TITAN RISING: EPISODE 1 "TITAN AWAKENING" -Reboot-

TITAN 

Episode One 

TITAN AWAKENING

Written by: Henry Winston Ball 

Part 1 

“Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.” 

~Francisco de Goya~ 

Part 2 

“Monsters are not contrary to nature, because they come from divine will.” 

~Isidore de Seville~ 

Part 3

“The beginning and ends of shadows lie between the light and the darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow.” 

~Leonardo DaVinci~

Part 1: 

Singapore Naval Base 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 26th, 2013—-6:00pm (local time) 

“So let me get this straight,” the Singapore naval officer said in his raspy English. He put out his cigarette in the ashtray that was surrounded by the array of paperwork that was on the table. The small office felt more like an interrogation room and the matter at hand didn’t help the the atmosphere. “The reason for our ships going down in the past few days is all because of some lost deep sea dinosaur? Are you shitting me?”  

Rick Winston, a man of thirty-eight with dirty blonde hair wore a green button up shirt that looked like it hadn’t been washed well and ripped jeans that also desperately needed a wash. Rick was exhausted and had only been in Singapore for a few hours since he left Guam but hadn’t even been to the hotel for his much needed shower. “Look, I know it sounds mad as hell, but its out there. That creature is really out there and its unlike anything that has ever been known. Its is responsible for all the strange occurrences. You should lower shipping traffic in these waters till we can find it again and figure out exactly what is going on.” 

“Mr. Winston,” the naval officer sneered, “It has been four days since the US Navy picked you up in the waters of Guam and we have been alerted of your report. Its why we flagged you and your group when you came to Singapore. We were told if there were problems, we should contact you. And well we now have problems. Fishing boats are missing. I have rescue parties also disappearing. Knowing who your father was, I thought his son would be able to help me out a little more. Not be some, how do you say? Crackpot.” 

The mention of Rick’s father, David Winston, stung the man in his chair. Rick had to keep calm even though all he wanted to do now was to punch the man in the throat, leave this office, and take a shower. Rick still had mix of feels mourning for his late father while at the same time he felt bitter to the man since he started to question if his dear old dad had played a hand in this disaster. 

“You are looking at it all wrong. What I saw out there in the Pacific was nothing you or anyone else could imagine was real. I’m still trying to come to terms with it, but I can’t deny what I saw. Its real. And  you really think that just because no one has seen it  yet that it can’t be out there? We have no idea how long this thing has been living or if for all we know it could have been swimming in this area weeks ago. You think its pirates? Or strange weather. Or maybe even think its related to the Dragon’s Triangle. I’m a respectable scientist you dumb bastard! I’m trying to help you!” 

The officer coughed in silence and Rick took a breath in. He had gone a little to far with that, “Sorry. Haven’t really had to to grieve for my father. Did the missing ships report in anything before they went missing?” 

“No,” the officer said shaking his head, “there was always a large amount of static before the ships cut off. Its been known that pirates can sometimes jam the radios before boarding.”

“But don’t you think there have been no attempts to contact authorities for ransom? Have you considered that its related to the mass beachings of marine life?”  

“You think those dead dolphins and sharks on the beaches is a clue to the missing boats?” the officer said raising his voice, “Because that sounds nuts!” 

“Does it? Something is different in these waters,” Rick shot back, “Maybe you should dismiss everything! I saw the damned thing. It sunk my boat and killed my father. If it should ever come to land, who knows what it is truly capable of!” 

“Well,” the official mutter, “I think I’m defiantly going to dismiss you. I’ve heard enough. There is a cab outside waiting for you to take you to where you are staying. I hear that the insurance you got from your boats sinking was a pretty good figure. The fullerton with the clothes you are wearing? You should feel so lucky. Have some time to grieve.” 

Rick got up and headed for the door. Not looking back he muttered under his breath, “Asshole.” 

“Doctor Winston,” the officer said. 

Rick shivered at that, feeling like a parent was calling him by his full name to announce he was now in serious trouble, “Yeah?” 

“I would recommend some therapy when you get back to the States. Whatever happened to you out there off Guam, looks like it took its toll. I mean, your father dies in a submarine and you blame it on a dinosaur?” 

Rick nodded and smiled, “I’ll think about it.” He turned and his fake smile faded into anger. The man had no right. Rick knew what he saw. With a clenched fist and the feeling of tears leaking down his face, cleaning off the smudges of dirt that were etched there. He stopped in the clean halls of the Naval office and could see at the end of the hall the sunsetting across the city of Singapore. But all he was trying to do was shake it off. The memories. The thought of that night. The storm. The thing at the bottom of the sea that was so horrible took his father away from him. 

And the worst thing was, it was starting to feel like it was all meant to be. 

————————-

Fishing Boat “The Little Dolphin” 

The Singapore Straight—6 Miles out from Bintan Island 

April 26th, 2013—-7:00pm 

<Papa,> the little ten year old Chinese boy said, <are we going home soon?> The father and son duo sat in a rinky little boat in the setting sun waters of the the Singapore Strait. The father turned to face his boat who sat against his own weathered back, <Yes son. Sorry the fish weren’t biting as well as they should have.> 

<It’s okay Dad,> said the boy and looked out to the horizon, <It’s probably because of the dragon.> 

The father shook his head, <Oh no not this again.> 

<But father! I tell you! I saw it from the beach last night again!> 

<It was a dream. You were asleep. Dragons don’t really exist.> 

<But I saw it! It scared all fish away!> 

<So its he who is scaring the fish away. And I thought it was all those boats earlier,> his father laughed. He didn’t believe his son’s fairy tales but as he gazed at the waters around them, experience nudged him that there was something wrong. Especially of late. The local bar was a buzz with sailors talking about weird and powerful wakes, scarce fishing, and even apparently there as been talks of little tremors and the fear of a tsunami has been on some minds. 

<I’m telling you Dad,” the boy said, interrupting his father’s thoughts, <the dragon is out there.> 

The father smiled and turned to ruffle his boy’s dark black hair, <You sure do have an active imagination. Maybe you’ll be a writer and do movies.> 

<But Dad,> the boy pouted, <I want to be a fisherman like you.> 

The man’s sun wrinkled face went into a bigger smile, even though as he made a glance back to the direction of land and the thought of what was waiting for them there. It had been two years since his wife died in the boating accident and it tipped their already struggling lifestyle into the pits. The only saving grace among the bills and managing to at least have some food the end of the night where the moments like this, where the fishing was bad but the love for his son was still going strong. With all that though, he did hope that maybe his son would maybe pureue a life outside of this dingy and in the much grander world around them. 

<Alright son,” he said and leaned over to their ricky boat engine, giving it a few cranks before the dulled roar of motor blades shattered the waters behind them, <Lets go home and cook some rice up with that dried fish we have.> 

<Yeah!>, the boy giggled in delight. 

The boat began to move forward towards the man land, cutting across the red bleached waters of the strait that reflected an almost cloudless evening. Sea spray hits both their faces and the two look at each other and smile. Nothing could ruin this moment the father thought. Something caught his eyes ahead of them and he slowed the enjoy to look. The two watched as the water seemed to rise ahead of them. At first he thought it was a wake but there were no other ships to be seen.  

<Dad?> whispered the unease in his son’s voice. 

<Ong>, his father said in a whisper back, <It’s going to be okay.> 

The boy smiled back. That was the last image he saw of his son before the giant emerald tail erupted out of the water and smashed the boat. The gigantic alligator like tail disappeared back into the murk and left only two bodies amongst the debris of what was once the livelihood of a father and son. 

_______________

The Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 26th, 2013—-10:30pm 

The hotel door opened into the lavished Fullerton suite with three people who moved in the slight sway of cheap booze’s song. The young women in the group flipped a switched to show the well crafted room that was that was pretty undisturbed except for the raggedy damaged duffle bags. The three persons themselves did not reflect their almost clean environment. The two men one could easily see the stained sweat that darkened their clothes armpits. The woman, in her tank top also had stains and her hair had attempted to look clean. Even though they where exhausted after their trip from Guam, they did take some time to enjoy the night life that Singapore could provide. 

“What a night,” The man in the brown stained shirt said. 

“Yeah,” the man in the tattered blue long sleeved shirt replied and looked at the woman slyly, “What a night indeed.” 

The girl ignored his looks and smiled at the brown shirt, “Zach! You were wild! Getting that girl’s number!” 

Zach gave a shy grin, “Well we will see. I’m sure she is more interested in that I’m an American than anything else.” 

“I mean though, how are you sure it was a woman in the first place,” the man in the blue shirt chimed in. 

“Because Sean,” a voice in the kitchen said, “you are thinking Thailand. Singapore has a little more grace.” 

The three looked towards the room’s little kitchen to see Rick leaning over newspapers and notebooks as he drank a cup of tea. From the looks of Rick, he was a man running on fumes and the girl moved quickly towards him. 

“Rick,” she said, embracing him in her arms, “I didn’t know when you would be back. I was getting kind of worried.” 

“I got in an hour and half ago. Got your note,” he said and looked at the three, “I see you guys had a good time at the bar.” 

“It was interesting man,” Sean said as he moved into the kitchen, “looking forward to another beer though.” 

“I would honestly kill for some wine,” Zach said. 

“All of that will be waiting for us stateside,” Lilly said with a grin. 

“When we get stateside,” Rick said, putting his cup down and going back to his notes and newspaper clippings, “I don’t know if I should leave quite yet.” 

“The naval office didn’t go so well,” Lilly asked. 

“Not really,” Rick responded as he was looking at an article about a shipping boat two days ago disappearing under strange circumstances, “the officials here think I’m a nut job for my facts.” 

“You told them about that,” Lilly whispered, “thing.”
“Well of course,” Rick replied, “Wouldn’t you?” 

Lilly, Zach, and Sean grew quite and Rick stopped his researching and looked at them all, “Really?! After everything we’ve been through. Everything we saw. You guys still—” 

“Look,” Zach interrupted, “We don’t know what we saw. Sean and I where busy securing the lifeboats while you where getting Lilly from the deck. We don’t know what you saw up there. If there is something, you should just let the authorities deal with it.” 

“We shouldn’t mess with that thing,” Lilly added. 

“But look,” Rick responded and started frantically grabbing newspaper clippings, “Mass beachings of marine life. Shipping boats disappearing. Freak electrical disturbances. The waters of Indonesia have been especially crazy since that night on the Marinas Trench. My dad would have gone in a dingy by now to see whats up.” 

“Your dad might have known about it all along though,” Lilly said. She saw Rick’s whole body tense. She tenderly held his hand and noticed he was slightly shaking. Glancing at his face, the confident man she was falling far all over again was now on the verge of cracking. Nothing had been the same since his father discovered it in Challenger’s Deep. When it killed his dad, Lilly saw the man who was once so eager to follow in his own father’s footsteps seemed to be just, breaking apart. The insanity of that night would forever haunt him and her. For she would never forget that thing that rose out of the depths. That creature’s primordial eyes and its roar. That god awful roar. 

“Have you slept at all dude,” Sean said as he moved Rick’s tea cup and replaced it with a beer. Rick look at his friend with confusion and Sean shrugged, “It seems like you need one more than me.” 

“What he needs is some sleep Sean,” Lilly said. Sean gave her a look that no one else seemed to notice. His eyebrows went up as his face seemed to be slightly frustrated with Lilly. She shook her head no as she took Rick’s hand and started leading her boyfriend up towards the second floor bedroom suite. Rick looked towards his research but Lilly gave him another tug, “No. You are going to have a bath and then we are going to sleep. You need more than anyone.” 

Rick was about to argue but he thought for a moment and closed his eyes, “Yeah. You are right.” 

“Always am,” Lilly smiled. 

The two went up the stairs as Zach and Sean looked on drinking beers. When Rick and Lilly went beyond sight Sean sighed. 

“You okay?” Zach said. 

Sean took another swig of beer, “The world is crazy Zach.” 

Lilly ran Rick’s bath as she watched her man undress and get into the warming water. He looked like he was about to get knocked out just from the sheer bite of the heat that nibbled away the tensions she could see where holding him back. “You coming in babe?” Rick ask. 

“In a minute. I want to get those bathrobes out of the closet for us to wear when we are done.” 

Rick smiled and closed his eyes as the running water soaked his weary bones. Lilly left the porcelain bathroom and into their bedroom. She looked out the window and gazed at the bay, feeling the weight of the past few days hit her hard. She was still an average journalist and the only reason why she was here was because she knew Rick personally and her magazine wanted an exclusive with the manned expedition to the Challenger’s Deep dive. She still couldn’t believe he agreed to it with the knowledge of their past relationship where she left him heartbroken. If he knew the whole truth of that matter, he probably wouldn’t have let her even set foot on that ship. But what happened happened and in the end there was just chaos in her head, her boyfriend, and in the dark waters of the Pacific Ocean. 

She took a breath and began to undress in the harbor lights that leaked into the window. Her ragged tank top fell to the floor to reveal her luminescent skin that soon became bare as bra and underwear also feel to the clean floor. She stood naked in her room and for a brief moment, despite her vulnerableness, felt a calm wash over her. A weak smile formed as she turned and walked back into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. The monsters of the real world would have to wait as two lovers raced to climax and momentarily forget the situation they where apart of. 

The situation that would soon make the entire planet apart of. 

With the climax of bathwater and the swirl of passions that where now rekindling, Rick and Lilly felt that the issues of the world were just blurs, hidden behind their steamed bathroom mirrors. Getting out of the water, the two dried each other off and put on the soft white hotel bathrobes that Lilly had put out for them before going and laying on their bed. Lilly placed her head on his chest, listening to his breathing. 

“This is nice,” she whispered. 

“Mhmmm,” Rick muttered. 

She turned her head towards his and saw a face of a man who was relaxed, but still thinking  about something. She put her hand on his face and could feel the prickly stubble of his unshaven face, “Either you are thinking about making this a beard or you are worried.” 

Rick smiled, “Always thought about the beard. Maybe when we get back to the States.” 

“Oh,” she giggled, “I can’t wait to get to the States and put this all behind me.” 

There was silence between them. Lilly felt something was off since Rick was not enjoying the thought of home, “You do plan on going back tomorrow right?” 

“You mean today,” Rick said and pointed to the red glow of the side table clock. It was now midnight on April 27th, 2013. A new day. 

“Okay clever shit,” Lilly smirked, “Today. You still aren’t answering the question.” 

Rick turned his head and looked out at the bay and whispered, “I don’t know.” 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“I just don’t know.” 

“It killed your father.” 

“It was disturbed.” 

“And it destroyed our boat. We barely survived.” 

“Yeah.” 

“And if you are right, its been causing more problems.” 

“Which I probably am right about.” 

“Then why don’t we just leave?” 

“Because we saw it first. We should be the ones to alert the right people. People need to know that its out there.” 

Lilly shook her head and got out of bed. She walked over to the window and held herself, “I can’t believe you are trying to justify that thing.” 

“Its not a thing. Its an animal,” Rick said, following Lilly to the window. He stood behind her and didn’t know what to do, “Its what my father would have wanted.” 

“Your father probably knew of it,” Lilly muttered in spite. 

“What do you mean?” Rick responded his tone tinged with frustration. 

“I mean,” Lilly said as she turned around to face Rick, “You heard him. He wasn’t all too surprised about finding it. It was like he expected or even hoped to find it.” 

Rick was quite. She could see easily he was annoyed at where this was going to but she could tell he wasn’t holding back because he was angry at her. It was because she was probably right. 

“Your father got kind of mysterious near the end. And those last words before he you know,” Lilly added. 

Rick nodded, “I know. They still haunt me. What could he meant by that.” 

“That your dad may have been crazy.” 

“No,” Rick said and returned his gaze to the ocean, “He said ‘they’, Lilly.” 

“You think there could be more of them?” 

Rick shook his head, “Not to sound cheesy but the only way I can respond is with that Hamlet quote  that my Dad always used in shows about the weird and wild.” 

“Oh his infamous,” Lilly said with a grin, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than dreamt in your philosophy.” 

Rick smiled and pulled Lilly closer, “Thats not a bad impression of my dear old Dad.” 

“Too soon then?” 

Rick laughed, “Oh yeah. But another thing my Dad would want me to do is at least attempt to have a laugh.” 

“He may have been in the end crazy,” Lilly said as she leaned into their embrace, “But he was a good man.” 

The two looked in each other eyes as they could feel the horrors that surround them disappear appear once again into the shrouds of their passion. The climax of that feeling of warmth between them exploded as the two gave a kiss. As Rick closed his eyes to enjoy the senses given by Lilly’s lips, a new sense exploded into him when a giant boom erupted in the bay. Flames dances on the water as their bodies where now casted with the more primal light of fire amongst the Singapore lights. They both turned to look out the window and see that a small tanker had erupted into flames and appeared to be splitting in the middle. 

“What the fuck was that!” Lilly said as she grasped Rick tightly, “Terrorists.” 

Rick watched the burning ship in the bay and took a step back, “Not terrorists.” 

Lilly’s eyes went wide, “No. No. No. No. No.” 

Rick held her even closer, not altering his gaze of the giant emerald creature with large grey spines emerging from the wreckage of the boat, “Its here.” 

Before Lilly could speak, the emerald leviathan that stood nearly two hundred feet in the middle of the bay amongst the burning wreckage, let loose its primordial world and announced the reality that it would bring in its wake. 

Part 2: 

__________________

The Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, The Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—-12:15 am (Local Time) 

The world seemed to stand still as only flames and the thunderous roars of the giant dinosaur wading through the Marina Bay as Rick and Lilly stood in horrified silence. Rick held Lilly close as another roar of the dinosaur shuttered the glass windows. There it was. A monster.  A creature that was impossible against all science and belief.  Even from this distance, Rick could see it gigantic head that was like a t-rex’s but different, especially since it had tusks at the back of its mouth. A line of spines started from between its eyes and ran down the length of the nearly three hundred foot long creature. Its skin was an emerald green with black tiger like stripes streaking down jagged scutes that had small blue spines in its grooves. Its underbelly was plated with yellow armor and it had massive arms with two clawed fingers and what looked like a primitive thumb claw. Its elbow had a blue spike that shout of the joint. The creature was defiantly a dinosaur, but it was unlike any dinosaur Rick had ever seen in the fossil record. Its ferocious entrance was followed by a what looked like “cautious” gait of the creature heading to the streets of Singapore, bellowing what seemed to be either a challenge or an alert that it was coming. 

“Lilly,” Rick said and turned to look at her terrified eyes, “we gotta get out of here.” 

Lilly was quivering with fright, “Its real Rick. You were right. Its real.” 

Rick didn’t know what to say. There was a little bit of him that felt happy to be proven right. That the creature that had caused him so much grief was real. But there was the side of him that was scared. Horrified in the face of this beast of nature. An animal this big from a time so long ago was an unknown. With a roar like thunder and a over bearing presence; if he survived this creature’s first steps in the age of Man, he will see a world that will never make sense again. 

Still in their bathrobes, Rick and Lilly moved towards the stairs to get a better look in the living area’s larger windows. From the stairs, they could see Zach and Sean in nothing but boxers and their shirts from before staring at the spectacle outside. Rick noticed that again, Sean had another beer in his hand. 

“Well shit,” Sean said, “its real.” 

Zach looked at Sean and then over to Rick, “Due to this, we will be clearing out the mini-fridge.” 

“I think the mini-fridge is the least of our troubles,” Rick said and felt a sudden pain in his hand. Looking down, he saw that Lilly was squeezing it tight, “You okay?” 

Lilly nodded a ‘no’. 

Rick pulled her closer as the four of them watched as Tyrannus began to make landfall into Singapore. Water was still falling off the creature, falling off the gigantic girth of the beast. It was a walking rain cloud of salt water and teeth. 

“It followed us,” Lilly whispered. 

“Lilly,” Rick said, “It didn’t follow—-”

“IT FOLLOWED US RICK!” Lilly screamed, “Now what are we going to do?” ‘

“Nothing,” Sean muttered. 

“He is right Lilly,” Rick said, “where can we run from him.” 

“Him?” Lilly said, “Its a ‘he’ now!” 

“Does it matter,” Zach said, “What Rick says about it. What does matter is. What are we going to do now?” 

The four of them became silent. The world was changing so fast as they watched the dinosaur’s gigantic three toed foot come crashing down onto the pavement. Its march was uninterrupted. There was now a giant dinosaur in the city. 

Rick shook his head and thought, “Zach’s right. What can we do?” 

______________________

The Downtown Core 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—-12:25am 

The giant dinosaurs foot came down with a thunderous boom as 6,800 tons of muscle cracked the thick concrete of Singapore’s bayside road. It had been a long time since the verdant leviathan had felt land underneath its feet but the foreign sensation of his scaled underfoot feeling the concrete. It stopped and bent down low to smell the land. It had never felt something so hard or unnatural. The smell didn’t register to the beast and he snarled. The sense of sound soon was picked up in his ear like protrusions to and saw small two legged creatures screaming and running away from him. The creature shook his head. He didn’t like the sounds and smell of this foreign and strange place. Lifting his head back up, he took in the sight of what laid before him. Smells and sounds of what is known to others as the “human race” clouded his nostrils and ears. The sense of the pollution and overcrowding of the bipeds made the giant creature oddly angry. He didn’t understand, but the change of the world was so drastic than the times he remembered of land in his youth. One thing for sure, he didn’t like this world he had surfaced too. 

The dinosaur moved through the odd metal environment, his gigantic girth dwarfed by the tall and unnatural structures. He had never seen things like it before. They weren’t like trees, for he could see small trees growing on the sides of the black rock paths that laid before him. Bright lights where emitting all around him from the sides and below, making the creature that was so accustomed to the dark of the ocean uncomfortable. The giant animal was becoming stressed from the strange environment and he wanted to return back to his watery realm. Snarling, he continued due to instinct. The instinct that what he was looking for though was hidden deep in this alien landscape. 

Walking down to what is known to the human beings of Singapore as ‘Marina Boulevard’, the dinosaur hissed in annoyance as it seemed more foreign sounds where going out into chorus in the wake of the animal. A small impact rocked his foot and he looked down to see a strange colored metal shell and the small bipeds jumping out of it. Smoke fumed from the shell as it seemed broken against his gigantic clawed foot. The dinosaur roared and continued to move through the city, smashing more of the colored shells that lined the path with his girth. The noises of the chaos around him and heat of the explosions under him made the creature quicken his pace. The creature shook his head as a cool fold of translucent skin similar to the nictating lens of a crocodile allowed the dinosaur to see a the unfamiliar world in a different light. In a hue of blue, he could now see what he was looking for. His ‘prey’ was all around him, but one of the largest sources was buried deep underneath one of the towering structures ahead. With a roar, he continued through the forest of steel to hunt what seemed to him to frolic freely in this strange land. 

______________________

Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—12:45am 

“Look at that!” Rick said, “That stance! Its like he’s hunting for something?” 

“And we are in a city full of people,” Sean said, “so prey is easy pickings you sick bastard.” 

“Sean,” Rick said, “He isn’t going for the people. If he was he would be going down onto the streets. But the seems like he is heading for that tall building over there. I wonder what he is really looking for.” 

“Rick,” Lilly said, “That thing ate your dad. Don’t try and shake off that its a man-eater.” 

The group grew quite as they continued to watch the unimaginable path of horror in now tense air of the room. The creature was now going deeper into the concrete jungle that was Singapore’s Downtown Core. Flames bloomed amongst the buildings as fire light was starting to out shine city lights. News helicopters quickly started to hover in the sky trying to get coverage of the dinosaur’ advanced but clung in the distance. No one seemed to understand how to handle the incredibly surreal scene of this unchallenged living fossil ravaging one of the most modern of cities on the planet. 

And then Rick got the oddest of memories. 

It was his first summer in Montana after he and his Dad moved to Billings. Back then he was told it was because of the new job he got as a professor at the state college. When he got older, it was because his Dad wanted to get the hell away from his mother after the divorced. Rick didn’t know his mother well, but this memory wasn’t about her. He was about ten years old in a sandbox in the backyard of their new home. Rick saw his Aunt Carroll go inside and soon replaced by his father dressed in his “work clothes” of a satchel bag, a long sleeved collared shirt and jeans, coming out to see him. Rick smiled brightly amongst the sand and dinosaur toys that surrounded him. 

“Dad!” the young Rick giggled. 

“Rocking Rick!” his Dad affectionally laughed, “Did you miss me?”

Rick got up and ran to his Dad to give him a big hug, “Of course Dad! How is the new job?” 

“It was good,” his dad smiled, “And Aunt Carroll says you’ve got something to show me.”
“Yeah!” Rick said and eagerly grabbed his father’s hand, “Look what I did.” 

Rick lead his father back over the sandbox to show him what he made with his dinosaur toys and sand buildings, “Its a lost world! Like the one in that book your read me!” 

“A lost world you say?” his Dad said amusing, “Tell me about it.” 

Rick smiled, “See! The long neck brontosaurs are over there by the river and they protect the smaller dinosaurs from the big predator over there by those rocky outcroppings.” 

“Oh?” His dad looked over and saw the green T-Rex with his mouth open to give the appearance of roaring, “A tyrannosaur eh?” 

“Yeah! There is no one better than him!” 

“Oh really?” his Dad laughed, “I might have to differ with that.” 

Rick chirped up, “You telling me there is someone cooler than T-Rex?” 

“Oh no,” his father said shaking his head, “No one is cooler than T-Rex.” 

His dad then turned to his satchel bag and rummaged through it, “But I have someone who I think is equally as cool.” ‘

Rick curiously leaned over to be presented in front of a green dinosaur that had long arms, small line of spines down form his head to his tail, and most of all, this dinosaur had tusks. 

“Is that a henosaur Dad?” Rick questioned. 

“Yes sir!” his Dad laughed, “Living a dream to have my own Carnegie dinosaur! I present a Henosaur carolinas. It used to live on the East Coast of early Cretaceous America. See these tusks? Its a unique feature seen in the Henosaur family.” 

“Cool,” Rick whispered in excitement. 

“Wanna know whats really cool,” his Dad said and leaned in like he was telling a secret, “Its yours.” 

“What! Its mine!” Rick yelled as he took the dinosaur from his dad and admired the figure, “All mine?” 

“Yeah buddy,” his father laughed and ruffled his son’s hair, “Don’t lose it.” 

“I won’t!” Rick said, “He’s going to go right over there next to Rawr!” 

“Rawr the T-rex?” His dad smirked, “And what is that henosaur’s name going to be?” 

“Tyrannus,” present day Rick whispered to himself, “Its freaking Tyrannus.” 

“What?” Lilly said, “What are you talking about.” 

Rick turned towards his group and had a face like he just got all the answers in front of him, “I know what that thing is!” 

“Aside from a giant monster,” Sean sneered. 

“Yes, Sean. Its a henosaur.” 

“A henosaur?” Zach questioned, “You mean that species of dinosaurs your Dad discovered.” 

“Yeah,” Rick said and looked back in the direction of the monster, “It has all the characteristics. Long thick tail, lanky arms, jagged dorsal spines, and most of all the tusks. It has those tusks. I don’t know how it got so big, but there is high evidence that many henosaurs where semi-aquatic. Maybe this one is some kind of deep sea gigantism species like a giant squid.” 

“Does that mean there are more of them?” Lilly whispered in fear. 

Rick shook his head, “I don’t think so. I think Tyrannus is probably the last of his kind since we haven’t seen or heard of others.” 

“Tyrannus?” Lilly asked. 

“Its gotta have a name right?” 

“You can be a sick fuck sometimes,” Sean said, “You know that Rick.” 

“Whats got your goat dude?” Rick said concerned. 

Sean took a chug of his beer, “Do you know what my problem is right now?” 

“What?” 

“We were the lucky ones to survive the ship. My captain died because of this whole experience with the Seeker went down into the Pacific because of that thing. We are all stressed and now its back destroying the city and killing people. All the while you are this roller coaster of either really horrified or really excited that this thing is real.  Now you are giving it a name?” Sean turned and head towards his pants that lay on the coach, “This whole situation sucks and I feel like you are like your father’s son. You are enjoying this.” 

The room grew still and Rick’s enthusiasm died with the realization that Sean was kind of right. He was enjoying that he was right and the dinosaur was a Henosaur, proving a theory his Dad had that the lineage had survived passed the K/T event due to their semi-aquatic nature. But Sean snapped him back from a scientist to a human being. He looked back out and the roars and flames reminded him that there where people out there. And the realization that this Tyrannus was indeed a henosaur and didn’t help the feeling that his Father did, in his final moments of life, plan to unleash this creature into the world. 

The slight pressure of interlocking fingers snapped Rick back out of his head and to the room where he saw Lilly looking at him with worried eyes, “Rick. Its time to leave.” 

He nodded, “How long till you guys can get ready to go?” 

“Remember,” Zach laughed, attempting to cleanse the scene with some form of humor to the tensing situation, “We are the first survivors of the world’s first giant monster. We will pack our shared duffel in less than five minutes.” 

Rick gave a weak smile, “Okay. Ditto for us. Come on Lil.” 

Rick and Lilly walked together hand in hand quickly back up the staircase to their bedroom. Zach and Sean watched Rick and Lilly get out of sight behind closed doors. Zach then looked at Sean and shook his head, “You gotta let it go dude. Now is not the time for it.” 

“But he doesn’t know.” 

“I know he doesn’t know. But you heard what she said. She wants to give it a chance. He’s better off not knowing.” 

“Yeah,” Sean said, “Its still kind of stupid though.” 

Zach smiled and pointed towards the window, “No. Out there is kind of stupid. In here its just dramatic.” 

Sean looked at his friend and nodded, “Right. I’ll buy him a beer stateside.” 

Zach smiled, “Good. Now lets getting packing our one sock and the beers in the fridge. Its going to be a long night.” 

____________

The Downtown Core 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013——1:15am 

Tyrannus continued to move through the city towards his target that lie buried in the roots of the towering structure in front of him. As he got closer to the strange target, Tyrannus’ unfurled his lens and saw the building in front of him. He stared quizzically the creature that now suddenly stood before him. He sniffed and couldn’t get a scent amongst the fire and smoke, but there seemed to be another of his kind in front of him. It mimic his every move which frustrated him. Tyrannus hissed at the building’s reflective window and moved his arms in a territorial stance. Tyrannus’ reflection soundless did the same. Tyrannus issued a might roar as a last threat to his “challenger.” The creature did the same and Tyrannus, disoriented and stressed roared again, charging his reflection and clawed into the building. Glass and steel broke free as the giant creature ripped open the building, falling like rain onto the street below and the scurrying humans beneath him. 

Cars screeched to a halt, trying to avoid running people and the storm of debris that was now engulfing the city with the collapse of the skyscraper. A woman screamed in horror, frozen with fear to only be smashed by the downpour of steel girders. Her now lifeless body among others started to paint the broken street with a new color: blood. A steel beam smashed into a car’s front seat, instantly killing the parent trying to protect her still crying infant. The baby screamed in her car seat, only to be drowned out by the primal cacophony of Tyrannus. This was what the world was becoming. A clash between not just man and beast, but time itself. The prehistoric era was now seemingly at war with the modern age. Tyrannus continued to smash through the building as it collapsed onto the buildings behind it. Tyrannus smashed a foot through the building’s broken carcass with a triumphant roar. 

Unchallenged. 

No mercy. 

Tyrannus looked down into the wreckage, remembering that what he was hunting was now buried beneath what remained of the strange steel skeleton that was once a monument of human ingenuity. Unfurling his lens over his eyes once again, Tyrannus grumbled and begun to dig with his might claws through the debris. He was so close to what he needed. Once he got what he wanted, he would turn and return back into the ocean. The cool waters where a distant comfort and helped soothe the beast’s rush of prehistoric adrenaline. 

A loud and uncomfortable noise suddenly roared in the air, causing Tyrannus to look up form the building’s carcass for its source. The sound irritated him and roared in protest against it. The sound zoomed over his head and he soon then looked up into the night sky. He still couldn’t tell where the awful sound was coming from till he saw movement in the distant sky above. Three winged creatures seemed to be flying towards him. Even though it was hard to see them, Tyrannus thought it was odd that they were not flapping their rigid wings. The sound they made was now starting to hurt. Tyrannus was now outraged to be disturbed from his attempt at feeding, roaring a challenge to the oncoming flying things. As if in response, Tyrannus saw smaller flying thing detach from under the wings of his adversaries, which moved much faster than the other ones. He roared again and suddenly was engulfed in flame, the missiles impacting his body and washing him with flame and impacted pressures. Tyrannus’s head emerged from the ball of flame  and took a stop forward at the incoming jets. He reared back and let out the most powerful roar he could muster. Glass erupted from the buildings around him from the sheer magnitude of the roar. Tyrannus was no longer on the defensive in the strange land. He was pissed. He was angry. 

He was now on the attack. 

_____________

Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013——1:48am 

Packed and ready to leave, Rick and Lilly walked down from their room to see that Sean and Zach watching the television. They where trying to avoid looking out the window and see the war zone that was now Singapore. Tyrannus’ roar could be heard even from the Fullerton Hotel and Rick shook his head, “He sounds pissed.” 

Lilly and Rick sat down on the couch next to Zach and Sean, “What are they trying to do?” Lilly asked. 

“The air force has been rallied and they are getting the navy to prepare a blockade,” Zach answered. 

“Is it working?” Lilly asked. 

The news on the television showed the scene of the airstrike on Tyrannus with only the creature emerging from the flames and roaring more ferociously at the incoming jets. 

“Doesn’t look like it no,” Zach said. 

“Why didn’t that kill it?” Sean asked.

Zach, Lilly, and Sean then all looked at Rick for an answer. Rick turned in surprised, “What? I’m supposed to know all about giant monsters now?” 

“Well,” Zach said, “it is a henosaur. You and your dad are kind of the leading experts on the species and things.” 

Rick shook his head, “I don’t know. I mean. How can a specimen get to this size in the first place. I mean, sure we found it in Challenger’s Deep so it could be some crazy form of deep sea gigantism. Though,” Rick said as if something just hit him as an idea, “the pressure of the deep sea would mean that his body would have to be able to withstand a whole lot. And maybe the reason why it took him this long to make landfall was he was decompressing. He is in a way built to survive the most extreme environments. No wonder why those missiles didn’t work. His skin must be super thick!” 

“It was kind of rhetorical,” Sean said, “I mean. You don’t really kill the giant monsters in the movies now do you?” 

“I mean,” Rick said and felt a squeeze from Lilly’s hand. 

“Rick,” she said, “now is not the time.” 

He nodded as they continued to watch the news reporter do her best to describe the situation. She stood there trying to keep cool in what could be the craziest situation she had ever reported. 

“The creature is now in combat with the Singapore air force and seems to be ineffective against it. As it is trying to swat at the jets, we would live to advise our viewers who are watching that waterside areas are starting to get military evacuations. If unable to reach military evacuation sites it is recommend to find shelter as quickly as possible. The animal is unpredictable and well…..” 

Lilly shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to be her right now. She’s at a loss for words.” 

“And you wouldn’t?” Zach said to her. 

“I still am,” Lilly said, “I can’t even think of how I’m going to write about any of this.” 

“You are going to have to,” Sean said. 

Zach nodded, “Yeah. I mean, it won’t be a secret as soon as the press finds out where were there when the damn thing first appeared.”
“And you guys wanted to hide it,” Rick said. 

The three looked at Rick and said together, “Yes.” 

“Why?” 

There was no answer for suddenly the TV flashed with an emergency news broadcast. 

“What the hell,” Sean said, “What the hell could be more ‘breaking news’ than a giant dinosaur attack a city. Aliens?” 

As the special broadcast continued, Rick saw it was a live feed from Salt Lake City, Utah in the US. What that live feed showed was something that Rick was not expecting. 

“Oh my god,” he whispered. 

_____________________

University of Utah 

Salt Lake City, Utah (USA) 

April 27th, 2013—-12:00pm 

Jack Hudson sat in his seat unamused at his second block lecture on poetry in the 1920s. He couldn’t stand this course but it was what he need for a prerequisite for the more exciting writing workshops at the university. He gazed up at the clock that hung over his boring professor in the lecture hall. Half the reason he felt that the clock hung exactly there is simply to make people feel like they were paying attention to what the professor said about metaphors and similes. Drooping a little in his seat, he whisked out his phone from his pocket. Pulling up Samantha’s number, he sent her a text wondering if she wanted to meet up for a coffee after class. Or a quickie. 

And then suddenly the whole classroom shook when a sound that ran through all of Jack’s body. It was nothing like he had ever heard of. 

“What the hell?” He said to himself as everyone also seemed surprised by the sudden tremor. Before the professor could ask for clam another tremor shook the building. And another. And another. The students ignored the professor’s request for calm and their silent mutters became a loud rabble of rumors and hysteria. 

“Is it an earthquake?” 

“Terrorists?” 

“Rapture?” 

Jack hear many weird theories on what was going but the tremors continued to come. The professor started to yell for his students sit back into the seats when a gigantic pillar of flesh came bursting through the roof and crushed the front half of the class under its tremendous weight. A horrified Jack joined the other panic students to leave what part of the room wasn’t smashed. Quickly looking back, Jack saw the foot leaving through the hole it made and showed the ruins of the smashed front and the mangled bodies of a dead professor and students. 

The weakened ceiling began collapse as Jack and the other students left the room. Jack rushed to the window and saw what was the cause of this. It was massive and oddly familiar. The giant blue creature had large red plates and giant spines growing out of its shoulders. A long tail covered in spikes at the end it. 

“What the hell?” he muttered. 

With a gigantic bellow, the giant stegosaur creature announced its presence to not just Salt Lake City but to the world as a second unimaginable giant from a forgotten chapter of Earth’s history appeared in the world. 

Part 3: 

Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—2:30am 

A second attack. There was another giant monster being shown to the world via the news as the roars of Tyrannus could still be heard in the background of Rick’s hotel room. The live feed from Salt Lake City showed the gigantic blue skinned stegosaur that had large red dorsal plates that where darken black at their tips. Its skull Rick noted was much like normal stegosaurs, but it seemed to have large triangle shaped protrusions on its cheek bones. The animal also had long spikes coming out of its shoulder  that had a smaller spike settled under it. As the helicopter footage showed the gigantic size of this animal, its long tail that was equipped with eight spikes. The animal bellowed at the helicopter and began to walk away from the destroyed remains of the the university. 

“How is this possible,” Lilly muttered, “Now there is two of them.” 

Rick was still silent as he watched the red plated stegosaur begin its march into the the heart of Salt Lake City. Buildings where smashed like building blocks and fires where starting to erupt in the wake of the prehistoric giant’s wake. The news was issuing that there was no true information on where the animal came from, just simply that judging from its path it had come down from the mountains. The animal let loose another howl into the air though it seemed oblivious of the buildings that lay before it and the helicopters that buzzed around it. The animal was just moving and Rick felt that maybe it didn’t even care. The city was just another part of the landscape and that it didn’t seem to have the more motive gestures that Tyrannus was displaying when he entered the city. The final words of Rick’s father started to rush back at him when he heard them over the speakers on the boat. As most where freaking out at the giant of eye of what would be Tyrannus staring at the deep sea sub’s monitors, Rick listened to his father’s final words. 

“They were great than man. Greater than God. Their time has come to once again surface from the depths of this Earth. The awakening of Titans will begin anew.” 

Rick clenched his fists, “That son of a bitch.” 

“Rick?” Zach asked. 

“He knew,” Rick whispered and then held Lilly’s hand, “He knew about them. He knew there were more.” 

“What are you talking about?” Sean said. 

Rick looked at his friends and his face looked like he was furious but about to break down at the same time, “My father, Doctor David Winston, knew that these creatures existed. These two are just the start and who knows what will happen next.” 

A flash of light suddenly enveloped their hotel room that was soon followed by a crackling “BOOM.” It made Lilly jump as the power suddenly went out with only the light of the fires of a burning city to dance in the now blackened room. “What the hell was that?” Sean said. Rick got up and head for the window. He looked out and saw the jets suddenly crashing into the city blocks below. A tremendous roar from Tyrannus echoed through the area as three gigantic explosions destroyed more of the burning city that was Singapore. Zach came next to him holding his cell phone, “Won’t even turn on. What the hell is going ” 

Lilly came next to Rick as well and stood close to him, “Rick, what did Tyrannus do?” 

“Sean,” Rick said, still staring out the window. 

“Yeah,” Sean replied. 

“Go see if you can find some hotel personal. We have to evacuate the building.” 

“Why?” Zach said. 

Rick nodded, “Things just got worse.” 

__________________

Downtown Core 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013———2:15 am 

Just fifteen minutes before the Singapore blackout, Tyrannus was still battling the air force jets that continued to fly and drop bombs on him. Tyrannus roared in anger and snapped his tremendous jaws at the passing jets. Even though his strong skin was protecting him from any serious damage, the bombardments where defiantly stressing the giant animal out.  A hiss came from Tyrannus’ mouth as he moved out of the smoke left over from the latest barrage. He shook his head, trying to get focus and looked to the skies. He couldn’t see the three strange flying things that had been attacking him but the noise that they made could still be heard. It was disorienting him. He never liked load noises. Tyrannus just wanted to get what he need and leave. He growled in frustration and barked out more challenges against the aerial foes. 

Suddenly Tyrannus heard the booming noises of the jets as they flew in a tight formation and unloaded a barrage of missiles at Tyrannus’ side. Caught of guard, Tyrannus tried to defend himself but he was too slow to counter. The giant dinosaur screamed when the explosion of flames and impact pressures rattled his body. Tyrannus took a step but the explosions where too much and he began to fall on his side, smashing into a neighboring building that was close to the remains of the skyscraper that he had knocked down earlier. Dust and building rubble surrounded him and enveloped the collapsing building around the dinosaur. 

The jets circled over the remains of the building where only Tyrannu’s spines and his tail were exposed. Their deafening engines keeping Tyrannus from passing out entirely. The stress and fatigue of Tryannus made the creature feel so angry but at the same time helpless. He needed to defend himself and he knew how to. He took a sniff of air and it was getting hard to breath. The dust from the building clogged his nose causing Tyrannus to sneeze. The force of his sneeze ached his body. He was hurt from the assault as it felt that his ribs where squeezing his insides. Tyrannus opened his eyes and unfurled his secondary lens. He had to find what he was looking for, now more than ever. He had to find it, knowing it would be what could change the tide for the battle and allow him to survive this strange land long enough to return to the ocean. Even though he was still covered in debris, his secondary lens allowed him to see the invisible world and his prize. It was so close. It was right in front of him. He had to get up. He had to fight one more time. Tyrannus grumbled in protest to the pain that was rippling body and with a might push up from his long arms and legs, the colossal prehistoric monster erupted out of the rubble letting loose a powerful roar. His sudden appearance seemed to startle the his flying pests, seeing that their tight formation seemed to break apart. He would deal with them soon enough. Tyrannus took a few steps forward back to the metal skeleton of the building he destroyed, rubble still falling off his emerald scales. Tyrannus towered over a giant metal box that had tendrils running off from it. Sparks zipped and zapped around it, showing Tyrannus that he had found what he was looking for. He dove his head straight for the metal box and bit down hard, crunching the metal container as thousands of volts of electricity started to flow into Tyrannus’ body. Instead of hurting him though, the electricity was drawn to the unseen muscles that surrounded his vertebrate all the way to his tail, storing the electrical power. The small doubled rowed blue spines that lined next to the larger dorsal spines started to glow a light bluish hue. Tyrannus began to life his head and in doing so, ripped out the skyscraper’ electrical transformer; draining the last of the electricity that once powered the shimmering building. Throwing the metal container with his teeth to the side, Tyrannus turned to face the jets once again. Taking a step forward, the dinosaur reared back and let loose a war cry. While the roar of a bygone age rippled in the air, the small blue spines started to spark, shooting steaks of electricity into his much larger jagged dorsal spines. Electricity started to spark and dance around the spines, making their way towards his head. Tyrannus closed his mouth, feeling at the back of his throat the small bone that sat there starting to warm up. Tryannus looked dead ahead at the center jet and snarled, showing off his teeth that also started to seem to shoot small sparks of electricity. In an sudden instant, Tyrannus opened his toothed maw and a giant bolt of blue and greenish lighting erupted with a thunderous crack. It streaked through the air and made a direct hit at the lead jet which ruptured instantly as the biological lighting bolt ripped it apart, frying the pilot inside. The electro-magnetic force generated in the wake of the lighting bolt also disabled the other two jets, causing them to fall helpless in the air and crash down on either side of Tyrannus. The shimmering lights of the buildings suddenly also faded in the wake of the EMP caused by Tyrannus. The glow of the fires caused by the crashing jets illuminated the giant dinosaur in a shadow glow of carnage and flame. Tyrannus had won his battle and announced it to the world with another of his tremendous roars. 

__________________

Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—-2:50 am 

Rick and his group stared out the window as the city’s shadows born by the flames of destruction and chaos that was brought in Tyrannus’s wake. The giant dinosaur’s victorious roar over the destruction of the air force jets. Rick couldn’t believe the defensive capabilities of the animal. Tyrannus kept roaring, appearing to look like he was reveling in the defeat of his enemies. Lilly held Rick’s arm tighter, “Rick, what did it just do.” 

“Its a form of bio-electricity,” Rick muttered, “That is an amazing defensive ability.” 

“Defensive?” Sean said in surprise, “It just destroyed three jets in one shot.” 

“They attacked first.” 

“Are you defending it?” Zach asked Rick.

“Rick,” Lilly said, letting go of his arm, “you can’t be seriously trying to defend it.” 

Rick looked at them and didn’t know what to say. There seemed to be two sides of him about this scenario. There was the scientist who was looking at a new dinosaur species that was beyond the realm of known science and belief. Then there was the side of them that understood how sickening it sounded on Rick defending something that just put Singapore in ruins in a matter of hours. He couldn’t even comprehend the dead and the injured that laid in the streets before Tyrannus’s prehistoric strength. 

Before he could respond, a loud knock rang from the door and presented Rick the perfect moment to avoid his mixed feelings about Tyrannus. He walked over to the door, avoiding the furniture in the darkness and felt around the door for the heavy handle. He opened the door to be momentarily blinded by the flashlight of a shadowed hotel employee. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” the employee said in a professional tone, despite in in the dim light Rick could tell he himself was trying to come to terms with the situation, “but due to the disaster, all hotel guests need to come downstairs to the lobby. We have lights and water. We got word from the local military that a government refugee transport was on the way before the power went out.” 

“Thank you,” Rick said. 

The employee nodded, “Here is a complimentary flashlight.” 

Rick took the flashlight and the employee left to go give the news of the situation to the other hotel guests. Rick turned on the flashlight and closed the door. “Alright guys,” Rick said, “Lets grab our things and lets go. The sooner we get to the lobby, the sooner we get back to the States.” 

“Yeah,” Zach said going over to couch to grab his backpack, “where another giant monster is running amok.” 

“I’m going to grab the last of the beer,” Sean said heading over to the kitchen, “Don’t want it to go bad and beside, I doubt the hotel is going to charge us due to giant monster evacuation.” 

Rick held the door open while Zach and Sean walked out into the hallway. Rick looked back into the room to see Lilly holding their shared duffel of what was left of their things on the boat, “Rick. Why would your Dad want this?” 

“I don’t know,” Rick said and went to Lilly, “I just know I have to make sure you are safe.” 

“And then what? Go back to a country that has another giant monster? Why Rick,” Lilly said with a slight trickle of stressful tears went down her face, “Why would anyone want to do this.” 

Rick came to her and closed his arms around her. He could feel how scared she was. It hadn’t been easy for any of them. And he hated to try and think of answer for all of this. Rick knew that his dad played a part in this. Somehow, the bastard’s last act on this Earth was to awaken a force of nature that was unlike anything ever seen. Tryannus’s roars continued to echo on in the distance and it make Rick sick. In his gut, he couldn’t push all the blame on his father; for he knew deep down, he too was partially responsible for the awakening of these giant animals that had appeared. He only wondered how the USA was holding with their own titanic problem. 

____________________

Lincoln Highway (Bangerton Highway) 

Salt Lake City, Utah (USA) 

April 27th, 2013—-3:00pm 

Two hours had passed and the giant stegosaur still was plowing through Salk Lake City in a path of destruction that would lead it to the city limits of the mid-west American city. The dinosaur was unknowing of the lives it was turning to with its steps; its tail covered in sharp thagomizer spikes didn’t help with lessening the damages it was causing to the buildings around it. 

The dinosaur may be oblivious to the destruction it was causing but it was getting wary of the buzzing objects that were flying around it. The white metal “hovering bugs” seemed to just be following the animal, which was making the stegosaur stressed. It moved quicker and let loose a bellow in the efforts to outpace the flying things. In its hurried steps, more destruction was erupting around the animal until it noticed the flying things back away. It stopped and looked up at the departing flying objects. It felt safe for a moment. Maybe the bellow it emitted scared them off. Looking forward again, it noticed in the distant a group of things moving towards it. The ten strange metal objects where bigger than the other multi-colored metal objects that seemed to cover the flat spaces in-between the strange constructs that surrounded it. The giant stegosaur stopped in its tracks and grumbled a warning at the oncoming objects that seemed to have a giant horn protruding from their centers. The giant animal let loose a growl, sensing that these things where not to be taking likely. Instinct told it to defend itself and so it turned its side to show off its protruding spike. The red dorsal plates started to glow redder in color due to massive amounts of blood flooding the thick plates to show off a warning display at the questionable “creatures” that sat before it. The stegosaur emitted a roar of warning which was soon answered by explosions of pain that riddled the thick skin of the animal. Smoke surrounded the stegosaur as wails of pain echoed across the area. The stegosaur hadn’t felt such pain in a long time and it turned toward the objects that some how hurt it from such a distance. The dinosaur angrily snorted and started to stomp its feet. The thundering quakes of the dinosaur made the horned objects move in reverse. The animal viewed it as a chance to attack. With a giant roar, the prehistoric behemoth charged at the tanks. In a few grand steps, the stegosaur was now over the things that damaged it and began to stomp on them. Its 700,000 tons of weight was used in full force as explosions rippled underneath its blue scaled feet. Roars of anger rippled the air which drowned out the explosions of the militaries tanks. The giant stegosaur stopped its stomping to look down at the shrapnel that was the tank battalion. Seeing that its aggressors defeated, the stegosaur raised its head to the sky and bellowed out its victory. It snorted and shook its head. Instinct told the animal it was time to leave the crowded place. Seeing the wide open spaces that laid before it in the distance the animal felt it would be safer out there. And so, it began its oblivious march to the horizon while an American city burned in destruction behind it. 

———————

Fullerton Hotel 

Singapore, Republic of Singapore 

April 27th, 2013—-5:00 am 

The sea of hotel guests turned refugees sat cramped in the Fullerton lobby that sat in the midsts of a war between modern man and this colossal dinosaur that smashed not only the city, but the rules and beliefs of science and religion that kept society sane. The roars of Tyrannus’ rampage could still be heard. With the power outage from the EMP Tryannus’ lighting attack had brought onto the city, they had no idea when help would arrive. The employee was correct on the water and its distribution to the guests were a much needed relief to the stress of the situation. Rick, Sean, Lilly, and Zach sat in the corner of the lobby amongst the other patrons. Rick could see from all the people, no one was taking this well. Guilt riddled him. He had warn the local officials of this creature. There were signs that Tyrannus was heading to Singapore. He didn’t know why, but it seemed to do with the electricity the city was generating. He didn’t know how Tyrannus did it, but it seemed that he had feasted on one of the most influential inventions of man. One of the hotel staff came around and smiled at Rick, “Can I get your party anything.” 

Rick shook his head with a no, “We are fine. Thank you though.” Rick then noticed a family with a little girl and pointed at them, “But maybe they would like some of those bottles.” 

The woman smiled politely and went to the family Rick pointed out. 

“That was nice of you,” Lilly said. 

“Well,” Rick said, “The water should calm the children down.” 

“Still enjoying this then?” Sean sneered. 

“Sean,” Zach said, “Drop it.” 

“What is it Sean,” Rick said, frustrated with Sean’s belittlement, “What is getting your goat?” 

Sean looked at Lilly, who nodded another unseen ‘no’, which made Sean a little more angry at the situation, “Rick! This is your father’s fault. You are pretty responsible for this whole mess and we got dragged into it.” 

“You think I knew,” Rick gritted his teeth, “That my dad wanted to purposely wake up a giant semi-aquatic, lighting shooting dinosaur? I had no idea. I”m surprised as much as the rest of us.” 

“There isn’t just that,” Sean muttered, “There is that other dinosaur in the States.” 

“You think that is my fault too?” 

“Guys!” Lilly yelled, “Calm the hell down!” 

“Yeah,” Zach added, “Sean you gotta stop drinking. You are acting like an ass.” 

Sean went silent and turned away from the group. Lilly held Rick’s hand tightly feeling that Rick was getting angry at Sean as well. She knew the real reason why Sean was angry but this was not the time or place to discuss it. 

“You two just need to take a breath,” Lilly said. 

“Yeah,” Rick said, “you are right. Maybe we should…” 

Before Rick could finish, a powerful tremor shook the lobby, causing panicked screams to fill the lobby’s air. The tremor was followed by another. And then another. Tyrannus’ roars where getting loader. 

“He’s coming this way,” Rick said in realization that the tremors were the giant dinosaur’s footsteps, “I think he is finally returning back to the sea.” 

“Are we safe here?” Lilly said. 

“I think so,” Rick said as he was getting up. 

“What are you doing,” Zach questioned. 

Rick stood up and looked down at his sitting friends. He was unable to truly answer that question, knowing if he said what he was going to do would make all three of them pull him back down to the floor. It sickened him to think that he was in a way enjoying this. Even though there was no news on the second creature and news on the situation outside was limited, Rick knew that this event would change his life. The presence of these dinosaurs meant that everything that was known was now to debate. Their gigantic size, the fact they were dinosaurs, and had even more powerful abilities was news shattering. He looked at his friends and knew that running out wouldn’t help with their doubts that even though he was devastated with all that was going on, he was enjoying this. 

“Guys,” Rick said, “I’m sorry. But I gotta see him.” 

Before anyone could protest him to stop, Rick turned and bolted for the door. Moving amongst the crowded hotel guests across the lobby Rick made it to the unguarded door. Rick jumped through the door and onto the desolate and deserted streets of Singapore. Smoke clouded the air as he began to wander the battlefield between man and monster. “Did I miss him?” Rick thought to himself. Rick tried to see where Tyrannus was and moved towards the corner of the street. Tyrannus’s roar suddenly erupted all around him. An earth shattering tremor knocked Rick flat on his ass. Another one tremor made the cars around Rick erupt in a chorus of car alarms. Another footstep shook up Rick as he found it hard to get up. Falling again Rick’s ears once again were deafen by the giant animal’s roar. An explosion nearby soon sounded out an wave of smoke blasted through the street adjecnt to the one Rick saw. His eyes adjusted through the smoke and saw something moving through the black cloud.  

It was an giant green leg. 

Rick slowly looked above him and saw the thing he wanted to see; he instantly regretted wanting to see Tyrannus up close. Towering over him was the evolutionary marvel that was the gigantic dinosaur. Tyrannus was massive. Even this close, Rick couldn’t see all of the titanic creature. It was a true leviathan and a feeling of dread suddenly hit Rick like a rock. Three days of emotional weight suddenly brought him down. Sean was right, it was sickening that Rick admired this creature. Tyrannus let loose another roar and in doing so, Rick remember the words that the captain of the Seeker said to him and his father. They never made sense till now and know understanding his father’s role in all this; it hit him harder knowing that it meant the captain knew what his father was planning to do as well. 

“May those curse the days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse the Leviathan.” 

Rick was not a religious man, but he knew that line was from the Bible’s book of Job. Was that the inspiration for his father’s mission into the trench. Was this creature the real life inspiration for the biblical leviathan? As he thought about it, Rick realized that a lot of his father’s most recent research was on studying ancient maritime charts on unidentified creatures. There was a puzzle laid before in a the form of a giant monster and his father. There was a link. Rick knew at that moment that he had to find out what was the true purpose of awakening Tyrannus. Maybe his father even knew about the giant stegosaur as well or if there were more. He had to get back stateside and go through his father’s notes. The truth was out there. And Rick was going to find it. 

Tyrannus groaned, the smell of thick smoke from the wreckage he was causing began to cloud his senses. The jets had disappeared and had found little resistance since he used his electrical charge to defeat them. Their absence though did make him uneasy; despite having recharged, the lighting attack usually left Tryannus feeling a little winded. He wanted to return to the sea and it was a good sign that he could see the water again. Taking a step forward, Tyrannus was now at the edge of the city and waded into the bay. The cool water soaked into Tyrannu’s scales, washing of the ash that coated his legs. The lapping of water against his hide was comforting allowing Tyrannus to feel calm for the first time since he surfaced. A passive growl crept out of this throat. He turned his head back towards what was left of Singapore’s downtown core. He snorted at it and faced the ocean again. Rearing his head back, Tyannus let loose a tremendous roar towards the sky. It was a signal he wanted all who heard it that he was not to be messed with. When he finished, he started to wade faster into the water and leaned forward, diving into the bay. The waves created from him disappearing into the murky waters rose high and briefly covered the bay side roads. His giant dorsal spines still where seen on the surface and heading out to sea. The highway bridges of Bayfront and Sheares Ave where cut in half as Tyrannus passed under them as he swam into the deeper  water of Marina Bay. Turning towards the open ocean, the dorsal spines dipped under the water and only a faint ripple of Tyrannus’ wake could be seen. Then nothing. Tyrannus had returned back into the depths of the ocean. 

——————————

Washington Dulles International Airport 

Washington DC, USA 

May 3rd, 2013—-1:00pm 

“We are now on approach into the Washington Dulles International Airport. Please fasten your seat belts as we begin to move around the cabin for our pre-landing checks. Again, thank you for flying with….”, the intercom crackled, waking Rick on the plane with Lilly asleep on his shoulder. He couldn’t believe that it had taken almost over a week to finally get back to DC. Back in Singapore, a military transport finally made it to the hotel and started to take the refugees to safety. Rick and his group where signaled out though by the local military and were questioned on the state of Tyrannus and what he was capable of. Due to Rick’s warnings of Tyrannus being documented, the Singapore and America’s Navy announced they would begin a hunt to track and find the the “Titan class threat”, Tyrannus. They then flew to San Francisco where the US military was waiting. Zach and Sean were not needed in the the military briefings and went to their own respective homes. Lilly stayed with Rick while he was questioned by military brass yet again on how to handle the second Titan, codenamed Stegoros. Stegoros was being tracked in the mid-west of America and under constant military guard. Rick advised that attacking the animal should only occur if it strayed into populated areas again; something that the giant animal seemed to be avoiding after the destruction it caused in Salt Lake City. After San Francisco, Rick and Lilly began their journey home to DC. Rick had only just recently moved their for a position at the Smithsonian and Lilly decided to take some much needed R&R with him before heading back to Chicago. 

Rick adjusted himself in his seat when the plane landed on the trackway. He looked outside to see the sun shining over the US capital’s airport. The bumps of the airplane’s wheels touching the ground stirred Lilly in her sleep. She groggily smacked her lips and looked at Rick, still half asleep, “Have we landed?” 

Rick smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, “Yes. We’ve landed.” 

“Good. Not too much longer till we can cuddle in  your apartment and lie in bed.” 

“I know right. And all the Hepburn movies and cups of tea we want.” 

Lilly smiled and leaned in to Rick’s face, “You are cute.” 

They shared a kiss and for the length of travel Rick and Lilly had done, it brought a serenity to them. In this new world where giant animals roam the Earth, it was in these quite moments that made them feel still connected to the world before the Titan’s awakening. 

The seatbelt light dinged and the sudden eruption of bags and people started to flow slowly out of the plane. Rick and Lilly held hands as they smiled politely at the flight attendants and walked their way up the ramp and into the airport. It was surreal to think that nearly two and a half weeks had passed since Rick flew out to meet his dad in the Pacific and trigger the events that would lead into one of the worst natural disasters that the 20th century had ever seen. Walking through the airport, the two saw that the Titans were now a main source for the news. The papers had headlines about prehistoric monsters and their rampages through Salt Lake and Singapore or there were some headlines questioning if it in fact really happened. Rick could imagine that if you hadn’t seen in first hand, it was a heavy pill to swallow given the facts that two giant dinosaurs attacked different cities at the same time. There was some hope though, for he heard that the giant corporation known as CRADLE was giving a lot of money to the Red Cross and other emergency relief groups to help with the effected areas. It was comforting to see in light of the situation, humanity was coming together to help those in need like they always have done. 

“I think I want to get a coffee before we hit the baggage terminal,” Lilly said, “I need something to wake me up a bit.” 

Rick smiled, “Okay sweetie.” 

He followed Lilly to the nearest coffee shop, taking a seat at one of the tables while Lilly stepped in line. She turned towards him, “Do you want anything?” 

Rick nodded a no and watched the beautiful women who was keeping him sane stand gracefully in the line. He looked around the little airport shop and noted the people still going about their lives. Business or vacation goers seemed to have been  unchanged by the events that where going on in the world. He noticed a TV in the corner and saw the news was on. Rick then saw the ticker on under the news anchor and he thought he was going to be sick. Thats when he noticed the quietness of the the coffee shop. Even the employees where watching the emergency broadcast. He looked at Lilly who was trembling. Looking back the TV, there was no denying it. The live feed from Nassau showed a monstrous figure screaming the camera before destroying more buildings. The breaking news story’s title of “The Devil is in Nassau” was flaring across the images. It was chilling but Rick had a feeling it was a matter of time as his father’s final words came back into his ears. 

A third Titan had appeared in the Bahamas and it was now clear that the “Titan Awakening” was beginning, it was in full swing. And what that truly meant, Rick had no idea. It was a brand new world where mankind now tread in the shadows giants. 

End of Episode 01

NEXT TIME ON TITAN: 

An Army Ranger is transferred to join a mysterious group of soldiers deep in the jungles of Costa Rica. What was classified as a ‘manhunt’ becomes much more as the soldier soon learns of the horrible history of the US Military’ ‘PROJECT: STOKER’ and the monstrosities that where unleashed into the world. What other secret horrors are lying in the shadows? What is the true nature of Target: 004 and why do the US Military want him…alive?