Bikini Kaiju - Ch 2

A little step back from last week's opener – this was the original opening to the story, giving you a feel for the Bikini old guard... Meet Steel Ruth!

***

Climbing the mountain steps, the tour group remained in surprisingly good spirits, considering one of them was about to die. Ash Lee had been paying more attention to her travelling companions than the exotic location, fascinated by their drive to come here at all. The twenty-seven people on this trip, including her, had endured a lengthy flight to the Marshall Islands, and another six-hour boat journey to reach Steel Island itself, all at great expense. They’d then hiked three hours to reach this path, ascending five hundred feet in the heat, all to get close to an actual monster. All with the guarantee that one of them was not coming back.

They were skipping along in cheery denial that it would be someone else – making jokes out of it, if mentioning the famous island tax at all (“At least whoever’s chosen won’t have to make the journey back!”). A one-in-twenty-seven chance made reasonable odds, Ash supposed. Though she doubted the odds were evenly spread: at least half the group were well into retirement age, not exactly choice meat. The rest included a group of wealthy young backpackers who hadn’t yet learnt they weren’t invincible and a trio of mixed-aged Sentinel super fans who claimed they’d be honoured to be chosen (but hadn’t made such comments since arriving). Then there was Ronnie, a lone photographer who’d been trying all his moves on her, and Ash herself, both young and fit enough to be appealing sacrifices.

“Almost there, eh?” Ronnie said, huffing for breath. An archway approached and their guide was accelerating to get through it first. Ronnie smiled, a little forced. “Moment of truth, ha!”

Ash struggled to smile in response, not because of her own fear, but because she’d planned years for this. In fact, she suspected she was the only one here actually prepared for the prospect of being a sacrifice – if she was chosen, it would make things simpler.

“Mark my words, it’s just a gimmick.” Ronnie nudged her, way too familiar, and she gave him a dark look to warn him off. He didn’t notice. “Things they tell people to make it that much more mysterious. Adventure tourism and all that.”

Ash doubted he really believed that. The price paid for the Bikini Sentinels was, everyone knew, generally worse than what the popular media portrayed. But the spectacle, the beauty, the magic of it all all made the world willing to turn a blind eye. The same factors had brought them all here today, and made the group gather at the top of the steps with quietening anticipation as they waited for their guide, Doogan, to return.

His voice echoed through the tunnel in an unintentionally loud curse, “Ah, shit.”

Doogan had so far appeared irrepressibly cheerful, an American who’d taken all their money with the promise of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But Ash had seen his facade slipping when he thought no one was looking, and this was just the last in a series of indications that he knew what a farce this whole trip was.

His footsteps announced him returning through the dark, muttering in disappointment, until he stepped back into the light suddenly grinning with his hands clasped together.

“Who’s ready to see something amazing?” he said, in his best white-toothed voice. A real charmer. The group sent up a general cheer, wilfully ignoring the fact they’d all heard him upset.

“Follow me, then!” the guide hurrahed, and marched back into the tunnel. There was hesitation from everyone, so Ash took the lead, walking after him. They went through a long dark passage that hid the main event, no doubt deliberately built this way, so you came out on the sight all at once. The guide tried to temper expectations: “Now, you have to bear in mind that the Sentinels are people just like us. They have on days and off days, and they can be ordinary in their way, no matter how much hype we give them back in our little old world.”

Meaning whatever he was about to show them was not worth signing over all their savings and potentially their lives for.

“But behold, one and all, one of the wonders of our world!”

The tunnel exit appeared and they walked into the light to see for themselves. They parted along a gangway, pressing close to the rail to see into a crater in the mountain’s centre, overgrown with greenery and occupied by the most incredible creature any of them would ever see. Giant barely did her justice: the Sentinel, a human the size of a tower, sat with her knees up and back propped against a cliff anyone else would take a day to climb.

Steel Ruth. The least popular, least accessible and least friendly of the Bikini Sentinels, was as big and frightening as the pictures and video would have you believe. She was watching them as they exited the tunnel, her giant eyes on them, and Ash couldn’t suppress a shudder at such attention. But for the sheer enormity of her, the source of the guide’s irritation was also immediately apparent. In the posters and classic films, the Sentinels had always been things of great beauty, showing off gratuitous, perfect flesh and impossible curves. Their smiles glowed and a wink could break hearts. Here, however, was a woman in uncaring, unclean repose.

Ruth’s hair, cropped little longer than her ears, was a greasy mess, and her eyes were dark from too much alcohol and too little sleep – maybe both. Her famously fit, firm body was softer than it used to be, where it was even on show – her torso was mostly hidden by grimy old cotton, a loose-fitting grey sweater bigger than a ship’s sails, and she had on ragged linen shorts. Her legs were visible, at least, with calves bulging with a hint at her former power, her feet in beat-up leather sandals. She showed little sign of ageing, apart from lines around her tired eyes and mouth, yet in her sullen pose and dirty state she looked like a derelict.

The group took a moment, their collected surprise palpable. Ronnie’s camera remained hanging on his chest as he gawped, perhaps realising he wasn’t going to get anything like the giant swimsuit shots that had made photographers a fortune in the past.

“I give you Steel Ruth, ladies and gentlemen!” Doogan boomed, trying to make up for everyone’s uncertainty with additional enthusiasm. His voice echoed off the mountain walls as he spread his arms dramatically. “Ruth, my angel, our most beloved captain of the Sentinels, a very good afternoon to you!”

Ruth narrowed her eyes to take them in, and for a moment everyone was still, the guide’s cheer dissipating awkwardly. She leaned forward and the disappointment of her lacklustre appearance was shattered by the shock of acknowledging this giant was actually alive and moving. Everyone jumped back, gasping, as she shifted onto her knees and blocked the sky with her massive torso. Even crouched, she loomed hugely, and lifted a hand to run through her hair. Half the tour group were gripped by deep fear, tense and itching to run – it was written across their faces. Like any safari that brought you close to nature’s most dangerous creatures, the prospect of visiting a giant woman sounded exciting until you got close enough to appreciate she could actually eat you. For all she might’ve done for the world, there was no mistaking the predatory look in her eye, and at eighty feet tall, there were no predators as powerful as the Sentinels.

At least, none left extant in the world.

“Hey, everyone,” Ruth said, eliciting another handful of gasps. One older woman put a startled hand to her chest. The giantess’s voice rolled through them, though it was measured, feminine as it had been in the interviews. So the videos weren’t edited. It was hard to tell how much of the media surrounding these women was real – they’d always been a little too unbelievably ideal, despite their vast size. Still, a lot of the glamour was stripped away here.

Ruth raised a hand, big as a person, and wriggled her chunky fingers in a wave. “Thanks for coming, I guess. Always good to meet fans.” Her tone suggested the opposite, and her breath wafted over them with a definite tinge of spirits. She famously drank tankers of barely distilled alcohol, though Ash wondered how she kept supplied out here.

“And how are you today, our lovely Ruth?” Doogan shouted, making the giantess wince at his volume. He was overcompensating again, moving closer to show it was safe. “Enjoying the sun?”

“I was,” Ruth murmured, looking past him to the rest of the crowd. Ash chilled at her gaze, the hunger in the giantess’s eyes unmistakable – like choosing a dessert.

“I can’t, no!” one of the backpackers said, and everyone whipped around to see her pulling away, making a break for the tunnel. Her path was blocked by Doogan’s aide who’d been taking up the rear, an older man, big and stocky. He pushed her back.

“Hey, hey!” Doogan called. “It’s okay! She’s friendly. You came all this way, make it worth it.”

“Sure,” Ruth rumbled, sitting back with vague disinterest in the panicking girl. A couple of her friends whispered harshly at her, holding her back. They all knew the terms: now they were here, leaving before the price was paid would only guarantee your fate. There was no safe passage off this island for cowards. “So. Who’s got questions?”

Doogan encouraged people forward, picking on a lady whose name he’d learnt and encouraging her to speak. She nervously nodded, pulling out a piece of paper. Ash didn’t listen as she began to stutter inane questions that anyone could’ve found the answers to online. What did Ruth do in her spare time? Who was her favourite other Sentinel? What was the worst fight she’d been in? How would she deal with this, that or the other governmental concern? As Ruth gave bland answers, Ash hovered at the railing transfixed by her, wondering what it would be like to be consumed by such a monster. Crushed by her. How easily she could kill them all . . .

Ronnie nudged her along, to get a better angle as he finally started taking pictures. He relaxed into it as he shifted about, deciding this was, in fact, still a great opportunity. As Ruth made casual conversation, the others started relaxing too, and more questions flowed. People took turns moving to the front, posing as others took their photos with the giantess in the background. Ruth barely posed in return, only glancing their way when asked but otherwise leaning against the cliff again, clearly waiting for them to leave. Ash wondered if Ronnie might be right after all. Maybe the stories were just invented about the island’s price: dangerous as this monster was, she’d barely seemed interested that they were there.

“Could you come closer?” Ronnie called out. “Or stand. I’d love to get a shot of you against the sky!”

Ruth’s brow went up, as though surprised by the audacity of such a request. But she rolled her eyes and stood, drawing another collective gasp from the crowd. The panicked girl had settled down to stare with bulging eyes. Ash felt her own panic rising. She was looking up at an actual titan, an impossibility. Nothing could bring these monsters down: only one Sentinel had ever been killed. Who did she think she was, that she could change that?

It was equally impressive to see the giantess crouching again, making the group split with some creeping closer, awestruck, as others retreated. She rested a hand on her knee and hummed to herself with consideration.

“That enough for you?” she asked, and Ronnie laughed, clicking away with his camera.

“Oh, I could never get enough of this!”

Ruth’s eye went to Doogan, who smiled and nodded, the relief clear again under his false happiness. It’d been maybe twenty minutes now, and was apparently satisfied it’d been a successful visit. He turned to the travellers and raised his hands, “Okay, everyone. Our beautiful Sentinel here needs her rest.”

Complaints erupted as a couple of guys tried to ask more questions and Ronnie sped up with his camera. Ash shifted away from the others, watching warily. This was the moment of truth. She puffed herself up, trying to appear noticeable, as an argument erupted – a backpacker took the lead in insisting they should have at least another ten minutes. Doogan’s man by the tunnel watched miserably. Probably the same situation every time they came.

“Come on now!” Doogan laughed. “You’ve seen more than most people ever get a chance to – cherish this!”

Ruth’s eyes fell on Ash and for a moment their gazes locked. She felt a fresh spark of fear, recognition in the giantess’s expression. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be here or to have any part of this. She didn’t want to get noticed, definitely not eaten. It was a bad idea, a foolish dream. Subtly, she drew her gaze down, towards the tunnel entrance. She mumbled to Ronnie that it was time to go. As she edged through the crowd, a woman shrieked.

Ash twisted back to see Ruth’s hand spreading above them, descending.

People pushed into each other and towards the platform edges. Doogan and his man struggled to keep them in line, blocking both the tunnel and railing, so a couple of people tripped over. Jostled about, Ash ducked, cringing with her hands above her head, as the giantess’s fingers pinched down at her. She shrieked, closing her eyes. Then she heard a startled shout, rising up, and opened them again to see Ruth lifting someone else off the platform, his legs kicking desperately. The giantess carried Ronnie up to her face, his waist pinched between her finger and thumb, and the crowd went terribly quiet as he bucked about.

“Stop, no!” He waved his hands before his face as Ruth eyed him. “You can’t – please!” There was no feeling in her expression, so he twisted towards the platform, appealing to everyone else. “Help me! Someone, help –”

It turned to a strangled cry as Ruth opened her mouth and shoved him in. Someone else screamed and a couple stifled shouts, but most of the crowd watched in rapt horror as Ronnie disappeared into her closing lips. Her cheeks pulsed and her jaw shifted as she lightly chewed, eyes going back to the platform.

“Stop her!” an older lady demanded of Doogan. “You can’t let this happen –”

There was a mild crunch as Ruth bit into Ronnie, cutting off his muffled cries. Ruth stared at the complaining lady as she swallowed. Like she wasn’t done yet. It made everyone go quiet.

“Ruth, now.” Doogan held up a hand. “We’re all friends here.”

“Mm,” she replied noncommittally.

The guide gave another false laugh. “That was a good one wasn’t it? Nice and young, healthy. And everyone here really appreciates your time. We’ll not keep you any longer.”

“Yeah. Alright,” Ruth said. She was still staring, though, her eyes finding Ash again. “But I’ve had a morning. I could use one more.”

“Okay, everyone, say thanks!” Doogan pushed towards the tunnel. “That’s time, let’s go!”

The crowd didn’t need telling twice, knocking each other down in a scramble for the tunnel, and Ash had to dart to one side to avoid being trampled. Doogan’s guide stood by the entrance, shoving people ahead, and he spotted her, eyes narrowing. She hadn’t been chosen, which meant it was time for Plan B. But Ronnie had just been eaten. It had actually happened. This was a mad, bad idea. She nodded, plans quickly falling away at the possibility of just leaving. Should never have come. She fell in at the back as everyone hurried away.

Doogan’s aide gave the briefest gasp and stepped away before Ash was pulled back, no time to react herself. She shrieked as her t-shirt was yanked hard at the neck, and she reeled around, thinking someone was trying to get ahead of her – but her feet lifted off the ground. The mountain rapidly descended as she was carried high over the crater, up to the giantess’s face.

Ash writhed in her panic, throwing her arms around and screaming, “Get off! Put me down!” But when she noticed the fall, rocks too far below to survive, she instead tried to reach up and back, for something to hold onto. The giantess’s head filled her vision, massive and terrifying, eyes inspecting her, as her finger and thumb pinched her t-shirt to hold her up, dangling free. Ash twisted, rotating, and saw only Doogan’s man and one other remained on the platform, watching fearfully.

“I’m keeping this one,” Ruth told them, and they both nodded and ran into the tunnel.

Ash hung there, heart stopping, alone with the monster that held her easily over the crater. But she firmed her resolve. She had her poisons. If she had to die, she’d take this beast down with her.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to eat you,” Ruth said, wearily reclining, making Ash sway as she carried her along. “At least, not until you tell me why you want me to.”