Godzilla Returns by Marc Cerasini Read Free Book Online Page A

among strange, rocky outcroppings that projected from the water at odd angles in three long rows. The pointed tips of these outcroppings, which were stained dirty white with bird droppings, rose over fifty feet above the waves.
    Kim, standing on the bow, spotted the three rows of rocks. He squinted against the wind and leaned over the rail to get a better look. He had made this trip twice, but had never noticed this strange rock formation before.
    He heard a sound. The passenger cabin door opened, and then closed, behind him. Some passengers had come out of the warmth of the interior and onto the windswept deck.
    Kim turned.
    It was the American student and his girlfriend, the pretty Korean girl. Kim knew that the boy was an American - he'd heard him speak English.
    Relieved that it was not his mother come to fetch him, Kim returned his gaze to the rocky formation.
    That's strange , Kim thought. The rocks seem to have moved. The formation had slipped into a fog bank, and then emerged again - this time it seemed much closer to the ferry.
    Kim heard a startled exclamation behind him.
    The couple had spotted the bird-covered rocks, too. The teenaged boy began jabbering in English.
    * * *
    On the bridge of the Pusan ferry, the captain and the wheelman heard the collision alarm go off.
    "All stop!" the captain shouted, even before he saw the object in the ferry's path.
    As the wheelman pulled back on the throttles, the captain lifted his binoculars and scanned the waters ahead.
    At first he saw nothing. Rolling fog obscured his vision. Then the mist seemed to part and the captain spotted the floating mass of bony spikes. The three rows of objects were towering out of the water and drifting into the ferry's path.
    "What is it?" the captain asked the wheelman. But the man at the throttle was far too busy trying to halt the forward momentum of the ship to answer his commanding officer. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, the ferry captain returned his gaze to the horizon. He watched helplessly as the object drifted closer and closer to his ship.
    In desperation, the captain reached for the steam whistle and pulled the chain. The loud blast cut through the fog. Birds, which had been roosting on the floating rocks, took to the air in a flurry of wings.
    "Reverse all engines!" the captain cried, his eyes locked on the barrier on the horizon.
    "Full reverse!" the wheelman answered, throwing the throttle in the opposite direction.
    The engines groaned in protest as the propellers under the stern reversed direction. The whole ship shuddered. The captain and wheelman were thrown forward by the momentum of the vessel. Then the ship seemed to stop.
    Before it could move backward, however, the Pusan ferry slammed into the floating mass with a sickening sound of grinding metal.
    On the bridge, the captain and wheelman were knocked off their feet. The captain landed hard on the deck. The wheel itself was pulled out of the wheelman's grip as it twisted to the side. Indeed, the whole ferry was pushed to the side. Then its bow was lifted into the air.
    "Damage report!" the captain screamed into the radio. "I want a damage report!"
    "Captain!" an excited voice cried over the intercom. "The hull has been breached. We are taking on water."
    "Damn," the captain cursed. He immediately reached for the long-range radio.
    The captain keyed the mike. "This is the Pusan ferry," he said urgently. "Mayday... mayday. We have collided with an object and are taking on water... Mayday! Mayday!"
    * * *
    Will Adams managed to push Soonji and the little Korean boy back inside the passenger compartment right before the collision. Like everyone else, they were knocked off their feet. Now all of the ferry passengers were in a panic. Most of them were screaming in fear.
    When the ship finally seemed to settle, the passengers calmed down a bit.
    Will held Soonji down as he rose unsteadily to his feet. "Stay there," he said. Pale with fright, Soonji could only