Godzilla 2000 by Marc Cerasini Read Free Book Online

seconds," the director announced.
    The cameraman, sitting on the seat opposite hers, lifted the heavy camera and focused it on her face. The technician who operated the satellite link gave Robin a thumbs-up, then turned the tiny monitor so that she could watch herself on-camera.
    Here goes , she thought, her heart racing.
    "Ten seconds," the director warned, holding up the clipboard with Robin's lines printed on it in big, bold letters.
    "Five... four... three... two... one... action!"
    Robin Halliday smiled at the camera and lifted the microphone to her perfectly made-up face. "This is Robin Halliday, special correspondent for INN Science Sunday ," she began smoothly.
    "Below me is the breathtakingly lovely Mexican coast of Yucatan, a resort mecca for tourists from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
    "As the twenty-first century dawns, this is one of the most natural, peaceful settings in the world."
    The director switched to a camera mounted on the exterior of the helicopter. The viewers were treated to a bird's-eye view of beautiful white sand beaches, even as Robin's voice took on a more ominous tone.
    "But sixty-five million years ago, this part of the world was very different..."
    The director cued the special effects, and back at the INN studios in New York an animated segment began. As Robin spoke, she watched the images on the satellite monitor, images of a computer-generated asteroid hitting the Mexican coast.
    "This area was the site of the most destructive event in the history of our planet. Right below us, buried under the sand and sediment of eons, lies the original impact crater left behind after the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs struck Earth - with a force equal to every nuclear weapon ever built..."
    The director cued the cameraman, and Robin's face filled the monitor once again. "Some people call this crater the Graveyard of the Dinosaurs."
    The director signaled for her to speed it up as he flipped the page on the clipboard. Robin skimmed the words as she picked up the pace.
    "Scientists estimate that the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was twice the size of the largest one now heading toward the earth."
    Again, Robin modulated her voice to sound grim and portentous. Again, the director signaled her to pick up the pace.
    This time, Robin ignored him.
    "It took nature millions of years to recover from that first cataclysmic asteroid impact... millions of years to restore the rain forests below and the varieties of animal and vegetable life that abound all around us."
    For dramatic effect, Robin turned and looked out of the window as if she were meditating on the fate of our puny planet.
    "How long will it take nature to restore Earth if another asteroid should strike the planet in the next two months?" she asked dramatically.
    The cameraman never wavered, though he wanted to burst out laughing at the director's obvious annoyance with the intern's theatrics.
    Fortunately, the segment was winding down.
    "In the next half-hour, INN's Nick Gordon will pose these questions to Dr. Ramon Reyes, the co-discoverer of - oh my God, what's that?"
    The director ripped off his headphones and almost choked. Luckily, the cameraman was on top of things. He shifted the camera and focused in the direction Robin was pointing.
    Through the lens, the cameraman saw an immense dark green blur in the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Hastily, he tried to focus.
    As the cameraman worked the lens, the director whistled in amazement and the pilot dipped the helicopter lower. The pilot was also a seasoned journalist, and he knew when to chase a story.
    Suddenly, the image on the monitor sharpened, and the astounding vision was revealed to the viewing public on live, nationwide television.
    Science Sunday had just been interrupted by the appearance of a giant prehistoric monster swimming in the Gulf of Mexico!
    "Keep talking!" the director screamed through Robin's headphones. The intern snapped to attention, then