The Island (16 page)

Chase shuffled over to Moses where he lay on his side.

“Penny, is that you?” he mumbled, eyes closed.

“No, it’s me. It’s Chase. I brought you some food.”

The old man blinked, and looked at it, then shook his head. “Give it to the grandkids. I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat, Moses. You need to keep your strength up.”

“There’s money in my wallet if they want an ice cream. The van will be here soon.”

Chase glanced over his shoulder at Alex. He was watching, an indifferent look on his face as he ate.

“Please, try to eat something,” Chase said again, putting a hand on the old man’s shoulder. He snapped awake, still in a place far away from reality. “Damn you, why can’t you just leave me alone? You said this was the last time. You said I wouldn’t have to do this again. I just want to retire. Please, just let me retire.”

“It’s okay, Moses. You try to get some sleep. You can eat later, okay?”

The old man grumbled and closed his eyes. He was still trembling, and still mumbling. Chase shuffled back to the fire, and started to eat. Suddenly, it didn’t taste so good.

“It won’t be long now,” Alex said.

“What won’t?”

Alex nodded towards Moses. “Now the hallucinations have started, it’s only going to be a matter of time. We should leave him here.”

Chase didn’t say anything. He took another bite of his meat, waiting for Alex to elaborate.

“He might have a day or two left tops before he dies. We could do it humanely. Finish him in his sleep. We would be doing him a favour.”

Still Chase said nothing. He took another bite of the meat which was suddenly bland. There was something sinister about him. Chase couldn’t decide if it was the lighting, or the way his tone was so flat and conversational. Even the rain had stopped, bringing an eerie silence to the hollow.

“Besides,” Alex went on, “this is the last of the meat. Remember how we were told to make the most of any situation that presented us? This could help us.”

Chase paused, the dinosaur meat halfway towards his mouth. He was no longer hungry. He tried to figure out some way of convincing himself he had misheard or misinterpreted, but there was no denying it. Alex was talking about cannibalism.

“You think you could do that? Eat another human’s flesh?” Chase felt detached from himself as he asked. It almost felt like it was someone else in charge of his body.

“I wouldn’t want to,” Alex said, correcting himself. “I’m talking about last resort survival. Look at it in a purely black and white way. He’s dying anyway. Plus we need food to keep our strength up. Unless you feel like hunting down some dinosaurs, or have some other suggestion, I don’t see what choice we have. Plus it will lower the odds.”

“One in three,” Chase muttered.

“Exactly. One in three. Surely it’s better than letting him suffer. I think that’s why the story of that buck came back to me. The old man is like that deer. He’s just lying there, already dying. It’s now down to if we intend to stand here and watch him die or do the right thing and put him out of his misery.”

Chase hated himself for it, but Alex’s plan seemed viable. Not so much from the humane perspective, but the odds.

One in three.

Much better than one in four, no matter how he tried to look at it. Much better odds of being able to help his daughter.

“I need some time with this,” he said.

“I get that. It’s a big decision.”

Chase stood, and stretched, his head almost touching the roof of the rock. “I need to go take a leak. Don’t do anything until I get back,” he said.

“No, of course,” Alex said.

Chase ducked out of the cave, trudging away out of site and towards a scrub of trees. As he urinated, he looked down over the valley. Night was drawing in, and although there was a half moon, it was shrouded in cloud. He felt nauseous at the thought of what he was about to agree to, but also knew that sooner or later it would have to be done. It was all part of the game. He turned to head back to the cave, when a dirt-smeared hand grabbed him and pulled him off his feet, dragging him back into the scrub of trees. Chase kicked and squirmed until the point of the knife was touched to his throat. He flicked his eyes to the man who had taken him. Ryder was covered in a thick layer of mud. He had deliberately covered himself to help him remain invisible. His eyes were wild and white, glaring at Chase as he pushed the blade closer to his throat.

“Make a noise and I’ll cut you,” he whispered in Chase’s ear.

Chase stopped struggling.

“Good. Now come with me. Don’t fight,” Ryder said. Chase did as he was told, allowing Ryder to drag him further away from the cave and into the darkness.

THE GAME CHANGES

DAY FOUR

8:29PM

“Alright, I’m going to uncover your mouth. Just relax, alright?” Ryder whispered.

Chase nodded. Ryder released his grip. Chase stepped away, glaring at Ryder and wondering what was about to happen.

“Take those cameras off. All of them.”

Chase did as he was told, unhooking the camera from his shoulder and handing it to Ryder. He dropped it to the floor and stamped on it, then tossed it down into the ravine. Chase saw that Ryder had at some point dumped all his own recording equipment.

“You can take that look off your face; I’m not here to hurt you.”

Chase looked at him, covered in mud, dirt and leaves stuck to his skin. It was no surprise they hadn’t seen him. They could have walked right past him and he would have been invisible.

“What do you want with me?”

“Just shut up and look. Down there.” Ryder pointed through the gap in the trees. Below them was the valley and the hilly terrain they had just negotiated. Night had rolled in, and the entire plain was bathed in pale moonlight.

“I don’t see anything. What the hell am I supposed to be looking for?”

Ryder pointed. “Watch there. That rocky outcrop.”

Chase watched, and was about to tell Ryder he still couldn’t see anything when something moved. Not a dinosaur, or a creature, but a person. It was too dark, and they were too far away to see any details, but Chase clearly saw the figure scramble from behind one rock outcrop to another, then crouch.

“What the hell? Who is that?” Chase said. Ryder crouched, pulling Chase to the floor with him. His eyes were wild and showing too much white as he spoke.

“This game isn’t what we think it is.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s all different, so different.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“We got it all wrong. This isn’t about the dinosaurs. They’re incidental. This is about man hunting man.” He pointed at the tiny figure down by the rocky outcrop. “We’re part of something bigger. He’s been following you for the last two days.”

“Who is it?” Chase asked.

“Our friend Lomar.”

Chase glanced at Ryder. He was still staring down into the valley. “You really think the CEO of a multibillion dollar company is running around out here?”

“I know he is. I’ve seen him. I was twenty feet away from where he was camped.”

“This is stupid. You know how this is all recorded in real time? I don’t think it would impress Lomar’s investors if they saw him running around out here in the dark.”

Ryder grinned. For a moment, white eyes and white teeth shone through the dark. “Don’t be so naive. You know how easily stuff can be faked, doctored. I’ll tell you what I think. I think they’re showing us exactly what they want us to see.”

“Sounds like you’re clutching at straws,” Chase grumbled, even though part of him believed what Ryder was saying.

“I saw something else. Down in the forest there, I was heading this way and I lost my footing, fell down this fucking hill, knocked myself around pretty badly. There were no tree cameras down there, and with good reason.”

“What did you see?”

“There was a pit dug into the ground. It was full of bodies, man. People. Must have been a hundred of them.”

“Impossible. We’re the first ones to do this,” Chase said.

“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. We’re not. We’re just the first ones that have been put here in the public eye. Those bodies… They had been executed. They hadn’t been attacked by the dinosaurs, they had bullet wounds. They’d been shot.”

“Shot? By who?”

“Fucking Lomar,” Ryder hissed. “This is his own personal playground.”

“Why would he? He’s a high-profile man. A celebrity almost.”

“He’s a fucking killer,” Ryder said, eyes still wide.

“I could say the same thing about you.”

Ryder lowered his eyes and cleared this throat. “Yeah, believe me, I regret that. But I didn’t know. That was when I still thought we were playing the game. If I could go back… God I would do it in a heartbeat.”

“I just don’t see the connection. Why would there be bodies out here?”

“Think about it. Rich people need to get their kicks somewhere, right? He doesn’t need money; he can buy anything he wants. My theory is that he sets people loose on The Island, gives them a head start, then goes in and hunts them down.”

“I don’t know, it sounds implausible,” Chase said, although Ryder was making him consider the idea.

“Remember when we were at his house? What did he have all over the walls?”

“Hunting trophies,” Chase muttered. He remembered it well. His stomach tightened as he started to see the pieces fall into place.

“Exactly,” Ryder said. “Hunting trophies. Is it too far a stretch to think he’s got tired of hunting animals and wants a bigger challenge?”

“But the bodies, why leave them here? Anyone could find them.”

“How?” Ryder said, flashing that grin again. “This place is off limits. Plus it’s full of fucking dinosaurs. Nobody is going to find those bodies that will live to tell anyone about it.”

“Doesn’t bode well for us,” Chase muttered.

“Yeah, why do you think I ditched the cameras? I also took the tree cams down near here so we could talk without them hearing.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Now we get back to that camp of yours and move on. I could see your fire lighting you up like a beacon. You can bet Lomar can too.”

“It’s not safe to travel at night. We were told before we came out here,” Chase said.

“Forget everything they told you. It’s too dangerous to stay. We keep moving. It’s the only way to give ourselves the advantage.”

He didn’t wait for a response. He made his way back towards the way they had come, Chase following behind and still trying to come to terms with the information he had just been given. Seeing his family again seemed like it was even further away.

TWO

Down in the Valley, Damien Lomar paused to rest. He realised that he wasn’t as young as he used to be, and the hunt wasn’t getting any easier. He took a sip of water, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings and enjoying the heady mixture of fear and adrenaline that came with his chosen hobby. The communicator he wore in his ear crackled to life, and the worried voice of Maurice Gilbert filtered through.

“You there, Mr. Lomar?”

“I told you not to bother me when I was hunting, Maurice. This better be good,” Lomar whispered, again checking his surroundings.

“Actually, it’s bad. They know you’re out there.”

Lomar paused, unsure if he had misheard. “Who knows? The public?”

“No, them. The contestants. Ryder took a fall and landed in the pit. I told you we should have disposed of the bodies properly.”

“Where is he now?” Lomar asked, feeling his body tense.

“We didn’t know for a while. He dumped all his camera equipment. His GPS tracker too. He’s good. He turned up out of the blue and pulled Riley away from the group.”

“Shit.”

“He made Riley dump all of his gear and had killed most of the tree cams, but he missed one. We picked up their conversation. They both know now. I don’t need to remind you what this could mean for us.”

“No, you don’t,” Lomar grunted. “Where are they now?”

“Back at the camp. They’re getting ready to move.”

Lomar took his binoculars from his belt, and fixed them on the flickering orange glow of the campfire up the hill. He could see them getting their equipment together, Ryder talking animatedly to Alex. “Where’s Moses?”

“He’s there. Just not in a good way. Looks like he’s coming down with pneumonia or something. You need to finish this and do it now. No more games.”

Lomar wasn’t listening. He looked beyond the campsite. Further up the hill, it became increasingly steep and impassable. A few years ago, he would have relished the climb. Now his tired bones weren’t so keen.

“Mr. Lomar? Did you hear me?” Maurice said, the fear and urgency in his voice reminding Lomar what a spineless prick he was.

“I hear you. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Is Station Thirty Two online?”

Lomar waited, the anger simmering in his gut.

“Yes. It’s active and online.”

“I’m heading there. I’m going to prep the pheromone sensors. It’s time to give the people their grand finale.”

“You know if you do that it will put you in danger too, sir.”

“I know that,” he snapped, clipping the binoculars back to his belt. “At this point, I don’t see what choice we have. Keep me in the loop, Maurice. I want to know everything as it happens, understood?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

“How are you handling this for the TV feed?”

“We have a one hour delay. The live stream that people think they are seeing is old footage. I had to authorise overtime to the editing suite. They’re doing a great job of making sure nothing gets out to the public that could harm us.”

“Good. No matter how many hours overtime they need, I’ll sign off on it. We can’t have any mistakes here Maurice. That footage needs to be perfect. One slip, one oversight that lets some dirty little fuck from the world sniff even the smallest hint that something isn’t as it seems, and we’re dead men.”

“We?”

“You know as much as I know, Maurice. Keep that in mind.”

Silence. Lomar thought it would be easier to tolerate Maurice if he took that approach more often. “Yes, sir,” he said. Sharp, tense. Lomar smiled. The message had been received.

“Good. Remember, Maurice, regular updates. I’m making my way to station thirty two now. For god’s sake, put those editing guys under pressure. No mistakes. I want strict control over what goes out.”

“We’re doing the best we can, sir, but with the constant stream of data to work on–”

“I’m not interested in how. Just get it done. I’m holding you responsible for making sure that it happens. Perks of having a higher position with the company.”

“Are you talking about a promotion, sir?”

“As we discussed. But for obvious reasons, not until this ugly little situation is resolved. Can I trust you with this?”

Another pause. Maurice waited, letting the fat fuck think.

“Yes, sir. I can do that.”

As if you had a choice
Lomar thought, and smiled to himself in the dark. “Good. I knew I could count on you. Keep in touch.”

He ducked out of cover, pausing to check the GPS tracker attached to the wrist of his army fatigues. A smaller version of the one in the production office, it showed the locations of the contestants in yellow (now minus Ryder and Chase) as well as the dinosaurs which inhabited The Island. It couldn’t have worked out better. There was nothing close to him that could interfere before he reached his destination. He broke into a loping run, heading on a diagonal towards the base of the hill where the others had climbed. He didn’t follow. He knew another way. He skirted around the bottom of the hill towards another large outcrop of rocks, pausing to check his GPS to verify his safety. Satisfied, he moved towards the outcrop, searching for a specific location, one he had designed himself. He saw it, a narrow crack between two large slabs of rock. He turned side on, pushing his skinny frame between the two rocks. It was an optical illusion, designed to look like a dead end. Instead, it veered off to the right and opened up into an interior cave, completely shielded from the rest of The Island. Set back against the wall was a steel door. He walked over to it, heart thundering. Waiting for his father to die so he could run the company properly was frustrating, and he was sure he wasn’t about to let a group of street scum take away everything he had worked so hard to build. For as much as he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, business was business and it was time to end this game before he paid the ultimate price.

Lomar opened the door, white artificial light spilling out and making a pool around him. Nobody was going to take what was his. He wouldn’t allow it. He grinned and went inside, closing the door behind him.