Between the rotor wash and the thunderous chop of the Blackhawk helicopter that had arrived just fifty feet overhead, it felt like a tropical storm had rolled in. Only it wasn’t rain falling from the sky, it was bullets. A single soldier, dressed in black Special Ops gear, leaned out of the open helicopter’s side door. He fired a blaze of gunfire from an assault rifle that just barely shook his shoulder.
The only thing that kept Hawkins, Drake, Joliet, and Bennett from being cut down was the fact that the soldier had seen Kaiju after taking the shot that clipped Bennett’s shoulder. Seeing the greater threat, he’d adjusted his aim and opened fire. But the monster was faster than the man expected and the rounds chewed up the earth behind its feet.
Bennett, eyes wide and on the helicopter, barely noticed Joliet climb to her feet and run to Hawkins. He clutched her in a tight, protective hug.
Five more helicopters surged past overhead. The Doppler wave of rotor chop was nearly deafening. Two split to the left, coming to a stop over the research building. Two more continued on course and a third arced to the right, heading for the farm. This is an island-wide invasion, Hawkins thought. They really are going to wipe everything out.
Joliet pulled back and shouted, “Let’s get out of here!”
“Not without Bray and Blok,” Hawkins replied, searching for some sign of their missing crew. Any second now …
Six thick, black ropes unfurled from the sides of the helicopter. Soldiers emerged and began sliding toward the ground. The man providing cover fire from the helicopter ran out of ammo and quickly reloaded. But the delay was time enough for Kaiju to change tactics.
The giant monster completed its dash in a tight turn, bringing it on course for the six defenseless men slipping down the lines toward the ground. It leapt in the air, impossibly high, and just before careening into the lowest man, flipped itself over. The man became a pin cushion as an array of oversized, neurotoxin-laced porcupine spines punctured his body armor, fatigues, and flesh. The beast continued its flip with the man stuck to its back. When it landed on all four legs, momentum carried the man forward. He was flung to the ground with several of the quills protruding from his body like he’d just had a close encounter with an Apache hunting party.
Without pause, the creature snapped its tail out and snatched a second soldier’s leg just before it touched down on the ground. The tail flailed back and forth, smashing the man to the ground three times. On the third strike, something cracked and the man never stirred again.
This wasn’t the same creature Hawkins had been fighting. That version of Kaiju had been like a mischievous cat toying with a mouse. This version was something closer to a whirlwind of wrath. As he watched each highly trained, heavily armed soldier die in seconds, Hawkins realized how lucky he was to still be alive.
A third man reached the ground and even raised his rifle, but never got a chance to pull the trigger. The monster closed the distance between the two of them without releasing the last man from its tail and swiped at the shocked soldier with its polar bear claw. His head came free as easily as a ripe apple from a branch.
The three soldiers had all died in just over five seconds, which was the same amount of time it took the man above to reload. He opened fire again, this time catching Kaiju off guard, striking her arm twice. With a roar and a twitch of her tail, she flung the dead soldier toward the chopper. The spinning corpse struck one of the lines, jolting a fourth soldier free before crashing into the side of the helicopter. The helicopter spun as the pilot reacted to the jolt and, for a moment, the soldiers’ descent slowed.
In that momentary reprieve, the enemies on the ground took stock of each other.
Bennett turned his eyes from the helicopter to Hawkins. The gun was by his side, but he raised the small black remote in its place.
The monster turned to Hawkins, too, but made no move for him. The soldiers above represented a far greater danger to it, Bennett, and their home.
And the soldiers above—they called for backup.
The second helicopter arrived with a roar of twin turbines, sweeping around the clearing in a wide circle. Hawkins recognized it as an Apache attack helicopter. Between the minigun attached beneath the chopper’s nose and the missiles mounted to its small wings, the chopper was capable of decimating large numbers of targets. He doubted even Kaiju stood a chance against the Apache, at least not out in the open.
Mixed with the thunderous chop of rotor blades, Hawkins heard the high-pitched whine of the minigun beginning to spin. In a few seconds, it would unleash a stream of high-velocity rounds that could shred metal, concrete, and humans with equal ease.
But before the helicopter gunner could pull the trigger, a horn blast louder than everything shook the earth and sky. The Apache spun, though not out of control. It was simply acquiring a new target. A hellfire missile tore from the helicopter’s wing with a loud shhh, followed by an enormous explosion that plumed smoke into the sky and silenced the horn.
They must know what the sound triggers, Hawkins thought, though he knew it was too late. Every living thing on the island would have heard the sound.