The Monster Club: Attack of Namazu

It was a warm summer day. Sally, Kenji, and Tom were having a picnic on the lakeshore. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.

“Earthquake!” Tom called. The three held tight as they waited for the tremor to pass.

“That’s the third one this week,” Sally noted.

“It registered as a 3.4,” Kenji said, taking a look at his SmartPad. “It’s too small to cause any real damage, but big enough to shake things up.”

“What’s causing the earthquakes?” Sally asked. “Copper Pines isn’t on any fault lines and Mount Black has been extinct for years.”

“I think I know what’s causing it,” Tom said, pointing to the swamp at the far side of the lake.

A monstrous tail rose out of the water. The tail came down with a mighty crash. As it did, the ground began to shake.

“It’s Namazu,” Kenji declared. “My grandmother told me the story. Namazu is a giant Japanese catfish that lives in swamps. When it’s angry, it causes earthquakes.”