by Michael Todd
One the cat-sharks dropped, already dead. Somehow, it had gotten on top of the stump.
“They’re stealthier than I realized,” the soldier said and ignored the gashes on his face. “Be ready. They won’t stop now—”
Another cat burst from the underbrush and leapt at Chandler’s back. He swung his assault rifle barely in time and fired. Blood and chunks exploded from the beast and into the jungle.
In a blink, a third appeared and attacked from atop the fallen tree trunk. The soldier eliminated this one too, but it crashed into him all the same, bowled him over, and knocked the gun from his hands.
As he struggled to push its slick, bloody corpse off him, a fourth darted from the darkness and sank its teeth into his calf. Chandler screamed and Ava had never heard anyone outside of a hospital experience so much pain.
“Shoot it! For Christ’s sake, shoot it,” he bellowed. He struggled to reach a long knife at his belt, but his attacker shook its head constantly back and forth. Its serrated teeth slowly ripped the flesh of his leg into shreds.
“I’m trying! Your fucking gun is jammed,” Bradley yelled as he pulled the trigger of the pistol again and again to no avail.
“The safety’s on, you moron.”
Mr. Bradley cursed and fiddled with the weapon.
“It’s the little switch on the side,” Ava said. She pushed her back against the stump and tried to look above her at the same time.
“I know where the fucking safety is,” her boss shouted. He finally found it and fired the pistol wildly into the air.
“Shoot the damn thing,” Chandler commanded. He’d finally retrieved his knife and now swiped at the cat, which remained out of reach.
Bradley clenched his jaw, held the gun up like he thought he was on a drive-by, and shot the cat six times. Or, rather, he shot at it. Most of the shots went wide, but one of them struck the creature in the flank and it released the man’s leg.
The soldier jerked his injured leg to his chest. The cat-shark hissed and immediately lunged at him. He caught it in the side with his knife. It whimpered for a moment before its lungs filled with blood and it died.
“I thought you said you could shoot,” he said accusingly.
“I killed it, didn’t I?” Bradley held the gun near the side of his head and aimed the barrel at the canopy with both hands. The stance made Ava think of Charlie’s Angels.
“It doesn’t matter,’ the soldier mumbled.
“You’re hurt.” Ava moved toward his mangled leg.
“I’ll live. How many of those things did we get?”
“Five,’ Bradley said.
“Are you sure? Because I think there were only six of them.” Chandler retrieved his assault rifle, pushed himself to a crouch, and tried to put weight on his injured leg. He shook his head. “I can’t go anywhere. If we got five, that’s good. The last one probably won’t attack.”
“Of course I’m fucking sure.”
One the monsters dropped from above to land squarely on Chandler’s back. He tried to stand and throw it off, but he didn’t have the strength with his injured leg.
He stumbled backward and fell to the ground. The cat moved out from under him and in seconds, its rows and rows of teeth savaged his neck.
Ava screamed.
The soldier struggled but that only made the beast pissed.
Bradley fired the pistol but, like before, he missed.
Chandler no longer moved, and the cat-shark released him.
It stood, hissed at them, and raised its hackles—an extremely strange motion given its resemblance to a shark. Another cat—the sixth one—appeared from the jungle. Together, they dragged the inert corpse into the jungle.
For a moment, both Ava and her boss said nothing, then Bradley fumbled with the gun. After a minute, he managed to load the other magazine. He fired it once in the air. “All right. Let’s keep moving. We shouldn’t be so fucking slow now.”
“Where will we go?” she asked.
“We’ll keep going and get the fuck out of this place.”
“I think we should go back to the helicopter. Maybe Manny—”
“For fuck’s sake, Manny’s probably dead by now!” Bradley retorted impatiently and gestured with the pistol. “What we need to do is keep moving and not let any more of those freaky cat-things find us.”
“But Chandler said there were only six—”
“And you’re going to trust a dead man?” Bradley’s eyes widened, his brow slick with sweat. Ava’s eyes darted from the pistol back his face. No, now did not seem like a good time to disagree.
“No,” she said, looking down. That normally made him leave her alone.
“That’s fucking right. Now, let’s move.”
Chapter Five
“It’s lighter up ahead,” Bradley said. “I think there’s a clearing.”
Ava was exhausted. They’d hiked for miles, had finished what little water they had, and had no food. The rations had all been in Chandler’s pack, which the horrible cat-sharks had taken when they’d dragged his corpse away.
To Bradley’s credit, he really did move fast. He’d maintained a relentless pace and constantly whipped his head back and forth as if he thought he could defend them if another wave of creatures attacked.
But he obviously didn’t know where he was going. Even though it tied Ava’s stomach in knots, she had to say something to her boss. It couldn’t be that bad. Not as bad as watching someone die, something she now had far too much experience with. She still couldn’t decide what had been worse—watching Dervin die, knowing the entire time that she might’ve been able to save him, or watching Chandler, a man she didn’t know at all, savaged by those monsters. It made her sick to think that the Zoo had killed them both. It was far better to talk to Bradley than dwell on their deaths.
Ava took a deep breath. “Should we really make for another clearing? Those cat-things attacked us in the last one.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Maybe make for higher ground? Try to get our bearings.”
“Are you trying to say I’m lost?”
She could hear venom in his voice, like a snake preparing to strike. Even though she recognized the tone, she didn’t know what to do. Answering “no” was never a good idea, but she couldn’t very well tell him the truth—that she thought he was an incompetent moron who would get them killed.
“I’m scared, is all,” she finally said and hated herself for saying it.
Bradley stopped and turned to her. He grabbed her upper arm and squeezed. “Don’t worry. I know today’s been a real shitshow, but we’ll find somewhere safe to spend the night. I’ll protect you.” He smiled.
How Ava hated that smile. It made her want to vomit, but she said nothing more. It would be better to stick with him for now. He did have a gun, after all, and maybe he’d be right about this clearing.
He released her and continued toward the lighter part of the jungle.
They pushed through a copse of trees, only to find Manny sitting on the helicopter.
The pilot flashed them a smile and waved. “I once threw a boomerang that took longer to come back than you, mates. One hell of a throw that was. I should be in the Guinness book o’ records, but o’ course, that’s another story altogether.”
“What the fuck?” Bradley said and ignored Manny’s babble. “He got the helicopter working?” he finally asked.
“No, of course not,” Ava said. The frame was still bent, and it was upside down. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, she smiled. Maybe following the man hadn’t been that bad, after all. They hadn’t escaped the Zoo, but they might still have a chance.
“But…but, that means…” Her boss had gone completely white.
“We went in a circle,” she said and grinned.
“Probably more of an ellipse. It’s hard to throw a boomerang in a circle, but yep, that’s the short of it,” Manny said and pushed himself off the aircraft. Something big and bu
lky was strapped to his back.
“What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you idiots,” Manny said and laughed. “I thought I’d have to wait until morning but you made good time. A good thing, too. I don’t like this place at night—dangerous an’ all that. Speaking of which, what happened to the military mate and that suit?”
Ava shook her head.
The pilot nodded. He didn’t seem very surprised, but then, he had experience with the horrors of the Zoo. “You two are gonna wanna follow me.”
“You must be out of your fucking mind,” Bradley said as color finally returned to his face. “If you think for a second I’ll follow the man who got us into this mess, then you’re…you’re out of your fucking mind!”
“Clever,” the other man said with a wink, “but then, that pretty young woman followed you back here, so maybe you’re the one who’s lost it.”
Bradley fumed for a moment. One of his hands moved to rest on the handgun tucked into the back of his pants. “Come on, Ava, let’s go.”
“Um…I’m not so sure,” she said and glanced from the gun to Manny. “Maybe we should go with him. He might need our help.”
“That’s the spirit,” Manny said. “This way.”
“Wait a minute.” Ava took a step toward Manny. “You’re not breaking your own advice, are you? About going somewhere when you don’t know where you’re going?”
“Nah, I know where I’m going. This way.” And with that, he started walking.
Ava hesitated for only a moment. She liked Manny—she didn’t really know why but she did—and yet something about him was off. But what choice did she have?”
“Come on, Mr. Bradley. I bet he has food.”
“You’re fucking right he has all the rations. He probably opened any extras so we wouldn’t have any choice but to follow. Fucking animal.” Her boss shook his head in disgust and looked at Ava again. “Well, get the fuck moving. Don’t worry. If he tries anything, I’ll put one between his eyes.”
Chapter Six
Despite the fact that Manny lugged a huge pack, he set a good pace. Ava had to push hard to keep up with him. She knew she should be totally exhausted and parts of her were. Her feet ached and her thighs were sore from so much marching, yet being with someone besides Bradley was such an enormous relief that she felt lighter. She shoved through the undergrowth and left her boss behind. He grumbled to himself as he followed them through the Zoo.
As she tramped along the rough path Manny made, she paid careful attention to the jungle around them. Perhaps it was only the time of day—the sun would set soon, and already, the shadows were longer—but it felt different there. Less intimidating. Instead of harsh shadows and thick vegetation, Ava found her eyes drawn to beautiful flowers with petals arranged in groups of five or seven. She wondered what miracle cures could be teased from these blossoms.
“Gorgeous, isn’t she?” Manny said as he looked over his shoulder at her.
For a moment, she thought he was talking to Bradley, and her heart plummeted. The last thing she needed was another man salivating over her. She glanced behind her, but her boss hadn’t tried to catch up to the pilot like she had. Then she saw it. Manny was looking at a butterfly. Its wings were purple and yellow swirls and it had white spots that practically glowed in the growing dark. She had never seen a butterfly even remotely like it.
“It is,” she admitted, “but we didn’t come this way for butterflies, right?”
He grinned. “You remind me of the time I saw a kangaroo with a pack of dingoes,” he said and nodded at the other man, who marched toward them, still scowling. “With my help, that kangaroo ended up dropkicking that pack of dingoes, a real sheep in wolf’s clothing. It turns out their bite’s not as bad as their bark when someone tells them what’s what.”
Ava flushed, although she wasn’t entirely sure why. “No. I would never hurt anyone. Mr. Bradley is my boss,” she said weakly and changed the subject. “But where are we going? You said going somewhere without knowing isn’t a good idea.”
“I don’t think I said it quite like that, but you have the right of it.” Manny set off again and she fell into step with him. “I know I didn’t overshoot our mark. I’ve done some things in a helicopter but getting lost is not one of them.”
“So, you know where we are?” She felt hope blossom in her chest.
Manny chuckled. “Not a clue! It’s like flying blind in a sandstorm. But that’s exactly it. There should be sand here.”
“Which means something must be wrong with the map,” she said and stepped under a branch covered in tiny red berries. Tiny, papery leaves furled and covered the little berries as if tucking them in, ready for bed.
“Or the terrain’s wrong,” the pilot said with a shrug.
“That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever fucking heard,” Bradley protested. He really was quick on his feet. Ava hadn’t heard him catch up to them. “How the fuck could the terrain be wrong?”
“The Zoo’s a freaky place. There was once an oasis out here. Beautiful double-backed camels made a deal with an indigenous population of frogs. Only one lick could turn those camels into horses. They were famous in the Sahara, and this was the best-kept race track. That’s long gone now oʼ course.”
“Fucking ridiculous,” her boss said and shook his head in disgust. “I’m taking a piss.” He stopped to unzip his pants and didn’t bother to turn away from them.
The other two walked on and left him behind again. “That couldn’t be true,” Ava said.
“Nope. They were salamanders, but don’t tell him that.”
Ava let herself smile. “Well even if you are flying blind in a sandstorm, you’re taking us somewhere.”
“Right you are. While you all went out for calisthenics and to feed the Zoo, I got some of the radio equipment of the chopper. Eyes and ears.” Manny held his fingers up to his head like they were antennae. “But this place don’t like it when the pesky humans get to blabbing.”
“It’s not working?”
“No better than a vegan in a butcher shop.”
“I think I read in the brief that communication tech often malfunctions in here.”
Manny nodded and stole a glance at the other man. He snorted and kept walking. Ava didn’t look back. She did not want to see Mr. Bradley’s weebill.
“A lot of stuff that seems at home in the big shiny city don’t work here. These trees are more than trees an’ all that. That’s why satellites can’t wiggle their little lasers through the canopy. But if we can get above it…” Manny shrugged and shifted the huge pack on his back as they walked.
“And you saw higher ground?”
“Yep. I saw a rocky bit before we landed.”
“You mean crash-landed,” she said and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Heh. That wasn’t a crash. You’d have known if I’d crashed. I have a reputation to keep up. I need to make at least one complete barrel roll. Still, I’d like to make it there tonight. It’s not too high but it is above the canopy. It should be enough to send an SOS and get someone out here who’ll let me fly us back. Plus, it’d be nice not to worry about tarantulas in our boots tonight.”
“How far is it?” Ava asked.
Manny stopped and peered up through the canopy. “We might be able to see it if we get the right angle.” He hopped, then crouched, then leaned to the left and right while he looked up all the time.
“We’re stopping here, then?” Bradley asked.
The pilot shook his head. “We have light left. It shouldn’t be too far. I’d like to make it to the base of the scree anyway.”
“For Christ’s sake, can you speak English?”
Ava knew that scree meant loose rocks, but she didn’t say anything.
“Sorry ʼbout that, mate. Australian’s my only human tongue.”
Bradley didn’t know what to do with the cheerful apology, so he ignored it. “Shouldn’t we set up a perimeter or something?”
“We
ain’t stoppin’, mate. Not yet.”
“We’ve been marching all day. Look at her. She’s a fucking mess. We need to stop for the night. Set up camp.”
“I’m all right to keep going if you are, sir,” Ava said. She knew she should be exhausted, but she constantly thought about what happened every time they stopped in the Zoo. Someone died.
“Don’t kid yourself, Ava. Your hair’s a fucking mess and you’re breathing like you had a night with a whole fucking frat house.”
She was aghast. How could he say something so disgusting? So callous? He must be exhausted, she thought, immediately looking for an explanation. It’s been a long day for all of us.
“Shut the fuck up, mate,” Manny said. His tone had no levity in it. He faced Bradley, removed his pack, and put it down gently.
For a moment, the other man looked concerned like he understood the line he’d crossed. Then, he grinned. “I’m only kidding. Fuck, man. Didn’t you go to college?”
The pilot’s knuckles crashed into the other man’s temple. Bradley went limp and Manny caught him by his shirt and lowered him to the ground. He had knocked him unconscious with one punch.
“It was only a joke,” Ava remonstrated and her voice had already risen in terror. Manny looked at her, crouched over Bradley like a predator, and his ever-present grin now a scowl. His eyes were pools of black in the growing gloom and her words died in her throat.
He held one finger to his lips, then mouthed, “Don’t. Make. A. Sound.” Slowly, he looked up with only his dark eyes at first before he rolled his head back and stood. All the while, he held his gaze locked on something high above them.
For a moment, he stood there, completely still like a statue or a tiger hoping to stay invisible.
Then, unbelievably, he threw his hands up over his head and ran off into the jungle screaming, “I am a bad boy and I ate all the mushrooms from the meat pies. I am a very bad boy who ate all the mushrooms!”
He yelled it again and again as he crashed through the jungle and his arms waved back and forth like a cartoon character whose hair was on fire.
