Chimera: Scourge of the Gods: A Kaiju Thriller

by Matthew Dennion

  A moment later, Parsons and Diana entered the room. Parsons turned on the monitor to the White House and the president’s face filled the screen. He greeted the group then addressed Luke directly, “Mr. Davis, I am sorry to hear about what happened to your wife. Don’t worry, son. We are doing all that we can to get her back.” Luke responded with a thank you. The president then quickly got to the matter at hand, “General, a dragon has not only entered the US, it has demolished Fort Knox and he is currently sitting on the gold reserves that play a large part in supporting our nation’s economy. How quickly can we get Chimera to engage this creature?”

  Parsons cleared his throat, “We are going to use a truck to transport Luke and his horse. Chimera will follow the truck on foot. We are currently evacuating the route that we will take to Fort Knox. Ms. Cain can inform you on the specifics of this dragon. Chimera should be able to engage the dragon within twenty four hours.”

  Diana stood up, “I believe that the dragon is Fafnir. In Norse mythology, he was a prince who became obsessed with keeping hold of a vast treasure of gold in his possession. According to the myth, the gods cursed the prince for his greed and turned him into a dragon. Fafnir was supposedly slain by the hero Siegfried. Obviously, Fafnir survived this encounter. In addition to his size and ability to fly, Fafnir was said to have the ability to emit a poisonous mist from his mouth. Casualties from area around Fort Knox would appear to support that Fafnir has this ability.” Diana took a deep breath, “Mr. President, my team and I have come across another phenomenon that looks like it may be connected to the Asgardians and may present a more pressing threat than Fafnir.” She sent her information to the president’s monitor and then continued her presentation, “We came across an atmospheric anomaly originating in the forests of Norway. It seems that a massive storm is forming there, however, the odd thing is that lighting strikes from the storm seem to be going up into the atmosphere rather than down into the ground. The physicists on my team tell me that these strikes are causing the electromagnetic field around the planet to condense. It seems that this will cause Earth to be susceptible to electromagnetic bursts from the sun. These bursts can knock out electronics on a planetary scale. In effect, if the Earth’s electromagnetic shield is compromised, the sun could literally knock us back into the Dark Ages.” Diana moved her presentation forward, “I believe that the god Thor is responsible for this anomaly. He is the Norse god of thunder and in mythology he is nothing like the character that we see in comic books and movies. The real Thor is much more powerful and brutal. The storm he has conjured has also created an electromagnetic field roughly ten miles in diameter. This means that our only chance of attacking Thor would be with Chimera.” Diana swallowed hard and then offered her final thoughts, “Mr. President, despite the fact that Fafnir is in control of our gold reserves, my team feels strongly that we should address this matter prior to using Chimera to attack Fafnir.”

  The president sighed, “How long does your team think it will take for Thor to alter the electromagnetic shield to the extent that Earth’s technology is in danger?”

  “My team figures that we have between a week and ten days. However, they caution that they are unsure of how to quantify Thor’s ability so the margin for error in their calculations could be wide.”

  The president turned to Parsons, “General, how long will it take you to get Chimera from Fort Knox to Norway?”

  “At best we could make the trip in five days.”

  The president nodded, “That gives us at least two days to play with. Listen up people. That dragon is not only sitting atop of our gold reserves, it has invaded US airspace and soil. Take out that dragon and then head to Norway. I have complete faith that you can accomplish both missions in time.”

  Despite her better judgment Diana spoke up, “Mr. President, it is hard to tell with all of the electromagnetic interference but my team has also picked up an energy signature similar to the one we have found from Zeus’s pillars. They believe that this energy signature may be a portal to Asgard itself. Not only could it afford us access to the gods’ stronghold, but it also may represent the best and only chance that we will have at rescuing Mrs. Davis and the other abductees.”

  Parsons attempted to support Diana’s case, “Mr. President, if I may. Having Fafnir attack our gold supplies may be a classic misdirection. By engaging the dragon first, we may be doing exactly what the Asgardians want us to do.”

  The president shook his head, “We will explore the situation in Norway after we deal with the problem here. I am sorry Mr. Davis but millions of American lives are in imminent danger as long as the dragon is within our borders. We need to destroy that creature.”

  Luke silently nodded in reply as the president ended his transmission. Parsons looked at his team, “Alright everyone, we head out in one hour. Let’s slay this dragon and head to Norway.”

  Diana ran over and hugged Luke, “I’m sorry. We should go to Norway first.”

  Luke returned the hug, “No, Melissa would want us to think of others before her. We will take out this dragon and then put an end to this war in Norway. Once we kill Thor, I will take every step necessary to get Melissa back.”

  The two friends walked out of the room as Toombs remained at the conference table. The scientist hated Luke more than ever. He had tried to extend his hand to Luke in friendship and that bastard spit in his face. Toombs stood up from the table. He would help them fight this dragon and then head to Norway. In Toombs mind, he saw himself charging into Asgard and freeing Allison from the gods. Finally, he would be the hero and get the girl and then Luke, his wife, Parsons and Diana could all go to hell as far as he was concerned.

  Kentucky

  Fafnir was sitting in his nest of rubble and looking out over the vast fields that surrounded him. His sensitive nostrils had picked up a strange odor. The odor was unlike anything that he had smelled before. It seemed to have elements of both lion and elephant in it as well as another scent Fafnir could not identify. In the distance, he could see the gargantuan shape of a bipedal creature coming toward him. Fafnir growled, “It seems as if the first true challenge to my treasure has finally made his appearance.” Fafnir shifted in his nest as he prepared to defend that which was most precious to him.

  Luke and Diana had exited the truck and were now riding atop of Jason as they led Chimera toward Fort Knox. They could see Fafnir in the distance. The dragon was clearly waiting for Chimera to come closer prior to engaging the kaiju.

  Diana held on tightly to Luke. She somehow felt that the tighter that she wrapped her arms around Luke the more that she was able to lessen his pain. Luke was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the journey. Diana knew that the losing Melissa was hurting Luke far more than he was letting on. She was about to try and say something to comfort Luke when she saw Fafnir rise into the air and come flying toward them. Luke lifted up his speaking horn and directed Chimera to attack.

  The kaiju dropped to all fours and ran like a lion chasing his prey. Fafnir flew over Chimera and opened his mouth. The dragon’s poison mist cascaded over the kaiju like the fog descending on the streets of London early in the morning. Chimera’s eyes, nose, and mouth burned as the poison made its way into his orifices. The kaiju shook his head and coughed while the dragon circled in the air around him. Fafnir flew directly into Chimera and the force of his attack knocked the kaiju to the ground. Fafnir stood atop of the kaiju and insulted the creature, “Foolish behemoth! Did the humans truly think that you were capable of driving me away from my treasure?”

  Fafnir raked his claw across Chimera’s face and then he sprayed another burst of poison into Chimera’s mouth. Chimera’s face continued to burn but the kaiju reached up with his powerful left hand and clamped it down on Fafnir’s face forcing the dragon’s jaws shut. The kaiju then used his right claw to slash the dragon across his midsection. Blood poured over Chimera as the kaiju forced Fafnir off of his chest. Chimera maintained his grip on Fafnir’s face as the monster reg
ained his footing. Once the monster was standing upright, he grabbed the mid-point of Fafnir’s long neck with his right hand. There was sickening crack as Chimera snapped Fafnir’s neck in two. Chimera released his grip and the corpse of the dragon slowly slumped to the ground. Chimera stepped on top of his kill and declared his victory to the world.

  Diana didn’t even have the opportunity to dismount from Jason. The entire battle was over in less than a minute. Luke calmly picked up his radio, “Parsons, this is Luke. Fafnir has been eliminated. Prepare the Argos to head for Norway.”

  Luke yelled good job to Chimera, then tossed the kaiju one of his reinforcer cubes. He waited for Chimera to finish his reward, then directed the monster to follow him. Luke turned Jason around and he started heading back toward the truck so that they could get the Argos as quickly as possible. Diana was squeezing Luke when she heard him whisper, “I am coming for you, Melissa.” The tone of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. All of the stories that she had read about Thor spoke of his anger on the battlefield. After hearing Luke whisper those words to his wife, she thought that Thor had no idea what true anger was but he was going to find out.

  Chapter 42

  Norway

  Thunder and lightning streaked into the night sky, creating an incredible visual display. Thor was sweating as he continued to swing his hammer over his head. Creating a storm of such magnitude that it would affect the entire planet took a tremendous strain on the thunder god. Thor was perfectly in tune with the storm that he was creating. He could feel the Earth’s electromagnetic field slowly shrinking by degrees. Soon the Earth would no longer be able to deflect the magnetic blasts coming from the sun. The blast would not directly affect most lifeforms on the planet. The animals and plants who lived on Earth would be unaffected by the assault but the humans’ technology, their power, the very systems that they depended on to sustain their lives would be destroyed. Without power, the humans would die off in a few short years from hunger, disease, exposure, and dehydration. Thor felt as if destroying the humans in this way was a fitting punishment for them. It was through bending nature to fit their needs that they were destroying the world. Had they simply lived in harmony with the Earth then they would have been allowed to continue to exist. Now the very technology that humans were using to destroy the Earth would be taken away at which point the Earth would destroy them. Thor did not see what he was doing as an act of genocide. He simply saw his actions as returning the planet to its natural state.

  Atlantic Ocean: The Argos

  Luke and Diana were sitting on the observation deck watching Chimera as the monster was once more playing with his large ball in the holding deck. They had just come from the briefing room where they reviewed what was ahead of them. All of the information they had indicated that the Argos was heading to a battle which would finally end this war. During the meeting, Diana enlightened the crew as to exactly what they were facing in Thor. In addition to being a god of thunder, Thor was also thought to be the strongest and most accomplished warrior of all of the gods. Legends spoke of Thor’s prowess in battles. He had defeated countless monsters and giants. Diana mentioned that on two occasions Thor was said to have battled Jörmungandr, a serpent so large that his body encircled the entire Earth, to a standstill. As large as Chimera was, he was nowhere near as large as the legendary serpent that was unable to defeat Thor. Thor was also known to be the tactile leader of Asgard’s army. The other gods Chimera had battled relied only on their raw power. If the legends of Thor were true, the thunder god would employ strategy as well.

  When Parsons asked Luke if he and Chimera were ready for this challenge, Luke simply nodded. He had remained silent throughout the entire briefing. Diana had made a point to emphasize that their data suggested a possible portal that could be used to access Asgard and rescue Melissa. She had hoped that reminding Luke of this possibility would help to invigorate him but he simply continued to stare straight ahead.

  When the briefing was finished, Luke walked out of the meeting and straight to Chimera’s observation deck. Diana followed him and simply sat there in silence with him. She knew him well enough to know when he didn’t need to talk but still needed company. Diana was perfectly content to sit with Luke until he was ready to talk or until the mission was ready to commence.

  Chimera did a summersault in his holding bay and then he began laughing like a gorilla. Luke smiled, “The last time that I saw Melissa we were watching Chimera and he was doing the same thing. It was the first time that she saw Chimera in person and understood that he is more than just a monster.”

  Diana grabbed his hand, “He is part of our team and our friend.”

  Luke nodded, “He deserves more than a holding cell and an old hangar. Maybe once this is over we can find somewhere that he can roam freely like an island or something.”

  Diana laughed, “If he gets an island, you and your family will have to go with him. He loves you! Without you, he won’t know what to do with himself.”

  Tears began to run down Luke’s face, “An island, a desert, or wherever I don’t care as long as she’s there with me.”

  Diana hugged her friend, “We’re going to get her back, Luke. We’re going to get her back.”

  Parsons stood on the bridge staring over the ocean. He knew that the end of this war was just over the horizon. As a young boy, Parson’s had idolized George Washington. During the Revolutionary War, Washington distinguished himself time and time again on the battlefield. His greatest victory came when he crossed the Delaware River to defeat a force far greater than his own. His victory in the Battle of Trenton saved a nation and changed the future of humanity. When he was a young boy, Parsons had often imagined the excitement that Washington must of have felt when crossing the river. At this moment, Parsons was crossing a body water to challenge a force far greater than him in attempt to save the planet and allow humanity to have future. It was not until this moment that Parsons finally understood that it was not excitement that Washington felt but fear. Despite that fear, Washington had to portray confidence to his men in order to spur them onto victory. With everyone on the Argos looking to him, Parsons tried to exude that same sense of confidence.

  Toombs sat in his room alone trying to gather his courage. Up until this point, he had stayed aboard the ship when Chimera was engaging gods and monsters in combat. Now he was going to follow Chimera into a battle with a god that Diana said would be the most powerful being Chimera had yet to encounter. Toombs hoped that he would be able to avoid the conflict as much as possible. He had no desire to see Chimera battle Thor to the death. His only desire was to find the energy source that appeared to be a portal. If he found the portal, then he could go through it and hopefully find Allison on the other side. A few of the sailors had snickered when they saw him bring a mountain bike onboard. Physical exercise was not his forte, but he was pretty sure that with the bike he would be able to traverse from the ship through the forest and to the portal. From there, he hoped that the bag of explosives and firearms he had signed out from the armory would avail him long enough to find Allison and rescue her. Never in his life did he imagine that he could have a woman like her and he would be damned if some ancient gods were going to keep him from a woman like that. Toombs could feel the boat slowing down. He surmised that the ship must have entered the fjord which led into the forest. He took a deep breath, grabbed his bike and his bag, then headed for the front of ship. He knew full well that everyone would be watching Chimera exit from the back of the ship thus offering him the perfect opportunity to grab a lifeboat from the front of the ship and head ashore.

  The sky was a dark gray from the ominous storm clouds over overhead. A light rain was falling and the sound of thunder could be heard in the distance. Luke and Diana were sitting atop Jason as they watched Chimera wading ashore at the edge of the electromagnetic field. This time there would be no piolet or SEAL team. It was just Luke, Diana, Jason, a couple of rifles, and Chimera. Luke nodded to himself as thi
s thought crossed his mind. In the entire world, he did not have three friends that he would trust more when trying to save the world. As Chimera was coming ashore, Luke directed Jason to turn around. When the horse was facing the forest, they could see a dark vortex swirling in the center of the storm system. Diana shivered, “I guess that we know where we are headed.”

  Luke voice was like steel, “Parsons says that center of the Vortex is about five miles northwest of this point. We should find Thor there.” Luke urged Jason forward then he gave Chimera the direction to follow him. Form the cover a nearby tree, Toombs jumped onto his mountain bike and began to peddle after the kaiju.

  Luke remained quiet and focused as they rode through the dense forest. Diana respected his desire to remain silent and she simply held onto Luke, offering him as much support as she was able to. Diana realized that silence was for the best. Even if they wanted to communicate, they could barely hear each other over the ever increasing crashes of thunder combined with the sound of Chimera crushing dozens of trees with each step that he took. Diana wished that Chimera was able to walk through the awe inspiring forest without leaving a path of destruction. In all of her life, Diana had never seen such a beautiful landscape. The rain was increasing in intensity and Diana placed her hand over her eyes to shield them from the downpour. From the corner of her eye, Diana saw a bright flash. She tapped Luke on the shoulder and pointed, “Luke, head over there! I think we may have found the portal!”

  Jason trotted over in the direction which Diana had indicated. As they passed through the trees, two stone pillars with runic writings on them came into view. There was a bright and colorful rainbow cascading between the two pillars. Luke pulled Jason to a stop in front of the pillars and Diana said, “The Rainbow Bridge. Luke, this is a portal to Asgard! We can use it to look for Melissa!”