Godzilla - The Official Movie Novelization (17 page)

Three rows of jagged fins running down the creature’s mountainous back.

Two clawed hands with four fingers each.

An endless, spiny tail that looked as long as a train.

Snipers opened fire from the rooftops. Tracer bullets split the darkness, but the giant sea-monster kept striding forward, squashing cars and trucks and small buildings beneath his mighty tread. His mammoth tail swung back and forth behind him, wiping away bars, boutiques, and coffee shops. Smoke from the gunfire added to the confusion, but the furious barrage had no effect on the monster, which seemed to be heading toward the nearby hills, heedless of whatever structures got in his way. He paid no attention to the insignificant men, women, and children frantically running away from him, or even the SWAT teams trying and failing to repel him. Mere humanity seemed beneath his notice.

Fleeing tourists and locals scrambled to get out of the way of the monster’s path of destruction. Jenny’s family ducked into an alley and huddled together, clinging to each other in fear, as the lumbering beast passed them by. They stayed there for what felt like forever until, finally, the giant footsteps seemed to recede into the distance. The deafening gunfire gradually died away as well.

Is it over?
Jenny wondered.
Please let it be over!

The family waited several more minutes before cautiously venturing out of the alley and looking around. The electricity was still out all over Waikiki, but numerous small fires blazed inside the ruins of trampled buildings. As the smoke from the guns began to clear, blown away by the wind from the ocean, Jenny and the other survivors gaped in astonishment at the cataclysmic view before them.

The monster was gone, heading northwest toward the hills above Honolulu, but he had left a trail of destruction in his wake. A swath of flattened buildings and vehicles, at least three blocks across, stretched from the sea to the jungle beyond. The invincible creature had cleared a path through the heart of Waikiki, crushing everything in his way. A trolley car had been ground into the pavement. A giant footprint was sunk deep into a luxury golf course. Neither tourist traps nor residential neighborhoods had been spared. Palm trees littered the rubble like broken toothpicks.

Holding onto Jenny, her dad whispered a Bad Word. Throngs of stunned and speechless people staggered into the ravaged streets to gaze in awe at the devastation. Native Hawaiians wept and cursed at the loss of their homes and businesses. Jenny just wanted to go home to Seattle. This vacation wasn’t fun anymore.

She had to wonder, though. Where had the monster come from? And where was it going?

* * *

The Green Berets staggered away from the burning remains of the crashed F-35. Thick black smoke made Captain Cozzone grateful for his gas mask. A quick head count confirmed that all his men had survived, although the same couldn’t be said for the unlucky fighter pilot. Cozzone spared a moment to wish the pilot’s soul godspeed and hoped that his sacrifice would not be in vain.

What the hell just happened there?
he wondered.
How did that creature bring the plane down?

Aware that his team was still in danger from the MUTO, he rallied his men, who responded immediately as trained. Rifles at the ready, they shook off the shock of the crash and peered up through the smoke, trying to achieve a fix on their inhuman adversary. The MUTO had not shown any interest in attacking them yet, but Cozzone wasn’t about to lower his guard.

A movement in the smoky jungle canopy alerted him to danger. He heard branches and tree trunks shattering loudly as a great black shadow tottered toward them. Diving to one side, he shouted hoarsely at his men.

“Watch out! Incoming!”

The men scrambled for safety as the fourteen-ton Russian submarine came crashing down like a falling redwood. The
Alexander Nevsky
, its reinforced double hull torn open like flimsy tin can, slammed down onto the forest floor, shaking the earth for acres around. Nearly six hundred feet of resin-encrusted sub crushed the verdant undergrowth. Broken branches and trees were strewn around him.

But where was the MUTO?

Cozzone jumped to his feet, armed and ready, while his men did likewise. His night-vision goggles penetrated the murky night, revealing a leveled stretch of jungle leading down to the coast. His heart sank as he spied the flickering lights of the Honolulu Airport in the near distance. Thousands of civilians passed through that airport every hour.

And the MUTO was on its way.

* * *

Gasps of relief echoed inside the train as the lights began to flicker to life throughout the airport. It appeared that the power had been restored and the blackout was over. The train even started moving forward again. Ford felt a little better now that he and Akio weren’t stuck in the dark anymore. He was still concerned about the battle apparently being raged in the nearby hills, but maybe there was still a chance to get the lost little boy back to his parents. He could only hope that the military could destroy—or at least contain—the winged creature from Japan.

That’s not my fight
, he thought. The Navy didn’t need a bomb-disposal expert for this battle. The best thing he could do was keep Akio safe and get him back to his family.
Thank God that thing hasn’t reached San Francisco… yet.

He looked ahead anxiously, trying to spot the upcoming terminal. Skyward lights came back into service, illuminating a stretch of elevated track ahead. All seemed clear as the train rounded a curve and the reawakened spotlights revealed…

The MUTO, straddling the track directly in front of them!

Pandemonium erupted aboard the train as the other passengers spied the gigantic winged monster directly ahead, but the automated train kept gaining speed, heading straight toward the creature. Fear-crazed passengers rushed toward the opposite end of the train. Ford tried to hold onto Akio, but the panicky stampede tore the boy from his grasp. Akio was swept away by the mob, even as the train sped toward the monster. Ford sprang from his seat and dived after him.

No!
he thought.
I can’t lose him!

An Apache helicopter swooped down from the sky, adding to the tumult. The wash from its rotors rattled the train’s windows. It soared past the head, right overhead. The attack ‘copter’s sudden arrival elicited more screams than cheers. Ordinary travellers suddenly found themselves caught in the middle of a battle between the armed forces and a giant insect-thing.

Ford kept his eye on Akio, who was trying to get back to him. Lunging forward, Ford tackled the boy to the floor just as the Apache opened fire on the MUTO. Its 30mm automatic cannon blasted loudly in the night, unleashing a barrage of ammo at the crouching creature, which reacted angrily. Howling in protest, it swiped at the chopper with one of its enormous middle limbs. The elusive ‘copter dodged the swipe, but the monster’s flailing limb smashed through the front of the train as well the elevated track beneath it.

Horrified screams were drowned by the din of shredded metal and shattered concrete. Tons of debris, mixed with falling bodies, crashed down onto the tarmac, more than two-dozen feet below. The rest of the train continued over the edge of the splintered track, but caught on mangled steel supports and dangled precariously over the rubble below. Gravity seized the survivors who tumbled helplessly out the severed end of the train, screaming all the way, even as the recorded voice kicked in automatically:

“Please watch the gap…”

Ford struggled to hold onto Akio while simultaneously anchoring himself to one on the upright metal poles in the middle of the aisle. Shrieking men and women tumbled past them, nearly knocking Ford loose. Gravity tugged on Akio, briefly yanking him from Ford’s grip. Screaming, the boy started to slide away…

No!
Ford thought desperately, scrabbling to reach the boy.

He grabbed the boy’s wrist and held on tight. He hauled Akio up into his arms and the boy clung to him for his life. Ford wondered how long they could keep from falling, and whether it made any difference with the MUTO several yards away, perched on the other side of the severed tracks, snapping angrily at the buzzing helicopter. Ford stared at the creature, which had already been responsible for his father’s death, not to mention his mother’s fifteen years ago. Was this same monster going to kill him now—and leave Sam fatherless as well?

Would Sam even miss him?

Ford waited tensely to see what the MUTO was going to do next. The creature tracked the Apache ‘copter with its crimson eyes, appearing eager to swipe at it once more, but paused as a series of loud booms, approaching from the east, echoed across the tarmac. The sound instantly captured the MUTO’s attention; it hunkered down, as though actually unnerved by the noise. Still hanging onto Akio, Ford shuddered to think what could possibly frighten the giant winged terror.

Maybe an even bigger monster?

The MUTO let out a fearsome howl, then launched itself into the air. Its sudden flight caught the chopper pilot by surprise. The creature’s extended wing swiped the Apache, knocking the helicopter from the sky. Spinning out of control, the chopper crashed into a row of parked jetliners. The ‘copter and jets alike burst into flame, the blast shaking the dangling train. Billowing fireballs erupted from the wreckage. Ford could feel the heat of the flames even from so many yards away. He choked on the burning jet fuel. The light from the newborn inferno lit up the night, revealing the source of the booming noises that had alarmed the MUTO. Seismic footsteps pounded upon the tarmac, which cracked beneath the tread of two gigantic clawed feet.

Oh my God
, Ford thought. He instantly recognized the legendary beast the two scientists had told him about, the one the Navy tried to nuke sixty years ago.
It’s really him.

Godzilla was here.

The fearsome reptile towered above the airport, dwarfing even the MUTO. He was nearly two hundred feet taller than the winged creature and much heftier besides. Striding upright on two legs, he resembled some unknown species of dinosaur, but was at least thirty times larger than even a Tyrannosaurus rex. A rough scaly hide covered his stocky, imposing form. Two muscular forearms ended in viciously clawed hands. Rows of serrated fins ran down his broad back all the way to a thick, spiny tail that was nearly as long as the monster was tall. Ferocious eyes, glaring out from beneath the creature’s heavy brow, fixed on the MUTO with predatory intent. Fangs the size of a full-grown man gleamed inside the powerful jaws, which opened wide to let out a bellicose roar that rang out across the entire airport. It was a trumpeting roar with a deep bass reverberation that climbed to a chilling crescendo. Ford had never heard anything like it.

The MUTO accepted the challenge. Howling back at Godzilla, it swooped down from the sky at the legendary king of monsters. Amidst the flames and smoke from the burning jetliners, the primeval creatures collided in combat. Unable to look away, Ford clung to Akio as they gazed up at the titanic clash playing out high above the broken tracks.

Ford felt very small and insignificant.

* * *

Sam was curled up on the living room couch, where he’d passed out the night before. A comfy afghan had largely slid off him so that only his bare feet were covered. His sleeping face was lit by the flickering glow of the TV set, where a breaking news story had interrupted regular programming on practically every channel. The volume was turned down low, but the screen was consumed by startling images from Hawaii, where a fantastic clash between two unbelievable creatures was being captured by dozens of mobile phones from a variety of angles. The destructive battle played out upon the screen in fragmentary bits of chaotic footage, caught on the run by awestruck spectators all across Honolulu.

Hordes of terrified civilians, fleeing the disaster, ran toward the camera, all but blocking the view of a huge winged monster tumbling towards a high-rise hotel, which collapsed upon impact, raining broken glass and masonry onto the panic-filled streets below. An even larger monster, which bore a familial resemblance to the toy dinosaur on the living room carpet, came stomping in for the kill. The huge reptile opened his jaws wide, displaying the flesh-tearing fangs of the ultimate alpha predator. He took a deep breath, sucking in giant-sized mouthful of air, which suddenly rippled within his jaws like a heat-mirage on a summer day.

Sensing danger, the MUTO turned and fled from Godzilla, flapping its wings in a desperate attempt to escape.

Electricity sparked at the back of Godzilla’s throat and the super-heated air ignited. A blast of bright blue flame sprayed from his jaws, scorching both the MUTO and the beach below. Palm trees and abandoned cabanas burst into flame. White sand turned black in an instant.

But the MUTO survived.

Screeching in pain, its wings singed and smoking, the smaller monster fled. Abandoning Oahu, it soared out over the open sea, with Godzilla marching relentlessly in pursuit. Cameras on shore caught the fearsome leviathan wading back out into the bay and slowly sinking out of sight.

“Sammy?”

Elle entered the living room, already dressed in her hospital scrubs. She needed to report to work in a few hours and still hadn’t managed to find a babysitter. She found the boy still sleeping on the couch, looking so cute it hurt. He had seemed so peaceful last night that she hadn’t had the heart to disturb him. Glancing at the TV, she saw a morning news anchor intoning silently behind a desk but she didn’t pay attention. She had a job and a child to look after, not to mention an absent husband that was theoretically on his way home. Current affairs would have to go on without her.

She still had some time to kill before she had to head over to the hospital, so she drew the afghan back over Sam to keep him warm. He stirred slightly as she adjusted the blanket. His eyes fluttered briefly, looking past her, and then opened wide. All of a sudden, he was wide awake and staring at the TV behind her.

“Mommy! Look!”