KILL ALL KAIJU

Danika was first and foremost, a professional. It had taken a hell of a lot of patience to work her way up from the lowly intern she’d been just a few years ago. Paying more than her fair share of blood, sweat, and tears to get where she was now. But she was determined to be more than a pretty face for the network. She wasn’t content to sit behind a desk in a comfy air conditioned studio and talk about the stories that mattered. She wanted to be on the ground, out in the wild, and in the thick of things as she hunted down the truth.

So when her boss had called her about the story she was hunting down in Fairview Tennessee after being attacked by literal monsters she managed to keep her cool despite the volcano of giddy joy erupting in her core. That veneer of calm professionalism however broke almost immediately a few seconds later.

“That bitch!” Danika seethed. “This is my story Jameson! Mine! You can’t expect me to give it up to the Wicked Witch of Channel Seven can you?”

“God almighty Danvers don’t start with me on this!” Jameson roared back. His gravely voice just as loud as it always was despite Danika deliberately not putting the man on speaker. “You know how this works! You don’t do the big news! That’s not what we hired you for! You just go around and look pretty while you interview the fucking nobodies that populate this god forsaken country!”

“Look pretty?” Danika hissed. Riling herself up to shout back at the man holding her back from greatness. “You listen here you slimy over weight mother-”

Mack was doing his best not to stare at his partner as she viscously cussed out his employer. Who he very much relied on to keep his lackluster but steady income. Trying not to frown at the very creative swears flying both ways in the conversation behind him Mack sipped a soda as he rifled though a nearly empty bag of gummy bears he’d pilfered from the police station’s vending machines. He’d heard enough at the Channel Seven station how much Danika and Jameson could go at each other. From the way the others had talked about it fights between the two were almost legendary. He consoled himself that such fights seemed not to have resulted in Danika or her previous camera men getting fired as he looked around the offices they had been in for what felt like forever.

All of last night seemed to have happened in a whirlwind of activity. Unlike the attack at the gas station that Mack could recall in vivid detail, the rapid onslaught of questioning passed by in a blur. At first it seemed that the other officers at the station had wanted to treat the event like an unfortunate explosion but with one of their own officers swearing up and down about the giant monster he’d emptied his mag into they were quick to sober up. The police had wanted them to stay at the station for longer, especially since they weren’t sure if the “dragons” the locals had so readily blown off would run into Fairview after the attack.

They could have gone to the motel like they’d originally planned to sleep after the long drive out to Fairview but the prospect of leaving the safety of the well armed police station had killed that idea rather quickly.

Mack cracked his back, sore from sleeping a precious few hours in the station’s uncomfortable chairs and stood, waiting for his partner to finish her call as the battle continued.

“It would have helped if you’d actually had some damn footage if you’d gone through the trouble of nearly dying!” Jameson shouted.

“I told you before!” Danika said with gritted teeth. A vein pulsing in her forehead as she spoke. “I had to beat one of the monsters back with the camera before it could take a bite out of Mack! The footage was corrupted okay! Stop reminding me!”

“Wait a minute.” Jameson stopped. And even though Mack couldn’t see him he could swear he actually heard the man glower. “You lost the video of a lifetime. The actual honest to God cryptid, conspiracy theory, scaly bigfoot jackpot. The one thing I could have rubbed in the faces of every asshat and limp dick in corporate who have been riding my ass like the pony express for more views for the network… for the camera guy!”

For a moment Danika felt a pang of true pain through her soul just thinking about the footage she’d lost. It was true though, sturdy as her camera had been it had not been up to the task of beating back a raging monster and surviving the shock wave of an exploding gas station. She liked Mack. He was a great camera guy. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t also have a good cry in the ladies bathroom after discovering the footage had been corrupted beyond repair.

“He almost died!” She shot back.

“Fuck him!” Jameson cried out. “I wish he did!”

Danika had at at least enough tact to give Mack an apologetic smile as he looked skyward in bewilderment, shrugging his shoulders in a silent “What did I do?”

“Damnit!” Jameson huffed out. “I’m not losing this story to the other networks Danvers. It’ll be a cold day in hell ice skating with the devil before I let those other shit wits get a lead on me. I want your ass out there in the field yesterday. I don’t care if you have to interview every truck humping redneck and beta bitch hippy this side of the Mississippi! Get me that scoop Danvers!”

“You…” Danika paused. Not sure if she heard right. “You want me on this story?”

“Did I catch a dick in my mouth? Yes I want you on this! What other reporter do I have ready to go in the middle of butt fuck nowhere? I still want this story aired on Suzy’s morning show though.”

Danika was about to continue her slew of curse words when Jameson shouted back, cutting her off before she even started. “That’s non negotiable Danvers! Suzy gets what Suzy wants. You know that’s how it is. She gets whatever you can scrape together about these monsters you’ve been on about. If you want to make a name for yourself that badly, sink your teeth into a story that’s even bigger than this one, bigger than all the others and don’t let go. So that whenever people even think about the story you found the first thing to come to their minds is your face. Capisce? Good! Now get! To! WORK!”

Then without another word Jameson hung up on Danika, leaving her standing in the lobby of the police station with no small number of onlookers as she reeled from the last things Jameson said to her. Even the thought of having to do grunt work for Suzy’s insufferable morning show didn’t sting as badly as she slowly smiled to herself. A story bigger than all the others eh? She thought to herself.

Mack came over and looked a question at Danika. “Is he… is he always like that?” He asked hesitantly. Danika nodded absentmindedly as her mind worked. “Jameson is from old news, made the jump from the last print newspapers to the network. He’s a bit rough around the edges but if you’re good at your job he doesn’t care at all. It’s kind of refreshing honestly knowing I don’t have to tip toe around him.”

Brows furrowed at the idea of the fiery Jameson only being “a bit rough around the edges” but Mack decided to let that line of questioning go as he took another long sip of soda. “So what’s the plan D?”

Danika wagged a finger through the air as she talked aloud. “We still have the camera. And we can pick up the rental whenever we want after five o' clock. Let’s hit up the Garden Olive we were originally headed to and work our way from there till we can pick the rental up.”

“Won’t the stuff we record be going to Suzy’s show though?” Mack asked.

“Don’t remind me.” Danika huffed. “I’m thinking we get Suzy her pound of flesh, interview some locals, get some wide shots of the gas station. Then we track down the Big Guy from yesterday. That scoop will be all mine. It’s gonna put us on the map Mack. I can feel it.” She said with a gleam in her eye.

“The… Big Guy.” Mack said evenly.

“Yeah, what else are we gonna call him? Giant Lizard Monster? The Good Dinosaur? Charles? It’s as good a name as any.”

“Sure, sure. But aren’t you at least a little bit worried about finding it again? It’s a monster D. With all the claws and fangs to match.”

“He saved our lives Mack. And he had every opportunity to eat us after the explosion but he didn’t. How do you explain that?”

“Well yeah, but whose to say that wasn’t just a result of it being in shock from the blast? You can’t apply human logic and morals to animals D. Especially the crazy terrifying ones.”

Their conversation continued as they gathered their belongings and left the police station. The early afternoon sun making Danika and Mack squint as they adjusted to the light and got a better look at the town they were supposed to cover as part of a small story only a day ago. Despite being the typical small American town Fairview was bustling with a level of activity that felt distinctly out of character. People had already gathered at the entrance to the police station to ask questions about the explosion that they’d heard last night. And some of them weren’t taking the Sherriff’s quickly imposed curfew as well as they should have.

“Are you serious? A curfew for a bunch of frickn’ wild animals?” One local said to the officer clearly trying to placate the crowd.

“Please everyone stay calm, we have the situation under control.” The officer said.

“Control? There’s a hole the size of my husband’s truck in the Supermart for crying out loud! What kind of animal did that?” One lady said over the grumble of others.

“I’m sorry, miss.” Danika said, her nose for news drawing her closer to the woman. “What did you say about a hole in a Supermart?”

Half an hour later and Danika took in the sight for herself, yellow caution tape wound around the entire front entrance of the small supermarket. The hole really was huge, parts of the wall had fallen to the ground and scattered large chunks of concrete in a semicircle around the entrance. There were some store employees apologizing to customers as they kept them out of the store. But the majority of people around the front were just gawkers and onlookers speculating about what made the hole.

“What do you think Mack?” Danika said appraisingly. “Looks to be the same size. Hell, I’d bet its exactly the same size.”

Mack nodded looking at the damage through the camera’s eyepiece. “So our scaly savior broke into a supermarket in addition to busting through a gas station. Were there more monsters inside?”

“That’s the thing.” Danika said frowning. “I don’t think there are. If there were there’d be more blood staining the ground than you’d find in a slasher movie. You saw for yourself how messy the Big Guy gets when he fights. Plus there’d be way more collateral damage than just a hole in the wall.”

Mack gave a grunt of agreement as look as he swept the camera over the scene, recording some background footage to be sent to the network and edited later. “That rubble on the ground… It fell outwards.”

“So he didn’t break in, he broke out.” Danika said nodding. Catching what Mack was saying immediately as she focused on the rubble. “Alright, lets start asking questions.” Danika said confidently, eager to put together why the creature that had saved her had done this. Absent any leads as to its current location, figuring out what it was looking for inside the store would be critical to tracking it down later.

She’d lost her mic along with the van but a quick trip to an electronics store earlier got her a decent enough replacement. That might have seemed to be an unnecessary expense but Danika found that if you had a camera and a microphone, people were more than willing to talk to you. Which was why Danika made sure to get to one of the employees of the store first before some bystander who knew nothing of the situation could go out of their way to give her their opinion.

“Sure as hell shocked me coming in this morning I’ll tell you that much.” The manager of the Supermart said after Danika had tracked him down for a short interview. The older man wiping a cloth over his brow as he squinted at the damage to his store. “Drove into the lot and the entire front of the store’s blown out, the skylight shattered to pieces, golly its just one giant mess. Come on inside I’ll show ya.”

The manager walked Danika and Mack to a side door and walked them inside. Navigating past an assortment of packaged goods that were waiting to be shelved the Manager led them out onto the main floor.

“Oh wow.” Danika said. Mack immediately bringing up his camera to record the damage inside the store. Most of the store’s interior was relatively undamaged but the part that was damaged looked like it had been hit by a localized tornado. Two whole aisles on one side of the store were tipped over, spilling their contents everywhere. The bags of chips and packages of crackers seemingly crushed along with the metal of the shelves by some great weight that had rolled over all of it.

“It’s been a lot today honestly.” The manager said tiredly looking over the mess. “I’ve been on back to back phone calls with corporate over what exactly happened here and I have no idea how I can explain it to them.”

“My team and I have been tracking what we believe to be the source of the disturbances for Fairview.” Danika said. Her words coming out practiced and smooth for the camera. “Are you familiar with the reports of the monster encountered by a restaurant employee the other day?”

“What? The Dumpster Dragon?” The manager said incredulously. “You mean that crock of hooey was real?”

“We believe so I’m afraid. Can we get a closer look at the damage?”

“Sure, be my guest.”

Pushing down her excitement so it didn’t show on her face Danika and Mack got closer to the wreckage of the aisles. Surveying the damage as they moved closer to the refrigerated poultry section.

“Was it marking its territory or something?” Mack asked as he bent down and swept the camera over the crushed contents of the aisles.

“Can’t say.” Danika began as she had an idea. “Actually we should contact an expert on biology or something. Shit, I can’t believe I didn’t think of doing that sooner!” Danika fumed as she rapidly tapped a reminder into her phone.

“Well it was definitely hungry when it came by.” Mack surmised.

“What do you mean?”

“See all those torn up plastics over there? Underneath the twenty pack of Cheezy Wheats? It’s a bit hard to make out with the mess but there’s a lot there.”

Danika frowned and looked at the damage a bit closer. There was a mess of plastics all around but there was some that definitely wasn’t used to wrap crackers.

“I think our Big Guy has a hankering for turkey and chicken.” Danika said as her eyes roved over all the empty wrappers. “Jesus Mack, I think he emptied the entire beef and poultry section. I don’t see anything left…” She trailed off. A bit awed at the appetite of the monster. “He should have been hibernating for winter after eating all of this. Damn, maybe a couple of winters. Where the hell did he even put it all?”

“Beats me.” Mack shrugged. “Least we know why it didn’t eat us.”

“We do?” Danika asked confused as she turned towards Mack.

“Yeah, it had a full belly.” Mack said easily. “Didn’t have any more room in its stomach for us.”

“It saved us Mack.” Danika said pointedly. “Deliberately. Why can’t you accept that its intelligent? It even used one of those other monsters as a shield to protect itself from a shotgun!”

“It might have seemed that way in the moment D, but you’re letting what you want to believe color your perceptions of that thing.”

“Color my perceptions of-” Danika shook her head. “We had a genuine moment! Did you hit your head or did you not see how close I was to earning its trust? If I’d just had few more seconds alone with the Big Guy without the police shooting innocent monsters we’d be having an entirely different conversation right now.”

“If you say so D.”

“I did say so!”

“I’m not disputing that.”

“Of course you are.”

“What? Disputing you or disputing what you just said?”

“Both obviously.”

“I specifically said I was not disputing.”

“Oh no. I know I felt some disputing coming from you.”

“Felt some disputing? I don’t think that’s proper English D. It is a verb after all.”

“Why you-”

“Did you want to see the skylight too?” The manager broke in hesitantly. Causing both Danika and Mack to turn back to face the man. After Danika gave Mack a brief challenging look and he returned her glare with a nonplussed shrug they regrouped with the manager as he brought them to the skylight.

“If it was a dragon like you said, it must have come through here.” The manager said. Toeing a shard of glass on the floor. “Every other way in was locked up tight. Thank goodness there was no more damage back here, the thing at least spared my office.”

“Right.” Danika said distractedly as her mind whirred with questions. Why hadn’t the thing busted through the front if it had wanted to get inside? It was clearly more than capable of doing so. Had it not known that there was food in the store and stumbled its way in?

Stumbled its way in as it climbed onto the roof. That can’t be right. Danika frowned. The problem was discerning what level of intelligence the Big Guy had in the first place. It had seemed incredibly intelligent for an animal when it had blocked the gunfire at the gas station but was that learned behavior from being shot at before? But if it had been shot at before how did that explain it saving their lives?

“Do you know when exactly it broke into the store?” She asked and the manager nodded in reply.

“A little before midnight I think but I’d have to check the cameras.” He said easily.

A little before midnight? But that’s… Danika frowned even deeper this time as she thought through that new information. It had been after midnight when they’d been attacked by the monsters at the gas station. Those two times were just too close to add up.

It must have taken the majority of its time to eat here. But for it to have made it to the gas station wouldn’t it have had to rush? I thought it might have wandered over after tracking that pack of monsters but it was way too far away from that right? Does that mean it sought them out? It had attacked them almost immediately, but what does it all mean? I’m missing something. Hell, it feels like I’m missing nearly everything. Like what these monsters are in the first place, where they come from and why there seems to be only one of them that doesn’t immediately try to rip our throats out.

Danika’s deep train of thought might have continued for some time but it had taken a solid minute for the manager’s full sentence to breach her mind. Had he said they had cameras?

Even without her speaking Mack could swear he almost sensed the barely withheld giddiness inside the woman as she thought about the footage the cameras must have recorded. Mack would never say it aloud but seeing how hungry Danika was for footage honestly worried him at times. He distinctly saw the manager take a step back as she rushed right up to him.

“Can we get a look at that footage?” Danika said quickly. The mask of professionalism slipping a bit in her excitement as she smiled at the man.

“Ah sorry.” The manager said a little uncomfortably. “The cameras weren’t on I’m afraid.”

“They weren’t… on.” Danika stammered. And Mack could swear he saw her eye twitch as she processed the information. “Why… weren’t they on?”

“I wish I could tell you honestly.” The manager said. “I checked the computers myself but they’re fine. It’s an electrical issue of some kind. It’s been forever since we had them looked at.”

“Could we take a look.” Danika said. The words sounding more like a statement than a question. Fortunately it was a statement the manager wasn’t willing to refuse.

He led them to a back office that was clearly his own as he sat in the chair behind the desk and brought up the camera feeds. Despite the exterior camera feeds coming online and showing the outdoors the interior feeds were black. Not even a flicker to indicate they were working properly.

“They’ve been like this all day.” The manager huffed. “I think that beast must have crossed some wires breaking through the front. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Danika barely held back a sigh as she gave the computer screens a pained look. Losing her own footage was hard enough. But to lose the chance of getting her hands on solid video evidence of the monster that saved her hurt just as bad if not worse.

“Well, thank you for your time sir.” She said diplomatically. Already thinking about how she’d track down the one employee who’s sworn to have come face to face with the “Dragon”.

“Found your problem.” Mack said pointing to the wall. “Circuit Breaker tripped. It’s a shame but it can happen at the worst of times.”

The manager smacked a hand to his head in apparent shock. “I didn’t even think to check! Thank you young man! There was so much happening this morning, there ah…” The man looked perplexed. “There should be a cover for that. Do you see it anywhere?”

“Right over here.” Mack said picking up the metal cover for the panel from the floor. It had slid half underneath a small file cabinet to the side

“That’s strange. I don’t remember that being so loose. Though I’ve never messed with it so who am I to speak about it.”

Danika let Mack do his thing as he volunteered to help reattach the panel. She was lost in her own thoughts with all the information she’d uncovered but just couldn’t find a way to make the pieces fit together. A twinge in her gut kept her from focusing however. She couldn’t explain it but there was something she was missing. It was right there. Almost right before her very eyes.

Blinking her eyes caught on a small detail in the floor, barely more than a scuff in the tile, but it was there. Standing out amidst the other scrapes in the well travelled floor it was definitely a longer one, maybe even a little deeper too. There was another one just like it a couple feet away, next to the door.

As Mack talked to the manager about fastening the panel back in place she took a step out into the hall. The scrapes continued from there as well. Coming from the breakroom with the broken skylight and heading to the office before leading out into the store proper.

“Damn. See this part here? It’s all bent to hell. You’re going to have to get a new one.” Mack said as he pointed out the problem.

Danika’s stare traveled to the Circuit Breaker panel, where the scrapes in the tile seemed to gather under before leaving the office. Almost as if…

No… Danika thought warily as she approached Mack and the panel box. He asked her something but she didn’t hear him as her gut told her to look at the individual breakers.

“It’s alright D. I got them working again.” Mack said before looking a question at his partner. “D?”

Refrigeration, Exterior Lighting, Air Conditioning… Danika mentally ticked off as she ran a finger over the breakers. Moving down the line until she found the one she was looking for. The one labeled Interior Cameras and Lighting Fixtures. Mack had already moved the Circuit Breaker back into place but Danika wasn’t focused on the position the breaker was in.

She ran her finger over the sharp scratch in the side of the breaker. The scratch that was only on that side of the breaker and none of the others. It looked like a part of the plastic had been gouged with a razor blade.

Or the tip of a claw.

Danika stood sharply and stiffly offered her thanks again to the manager as she practically fled the office. Mack having to jog after her with an apologetic look towards the manager who’d been left holding the broken panel. “When can I expect to see myself on the news?” He called after Danika hopefully but she didn’t offer a reply. Couldn’t have in that moment. Her mind felt like she’d chugged a gallon of energy drinks.

“Hey where are you going?” Mack called after Danika as she left the store through a side door. “Don’t we still have to interview that restaurant guy?”

“No, no.” Danika stammered. “Mack. Do we still have that reservation at the motel?”

“Yeah why?” Mack said puzzled.

“Because I need to lie down.” Danika said after taking a deep breath. “And I could use a drink right about now.”

The motel still had their reservation actually. And while the rooms were rather comfy and the beds properly made Danika didn’t lie down on them at all. She was too busy pacing back and forth across the carpet. Even as night fell and they should have been getting some proper footage for the network. The discussion they’d had on theories about the monsters that nearly killed them and the one that saved them went on for hours.

“But why now?” Mack asked plainly. “You were ready to get right back to work after the attack but its only now that you’re actually spooked about this? Where is this coming from?”

“It’s coming from a realization that this is more than just a big story Mack.” Danika proclaimed as she continued to pace from one side of the small room to the other. “I thought the Big Guy was smart. That there was something there. But I only thought he was as smart as some kind of animal. But he’s more than just smart Mack. Animals don’t know how to flip circuit breakers. Animals don’t leave literal tons of food at the store to rush over to a gas station to save people they don’t know.”

Mack held up a finger in protest from where he sat on the edge of the bed. “We still don’t know that it left the store to save us. It could have been any number of things that made it leave.”

Danika waved a hand at Mack to show what she thought of that as she continued. “This is big Mack. Not prime time big. But world shaking, century defining, really scary shit big. Did you find anything online?”

“I looked.” Mack said holding up his phone and scrolling. “But D, this might not be what you think. What if it’s just Tennessee?”

“And what if it’s not?” Danika said shakily. “What if this is happening in more places than just here?”

“If that were the case.” Mack conceded. “Then it would be big. Really scary shit big. But what are we supposed to do if it is? Report on it?”

“Yes!” Danika exclaimed. “We should have died last night. Would have in fact if it weren’t for one monster. We still don’t know why he’s different from the others. But that one difference, in one monster saved our lives. We have to find out what makes him special Mack. Did any of the experts you messaged send anything back?”

“Just one.” Mack said looking through his phone. “From a Doctor Wallenstein. That crazy haired scientist guy. It’s just an automated reply but I’ll try calling him again later.”

“We need to think outside the box. How would the Big Guy hide himself? Where would he be going?”

“And if we do find it what then Danika?” Mack said pointedly. “We almost died last time we got close to it, why should we risk ourselves like that again.”

“Because I’m afraid the military is going to go in guns blazing when they find him and kill the only monster that is actually trying to save people.” Danika said with real worry. “What if the Big Guy isn’t just special. Not just an exception among these monsters, but the exception?”

Mack paused and the silence stretched between them. To the point that Danika was afraid she had given her partner to much to think about too quickly. He looked up at her a mixed expression in his eyes. “This isn’t our fight D. Not even our job. You’re just a reporter and I’m just a camera guy. I didn’t sign up to go monster hunting and risk my life for this.”

Danika frowned but slowly, to her relief. Mack nodded.

“But I get what you’re saying. These monsters aren’t normal. Nothing about this is normal really. And if there’s a difference to be made, or even lives to be saved… I guess I could tag along.” Mack said with a small smile. “Besides, your hands always shake when you’re holding the camera and getting this kind of experience under my belt will do wonders when I try to negotiate for a better salary.”

Danika chuckled and shook her head at her partner.

“Thanks Mack, really.”

“Just promise to bring me on to whatever prime time show they give you after all this is over.”

“Sure thing Mack.” Danika said pulling her phone from its charger on the nightstand. Finally allowing herself to fall into the bed to rest after a day of reporting and internet sleuthing. Danika scrolled through her phone for hours after Mack turned the lamp off, searching every kind of term for monster and lizard over social media without any luck. She was just starting to feel sleep come over her when she scrolled through a video with only a single still image and a voice over. One that was apparently still new judging by the small amount of likes and comments on it. Reading the title off in a daze Danika listened to the voice of a somewhat panicked sounding female’s voice as she struggled to focus on the words being spoken.

Haunted Statue On I-75!?! (NOT CLICKBAIT!)

“I can’t believe this is happening to me you guys! You know I’m an Aquarius, I didn’t think this happened to people with my star sign! Plus I never leave my house without my mix of onyx quartz and obsidian to shield against negativity. My husband thinks I’m overreacting but I just know that my vibrational energies have been way out of whack this moon and this is the proof! I took a picture with my son while we were at a rest stop and he told me the statue behind us was moving! I didn’t believe him or notice it at the time but look at the picture I took! The statue blinked! I’m really scared you guys, this wasn’t in my horoscope and I didn’t bring the right crystals with me to offset these malicious spirits! I know it has something to do with my mother in law. She attracts so much negative energy I can barely stand her! Plus she won’t let me cleanse her aura with my pink sapphires! Send me your love and good vibes everyone! XOXO.”

Danika tried to make sense of what the lady was saying but the words seemed to gloss over her mind without leaving a single trace of their presence. I think I just reached my limit. Danika thought numbly. Turning her phone off as she laid it down on the nightstand. I’m starting to see that Big Guy everywhere I look. For a minute I thought I saw him inside a government building next to a public bathroom…

Danika smiled at the absurdity of the thought as she snuggled her head into her pillow. Ready to finally catch some well deserved sleep. She was already starting to mentally count sheep as she prepared to dream.

She lasted all of five seconds before her eyes snapped awake.

Practically ripping her phone from the nightstand Danika reopened that same video and paused the insipid narration to focus on the picture. The claws, the fangs, the green tinted scales. There was no question. That the lady and her children in the picture were still alive to take the picture was proof enough that she had found her giant reptilian quarry.

“Mack! Get up!” Danika shouted as she leapt out of bed and jostled her partner awake from his two hours of sleep.

“Hrm- Wa?” Mack grunted as Danika shoved the phone in his face.

“This is him! He’s right here!” Danika said beaming. “Hiding in plain sight! I can’t believe it!” Danika stopped beaming and frowned acutely. “I can’t believe it actually. Is it really that easy for a giant reptile to go unnoticed in a public space?”

“It’s just… standing there?” Mack said dubiously. Squinting at the picture as he fully came awake. “Standing there… Menacingly? What the hell is it doing with its arms?” Mack looked up to Danika with a worried glint in his eye “D, why is the monster posing for a picture?”

“It’s hiding in plain sight.”

“Okay, but what is it doing in a… rest stop? That doesn’t make any sense. Did it break through a wall on its way in? Why would it even bother?”

“I don’t know, vending machines? There’s got to be a reason though Mack. This thing is smart. Probably way smarter than we give it credit for.” Danika said. Pacing all over again as her mind searched for an answer.

“What reason could it possibly have to break into a rest stop of all places? Was it trying to drink from the toilet bowls?” Mack said incredulously.

“Don’t insult the Big Guy Mack. We still owe him for saving our lives.”

“D, there’s literally nothing inside there that would be useful in any way whatsoever.” Mack said tiredly. “There’s nothing but vending machines, toilets, and maps for tourists.”

Almost at the same moment Danika and Mack stopped and turned to look at each other. Danika’s face breaking out into a brilliant smile that ran counter to Mack’s stunned open mouth. “Maps?” Danika said brightly.

“No.” Mack said instantly. Shaking his head in disbelief.

“Yes!” Danika said back. Grabbing her things and the camera in both arms as she turned towards Mack with a devilish grin. “To the rental!”

Mack stared slack jawed after his partner, his body still horrifically tired from too little sleep as he lifted his arms up into the air in defeat. “How would it even know how to read a map?”