A Bright Flash

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." - Robert Oppenheimer

I can't remember the exact details of the incident that changed my life forever. It all happened so fast, so sudden. All I can remember was sunning myself outside, and then there was a sudden bright flash of light. So bright I had to shield my eyes to keep from going blind. Then, I remember a loud crash. Louder than a thunderclap and able to make the ground tremble from the sheer noise. After that, there was an unseen force that toppled everything down that was unfortunate enough to be in its path.

I was one of those unlucky to be in the way. I remember being struck by that blast and then everything went black.

When I had awoken, I found myself washed up ashore onto a beach. I wasn't sure how long I had been out, or how long I had been drifting in the ocean waves. Somehow, I had survived. As I staggered to my feet, a feeling of unbearable pain shot through my body. It felt as if I had been struck by thousands of red hot daggers soaked in acid. I groaned in agony as I made my way to the shoreline to see if I could get a look at my reflection and get a good idea of how much damage was done to my form.

It took all my willpower not to scream at the reflection staring back at me. This thing, this abomination, was it really me? I had been disfigured by the blast. It was no wonder I was in so much pain. That horrible event had mutilated me into something horrible.

My anguish soon gave way to utter rage and hatred. Why? Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve such suffering? I had never wronged anyone. I lived alone, away from others. A quiet peaceful life, not one that would be deserving of punishment.

They would pay. Those that had caused my suffering, they would get their comuppance. I wanted to make sure no one would ever endure the same horror I had experienced. And, if that meant the total destruction of mankind, so be it.

I began to make my way to the nearest civilization I could find. I was going to send a message, a warning to everyone so they would see what their actions had caused. It felt like I had been walking for hours, but I kept trudging on driven by sheer determination and the burning hatred towards those who wronged me. Even as exhaustion and pain took its toll on my body, I kept going. I wasn't going to rest until I had sent my message.

Before long, I had made my way towards a small village. It was a local fishing community that had lived on the island for generations. Grandfathers, their children, their grandchildren, and so forth were going about their daily lives. They lived a more rural lifestyle, one of traditional ways rather than relying on the latest technologies. I watched as they tended to various chores, talked to one another about daily gossip, and so forth. None of them were aware of what I had planned for them. That they would be the first to see what mankind had created.

It was then that I went in for the attack. Street lamps were toppled over, power lines torn down, and lying every which way on the streets. Sparks sputtered from them as panic-stricken citizens crashed their vehicles into them causing the roads to be jammed. I then got to work destroying their boats so they wouldn't be able to sail away to safety either.

Not even the buildings were safe from my wrath. A few small shops and houses crumbled as I smashed in the walls. They toppled over with rubble crushing and burying a few unlucky villagers that were unfortunate enough to get in the way. The other buildings were set ablaze and the whole village itself was soon set aflame. Several villagers ran screaming trying desperately to put out the fires. A few themselves soon became engulfed in the flames, and ran towards the ocean in a panic-stricken desperate attempt to quench the roaring fires. Most of them didn't even make it halfway there before collapsing in a charred heap.

As I watched the carnage I had caused, I noticed an elderly man lying in the street broken and bloodied by the attack. He looked up at me, the expression in his eyes was that of pure fear as though he had seen the wrath of Hell itself. Soon, the life began to fade from him as he managed to choke out one final horror-stricken word.

"Gojira."