Kaiju

Roiling water to starboard was the only warning they had. Then the surface erupted into a geyser, and an enormous shape loomed over the ship’s bow. Men screamed and fled, to port, to aft, toward the hold. It didn’t save them. The creature’s giant, scaled hand slammed into the deck, and the ship listed, sending men sliding into the rail and over the side.

Then the hand slid toward the stern, slapping bodies into the superstructure, where they shattered and died. A massive head, almost snakelike, bared sharp teeth, dipped, and gulped a mouthful of saltwater and sailors from the ocean. Water poured from the sides of the monstrous jaws, the creature gulped, and the sailors were gone.

This seemed a mere appetizer for the monster, and it redoubled its assault upon the ship. Decks buckled, rails crumpled, and the superstructure keeled, bent nearly in half. One man braced himself and shook his fist up at the creature, shouting, “Curse you, kaiju!” The creature responded by grabbing him and shoving him in its mouth as a sort of macabre amuse bouche.

The carnage continued as men stormed back up to the decks from the hold, armed with pistols and spear guns. They attempted volley after volley from the yawing ship, but as many rounds hit their crewmates as the kaiju. Those that did impact against the armored body had less effect than a mosquito’s bite. The kaiju simply leaned down and allowed its tongue to gather the next course, immune to their threats and pleas for mercy.

At last, nothing remained standing on the deck. Sated, the kaiju turned and slammed a crocodilian tail down at midship. The force cracked the hull almost in two, and the cargo ship began to settle into the sea. In minutes, it was gone, buried beneath the waves.

The kaiju let out a resounding hoot, and two smaller heads broke the surface to crowd around it. Gently, the enormous head lowered to each of the other two, feeding them much like a bird with its chicks. When the young had stomachs filled to bursting, the kaiju stretched out just beneath the surface, and the juveniles clambered onto its back.

Sinuous as a snake, the creature swam away, parental responsibilities settled for the time being. There would be other ships and other crews, and soon it would be time to teach the young to hunt. But for today there was simply the pleasure of a hearty meal.

An hour later, the sea stood smooth as glass. The only sign that anything at all had passed that way was a single wooden crate bobbing on the surface, sole testimony to the folly of man.