Project Hyperion (A Kaiju Thriller) (Kaiju #4)

I sprint for the edge.

As I reach the side of the roof, I see the beam of light slide to the right, cutting through the bases of several buildings that are shorter than the Clarendon, and then through the John Hancock Tower. The building drops, jolts to a stop and then pitches to the side, falling like a 790-foot-tall tree.

I’m a dead man, I think, but I’m committed to at least trying to survive. I leap from the roof of the Clarendon just as it folds in on itself and collapses. As my fall begins, I see a flash of red to my left, but can’t look to see what it is. I reach up and slap my chest. A burst of air pressure expands the wingsuit into position, and I’m gliding once again, though this time I think I would prefer a jet pack.

I can’t look up, but I can see the base of the John Hancock Tower crumbling, as the rest of the tower falls above me. I shoot past the front of the tower, just one hundred fifty feet from the ground, moving at 50 mph.

Suddenly, a desk falls past me.

Then a chair.

Reams of paper flutter in front of me, and I crash through them.

A thunderous roar sounds out behind me, but I can’t tell if its Maigo, or the lowest part of the falling tower striking the ground. Then, I’m out of the tower’s shadow and in the glow of the sun.

But I’m also still falling from the sky. I look for someplace soft to land. If I lean back, I can slow my decent to 40 mph, maybe a little less, and that might be survivable if I don’t smack into the side of a building. Or a car. Or just about anything else. All I see ahead is a very solid looking, spiky church, a line of parked cars, running people and a few small trees that I think might hurt more than the pavement.

Then the red blur returns and this time I look.

It’s Woodstock!

The red chopper descends alongside me, matching my angle and pace.

The side door slides open and Collins waves me over.

I tilt my body in their direction, but as soon as I get close, I can feel the rotor wash pushing me down.

I glance forward.

I have seconds before I hit the ground like a very soft meteorite.

I widen my wings and lean back for just a moment, bringing me right next to the chopping blades. If a breeze hits the side of the chopper right now, or me, I’ll be hacked to bits. Before that can happen, I lean forward, bringing me just below rotor level. I tilt hard to the left. I fly under the blades and am quickly flung down, but I’m ready for it and reach out. When I slam into the chopper’s right skid, I clasp onto it like a giant sloth. When I feel my legs slipping off, I reach over the skid, and slap the button on my chest twice. The pressure fades and the wings retract.

As we level out, Collins reaches down and helps me up into the chopper. Once inside, I collapse into her arms, exhausted and out of breath. As she holds me tight in a way that says, “I’m not letting you go,” I feel safe, but I’m not yet sure we are.

I slip on a headset. “Take us up. I want to see.”

We rise up to five hundred feet, which is far higher than any building remaining in Boston, and I catch sight of Maigo.

Her new, white body is less bulky than her previous form, but also less protected. The first thing I notice are several splotches of red blood. The second thing is that this new form is also much more agile. As missiles rain down from the sky, she runs through the ruins of the city like a giant cat. Her thrashing tail takes out any buildings still standing as she follows her path of destruction back toward the South End and the ocean beyond.

I hear her roar in pain as a missile strikes one of the wings, which is folded against her back. A cloud of sparkling white erupts from the blow, fluttering back down to Earth. Then she’s in the ruins of the South End, sheltered somewhat by the buildings still standing on either side.

Missiles give chase, striking her back and the surrounding buildings. I don’t think anyone is worried about collateral damage any more.

When she reaches the water with a massive splash, I find myself mentally urging her on. I know I shouldn’t. She’s killed a lot of people. But somewhere in there is an innocent girl who was merged with an ancient goddess, or alien, and given the chance to exact vengeance, or justice as the case may be. With Tilly dead, we might not ever see her again.

Maigo lopes through the ocean, leaping up and forward, paying no attention to the jets now chasing her. Then, with one last leap, she dips her head forward and slides beneath the water of Boston Harbor. Her glowing white form looks turquoise in the shallows, then dark blue, then nearly a mile out to sea, she slides into the dark depths of the ocean and disappears.

I look down at the smoldering ruin of a city.

Boston has been destroyed.