Xyleth, Zairon, and Gorgon: Battle of the Titans

Chapter 6: Xyleth Emerges

As they approached the Operations Center, they bumped into Gina and Dr. Whitney, "What do you think you're doing?!", Dr. Whitney reprimanded, "I told you to keep your distance.", she continued. "I'm sorry, we're just heading towards the Operations Center, Dr. Maxwell told us to.", Martha replied. Dr. Whitney sighed, "Ugh, fine, just stay away from Gina okay.", Martha nodded. She turned towards Nick and Jim and rolled her eyes, "I never liked that woman, she and her bratty niece. UGH!" "Hey calm down Martha, someone might hear you.", Jim said. After looking around and noticing a crowd of people rushing towards the Operations Center, Martha remained silent. As they proceeded to the Operations Center, they noticed Sally on the corner, weeping. "Sally are you okay?", Jim asked. "No! Thousands will die if she escapes.", she wept. "Who will escape?", Martha asked. But before Sally could reply, Dr. Maxwell called them, "Quick! Get in here." They entered the room and were mesmerized by the numerous control panels, lights, and platforms situated inside. Then the alarm rang, "WARNING, CODE RED IN MONACOBREEN GLACIER, SPITZBERGEN, SVALBARD. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" They approached Dr. Maxwell, "Dr. Maxwell, what's wrong?", Dr. Maxwell replied, "There's been a breach in Monacobreen Glacier, something's trying to escape." "What could it be?", Jim asked. "Wait could it be connected to the tribe's prophecy?", Martha asked, "The one with a monster breaking out of ice?", she continued. "Xyleth?", I said. "Xyleth is the name given to the creature after it awakened thousands of years ago. She caused mass destruction with her wind blasts and froze entire villages in ice. Only the combined might of an ancient civilization and their God was the force who was able to seal her inside that very glacier.", I continued. The trio was astonished. "It IS related to Lara's story.", Jim concluded. "Lara?", I asked. "Oh she's a friend of mine.", Jim replied, behind him, Martha rolled her eyes in disgust. "Okay, Dr. Collins, activate all security cameras in Sector 5g, we'll get a clear view of the glacier there.", I ordered. "Sure thing Dr. Hamilton.", she replied. As the cameras activated, the incredible sight of Monacobreen Glacier came into view. "Can you zoom it in 100x?", I requested. "Sure thing.", Dr. Garrett complied. As he zoomed in on the glacier, a large figure can be seen making its way through the chunks of ice. "Dr. Collins could you calculate its overall length?", I requested. "Of course. It measures about 500 feet in length.", she concluded. "500 feet, that's 152.4 meters!", Dr. Garrett replied. "That's huge.", Nick said. Then the ice started to break apart, the 'object' is starting to break free. "Evacuate everyone on that island NOW!", I ordered, "Send squadrons of fighter jets, choppers, anything that can transport people off that glacier.", I continued. "They're on their way Dr. Hamilton", Dr. Maxwell replied. "Let's hope there's still time.", Martha said, worriedly, Jim nodded in agreement. Then the glacier slowly breaks apart, strong winds are blasting throughout the island's borders, making it hard to see what's going on. "We're approaching Svalbard sir, no sign of refugees yet, winds are starting to pick up. Are you seeing this?", one of the pilots, John Brand, said. We can see what's going on through the jet's cockpit via cameras placed on their helmets. "Storm started getting stronger as we got closer.", he continued. "Alright, try to avoid that blizzard at all costs, I have a feeling it's produced by whatever's underneath that ice.", I reminded. "Affirmative", John replied. Then they carefully landed on the slippery ice and began to evacuate those who are near the storm. "Are you okay?", he asked one of the evacuees, an old woman named Maria, "Yes I'm alright, this storm came out of nowhere, please save my family, they're on the other side of that blizzard.", she pleaded in a shaky voice. "Your lucky someone here speaks English.", one of the mercenaries teased. Then they heard a loud screeching roar through the whistling wind. The evacuees were nervous. Then suddenly, through the storm, a crowd ran towards the helicopters. "Vennligst hjelp oss!!!!", they yelled. "What are they saying?", John asked Maria, "They're saying 'please help us', whatever made that noise is causing everyone to panic." "Quick! Open the hangar doors, let them all in.", John ordered. "But they won't be able to fit in.", a mercenary cried out. "Then we'll fit in as many people as we can.", John replied. They immediately let them inside but the choppers are getting full and there are still hundreds of people outside, waiting to get in. "We can't fit anyone in. They're full!", a mercenary retorted. "What are you going to do?", Maria asked. "We'll send in more choppers." "But there's not enough time, even if you send some choppers on the island, how long will that thing stay underneath the ice?!", a mercenary yelled. This frightened the evacuees even more. John was faced with a hard decision, he sighed. "Let the other choppers leave. Bring those people to safety.", he said. the mercenary nodded in agreement and ordered them to leave. Maria bid farewell to her family as a squadron of fighter jets escorted the chopper to safety while another squadron flew towards the storm. "What are they doing?", Maria asked. "They're buying us time to escape.", John replied. "Escape from what?", Maria asked. "Escape from whatever made that noise. It's underneath the glacier, inside that storm.", he answered. Everyone shivered in fear. Meanwhile, in the Operations Center, we're monitoring Xyleth's movement. "It hasn't moved that much, it's still in its resting place.", Dr. Maxwell said. Then the ice continued breaking off. "Xyleth's escaping!!!", Lee yelled. The glacier shook violently, scaring the evacuees. Then the blizzard slowly died down. We got a clear glimpse of Monacobreen Glacier when we suddenly noticed massive cracks in its walls. "John, get out of there NOW!", I ordered. "But what about them?!", he asked. "I'm so sorry to say this but you have to leave them behind. It's either you leave that island alive or you'll join them.", I said to him. He sighed and reluctantly ordered the chopper to leave. As he did, the glacier starts falling apart, there was a huge explosion. Tons of ice and snow fell into the chilly waters below as a huge cloud of icy mist obscured their view. "The glacier has cracked open!!!", Nick yelled. "Movement's been detected!", Dr. Garrett called out. Then as the mist slowly cleared out, a huge pair of wings slowly unfurled itself. We all gasped in horror as the beast flapped its massive wings, clearing the mist surrounding it in an instant. "All military forces open fire!!!", Dr. Garrett ordered. They complied and started shooting missiles at the creature. The evacuees could see the explosions and the creature's huge silhouette through the blizzard. This caused them to panic. "Quick! Get us out of here!", John ordered. The pilot complied as the chopper slowly ascends. Xyleth was getting aggravated by the missiles poking its impenetrable hide. She stood up on her hind legs arched her back and started to beat her wings, emitting numerous icy shards, which pierced the aircraft's hull. The entire squadron was decimated in an instant. She then began to flap her wings, slowly getting herself aloft. Then she noticed the lights coming from the departing chopper and started approaching it. As she flew over Svalbard, she decimated entire villages with the winds emitted from her wings. The beating of her wings caused a very powerful blizzard which only picked up speed as she flew faster. "Hurry up!!!", John ordered but even though they're flying at maximum speed, they are no match for the Monster of the North Wind who caught up with them in an instant. They tried to evade Xyleth but her claws were able to pierce the chopper's walls and eventually, she brought it down. The refugees tried to escape but they were killed by Xyleth either by stepping on them or eating them alive. John's helmet camera was able to record what was happening and we cowered in fear as Xyleth flung the carcasses everywhere. She brutally swallows them whole as we could hear the deafening screams of people dying in agony. John took off his helmet camera and left it on the icy ground.Then we saw him and Maria seeking refuge under the helicopter's wreckage. They crouched down, hoping that Xyleth won't notice them but she picked up their scent and managed to figure out where they're hiding. She immediately overturned the chopper, causing it to explode. Then, through the smoke, we can see John and Martha's silhouettes as they bent down in horror. In one swift moment, Xyleth snatched their bodies from the ground and bit down on them Afterwards, John's decapitated head dropped near the camera. We all screamed in horror and covered our eyes. "TURN IT OFF!!!!", Nick pleaded. Dr. Garrett obliged and switched camera views. Using the security cameras on the radio tower, they got a better view of the Monster of the North Wind while Dr. Whitney used this opportunity to estimate Xyleth's size. "According to my calculations, it measures 152.4 meters in length and has a height of around 75 meters.", Dr. Whitney replied. As they were estimating Xyleth's size, the creature flapped her massive wings and eventually got herself aloft. She slowly ascended, flew into the blizzard caused by the beating of her gigantic wings, and disappeared in the middle of the storm. Before we knew it she was leaving, "How could something that big manage to stay undetected for such a long time?", I asked myself. "It seems to be energetic for a while now, it's been dormant for thousands of years but if she just woke up, she wouldn't be this active.", Martha noticed. "She was already awake. 26 years ago, Xyleth awakened and caused great destruction to Alberta, Canada. She laid dormant once more but global warming enabled the ice to slowly melt and thus aided in her escape. She was reported to have taken down a passenger plane en route to Beijing a few days ago. She was just resting, replenishing, waiting for the right moment to re-emerge and continue its rampage.", I replied. The trio was shocked, "Why would she do this, why would she attack innocent people?", Jim asked me. "If my hypothesis is correct, I fear that the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming, which is what prompted Xyleth to reawaken in the present day in a desperate attempt to halt its effects on the environment. Her icy breath might be what we need to replenish the ice that's melting in the Northern Hemisphere if she weren't using it against us.", I said. "This is bad, with Xyleth escaping, cataclysmic events might occur.", Dr. Maxwell said, "Sally, please escort them to their rooms.", Dr. Maxwell ordered. "Yes sir.", she replied. Then Jim, Martha, Nick, Gina, and Lee were escorted back to their guest rooms. "Ugh, I can't believe it, we get to work with a top-secret government organization and we get benched out like rookies.", Jim said. "I'm sure there's a good reason for this.", Martha replied. "Really Martha?", Jim answered. Martha sighed and went to her bed. "Look what you did Jim, you really hurt Martha's feelings.", Nick taunted. Jim felt annoyed, he threw his journal at Nick but he avoided it. "Haha, you missed!", he teased. Jim decided to leave him alone. Meanwhile, in Room 5026, Lee complained that his order was all mixed up, prompting him to decline it instead. Gina on the other hand yelled, her screams can be heard by the woman at the concierge table, "MY ROOM'S TOO COLD, ADJUST THIS RIGHT NOW!!!", she ordered. The maintenance crew tried their best to adjust the temperature in Gina's room but it only got even more chilly. Gina sighed and ordered them to leave. As they got out the door, they could hear Gina mumble to herself, "What a disappointment.", the crew decided to leave Room 5027 for the meantime as they tended to Nick's assortment of snacks, "At least someone appreciates our hard work.", one of them thanked Nick. After they left, Nick caught Jim writing in his journal, "What are you working on?", he asked. Jim immediately closed his journal, hoping that Nick didn't see what he was writing. "Come on, I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. So what's it all about?", Nick asked. "None of your business, Nick.", he replied. Knowing that Jim won't answer, Nick left him alone. Afterward, he overheard Martha speaking with her dad. "I know...you don't have to remind me.", she said. "But what if something goes wrong? Oh dear.", her dad replied. "I'll be fine dad, I promise. You know...I'll call you back later alright?", she said. Mr. Diaz sighed, "If you're sure about this...then I'll support you, but be careful Martha.", he reminded. "Thanks, Dad, I need to go now, Dr. Maxwell might call us any moment. Goodbye!!!", she bid farewell as the call ended. She then heard Nick mutter, she turned around and immediately opened the door. "Nick!", she screamed, "What are you doing, she asked. "Uh...nothing?", Nick replied. Martha rolled her eyes, as she walked past him. Suddenly, Dr. Maxwell knocked on the door. "Guys, please go to the Operations Center...oh I gotta go. Bye!", he ordered. "WHAT?!", the trio was shocked. Nick and Martha reluctantly joined him as they once again headed towards the Operations Center.