Swell: A New Beginning: Account of the Change, #2

By J.G. Johnson

Book 2 of: Account of the Change.

Sometimes new beginnings are actually old.

Kyoko thought she knew who she was and what she was doing with her life. But when she catches wind of the coming Swell, she knows that things will never be the same again. Too bad no one listened to her warnings.

With her nation asunder, she has little choice but to do what it takes to survive as she travels through the changing world and faces her destiny.

With the aid of friends and her plucky family, can she survive the demands of this changing world? Or will enemies new and ancient be the end of her and those she cares for?

Grab your Tanuki and hold on tight because there is a new player in town, and she's brought her paintbrush.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.G. Johnson
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393603641

J.G. Johnson

J.G. Johnson lives and works in Japan with his violinist wife and rambunctious son, who would even give a Tanuki a run for its money. He enjoys all things outdoors and absolutely despises the tedium of sitting around with nothing to do. In his limited free time, you can usually find him nose deep in a good book or writing, although he has been found in the kitchen whipping up some food or sweets from time to time. Nothing better than a Pumpkin-chip cookie and a good book.

Book preview

SWELL:

A NEW BEGINNING

Account of the Change

J.G. Johnson

Swell: A New Beginning Copyright © 2019 by J.G. Johnson. All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. 

Cover designed by Michael Chaney 

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. 

J.G. Johnson

Visit my website at www.Nascentbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: 2019

J.G. Johnson 

ISBN-13 978-1393603641

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

BIRTH

ONE REPORTER, EXTRA CRISPY

LULL

ROUND 2: CAN’T TOUCH THIS

COLLAPSE

TRUTH

FINAL TALLY

BACKSEAT DRIVER

NOT MAN’S BEST FRIEND

FOUR PAWS ARE BETTER THAN NONE

GODZILLA’S GREATEST FAN

WHERE THE RIVER RUNS

AGE IS BUT A NUMBER

LIVIN’ THE ONI LIFE

KING OF THE SKIES

FLAMBÉ

BIG KITTY, PRETTY KITTY, SHOOT YOU WITH A 44-SLUG KITTY

CAMP OUT

GRANDMA AND THE BIG BAD PSYCHO MUTTS

THE PRICE OF VICTORY

TWILIGHT RISING

BAD KITTY

FLOWER POWER

AFTERMATH

FAMILY MATTERS

A TOUCH OF DESTINY

AFTERTHOUGHTS

AFTERWARD

BY J.G. JOHNSON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DEDICATION

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Many thanks to the people that have supported and encouraged me to chase my dreams and my heart. Without you, I never would have been able to go the places I have, seen the things I have seen or learned just how big the world really is. This book is for you, and it is for everyone that still believes that dreams aren’t dead. Don’t let anyone tell you what is impossible; only you know what is impossible for you. So, live your dream and follow your gut. Lastly, never fear chasing the squirrels and bunnies of your life. They may just lead you to your destiny, and even if they escape, you will have learned something. You have a brain, a heart, and a soul, never stop feeding them.

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Also, to my readers, thank you for your patronage. I write because there is a story crying out to be told, but what good is a story without a reader? Thank you for being that reader and taking the time to share in the worlds I have created. Please enjoy and drop a review if you enjoyed this story or if you have any comments

BIRTH

Early Sunday, June 27

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Okay! Who’s the wise guy messing with the readouts? Kyoko demanded. It wasn’t the first time one of the bored, male staff had sent her a false feed. It was something of an ongoing prank/hazing. Not only was she one of the newest members of the team at the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), she was a woman in what was still predominantly a man’s game. And it doesn’t help that I have been right, and they have been wrong, several times now. Nothing like bruising a man’s ego to get his hackles all up.

What’s she griping about now? Chief Phillips got up to placate whatever issue Aida had. He had long ago crossed the pond, put in his dues, learned not to make waves, and finally worked his way into the upper management of the JMA. What now? he asked, coming around her desk. Why can’t she just fall in line like a good girl and keep her issues to herself?!

Kyoko saw Chief Phillips coming and fought down a groan. Dick Phillips could have been the poster boy for the boy’s club. He was in his mid-fifties, balding, not fat but definitely heavy set, and, as far as she was concerned, almost completely lacking in ambition. The epitome of bureaucracy. She was sure that the only reason why his photo wasn’t in the dictionary to help define ‘bureaucrat’ was that the bureaucracy had lost the paperwork to apply the update. A lot like the dinosaur of a computer she was currently using, he was outmoded but still around and in charge because he fit the mold. Change was tantamount to treason within the Government and Corporate culture of Japan. Not wanting to talk with him, she simply pointed at her screen.

Chief Phillips, thankful that he didn’t have to talk with the little she-devil, looked at the readouts. She may have been cute in a tiny doll kind of way at only about 140 cm with a slim yet curvy build, and her midnight black, almost blue but shined red hair, hair cut short, barely reaching her mid-neck. But what really caught you were her smoldering eyes that just made you want to stare. Unfortunately, her attitude and tendency to make waves had killed any chance she may have had at fitting in. Hence the ongoing hazing and lack of camaraderie with her fellow workers. Shaking the unwonted thoughts of what she would look like dressed up in a skimpy she-devil outfit, he re-directed his eyes away from hers and to the screen.

The data she was pointing to was for the area off the coast of Japan on the Pacific side. It was currently displaying an area about four-hundred-fifty-kilometers off of the coast and running for nearly the length of Japan. It was about a hundred kilometers past the drop-off at the continental plate boundary and into the Pacific plate. The area was rather dull seismically speaking and consisted mostly of barren seafloor, which was why the slew of seismic readings coming from what had always been a seismic dead zone was quite strange and suggested yet another prank. As he watched, the data updated with a string of micro quakes which slowly continued to propagate their way to the North and South running almost parallel to the coast. The northernmost reading had reached Hokkaido while the southern readings were almost even with Nara. He stood back up and looked around. No one looked guilty or had any telltale smirks. In fact, many of them were frowning.

I’m getting the same feed, Ryosuke said from across the aisle. He flipped his monitor around to show them.

Hmm, been a while since I’ve seen this. Abe! Chief Phillips hollered.

Hai? Abe stuck his head out of his office door.

Put in a call to the Coast Guard. Tell them we have what looks like two illegal dragnet trawlers working their way along the coast that are tripping our sensors, Chief Phillips ordered and turned back to Aida. Go ahead and keep an eye on the feed just in case the Coast Guard needs an update on the location. End of the world diverted; he returned to his office without a further word.

So, it wasn’t a prank this time. Kyoko continued to watch the feed as another sensor tripped almost fifty kilometers away from the last one, which had only tripped about five minutes before. Trawler? I don’t think so. Not unless there’s a small fleet of them out there or it’s a drug-runner special pulling those nets. She brought up another set of data and blanched as soon as it loaded. Deep ocean temperatures were almost constant. It took a lot of energy to make them change. According to the data set, the temperature had rocketed up by nearly two degrees Celsius! Why there wasn’t anyone running around yelling that the ocean was boiling, she didn’t know, but there was no way that this was a trawler. The only thing that could cause that much distortion this fast and explain the quakes would be if there were massive amounts of seafloor venting occurring along a new or unmapped major fault.

She overlaid the thermal data with the seismic readings and matched them up in a timeline. Sure enough, as the quakes moved, so did the heating. And that wasn’t even the scary part. No, more disconcerting was that the activity didn’t seem to show any signs of dying down. There were still quakes happening along the whole length of the event, and the water temps were only climbing.

Kyoko kept an eye on it like she’d been ordered too. Over the next hour, the quake line had extended out another two hundred kilometers to either side. Oh, this is bad. This looks almost like a new fault line, which can’t mean anything good.

Following a hunch, she pulled up the meteorological data and about had a heart attack. According to the feeds, the surface water temp was a full four degrees higher than it should have been and, Chance rearing its ugly head, there was a cold front moving in at high speed. When the two met, things had the potential to get interesting in an exceptionally destructive way. As much as she hated to do it, she went to Chief Phillips’s office and knocked.

Enter! Chief Phillips grumbled, setting aside the newspaper and the horse stats. He was a little surprised when Aida stepped into his office and only just managed to keep a scowl off of his face. Did the Coast Guard finally... he started.

Sir, we have a serious problem, Kyoko said, cutting him off and stepping the rest of the way into his office. She saw him bristle at having been cut off, but there was no time to waste on his petty bluster and the standard ego grooming.

It took every ounce of Chief Phillips’ control to not roll his eyes and facepalm. ‘We have a serious problem’ was right up there with ‘I have an idea’ where junior staff were concerned. Instead, he just waved for her to continue. If I shut her down, she’ll go and complain to the big bosses and the action groups that she isn’t being taken seriously because she is a girl. Then EEOC gets involved. I so don’t need this crap. Three more years until retirement.

Kyoko didn’t much care what Chief Phillips thought. Trouble was brewing and, if the data was to be believed, it was brewing faster than a French-press being pumped by a blond south beach barista who didn’t know the chocolates had java beans in them and had just eaten the whole jar because she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. She set her printouts on his desk without asking and started going through the data. I’ve kept an eye on the data like you asked, but I also pulled up the temperature readings for that same area. Kyoko pointed to the data.

Phillips was about to brush her off when he finally noticed the numbers and leaned in to get a better look. He may not have set a plotter for years, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten how to read the data. This has to be some kind of error, he said, rapidly flipping through the pages.

I have double-checked the readings, cross-checked them with other sources, and ran a diagnostic. Everything came back in the green. I’m sorry to say, but it isn’t a trawler we are dealing with. Something peculiar is happening down there, Kyoko said, leaning into the data and pointing at the telltales. There’s more!

Chief Phillips turned a remarkable shade of green at those two words. What?!

This is a record of the surface temps. They are higher than they should be by between two to four degrees Celsius. Then there is this, Kyoko threw the weather map across his desk. There is a major cold front moving into this same area. When that warm water meets this cold front... Well, we’re going to have a Typhoon factory on our hands. I have only had a chance to do a rough model and meteorology isn’t my specialty, but the basic model I ran is saying that as these two meet, a devastatingly powerful typhoon, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in living memory, is likely to form right off the coast of Tokyo and, given the prevailing winds, there is little doubt that that is also where it will make landfall.

Crap! We need to get ahead of this. Get ahold of the weather dweebs and find out if they are aware of this and advise them that they should probably look into issuing a warning, Chief Phillips said.

Okay, but there is no getting ahead of it. Kyoko pointed at the time stamp on the printouts. They have already collided by now. As if to punctuate the point, a roll of thunder shook the whole building.

Chief Phillips flinched but continued on. I don’t care. We still need to make the call so we can say that we informed them as soon as we put the pieces together. He shook his head and reached for his phone. Forget it, I’ll make the call. Go tell the other heads that we need to have a meeting to discuss how we are going to deal with the fallout from this. While you are at it, put on some coffee and tea. Once you have that done, be on hand to fetch us whatever information we need and to pass on any requests from the press, central, or higher, he ordered, waving her out of his office.

Kyoko left without saying another word. She hadn’t trusted her mouth not to run away from her if she gave it a chance. She’d been first to recognize the issue, put the pieces together, and run the models while the others had been merrily shooting the breeze by the teapot. And now they wanted her to be their gofer! It was on like Donkey Kong.

If I hadn’t followed this, we wouldn’t have had any warning. And he thinks he can just shut me out of it? Worse, act like it’s my fault and relegate me to be the secretary to heed their every beck and call! I don’t think so! Only somewhat the spiteful sort, she only emptied the carafes and reorganized all of the tea and coffee supplies up onto the very back of the very top shelves where only a handful of people could reach without getting a chair - or two in her case - and even fewer would even be able to see to know the supplies were there.

With her anger placated for the moment and the threat of going Krakatoa on anyone averted, though the magma inside her still churned hot enough to make the sun sweat, she returned to her desk and continued to work the problem. Her area was emptier than a convention on honest reporting now that everyone else had run off to the ‘spin’ meeting. Not caring about the office politics, she continued monitoring the storm’s growth and the dauntless propagation of the quakes. Their real job.

She knew they were really in trouble when the quakes cut right over the Philippine plate boundary with only the smallest of deviation in their course. If that was bad, then the new movement that caught her eye above Hokkaido was Dodotastic. The Northern propagation started to cut its way upwards until it too cut the North American plate like butter. From there, it turned towards the mainland and Russia. By its trajectory, it was going to make landfall on the Russian coast somewhere a little above Hokkaido.

The hours ticked by, and her nails got progressively shorter as she watched the disaster unfolding in near real-time. The worsening weather shadowed her mood nicely. As bad as the weather and what was about to happen to Tokyo was, she let out a sigh of relief into the empty office and almost relaxed as the worst threat failed to come to pass. Just before making landfall, the northern run had come to an abrupt stop about one hundred kilometers shy of the coast. Dealing with Russia’s seismology departments was an inbred-royal-pain. They were only slightly better at sharing than China.

With that nightmare averted for the moment, Kyoko turned her attention back to the news feeds she had going on one of the TVs so she could watch as the storm unloaded its fury on the coast and started driving its way inland. So far, the storm surge had been horrendous, and the winds had reaped no small amount of damage, but the floodgates were still holding. For now. That wasn’t what had really drawn her attention, though. No, the fireball which had blossomed on the screen as a jet crashed at the airport was what had caught her eye and now glued her to the screen as all other worries were temporarily forgotten. How they had stayed in the air through the storm and managed to reach the airport was a feat worthy of praise and recognition. And they almost made it.

The fireball was soon replaced with a shot of the tail half of the jet, which was more intact and, most importantly, not on fire. The image was blurred by the waterfalls of rain cascading down the terminal windows, but after the tail section stopped rolling, it appeared that someone hopped down out of the wreckage. Unfortunately, the arrival of the emergency vehicles and a jumble of people rushing about the crash site made it impossible to be sure.

It was a big enough deal that Kyoko swallowed her anger and went to let the others in the meeting know. Without knocking, she walked in only to find them arguing and pointing fingers at each other.

Excuse me! Kyoko yelled, cutting through the argument. All eyes turned to her. It was clear they all figured that this was all her fault. Like she’d commanded the earth to jump just to make them look bad. Without saying anything else, she went over to the TV and turned it on. Seeing as how the storm and the crash were the most sensational news, she didn’t need to go channel surfing.

The room went dead still as they realized what they were seeing. The same few shots of showing how the jet had almost made it down safely only to be swatted sideways by a freakishly powerful gust at the last moment, just kept looping over and over again.

Job complete, Kyoko left the room while they were all still in shock and closed the door softly behind her.

They’ll find some way to blame us for this! Chief Phillips jabbed his finger angrily at the screen.

It’s Aida’s find. She’s the most photogenic person we have. That’s why we hired her. She keeps saying that we don’t take her seriously. I think we should let her take the lead on this one, Abe suggested.

Chief Phillips almost bit Abe’s head off for admitting to such a thing. Regardless of whether her picture had been the deciding factor for hiring her or not, you were never to acknowledge that that was what you had based your decision upon. But he stopped short as he realized what game they were playing. You know, I think that’s an excellent idea, he said with a toothy smile. But it is getting late. I wouldn’t want her to feel pressured and overwork herself. We can let her know in the morning.

Definitely, wouldn’t want her to look bedraggled in front of the cameras, Abe pointed out.

Kyoko stepped away from the door and headed back to her desk. She had a predatory gleam in her eyes as she sat down and got to work. So, they want to play games. Well, it just so happens that I am a master game player. I even know the first rule. Kill the Bards and Heralds first.

The building shook, and the monitors flickered as another lightning bolt struck it. The deafening peel of thunder close on its heels caused a cascade of dust to fall from the ceiling and compressed the air around the building to the point that windows popping out of their frames was a real concern. The weather and her current mood were in perfect sync as she laid into her research. Her concentration was only broken by a news blurb where one of the survivors gave a succinct interview on the crash and what he knew and didn’t know. It was rather clear that he both hated being caught in front of the camera and that he was smart enough to watch every word he said lest it come back to bite him later. An example she would follow tomorrow. I wonder why there’s only one passenger.

ONE REPORTER, EXTRA CRISPY

Monday, June 28

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Morning found her looking refreshed and ready to face an army. She’d long since made a habit of keeping a spare set of dress clothes in her office locker just in case there was a surprise occasion calling for her to get dressed up. It also helped that the office, being a disaster readiness site, also had showers, cots, blankets, and food stashed away.

While the others had left early to battle their way home through the storm - had in most cases gone through the evening, night, and morning without power or hot water then had to turn around and battle their way back to the office through flooded and blocked streets this morning and looked for the most part strikingly bedraggled for it - she was rested and prepared to go she-hulk on any bus they tried to throw her under. It didn’t hurt that even on a typical day, she could think circles around most of them. In their current disheveled states, there was simply no competition. It was actually a bit boring.

I never thought I would miss the constant mental and verbal jousting. Kyoko sat back down at her desk with a cup of tea. She’d had one of the disaster rations for breakfast. Seeing as how it was a disaster and she was working it, she doubted anyone would begrudge her it. For that matter, she doubted most even knew where they were, or that about half of them were already out of date.

Chief Phillips walked up to her desk with a scowl. You are looking rather perky, he grumbled, glaring as he looked her over. For his own part, his apartment was close enough that the battle with the weather had been sparingly short, though the cold shower this morning and lack of coffee to start the day certainly weren’t helping his cantankerous mood.

Thank you, Kyoko agreed and turned back to her work. She knew it would rub him raw, but she didn’t owe him anything, and they were planning to use her as a scapegoat. Not that I have any intention of letting you have things your way.

Chief Phillips just stood there, towering over her as she sorted through several different readouts. When it became apparent that she wasn’t going to bite, he cleared his throat.

Kyoko turned around, playing dumb. Was there something that you needed, Mr. Phillips?

Chief Phillips felt blood rushing to his head as she dropped his title, and he was forced to stand there, glaring at her for a moment longer before he got his emotions back under control. After much discussion last night, we decided that as the person who discovered the current issue, you should also get to run point on it, he said, chewing each of the words for show while at the same time doing a little jig on her grave plot.

For real?! Kyoko said, feigning ignorance and acting like a schoolgirl that just got asked to prom.

Yes, and as such, I hope you have kept up on events because the press is demanding answers, and you are going to give them to them. I hope I don’t need to warn you not to put your foot in your mouth or to make any wild speculations. Whatever you do, though, don’t leave any questions unanswered or else they will fill in the blank however they want, and you will take the blame for not setting them straight, Chief Phillips warned, jabbing his finger at her. I want her burned and put in her place, but I can’t have her completely botching this or else the fallout could get ugly.

Aww, how cute. He’s trying to hand me only enough rope for one noose. This is going to be so much fun. If you’re sure, I think I can manage that, Kyoko assured with a cheery smile and laying on the ditsy excitement as heavy as she thought she could get away with.

Why do I get the feeling that she’s playing me? Very well, then. You had best get your facts in order and get ready for the camera because the interview starts in thirty-minutes, he growled, gave her one last glare, and left for the coffee pots where several others were milling about in a daze. Where did the coffee go!!!

It was only fifteen minutes before Chief Phillips returned to escort her to the interview. Kyoko heard more than a few snickers as she made her way to the conference room where the interview was to take place. She figured that to the others, she looked quite a bit like a death-row inmate being led to her execution. If only they knew that it wasn’t my execution about to take place but their own. On second thought, I like it better this way. Nothing like a surprise to bring a smile to a face. Mine, that is.

The room had been spruced up, and the tables and chairs moved out to make room for the reporter, the camera crew, and a conference chair for each of them. It was still rather Spartan, but that was a comforting thing for viewers. These kinds of places were supposed to look Spartan and all about the business of keeping the sheeple safe.

Kyoko took a seat in the chair across from the reporter and signaled once she was ready.

And we’re rolling in 5, 4, 3, 2... the cameraman made an okay sign, and the recording light flicked on.

Thank you, Ms. Aida, for taking some time out of your busy schedule today to help shed some light on yesterday’s events for our viewers. Let’s get started. The main question that I’m sure is on many of our minds is ‘what does geology have to do with meteorology?’

Thank you for having me here. The answer is, quite a bit, actually. For instance, did you know that compared to the yearly gas outputs of geological events, vehicle emissions barely even show up as a blip? There are even rather good models which indicate that it is only the emissions of vehicles preventing us from slipping into a new Ice Age. Between the sun and the planet, pretty much all of the weather is created. In this case, the direct cause looks to be ocean warming due to volcanic venting, Kyoko explained.

So, you’re saying that the cause of the unprecedented Typhoon last night, which caused the crash of Allen Air’s 626 out of Portland and the death of one-hundred-and-fifty people, was a volcano?

Well, not quite, and the last I heard it was one-hundred-fourteen that tragically perished in the crash, but the nationwide death-toll, according to the latest count, was closer to a thousand. The crash was catastrophically spectacular, but I would hate to marginalize all those other deaths and the tragedies this storm has wrought, Kyoko corrected. As to your question, please take a look at this, she said, bringing up a slide showing the string of vents along the ocean floor while blatantly ignoring the reporter’s apparent angst at being corrected.

Could you please explain, for our viewers, what we are looking at? the reporter asked, knowing better than getting into a spitting match on live-TV, and turning her attention to the slides. You could tell from the doe in the headlights look that the reporter was really the one in need of the explanation.

Why yes, it would be my pleasure, Aida said, almost rolling her eyes. Did all reporters get lobotomies as part of their graduation ceremony? She’d had a friend, a bright friend, who had gone the news route and right up until graduation, he’d been fine. The day after, it was like he had become a different person. A stupid parrot. What you are looking at, based on the heat plumes, which have opened up along this previously unknown fault, is a new range of active volcanic vents. The heat venting has caused unusually high water-temperatures across a large area of the Pacific Ocean. When this cold front, she overplayed the weather forecast, ran into the abnormally warm waters, it caused a typhoon to develop with terrifying speed and ferocity, she answered, using many simple, a little too simple really, pictures and diagrams. Just act like you are teaching an unusually slow, sleepy, hungry, distracted kindergartner, and that is about what your average newsy is.

Why was such an important unknown?! the reporter demanded, jabbing her finger at Aida like it was somehow her personal fault for not knowing about it and that she was therefore responsible for the storm and crash.

Because it was un-know-n! Aida replied, letting some sarcasm leak in. Before yesterday, there were no indications that there was any reason to look into the area. For all intents and purposes, it was just a stretch of the deep ocean floor. Flat and barren except for some fish and crabs. Then yesterday, this! She pointed at the display with the plumes again.

Okay, I guess that is understandable. At least the storm has blown itself out, the reporter said, trying to change the subject. She may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but she could tell when she was being mocked.

Okay! Okay! Do you have any ideas of what the long-term effects of having a major active thermal vent right off of our coast could be?! Aida asked. The reporter started to respond, but Aida cut her off before she had the chance. But wait! There’s more, she mimed, using her best telemarketer impersonation. Why?

Excuse me? the reporter asked. Why what?

Aida facepalmed on national television. Yep, even pretty little picture by the number problems are beyond this one. "For starters, the storm may have passed, but the vent is still pumping out heat, thereby increasing the moisture in the air. If even a moderate cold front moves in, you get clouds. Get enough clouds,