Kaiju Inferno (Kaiju Winter Book 3)

by Jake Bible

  “Sure,” Director Miles says. He reaches out and hands it to VanderVoort. “What channel do you want?”

  “Yellowstone,” VanderVoort says, pointing at the screen. “They look okay to you?”

  Director Miles gets one of the techs to dial in the channel then steps back and looks at the monitors.

  “No, they do not look okay to me,” Director Miles says. “They look like they’re each about to have a stroke.”

  “Burkhorst? Glenda? Do you read me?” VanderVoort calls into the headset. “Hello? Burkhorst?”

  The face of Dr. Burkhorst stares directly into the camera, her eyes wide, her mouth opening slowly. The rest of the scientists mimic the behavior- Dr. Mannering, Dr. McDaniels, Dr. Scofield, and last, Dr. Probst.

  Then the open mouths let out an ear-piercing shriek, all in unison, all at full volume.

  VanderVoort yanks the headset off her head and tosses it aside as the situation room goes silent.

  “Someone turn that the fuck down!” Director Miles yells. A tech responds and the shrieking is lessened to a quiet screech. “Thank you.”

  “Gordon?” VanderVoort asks. “I know you aren’t a scientist, but does that seem healthy?”

  “Not even close,” Director Miles replies. “Pretty sure you’ll get the same answer from all the scientists in this room and on those monitors. The ones not screaming their heads off, that is.”

  Everyone stares as the Yellowstone facility scientists continue to shriek and shriek and shriek until one by one their eyes roll up into their heads and they pass out, their faces lost from view.

  “I want eyes on those monitors at all times,” VanderVoort says. “And I want a tech trying to contact them continuously. When one gets too hoarse to speak, switch them out and get a fresh one at it. Am I understood?”

  “Loud and clear,” Director Miles says. “I think everyone here wants to find out what the hell just happened as much as you do.”

  VanderVoort looks about and half the people in the situation room are staring at her while the other half are staring at the empty monitors.

  ***

  The agony is nearly more than her body can handle, but the moment Dr. Probst achieves a semblance of consciousness she fights through the pain and pushes herself up onto her hands and knees. That is the easy part. Opening her eyes proves a much bigger challenge.

  “Hello?” she gasps, even the sound of her own voice sends daggers splintering through her brain. “Anyone awake?”

  Her left eye seems to be the most compliant, so she slowly cracks the lid, wincing at even the small amount of red light that filters in. Red light? She forces her lid another millimeter and another until it is almost completely open. The control room is bathed in red light, the main illumination no longer functioning. Only a couple dim, red bulbs shine in the corners of the room, coloring the unconscious scientists in blood.

  But it isn’t all just light. Dr. Probst can see a black pool under Dr. Mannering’s head. His eyes are wide open, not shut against the torment of stimuli, and rolled up into his head. Dr. Probst can tell, as she crawls slowly closer, that Dr. Mannering is not dealing with the same pain she is; he is no longer dealing with any pain or feeling at all.

  “Jesus,” she whispers, her ears getting used to hearing once more. The pain from her voice is only a five instead of an eleven. “What happened?”

  ***

  Lowell is nearly in a state of panic as he sits at the cafeteria table and watches the still forms of Kyle, Lu, and Dr. Bennet. He wrings his hands together, some fleeting memory from his tortured childhood trying to push its way forward. He nearly cries with joy when Kyle begins to stir.

  “Mom?” Kyle croaks. “Mom?”

  “Mmmm?” Lu moans as she rolls onto her back, her hand instinctively reaching out to find her son. “Mmmm?”

  “Can you guys hear me?” Lowell asks as he scrambles over to Lu and Kyle on the cafeteria floor. “Hey? Wake up. What the hell happened?”

  “Lowell?” Kyle asks as he struggles to open his eyes. “I hurt bad, man.”

  “Yeah, I bet,” Lowell says, helping the teenager up to one of the cafeteria tables. Kyle sits on the bench and promptly folds his arms on the table and rests his head, his eyes closing. “Open up, kid. Don’t go back to sleepy land, okay?”

  “Kyle?” Lu asks. “Kyle?”

  “Here,” Kyle grunts.

  “Someone help me up,” Lu says.

  “That would be me,” Lowell says as Kyle doesn’t move a muscle. He squats by Lu and gets his arms under her, gently lifting her next to her son. “How do you feel?”

  “Like I drank all of Kentucky’s bourbon in one sitting,” Lu mumbles. “Then decided to slam my head into a bulldozer over and over.”

  “If this is what a hangover feels like then I am never drinking,” Kyle says.

  “I know you’ve had alcohol before, Kyle,” Lu replies. “I am a US Marshal.”

  “Listen, this family discussion is great and all, but we need to get the doctor awake too,” Lowell says, looking down at Dr. Bennet. “And he ain’t looking so hot.”

  Lu forces her eyes to open and slowly swivels her head to look down at Dr. Bennet. “Is he breathing?”

  “Not sure,” Lowell says. “I haven’t checked.”

  “Then check,” Lu orders.

  Lowell sighs and crouches down, his hand to Dr. Bennet’s nose. “Yeah, he’s breathing. It’s weak, though. Probably shouldn’t move him.”

  “Wasn’t going to,” Lu says. “I can barely move myself.”

  She is quiet for a few seconds then her eyes open and she stares at Lowell.

  “How are you feeling?” she asks. “You seem fine.”

  “Little headache and my teeth hurt, like when you bite down on aluminum foil,” Lowell replies, shrugging. “But other than that I’m good to go. It’s you guys that did the pass out routine. Totally synchronized. Bam, you were down. Right after that screeching.”

  “Screeching?” Lu asks.

  “Yeah, you three were like the Edgar Allan Poe chorus,” Lowell says. “You opened your mouths and just screeched. Loud. Really loud. That hurt the most. I had to cover my ears until you went night night.”

  “But you didn’t screech? Or go night night?” Lu asks.

  “Nope,” Lowell says. “I was just the audience.”

  “How long were we out?” Lu asks.

  “Too much talking,” Kyle says. “Quiet time please.”

  “Hush,” Lu snaps. “This is important.”

  Lowell looks at the wall clock above the cafeteria door. “Thirty minutes? Maybe not that long. At least twenty, though.”

  “Twenty to thirty minutes,” Lu muses. “That’s some heavy duty shit.”

  “It was freaky as hell,” Lowell says. “The whole facility started to shake. Not bad, but enough that I knew something was happening. Then you started up with the screeching, your eyes rolled up and you hit the deck. Sorry I didn’t catch any of you.”

  “I appreciate that you’re sorry,” Lu replies. “Maybe we’ll make a real person of you yet.”

  “Ha fucking ha,” Lowell says giving her both middle fingers. “The convict/marshal act is getting old. Time to drop the old roles, Lu. We are in some new shit now.”

  “Yeah, because the giant monsters up top were getting so old,” Kyle mutters. “Please. No more with the talking.”

  “Can you get me some water?” Lu asks.

  “On it,” Lowell says and hurries to the kitchen. He’s back in seconds, two bottles of water in hand. “Here.”

  Lu takes one and downs it quickly then taps Kyle’s arm with the other.

  “Stop with the hurting,” Kyle says.

  “Drink,” Lu orders. “It helps. Trust me.”

  Kyle reluctantly lifts his head and takes the water. He guzzles it greedily then sighs.

  “It does help,” he says then looks down at Dr. Bennet. “We just going to leave him there?”

  “He’s probably going to wa
nt to wake up in the infirmary,” Lu says then smiles at Lowell. “Remember where it is?”

  “I’ve memorized every inch of this place since we got here,” Lowell says. “I’ll go find a gurney and be right back. We’ll all go to the infirmary. He’ll want to do his test thing.”

  “If he wakes up,” Kyle says.

  “He’s older than us,” Lu says. “Whatever happened may have hit him harder.”

  “Or being down here as long as he has made it worse,” Lowell says.

  Lu and Kyle look at him, the reality of that statement evident on their faces. Then they all look at Dr. Bennet and frown.

  Four

  The floor is cold and vibrates slightly against Bolton’s cheek.

  “Get up, Specialist,” Holt says as Bolton opens his eyes and wishes quickly he hadn’t. “Mission is still on.”

  Holt is up, but leaning heavily against the wall next to the purge shaft entrance. A gas mask is perched on top of his head, ready to be pulled down at a second’s notice. He reaches out and smacks the purge shaft entrance.

  “Double coded,” Holt says. “Remember? We have to key in the code at the same time one of those scientists do. Once the doors open, we are on the clock.”

  “What the fuck happened?” Bolton asks as he pushes up to his knees, waits for the world to stop spinning, then slowly gets to his feet. He quickly joins Holt in the leaning against the wall position. “Did we pass out?”

  “We did,” Holt says. “I don’t know why, though. I remember something loud in my head then it was all over except for the pain.”

  “Yeah. The pain,” Bolton sighs. “Fuck this pain.”

  “I second that sentiment,” Holt nods then winces. “Ow.”

  Bolton looks at the purge shaft doors and the keypad by them. “This shaft leads directly outside?”

  “That’s what they say,” Holt replies. “Not that they’re saying much right now.” Holt taps his ear and the com device tucked inside. “We have radio silence for the moment. None of the scientists are responding.”

  “Not even Probst?” Bolton asks.

  “Not even Probst,” Holt says. “Maybe they were affected as well.”

  “If it hit us, stands to reason it hit them too,” Bolton nods. “What now?”

  Holt points at the keypad. “Know how to hotwire that thing?”

  “Nope,” Bolton says.

  There’s a crackling then a screech of feedback in their ears and they both cry out.

  “Sorry,” Dr. Probst voices says. She sounds weak and breathy. “Bolton? Holt? Are both of you there?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Holt replies. “A little worse for wear, but up on our feet.”

  “That’s more than I can say for these folks,” Dr. Probst says. “Dr. Mannering is dead. The others won’t wake up.”

  “Dead? Shit,” Bolton says. “How are you?”

  “I feel like hammered shit,” Dr. Probst replies. “Where are you?”

  “We’re at the shaft doors,” Holt responds. “All set to get this mission on.”

  “Okay, good,” Dr. Probst says. “I have the code here. Ready?”

  “As ready as we’ll ever be,” Bolton replies. He goes to the keypad. “On three?”

  “One, two, three,” Dr. Probst says.

  Bolton keys in the code and steps back. Holt joins him and they wait for the shaft doors to open. After a few seconds, a loud groaning sounds then the distinct noise of heavy gears engaging echoes through the corridor. The doors pull slowly apart until they are open far enough for the men to squeeze through.

  “Masks on,” Holt says and pulls his gas mask down over his face.

  Bolton unclips his from his belt and puts it on as the distinct smells of heavy sulfur and ammonia waft in at them. They walk into the shaft and look at the caged ladder that extends several stories up.

  “This is going to hurt a lot,” Holt says.

  “Doctor? We’re in,” Bolton reports. “Give us about fifteen—” Holt shakes his head. “Make that twenty minutes at least to climb up and out before you close the doors. I don’t want any purge protocol to initiate when you shut these doors.”

  “Understood,” Dr. Probst says. “Good luck, gentlemen.”

  “Thanks,” Bolton says as he reaches out for the first rung and grips it tight. “We’ll need it.”

  ***

  “Dr. Probst?” VanderVoort’s voice echoes from the speakers in the control room. “Dr. Probst, is that you moving about?”

  Dr. Probst looks around, crouched over Dr. Scofield’s still form, and glances up at her laptop on her workstation.

  “Yeah,” Dr. Probst says. “I’m the only one.”

  “Can you come into view, please?” VanderVoort asks.

  “I’m a little busy, Ms. Vander-whatsit,” Dr. Probst replies. “Checking to see if the rest of these people are going to live or not. Dr. Mannering is already dead.”

  “Yes, I know, we heard your talk with Sergeants Bolton and Holt,” VanderVoort responds. “And before you ask, yes we have taken over surveillance of the entire facility. Audio and visual. The second we lost contact we patched it all through. You just happen to be at a bad angle and I’d like to look you in the eye as we talk.”

  “Hold on,” Dr. Probst says as she gently sets Dr. Scofield’s head on the floor then stands and sits at her workstation. Her laptop screen is filled with VanderVoort’s face. “Shoot.”

  “We have vital signs of the facility staff in front of us,” VanderVoort says. “They have been fitted with sub-dermal sensors. Helps us predict if things might go sour.”

  “Rather invasive,” Dr. Probst says.

  “A needed invasion,” VanderVoort replies. “You haven’t seen what I have seen or watched what people are capable of when things get out of hand in the facilities. You are in a dangerous place, Dr. Probst.”

  “Ya think?” Dr. Probst laughs then rubs at her temples. “Damn. I really got the shit knocked out of me. You folks have any sensors that can tell me what happened?”

  “We have theories,” VanderVoort chuckles. “We are rich in theories here. We’re the damn one percent with the theories.”

  “Care to share one?” Dr. Probst growls. “I could use some help since I am the rookie and have no idea what the fuck is happening around here.”

  “That’s the other thing we need to talk about,” VanderVoort says. “If you move to Dr. Burkhorst’s workstation, you will see her laptop has been unlocked. It is now yours.”

  “Uh, what about Burkhorst?” Dr. Probst asks.

  “Is she awake?” VanderVoort asks.

  “No, she’s still unconscious,” Dr. Probst says. “I was thinking of moving her, and the rest, to the infirmary. Lying on this floor can’t be good for them.”

  “Leave them be,” VanderVoort says. “It sounds harsh, but we don’t have time for musical chairs. I need you working right now and focusing on the Yellowstone caldera. Our view shows that the creature is almost fully out. Do you see the same thing?”

  Dr. Probst starts at those words and begins scanning the video feeds. The breath leaves her and she fears she’ll pass out again as she sees the monstrosity shredding the cracked earth and pushing itself out of the smoldering caldera.

  “Fuck me running,” Dr. Probst says.

  VanderVoort grins. “My thoughts exactly, Doctor. Here is the plan, are you listening?”

  “I’m your captive audience,” Dr. Probst says, her head cocked to the sound of VanderVoort’s voice, but her eyes locked on the image of the giant monster. “Plan me.”

  “You will need to remain in that control room twenty-four seven,” VanderVoort says. “There should be food and water in cabinets under the work stations. There is also a small commode you can use.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Dr. Probst says. “You want me to piss in here?”

  “And shit,” VanderVoort says. “We can no longer leave anything to chance. You’ll also find stimulants in with the provisions. Until the rest of the s
taff wake up and can show they are not compromised then you are our only eyes and ears.”

  “Eyes and ears for what?” Dr. Probst asks. “The thing is already coming out. You have the same view I have.”

  “I no longer care about the thing,” VanderVoort says. “No, let me backtrack. I care a great deal about this thing. But, you are right, we can handle it from here. What I need you to do is monitor the Substance. I have to be assured that it does not change, that it does not try to do anything other than churn and swirl like it has for as long as it has been there.”

  A cold feeling grips Dr. Probst’s guts and she suddenly wishes she has quick access to that small commode.

  “How could it change?” Dr. Probst asks. “Why would you think it will change?”

  VanderVoort licks her lips, the cocky look she has kept firmly in place slipping slightly before being reaffixed in the blink of an eye.

  “There was a surge of energy from the Substance,” VanderVoort says. “Facility readings picked it up and we have timed it to be exactly when you and the other scientists took a siesta. It also occurred exactly when the rest of the volcanoes erupted and the Substances at those facilities became active. This is all new, Doctor. New to you, new to us, new to everyone.”

  Dr. Probst takes a few seconds to process that. VanderVoort lets her take those seconds.

  “What did you mean by the rest of the staff being compromised?” Dr. Probst asks.

  “We have files, paper files with anecdotal evidence only, from when the Substance and facility was first discovered,” VanderVoort says. “A surge like the one you experienced may have occurred before, but we can’t say for certain. If it is the same then when the staff do stir they may not be the…same.”

  “Oh, fuck me,” Dr. Probst exclaims, throwing her hands up. “You mean they could get violent and try to kill me? They have all hinted and mentioned that shit gets crazy down here with too much exposure to the Substance. Is that what you mean?”

  “That is precisely what I mean,” VanderVoort replies. “You will also find restraints and a small caliber pistol with the provisions. Unless you are already armed. Are you?”