Godzilla vs. Kong by Greg Keyes (e books free to read TXT) 📗

and his daughter Madison. He understood why Mark was here, but Madison? Well, she tended to get into things, didn’t she? There was a story there, and he was sure he would hear it soon enough. Then he could tell his own story about how Walter Simmons had duped him into all of this, nearly destroying the world as they knew it…

Mark saw him and lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Nathan nodded back. Yes, he had screwed up—again. But he had also come through, this time. If he hadn’t jump-started Kong … anyway, things seemed to have all worked out, more or less. At least it was over.

Then the earth shook, and a familiar screech filled the air, and the gathering crowd screamed along with it. Nathan jerked his head toward the sound and there, emerging from the smoke, was Godzilla; bruised, injured, but very much alive—and headed right toward them. Or, more likely, toward Kong.

Jia got that right away; she broke free of Ilene’s grasp and sprinted toward the fallen Titan. Nathan and Ilene ran after her, managed to grab her and try to hustle her out of the way, but by then Godzilla towered directly above them.

That woke Kong, though. He pushed himself up, doggedly determined to finish the fight if he had to. He lifted the glowing axe and bellowed at Godzilla. For a moment they stood like that, two Titans from a lost age, the only survivors of an ancient war, face to face.

Then Kong looked down at the axe. He let it slip from his hand. He straightened a little and regarded Godzilla.

Godzilla held that gaze for a moment. Nathan felt as if he was watching something important, something passing between the two Titans. Then, with a slight growl, Godzilla turned and began walking seaward, unleashing a roar of triumph. Kong joined in, pounding his chest, and together they created a strange—well, if not harmony, at least a welcome cacophony.

At the water’s edge, Godzilla paused, looked up at the sky, then turned back toward Kong. Kong acknowledged with a huff, and then they all watched as Godzilla vanished beneath the waves.

EPILOGUE

In the most ancient times, animals and people did not live on the surface of the earth. They lived below the ground with Kaang, the master of life. People and animals were the same then and lived together peacefully. Although they lived underground, there was always light and plenty to eat.

But Kaang desired that they should move to the World Above. And when this happened, everything changed.

From a tale told by the San People of Southern Africa

Kong Monitoring Station, Hollow Earth,

Two Months Later

Ilene Andrews had spent the morning studying a form of proto-writing inscribed on ruins that preliminary dating suggested were older than the Sumer civilization by ten thousand years. If she was right, that made it the oldest form of graphic communication ever to be discovered. And they had only been back in Hollow Earth for a couple of weeks. Who knew what she might discover in a month, two months, a year? At this point, it wasn’t even clear to her who or what had made the inscriptions. Ancient humans, possibly, or some race of beings entirely unknown to science. This was the place where the myths came from, after all—the prototypes of the gods, the demons, the monsters, the heroes. The tales of hell and paradise and everything in between.

Behind her, she heard a slight sound and turned.

Good morning, Jia, she signed. Good morning, Nathan.

She smiled. Behind them, the Monarch team was still setting up equipment, for what was to be an ongoing, open-ended project. They had been fully funded this time, and she meant to make the best of it.

Good morning, Mother, Jia signed.

I am incontinent, Nathan signed. Ilene smiled wider, then laughed.

“What?” Nathan said. “Did I get it wrong?”

“Has Jia been teaching you?” Ilene asked.

“Yes, I…” He broke off. “Okay,” he sighed. “What did I just say?”

“Nothing we can’t iron out later,” Ilene replied. “Come on, how about a walk?”

“That sounds good,” Nathan said. But Jia tugged on his arm.

“Right,” he said. He took his walkie-talkie off his belt and spoke into it. “All right. Is he ready for his morning walk?”

A moment later, Kong landed ahead of them with a tooth-rattling thud. He turned back, and for a moment he and Jia stared at one another. Then Kong raised his hand.

Home, he signed. Then, with a happy roar, he swung off ahead of them.

He is home, Ilene thought. Then she glanced over at Jia. And so are we.

In the distance she heard Kong beating his chest, and his triumphant cry echoing through the valley.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to my editor, Sophie Robinson and copy editor Sam Matthews. Kudos to Natasha MacKenzie for getting the cover design together in record time. Thanks once more to Legendary and Toho for such a great playground to cavort in. Special thanks to Jann Jones, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Jay Ashenfelter, Zak Kline, Robert Napton, Barnaby Legg, Josh Parker, Brooke Hanson, Rebecca Rush, Spencer Douglas, and Chris Mowry. Thanks to Adam Wingard, Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein, Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, and Zach Shields for such excellent source material.

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