by Matt James
Mack knew how violently the raptors acted when scared. Ian’s scars were proof of it. The hypersensitive animals would be more dangerous than ever. Drawing her pistol, Mack knew she’d need to be ready for anything. She gripped her small-caliber weapon hard, but unfortunately knew it would most likely be wholly insufficient.
29
Tree after tree toppled over, spilling their frightened occupants to “ground level.” Technically, Ian knew they were underneath ground level, but that was all semantics at this point. To Mack and him, the forest floor was the surface.
Ian was stunned at the sight of multiple ten-story tall trees falling into a void of nothing. How big could the hollows below their feet be?
Big enough to house a dragon-like creature as long as the trees were tall.
Its appearance was still something he couldn’t comprehend. Everything around him now seemed more inconsequential than it did before the mammoth’s arrival. It seemed that the deeper you went, the bigger things got.
Or is it just the dragons that live there?
Ian shook his head. He needed to figure out another name for them. Calling something a “dragon” was ridiculous. Then again, he thought calling the Rahonaraptors “dinosaurs” sounded stupid too.
“Fanahin'ny haizina.”
“What?” Mack asked, not hearing him over the cacophony of sound.
“It means…” An explosion rattled the already shaking cavern. It was followed by a terrifying roar, announcing the monster’s arrival. Ian met Mack’s worried eyes. “It means, spirit of darkness.” Ian recalled some of the superstitious locals. They blamed the droughts on the evils of the world.
This thing absolutely qualifies as evil.
At an impasse, Ian was stunned to watch Mack climb up onto the trunk of one of the many fallen trees instead of circling around them. She looked back at him and was confused as to why he wasn't following her.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” he asked, flinching at another bloodcurdling bellow. Then, he scrambled up the downed tree as a group of animals rushed up behind him.
“Lemurs,” Mack explained. Ian figured as much.
Mack’s description of what the lemurs had done to the giant fossa said something else about them. The prey beneath the surface of Madagascar weren’t as feeble as those aboveground. If provoked, the lemurs here would attack—and attack violently.
Mack and Nash had been lucky that they too weren’t on the menu. Ian had yet to see any hard evidence to support the claim, but he wholeheartedly believed that the lemurs had been domesticated by something that resembled modern man. The bones he saw confirmed that the beings that cultivated this place were, in fact, humanoid, at the very least.
The tree shifted and dropped, spilling them atop its teetering, rolling trunk. Neither Ian or Mack fell, each latching onto the nearest branch. Now, halfway up the tree, they paused their ascent and hung over a pit of black. Ian confirmed their position when his flashlight flipped end over end into the dark abyss.
A pair of hands grabbed his wrist and pulled. Mack had more or less landed atop the trunk, while Ian had spilled over the edge. With her help, he righted himself and stood…carefully. The tree started to roll left, making Ian and Mack walk forward but to the right. Thankfully, the trunk was huge and easy enough to navigate even while it was moving.
Then, it dropped again.
And again.
They were about to be the newest additions to the planet’s collection.
“Ian.” Mack’s voice was hoarse, and she coughed terribly.
It was hard, but he was able to glance over to Mack. She wasn’t looking back at him, however. Instead, her eyes flicked back and forth into the gaping void.
That’s when he saw that her face was red, looking very flushed.
Directing his attention below, he dreaded what he saw. Far beneath his feet was a crimson glow. The only thing this deep within the planet that caused that kind of illumination was lava.
Magma, actually.
The quakes made sense now. They weren’t just violent shifts in the Earth’s crust…. They were the precursor to a volcanic eruption. He had no idea how long they had before it blew. Volcanology wasn’t exactly something Ian had spent a lot of time studying.
Next, came a blast of hot air. Ian reflexively closed his eyes, but quickly reopened them, instantly remembering where he was. With his vision blurred from the combination of heat and now, tears, Ian focused on the closest thing to him: Mack. Her shimmering form guided him along as his eyesight returned to normal.
“Keep moving!” he shouted, wiping away the buildup of salt from his eyes.
“No shit, really?” Mack said, through another fit of coughs.
Even while staring death in the face…again…Mack kept her sense of humor. It was precisely how Ian operated and something he loved in the woman running for her life beside him.
Another roar got them moving faster if that was even possible. They were almost to the end of the still rolling tree now. The direction that the fury-filled noise came from confused Ian, though. The last time they’d heard the creature, its powerful roar had come from behind them. This time, it had come from all around them.
His eyes darted up, just in time to see an enormous shadow pass overhead. Ian couldn’t believe it. The haizina, the darkness, had leaped over the void in the cavern floor and used the column of hot air to ride over to the other side. Not only was the giant ferocious, but it was smart.
Ian figured that this wasn’t the first time it had used a heat wave as fuel to glide over chasms—especially if it lived near, or around them all of its life in its deeper habitat.
It literally lives in hell.
Mack was about to dismount the tree, having not seen the creature’s flight path. Luckily for her, it landed with a boom, getting her attention. She slid to a stop just as an incredibly large set of claws appeared from the smoke engulfing the pit and pierced the trunk, halting its roll. Mack fell backward, but Ian was waiting. He grabbed her before she could fall and held on tight.
The haizina leaned in closer, inhaling their scent. It seemed to have no problem with the brimstone-laced air. As it breathed, Ian and Mack froze. He could feel her push against his firm grip, wanting nothing more than to turn and run. Ian wanted nothing more than to run but paid more attention to the tree under his feet than the creature in front of him.
“Easy,” he whispered into her ear. He was only inches from the side of her head. “The tree.”
It was enough of a warning for Mack to calm down. The haizina leaned in closer, causing the tree to slide backward again. Every time it moved in for a closer look, their treacherous perch came that much closer to freefalling into a pit with magma at the bottom.
At least we’d die quickly.
“Give me your light,” he whispered.
“Why?”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Trust me.”
She nodded softly and slowly procured her small flashlight. With the same care, she eased it around the small of her back. Ian took the LED light and readied it. He hoped his crazy plan would work.
“Its eyes aren’t as bad as the other animals down here, but I bet they’re still pretty weak.”
“You’re not going to do what I think you are, are you?”
He squeezed her shoulder again.
“Fuck me,” Mack groaned, feeling the tree move again.
Ian felt it too and leaped into action.
Mack spun and let him pass her as he shouted a battle cry, igniting the blinding LED. He focused the beam on the beast’s face and caught it in the eyes, getting the reaction he was hoping for. The creature jerked its head back, bringing with it its impaled talons. The claws were embedded so deep into the wood that the thick trunk, Ian, and Mack were all yanked forward onto solid ground.
Next came the hardest part of all.
“Run!”
Ian’s shouted words weren’t necessary, though. Mack was already moving at a
dead sprint. She zigged, disappearing around the haizina’s front-right foot. Ian tried to follow but was cut off, rolling beneath the monster’s thrashing boat-sized skull. On all fours, he crawled under its neck, beelining for the gap behind its front-left leg and its body.
He barely made it, feeling the monster’s girth compress down on top of him. Before he was crushed to death, Ian popped out, scrambling to his feet. As he was catching his balance, the creature’s left wing snapped open, nearly taking Ian’s head off. If he had any hair at all, he would’ve been missing most of it now.
Being underneath the thick membrane of skin was like being inside a living canvass sack. Only this one was huge and stunk to all hell. It battered Ian like it was a deflated hot-air balloon in the Albuquerque breeze. Ian was forced to his knees twice before being berthed and barrel rolling into the base of a still intact tree trunk. Upside-down, he saw a shadowy figure running on the ceiling, coming right toward him.
“Come on... No time for a nap.”
Mack?
He moaned as she yanked on his boots, flipping him right-side-up. He wanted to berate her for coming back for him but was too damn happy that she had to do so. He really didn’t want to die down here.
“I’m comin,’ I’m comin.’ Hold your horses, pardner.”
Mack pulled him along, further and further from the still thrashing monster.
“You feeling okay?”
Ian held his head but nodded. “I’m good—a little groggy, but good.” Blinking hard, he focused on their route. They ran deeper into the forest of skyscraper-like trees. So far, this section of the cave had yet to crack open and try and swallow them.
“Where are we going?”
“Hopefully a hiding spot…” she replied, “if it still exists.”
“What are you—?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Shrugging, he let go of her hand and found his rhythm, feeling better with every step taken. He knew what a mild concussion felt like and that’s exactly what he had now. Staying upright was actually the best thing to do, not lying down.
As much as I want to.
His exhausted and dazed mind immediately transported him and Mack to a hot tub somewhere in the Caribbean. They had a private room that faced the water and Mack had purposely neglected to pack a bathing suit.
Ian shook his head hard. He hadn’t thought about another woman like that in a long time—even Abigail. Thinking about his late wife like that brought up a whole another set of feelings that Ian didn’t need to deal with. And yet, here he was, in the domain of dinosaurs and other subterranean killers, and all he could do was think about a butt-naked Mackenzie Moore.
Must’ve really hit my head?
His shoulders sagged a little—not in a bad way either. What was bad was the timing of what had happened not what had actually occurred. He knew it wasn’t the knock to the noggin that forced these feelings on him. It was the blow to the brain that knocked down the barrier he’d built more than half a decade ago.
He liked Mack a lot. He just wished that he had realized it in a setting better than this.
“We’re here,” Mack called out, trying to keep her voice low.
The haizina could be heard off in the distance, its roar echoing around the cavern. Ian stumbled to a stop, confused by what he saw. Mack climbed onto another downed tree. This one had its branches stuck in its neighbor, and from what he could tell, the two trees had been like this for some time.
“This is where Nash and I hid for a bit. It should be safe enough for us to catch our breath and regroup.”
Ian didn’t argue. He was too out of it to do so. Instead, he cursed up a storm as he was forced to scale an incline while trying not to get lost in Mack’s toned ass.
Dammit, man. Focus!
Adverting his eyes, Ian looked around Mack as they climbed higher into the canopy. As they did, the world around them grew brighter. It stung his eyes, though nothing was worse than the bonfire. That was like looking at the sun.
The sun…
Ian prayed he’d get to see it again. He’d never bitch about it being too hot in the summer ever again. He’d be thankful every single day that he was blessed by its presence.
Sun-soaked beach.
Mack laying out on a towel.
Ian closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead hard.
“You sure you’re okay?”
Opening his eyes, he found Mack standing at the top of the tree, where the canopies connected and grew as one. Ian smiled and stared at her for longer than intended. He was too tired to control what he was doing.
So, he let his instincts take over and rushed forward, lifting Mack off the ground, kissing her hard. Carrying her across the “threshold,” Ian took a quick peek at their surroundings, seeing an open V-shaped area within the trees. He and Mack fell and landed hard, never once separating their locked lips.
“Well, this…” Mack spoke, her words muffled, “is a surprise.”
She rolled atop him, and they parted. Ian was worried that he overstepped his boundaries. But when he saw her grin, he knew she was on board with what had just happened.
“Believe me…” he said, propping himself up on his elbows. She stroked his filthy cheek and leaned in, passionately kissing him again. His next words came out as muffled as hers just had. “I’m just…as surprised as…you.”
Eyes closed, Ian knew it was time to let go. Removing Abigail’s hat, Ian threw it out of the tree.
30
Mack and Ian’s moment together only lasted a few minutes—twenty of it asleep. Both were beyond exhausted and needed a break. Silently, they clutched one another and listened to each other’s breathing. Even though the cave had grown silent, every so often they heard a lone lemur jump through the branches above them, or something a lot bigger moving across the terrain a hundred feet below.
But none of them were their monster.
The spirit of darkness, Mack thought. It’s what Ian called it.
The fact that it came from a network of caves deeper and apparently bigger than the ones she’d seen terrified her to the core.
She shook. What other nightmares are down there?
Ian’s arm was around her shoulder, and it tightened. He sensed her trepidation.
“What else do you think is down there?” she asked.
“I honestly have no idea,” he replied, not making her feel better. Then again, how could he know?
“Nothing comes to mind?” She tilted her chin up, so she could see his face. Mack was nestled in just beneath his jaw, head on his chest.
“Nope, and if anyone told you anything different, they’d be lying.” He sighed. “This is new—all of it.” Ian let go and sat up. Mack followed his lead. “At least some of the creatures living here resemble a modern-day relative. But the haizina… It’s unique in every way.”
She quietly listened as Ian went over what he knew.
“It’s obviously one of the largest land predators to have ever existed. And it’s smart…really smart. It knew to use the thermal vent and waited for the perfect opportunity to ram the barrier beneath the city.” He snorted a laugh. “I seriously doubt it had never tried that before.” His eyes met hers. “It knew the seal was weakening with the quakes.” His eyes glazed over, stunned. “It knew…”
Ian was right, and it horrified Mack that he was. If something like that got free and made it to the surface, dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands of people would die.
“God help us if it gets to the ocean.”
“Ocean?” Mack asked, stretching. She crossed her legs and faced him, absorbing everything he had to say. As far as Mack knew, Ian’s word was the gospel truth.
He nodded. “It’s part drongo—giant crocodile. Saltwater crocs have been known to cross long distances through the water to get where they needed. One as big as our friend would be able to make the trip easily. I bet it can hold its breath for a long time too. Its lungs are probably bigger than the two o
f us.” His shoulders slumped. “If it made it to the western shore and headed for the mainland, it could disappear beneath the surface and swim for miles undetected.”
“The navy can find something that big and blow it out of the water,” Mack said confidently.
“Of course, they could,” he replied, agreeing. “But what if they didn’t?” Ian had a way of deflating her confidence. “What if it found an uncharted island and camped out for a while first? What if it multiplied?”
“Multiplied?” Mack smiled. “Come on, Ian!” She snorted. “That would be like a Great Dane doing it with a Chihuahua! Even the biggest saltwater crocodile would run at the sight of our monster.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you think something that big, in an environment as harsh and unrelenting as this, would need a partner to multiply?”
Mack felt her face flush. “But—”
“It’s just a theory,” Ian interrupted, calming her a little. “But we have to assume that it procreates asexually if we want the worst-case scenario.”
Her sour face was apparent.
“What?” Ian asked.
Mack shrugged. “It’s such a bummer.”
“What is?”
She winked. “That the bitch is always in heat with no one to put out the fire.”
Ian looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Well… It is just a theory.”
Mack laughed loudly, quickly slapping a hand over her mouth. She cringed and waited for something to attack them but knew the only thing that could get to them was another fossa. Everything else they’d seen was too damn big to make the climb.
Maybe one of the bugs, she thought, dismissing it immediately. Mack had yet to see an oversized beetle of any kind since she and Nash had left their lair.
Ian stood and reached out a hand. Mack accepted the gentlemanly offer and got to her feet.
“Evolution has a funny way of sticking its face into things,” Ian said, rubbing his lower back as he spoke. “The odds of any of these animals surviving as long as they have is minuscule. Everything here is literally living the impossible.”
