EPISODE 8: THE GHOST CAMP

 

               PAPUA NEW GUINEA, NOT FAR FROM PORT MORESBY…

               The forest was alive with activity. Insects and nocturnal animals of all sorts were chirping, buzzing, and calling to one another. Fireflies were flashing everywhere in such an abundance that at times they would outline the foliage. Overhead, cloud cover was breaking away to reveal a bright moon. Even though the area was mere miles away from the largest population center on the island nation, there was little light pollution to block out the stars.

               Almost as soon as the pale light of the moon began to illuminate the area, the music of the wilderness suddenly ceased; the fireflies stopped flashing. The once lively forest became as ominous, still, and foreboding as a graveyard. Amidst the stillness, the faint sound of running footsteps could be heard. As the footsteps grew louder, they became accompanied by an exhausted and panicked breath.

               A form suddenly erupted from the shrubs. A field researcher for Monarch, raced through the dimly lit forest with a desperate look of terror on his face. The young man was in his prime, around the same age but more fit than Ken and Akira. Though he was desperate to find safety, he was equally set on clenching something in his right fist.

               After running for nearly a mile, he finally came to a stop, exhausted against a massive tree. His lungs burned and ached with every breath. Just as he was catching his breath, he heard a shuffle in the foliage behind him. The man tensed up and listened, desperately holding his breath. There was no further commotion, yet he could feel a presence around him; eyes watching.

               Suddenly a sharp object struck the tree; just barely missing his face. The man did not waste time and continued running as hard as he could. All he could do was run for the city; hopefully reaching some suburban or rural area where he could get help.

               About six more minutes of running later and it appeared his luck was changing as he could see a clearing ahead and a farm house about fifty yards into the clearing. His relief turned into more energy, and he ran even faster. He broke several branches as he burst through the shrubs into the clearing. Just as he was about to call out for help, something struck him in the leg.

               As he fell to the ground, the pain of whatever hit him caused him to lose his grip on the item in his fist and it flung out of his hand; a shiny coin of some sort that skipped and bounced across the ground for thirty feet before finally come to rest in a small patch of grass. The man screamed out in pain and tried calling for help once more but was then suddenly yanked back into the dark shadows of the forest. His screams disappeared just as quickly as he did.

               In the lit window of the farmhouse, a curious spectator suddenly appeared peering out into the night.  From the doorway a few feet to the right, another emerged with an old flashlight. The farmer scanned the area with his light.

               In their native language the one in the window, a female, called out to him, “Come back inside! Don’t go out there!”

               The man with the flashlight did not listen. He ventured further out into the field, his light and his eyes sharply scanning his surroundings as he went. Suddenly a golden flicker of light on the ground caught the man’s attention; the coin the researcher just lost.

               “Come back! Please!” The lady called out once more from the window.

               The farmer picked up the coin, but before he could examine it, a strange inhuman shriek came out of the distance. Though unknown as to what the source was, the man was petrified as he had heard the inhuman call before. He quickly clenched the coin in his hand and hurried back for the safety of his home.

               36 HOURS LATER…

               A pair of black hawk helicopters flew over the forest canopy at the crack of dawn. Their whirling blades sounded like thunder as the treetops swayed beneath them. One came to rest in a hover twenty feet over the trees. A pair of ropes dropped down from either side of the side doors on the chopper. Two by two a squad of six-soldiers repelled down to the ground. A door gunner on the second helicopter covered their landing as they dispersed with their weapons at the ready.

   

               Once all six men were on the ground with a 360 security of the area fully established, the Sergeant, a Hispanic gentleman in his 30s spoke into the mic of his headset, “Bushmaster 1-1 to Bushmaster 1-2. 1-1 is set, over.”

               “Roger Bushmaster 1-1. 1-2 is coming down now. Over.” A voice replied over the radio.

               Like the first, a pair of ropes dropped from the second helicopter. Six more soldiers began repelling down in the same sharp, tactical manner as the first did. They joined the others and formed a wider security zone.

               The Sergeant in the second group, a Caucasian roughly the same age as the first, spoke into his headset, “Bushmaster 1-2 to Red Wing: Bushmaster element set. Proceeding to target area.”

               “Roger Bushmaster 1-2,” A voice replied over the headset. “Remaining on station with precious cargo until we receive the all-clear, Over and out.”

               The 2 helicopters flew back from their point of origin. All the while the soldiers waited patiently, watching their surroundings with sharp watchful eyes. Eventually the helicopters, thunderous blades began to fade away in the distance. All fell quiet across the area; not even animals nor insects were making any noise.

               After checking a GPS device on his wrist, the second Sergeant whistled to the first, getting his attention. Once the first directed his attention towards him, the second made a hand gesture by making a fist with his pinky and thumb extended outward then pointing to the east. The first, nodded and tapped the man immediately to his right and made the same gesture. One by one they began passing the word along. One by one they began to move out in wedge formations, 10 meters between each man.

Most of them had M4 Carbines with A-COG scopes as their primary weapons. The Sergeants had 320-Grenade launchers attached to the underside of their barrels. One man on either side of the two wedges they formed were armed with Squad Automatic Weapons or SAWs with 500-round drums. Despite being well armed they also moved with professional and tactical fluidity.

               Smoothly yet cautiously they proceeded east from the drop-off zone. Their trek took them down hill through dense brush. At times they would perform a halt and become perfectly camouflaged among the forest’s foliage. Even when moving through large ferns, palm shrubs, and low hanging branches, the men made little noise. All the while they kept a sharp eye out for any suspicious activity or hazards.

               The forest was alive with all sorts of wildlife which did not seem bothered by the soldiers as they moved about. Bright pink and yellow birds of paradise called to one-another overhead in the canopy. At one point, one of the men halted to let a small python slither by. After crossing a small stream the first sergeant brought to group to a freezing-halt by snapping his fist up in the air. At first the men seemed confused as none of them saw any immediate danger. Soon they caught a glimpse of three large black birds, roughly four feet tall, with shell-like crests on their bright blue and red heads moving to the north; Cassowaries. Once the dangerous flightless birds were well out of the men’s path, the point-man slowly waved them onward.

               After a kilometer-long movement, which took them downhill then back up hill at the very end. The lead Sergeant rose his hand up flat, bringing them to a halt once again. This time, instead of freezing in place, they all got down in the prone behind various forms of cover; primarily the bases of thick trees. Once all settled into good fighting positions, the first Sergeant turned back to the rest and tapped his arm with his index and middle finger. The others passed the same signal back until it reached the second sergeant which was his cue to move up. Staying low and as quiet as possible, he hurried up to the first.

               “What have you got Sanchez?” The second sergeant quietly asked.

               Sanchez replied, “The campsite should be ahead on this ridge. I’m going to move up to right here and see if I can get a good view.”

               “Ok.” The second Sergeant said. “The research team shouldn’t have any kind of alarms or security measures set up. If it looks clear, throw me a signal and I’ll move the squads up.”

               The second sergeant was about to move back to the rest when Sanchez quietly called back, “McCall.” Getting his attention. “There’s not any Kaiju confirmed in the area right?”

               “Undetermined.” McCall replied.

               “Great.” Sanchez sarcastically whispered to himself.

               Slowly Sanchez moved up to the top of the ridge, staying as low and quiet as possible. As he neared the top, he paused for a moment when he saw the pointed outline of one of the Monarch Team’s tents. He slowed his advance as he clover-leafed around to the right and got a better view of the area. Perched behind a thick tree trunk, Sanchez peered around the campsite.

               The half-dozen large dark green tents were completely abandoned. There was no sign of life of any kind with little sign of struggle outside of table laying on its side and one of the tent’s support-poles tipping over. Looking down to the ground, there were clear outlines of footprints and a couple drag marks but nothing of the sort outside the camp itself.

               With the place a virtual ghost town, Sanchez came a quarter of the way back and let out two whistles. The two squads picked themselves up off the forest floor and began making their way around to his position. Once there, they got down into another security halt around him with the first squad up front facing towards the camp and the second squad covering their flank.

               McCall caught up to Sanchez and asked, “What all could you see?”

               “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.” Sanchez replied. “I’m going to take first squad up and sweep through to make sure though.”

               “Was any part of the camp destroyed?”  McCall asked.

               “No.” Sanchez said. “A few things knocked around though. Looks more like a human element came through and cleared them out.”

               “Well, there shouldn’t be any Rolisican or Red Bamboo forces in the area.” McCall explained. “Shoot first if you need to.”

               “Don’t tempt me with a good time.” Sanchez joked.

               Sanchez then raised one finger in the air and sharply waved toward the campsite. The first squad began picking themselves up off the ground and moved up to the campsite. Once at the first tent they divided up into teams of 3 and cautiously moved about from tent to tent. The teams moved into and cleared every single tent with ease. Every single tent was abandoned. Save for a couple knocked over chairs, the team saw few signs of struggle.

               After an anxious seven minute wait, McCall heard Sanchez call back to them, “All clear.”

               “Second squad, move up.” McCall said to his men. “Cover this side of the camp. Nguyen, stick with me.”

               A Filipino soldier with an assault pack replied, “Roger, Sergeant.”

               Within a couple minutes the two squads had moved in and established 360 degree security on the campsite. Sanchez and McCall moved about with Nguyen getting a better assessment of the damage.

               “What do you think?” Sanchez asked McCall.

               McCall, looking over the table, charts, and maps in one tent, replied, “I don’t know. Like you said, it was a human element of some kind. They don’t appear to have taken anything of value except the team themselves.”

               Nguyen then spoke up, “Sarge, look.”

               The rifleman pointed to a laptop on one of the tables. It appeared to have some kind of liquid spilled on it that was already dried.

               McCall ran his hand across the laptop’s keyboard. It was sticky to the touch. He then picked up a soda can laying on the ground next to the table.

               After shaking it out of the couple drops still in it, McCall said, “They sabotaged all their electronics.”

               “They had wind of whoever was about to hit this place then.” Sanchez added.

               “Yeah.” McCall agreed. “Nguyen, go ahead and call up Red Wing. Tell them the area is secured and we’re cleared for the precious cargo to be dropped in.”

               Nguyen acknowledged with a “Roger,” before stepping out to set the radio in his bag up.

               “I’ll have Smith and Deneal prep the LZ.” Sanchez said.

               As Sanchez and Nguyen left the tent, McCall’s attention was drawn to a map on the wall where the research team had made marks and notes at various locations.

               Such notes included:

               Lights sighted 0125. 09/22

               Screams heard 2340. 09/26

               Strange object sighted 2205. 09/30

              

               A short while later and the Black Hawks were flying overhead once more. This time one of them came in for a landing in a clearing about fifty yards from the Monarch campsite. Shortly after touching down, the side door opened to reveal Ken who was accompanied by two other researchers from Akira’s Team as well as another higher-ranking Sergeant in his mid thirties a brown high and tight haircut and a slightly younger Lieutenant with very short light brown hair; at first glance he almost appeared bald.

               McCall and Sanchez hurried out to meet the new arrivals as they stepped off the chopper.

               “Has there been any change in situation?” The new Sergeant asked loudly as the group hurried away from the black hawk.

               “Negative.” McCall replied. “The place has remained a ghost town just as we found it.

               “What about signs of where the team might have been taken?” The Lieutenant asked.

               “We discovered a single set of tracks leading away from the site, but not enough to account for the whole team, Sir.” Sanchez answered.

               “Once we get up here, Doctor Saegusa and his team will assess what intel was left behind.” The Lieutenant said. “Sergeant Hawkland.” He said getting the new Sergeant’s attention. “Have Sergeant Winter and Sergeant Bucur make sure their squads are prepped with tracking equipment then go ahead and have them come up.”

               “Yes sir.” Hawkland said. “Sergeant Bailey has weapon squad armed with the Anti-K Javelins, do you want them to rearm with the 240s?”

               “Negative.” The Lieutenant said. “The SAWs should be enough. In case one of the big baddies shows up, I don’t want to be caught completely outgunned.”

               “Roger.” Hawkland said. “McCall, where’s Nguyen?”

               “Up ahead in the main tent.” McCall said, leading Hawkland on.

               “Doctor Saegusa.” The Lieutenant said to Ken. “Once we get up to the tent, you and your team have free reign over every bit of intel you can find. If you all need to venture out of the site at any time though, please do not do so until we get the rest of the platoon up here and never without an armed escort.”

               Ken replied, “Understood.”

               “Sanchez,” The Lieutenant said just as they reached the tents. “Show me that set of tracks leading out of the site.”

               “Right this way, sir.” Sanchez said leading him over to the east side of the camp.

               “That Lieutenant Joyce is a runs a tight ship.” One of Ken’s colleagues, a slender Caucasian youth with glasses beard and an auburn beard said.

               “They’re the bushmasters.” Said the other colleague, a taller slightly stockier African-American also with glasses.

               “Yeah.” Ken replied. “Well let’s get in here and see what we can find.”

               Ken lead them to the main tent. Upon stepping through the entry way, the three were taken back by the state of the place. The laptops were all sabotaged in some way or another. Most of the papers were destroyed either by shredding or burning.

               “Damn…” The slender colleague said. “Whose team was this?”

               Ken answered, “Doctor Yamane’s team.”

               “Kenichi Yamane?” the colleague said.

               “The same.” Ken said. “From what I was told, they were down here investigating reports of something the locals call The Ropen.”

               “Well, doesn’t look like a kaiju was responsible for all this.” The other colleague said looking over the damages. “Unless this Ropen is the size of a typical kaiju.”

               “I agree with Paul.” The slender colleague said. “It looks like they stumbled onto something more than a kaiju down here.”

               “Whatever it was they found, let’s put together what pieces we can.” Ken said. “Dakota, you and Paul start in here. Salvage what you can from the shredded documents. If I know Kenichi, he should have his personal diary stashed in his belongings somewhere.”

               “You got it boss.” Paul said.

               Ken left the main tent and began searching around for the tent Dr. Yamane was staying in. After a few minutes of searching, he found it. Ken looked through his fellow scientists belongings. He found pictures of the Doctor and his team taking a group photo near the camp. The Doctor’s phone was located but was burned beyond repair.

Ken then began going through his luggage. He located a briefcase with several clothes. After examining the case a little more closely he found a hidden compartment. Located in the compartment was a black and white photo of Kenichi’s father with his adopted father. There was also another photo of Kenichi from his college years with a woman; his sister Yukari. It was a book that Ken found in the hidden compartment which caught his interest; Kenichi’s personal journal.

“Bingo.” Ken said as he sat on his fellow scientist’s cot.

He immediately began thumbing through the pages to a recent entry:

September 25^th, 2025

Our group made the discovery of the cave deep in mountains and hills nearby. We could not get a good estimate of how far down the cave went due to a heavy downpour making exploration too treacherous. Locals have told us that the caves are where the Ropen make their home. With any luck we’ll make a solid find in the coming weeks. Sightings of the strange lights in the sky continue as do the strange calls in the night. The fleeting moments in which these lights appear make an accurate description of what they are all but impossible. Doctor Maki believes the wails we hear in the night could indicate that the creature hunts using some kind of echo location.

 

September 29^th, 2025

We penetrated deeper into the cave today. To our surprise we discovered evidence of an ancient civilization that once used the cave system. With the way the cave seems to stretch on almost endlessly, its possible they were used as accessways of some kind. Its unclear of what culture specifically. More is likely to be revealed in the coming days.

The Kaiju we have been searching for may also be tied to this mysterious lost culture as well. Several cave paintings resemble the same descriptions given by eyewitnesses. Furthermore, it suggests there may even be more than one of its kind.

 

October 3^rd, 2025

Several team members have gone missing. Our investigation into the ancient civilization has yielded new evidence that suggests it may not be as ancient as we thought. I feel eyes in the forest watching our every move. We have tried to get more information from the locals but they refuse to say who this civilization may be. It is unclear whether it is out of fear or respect. With the prospect of the kaiju and now this human threat lurking in the darkness, I feel we may have stumbled onto something much larger than any of us could have imagined.

-Our radios are being jammed, we cannot reach home base. Protocol dictates that if we fail to report in for 24 hours then a rescue team will be dispatched, but I fear it will be too late. If whoever so finds this record, the answer lies with the cave seven miles to the east. The hill with the blood tree marks the location.

-They are coming.

              

               “Doctor Saegusa?” Lieutenant Joyce said, suddenly appearing in the tent’s doorway.

               “Yes Lieutenant?” Ken asked.

               “We found something you should probably see.” The Lieutenant said.

               Ken closed the book and followed the Lieutenant out of the tent.

               In a clearing not far from the campsite, Ken was led to a strange object partially protruding out of the ground. From a distance it resembled a broken tent pole. As he got closer he discovered the object was organic in nature but it appeared to be stuck into the ground as though it was purposefully planted there by some being.

               “As we were setting in place, we discovered more.” The Lieutenant said. “I’m no biologist but I’ve never seen something like this before.”

               Ken looked closer at the broken end sticking out of the ground. It was protruding two feet out of the ground but was only about 3 and half inches wide. Though it may have been discolored slightly from being there for an extended period of time, the exposed internal structure of the object resembled hard-boiled egg perfectly cut in half. There was a reddish-brown core about half an inch in diameter, surrounded by a tan mantle, with a hard black shell or crust that was about an inch thick.

               “It looks like a hair, or quill of some kind.” Ken said as he pulled a pair of thick gloves from the side pocket on his pants.

               Once his gloves were on, he grabbed the quill and proceeded to pull out of the ground. Though he could not feel it directly, the ease of being able to grip it through his gloves suggested it had very course or finely ridged texture. It took a moment, but he was about remove the object from the ground, revealing a very sharp tip at the end. The whole thing was nearly 4 feet long.

               “Jesus.” Lieutenant Joyce said. “If some got hit by this thing, they would have been screwed.”

               “You said there were more?” Ken asked.

               “Yeah.” The Lieutenant said. “At least a dozen more scattered around the area.”

               Ken looked at the Lieutenant and then at the quill. Something perplexed him.

               “This had to have come from our mystery kaiju that the team was searching for.” Ken said. “That doesn’t make sense though.”

               “What do you mean?” Joyce asked.

               “Given the lack of buildup of dirt and debris on the exposed area on this thing, it couldn’t have been placed here long ago.” Ken speculated aloud.

               “So, around the same time the team disappeared?” The Lieutenant asked.

               “That was my guess too.” Ken said.

               About half an hour later, on board the SS Venture, Akira was going through all the files he could find on Sara Wise via his laptop. Suddenly an incoming video call notification popped up on his screen. He clicked the answer button and revealed that it was Ken, calling from the main tent.

               “Ken-San!” Akira greeted. “How’s the investigation going?”

               “Bizarre.” Ken replied. “How about yours?”

               “Equally bizarre.” Akira replied. “I have some information on Manda that I think you might find intriguing as well as some information on Sara Wise. Well, the real Sara Wise. I assume you have something for me though?”

               “Well have a look.” Ken said, as he slid to his right to reveal the dozen quills laid on the tables behind him where Paul and Dakota were examining them.

               “Whoa.” Akira said, leaning forward adjusting his glasses for a better look. “What do you have there!?”

               “They’re quills of some kind.” Ken said. “They range between 1 and 1.5 meters long. I’m going to send you a sample to see if you can run a DNA match from the Venture.”

               “Please do.” Akira replied. “Send me everything you can. Those things look dangerous.”

               “Indeed.” Ken said. “Thankfully it doesn’t appear like anyone on the Team were hit by them but oddly enough, we haven’t found anyone here to verify for sure.”

               “Nani?” Akira asked slipping into their native dialect.

               “Hai.” Ken said before switching back to English. “The place was completely abandoned. It doesn’t look like it was due to the kaiju though. There’s a lot of evidence suggesting it was a human faction. Furthermore, it looks like they stumbled onto something pertaining to a lost human civilization.”

               “A lost civilization?” Akira asked. “Talk about the day for coincidences then!”

               “What do you mean?” Ken said, as Paul and Dakota also perked their interest up.

               “So I wasn’t able to find any information on the imposter Sara yet.” Akira said, as he shrunk Ken’s video on the screen and enlarged the files on Sara. “It would seem that the Sara who went missing had a lot of credentials. One of the things she specialized in however was lost civilizations.” Ken hunched forward with a more serious expression. “As a matter of fact one of the civilizations she was most interested in was the lost Pacific continent of Mu.”

               “A lost civilization in the Pacific…” Ken said. “Not unlike the one the other team was uncovering.”

               “Just wait, it gets better.” Akira said. “I was running a cross reference on Manda’s specific facial features through the web and found something pretty intriguing.”

               Ken watched as Akira clicked on a few things. Akira’s video then shrunk in the window while a few pictures suddenly were sent through. The first was a statue made of light grey stone that had a few vines of ivy growing along the side. The design was a little exaggerated but it did retain the same basic features that Manda had; the mane that began at the back of the brow, the same four horns that sprouted from the temple, the serpentine body.

               “Taiwan.” Akira said.

               A second was a wooden shield with Manda engraved on the front.

               “Samoa.” Akira narrated again. “This next one is from Singapore.”

               Manda’s likeness was lightly engraved on the side of a temple.

               “The most intriguing thing that has come up however was this though.” Akira said as he clicked on a few more items.

               The final image depicted a gold coin with the most accurately done engraving of Manda’s head on it. The coin was old as made evident by the slight wearing on the edges but was in very good condition.

               Akira went on to explain, “This latest find actually turned up in the last 24 hours in Port Moresby.” The revelation made Ken’s eyes widen. “The man who posted this picture claims to have bought it off a farm that found it in his field last night and is seeking information on it.”

               “Can you send me the man’s information?” Ken said with a more anxious tone.

               “Absolutely.” Akira replied. “Ken, do watch out for yourself out there. I don’t know what all this means exactly but, with all the members of our team going missing investigating this stuff, I have a hunch this is going to lead to something much bigger than we anticipated.”

               “I agree.” Ken said. “I'll let you know what I find."

                Ken closed out his video feed. Akira sat back feeling a slight rush of anxiety before turning his gaze towards the photos they had of Manda pinned on a board.