QUAKE (A Titan Story)

MFD Team Members
- Natasha Reynolds: Biologist/Ecologist
- Akhila Khatri: Military (Indian Armed Forces)


Devarukhkar Favela
Rurshan, India
Stretching far across the area it was a sea of hand built homes and stalls, corrugated metal and dirt, the town was a massive community of those sadly unable to afford even the less finer luxuries but that still didn’t take away the spirit of the community, everyone was willing to help each other in need and they never felt any poorer for it.
Natasha sat in the back of the red jeep as it wound its way through the dirt roads heading towards the favela, she looked at the survey data on her laptop over the past week the area had begun suffering from unusual seismic activity any unusual activity like this was something that the MFD was always eager to investigate in hope that no creatures were involved. Natasha swept the sweat from her brow and retied her hair back into a pony tail to help keep in from getting in her face despite the setting sun the heat was still warmer than she was used to, then she removed her glasses to clean away the stains of perspiration from the lenses before placing back firmly on the bridge of her nose and continued to look over the information on the computer “This doesn’t make any sense, Rurshan is not near any fault line and there are no records of seismic activity in any other areas” she looked out of the passenger window and saw the favela getting closer. The jeep pulled up next to a sand coloured military Humvee, Major Akhila Khatri was sat on the hood and watched as the other woman got out of the into the humid air the six men that accompanied the Major stood to attention, Akhila slid off the Humvee and walked over to Natasha and extended out a welcoming hand “Natasha Reynolds?” Natasha took the gesture and shook in reply “Yes” Akhila gave a smile, the soldier wore the usual military fatigues and a navy blue beret she was much shorter than Natasha at around five foot four inches but from the hand shake Natasha could tell that she was strong “Major Akhila Khatri of the Indian Armed Forces, didn’t think they would be sending an agent of the MFD for a couple of earthquakes” Natasha did a quick scan of her surroundings “It’s because of the area from what intel we’ve been given Rurshan is not close to any fault lines but epicentre of the recent quakes points to only this location no other regions have been affected” Akhila began to feel concerned “So is there possibility of Mega Fauna here?” Natasha replied calmly “I’ve brought equipment and a drone, I’d like to do some survey tests to see if there is anything to worry about” Akhila nodded and turned to her men “Vah jo kahe vahee karo” the six men replied with a unison “Haan maim” they marched to the jeep to help Natasha and her assistants with the unloading of equipment.

Above the sprawling mass of handmade homes, the drone whizzed overhead the two women where both sat in the front seat of the Humvee as Natasha was operating the controls Akhila looked at her curiously “so what are you doing with the drone?” Natasha spoke whilst keeping an eye on the video screen “With your men and my team setting up the survey equipment over such a vast area as Devarukhkar this is the best way to keep an eye on everything” as she watched the screen Akhila noticed something “Wait, what was that?” Natasha questioned her “What was what?” Akhila gestured for the drone to move “reverse the drone then pan slowly to the right, I saw something” Natasha did as instructed and Akhila quickly pointed to the screen “Right there” both of them saw it in between several rows of houses was a large crack in the ground “That is quite a large fissure” Akhila had a thought “We could check it out and ask the locals what they have seen” Natasha agreed “Wouldn’t hurt and we’ve got time before the sensors are set” Natasha took the drone control to track the location of it.
Natasha and Akhila wandered through the favela passing by children in the streets Natasha “I can’t believe how many people are living here?” Akhila glanced at Natasha “High population rate means that there isn’t enough money and care for going around everyone but even more so for those are less financially stable they end in places like this, sadly Devarukhkar is up there with the other bigger slums in India but that is the same all over the world the rich live the good life and the poor scramble to barely live” Natasha felt a churn in her stomach she had come a background were her family had to do anything to just make a decent living but they still had a two storey house and she eventually went to university which paved the way for working with the MFD, she respected the lives that the people around them were living because despite the poor conditions they were a community that helped each other through anything. They eventually reached the fissure in the ground, several of the residents had discovered it and were looking at it, it was about fifty feet long and three feet in width running along a dirt path separating two rows of house, Natasha recalled the drone and placed it in a backpack she then kneeled on the ground “Well something like this a typical after affect from an earthquake” Akhila looked to the locals then turned back to Natasha “I’ll ask the locals see if there is anything out of the ordinary” she stepped away from the crack as Natasha took out of radio and tried to contact her team “T2 do you copy?” a voice spoke from the speaker “We copy T1” Natasha responded “Are the sensors in place?” the voice spoke again “Just finishing up now and T3 have said they’ve reached their second point” Natasha gazed at the crack in the ground “Another thing, have you come across any large cracks or fissure on the ground?” there was a slight pause then the voice came on again “Yeah we passed a couple at point one then another really large on at point two, are these from the last quake?” there was something worrying the Natasha she readjusted her glasses and brushed the red dyed hair out of her face “Yeah…yeah that will be it, I’m just running a risk of a potential sink hole once you’re done at point two head back to the jeep” the man on the other ended complied and ended transmitting. Natasha had gotten in touch with team three and they also confirmed the appearance of cracks and fissure at on their way to placing the other sensors, she tapped away at the pad which had a map of the slum and the locations of the sensors after looking at all the markers she believed that she had spotted a pattern.
Akhila returned from speaking with the local families and returned to stand to Natasha “I spoke to some of the locals and they said they’ve only felt the tremors, however there are a couple that said they’ve heard noise” Natasha looked up from the computer “Wait…what type of noises?” Akhila continued “They said that they could hear growling or a rumbling it’s nothing like what they’ve heard before” Natasha glanced away with thoughts running around in her head. After a moment she turned the computer to Akhila “Take a look at this” the soldier looked at the screen and saw the map of the favela “What am I looking for?” Natasha pointed to the markers that had been placed by the other team members, she started to speak “The locations on the maps are were the sensors have been placed, and they have mapped something rather peculiar” Natasha should on the map a line that winding through the map “These lines are what was caused by the earthquakes, but they form up and reconnect that is not normal to cause cracks like that there is either something underneath the centre of the perimeter or there is a massive void” Akhila saw that the cracks circled over half of the favela “So does this confirm that there is some sort of creature?” Natasha shook her head “I would need more evidence but there is a possibility that there might be something” Akhila was growing concerned about the area that was at risk “Creature or no creature there is a lot of people in that area” Natasha understood Akhila’s concern “Is evacuation possible?” Akhila shrugged “I’m not sure, there is nowhere for these people to go” Natasha replied “But if that floor goes tens of thousands of people will die” Akhila paused she looked at a group of children playing with a football, she knew that Natasha was right she looked over to her “Give me some time and I’ll see what I can do, let’s head back” the two of them made their back to the jeep.

Natasha was growing impatient waiting to hear if Akhila had had any luck in getting aid to the people of the town when she felt the ground shake slightly “That can’t be good” she was sat in jeep and clambered out feeling the dry dirt beneath her boots, she stared at the ground but nothing was no longer happening. Akhila eventually showed cursing in Hindi, Natasha spoke “I take it that it didn’t go well?” the soldier shook her head “No, unless there is a clear threat to the people then they will send help” Natasha point to ground “Did you feel that?” Akhila nodded “Jhatake?…the tremor yes I felt it” they both were beginning to feel concerned. Natasha took her radio and contacted the two teams “T2, T3 do any of you copy?” a voice spoke “T3 here, everything alright?” Natasha looked at Akhila “Are any of you feeling tremors?” the second spoke this time “We felt something but even though there is nothing the windows of a nearby house seems to be shaking, something is definitely going on” team two responded “We are starting to feel something now” Natasha was becoming more fearful “Ok I want both teams to clear the area head East to the top of the favela away from the boundary tell anyone you come to move to a safe location away from any potential danger” the teams responded to a the order with ‘copy’ Natasha wandered over to Akhila “We need to try and get as many as we can to safety” Akhila seemed less enthusiastic “These are the only thing these people have, they will not leave just because we tell them” Natasha knew what Akhila was saying was right and with so many even if they did evacuate there was so many to move in a short time frame.

The ground shook again but this time it was followed by a rumbling moaning roar that echoed out from deep below the ground, the sound startled nearby birds which made Natasha jump slightly, people had begun to gather in the streets wondering what was the cause of the noise. Trembling started suddenly knocking Natasha off her feet and into the dirt, Akhila rushed over to help “Natasha!” she took hold of Natasha’s arm “Are you alright?” they both stood up as the tremors began to increase in intensity causing several houses close by to collapse from the sheer force of the quake. Akhila yelled at the frightened civilians waving an arm furiously “hato! ab yahaan se chale jao!” the people were running yelling and screaming from the fear, Akhila checked over Natasha “We need to move!” they headed to the jeep and fired up the engine Natasha looked out the passenger window and saw buildings moving but they seemed to moving upward as the ground began to swell and tremble, she gasped to herself “Oh my god” Akhila slammed her foot down on the accelerator launching the jeep forward. Across half of the town plumes of dust began to plume and snake through the streets and cut through buildings following the path being carved out from cracks tearing through the ground, the tremors caused buildings that were less stably built to collapse, people were running in all directions desperately trying to avoid falling debris and the cracks that were widening, panic was high the screams were surely filling the air all across Devarukhkar.
Akhila gripped to the steering wheel tight trying to navigate through the streets she had to swerve numerous times to avoid hitting fleeing people causing her to curse loudly, a voice came over Natasha’s radio “Natasha…Natasha! This is Charlie from T2 do you copy?” she took hold of the radio “I copy Charlie is everyone clear of the boundary?”. Charlie and the others of both teams had acquired an abandoned van and were making their way to the safest part of the favela “We are clear we had to take a van but even passed the boundary they are still suffering the effects of the quake”, another deep rumbling moan came from somewhere underground now it was practically confirmed that something was alive beneath them, Natasha didn’t know what to do “Charlie once you are clear contact HQ tell them we need immediate assistance from anyone that will come and help evacuate” Akhila quickly slammed on the brakes screeching the car to a halt.
Natasha looked to Akhila “What’s wrong?” the soldier pointed out through the windscreen of the jeep, Natasha looked in the direction indicated “Holy Christ” the town before them was rising from a massive force underground pushing upward, rock cracked forming jagged shards which still had segments of Devarukhkar on top, more sections of the ground began to break apart from the rising mound kicking up columns of dust and smoke. Akhila swore as she began putting the jeep into reverse “dhatt tere!” but the ground under them jerked suddenly causing it to drop slightly lurching the two of them in their seats. The horizon began to disappear as the town ahead rose into the air as the monolith of earth tilted up, rock, debris and people tumbled around the jeep Akhila pressed hard on the accelerator but the jeep was no longer moving forward, the tyres spun wildly chipping away at the dirt as they struggled to maintain their grip, Natasha flinched as a brink bounced off the ground and struck the passenger window with a loud crack she took the radio again pressing the transmit button “Charlie! Get HQ! We need reinforcements!” the jeep began to slip backwards, Charlie heard the panic coming from the speaker of the radio “Natasha? Natasha!” the jeep slipped and skid down hitting the support beam of a high rise house, “Shit! Charlie…” before she could finish her sentence the entire floor gave way and suddenly everything fell into the darkness below.

Amongst the blackness was the sound of a high pitched ringing, Natasha thought she could hear something else but it was muffled and hard to understand eventually it began to break its way through as the ringing subsided it was a woman “Natasha…Natasha?” abruptly pain began to burn on the right side of her head and arm.
Dust and rubble clattering against the jeep’s windscreen made Natasha open her eyes, she jumped up in her seat Akhila quickly put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down “Easy Natasha, easy” Natasha looked around to see that they were still in the jeep but it was inclined at the front , Akhila spoke calmly “Are you alright?” Natasha replied “My head…and my arm” Akhila checked her over she saw the cut on her forehead and then took her left arm “Can you move your fingers?” Natasha tried wincing but her fingers did move slightly Akhila nodded “Ok it might just be a sprain and not broken but we’ll need to get you checked out to be sure” she looked around “Do you have a medical kit in this jeep?” Natasha replied “Yes it’s in a box in the back, there’s also a couple of torches and a flare gun” Akhila was pleased at hearing that with the flare gun it meant that they could signal that they were still alive. Akhila shuffled around in her seat and lifted one leg in between the two front seats she quickly looked to Natasha “Wait here I’ll be back” she ducked down and moved into the back of the jeep to search for supplies, Natasha looked through the cracked windscreen and could still see that they were in part of the favela but the cloud of dust that was swirling outside was thick.

Akhila kept herself steady as she clambered down into the back of the jeep, the emergency kit had come loose and was resting on the rear door, she gently placed her left foot on the frame surrounding the door to avoid loosing footing should the glass break, Akhila took hold of the box and reached up and slid it onto her seat then pulled herself back up into the driver’s seat. She placed the box on her lap and glanced over at Natasha “How you feeling now?” Natasha rubbed her forehead “Well the ringing in my ears has finally stopped so that’s a plus” Akhila opened the box and took out the medical kit and removed some butterfly stitches and bandages “Okay this is the best we’ve got but it will do until we get out of here” Natasha didn’t feel the same optimism “If we get out, this seems to be a steady slope up back to the surface how are we supposed to get out?” Akhila pointed to the rows of buildings around that emerged from the fading dust cloud “We climb through the houses and once we reach a reasonable height we can use the flare gun to signal for help” Akhila remembered Natasha’s injury “Do you think you will be able to climb with your arm?” looking down at the arm Natasha could see the bruise already beginning to form “It will hurt like hell but I’ll survive” Akhila smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder “Alright we’ll take it easy one room at time” she then began stitching the cut and bandaging Natasha’s arm.
It took a couple of carefully aimed kicks to the driver door for Akhila to get open, the fading daylight and the dust make it difficult to see with a click of the switch a beam of light from the torch shone across the ground and the remains of several buildings, Akhila stepped out of the jeep and steadied herself on the frame “Ok it’s quite steep, be sure to take it easy” Natasha followed behind. They made their way towards a broken house which had one side exposed making it easier for them to get inside, Akhila was in front making sure that the path was safe for Natasha to climb up, they reached a flight of stairs Akhila glanced up and saw a door way that would hopefully lead them to the next building.
Akhila gestured to Natasha “Come on I’ll lift you up” Natasha clambered towards Akhila who squatted down cupping her hands together “Okay you ready?” Natasha nodded “Yeah I’m ready” she placed a foot on Akhila’s hands and with a couple of bounces to get into the motion with a jump and heave upward Natasha grabbed the handrail of the next set of steps and pulled herself up. Natasha turned about held out her good arm “Your turn” Akhila jumped and grabbed Natasha who mustered her strength and pulled her up high enough to grab the rail, Akhila climbed up thanking Natasha for the help who replied with a smile and a polite nod. The two entered one of the bedrooms all the furniture had fallen against the side of the room at the bottom of the slope Akhila gathered a sheet from the bed then tied it together with pieces of torn quilt Natasha was curious “What are you doing Akhila?” the soldier then stood on the bed and kicked the headboard when a piece came loose she slipped slightly Natasha flinched “Careful” she panted a few excited breaths from her heart jumping but she reassured Natasha “It’s alright I’m fine” she picked up the long piece of the bed’s headboard and tied the end of the ripped up sheets around it, Natasha realised what she was doing “Oh you’re making a rope” Akhila nodded “Yes, there maybe be some places a bit difficult to reach so this should come in handy” she wrapped the fabric around her waist and over her shoulder then ask Natasha to tuck the fragment of wood into the fabric behind her back.
Using furniture that had fallen across the room Natasha and Akhila managed to climb up and reach the window on the other side of the room, the glass had broken away but several shards remained Akhila knocked them away then looked out of the window. Outside led to the roof of another and across that was a fire escape, Natasha peaked out the window and saw the sight of the favela and was stunned by how surreal it looked a large section of house and buildings all at an angle tilting up to a large hole in the earth “Jesus Christ” Akhila also looked at the spectacle “It’s amazing that we survived” Natasha nodded “There must be other survivors down here” it was a possibility that was going through her mind Akhila replied “I hope so but first we need to get out of here and deal with the situation then we can send rescue parties” Natasha agreed there was still work to do “You’re right, come let’s keep going” she lifted a leg over the window ledge and shuffled out, the brick gave some grip that Natasha could stand up she turned back and helped Akhila through the window. They used ventilation pipes to make their way along the roof Akhila spoke over her shoulder “I bet stuff like this happens all the time with you, with the job that you have” Natasha responded “Actually this has been a first for me” Akhila was surprised “Really with so many of those things roaming around I thought it would be quite common” Natasha replied “Destruction was a lot more frequent in the earlier days of the MFD, in depth research was done for any potential threats and safety protocols were implemented to try and reduce impact from any mega-fauna activity” Akhila was curious about the workings of the MFD and talking was easing the fear of being stuck partially underground “There does seem to be more dangerous activity in recent months” Natasha knew what Akhila was talking about “You mean the incidents with Gigarrah and Thunder Wing, Thunder Wing was an unfortunate incident he can be very territorial and although peaceful he’s quick tempered so when the air force engaged he reacted with violence” Akhila questioned further as she placed a firm foothold on an air conditioning unit “But if the MFD gave the order to attack isn’t that their responsibility?” Natasha shook her head “Our organisation isn’t part of the military, when incidents like this occur we have to request military aid to help or if like our situation we are brought in by a countries government to investigate, however the military can engage without our permission and we think that is what happened with Thunder Wing” Natasha paused before carrying on “Gigarrah however…is something else, wild and unpredictable he’s like nothing we’ve seen throughout the natural world” they were almost at the top as Akhila replied “I saw on the news what happened in Hong Kong last year, it was unbelievable what happened” Natasha agreed “A colleague of mine said the same thing, he is just unbelievable he’s there one minute then gone the next” Akhila gave a reply “Is there anyway to detect him like with the beacons you used today?” Natasha felt a slight lump in her throat “The problem at the moment is funding, every year we lose more and more and these incidents aren’t helping when world leaders think we are failing at our work and use funding for other things” Natasha fell silent for a moment thinking about the troubles the organisation was facing.

Reaching the edge Natasha looked at the fire escape it was close enough to jump but Akhila was already readying the makeshift rope, she threw it and the wood passed threw in between the bars of the railing she pulled the rope and it was tight “Okay I will swing across then I will pass it back to you” Akhila took a deep breath hoping it would support her weight then pushed off the building and swung across. Letting out a sigh of relief Akhila managed to shimmy her way up to the railing of the fire escape, climbing over the side she pulled up the rope and threw it to Natasha she called out “Tie it around your waist and I’ll help hoist you up” Natasha wrapped it around her waist and then swung out holding tight “Jesus” Natasha began pulling herself up but she felt the pain surge in her injured arm and let out a huff of pain, Akhila called out “I’ll pull you up” she grabbed the torn fabric and began to pull it up with some effort. Natasha reached the railing and took hold as Akhila helped her to get over onto the fire escape she had to catch her breath Natasha spoke in concern “Are you alright?” Akhila nodded “Yes, don’t worry about me” she glanced up the zig zag ladders of the fire escape “We’ll need to go up this carefully with it being at an angle” Natasha agreed one slip and they could easily fall over the side, Natasha gathered the makeshift rope and they began to cautiously ascend to the top of the building. Eventually the two of them reached the top of the building, it was higher than the others and the two of them could see out to the rest of the remaining buildings that had fallen with them, sparks spurted and flickered from telephone wires far away but easily noticeable with the failing daylight.
The two of them started making their way up to the other side when the sound, the deep moaning roar was heard again they stopped to listen as the sound echoed into silence, Akhila looked out as if expecting to see anything “What was that?” Natasha replied “I have no idea” Akhila spoke “I think it’s safe to safe this is definitely monster related” Natasha agreed “Definitely” the two of them remained still waiting to see if anything else would happen when all of a sudden the was another tremor. The front of the building they were on fell away followed by the side were the fire escape just crumbled away, the shaking caused Akhila to slip and fall she hit the ground and started to slide down the slope of the roof Natasha yelled in fear “Akhila!” Akhila screamed and cursed as the broken edge drew closer. Natasha saw a TV antenna further down the slope she took hold of the rope and jumped into skid down the roof towards Akhila, she grabbed the antenna with her good arm and called to falling soldier “Akhila grab on!” she wrapped one end around the injured arm and threw the wooden piece and Akhila grabbed it just as she went over the edge with a frightful yell, the rope went tight and Natasha cried out from the pain as Akhila dangled in mid-air the dust and dirt from the collapsed section of the building swirled around her. Natasha felt intense pain beneath the bandages that shot up her entire arm “Akhila are you alright?!” a voice spoke from smoke “Yes I’m alright” Akhila looked down and saw that the floor of the room below her was still intact for her to land on and move through the building “Natasha I can jump down and find my way back up to you!” Natasha mustering all the energy she could to hold on managed to grunt out “Okay do it!”, Akhila did a swing on the rope and then let go landed on the wooden floor boards with a loud thud and an exhale of breath, Natasha kept hold of the antenna she tried gathering the rope but her arm hurt too much she struggled moving fingers, what was possibly a break was more likely certain now she lay against the roof breathing heavily from the pain.
Akhila moved slowly through what was once a living room and kitchen, water had burst from a pipe and was streaming down the slope making a small waterfall as it flowed over the edge Akhila muttered to herself “Woke up this morning thinking it would be a quick survey then call it a day, not trying to survive some monster induced earthquake this is not what I signed up for when I wanted to serve my country” thinking about Natasha and the others that worked for the MFD she couldn’t believe that they go through things like this regularly tackling giant monsters for the sake of scientific research and the protection of innocent lives “And world governments think that their work is not important to maintain? Probably some high ranking official who only cares about money and fattening his own pocket” she knew all too well about people in high places not caring about others it’s the reason why favela all across the world exist. After traversing across to the next room she reached to door way and opened it to see that there was a wall that had collapsed between this building and the next she noticed that there was two wooden beams on the floor that she could use to get across, the hallway she was in Akhila realised that there was a staircase up to the roof that she could use to help bring Natasha down but before that she manoeuvred the beams into place across the gap and luckily even with the slope they held in place.

Back on the roof Natasha just looked up the sky that was far above, the orange of the setting sun was beginning to turn purple as night approached, her thoughts were just random things about what she would do if they got out of this mess like ordering a pizza, watching the latest murder documentary on Netflix, hug Jess when they got home from work, she looked at the wedding ring on her finger and knew that she was going to get out of this “I’m not dying in some god damn hole in the earth” “Then maybe we should take the stairs next time” Natasha looked up at Akhila who appeared from the door of the staircase she smiled at the soldier who smiled back “Come on let’s get you out of here”. Moving down the staircase Natasha winced “Think my arm is definitely broken” Akhila felt guilty “I’m sorry Natasha” “It wasn’t your fault” Akhila continued feeling ashamed “If you hadn’t thrown the rope you wouldn’t have hurt your arm” Natasha responded “And you would be dead and I wasn’t going to let that happen” Akhila felt better by Natasha’s word “Thank you Natasha” exchanging smiles they made their way towards the room with collapsed wall.
Passing threw one building after another they got closer to the top of the slope, they were making their way inside another living room when Natasha paused for Akhila who was ahead turned to her “Natasha…are you alright?” she nodded “Yeah I’m fine just feeling tired” Akhila was concerned for her but also impressed that she had made such progress with the injury she had “We can stop for a bit to rest” Natasha agreed “Thank you I’ll be alright in a minute” Natasha slumped on a couch rested crookedly at the bottom of the room she felt relief from feet but her arm still throbbed. A noise came from outside it was faint but growing louder, it wasn’t anything animalistic but something motorised Akhila could also hear it “Is that a helicopter?” Natasha agreed it was most certainly a helicopter, her eyes widened with eagerness “Do you still the flare gun?” Akhila took it from the holster “Come on let’s go” Natasha waved at her “No, no time I’m to exhausted, go and signal them then come get me when the rescue comes” Akhila hesitated “I can’t just leave you here” Natasha insisted further “I’ll be fine, go quickly and flagged them down” Akhila didn’t want to but she nodded and moved quickly through the building.

Akhila opened a window and scrambled out sliding down to the roof of a smaller building but the ones after that were far too damaged to carry on further, she clambered up to the building’s edge and looked up to the sky a helicopter was passing over head, she hoped it was looking for any survivors it began heading towards the perimeter of the hole and would soon be out of sight she needed to act now to get someone’s attention, she took the flare gun and aimed it up to the sky and swiftly pulled the trigger. With a crack and a flash the world was suddenly bathed in red light as the flare whizzed upward leaving a trail of smoke behind Akhila hoped this would work “Come on, come on”, it arched out just beyond the limit of the hole and the helicopter turned slowly moving towards the location of the flare, a spotlight ignited from the helicopter and began scanning buildings near the flares origin Akhila began waving her arms and shouting loudly until her lungs burned but it didn’t stop her calling out, like something angelic Akhila was bathed in the illumination of the searching spotlight and the humming of the spinning rotor she laughed, smiling with relief that they were going to be rescued. A man came out of a side door and repelled down on a rope landing close to Akhila “Are you hurt?” she shook her head “No but there’s another survivor who needs help, can you wait I will get her” he nodded and radioed to the helicopter above as Akhila made her way back inside to get Natasha. The two of them emerged from the same window minutes later, Natasha felt a similar wave of exhilaration at hearing the sound of the rotor, when they reached the man he took Natasha and tied a harness around her then signalled to the helicopter to hoist them up, on the ascent Natasha saw more of the devastation below how they managed to survive was nothing short of miraculous but it was far from over.
Natasha and Akhila sat across from each other as the helicopter swept across Devarukhkar, looking down at the favela Natasha felt a surge of anguish at the scene, half of the town was gone into a mess of rubble and protruding shards of rock some like Natasha and Akhila still had remnants of houses and buildings, Natasha wondered how many people perished in the quake. The helicopter touched down at a small, tented outpost on the outskirts of the danger area which was now being zoned off to avoid public interference, the two women got off the helicopter and arrived at the temporary base of operations there was a man in uniform who was a Brigadier he was talking to a group of men who a Natasha recognised it was Charlie and the other MFD members, the Brigadier called out for medics to tend to the two of them as they approached.

The medics took Natasha and Akhila to medical tent and had them sit on hospital beds whilst checking their injuries Akhila had several cuts which were cleaned and taped with butterfly stiches, Natasha however had to have her arm splinted, wrapped and put into a sling. The Brigadier walked into the tent and stood before the two women he spoke with a thicker accent than that of Akhila’s “Natasha Reynolds I am Brigadier Omja Rajashi I have been sent to overlook all military operations at this site, I was wondering how you are feeling? It was quite the experience you two had” Natasha gave a friendly smile “I’ll be alright, although they did say I will have to go to hospital to get my arm properly fixed up” Brigadier Rajashi looked to Akhila “And you Major Khatri you still look fighting fit” Akhila replied her voice with a hint of respect to her commanding officer “Just a few aches and scratches but ready to return to duty Sir” the man smiled “Easy Major, you deserve some rest, also Mrs Reynolds there is someone who wants to see you” Charlie came into the tent he was looking concerned as he approached the hospital beds and stood next to the Brigadier “Natasha are you okay?” Natasha was feeling relief since she had been administered painkillers “I’ll be fine, what happened after we lost communication? Did the thing underground emerge?” Charlie shook his head “No, the ground rose up and just broke apart and fell into several chasms that opened up…we recorded numerous noises that have been coming out from underground but nothing has appeared” Akhila was curious about the other people in Devarukhkar “What about the other civilians in the remaining buildings?” the Brigadier spoke “Civilians are currently being relocated to a temporary refugee camp 100 miles away from the site to maintain a safe distance until this apparent creature surfaces, if it surfaces” Natasha looked to the military official “I’ll to contact MFD HQ to gather field equipment the more we can learn about this thing the more we can do to prevent anything like this happening again” the man looked to her and replied “Luckily your team has already been in contact and equipment will be arriving in the next couple of hours this outpost will be yours to use and you will have use of military aid courtesy of the Indian government” Natasha responded “Thank you Brigadier Rajashi”.

The friendly atmosphere was cut short when the tent began to tremble, two of the other MFD members rushed in looking anxious one of the spoke “Um…something seems to be moving in the danger zone!” Natasha and all the others rushed out of the tent and looked in the direction of the area they had fallen, dust was kicked up high into the air along with chucks of rock and debris, large masses began to move from something pushing from underneath, the growling moan that Natasha and Akhila had was then followed by a loud hissing roar that shuddered out that everyone nearby could feel their bodies shake slightly.

From below a head emerged looked over the edge of the barrier that had been set up, it was dusty orange in colour, long, slender and square shaped it had four small black dots on both sides of its head which looked like almost vestigial eyes, the head had long slits running along the length of each side of the head, it roared again and the slits split apart and the jaws of the creature spread out into four segments with several thin whipping tongue like appendages flailing around before retracting back inside as the mouth segments closed together again. An arm raised out and planted firm onto the ground, the arms of the creature were stubby but on the end of the hand instead of fingers was a long piercing claw with three smaller claws next to it, one of the inside of the hand and two on the outside, covering the exposed side of the limb was separated pointed armoured plates similar to that of a pangolin. With a heavy of its massive bulk a broad clawed foot stomped onto the ground which propelled the massive creature out of the pit and onto the surface. A better look of it body revealed that the armoured plates only neck, shoulder and to the top of the arch on the back, the parts of the body without plating was exposed rough looking skin that was a darker colour than the front and along the rest of the back running down to the tip of the tail was a strip of black fur, now fully emerged from the pit the strange looking creature slightly raised its head up to the sky the mandibles opened partially the tongues flickering in the air as if sensing or tasting its surroundings, the creature then hissed out guttural bellow and started slowly wandering away from the town towards a vast open landscape.

Natasha turned to her colleagues with urgency “Charlie alert HQ tell we’ve encounter an unknown species and we a preparing to gather data but we will need aid in civilian protection in nearby cities and villages” the Brigadier responded “Leave dealing with evacuations with us, if your team can figure out where it going then we can begin precautionary evacuations of civilians to temporary safe zones” Natasha nodded to Charlie to carry on with the call to HQ “Any help Brigadier Rajashi will be invaluable, this is something new so it’s imperative that we act fast” she turned to another one of team members “Wallace I want you and the others to remain here for data retrieval and communication, Charlie will come with me” Wallace and the others nodded and headed towards the tents to set up the equipment that was coming. Natasha turned back to the Brigadier “I need the use of one of your helicopters and a spotlight” Brigadier Rajashi was curious by the request “Why do you require a spotlight?” Natasha answered “The eyes on that animal looked rudimentary, I think it responds to light using a spotlight might help lead it away any settlements until we can properly deal with this thing” the Brigadier agreed and went to have a helicopter ready.

The engines whirred to life making the rotors start spinning, Natasha signalled to Charlie who was on the radio to follow her she then turned to speak to Akhila but the soldier spoke first “Should you really be doing this with your injury?” Natasha did agree with her “Yes, but we don’t have the time to wait” Akhila was impressed by Natasha’s determination to her work, Natasha gave a smile and asked “You coming with us? We need someone from the military and after has happened I trust you more than anyone” Akhila nodded “Of course got to make sure you break the other arm” Natasha laughed as the two entered the helicopter. Charlie was running with the radio still attached to his ear “Yes…yes sir I will let her know” he stepped into the helicopter “HQ have confirmed the incident and will send word of reinforcement within the hour” Natasha replied “Excellent, tell them we are being pursuit of the creature” Charlie relayed the message back to HQ then spoke back to Natasha “HQ are asking if the target has a callsign” Natasha didn’t really think of one but after getting a better look of the creature she knew that it was a burrower and would most like cause quakes when it would need to resurface, then she remembered a word that Akhila said once Natasha looked back to Charlie “Tell HQ target is callsign: Jhatake” the team now knew what to call it each of them eager to get to work, the helicopter set off on the chase taking off from the platform and moving off toward the setting Indian sun.

END