motionless now - only his eyelids fluttered, and his lips curled back, to reveal six-foot-long bone-yellow teeth.
The monster stood on his hind legs, chest-deep in the churning waters of the Sea of Japan. Though Will could not judge the depth of the water here, he figured it must be close to two hundred feet deep.
That would make Godzilla over three hundred feet tall! he realized with amazed terror. Streams of seawater ran off of Godzilla's hide, giving the monster a slick shine.
Then Will heard a huge, sustained rush of air. The creature must have just exhaled, he realized. Carefully, Will sniffed the air. An odor of fish and ozone permeated the atmosphere around the ferry. I can smell it , he said to himself.
Will was surprised to notice that Godzilla's body was not covered with scales - nor was it green. Instead, the creature was a dull charcoal black color, and his skin seemed gouged and pitted with deep vertical grooves. More than anything else, Godzilla's hide resembled the bark on an ancient oak tree. Will could swear that some of the grooves had barnacles, seaweed, and other sea life growing in the deepest furrows.
As Will watched, Godzilla slowly turned his mammoth body to the side. The huge spiked plates on his back slammed together, ringing like bronze church bells. This slow movement caused the water around Godzilla to churn even more.
Waves crashed against the damaged ferryboat with tremendous force. This action brought new screams of panic from the passengers, who still crowded the exits in a desperate attempt to flee from the monster.
Suddenly, there was another rush of air as Godzilla inhaled. Then a terrible, echoing roar smashed against Will's eardrums. As he covered his ears with his hands, Will's eyes rose until he was looking up at Godzilla's massive, feral head. To his shock and surprise, the great prehistoric monster seemed to be staring right back at him with a cold, reptilian gaze.
For a moment, the human and the monster locked eyes.
Then Will felt a tugging on his pant leg. He looked down. Soonji was clinging to his leg, her eyes wide, her tiny face pale with fear.
"Get down, Will," she whimpered, averting her eyes from the beast. "He sees you!"
* * *
The Maritime Self-Defense Force station near Hakata harbor in Japan was the first to receive the distress call from the Pusan ferry. Instantly, the duty officer sent out an emergency alert to the rescue choppers that were always on call.
Within minutes, three large, American-designed, single-rotor Sikorsky SH-60 "Seahawk" helicopters, built under license in Japan by Mitsubishi, were being powered up.
Also on the tarmac was a modified MH-53J "Sea Dragon" helicopter, bristling with antennas, with "Pave Low Enhanced" technology to enable it to lead a rescue or an attack in fog or in darkness. Like the rescue choppers, this highly advanced helicopter was always ready to launch at a moment's notice.
While the ground crews readied the aircraft, an officer burst from a nearby building, waving a clipboard in his hand. He ran to the MH-53J "Pave Low" helicopter's side door.
"Here are the exact coordinates of the ferry!" the officer cried over the sound of the spinning rotors. He handed the pilot the clipboard.
"Be advised -" the officer said, getting the pilot's attention by yanking on his flight suit.
"Yes!" the pilot barked impatiently, still studying his flight plan. "What is it?"
"The captain of the ship reports that he was attacked," the officer replied.
"Attacked!" the pilot said, both puzzled and excited. "Attacked by whom? The Communist Chinese? The North Koreans?"
"Worse than that." the officer replied.
* * *
Godzilla's roar echoed throughout the interior of the Pusan ferry, drowning out the screams of fear and panic.
"Come on... hurry!" Kim cried, tugging his mother's arm urgently. "We've got to get to the lifeboats!"
Kim's eyes, wide with dread, kept shifting from his fear-paralyzed mother to the panic-stricken crowds clogging
The monster stood on his hind legs, chest-deep in the churning waters of the Sea of Japan. Though Will could not judge the depth of the water here, he figured it must be close to two hundred feet deep.
That would make Godzilla over three hundred feet tall! he realized with amazed terror. Streams of seawater ran off of Godzilla's hide, giving the monster a slick shine.
Then Will heard a huge, sustained rush of air. The creature must have just exhaled, he realized. Carefully, Will sniffed the air. An odor of fish and ozone permeated the atmosphere around the ferry. I can smell it , he said to himself.
Will was surprised to notice that Godzilla's body was not covered with scales - nor was it green. Instead, the creature was a dull charcoal black color, and his skin seemed gouged and pitted with deep vertical grooves. More than anything else, Godzilla's hide resembled the bark on an ancient oak tree. Will could swear that some of the grooves had barnacles, seaweed, and other sea life growing in the deepest furrows.
As Will watched, Godzilla slowly turned his mammoth body to the side. The huge spiked plates on his back slammed together, ringing like bronze church bells. This slow movement caused the water around Godzilla to churn even more.
Waves crashed against the damaged ferryboat with tremendous force. This action brought new screams of panic from the passengers, who still crowded the exits in a desperate attempt to flee from the monster.
Suddenly, there was another rush of air as Godzilla inhaled. Then a terrible, echoing roar smashed against Will's eardrums. As he covered his ears with his hands, Will's eyes rose until he was looking up at Godzilla's massive, feral head. To his shock and surprise, the great prehistoric monster seemed to be staring right back at him with a cold, reptilian gaze.
For a moment, the human and the monster locked eyes.
Then Will felt a tugging on his pant leg. He looked down. Soonji was clinging to his leg, her eyes wide, her tiny face pale with fear.
"Get down, Will," she whimpered, averting her eyes from the beast. "He sees you!"
* * *
The Maritime Self-Defense Force station near Hakata harbor in Japan was the first to receive the distress call from the Pusan ferry. Instantly, the duty officer sent out an emergency alert to the rescue choppers that were always on call.
Within minutes, three large, American-designed, single-rotor Sikorsky SH-60 "Seahawk" helicopters, built under license in Japan by Mitsubishi, were being powered up.
Also on the tarmac was a modified MH-53J "Sea Dragon" helicopter, bristling with antennas, with "Pave Low Enhanced" technology to enable it to lead a rescue or an attack in fog or in darkness. Like the rescue choppers, this highly advanced helicopter was always ready to launch at a moment's notice.
While the ground crews readied the aircraft, an officer burst from a nearby building, waving a clipboard in his hand. He ran to the MH-53J "Pave Low" helicopter's side door.
"Here are the exact coordinates of the ferry!" the officer cried over the sound of the spinning rotors. He handed the pilot the clipboard.
"Be advised -" the officer said, getting the pilot's attention by yanking on his flight suit.
"Yes!" the pilot barked impatiently, still studying his flight plan. "What is it?"
"The captain of the ship reports that he was attacked," the officer replied.
"Attacked!" the pilot said, both puzzled and excited. "Attacked by whom? The Communist Chinese? The North Koreans?"
"Worse than that." the officer replied.
* * *
Godzilla's roar echoed throughout the interior of the Pusan ferry, drowning out the screams of fear and panic.
"Come on... hurry!" Kim cried, tugging his mother's arm urgently. "We've got to get to the lifeboats!"
Kim's eyes, wide with dread, kept shifting from his fear-paralyzed mother to the panic-stricken crowds clogging
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