"Oh-oh," Nick muttered.
Suddenly, the towering concrete and gla.s.s building to their right seemed to burst apart. Brian slammed the car in reverse and stepped on the gas. The tires spun, but the car only shimmied. Chunks of stone, shards of gla.s.s, and whole pieces of office furniture rained down on the street in front of them.
Some of the debris bounced toward the skidding car. Just then, the rubber caught the road, and the Toyota leaped backward.
It was not a moment too soon.
The huge front wall of the building hit the street with a deafening rumble. A fist-sized chunk of masonry struck the windshield, leaving a small diamond-shaped hole on the pa.s.senger side.
Brian continued to drive rapidly in reverse, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the crumbling building. Finally, he lost control of the car. The Toyota hopped the curb and sideswiped an orange pay phone. Brian slammed on the brakes and the engine stalled.
They watched, paralyzed, as G.o.dzilla"s ma.s.sive foot crashed down on the street where, moments before, their car had sat. Almost casually, the monster brushed tons of rubble aside and slammed against the apartment complex on the opposite side of the street.
That building, too, tumbled like a house of cards.
As the apartment building crashed to the ground, the air was filled with choking dust and clouds of smoke. In seconds, Nick and Brian were blinded. They sat, quaking helplessly in the front seat of the car, until the ground finally ceased to rumble and the monster moved on.
"G.o.dzilla is laying waste to the Shibaura section of Tokyo," Max Hulse informed his millions of viewers. From his vantage point on Tokyo Tower, all he could really see with the naked eye was the glowing fires in G.o.dzilla"s wake and the occasional flash of a distant explosion.
But thanks to dozens of cameras in helicopters that crisscrossed the skies over the city, the rampage was being taped from many different angles. All of the visual images were being fed to INN headquarters, and to Hulse and his remote team on Tokyo Tower.
"As you can see, the creature"s advance through the city is not being opposed by the military." Hulse cleared his throat and paused for a moment.
"I"ve just been informed that G.o.dzilla is nearing a section of high-tension wires," he told the viewers.
"In a few moments, we"ll know if the so-called electric fence will keep G.o.dzilla out."
G.o.dzilla approached the steel structure warily. The creature instinctively sensed the energy that coursed through the nearly invisible wires. The creature halted. His feral head turned left, then right. But there was no opening in the wall of electrically charged wires.
Cautiously, G.o.dzilla moved forward. His body made contact with the high-tension wires in several places.
Molten fire shot through the monster"s body. G.o.dzilla twisted his neck in spasms of pain. Bellowing, he thrashed his tail, striking the base of one of the towers.
The structure began to collapse, breaking some of the wires. Sparks exploded as the wires struck buildings, trees, and abandoned vehicles.
The pain was lessened, and G.o.dzilla pushed through the barrier. Sparks ran up and down his body. The creature opened his mouth and groaned in agony.
Then the spikes on G.o.dzilla"s back began to glow. Radioactive fire built up in the creature"s chest. He twisted his head and extended his long neck. A hot jet blasted from the monster"s gaping mouth and struck the nearest electrical tower. The steel framework began to glow, then melt.
The tower collapsed into a heap of molten metal. G.o.dzilla blinked and reared back. Another blast of radioactive fire melted a second steel tower.
G.o.dzilla"s roar of triumph rolled over the helpless city.
There was so much dust and debris covering their Toyota that Brian had to get out and wipe it off so he could see out of the windshield. Nick hopped out too. He was clutching the portable television.
After the terrible sound of G.o.dzilla"s pa.s.sing, the silence in the streets was eerie. Far away, the civil-defense sirens still wailed. Closer to them, the alarm from a long-abandoned car warbled. There was no sign of any other human being.
"Come on," Brian said after he cleared the windows. "Let"s go."
"Wait a minute," Nick replied. "I think I"m getting something... Okay!"
Max Hulse"s voice, sounding tinny over the tiny speakers, droned on. "We"re back, ladies and gentlemen," he said apologetically. "When the power grid was broken, we temporarily lost power. Now our emergency generators are up and running. Again, I apologize for the temporary loss of power, and thank you for staying with us."
"And not switching over to CNN," Nick added cynically.
They sat on the hood, listening to the report. After a few minutes, G.o.dzilla"s image filled the screen once again.
"The creature is approaching Expressway Number Two in the Shiba district," Hulse announced. "He is very close to our remote broadcast center here in Tokyo Tower. Yes, I can see the creature out the window, but he still seems far away."
"Do you know how to get to Shiba?" Brian asked.
"Yeah," Nick replied. "But we should take Sakurada-Dori, there"s less traffic..."
Brian looked at his friend. "Nick, are you crazy? The city"s deserted."
"Yeah," Nick snorted. "Except for those tanks on the expressway."
CHAPTER 21.
HOME AGAIN.
June 18, 1998, 11:20 P.M.
On the edge Of Shiba Park
Tokyo, j.a.pan
It took longer than they expected to drive to G.o.dzilla"s location. Nick gave pretty good directions, but they found their way was constantly blocked - sometimes by debris from shattered buildings, but mostly by abandoned vehicles. They detoured a number of times before finally reaching the wide street called Sakurada-Dori.
The campus of Keio University was abandoned, but as they drove past Senba Hospital, they saw the first signs of other human beings. The hospital buildings were brightly lit, and a number of ambulances rushed by, their sirens warbling.
When they reached the ramp to Expressway Number Two, Nick looked up from his map. "Turn right!" he cried, pointing. The red Toyota"s tires skidded as Brian spun around the corner. As they approached another overpa.s.s - the map said it was Hibiya-Dori - they saw a bright flash to their right. Since the expressway was pretty much empty, Brian stopped the car in the center of the road.
They watched as G.o.dzilla emerged from the smoke and haze that hung over the Shiba district. They had a great view of the Tokyo Grand Hotel - right before G.o.dzilla leveled it. Then the monster turned and seemed to approach them.
Brian quickly threw the car into reverse and backed up until he was under the Hibiya-Dori overpa.s.s. Then he turned off the engine. They watched as G.o.dzilla stepped onto the expressway, shattering light poles and cracking the pavement. Again, the ground shook under the car, and dust and debris rained down on the Toyota from the overpa.s.s above.
When the monster"s tail disappeared from view, Brian started the car again and warily drifted out from under the overpa.s.s. He and Nick watched G.o.dzilla"s back as it moved away from them.
"Try the television," Brian suggested.
Nick plopped the TV on the dashboard and tuned in to INN. Max Hulse was still giving a running commentary, but this time he wasn"t using a remote camera. G.o.dzilla was entering Shiba Park, approaching an ancient j.a.panese shrine.
"G.o.dzilla is clearly visible from our vantage point here in Tokyo Tower," Hulse was saying. "He is approaching Zojoji Temple, a national landmark."
The temple appeared on the television screen. It was a small building with slate gray tiles on its roof and aged red lacquer walls. As they watched, G.o.dzilla"s leg seemed to brush against the centuries-old structure, and it collapsed into a cloud of dust.
The monster paused and bellowed out a roar. He stood in the middle of a manicured parkland. His swishing tail flattened trees and shrubs. His ma.s.sive feet left deep footprints in the well-kept gra.s.slands and gardens.
Then G.o.dzilla blinked. He focused his eyes on a brightly lit structure that was even taller than he was. With a roar of challenge, the creature began to move toward Tokyo Tower.
Mike Lacey, the INN remote producer stationed on the observation deck of Tokyo Tower, tore his eyes off the monitor screens of his portable workstation.
"I need another cameraman," he cried. "It looks like G.o.dzilla is coming this way."
The a.s.sistant producer, a young woman from Alabama, shook her head. "The only other cameraman we"ve got is Yoshi Masahara - and I just sent him below to iron out a technical glitch in our satellite feed truck." She paused. "Do you want me to call him back?" she asked.
Lacey looked down at his monitor again. G.o.dzilla was heading right for them.
"Forget it," he said finally. "And I think you should leave too..."
She opened her mouth to protest, but the producer interrupted her before she could speak. "Leave now, and take everyone else with you. We"ll make do with Max and the cameraman we already have."
The woman looked at her boss. "But -" she muttered.
"Don"t argue - go!" Mike Lacey cried, then turned his back on her and went to work again.
The woman faced the members of her technical crew. "Okay, people," she said. "You heard the boss. Get onto the elevators... Now!"
Brian was driving again. He warily circled Shiba Park, keeping one eye on G.o.dzilla and the other on the sky.
Keep watching the sky! his uncle had told him in the letter. But so far, Brian had seen nothing. Following Nick"s directions, Brian left the expressway and drove along the residential streets that bordered Shiba Park.
"It looks like G.o.dzilla is heading for Tokyo Tower," Brian said ominously. Both of them thought about Yoshi, but neither voiced their fears about their friend"s safety.
They circled around the Tokyo Prince Hotel. The old stone structure had an enormous parking lot surrounding it. Brian pulled into the center of the almost empty lot. He and Nick jumped out Of their car and Climbed onto its roof.
They watched as G.o.dzilla approached the orange tower that loomed over him.
Nick fiddled with the television and a picture appeared. It was a shot from the cameras in the tower. G.o.dzilla seemed to lock his predatory eyes on the camera itself as he moved inexorably forward.
Max Hulse continued to give commentary, ignoring the deadly approach of G.o.dzilla.
"G.o.dzilla is approaching the tower now," Hulse said in a calm, professional voice. "If he destroys this tower, we will certainly loose transmitting capabilities, but I am sure that other INN facilities will fill in for us."
"Stop talking and get out of there!" Nick cried at the image on the screen.
Brian and Nick moved their eyes from the image on the screen to the actual vision of the creature as he approached the tower. Even at this distance, the earth shook and G.o.dzilla"s roar battered their ears.
"It seems that G.o.dzilla is intent on destruction." Max Hulse said calmly. "He is approaching Tokyo Tower. Let"s get another shot of this." Hulse disappeared and was replaced by a shot of G.o.dzilla. The creature stared right into the camera lens with a cold, reptilian gaze.
"The creature is very close now," Hulse intoned. "He"s reaching out his arm -"
Suddenly, the image on the screen shook. Nick and Brian looked up to see G.o.dzilla grabbing the tower and shaking it with both ma.s.sive arms.
"The tower is swaying," Hulse reported, a professional to the last. "I think it will give way soon. This is Max Hulse, in Tokyo, j.a.pan, signing off -"
Suddenly, the screen went white. Brian looked up and saw Tokyo Tower bend, then shatter. The upper half of the tower slowly tilted, then broke loose.
As they watched in horror, the upper half of the steel structure crashed to the streets below. G.o.dzilla roared again and grappled with the twisted metal as if it were a living opponent. The monster continued to smash its clawed fists against the tower until the entire structure was reduced to a pile of twisted metal.
"Oh, G.o.d," Nick gasped. "Poor Max -"
Brian blinked back tears. "I just hope Yoshi got out of there," he muttered.
"n.o.body got out of there," Nick replied.
As they watched, G.o.dzilla, his rage spent, moved away from the ruins of Tokyo Tower and toward the city beyond.
Nick and Brian were quiet for a few moments. Then Brian looked at his friend.
"Where do you think G.o.dzilla is headed now?" he asked.
Nick squinted into the distance. "Toward Roppongi - and home," he said grimly.