the officers and soldiers spilled from the trucks and vans, guns drawn. “Well, you’ll need to keep us out of jail if you want us to fight Kaiju.”
Mr. Harg glanced over his shoulder at the approaching men and smiled. “I’m sure I can manage something.”
The Serpent’s Heart
Howard Andrew Jones
For a night and a day we had drifted, and we five had but two sips left in our waterskin. The calm waters stretched to every horizon, lapping gently at the side of our boat, now green, now blue. The tropic sun blazed down.
We spoke sometimes of the hope for a ship, for we floated along one of the caliphate’s most frequented trade routes. Mostly, though, we were silent and morose, thinking of the friends who had drowned within sight of us, and wondering if we would live to set eyes upon our homes. I’d always thought it likely I’d perish at my friend Dabir’s side, but had expected to meet my end warding him from some enemy. All of my skills were useless against thirst and the relentless sun.
The temperature finally eased a few degrees as daylight died. And then the black ship sailed up out of the twilight gloom.
It was a long, high vessel with four square masts. I had never seen its like, and felt a strange foreboding. The cook swore under his breath and whispered darkly of evil djinn.
The first mate, a sturdy black by the name of Ghassan, cursed him to silence. My friend Dabir, in his calm, reasonable way, explained this must be a vessel from the land of Chin. He pointed out the even horizontal lines that divided the sail, which he said was typical of their junks, though he admitted he’d never imagined they were this large.
“Still,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling, “so great a ship should have plenty of extra water.”
His good spirits soon had all of us waving our arms and shouting in joyous anticipation, even the surly cook, who’d sprained his ankle when he dropped into the boat.
The vessel tacked towards us and our laconic helmsman spoke at last, joking that even foreign fare would be better than our cook’s, which provoked a round of nervous laughter. It being near to the evening prayer, I led us in hurried devotions while that black
ship drew ever closer.
My apprehension grew stronger as it neared. Though the ocean had never been my home, I was, by those years, no stranger to sea craft. Yet I’d never seen one with such a high rising stern. Huge red eyes were painted on the pointed prow, which lent it a monstrous aspect made all the more disquieting because of the steady metallic clank somewhere deep within the hull. As its ebon shadow fell over us, the craft seemed less a ship than a predator with a steel heart.
I counted fifteen silhouettes along the high rail but couldn’t make out any faces. The helmsman wondered aloud whether they thought us threatening. Surely so many men would not worry over so few. It is true that we looked a little rough. In the mad scramble to abandon ship we’d lost our turbans, and so many hours in the rowboat had left our robes disheveled and stained. The cook was a bit paunchy, but helmsman and mate were hardy sailors; and Dabir and I were both in the prime of life. Though Dabir was a lean scholar, and some gray had touched his spade beard, he did not look a weakling. And as for me, well, as my wife would have told you, I was a striking figure of a man. But we were clearly in need of assistance.
Besides, if those aboard meant us harm, we could make little but a brave noise, for I alone had retained my sword. The others carried only knives
A broad figure leaned against the rail and called down to us, his voice deep and clipped with the accent of Chin folk. “Who are you, and what are you doing?”
Even I knew this was not the customary way to hail a vessel at sea and our sailors exchanged worried looks. The speaker sounded inordinately suspicious, as if we might somehow conceal a horde of pirates in our open boat.
Dabir lifted his hands to his mouth, forming a speaking trumpet. “Our own ship was destroyed,” he called up. “We are the only survivors. Can you help—”
The man’s voice remained wary. “Destroyed by what?”
Dabir hesitated only a moment. “A great fish.”
Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters Page 12
