Godzilla 2000 Page 24

  Helpless against the rays, the space monster slammed into a row of older granite office buildings, which collapsed under the weight like sand castles.

  Inside Raptor-One, the headphones crackled in G-Force's helmets. "Stay out of the way!" General Taggart commanded.

  Kip slowed the craft and placed it in hover mode. It hung in a stationary position over Broadway, New York's City Hall behind the aircraft, the two monsters in front.

  Some emergency service workers had remained in Manhattan. Now fire engines rushed to the scene of the raging inferno that burned in a wide swath from Columbus Circle down to Battery Park. From the river, firefighting boats laid down streams of water on fires that consumed block upon block of waterfront property. Smoke billowed into the air in great black clouds, obscuring the sky and blocking out the sunlight.

  * * *

  Using its forked tail for support, King Ghidorah struggled to its feet. The creature's necks writhed like Medusa's hair, and bolts of force continuously spewed from its three heads. Godzilla roared and stamped his massive feet, shattering buildings and caving in streets and sidewalks.

  Then Godzilla pushed between the twin towers, breaking windows on both structures. Glass rained down on what remained of the plaza. With an angry wail, Godzilla lowered his feline head and charged King Ghidorah.

  The two mammoth bodies crashed together with a tremendous boom that could be heard for miles. Godzilla's bone-white claws dug into King Ghidorah's flesh as its forearms grappled with the thing. King Ghidorah stumbled backward, but remained on its feet.

  Desperately, King Ghidorah's mighty wings beat Godzilla's body, creating a hurricane-force wind that snatched up and carried away debris, abandoned vehicles, and helpless emergency workers. As Godzilla grappled with his enemy, King Ghidorah's central neck looped like a python around Godzilla's exposed throat.

  Then King Ghidorah began to squeeze.

  * * *

  Lori wouldn't leave the observation deck, no matter what Nick said or did. So the reporter gave up and sent his cameraman and technician packing, while he stayed behind with this strange woman who had dropped out of the sky and, almost literally, into his lap.

  Nick sensed that there was a story here, and he decided it was worth risking life and limb to get it. But even as he made his decision to stay, visions of his old colleague Max Hulse - who had died when Godzilla destroyed Tokyo Tower - stepped a macabre dance through Nick's head.

  To his surprise, the smoke rolling about them soon began to clear, as the sprinkler system was activated inside the bowels of the art deco tower.

  Nick rubbed his still-smarting eyes and saw Lori dash out to the exterior observation deck. He ran through the shattered windows to her side.

  "What's happening?" he asked. Lori pointed to the sky.

  "Mothra is coming back," she announced.

  * * *

  Godzilla's powerful forearms pounded at King Ghidorah's golden chest, but the noose around his neck just grew tighter and tighter, squeezing the life out of him.

  Then a familiar shrill keening split the air, and Mothra dived down out of the smoke-filled sky. A thin beam of power crackled from the creature's antennae, striking one of King Ghidorah's horned heads.

  King Ghidorah fired back, missing Mothra but taking out a hovering CNN news helicopter. The chopper exploded in a plume of fire, and the burning debris smashed into the Hudson.

  Mothra squawked again and circled the two titans, who were still locked in a death grip. Foam flecked Godzilla's gaping mouth as the beast gasped and choked.

  Blue lightning arced along his spine, but the blast never left his constricted throat. Slowly, Godzilla began to weaken, and his reptilian eyes glazed over.

  * * *

  "We have to do something," Martin cried. "Godzilla is dying out there!"

  Kip, meanwhile, was torn with indecision. Technically, they were still in combat mode, and he was still in command of the Raptor. But Kip wanted nothing more than to turn over command to the older and more experienced Pierce.

  "What do I do?" Kip muttered, his fingers tightening on the joystick.

  As Godzilla flailed his arms weakly, Mothra hovered over the monsters, beating her wings angrily. But King Ghidorah would not release Godzilla from its death grip.

  Suddenly, Kip spotted something dark lodged above King Ghidorah's chest, at the base of the middle neck - the same neck that was slowly strangling the life out of Godzilla. Kip's fingers raced across the control pad, and the HUD magnified the image.

  Kip swallowed hard, squinting to make out the contours of the object.

  "Yes!" he whooped finally, startling the others in the cockpit.

  "What is it?" Pierce demanded, his hands locked around his own control stick, waiting for Kip to turn over command to him.

  But Kip would do no such thing. Instead, he eased the Raptor forward, closer to the writhing, wrestling titans.

  "What are you doing?" Pierce demanded. Kip ignored the pilot, concentrating, instead, on the battered warhead of the Teflon-tipped cruise missile, which still projected from a wound in King Ghidorah's center neck.

  As the others watched, Kip moved the Raptor closer to the brawling monsters. The headphones in his helmet crackled again.

  "Pull back!" General Taggart commanded from the other aircraft. "You're too damn close!"

  Kip reached up and shut off his radio, then he directed all of his concentration to the heads-up display in front of him. Slowly, he eased the nose of the Raptor down, then switched over to the eight Avenger cannons. Thousands of rounds of Teflon-coated explosive shells were automatically fed into them.

  Martin's eyes widened. Then he smiled in comprehension. "Go get him, Kip!" he cried.

  When the targeting computer found the spot Kip was aiming for, the sound it made switched from an intermittent beeping to a steady drone.

  "You've got tone!" Pierce and Martin said simultaneously.

  Kip squeezed the trigger, and the Raptor rocked backward as the eight cannons spit thousands of rounds of ammunition. The shells struck King Ghidorah, exploding in tiny blasts, and tore at the monster's golden plates, splintering some of the scales like glass. Kip danced the stream of bullets up King Ghidorah's body.

  The three-headed monster spied the oncoming aircraft, and the two outside heads opened their mouths at the same time.

  Bolts of force slammed into the Raptor, blowing out chunks of the hull and pieces of the wing. Still, Kip held the craft steady, not bothering to close the blast doors over the cockpit because he didn't want to risk flying blind for even a split second.

  "Pull up!" Martin cried.

  "Get away from those blasts!" Pierce commanded. But Kip ignored them both, continuing to pour a steady stream of cannon fire onto the target.

  Finally, as bloody foam began to pour from Godzilla's yawning mouth and his eyes rolled up into his head, a single Teflon-coated shell found the target.

  With a white-hot blast that rocked the Raptor, the missiles warhead, still lodged in King Ghidorah's flesh, exploded. The force of the blast completely severed the central neck from King Ghidorah's body. A fountain of hot, gleaming golden blood shot into the sky from the terrible wound.

  The head and neck dropped into the street below, smashing a kiosk and some abandoned cars.

  Godzilla, released from King Ghidorah's grip, dropped backward, slamming into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. The whole building shook, and shattered glass rained down onto him and into the plaza below.

  Flailing his tail, Godzilla opened his eyes-again. The creature didn't even inhale - he simply let out the most powerful blast of his radioactive breath ever recorded by scientists. But the force wasn't directed at King Ghidorah. The blast tore through the first five floors of the North Tower Building behind the space monster. Glass exploded and steel support beams melted under the intense burst. Suddenly, the North Tower began to tilt, then fall.

  * * *

  Even as the missile exploded, the R
aptor was torn apart by King Ghidorah's final blasts. Electrical systems failed all over the ship, and internal fires broke out in the missile bays and near the fuel tanks.

  Martin struggled to keep the Raptor in the air, but it was hopeless. The ship lurched to one side, and as Kip fought the controls, the left rotor blades struck the South Tower and broke apart.

  "Eject! Eject! Eject!" Pierce cried as the dying Raptor plunged into the street far below...

  * * *

  The full weight of the North Tower slammed down on King Ghidorah, crushing the creature under tons of steel, stone, and glass. Lower Manhattan quaked as the building broke apart over King Ghidorah‘s back. The space monster cried out in a keening wail of pain. Godzilla, meanwhile, struggled to his feet.

  The prehistoric monster stared at the pile of shattered rubble as Mothra circled overhead. Godzilla's eyes narrowed, waiting.

  Suddenly, like a phoenix bursting from the fires that consumed it, King Ghidorah leaped out of the debris and into the sky. Wailing, its two remaining necks writhing in fear, the space monster flew toward the Atlantic.

  But even as it fled, Godzilla struck its back with a second tremendous blast of radioactive fire. The creature cried out again and increased speed.

  As Godzilla watched, King Ghidorah, minus its center head, flew past Liberty Island and toward the open sea, still spewing golden blood from the terrible, mortal wound.

  Mothra, in hot pursuit, streaked over the ocean right behind King Ghidorah.

  Godzilla, suddenly alone, blinked, grunted, and flexed his mighty forepaws. Then he lifted his head into the smoke-filled sky.

  The monster's final roar of triumph and challenge echoed through the canyons of Manhattan. Then, with a contemptuous flip of his enormous tail, the mighty kaiju turned his back on New York City and returned to the banks of the Hudson River.

  With a rumbling grunt of satisfaction, Godzilla waded into the cold river and moved ponderously toward the open ocean... his home.

  * * *

  As the entire crew of Raptor-One floated down from the smoke-filled sky on their parachutes, low storm clouds once again rolled over the city.

  Before the G-Force team had all landed with a jolt in the middle of Broadway, gentle snowflakes began to fall. Within an hour, a blanket of clean white snow covered the ruined city, smothering the fires and signaling, somehow, that the long, terrible crisis had finally ended.

  30

  AFTERMATH

  The United States of America

  Late in the afternoon, the G-Force team was extracted by helicopter from the ruins of lower Manhattan. None of them had suffered serious injury in the ejection, though Martin had sprained his ankle when he slipped in the snow.

  Toby saw Lori on INN when she landed on top of the Empire State Building. He dispatched an Army Blackhawk helicopter with an extraction crane to pick her up and bring her to La Guardia Airport. The chopper returned with Lori, the INN reporter who interviewed her, and the rest of his news team.

  So Nick Gordon got his story, as well as exclusive interviews with the entire G-Force team.

  Everyone in G-Force was delighted to find Lori alive and well. Her emotional reunion with her friends was broadcast worldwide. Even General Taggart wiped away a tear when Lori hopped out of the Blackhawk and ran to them.

  Lori didn't remember anything that happened to her between the time she ejected over the Gunnison National Forest and the moment she landed on top of the Empire State Building in Manhattan. But she knew that Mothra had helped save her, as she had helped Godzilla save the world.

  As the team was debriefed, Pierce could not stop gazing at Lori. And though she was the center of attention, Lori couldn't help but stare at him, too.

  Dr. Markham smiled.

  This should be interesting, she thought.

  * * *

  Before the sun set on the first full day of the new century, the people of America were taking halting and uncertain steps toward the future.

  * * *

  On the cold, barren, and windswept plains of decimated Kansas, Eleanor Peaster returned to the ruins of her family's farm. It bore little resemblance to the place she grew up in. The house was now rubble, and the barn and silo had vanished. But Eleanor Peaster was determined to begin again.

  She didn't know how yet, but she knew she would figure it out eventually.

  Hiram and Wanda Roper returned to Kansas, too. They rebuilt their farm with the help of federal disaster relief funds. They adopted Ronette Carry, the little girl who saw her whole family slaughtered by the Kamacuras.

  The nine-year-old hadn't spoken yet, but with love and care, the Ropers were hopeful.

  * * *

  Captain Jerry Tilson returned to Pennsylvania, and to his wife, Sandy. She had a little boy in March, and they named him Michael Pederson Tilson.

  A decorated war hero in his small town, Tilson was promoted to district manager and dabbled in local politics. He finally resigned his commission in the Air National Guard and stayed home on weekends.

  * * *

  Dr. Craig Westerly published a scholarly paper about his research with the native Alaskans. The dissertation won him a spot on the faculty of Columbia University, though he still spent most of his time in the far north, with the old Native American shaman.

  The ancient shaman continued to relate amazing folk tales of his people to the eager anthropologist.

  * * *

  Billy and Zelly Whitman went to college on the money they earned from their story. Billy majored in marketing and girls. Zelly studied art.

  * * *

  Captain Charles Dingle retired and moved to Bermuda, where he sails, fishes, and enjoys his golden years. He doesn't even miss being the skipper of the Texas Star.

  Not much, anyway.

  * * *

  Dr. Carl Strickler was appointed the director of the Mishra Foundation for Scientific Research, established in honor of the late Dr. Chandra Mishra.

  The foundation funds scientific research and higher education for promising students of science.

  * * *

  Linda Carlisle, Mike Timko, and Robin Halliday remained a team. Robin hosts INN's young adult news show, Teen Beat. Mike is still her director, and Linda has been promoted to producer.

  Before the show's debut, Linda took several months off and filmed a documentary about people in Kansas who were trying to rebuild their lives.

  She was nominated for an Academy Award.

  * * *

  Slowly, with time, money, sweat, tears, and tenacity, the nation rebuilt itself. In New York, the World Trade Center was mostly demolished. Only one of the original Twin Towers remained.

  George Steinbrenner finally got a new stadium for his Yankees, though he had to pay for it himself.

  And Donald Trump built a complex of office towers, highways, and apartment buildings in lower Manhattan. During the project, the developer had to travel a lot, so he hired a former Navy pilot named Kathleen "Dale" Delany to fly his personal helicopter.

  They were married six months later.

  * * *

  Oakland, California, after years of neglect, was rebuilt as a shining example of successful urban renewal. The infamous ghettoes vanished overnight. In their place, business and shopping centers were constructed around middle-class, upper middle-class, and luxury housing.

  In one tranquil corner of the city, near the rechristened Jack London Square, a lovely little park was built. The peaceful area of shady trees, grassy knolls and playgrounds was named Dennis Flynn Park, after the policeman from San Francisco who crossed the bay with other emergency workers after Godzilla's attack. Flynn died rescuing an entire family trapped in the rubble of their home.

  A few weeks after the park's dedication ceremony, a young woman who worked for an ad agency began jogging there. Her name was Annabel Maguire, and for some reason, she really loved Flynn Park.

  One Sunday morning, while she was having breakfast under a tree there, Annabel met a charming
policeman who'd just been promoted to detective. It was love at first sight.

  The couple were married a few months later, under the very same tree where they first met.

  Dennis Flynn Park was a happy place that day, and forever after.

  Life in America and on planet Earth continued.

  Back Cover:

  WILL THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY BRING AN END TO HUMANKIND?

  As the millennium approaches, a cloud of asteroids plummets toward Earth and unleashes a plague of monsters. A swarm of mutant insects devours the grain fields of Kansas. Rodan, a giant winged reptile, builds a nest on Mount Rushmore. And the terrifying Varan ravages Mexico and texas.

  In the midst of this chaos is teenager Kip Daniels. Along with an elite group of young computer whizzes, Kip is trained by G-Force, a top-secret Pentagon operation. But even their new high-tech weapons are no match for the blistering destruction of King Ghidorah, the three-headed space monster.

  Only one force can forestall this fiery apocalypse - Godzilla. But as the roaring behemoth rears his head from the ocean's depths, one question remains:

  IS HE FRIEND OR FOE?

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE IMPACT!

  1 DANGEROUS GAMES

  2 TOP SECRET

  3 THE BOX

  4 LUCKY ACCIDENT

  5 MEETINGS

  6 BACK FROM THE GRAVE

  7 ALERT!

  8 THE SWARM

  9 ARMED CONFLICT

  10 THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

  11 MAN AND MACHINE AGAINST MONSTERS

  12 BIRDS OF PREY

  13 THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MONSTERS

  14 DREAMS AND PROPHECIES

  15 LOSSES

  16 VICTORY AT SEA

  17 THE HIGH FRONTIER

  18 DEATH FROM THE SKY

  19 GODZILLA RISING

  20 AMERICA INVADED

  21 A PLAGUE OF MONSTERS, A MONSTROUS PLAGUE

  22 BAPTISM OF FIRE

  23 TRAIN WRECK

  24 G-FORCE VS. GODZILLA!

  25 CELESTIAL PHENOMENON