“Well we can continue to stand here while you to tell me things I already know, or you can fill me in on this island.”
Silas growled his frustration and I had to remember he'd just lost someone he cared about. I mean, sure, the girl seemed to have been dead before he dropped her in the ocean. But I didn't feel like opening that can of worms right then.
Silas pointed at the trees mounting the hill ahead of us. “This island is a breeding ground for Immortals. And not the fluffy Werewolf kind like you.” He jabbed me in the chest and it took every, single fibre of my being not to punch him for it. I slowly removed his hand from my chest, grinding my jaw.
“Like?” I asked through my teeth.
“Like Reapers,” he breathed, terror flitting through his eyes.
I frowned, gazing at the forest again. I didn't know much about Reapers, but they were ugly as sin and seemed hungry for human flesh. So I didn't fancy meeting one in a dark alley. Or a jungle for that matter. “Anything else I should be concerned about?” I asked, keeping my tone as calm as possible.
“Plenty,” he muttered, running a hand down the back of his neck. “There's an underground institute here. I've only ever visited it by helicopter. I've never spent a day out on this island...”
I folded my arms, giving him an even stare. “So you're telling me, that you allow dangerous Immortals to roam around on this island, living freely?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“Why?” I demanded.
“The Reapers don't breed in captivity. I don't know why, it's just the way they are. They're about as fertile as Pandas. They need space and time to reproduce.”
“Pandas?” I balked. “Are you seriously comparing a colony of skinless, flesh-eating freaks to a bunch of cuddly black and white bears?”
Silas's jaw ticked. “I am a scientist, Jameson. And the Reapers are Immortal beings, just like you-”
I planted a hand right in front of his face to halt him. “Compare me to them again and this hand will curl into a fist and send your nose on a one-way trip to the back of your skull.”
Silas side-stepped my palm with a grunt of annoyance. “The Reapers might be the least of our problems, to be honest.” He gazed up the beach again. He looked pale. Like the kind of pale I'd seen in the V Games. When someone was fairly sure they were going to die.
“Why?” I asked, unsure I wanted to learn the answer to that question.
“If we just had a way to contact them...” Silas walked slowly up the beach, ignoring me.
“Who?” I hounded after him, leaving large footprints in the sand.
“The institute.” Silas turned back, halting me. “There's a lot of security on this island. We can't just walk there. It's not safe.”
I gestured for him to go on.
Silas gazed down at the sand, snatching up a stick and drawing a circle between us. He placed a rock in the middle of the circle and drew four rings around it, one inside the other. Silas pointed at the rock with the stick. “This is the institute.” He pointed to the outer edge of the circle. “And we're here, on the edge of the island.”
“Right.” I folded my arms, waiting for him to go on.
Silas pointed at the circles moving in toward the institute. “Each ring contains various technology to stop intruders from reaching the institute by land.”
“Why? Who would bother coming to this island to get to your boring institute?”
Silas stabbed his stick in the sand, making a crater in his picture. “We can't take the risk that a threat would come here. That institute houses some very precious work.”
“Like?” I raised a brow.
Silas's jaw hardened. “That's none of your business.”
“Well if you want me to go there, it is.”
“I don't really care what you do.” Silas started up the beach.
I headed after him, having no real choice, figuring he was probably my best chance of finding my way to this 'institute'. My more pressing issue, however, was Cass.
This was the only land mass around for miles, so if she'd survived the shipwreck, she'd have come here. Girl was clever, and tough as nails. So I probably wouldn't have been worried, had it not been for the 'security' Silas had mentioned. But the only thing I could really do right then, was start walking and keep my senses primed to hunt her down.
“So these security rings...?” I questioned as I fell in to step at Silas's side. “What are we dealing with?”
“I plan on not dealing with them if I can help it,” Silas replied.
“Which means?”
“It means, we're miles from the institute. I need to figure out where we are in relation to it and then maybe we can send them a signal. Start a fire. I don't know. Anything to get their attention and send a boat or a helicopter to fetch us.”
“Where's the first ring of security?” I asked.
“About a mile inland as I recall. Unfortunately, I never took much interest in the details of the design.”
I pointed to the top of the hill, taking control. “So we climb, get a good view of the island and work it out.”
Silas nodded and I took the lead, powering up the hill until it became so steep that I had to use my hands to pull myself up the sheer rocks. Coulda been a rock-climber in another life.
When I was halfway to the trees, I paused to catch my breath, glancing below me to check Silas was doing okay. Not that I cared. But hey, I admittedly needed the guy right then. He gave me a thumbs up from a few feet down and I continued on, keeping my eyes on the trees above.
As I dragged myself onto a flat expanse of ground shaded by leaves, a loud whirring noise filled the air. A helicopter.
“Yes!” I sprang to my feet, moving into a gap between the trees so I was visible to the sky. I hunted for it above the cerulean waves, catching sight of Silas in my periphery as he heaved himself up onto the ledge.
I searched the horizon left and right, desperate to spot it. This was going to be easy peasy. We just had to hitch a ride, circle the island to find Cass and we'd all be clinking wine glasses by lunchtime.
A military-grade helicopter soared into view out to sea. I waved at it like a kid, bouncing up and down on my heels.
Silas sprang to his feet, running toward me as I waved my arms harder. He grabbed my shirt, launching me backwards into the trees. Anger tore through me. I staggered as my ankle caught on a branch and he slammed me to the ground, his weight crushing me.
“What the hell!?” I roared, trying to get up, but he struggled to keep me down, flattening me with his body.
I brought up my fist as he shouted, “That's Rockley Jones! Ulvic's on that helicopter. If he finds you, you're screwed.”
I went slack beneath Silas, gawping at him. Had he just saved my goddamn neck? And had he really just given up a chance to be saved himself? He didn't have any problem with either of those guys as far as I knew.
The helicopter zoomed overhead with a chugging, roaring sound, swaying the trees above us. Birds exploded from the canopy, the flash of blue wings glinting in the sunlight as they flew out toward one of the tall pillars protruding from the sea.
“Where does he think he's going?” Silas growled as I pushed him off of me. He held out a hand and I took it, letting him help me up.
“Your institute, apparently.” I brushed the mud from the arse of my jeans.
“Goddammit, I can't warn them. They'll let them in no questions asked,” Silas growled.
I surveyed him a for a moment, a feeling of gratitude growing inside me. “Thanks, man.” I was kinda in shock at the sacrifice he'd just made. “Why didn't you sell me out and go with them?”
Silas met my eyes, his surprise melting into a smile. “I'm not as bad a guy as you think, Jameson.” He surveyed the trees around us. I was, for once, rendered speechless. “Tell you what, you can repay me by hunting down Firefly with that wolf nose of yours.”
My eyes narrowed. So this was about her. I should have guessed. And goddammit would he ever stop calling her
Firefly?
“Of course I'll find her,” I said, my gratitude fading by several shades. “But not because of you,” I added as he walked away.
Silas gazed up at the canopy, following the bough of an enormous tree which seemed to be made entirely of thick, tangling vines. He moved toward it, resting his palm on the bark. “This is a strangler fig. It grows over a tree for years until it takes all of its resources. The tree dies, leaving it hollow inside.” He pointed to a sizable gap between the ancient vines.
“I say we climb it.” I moved forward. “Get a view of the island.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Silas bumped shoulders with me as he tried to enter the hole first.
I shook my head at him. “You stay here, keep watch.”
I'm the hero here. Not you, bud.
He hesitated for a second before shrugging and turning his back on me. I slid between the gap in the vines, forcing my way through, my broad shoulders making it tricky, but I got there with some huffing and puffing – and effing and blinding. The vines were as stiff as bone, making the whole structure rigid. Inside, was not a cosy little cubby hole that Peter Pan would have liked to hang out in. All kinds of bugs crawled around it, the biggest of which was a millipede the length of my arm. Luckily for me, I wasn't scared of bugs.
It crawled over my elbow and I violently flicked it off with a strangled noise reminiscent of a dying goat. Okay, maybe I was one percent freaked out.
I scrubbed my hand down the back of my neck, feeling like tiny legs were crawling all over me.
Man up, bro. Silas is watching.
I took a breath, gazing upwards. Some of the vines were as thick as branches, curving around the inside of the structure. I set my sights on the blue sky at the very top of the tree then dragged myself up onto the first notch. The further I climbed from the ground, the less creepy crawlies I came across. Barring the eight inch tarantula that seemed to be making the same journey as me. Keep your distance you eight-legged soul-sucking freak.
As I met with the first level of the canopy, small red and black squirrels darted between the vines, leaping overhead. At some point during my climb, one of the little buggers used my head as a halfway point on its leap between the vines.
I pulled myself higher and higher, the muggy air making me sticky. I probably smelt about as appealing as a wet rag. Which might have been a good thing, considering the hungry Reapers which were lurking in this forest. I felt pretty accomplished as I reached the top, seeing as I'd basically just done a round in I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Though I didn't imagine Ant and Dec were about to show up and congratulate me.
I blew sweat from my upper lip as I surfaced from the vines. The air was cooler above the trees and I gulped it down like water. I soaked in the feel of the wind on my cheeks, gazing across the sprawling rainforest that swept down into a valley far below. Lush green hills rose like waves amongst the scenery, reaching on and on for miles. I squinted, cupping a hand above my eyes as I hunted for the institute. A flash caught my eye as the sun glinted atop a white dome. It was at least a couple of days walk away. And we'd have to cut directly through the jungle to get there.
A few miles down into the valley, water was sparkling between the trees. I licked my lips eagerly, but didn't fancy trekking into the first ring of the island's 'security system' to get to that river. No matter how thirsty I was.
The humming of Rockley Jones's helicopter carried to me from afar and I spotted it across the island, zooming low over the edges of the trees. A gut feeling told me they were looking for me. Ulvic wasn't going to let me go that easily. I was lucky they hadn't located me out in the water. Fear gripped my heart as I thought of them picking up Firefly. What if they already had her?
I couldn't let myself dwell on that thought. I had to hope she was out on this island somewhere. Safe. Maybe a little damp and pissed off. But still alive.
I started to descend, my sleeve snagging on little twigs as I moved. My white shirt was starting to turn black already from the sand and the earlier rock climb.
My trousers snagged on something and I halted to unhook myself, glancing down into the slim space below to try and see what I was caught on. I reached down, but I was too large now the vines had narrowed. I came unhooked as I shifted my leg and stood upright, coming face to face with two hollow eye sockets beyond the tree. A tongue lashed out, slimy and thick and as black as the skin stretched over its shadowed face. Fear rocketed through me. My stomach lurched as I lost my grip, crashing backwards and plummeting through the vines. I reached out to catch hold of something, shouting in alarm. I bashed into vines all the way down, making the whole structure fracture and shake.
Crying out, I finally snatched hold of a vine several feet from the ground. My arms yanked in their sockets as I caught myself. I swore several times, my heart beating a mile a minute.
“Jameson!?” Silas shouted.
Panting, I regained my footing, sweat pouring down my spine. A shadow passed through the sunlight and I craned my neck backwards to search for the beast, my heart thumping loudly in my ears. The snap and crack of twigs signalled a heavy creature moving through the tree canopy above. I dropped lower inside the vines, my heart pounding, adrenaline pumping through me in waves.
With a sigh of relief, I hit the floor, forcing my way out of the tree, coming face to face with Silas. He gripped my arm, looking alarmed. “What happened? Are you alright?”
I shuddered, moving away from the tree, my eyes still pinned on the canopy above us. The branches shifted and moved with the weight of the creepy animal. The birds were deathly silent and a squirrel was screaming an alarm call nearby.
“Shit, what the hell is on this island, Silas?” I grabbed his shoulders, glaring right into his eyes.
He tried to push me off. “Just Reapers, I told you.”
“That wasn't a Reaper,” I breathed, moving another measured step away from the vines.
Silas gazed up in the direction I was looking, but the canopy had grown still and the forest resumed its usual chirruping chorus.
“Must have been,” he muttered. “It didn't bite you, did it?” He glanced over my shirt. I still had a bite mark on my neck from where the Vampire had attacked me. But it wasn't too deep, already scabbing over.
I checked my arms to be sure, but thankfully the thing hadn't gotten its teeth into me.
Silas circled me, pulling up my shirt to check my back. He sighed his relief, pulling it down. “Did you see the institute?”
I nodded. “And I saw Rockley Jones's helicopter circling the forest.”
Silas's expression darkened. He scraped a hand through his hair. “Then we can't start a fire or they'll find us before a rescue team does.”
“Well...I saw a river this way,” I said, gazing in that direction. Did we really have a choice now? We had to move. We had to do something.
Silas's eyes widened as he realised what I was suggesting. “We can't enter the security rings. We'll be killed.”
“And what about Firefly, huh?” I demanded. “What if she walks into one of them?” My heart thumped harder at the thought. She may have been tough, but she'd be caught off-guard by something like that. “I saw a river that way, if she's as thirsty as us, she'll be heading for it,” I added.
Silas's shoulders sagged in defeat. “Fine. We find Firefly first. Then we try to find a way to contact the institute.”
I nodded, an idea coming to mind. “Hey...how about I shift into a wolf? I could go ahead, see if I can find her?”
His Adam's apple bobbed and I realised that I'd be leaving him entirely unprotected. Surprising me, he said, “Okay. That's not a bad plan...maybe wait until we get to the water though?”
I gave him a ghost of a smile. The guy obviously cared about Cass. Which should have been a good thing if I hadn't been insanely jealous. And especially because I had no way of telling her of my own feelings. Not whilst Ulvic's command still ran thick in my veins.
“Any idea what the first r
ing of security is?” I asked, but Silas shook his head.
“Like I said, I wasn't involved in the design. But I signed off a lot of paperwork on the use of robotics...”
“Fantastic.”
We walked in tense silence during most of the journey to the river, listening for signs of the Reapers. If it hadn't been for them and the unknown security measures that might unleash themselves on us at any moment, and the pounding headache growing at the base of my skull, oh and the thirst that was scrubbing my throat like sandpaper – wait, where was I going with this?
I figured shouting out Cass's name wasn't the answer, lest it bring down a hundred hungry Reapers on our heads – and not forgetting that monster I'd just encountered. So I settled on listening intently to the forest, desperate to hear her footfalls, or catch her sweet scent on the wind.
As we closed in on the river, a low vibration passed through me like a bee buzzing in my chest. I halted and Silas paused at my side, his hand going to his heart.
“Did you feel that?” I asked and he nodded.
I turned around, reaching out a hand as I sensed the continued vibration thrumming through the air. My fingers met something solid, though I couldn't see anything before me apart from the jungle we'd just trekked through. I pushed against it, then swore as I met complete resistance. I pushed harder against the solid air, but our path was blocked. It was a damn force-field. As I tilted my head, I could see the shimmer of the technology radiating through the air.
“Forget to mention something?” I rounded on Silas as he flattened his palm against the force-field.
He shook his head, looking fearful. “We've been working on DNA force-fields for years. But I thought they were still testing prototypes...”
“What does it do?” I demanded, thumping my fist against it, the strike causing a strange twanging sound.
“It won't let us back through. It thinks we're intruders.”
I gazed up at the canopy where birds flew through the invisible wall without trouble. Before I could question such a thing, Silas went on.
“It's triggered by certain DNA. Human...Werewolf, anyone who's not supposed to be here.”
Wolf Games: Island of Shade (The Vampire Games Book 5) Page 3
