The Island (12 page)

“We might be yet,” Moses said. “If it sees us, we have no way of escaping.”

“Then we better hunker down until it decides to move on,” Chase said.

“No. We don’t have time. We need to find food and shelter before dark.”

Moses and Chase looked at Alex, trying to decide if he was being serious or not. Seeing their uncertainty, he smiled in the gloom. “Relax, I’m not going mad. We know there is a lot of jungle out there. Chances are we can sneak past it and into the woods to safety.”

“Screw that,” Moses said, shaking his head for emphasis. “I saw what happened to that girl. You can forget it.”

“You can do what you want to,” Alex shrugged. “But trust me, I’ve researched these things and the last thing you want is to be out here and exposed after dark.”

“What do you think?” Moses asked Chase, eyes like white pinpricks in the gloom. Chase didn’t have a response. He had no idea what the best choice was, good or bad. All he knew was that every hour wasted was another hour his daughter was being ravaged by her illness. When he really thought about it, nothing else mattered. He glanced at the sleeping dinosaur, and then out at the blazing sunshine beyond, teasing them with how near and far it was away. It felt like he had been underground for an eternity, and longed to feel that warmth on his skin. He knew nothing about dinosaurs. He suspected Alex didn’t know as much as he thought he did either. Nobody could be prepared enough for this. No matter. He wasn’t prepared to stay there any longer.

“Alright, I’m in. we stick to the wall, move quietly.” He turned to Moses. “How is that foot?”

“Don’t concern yourself with that. It’s fine,” Moses snapped.

Chase next glanced at Alex. There was a defiance in his face. Something that was almost a sense of enjoyment rather than fear. Chase realised he was starting to find himself increasingly wary of the younger man, and seeing him as more of a contender as time went on. “Alright, let’s move,” he said as he led them out of the safety of the tunnels and into the wider section of the cave. As he had instructed, they hugged the wall, keeping it close to their right side. Alex was just behind, keeping close to his shoulder, a constant presence. Once again, Chase was struck with the ridiculous notion that he was more uncomfortable with Alex at his back than approaching the sleeping Majungasaurus. Moses was at the rear, and seemed to Chase to be making a lot of noise, even if it wasn’t his intention. Every few steps he wound grunt, or suck air through his teeth as his damaged feet touched the ground. Both Chase and Alex were throwing regular glances at the older man, who was either ignoring them or oblivious, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Up close, the Majungasaurus was much bigger than it had appeared from the rear of the cave. They were now thirty feet away from it, and in turn only fifty away from the exit and the freedom that lay beyond. The one ton dinosaur still lay on its side, eyes closed, tail curled up underneath its massive, muscular legs. Near the entrance in front of it were the remains of something none of them could identify. Shredded flesh. Blood. A few shafts of bone. It was clear that this was once another dinosaur, perhaps even one of its own kind and had since become the Majungasaurus’s meal. Even as large as it was, the creature had been unable to finish its entire kill in one sitting.

For a man who had grown up in New York City and had never seen anything much larger than one of the many stray dogs which nosed around in the mountains of garbage cans on street corners, Chase was in awe of such an incredible creature. As terrifying as it was, the Majungasaurus was also a showcase for perfect evolutionary efficiency. Unlike the human species with its complicated web of emotions, the sleeping creature lived a beautifully simple existence. It slept when it was tired. Hunted when it was hungry, and killed when it felt threatened. There was nothing else. No society. No money to worry about. No pollution. No family. It was a perfect machine, evolved by nature to be efficient. Big powerful legs, each toe equipped with a seven inch curved claw which was more than capable of disembowelling any of them with little effort. Its tail, large at the trunk then tapered to a point gave it balance for when it attacked. Its arms were non-descript. Similar to the T-rex in position, they were much smaller, and completely useless. Anything it would ever need to grip was taken care of by the jaws. Slivers of white teeth visible as the creature slept. Like the clawed toes, the teeth were designed for maximum destruction. Alex tapped Chase on the shoulder, pointing to a spot on the side of the creature’s neck. There, on the brownish green hue of its skin, Chase could see it clearly. A brand or tattoo of sorts. An identifying marker which reminded them all that they were part of a strange game.

PROPERTY OF THE LOMAR CORPORATION

SPECEMIN NO 79 – MAJUANGASAURUS

PRODUCT I.D – 154B-2585-SD00847A

A dry, teasing breeze pushed into the cave from outside, displacing gravel and teasing their hair. They froze as one as the creature stirred. Tail flicking, toe-claw twitching.

It’s going to wake up.

Chase knew it was going to happen. He had never been surer of anything in his life. It would wake, see them and destroy them. There would be no hope of fighting back in such a confined space. One of them might survive; the odds were good of that. If Chase were a betting man he would say that Moses would be next. It stood to reason. He was the oldest. The slowest. He had blisters on his feet and would struggle to run. Unless…

He tried to change his train of thought, but it was already there. Unless it likes the hunt. Then it would chase one of the runners. And Chase knew that if it did stir, he would be one of the first to run. Not for his own life. He had already made peace with the idea of losing it, but for his daughter. That is all that kept him moving.

But the creature didn’t wake. Its tail stopped flicking. The claw stopped twitching. It let out a throaty grunt, then was still, the rhythm of its sleep bringing them a little comfort.

Chase glanced over his shoulder at the others. Moses first, then Alex. The latter lingering a little. Chase wondered if there was some kind of shared idea there, some kind of momentary, telepathic bond where, for the briefest of seconds, he was sure they had shared the same idea without ever uttering a word. He could see how it would play out.

Moses is slow. Weak. Push him down, scream and shout, then run. Run as hard as these newly cancer free lungs will allow you whilst the creature feasts on its intruder. With luck, it will take both of the others. One in four is good odds. One in three would be spectacular.

Chase glanced towards the exit. He could see the way he would go. The cave broke into a clearing, then just ten feet beyond, the jungle. The heavy, twisted jungle. A place where it would be advantage human. Ten feet or so, plus the distance from where he stood. He did the calculations. Maybe, twenty five feet total. With his old lungs, a big ask. Now though, he knew it would be easy.

One in three.

One in three.

One in three.

He knew it wasn’t right. Morally it was out of the question. But the little voice, the one he had started to think of as the voice of his self-preservation, whispered in his ear, telling him what he needed to know to justify it.
You signed an agreement,
it said to him
. These are the rules. This is how the game works. You think they won’t do it to you if they get the chance? You think they care about Elsie?

It was hard to ignore, hard to argue when the opportunity was there in front of him.

This is the game. This is how it’s played. No room for compassion. No room for doing the right thing. The only way to win this is to become an animal. A heartless, survival driven beast.

He turned away, heart thundering, torn as to what to do, heart saying one thing, and head another. The little voice wouldn’t be deterred.
They’re just waiting for the right time. They will kill you without thinking twice, and then what? You’ll have come out here and died for nothing. All because you don’t have the guts enough to get a little blood on your hands.

“Shut up.” He’d already said it before he could stop himself. He didn’t turn back. He didn’t have to. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his skull.

Now. Now is the time. It will be easy. Just run. Put those lungs to good use. Make for the trees. Fuck these people. You don’t owe them a damn thing.

He had never felt so tempted, nor had he wanted to do anything quite so desperately. The only thing that was stopping him as fear. Fear of being alone. He felt safer in a group. Could work better within a unit. At least this way he knew where they were. If they were to separate, the hunt was well and truly on. They would see him as a target, the man who had tried to kill them. Although a few days ago the idea had seemed ridiculous, he didn’t particularly like the idea of Alex hunting him down. There was something in his eyes, a feral kind of aggression which he was trying to hide. For that reason, and for that reason alone, he didn’t run. He ignored the nagging inner voice, and led them on. One foot after the other, each step closer to the cave one he was sure would be their last and that the creature would surely wake up. Only when they had reached the heat of the day, the change in light making them screw up their eyes, did they run. As a unit, they sprinted for the tree line, Moses doing his best to keep up. As they crashed into the relative cool of the canopy, still in their trio, two thoughts came to Chase. The first was how long their fragile group would be able to stay together before somebody decided it was time to try and win. The second was if the others had gone through the same thought process in the cave that he had. He was pretty sure they had. With both thoughts swirling around his mind, he led them into the jungle and to whatever came next.

ODDS GET SHORTER

DAY THREE

NECKER ISLAND – 3:13PM

The sky had started to lose its unblemished shade of blue as the dark thunderheads started to build. The heat was still intense, but there was a light breeze now which told them that soon enough they would be facing the assault of the coming storm. Their encounter in the cave was still fresh in their minds as Chase, Alex and Moses toiled through the trees. Hunger was starting to become a real issue, even if none of them were quite prepared to admit it and show any kind of weakness in front of their rivals. Ignoring the moaning of his stomach, Chase led them on. He felt lighter, like his skin was too big for his frame. He knew it had only been a couple of days, but he was already exhausted. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex, who was chewing on an energy bar from his ration kit. He was the only one with any food left. Moses was falling further behind. His brow was furrowed, and he was walking with a very definite limp. Chase felt unwell, Moses, however looked terrible. At some point he had acquired a gnarled, thick branch, and was using it as a support, a walking stick of sorts as he tried to keep up.

After escaping the cave, it became apparent that it had taken them off course and come out deeper into the jungle. They were backtracking now, Chase keeping the sun roughly ahead and to his right where it had been when they first came out on top of the cliff face. The shadows had elongated as the sun made its steady descent towards the horizon line. They needed food and water, but Chase had no idea where he might find the former. Water he would be able to get when they reached the gorge they had seen from the cliff top. The waterfall had plunged into a pool there, and he clearly recalled seeing Ryder and Perrie’s footprints in the soft mud. Food wasn’t going to be so easy. He couldn’t begin to imagine how many calories they were burning, how much energy they were sweating out as they traversed the unforgiving landscape. He couldn’t speak for the others, but he was feeling weaker and weaker with each passing hour.

Food.

A hamburger or a hotdog. Maybe a sandwich and a cold beer.

He started to salivate, and wiped a forearm across his mouth. Thinking about it made things worse. He wondered if Ryder had any food. He suspected he might have. He was, after all the only one of them with any survival experience. He would know where to look. Dinosaurs weren’t the only creatures inhabiting The Island. Since they entered the jungle they had seen birds, spiders and snakes, rodents and even monkeys flitting high in the branches and safely out of reach of the dinosaurs. It was still so hard to comprehend. Two different evolutionary timelines had been thrust together by a man who had both the money and the vision to attempt it. Whether it was crazy or stupid was another matter entirely, and not something he cared enough about to consider. He ducked under and overhanging branch, and pushed aside a huge green leaf, then was blinded by the shimmer of sunlight on water, giving the pool the impression that it was on fire. The cliff face stretched high above them, the craggy gorge to their right, a thin trail cut through the hundred foot walls on either side.

Elation. Chase never expected to feel it at such a simple thing as the sight of fresh water, but even so he did. Water meant life. Life meant survival. Survival meant his chances of winning would increase. He hurried to the edge, dropping to his knees in the soft mud of the bank and cupping his hands, drinking the cool liquid, splashing it on his face, soaking his hair.

It was divine.

Even Alex seemed relieved. He filled his water bottle in between cupped double handfuls of water. Chase looked at Moses, who was sitting on a rock, staring at his dirt-covered feet. He had no interest in water. His expression told a different story. It was an expression which said his feet had let him down, and as a result had put him at risk. He caught Chase’s eye.

“You cold?” he asked.

Chase glanced at the blue skies and burning sun. It must have been almost thirty degrees Celsius. He shook his head. “No, not at all.”

“I’m cold,” he replied. “Can’t get warm.”

Chase nodded, thinking back to the cave. How Moses hadn’t taken off his shirt before getting into the water like he and Alex had. He could imagine how walking through the dark tunnels with wet clothes clinging to him could have brought on all kinds of problems. Hypothermia being the key potentially life-ending illness.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m a dead man,” Moses replied. “Don’t count me out yet.”

Chase was spared from having to reply by Alex, who stood stretching his arms out by his side. “We should make a move. We’ll be losing daylight soon.”

Chase looked at the gorge they were about to cross through, no more than a jagged eight foot cut through the sheer rock face. If they were to encounter anything inside it, there would be no running. No escape. They would have to face it, and with no weapons.

“Why don’t we stay here tonight?” he suggested, not sure if he was mentally strong enough to go on any further.

Alex shook his head. “Do I need to remind you what happened last time we strayed for too long near a water source? If we stay here, it will be like putting up a sign saying the buffet is open.”

“We’re all tired and hungry. We don’t know how long this passage goes on through the rock. Plus, we have no weapons.”

Alex grinned, lighting a fire in Chase’s gut. “Something funny?”

“No, not really. It’s just that you seem to like to complain a lot.”

“I thought I was raising a valid point.”

Alex shook his head. “You’re still not thinking straight. You have to see this for what it is. This isn’t an island. Not in the truest sense. It’s a set. We’re the actors. Trust me, I think you’ll find that passage ends right about when we need it to.”

“What makes you so sure?”

Alex grinned, one eye squeezed shut against the sun which was turning everything orange as it fell slowly from the sky. “Because there are millions of people watching us right now. The powers that be are unlikely to want us to die because of the environment rather than the monsters.” He walked towards the gorge entrance, sweat glistening on his forehead. “You coming or not?”

Chase didn’t reply. They both knew that he was. As with everything, Alex had been right again. With more reluctance than he cared to admit, Chase and Moses followed Alex into the gorge and whatever awaited them within.

TWO

It was cooler and progression was easier as they made their way through the narrow path. The sun was kept off them by the high walls, and without tree roots to traverse, walking was easier. Alex led the way, still bobbing along with the awkward sloped-shouldered gait. Chase was in the middle, content not to have to either lead or talk to anyone. Moses was falling back, unable to keep up the pace. He was walking with a very definite and pronounced limp, his teeth gritted in half hopeless determination. He was unravelling before their eyes, each step further inland seeming to ebb a little more of his life force.

“You better come look at this,” Alex called from ahead, his words rolling off the walls as he stopped walking. Chase jogged to meet him, wishing he hadn’t seen what was waiting for him.

Blood.

It stood out against the sandstone. It spattered the walls and lay in clumpy drying pools on the floor. Perrie was lying against the wall, one arm bent up against the rock face. Her skin had already started to discolour and turn a purplish blue. Flies danced and buzzed around. Where her face had been was a mess, a bloody pulp of mangled flesh and white shafts of bone. Against the opposite wall, in the shade was the body of a velociraptor, its throat slit. It was obvious there had been some kind of struggle. Chase looked at the floor and tried to make sense of the animal and human footprints alike. He felt sick. When Ellie had been killed it was quick, and they had been forced to move on before they saw any of the aftermath. This was a different situation. Chase felt sick. Seeing what remained of her, nothing but an empty vessel left there as food or the flies, brought home how serious a situation they were involved with. This was the same fate that awaited all of them. There would be no ceremonious burial. No dignified send off. Just the harsh reality that was death. He glanced at Alex, his face unreadable as he stared at the carnage, his eyes focussed on the velociraptor rather than what remained of Perrie. Moses didn’t look quite so shocked, and based on his past, Chase could understand. He had, after all seen death. Dealt with it daily.

“Dinosaur must have gotten her, then she killed it and died as well,” he said, just because he was desperate to break the silence.

“No,” Alex said. “That’s not what happened here.”

Both Moses and Chase looked at him. Alex ignored them. His eyes were scanning the scene, flicking from corpse to corpse.

“What do you mean?” Moses asked.

Alex pointed to the floor. “There were at least three velociraptors in here according to the prints in the blood. Looks like they came the way we did, attacked from the rear.”

He pointed to the dead raptor. “Ryder killed that one. Slit its throat. Left it for dead. At least one of the others attacked the girl. Look at the claw mark on her leg. It’s sliced to the bone. After he’d killed the one by the wall there, he came over and fought them off. If you look at the tracks there by the wall, the footprints double back. They ran. Ryder did a good job.”

“Not before they killed her,” Chase said.

Alex shook his head. “They didn’t do that. Ryder did.”

Chase stared at Alex, then looked back at the body, trying to see whatever Alex did that told him the answers.

“The rock. By her head. See it? With the blood on it.”

Chase nodded.

“Palm sized. See the hair and skin on it?”

Chase nodded again.

“Now look above her, on the wall. See it?”

Chase complied. He could see it. A handprint in blood. A man’s handprint. When it was all put together, it was all too easy to visualise. Perrie wounded badly, maybe begging for help. Ryder seeing an opportunity, a chance to shorten the odds. Straddling her, grabbing a good palm-sized rock. Holding her down with the right hand while he brought he rock down over and over again with his left, obliterating her face. When it was done, and the rock had been tossed aside, he had put a hand on the wall to push himself upright, leaving the bloody marker behind before he went on his way.

“Jesus, this is insane,” Chase muttered.

“It’s the game. We all knew we’d have to play it.”

Chase glanced at Alex. “You think this is funny?”

“Isn’t it?” Alex fired back. “A bunch of dead men arguing about morals. Surely you see the humour in it. Still, her loss is our gain. At least we have food now.”

Chase took a step back, staring at Alex.

“Relax, not her,” he said, nodding towards the dead velociraptor. “That. Plenty of meat on there that we can take with us. We can eat tonight.”

“What about Ryder?”

Alex looked down the length of the canyon, then back the way they had come. “Not much we can do about him now. We just have to be ready. He’s done the hard part now and has killed. The next time will be easier.”

THREE

They camped there in the ravine, and as they sat around the crackling fire, eating the smoky dinosaur meat, they could almost believe in hope again. Chase was amazed at just how such a simple thing as having a full belly could boost morale. They had all been reluctant to eat the meat cut from the dinosaur, at least until they smelled it cooking, the fats hissing and dripping into the flames. Their stomachs quivered and growled, and even if the meat had been rancid, they would have still eaten it. As it was, it had been delicious. As relaxed as they were, they were also wary. They knew Ryder was out there, and could be watching them. Alex was sleeping, preparing for his night watch. Moses and Chase sat by the fire, staring into the orange glow, each of them contemplating both where they were and where they might be tomorrow. Moses had removed his boots and socks, getting some air to his feet. Chase could see why the older man was having so much trouble walking. The heel of his left foot wasn’t too bad. It was pink and blistered, but looked otherwise okay. His right however, was shredded. The skin was bloody and raw all the way from the heel up the ankle. It was swollen and discoloured, and was weeping clear pus from tiny ruptures. Although it had been masked by the cooking meats, now that they had eaten, the smell of his foot was impossible to ignore. It was bad, and they both knew it.

“Not looking good is it?”

Chase looked at Moses, who was watching him stare. Chase averted his gaze back to the glowing embers of the fire. “No, no it’s not.”

“Still can’t get warm. Think I might be coming down with something.”

Chase nodded. It was warm by the fire, hot even. But Moses was still shivering, his bottom lip trembling.

“How old are you?” Chase asked.

Moses didn’t reply at first. He simply stared into the flames, watching them flicker and dance. “Fifty seven.”