The Terror of Tyrantis

Dr. Lerna dug his fingers through his brown hair as his partners argued fiercely while he sat there trying to think. He was in his mid twenties and just beginning to make a name for himself in the scientific community when disaster struck. It had taken them over four years, but he and his team had finally cloned over seventy species of dinosaurs. The experimental creatures were on a previously uninhabited island and each species was thriving. However, news had leaked out to the public, and now there were multiple riots across America. People protested that it was an "abomination" and "a sin so great that it would surely incur God's wrath." Naturally every investor tied to the project severed all connections. Now Lerna and his fellow scientists were bankrupt with an island of over two hundred dinosaurs to take care of. As they argued about what they would have to do, a man in a black suit stepped into the room.

"Hello. My name is J.C. Clark. I work for the government. We've heard about your little project, and it sparked our interest," the stranger said with a smirk. The man was also in his late twenties and looked like the kind of man that most women would swoon over. His slicked back hair was black and his eyes gleamed in an almost hypnotizing way. Despite his handsome features he had an aura of greed and arrogance all around him.

"My name is Dr. Lerna. I'm the head of this group," Lerna replied with a smile. "You're interested in our project?"

"Yes," J.C. stated as though he wasn't really paying attention, "you see, I work in the biological weapons division of the US Army. I was trying to make a wonder drug that could make the perfect soldier but I accidentally made a horrible weapon. We want to test it in the field. If we could use your dinosaurs as a test subject, I think that would be enough to get it into the army."

Lerna's smile dropped and he answered defiantly, "I'm sorry, but our animals are not, under any circumstances, going to be used for such a hideous cause." He started talking to his partners when J.C. interrupted again.

"Of course, if you accept, I'll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams," J.C. smiled. "Your choice."

The other scientists perked up. They all told Lerna, "This is our only chance. Do NOT blow this!"

Lerna tried to protest, but he knew he was beaten. "Well," he sighed, "though I do not agree with the decision, I still speak for all of us. We accept your proposal."

"Excellent. We'll pay you in two days. Hope you enjoy being rich."

Dr. Lerna knew no good could come of this. His narrow-minded colleagues laughed and congratulated one another, thinking their problem was over. He knew they were wrong. Lerna moaned in despair, "What have we done? What have I done?"

The forest of the experimental island was exploding with the screams of agony from over 200 dying animals. One by one, each species was once again scratched out of existence by the deadly virus developed by J.C. Clark.

The virus administrators worked quickly, injecting every species on the island. No creature was spared, from the largest sauropod to the smallest raptor. Young and adult dinosaurs, even babies and eggs, were killed like cattle in a slaughterhouse.

In the still developing embryos of certain eggs, the virus did what it was originally intended to do. Slowly the DNA of the creatures within mutated. The eggs grew and grew, as did the babies inside them.

The men came into the tyrannosaurus territory. It had been discovered that tyrannosaurs lived in packs of about five or four adults each. One adult would stay at the pack’s nest and guard it while the others hunted. Sure enough they found a large, female tyrannosaur at the nest, just laying her eggs. They took out their dart guns and shot the mother with tranquilizer darts filled with the virus. She wailed and began a violent seizure that the men casually ignored. They went over to her nest and whipped out their syringes, injecting the virus into each egg.

The Fortune, a fishing ship 20,000 meters from the coast of San Fransisco
Five years after the destruction of the island of dinosaurs

"I swear, they were larger than this boat!" an old sailor shouted.

"Right. You saw sea serpents bigger than this boat. Are you sure you weren't drunk?" another sailor.

"No, I'm sure I wasn't drunk," The old sailor spat angrily. "There were three giagantic sea monsters, each more hideous than the last! One was black and white, the other charcoal gray, and the third was blue. They hissed and roared, churning the very sea in their great battle. Then an enormous flame burst from a nearby island, and they swam away."

"Man, you're crazy. There ain't no such things as sea ser,” the other sailor trail off as he saw a gargantuan green object rise out of the water, “pents.”

The green thing was huge, larger than the boat. Rows of white knife-shaped objects were on each side of it. The sailor soon realized what the thing was: a giant head. Its eyes opened and stared at the ship curiously, gleaming with fiery intelect.

"Um, Bob," the young sailor said to older sailor, "were any of those sea serpents green?"

"No, they were gray, black and white, and blu...." the old sailor was cut off as the monster opened its jaws and took a bite out of the ship.

Dozens of shipwrecks had occured in only four weeks. Each had relatively few survivors, but they all told tales about a green sea serpent that attacked the ships. What was worse, the shipwrecks were coming closer and closer to San Fransisco. The city had finally finished the repairs to the Golden Gate Bridge after the octopus attack of 1955, and it would be disastrous if another attack was made. However, they didn't want to scare away the tourists. An agreement was made to keep the shipwrecks under wraps, while the National Guard took care of securing the coast. If a sea serpent were out there, it wouldn't be out there for long.

The "sea serpent" was already in trouble. The behemoth’s striking red eyes had become dull with exhaustion. He looked more like a corpse than a living creature, which was exactly how he felt. It had been weeks since he had food and good water, and yet he was still able to breathe. Barely alive, he kept floating, the current carrying him. He didn't know how he was still alive! Something told him that he should be dead by now, yet he survived. Suddenly he saw prey: a dying blue whale, falling beneath the waves. With the little energy he had left, the monster plunged down into the sea and devoured the sea mammal. Suddenly energetic, the monster swam upwards and continued to float, waiting for the next creature to cross his path. When the behemoth was up above the waves, he saw something in the horizon. Land! Feeling relieved, the beast attempted to swim. In a few minute he'd be safe.

A small red ferryboat gently coasted on its way to San Fransisco. It was all part of a new tourist attraction, where visitors to the city could ride out to the very spot where the giant octopus rose out of the water in 1955 and attacked the first Golden Gate bridge. Suddenly a giant green head rose from the water. It opened its jaws hungrily, then stopped. The beast remembered the taste of boats, and it wasn't good. The sea serpent of San Fransisco was sick of ships. Instead of devouring the ferry, the monster simply head butted it.

The ocean floor was finally close enough for the monster to walk on. The colossal creature waded out of the water, bobbing his head like a great bird. As he reached the shore, people screamed and ran. Some escaped while others were crushed by the oblivious giant.

Dr. Lerna had been out shopping. He had used his money from the government to retire in San Fransisco at the age of twenty-five. The doctor was just driving home from the grocery store when he noticed a ruckus on the beach. As he peered out his right car window, he gasped in a combination of fear and amazement. A giant tyrannosaurus was wading in up the beach! He was sure it was a tyrannosaurus, because he had actually seen one. The more he looked at the monster, the more he realized it was different than the tyrannosaurs he had bred. It had a longer neck and a longer tail, and the bumps over its eyes and nose had formed spikes. The hands of this tyrannosaur had three fingers, not two, and his arms had strange triangular fringes. Of course the most obvious difference was its size. Its head alone was the size of a large adult T. rex, and its smallest tooth looked at least five feet long. After comparing the monster to the buildings and people, Dr. Lerna guessed that it was between one hundred-fifty to one hundred-eighty feet tall, or fifty to sixty meters. Therefore Lerna decided that this creature was a new species, or maybe even a new genus. But what to name it? Lerna thought about a name. The creature was the largest thing ever to set foot on American soil. Lerna remembered another creature of about the same size that attacked Tokyo in 1954, just one year before the octopus incident. It went by many names; the least used of which was "Gigantis." A light bulb went off in Lerna's head. He would name the creature Tyrantis.

Tyrantis trotted to the shore, looking at his surroundings with awe. Never in his life had he seen such large metal structures. The more he saw, the more wonder filled him. He soon forgot his awe when hunger pains struck from within him. A smell caught Tyrantis's nose: the smell of carrion. Tyrantis knew the smell instinctively, and by that same instinct he was drawn to it.

The powerful odor was coming from a dead elephant at the zoo. The mammal had died of a heart attack earlier that day and hadn't been moved yet. Its flesh was being toasted by the warm sun, which created a powerful stench. Tyrantis found the corpse and was struck with disappointment; to Tyrantis's eyes, the great beast was little more than a mouthful. He ate it anyway and then left. The monster grumbled angrily. Surely there was larger game in this new world.

As he continued to search for food, a loud whirring caught his attention. Dozens of helicopters, jets, and other assorted military vehicles were flying towards him. At first Tyrantis was curious, thinking that they were some sort of food. Somehow he doubted it. They were too small to be threats, so Tyrantis decided to ignore them.

That's when the barrage began. Each aircraft fired wave after wave of missles. By the time they were out of ammo, chunks of Tyrantis's flesh and blood, including his left arm, were on the ground. However, when the smoke cleared there wasn't a scratch on the monster! The pilots were astounded. On the ground there was proof that they had hit the monster, yet he wasn't damaged at all! It defied logic! Tyrantis was just as surprised as they were, but his astonishment was not as great as his rage. Anger was growing within him, and he could feel it struggling to get free. Tyrantis opened his mouth to roar a warning, when something strange happened. Instead of a roar, a huge ray of searing hot flame erupted from his mouth and incinerated the aircrafts.

Tanks and even more jets were coming closer, all firing on him. Tyrantis roared, releasing another flame and melting the tanks, then going after the planes. The jets swerved as streams of fire were thrown at them. They flew around Tyrantis, hitting him with missles and desperately trying to avoid his fiery breath. He snarled, bobbing his head. Each bob cut off a stream of fire, creating fireballs. The jets exploded one by one. Only a few pilots made it out in time.

By the time his foes were destroyed, Tyrantis was in an uncontrollable rage! He burned and smashed everything in his path, eventually making his way to the sea. In there was another boat that began to attack him. Tyrantis snarled at it and charged, kicking up twenty foot tall waves in his wake. He knocked the ship over and spat a fireball on his now defenseless adversary. The monster panted, exhausted from a combination of hunger and combat.

Tyrantis's troubles were not over yet. As he made it back to the beach an orange tentacle rose from the sea and grabbed his leg. Four more lashed out, grabbing Tyrantis's mouth, neck, and tail. Tyrantis struggled, forcing his attacker to surface. It was Lusca, a giant octopus that was nearly Tyrantis's size. The sea monster’s flesh gleamed in the sun, giving it a moist, wet look. Tyrantis was still enraged and fire was gathering in his throat. He used all his might to open his mouth, struggling against the strength of the octopus’s rubbery tentacle. His bone-crushing jaws used so much force that the octopus's tentacle snapped like a rubber band. It screamed in agony as chunks of its flesh fell into the water. To the beast’s dismay, Tyrantis wasn't finished with him yet. He grabbed the octopus's other arms, holding it in place. Lusca lashed Tyrantis with its tentacles, but to no avail. The orange sea monster tried to escape, but its fate was sealed. Tyrantis finally released his flame, only instead of hitting his opponent, he let it loose on the water. The mollusk squealed and shrieked in pain as it was boiled alive. In a matter of minutes Lusca was nothing more than the worlds largest piece calamari.

Tyrantis grabbed his opponent's steamed corpse with his jaws and threw it against the Golden Gate Bridge, smashing it into pieces; the second time a giant octopus had taken down the bridge. Tyrantis roared in triumph and completely devoured his opponent in a matter of hours.

Days passed. Tyrantis had taken over San Fransisco. The amount of casualties was still unknown, but estimates were in the thousands. The dinosaur had certainly made its mark.

Dr. Lerna received a call from the military two days after the attack. They wanted him to help stop the monster. Lerna agreed.

By the time Lerna made his way into the meeting room, a strong, red-haired woman was choking J.C. Clark. The generally handsome man was looking very grim.

"Dr. Lerna. Finally somebody who knows what they're talking about. Perhaps you can help us with our lizard problem," the woman grunted. Dr. Lerna determined that she had to be a general of some kind from her apparel and how people treated her. J.C.'s neck was still clenched in her hand.

"Well, sir, it's not a lizard. Far from it, this looks like some new breed of tyrannosaurus. I took the liberty of naming it. Its scientific name is Tyrantis levianthus, or Tyrantis for short. It's really quite the phenomenon. How a tyrannosaur could survive in the water with so few aquatic adaptations and grow to that size without man knowing is just, well, miraculous!" Lerna replied.

"It's no miracle, just a greedy man's stupidity. Thank you Dr. Lerna. I believe J.C. can tell us the rest of the story," the general growled. She was obviously not pleased with whatever J. C. had done.

"Er... cough... yes," J.C. wheezed as he caught his breath. "The biological weapon that I tested on your dinosaurs, Dr. Lerna, was a virus. It was originally designed to make a breed of super soldiers. They were going to be smarter, faster, larger, stronger, and most importantly, able to regenerate any and all body parts in less than a second as long as they're brains were completely intact. We found out how to do it while studying the cells of a Japanese ice monster that was defeated the same year that we fought the giant octopus. Its cells contained all the genes required for making a super-strong organelle that could let us do all of these things. We programmed a virus to inject DNA into the cell that would make it replicate the organelle. It was named the Omega Virus D.

"However, the test subjects didn't react to it too well. It worked on all single celled organisms. A couple of the multicellular test subjects died and the invertebrates had a fifty-fifty survival rate. But by the time we tested vertebrates all the test subjects expired seconds after it was injected into their systems."

"Any explanation for why the dinosaurs survived it?" the general asked Lerna.

Lerna thought for a moment. His eyes lit up and he nodded his head, proposing, "I have a theory. Tyrantis couldn't be an adult dinosaur that was mutated by your virus. However, it might have been an undeveloped embryo within an egg. Dinosaur eggs don't really form bodies until about seventy hours after they’re laid. Twenty of the seventy species on the island had just been breeding when you released your virus. Maybe some of the eggs were so young that they were still only a few cells and, consequently, able to mutate effectively."

"Oh, that's just swell," the general sighed sarcastically. "Any suggestions on how to defeat it?" she asked the room.

"I have no clue. We didn't get to study our animals in depth, and I know nothing about J.C.'s virus" Lerna replied.

"May I make a suggestion?" Clark croaked, still sore from when he was being choked. "The Omega Virus G."

Lerna rose from his seat immediately protesting, "No Clark! No! Not another one of your viruses. Look what they've done so far!"

"Now wait just a minute, Lerna," the general interrupted, "This may be Clark's chance to redeem himself. Go on J.C."

"Well, you see, the OVG is stronger than the OVD, which we tested on your dinosaurs. It was designed after the most efficient biological weapon known to man. It will kill Tyrantis."

"How are we sure this virus won't have any nasty results?" Lerna snarled.

"It only spreads through the transmission of bodily fluids," J.C. replied.

"That doesn't sound very efficient," the general thought out loud.

"It is though. Remember the Romero incident? Or the outbreak at Fulci Manor? This virus is a new, improved strain of the virus in those outbreaks. But with one large target it won't be able to spread. It will kill Tyrantis, or at least render him helpless enough for us to finish the job," Clark smiled.

"The Romero incident? Yes, I remember reading about that a few years ago when I was promoted," the general nodded. "Very well. We will use your virus."

"NO! Tyrantis should not be destroyed! He should be studied!" Lerna pleaded. His mind was plagued with guilt every day for killing those dinosaurs so many years ago. He couldn't allow another one to die.

"I'm sorry Lerna, but this is the way it has to be. Tyrantis has killed too many people for us to even consider a more humane approach. There simply isn’t time. Tomorrow we'll load up as much OVG as we can and inject it into the monster," the general announced. Lerna attempted to continue his protest, but the general ignored him and barked, "Good job men!"

Everyone shook hands and laughed in relief. As they left Lerna lingered in the room for a while, horrified at the atrocity he helped commit.

Tyrantis was sleeping with his new kill, another giant octopus. The monster was pleased; he had found a new land with plenty of prey. In a few days he'd find his family and bring them back with him. He enjoyed the idea of seeing his brothers and sisters again.

Suddenly a loud buzzing sound filled Tyrantis's ears. He peeked over a destroyed building to see the sound's source. The helicopters had returned, one of which had a large syringe that was filled with very potent venom: the Omega Virus G.

Tyrantis roared in challenge, and then let loose his fire breath. Many helicopters melted in mid air, but the one with the needle remained. It shot its primary weapon into the neck of Tyrantis. The tyrannosaur roared, then choked. His body went into convulsions as the violent seizure began. He coughed up both blood and saliva, no longer able to spit flame. He finally stopped, comatose, lying nearly lifeless on the ground.

Inside the helicopter, Lerna and J.C. Clark watched the spectacle.

“We killed him. He didn’t mean us harm. He didn’t even start attacking until we hurt him,” Lerna sighed with grief, “and yet we killed him. It was our mistake, not his. The poor, innocent brute.”

"Excellent. The virus worked like a charm. Now for some human test subjects," Clark whispered to himself.

"What was that?" Lerna asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just saying how glad I was that this is all over," Clark replied.

"Over? It's not over," Lerna scoffed. "Twenty animals were breeding on that fateful day. That means twenty possible breeds of monsters, with a high possibility of more than one of each. Our days with Tyrantis aren't over. The way I see it, they've only just begun."

Far away, a mile across the Pacific Ocean, an island with unnaturally large tree was hidden from humanity's knowledge. The island was filled with sounds of life, including the chirping of four very large chicks. They squeaked and chirped with hunger, waiting for their parents to return. They weren't birds, but they weren't reptiles either. The babies were green in color and stood on two legs. Each of their tiny arms had three soft triangular scales hanging off them.

Finally the babies' parents arrived. One had three spikes over each of his large blue eyes and two pyramid-shaped spikes on his nose. The other had no spikes whatsoever, but she was larger than her horned mate was. The mother opened her mouth, dropping a mouthful of flesh by the babies. They cooed in excitement and tore into the meat. The male parent rubbed his head against his mate, then looked towards the sea.

The world hadn't seen the last of Tyrantis.