Kaiju Inferno (Kaiju Winter Book 3)

by Jake Bible

“Maybe,” Holt says. “Or like the things we dealt with topside. Not much could contain those ooze creatures. This cell might, though.”

  “Hmmm,” Bolton muses. “If that’s the case then they must have access to that ooze somewhere down here. A breach, contamination, then incarceration for study before elimination.”

  “That’s a whole helluva lot of ations,” Lowell chuckles. “None of them good.”

  “We can’t stay in here,” Bolton says.

  “Why not?” Kyle asks, yanking the jug away from Lowell and taking his own sip. “We’re safe here. If we can’t get out then those things can’t get in. I like that arrangement.”

  “Kid has a point,” Lowell says.

  “Stop calling me a kid,” Kyle replies.

  “Ah, I say it with affection, you little scamp,” Lowell says and musses Kyle’s hair. “You’re just so damn cute.”

  “Fuck off, Lowell,” Kyle replies, but not without a smirk on his face.

  Lowell holds up the jug with one hand and smacks the empty pizza boxes with his other. “Plus, there’s eats and drinks, man. Sure, it was frozen pizza, but better than I’ve eaten in a long fucking time. We haven’t been poked or prodded or harassed at all. This is a vacation compared to the pen. Or compared to up there with those fucking monsters.”

  “They give us some pizza and you roll over and show your belly, is that it?” Bolton sneers, eyes still studying the outside of the cell. “I thought you had more fight, Lowell.”

  “I have plenty of fight,” Lowell says. “And yeah, I’m showing them my belly. But like a cat, not a dog. As soon as the time comes, I strike, all claws out. That’s how I roll, Sergeant Slaughter.”

  “It’s not how I roll,” Bolton says. “I’m done being kenneled.”

  “But pizza,” Lowell says, shoving the empty boxes at Bolton’s feet.

  They hit his heel and Bolton looks down at them. Then he looks at the wall that the boxes came through. He smiles broadly.

  “I don’t like that look,” Lu says, getting up and going to him. “That’s your going to cause trouble look.”

  “Mine is like this,” Lowell says and scrunches up his face like he’s going to crap himself. “Guards see that and they move quickly. Everyone hates the pants shitter.”

  Lu flips him off, but stays focused on Bolton. “Connor? What are you thinking?”

  “The doctor seemed nice enough,” Bolton says. “He was genuinely concerned. Gave us pizza and water. But not in a way to ingratiate himself for future questioning. He actually wants us fed and hydrated.”

  “So?” Lu asks.

  “So, we take advantage of that,” Bolton says. He turns and looks at Lowell. “We give the man a reason to care more. Care enough to open this cell and hurry inside.”

  “Damn, Marshal, I see what you mean about that trouble look,” Lowell says, frowning at the way Bolton looks at him. “I don’t like it either. No, sir, don’t like it at all.”

  “Not going to work,” Holt says, pointing at the ceiling. “If this cell has been conducting tests on us all this time then it’ll know if any of us are faking.”

  “Then we don’t fake,” Bolton says, still looking at Lowell.

  “Don’t fake? Don’t fake what?” Lowell asks, quickly getting to his feet. His eyes dart from Bolton to Holt and then to Lu. “Marshal, I am not liking how the super soldiers are looking at me.”

  “What are you thinking?” Lu asks Bolton.

  “I’m thinking that with the proper pressure to the proper areas of the human body, we don’t have to fake anything,” Bolton says. “Whatever is scanning us will pick up the issue immediately and the doctor will come running.”

  “Assuming he’s not watching and listening to us right now,” Holt says. “Or that somebody else is.”

  “I don’t think there’s anyone else to spare,” Bolton says. “You see the bags under the doctor’s eyes? Hear the strain in his voice? This place is understaffed and pushed to the limit.”

  Holt shrugs. “Probably right.”

  “Probably right about what?” Lowell exclaims. “What pressure to what parts? Why are you all looking at me like this? Knock it the fuck off!”

  “You are going to have to trust me, Lowell,” Bolton says, taking a step towards the man.

  “Like fuck I do!” Lowell says and yanks Kyle to his feet, shoving the teen between him and Bolton. “Stay the fuck back!”

  “Don’t worry, buddy,” Bolton grins. “You won’t feel a thing.”

  “No shit!” Lowell shouts. “That’s because you’re going to keep your paws the fuck off me!”

  “Kyle, move,” Bolton says.

  “Are you going to hurt him?” Kyle asks.

  “Nope,” Bolton replies.

  “Will it get us out of here?” Kyle asks.

  “Possibly,” Bolton replies. “Hopefully.”

  Kyle nods and yanks away from Lowell.

  “Sorry, man,” Kyle says as he steps over to his mother. “Nothing personal.”

  “Nothing personal? Fuck all of you!” Lowell shouts. “This is very personal!”

  ***

  Dr. Bennet sighs heavily as he walks into the infirmary, a case of blood samples tucked under his arm and his medical bag clutched in one hand. He sets the case on a table and leans heavily on it. A couple deep breaths and he’s ready to get to work on the samples from the facility’s staff.

  He knows it’s a waste of time and resources, but if VanderVoort wants workups on everyone then VanderVoort gets workups on everyone. He knows what the results will be: high stress and all the physical and psychological signs that go with it. He is one hundred percent certain the scientists are not being affected by the Substance.

  He knows exactly what that looks like. Not something he’ll ever forget.

  Dr. Bennet grabs the case and turns to a bank of equipment. He’s not even two steps before a warning claxon sounds out in the infirmary. Dr. Bennet spins around, looking for the source then sees the controls for the quarantine cells.

  The system is detecting a medical emergency.

  “Just great,” he sighs. “If one of them dies on my watch, Burkhorst will make a very painful example of me.”

  He sighs again at the fact he’s talking to himself, a sure sign of his own stress level.

  He grabs up his medical bag and hurries out of the infirmary.

  ***

  Terrie, Linda, and Roy stand at the tree line of the rock beach, their eyes watching in disbelief at what’s happening to Mt. Rainier far off in the distance. Behind them stand Belle and Tony, with the shadowed presence of Krissy a few feet further back, Biscuit leaning against her leg.

  “Are they standing guard?” Linda asks. “They look like bouncers.”

  “That’s it,” Roy chuckles loudly. “I knew something was familiar about them. They look like bruisers standing by the VIP section of one of those damn swanky bars that were popping up everywhere. You know, the ones that were replacing all the good dives in Seattle?”

  “Not from around here, remember?” Terrie replies. “Not one for bars, dive or swanky, anyway.”

  “When were you ever in a swanky bar, Dad?” Belle asks, moving up to stand with the older members of the group.

  “Preppers come from all walks, Belle,” Roy says. “Especially the ones with money.”

  “Doesn’t sound like you,” Belle says. “I have never known you to suck up for money.”

  “No sucking up needed when dealing with fools,” Roy chuckles. “Sell the right fear and the idiots write you a blank check. You didn’t think I built our bunker with Green Stamps, did ya?”

  “Green Stamps,” Linda laughs. “Haven’t heard of those in a long, long time.”

  “VIP is coming,” Tony says from behind them all.

  “What was that, sweetie?” Belle asks.

  They all look back at the young man and he points at the far off, formerly dormant volcano. “VIP is coming. The bouncers are getting nervous.”

 
; There’s a loud rumble and the waters of the sound out in front of them begin to ripple violently.

  “Back up,” Terrie says, grabbing on to Linda’s arm. “Could be more creatures.”

  “No creatures,” Tony insists. “The VIP.” He fidgets a couple seconds then turns and starts walking back through the woods. “I’m going inside. Don’t like this out here. Not where we should be.”

  Krissy grabs his arm before he can pass her.

  “Nice try, weirdo,” Krissy says. “But if I’m out here then you’re out here.”

  Tony tries to pull his arm away, but Krissy just holds on tighter.

  “I don’t like to be touched,” he whines. “Mom! Tell her!”

  “He doesn’t like to be touched,” Belle says. “Let him go back inside.”

  “If I have to be out here then so does he,” Krissy says again.

  “Krissy, sweetie,” Linda starts. “Let Tony go back inside if he—”

  Her voice is drowned out by the roars of the monsters standing around Mt. Rainier. Before any of them can react and ask what is going on, the top of the mountain explodes and half the west face dissolves in a deafening roar of rock and mud sliding thousands of feet towards what is left of civilization below.

  They all stand there and watch in horror as millions of tons of hot mud and rock roll across the landscape, moving at hundreds of miles per hour. The giant monsters standing guard bolt out of the way, large enough that they can clear the distance before being swept up in the wave of liquid earth.

  The humans stand there long enough to witness the obliteration of the remains of the SeaTac area. They stand there long enough to see two massive claws rip their way through the remains of Mt. Rainier. They stand there long enough to see the earth wave crash into the eastern edge of Puget Sound.

  The humans freeze, their minds barely able to comprehend what they are seeing.

  Luckily for them all, a non-human mind knows exactly what to do.

  Krissy looks down, tearing her eyes from the destruction, as Biscuit nips at her fingers then at the legs of her pants. The hybrid tries yanking her backwards and it takes her a couple of seconds to figure out why.

  “Oh, shit,” she whispers.

  She shoves Tony away from her, back towards the bunker’s entrance. The young man doesn’t even hesitate, he takes off running without a glance back.

  “The wave!” Krissy yells, ignoring the pain as her wounded face stretches under the gauze and bandages. “Get off the beach, idiots!”

  The noise from the continuing destruction is too much for anyone to hear her, especially since Belle and Linda both have their hands clamped over their ears. Krissy sighs and runs forward, grabbing Terrie’s shoulder and spinning her around.

  “The wave!” Krissy yells, pointing at the Sound. “There is going to be a wave!”

  Terrie frowns down at Krissy then looks at where the teenager is pointing. Her eyes go wide just as Roy reaches out and gives her a harsh shove.

  “Go! Run now!” Roy yells, pulling at Belle. “Come on!”

  Linda sees the panic and joins quickly.

  The group hurries at a stumbling sprint from the rocky beach and into the dense woods beyond. They dodge past huge fir trees and pines, working their way deeper and deeper into the island’s meager forest, all the while the roar of water and mud increases behind them.

  Roy skids to a stop at the bunker’s entrance and gives the exterior wheel a hard spin. It doesn’t move. He stares at it for a split second and tries again. It still doesn’t budge.

  Belle pushes past him and bangs on the bunker’s entrance.

  “Tony! Tony, open up this instant!” she yells.

  “Come on, come on,” Krissy mutters as she hops from one foot to the next, her fear mimicking a need to pee. “We don’t have time for this.”

  “Grandson! You hear me?” Roy yells as he joins his daughter, both their fists slamming against the thick metal door.

  Biscuit spins in circles behind them all, yowling and barking over and over.

  “Is there another way in?” Linda yells. “Tell me there’s another way in!”

  “Not that we can get to!” Roy yells back.

  Another sound joins the roaring wave headed for the island; a sound from a throat of impossible size.

  “Ah, man,” Krissy says as the sound echoes through the trees. The need to pee is no longer mimicked as a stain spreads across her crotch. “That was big. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.”

  “Watch your language,” Terrie snaps, but her admonishment is lost in the apocalyptic cacophony.

  “Tony! Open up now!” Belle screams. “This is your mother! Open up! PLEASE!”

  They all start pounding on the door as the roar becomes all encompassing. Throats go raw as they scream, muscles grow tired as they hammer at metal, hands become bruised at the beating, spirits become open wounds at the realization of what is about to come down on them.

  But the entrance does not open. The wheel does not spin.

  The first sound of the wave hitting the island is of the rocky beach being lifted up into the air, joining the great swell of death. Then comes the cracking of the firs and pines, snapping like toothpicks before the onslaught.

  Terrie shoves away from the door and grabs up the barking Biscuit under one arm then wraps her other around Krissy. She carries them as far as she can before her knees give out and she collapses to the ground, her body on theirs. Krissy lets out a violent scream as Biscuit’s barks become one long howl of pure terror.

  Then the weight of the world collapses upon them and all light is snuffed out in one massive, wet breath.

  ***

  Alvarez only stares at the screens before him, ignoring the “What the fucks?” and “Holy shits!” being yelled by the other agents crammed into the small room. He stares and stares, not surprised at all by what he is seeing. He made it from Alexandria to the White House, after all, while being chased by hideous beasts straight out of a toddler’s nightmare.

  The thing pulling up out of the earth on the screen may be a thousand times larger than the mutant crab or the ooze mammoth he dealt with, but his brain deals with it the same way.

  “Is that a mouth?” someone yells. “Holy fuck! It is! It could swallow the Empire State building in one bite!”

  Alvarez agrees. Silently. Yes, the mouth that is pushing up from below, and between the two massive clawed arms that already surfaced, can swallow the Empire State building. The mouth can probably swallow Mount Rushmore as well. It could feast on all of America’s great monuments all day long, using the thousands of road side attractions as mid-meal snacks.

  “What was that?” one of the agents asks Alvarez. “Are you hungry?”

  “No, never mind,” Alvarez says, suddenly aware he may not have been as silent as he wanted. “Just exhausted.”

  “How can you be tired when that thing is right there?” the agent asks, pointing at the monster that continues to tear apart the landscape around it as it births itself from its subterranean womb. “Man, I may never sleep again.”

  That is something Alvarez can agree with also. Too much runs through his mind. The death, the insanity, the end of the world as he knows it. Everything.

  “Man, this thing isn’t as whacked out as those whale-squid things!” another agent laughs. “Did you get a look at those, Alvarez? Man, they are freaky! We saw some pics of when they attacked the Everett base in Seattle. Crazy monsters, man. Crazy.”

  “I just saw giant crabs,” Alvarez says. “They were crazy enough.”

  “Yeah, I bet,” the agent nods like he knows what Alvarez is thinking or feeling. Alvarez just shakes his head and sighs.

  “Tell me when we die,” Alvarez says as he stands up suddenly, his folding chair flipping backwards behind him with a clattering crash. “I’m going back to the bunk room.”

  Voices shout at him. A couple hands grab his arms, but he shrugs them off. He yanks open the door and rushes out into the hallway, looking right and lef
t, thankful the corridor is empty as he shuts the door behind him. The voices call to him for a couple more seconds then go back to their “What the fucks?” and “Holy shits!”

  In a daze, he stumbles back to the bunk room, thumbs in the code on the keypad, shoves through to his cot, and collapses fully clothed. He prays for sleep to take him, but knows that even in slumber he will be tormented.

  The faces of the dead, the shapes of the monsters, the gigantic teeth of the creature, the behemoth that is tearing apart the planet, all swirl through his conscious brain.

  He wishes he had a side arm. He wishes he had a knife. He wishes he had some relief from it all.

  Alvarez no longer wants to be in this world where nightmares live and people hide in deep bunkers, pretending to be awed when they are truly only terrified and waiting out the clock until all the lights go out.

  But something nags at him as he starts to drift off. Something about the giant crabs and the whale-squids. Atlantic and Pacific. Two coasts. Two fronts…

  ***

  “What happened?” Dr. Bennet asks as he hurries to the front of the quarantine cell. “The system says he had a seizure. How?”

  “We don’t know,” Lu says as she stands by the limp, supine form of Lowell. “He started mumbling then fell over and began to seize. We tried holding him down, but the seizure got so bad we were afraid we’d break his arms or dislocate his shoulders.”

  “He’s bleeding,” Dr. Bennet says, seeing a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. “He probably bit his tongue.”

  “I’m sure he did,” Lu says. “It was pretty bad.”

  “I’m coming in,” Dr. Bennet says. “Everyone back against the far wall. Do not move or the defense system will respond.”

  Lu backs up to where Bolton, Kyle, and Holt are standing, as far away from Lowell as possible.

  Dr. Bennet places his hand on a spot by the side of the cell and waits. In only a second there’s a beep and the clear plastic begins to withdraw into the wall. The second there’s enough space, Dr. Bennet starts to walk into the cell.

  He doesn’t make it.

  With blinding speed, Bolton launches himself off the wall, shoving his body right at Dr. Bennet. The large soldier collides with the smaller doctor and their bodies fly out and away from the cell, slamming onto the floor of the space beyond.