“Bullshit.” Giant stood and started to storm out of the room before my raised hand stopped him. “Cap, you can’t be fucking serious, listening to this.”
“Explain the book burning and my chest.”
A stunned look crossed his face for a split second before he folded his arms and pointedly shut his mouth.
“Continue.”
“It’s Godzilla. For real, not a machine, not an illusion. Godzilla. We got the order to fire. Half the guys just shit themselves right there. The kid beside me starting bawling for his mother. I pulled my trigger and didn’t let go.” he puffed again, sending smoke in a long stream across the room as we listened. “The story doesn’t do justice to the brutality of that thing. Blue energy laid waste to the artillery behind us and carved men up like a hot knife through butter. Some of us held the line, locked our trigger fingers and froze up. They had to pry the damn weapon out of my hand afterwards. I have no idea how he was beaten. Took a bloody limb to the face and woke up the next day. We were sent home and sworn to secrecy. I’ve told no one until now. The reason I’m telling you is that thing on your chest and the book. We were given a list of symbols to watch out for. Those two are the worst possible two.”
“Worst?” came the gentle voice of Hawkeye barely audible. “They mean the end of days. The Apocalypse. We’re all going to die.”
“Let me get this straight,” Amazon rubbed her eyes with thumb and forefinger, “We’re facing monsters out of black and white B movies?”
“This is grade-A, primo first prize Elder God fucking damned bullshit.”
“Unfortunately, Giant, elder god is correct.” Hawkeye reached into his shirt and withdrew a pendant. It was gold flecked with silver, an eye in the middle containing a red ruby. “Twenty-nine years ago there was a massive Earthquake in Japan. The resulting Tsunami and devastation caused a nuclear power plant to spill its content continuously into the water for a dozen or so years. Once the flow was under control, that’s when the problems started.”
“I remember that. That matches timelines more or less with the disaster relief.” Tiny volunteered, his massive fists clenching and unclenching on the table in front of him.
“Yes, and now Godzilla is the least of our worries,” Hawkeye turned to Hardass, “I believe, sir, that the time has come to implement the O2 strategy.”
“Agreed. The reports coming in are not good.”
I raised a hand, halting them. “Reports Sergeant? What reports? There’s been nothing on the com for two weeks,”
Hardass flicked his Cigar into the sand and stomped on it, grinding it out. “These aren’t com reports Captain. It’s time you learned of the Abnors.”
—
Two days passed and I floated along like a bird on the thermals, barely able to comprehend what was being told to me. My origami world view was ripped and torn apart leaving only shreds of belief and understanding. I learned that the monsters that haunt children’s nightmares are real. I learned that our government knows this, and keeps it as hidden as possible from the population to prevent widespread panic and I learned of the Abnors.
The Abnors are the world’s best kept secret. A select group of people trained to defend the world against irradiated and abnormal threats, created at the time of the fallout from the Nuclear explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I am writing this because it appears they have failed. No longer does their cover matter. Hawkeye and Hardass were both Abnors, under cover agents in our squad placed because we were deployed at the center of a hotspot of activity. SK and Donkey agents had both sent increasingly alarming reports of tectonic activity in multiple different mines close to the border followed by disturbing cosmic activity; meteors hitting down that had life signs on them, miners turning up shredded… the works. The Chinese/Japanese conflict had been created as a cover by the Abnors to hide the fact that Godzilla had once again returned and was threatening the coastlines of both countries. Japanese special forces had been dispatched under the cover of an invasion to try and deal with the oncoming threat using experimental weapons that had been in secret development since the last attack. So far, they were proving just effective enough to keep the monster at bay. Our squad had been picked to be deployed here because we were the best, I was the best. Two days they spent getting the information straightened out and explaining it to me, two days of planning while the rest of the squad waited outside. Snow was with us since Hardass had her pegged for recruitment and there was no more time to groom. At the end of the time, I called a meeting of everyone to prepare them for what was coming.
—
Having been mostly repaired since my unfortunate rampage, the main tent was incredibly hot but at least somewhat clean. Hardass and I stood outside the door, he with a cigar and me my thoughts, some more toxic than the foul smelling smoke that hung in the air.
“They’re ready for you, Captain.”
I scanned the horizon as was habit, though usually I sought gunfire or explosions while this time I looked for anything and everything that could be a sign of what we knew was coming. “Right.” I delayed another minute, considering the past, considering what humanity had wrought. I remember that moment so clearly. I was about to walk into a tent and give a speech that would not only forever change the way a dozen people saw the world, it would also let them know that, without a miracle, their life expectancy was about to drop to less than a year at absolute best. A sharp pain on my chest brought me collapsing back to reality. I pulled up my shirt and looked. The carved red points were moving downwards, accelerating now, I could almost see them move as I watched. Hardass raised an eyebrow and I nodded once, dropping the shirt and idly smoothing it out.
“Right Sergeant, let’s get them ready.”
I strode into the tent, putting on my best poker face. Everyone was in something of a prepared condition though it was clear that the days had been weighing on them all. Dee and Dum sat with Twinkle on a bench against the far wall having a muted conversation while Dum was rolling his arms, still trying to rehabilitate them. Amazon was with Gaga who, though she was on her feet, was still fairly incoherent and would only allow Zon near her. Ceilidh was smoking in the far corner, a pile of butts at her feet while Hawkeye and Snow White were standing near the door, waiting for me. I was most worried about Giant. He sat with Tiny, clearly fuming. Sitting still was never his thing, and having nothing to do for two days had certainly not sweetened his mood.
“Some of this is going to be difficult to hear and harder to accept,” I said, drawing everyone’s attention and ceasing all the minor conversations. “Let me assure you that I have triple checked what Sergeant Hardenust and Special Operative Hawkeye have said through every possible method available to me at this time.” I folded my arms and straightened my back, as if in a dream. “What they have said is true. Godzilla is rampaging in China, the Donkeys suspect that there is a Winged Beast currently under the ground fairly close to here identified as Rodan and SK Abnor command has confirmed the presence of extra-terrestrial life on meteorites that crashed into the Sea of Japan.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Monsters are real. They are called Kaiju, and we’re going to kill them.”