“Glad to see you're so happy for World War Three,” Craig complained as he stumbled off to find the rest of his clothes.
“War? Oh, I don't think that’s what’s caused it. I mean, it'll be the big story. Biggest one yet.”
“Then what's going on, a solar flare?”
“At one in the morning? Don't be stupid.”
“Well you don't know either. Science certainly isn't one of your strong suits. Maybe the radiation, or whatever it is, bounced around the atmosphere until it hit us, or something like that,” Craig replied.
“No, this is something new. Some people I talked said they saw a green glow to the north when it happened. I gotta find out what it was. Maybe it was some sort of secret experiment over at Area 51?” Leslie speculated as Craig finished dressing.
“A witness at one o’ clock on the Strip? I'm quite certain there’s no way he could have been drunk.” Craig laughed.
“Shut up. I got three separate reports on the green glow, and there was a powerful gust of wind twenty minutes ago that smelled almost as bad as your fridge. Signs knocked over, windows broken, almost as if a hurricane had hit. There is something really—”
Craig cut her off. “That’s all great, but why are you here?”
“Well, I...uh...I need to borrow your car.”
“No. Not a chance in hell. That’s a '66 Mustang. My dad gave me that car and there is no way you're taking it on some wide goose chase in the desert. Why don’t you take yours?”
“I can't. It won't work. I need an old car that would have survived the EMP. Nothing with any kind of computer chip works anymore. That means your car’s the only one likely to still be running. Besides, if you keep it here it will be destroyed by riots within twenty-four hours.”
“Riots?”
“Think of it. You have over a million people here, maybe two, I don’t know, and that’s not including lord knows how many tourists. With a complete power outage, and with limited water, people are going to panic eventually. It’s already started on the strip. Think of it, just you against a horde of crazed tourists? Wonder how long you’ll last.”
Craig sighed. She hadn’t painted a pretty picture. “Okay, I'll go with you, but I'm the only one that drives my car, you got that? Besides, this may be the one time in your life when you're right.” Craig grumbled while opening his gun safe. He pulled out his shotgun and a couple of rifles along with a satchel containing a first aid kit and extra ammo. Always a good thing to be prepared.
“Alright, let's roll.”
~
After leaving Vegas, they sped north but after only a few minutes they ran into a sandstorm. High winds pelted them as Craig stopped along the side of the road, swearing. It was over quickly, but all Craig could think about was the scuffed paint. Further down the highway they found some disabled cars that must have gone dead during the strange pulse, their passengers disoriented and recovering from the sandstorm.
“Is everyone alright?” Craig shouted at the four people near a pair of cars.
“What's going on? Can you give us a lift back to town?” said a woman.
“Sorry, no room. We'll let someone know you're out here, though.” With that, Craig continued on his way. Of course there was no way he could get help for these people, but he couldn't give everyone he met a ride either.
“I hope those folks find help before the sun comes up,” Craig said while staring at their fading images in the rearview mirror.
“It’s not going to be easy for anyone,” said Leslie. “All those people in Vegas are going to be without air conditioning or functional vehicles. By the way, have your noticed that strange smell ever since that sandstorm hit us? It’s the same one I noticed earlier.”
“No, but my nose has been plugged up for the last week. Feels almost like allergies, but I haven't had it this bad since moving to Nevada.”
After another hour of travel they came across a bizarre glow coming from the west.
“What’s that,” asked Craig as they continued driving.
“Turn on one of these side roads, and let’s see if we can get closer to it.”
“Closer?” Craig looked over at Leslie in wonder. “Whatever that thing is it’s big and it’s glowing. Not a good idea.”
“It looks like some sort of forest…but not made out of any trees.” Leslie pushed on Craig’s shoulder. “There’s something alive there. Pull over.”
“Damn it! You’re going to pay if anything happens to my ride,” Craig muttered as he slowed and carefully pulled onto a dirt side road.
Ahead of them was an astonishing sight. It was an alien looking landscape many miles across that had a dim, iridescent glow. The ‘trees’ looked more like stalks of celery, nearly four hundred feet tall, their “bark” colored in a variety of greens with numerous purple veins. The veins were one of the sources of the glow.
In the wide gaps between the alien trees were large flowers ranging in height from two feet upwards of ten feet. The scintillating petals of these flowers also contributed to the glow, and they covered nearly every color in the rainbow.
After moments of staring at the amazing scene before them, the strange animals Leslie had seen come back into view. Large creatures, nearly fifty feet long, wandered out of the alien forest and strolled across the Nevada desert. Their hides had elaborate, multi-colored patterns that could help them hide in the foliage, and kind of reminded Craig of a tie-dye T-shirt.
“They’re beautiful,” Leslie said while watching the small herd of about eight of the creatures that roamed the area, examining the new world they found themselves in.
“Yep, and big. Looks like a huge Brontosauruses. I always liked those.” Craig stopped the car and got out. He pulled a pair of rifles out of the back seat and handed one to Leslie.
“What’s that for? Are you planning on killing those magnificent creatures?” She sneered at Craig.
“Nope, but we don’t know what else is in there. We have to be able to defend ourselves.” Leslie reluctantly took a rifle.
“You ever shoot a gun before?”
“It’s been a long time.” Leslie examined the weapon. Craig gave her a quick tutorial.
“Let’s get a closer look,” he said as he pulled a satchel out of the back seat.
They had walked only a dozen paces before a number of the creatures lifted their heads and became very still. A trembling in the ground grew until it felt like an earthquake. The herd panicked and started to run.
They didn’t get far when a huge form rocketed out of the alien jungle. It dwarfed the herd, seizing one of the animals in its mouth and lifted the thing as if it weighed nothing. Bones crunched as it violently shook its victim. The others ran in an arc, returning to the cover of the forest, quickly disappearing into the undergrowth.
Having dropped her gun, Leslie was busy taking photos of the monstrous beast before them. It was over 150 feet long, had six legs, the two front ones ending in rudimentary hands instead of feet. The thing had patches of crystals growing out of its body. The crystals had a dim bluish glow. Despite the extra legs the body reminded Leslie of a tiger. The skin didn’t have the tie-dye pattern of the herd animals but was an almost uniform dark-blue. Its wide mouth was filled with multiple rows of sharp teeth, and four blue eyes glowed at the same shade as the crystals on its body.
“Are you crazy? Pick your gun back up!” Craig glared at her.
“Bullets won’t hurt something that big, just piss it off. These images will be worth millions.”
“Now that you have your photos let’s get out while we still can.” Craig tugged on Leslie’s arm. At this point the monster had finished its meal. It noticed the glare of the Mustang’s headlights and began to move towards them.
“Son of a…run!” Craig shouted as he noticed the beast charging in their direction. “Away from the car, Leslie. Away from the car!”
The thing was fast. The two humans barely escaped as it attacked the vehicle. The shaking of the ground threw them
both off their feet but, luckily, well out of the path its huge feet. The Mustang, however, was bite-sized for the behemoth. As it bit down, obliterating the car, it then shook its head and tossed the remains far off to the side. Craig moaned to himself about his ride.
The creature sniffed with great huffs, its eyes scanning the surrounding area. Craig and Leslie huddled together, sure they would be next, but it turned to the south and let out a deafening roar. The force knocked them back as the monster sprinted off.
~
The air burned its nostrils. Poison was in the air. Its hunger grew. A distant sense of voices loomed ahead. The strange sounds reached its ears, growing louder. A bright light shined down. Muscles tensed as the head turned to face the incoming threat.
~
Craig and Leslie made their way to the undergrowth of flowers in the alien jungle. The low glow from the trees helped them in the dark. The sweet smells of the flowers were strong and the air tasted strange. A number of bizarre, ten-legged insects crawled across the dark soil. Some of the bugs were nearly a foot long.
As they made their way slowly through the environment, taking in the strangeness that surrounded them, Leslie jerked her hand away as a large roach-like bug scurried over her hand.
“Ahh! I hate bugs,” she screamed.
“Well, at least there are no scorpions,” Craig said. “Can't remember how many times I shook them out of my boots in Iraq.”
They continued on for another half an hour, following the path created by the titanic beast, staying a bit off to the side in the six-foot high flowers for cover. Leslie continued taking photos along the way.
“Hold on. I need to change the film for my camera,” she said.
“Sure.” Craig stared at the dark heights above them.
A nearby rustling startled them, making Leslie fumble with the roll of film and drop it on the ground. Sounds to their sides made him realize something was surrounding them.
“Heads up.” Craig readied his gun. He looked over at Leslie to see she was more concerned with recovering the roll of film than the approaching danger. “Forget the damn camera, we have bigger issues!”
The stems of the flowers ahead of them parted and a thin, tall creature emerged looking like a cross between a lizard and a human. It carried a spear tipped with some sort of dark gem-like stone arrowhead. It held it at the ready but not in a threatening manner. It seemed unconcerned with the gun Craig was aiming at it.
“Ni'tikka nokk tar noomie,” said the creature.
“Hello,” said Craig. “We come in peace.” The alien tilted its head while Craig spoke.
Leslie was now on her feet. She attempted to take a photograph of the creature. Nothing happened. “Damn it, it’s jammed,” Leslie cursed as she spied the dirt that was still on the film roll.
“Takka'tor no nari,” the creature cried out behind, then three more of them emerged from the surrounding flowers. They also carried spears. They wore little clothing, mostly straps or harnesses to carry their gear. Sacks of water, cutting tools, flint stones, and other primitive devices stood out among other strange gear.
The original lizard man motioned with its spear towards the side of the large path. “Tako. Tak,” it said.
“What do we do now?” said Leslie.
“Follow them?” said Craig.
~
After the EMP blast hit Nevada, covering an area covering tens of thousands of square miles, rescue operations began quickly, numerous airliners having crashed into the Nevada desert. Additionally, countless people were stranded along the desert highways in desperate need of water and medical care, and the situation in the population centers and hospitals needed to be assessed as well. Since all communication centers in Nevada were knocked out, that job was in the hands of the California National Guard.
One of the swarm of helicopters sent into Nevada noticed something unusual, a large shape moving in the darkness, and moved to investigate. When their searchlights illuminated the beast, the crew was shocked at what they saw. As the pilot pulled away, desperately radioing HQ, the creature struck. It covered the few hundred yards separating them in a blink of an eye and ended its sprint with a leap. The helicopter was yanked out of the sky by the beast's powerful jaws, then dropped burning into the desert sands. The monster unleashed a howl of pain and fury into the night and continued south. Its speed increased with every step as it made its way toward the city and the source of the voices it felt in its head.
~
Craig and Leslie were escorted by the four lizard men to a camp, a number of hide -covered huts surrounding a central fire. Numerous stone totem poles surrounded the camp with a large stone statue, which stood about fifteen feet in height, were set near the fire. The statue appeared to be of a creature similar to the colossal monster they had seen burst form the jungle. It was made of stone, but it had a number of blue crystals in the exact same places the creature had them. These crystals glowed.
Seeing the humans staring at the statue, the guide pointed at it and said, “Shaktarra,” and then crossed his arms and bowed his head in reverence. There was no mistaking what these creatures thought of the larger one.
Craig and Leslie where then brought to the largest hut, one which had a pair of skulls on poles flanking its entrance. The lizard men clearly did not realize the significance of Craig's gun, for which he was grateful. They’d be in for a rude surprise should he need to use it.
“Nik'cha toonark ta,” said the guide into the opening.
“Cho-na,” came a reply from within, then the guide parted the flap and motioned for Craig and Leslie to enter.
~
The neighborhood barbeque was swinging into high gear. Dawn was approaching but grills were set up to cook all of the meat the neighborhood had. When it became apparent that the city would be out of power and low on supplies for a long time, it was decided to cook and salt as much of the food as possible before it went bad.
There were many discussions about what could have caused this inconvenience to the regular flow of daily life, but with the lack of mushroom clouds to verify the end of the world, not as many people fell into a panic as would have been expected. The recent appearance of helicopters in the area helped to settle their nerves as well. Despite the disruption, and the initial terror, the inhabitants were making the best of things and creating an almost festive environment in the early dawn hours.
Just as the first rays of sunshine crossed the horizon a steady stream of shakes knocked things over and began to increase in intensity. Then chaos was unleashed.
A massive creature leaped into the cul-de-sac and crushed houses while people screamed and scattered in every direction. Many were pulverized under the feet of the colossal beast as it lumbered its way over to the large grills and knocked them over, sniffing at the cooking meat. Not finding anything substantial to ingest, the monster let out a deafening roar. Windows shattered over a mile away. The fleeing survivors were deafened and fell to the ground clutching their ears in pain. The creature turned to the large buildings beyond the suburb that were now illuminated by the dawn light. It ambled its way through town, destroying houses and crushing innocent bystanders as it went until it reached the west side of the Strip, crushing a large portion of the city’s center along the way.
~
Inside the hut was a hunched, albino lizard man. It wore various items that appeared to be shamanistic talismans. It put down a long necked pipe it had been smoking and looked at the pair of humans who entered its domain.
“Nokara zog?” it said to the guide.
“Shut nat,” the guide replied.
Craig’s thoughts whirled with his confusion. He readied his rifle. The albino looked at them again and closed its eyes. After some brief chanting, a blue crystal pendant around its neck began to glow.
“Who are you?” a voice sounded in Craig’s head. “What has happened to bring us to this strange place?”
“We don't know how you were brought here,” Leslie ans
wered, clearly able to hear the creature just as Craig could. “But we call our world Earth.”
“Our god is angry. We have been stolen.”
“We had nothing to do with that.”
“If you do not know what happened, how can you be sure you are not responsible?”
“Because we don't have the power to move space and time or whatever,” said Craig. “You're the one with the magic glowing rock.”
“Silly creature. There is no such thing as magic,” tthe albino thought to them. “The crystals enhance our natural psychic abilities. They allow us to feed and draw on the power of our god.”
“What do you know of a giant predator? It was covered by numerous crystals like the ones you use,” asked Leslie.
“That is Shaktarra. He is our god. He has grown angry and has fled this place. I do not know if he plans to punish your people or if he has abandoned us.” The albino threw some herbs onto his small fire and breathed in the smoke. “The increased glow of the crystals shows that he is in combat.”
~
The morning sun shone down on the Vegas Statue of Liberty monument as hundreds of people poured out of the New York, flooding the street. Warnings from the police screamed of the impending danger. A shadow flowed over the crowd as a massive form leapt through the, air ramming into Lady Liberty, its maw tearing into the statue's throat as two of its claws tore into the superstructure of its victim. The base of the statue snapped and came crashing down into the water surrounding it. The monster fell further out in front of the main lobby of the hotel crushing hundreds of tourists who had not signed on to this experience when they booked their vacation. If they had, it would have been with a hotel called Tokyo.
As Shaktarra got back onto its feet, it obliterated the side of the hotel with a slash of its tail. In the distance, a pair of F-22 fighters closed in on Las Vegas from the west while a squad of soldiers, which had been inserted by helicopter just moments before, had taken up position near the monster. They painted the creature with a laser while the fighters were given the order to attack. Four missiles were launched from over a mile away and sped to their target.
Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters Page 24
