Greg Cox - Godzilla - The Official Movie Novelization

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!”

Puzzled, she turned toward the television…

The sun rose over the beach at Waikiki, which now resembled a refugee camp more than a vacation spot. Both civilian and military medical tents had been erected along the scorched coastline, while scores of stressed-out first responders coped with the wounded, the homeless, and the traumatized. Most of the major blazes had been extinguished, despite the heaps of rubble blocking the streets, but smoke still rose from scattered small fires between the beach and the airport. Once-luxurious hotels and condos were now just larger mountains of debris, which emergency crews were desperately excavating in hopes of finding trapped survivors beneath the collapsed buildings. The press was already on the scene, interviewing survivors. Rumor had it the president had declared Oahu a disaster area.

For the second time in as many days, Ford found himself wandering through the aftermath of a devastating monster attack, except that this time he had a lost child in his arms. After being rescued from the damaged monorail, he and Akio had been bussed with numerous other survivors to the beach, which was now the center of the relief efforts. Ford had wanted to search the airport, try to locate Akio’s parents, but had been assured that every terminal had been evacuated. In theory, the tents here were his best chance at reconnecting the boy with his family, but Ford was starting to lose hope. The camp was full of desperate people, urgently seeking missing loved ones. Akio’s plight was just a drop in the bucket.

He carried the trembling child into one of the larger Red Cross tents. Akio clung to Ford; he had not let go of his rescuer since Godzilla had chased the MUTO away from the airport. Ford found himself feeling oddly grateful for the giant lizard’s timely intervention. He wondered where Dr. Serizawa was and what he thought of Godzilla’s return.

“Excuse me?” Ford called out, trying to get someone’s attention. “This boy’s been separated from his parents. I’m—”

But the medics and emergency workers were too busy to deal with him. The canvas tent was crammed with shell-shocked survivors in equally dire straits — or worse. Ford’s heart sank as he spied a makeshift morgue where far too many bodies were draped with sheets. He began to wonder if he was fooling himself in thinking that he could bring about a happy reunion in the midst of such widespread carnage and destruction. For all Ford knew, Akio’s parents were already dead, killed by rampaging monsters.

Just like dad.

“Akio! Akio!”

A woman’s voice cried out frantically. Ford spun around and saw the boy’s parents shoving their way through the crowd. Tears of joy streamed down the couple’s faces. Although a little worse for wear, neither appeared to be seriously injured.

Akio leapt from Ford’s arms and ran straight to his mother and father, who embraced him fervently. Ford couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a family so happy to be reunited; even the loved ones greeting the returning troops in San Francisco paled in comparison. Ford found it hard to believe that mere days had passed since he’d stepped off that plane to meet Elle and Sam at the Air Force base. So much had happened since then, so much death and devastation. His throat tightened as he watched Akio’s sobbing mother sweep her child up into her arms. He knew he’d do the same if Sam was here now.

He started forward to speak with Akio’s parents, but quickly realized that the weeping couple hadn’t even registered his existence. Akio was all that mattered to them right now; the rest of the world had faded into insignificance, which was perfectly understandable. Ford stepped back, not wanting to intrude on the emotional reunion. His role in this particular drama was over. Akio was where he belonged.