Mega 5: Murder Island

by Jake Bible

  ***

  Thorne fired over and over, slicing huge swathes of death through the swarm of blowflies. They caught fire and fell into smoking piles, littering the jungle floor. But no matter how many times he fired with the black potato cannon, the flies kept coming.

  They blotted out the little sunlight that came down through the jungle canopy, creating a walled dome of little black bodies. Thorne almost preferred the beetles to the blowflies. Beetles had substance, showed tangible, gut-splattered deaths. The flies were singed into nothing, showing a brief hole in the swarm that was quickly filled by a thousand other bodies.

  “Daddy!” Kinsey shouted. “Forget firing and just fucking run!”

  Thorne briefly glanced over his shoulder to see his daughter and Darren running full out, M4s slung tight to their backs, legs and arms pumping as they dodged the underbrush to get the hell away from the mass of flies.

  Thorne felt a hundred pinpricks of pain on his right arm and he shouted as he dropped the weapon. He swatted at the blowflies that covered his right arm. He was dressed for jungle combat, with full-length sleeves all the way down to his wrists, but the flies had gotten up under the cuff and were digging into his skin.

  He crushed them beneath the fabric as he tried to fetch the weapon back, but it was lost under a blanket of blowflies. Thorne didn’t pause, didn’t hesitate, just spun about and began sprinting as fast as his old legs could carry him. Which was pretty fast. He may have been the senior member of Team Grendel, but he was far from out of shape. He wasn’t as fast as Kinsey or Darren, but he was one helluva lot faster than the average soldier.

  Thorne kept swatting at his arm, trying to kill every last fly that had made it up his sleeve, but he could feel a couple still on his skin, biting down into his flesh. He bellowed in pain as white-hot electric stabs of agony went up his arm and straight into his head. Calling the pain electric wasn’t a stretch of the imagination. Each bite was like getting stabbed by a live wire.

  It was close to overwhelming and would have brought any other man or woman to their knees, but Thorne had endured way worse. That, and he knew if he stopped for even a fraction of a second, he was a dead. The pain in his arm was bad enough, but if they covered his head and neck? He wouldn’t be able to keep upright. They’d have him.

  So, Thorne ran. He followed in the wake of his daughter and Darren, keeping his eyes focused on their passage through the ever-thickening underbrush of the jungle. He gripped his forearm and felt the hot blood welling up, soaking into his shirtsleeve. The pain had lessened, but it was far from manageable. Every second or so, he’d get a jolt of electricity, like a phantom memory. It’d make him shake and almost lose his footing, but he stayed up, kept running, didn’t flinch from the path Kinsey and Darren cut ahead of him.

  Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty, thirty, the flight for their lives continued. The blowflies didn’t slacken once. The swarm kept after them, only a few meters back, always there like a buzzing and droning stalker. A haunting black mass that dogged them for what had to have been a couple of miles.

  After forty minutes of sprinting, Thorne felt like he was going to collapse. Faster than many soldiers was one thing, having the endurance of the young was another.

  “Kins!” he yelled. “Kins!”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face bright red with exertion. She was dripping sweat, not a stitch of her clothing was even close to dry, and Thorne saw that the run was taking its toll on her as well. He also saw panic and fear well up in her eyes. It was only a brief moment, since she had to turn back and look at the way ahead, but Thorne knew his daughter. What she’d seen had scared her to death.

  Thorne just wondered if it was the sight of him or the sight of the never-ending swarm that terrified her. He didn’t know.

  “There!” Darren shouted.

  Thorne couldn’t see him. Darren had managed to outpace both he and Kinsey and was quite a few meters ahead, but his voice carried back to Thorne and he heard the intense relief in the words.

  “Don’t think! Just jump!” Darren yelled.

  Just jump? That was never a good thing. Never.

  “We don’t know what’s down there!” Kinsey yelled.

  “We know what’s up here!” Darren yelled back.

  Thorne didn’t yell a thing. He didn’t have the energy or spare oxygen to waste on words. He and Darren had had their differences over the years. Darren leaving Kinsey when she needed him the most was their main wedge, but that was old history. Recently, it had been the running of Team Grendel that they’d butted heads over, but they’d come to a working arrangement.

  Despite whatever differences they had, Thorne always respected Darren as a SEAL. The man may have had some strange ideas, especially in his pursuit of some semi-mythical giant whale, but he was a solid thinker and knew what risks could be taken and what couldn’t.

  Of course, those risks were filtered through a mind and body that was thirty years younger than Thorne’s own. So the words “just jump” weren’t exactly comforting.

  Neither was the pain that was spreading from Thorne’s chest to his left arm. Right arm on fire from blowfly bites and left arm constricting from what? A heart attack? No fucking way. No motherfucking way.

  Thorne ignored it all and kept his eyes focused on his daughter’s back. Pain in the arms could kiss his ass. At least that part of him hadn’t started hurting. The legs below his ass were on fire, but that was expected.

  Eyes locked onto Kinsey’s back, watching her sprint and dodge through the jungle. She hit a patch of bright sunlight then was gone, arms flailing as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

  Just jump.

  Thorne hit the bright sunlight and launched himself out into the open air. He’d watched Kinsey stumble slightly, surprised by the sudden drop-off, so he was at least prepared for it. He wasn’t prepared for the height he found himself at. Fifty feet in the air, easy.

  His arms windmilled as he plummeted to the huge pool below. He’d never been so glad to see a body of water in his life. If he wasn’t shouting himself hoarse, and worried he was going to snap both legs on impact, he would have appreciated the crystal blue of the pool. He also would have appreciated the majestic waterfall that roared only a few meters to his right. But he didn’t have the time nor capacity to give a shit at that moment.

  He was too busy falling straight down into what looked to be very, very cold water.

  When he hit, he lost all the air from his lungs. Not from impact, but from the suspected temperature. The water was frigid. It may not have been arctic, but it felt like it to Thorne’s overheated body. The shock made him forget the pain in his right arm.

  But it intensified the pain in his chest and left arm. He felt like bands of burning iron were wrapping around him. He was twenty feet underwater and he knew that he didn’t have the strength to get back to the surface. Black motes swam in his eyes, and each time he tried to command his legs to kick, to send him just a foot closer to air, nothing happened.

  Thorne began to sink down into the depths of the freezing pool.

  ***

  Darren saw several things at once as he reached the edge of the pool.

  He saw Kinsey hit the water, followed only a couple seconds behind by her father. Darren saw the swarm of blowflies explode out of the jungle above, do a circle out into the open air, then turn back and disappear into the trees as fast as it had appeared. He saw Kinsey’s head break the surface of the pool and start looking around. She found him resting against the rocky edge of the pool and began to swim towards him.

  Then he saw her stop, paddle in a circle, duck her head back down into the water, and come up with eyes even more wide and scared than they had been on the flight away from the swarm of blowflies.

  Vincent. Shit. Where was Vincent?

  “Can you see him?” Darren yelled as he swam out to meet Kinsey in the middle of the pool.

  Kinsey pointed at her ear and shook her head. They were too close
to the waterfall to yell back and forth. Darren swam as fast as his exhausted body would allow and reached her quickly. She was in a near panic as she kept diving down under the surface and coming back up sputtering and spitting.

  “I don’t see him!” she screamed once Darren reached her. “I can’t find him, ‘Ren! I can’t find him!”

  “Calm down!” Darren yelled at her. “You’ll tire yourself out and then I’ll have to save your ass too!”

  “I don’t give two shits about my ass!” Kinsey yelled. “Find my dad! Find him, goddammit!”

  Darren nodded, took a deep couple of breaths then held the last one and flipped himself over so he could dive head first.

  The water was as clear as glass. If Darren hadn’t known he was in a tropical pool, he would have thought he was floating in the air. It was the clearest, cleanest water he’d ever experienced. That helped him spot Thorne faster than he’d thought he would. The clarity also helped him realize the trouble Thorne was in.

  The man was wedged between two rocks, his eyes closed and skin pale as a ghost. Darren calculated that Thorne had been under for a good five minutes. It could have been more, but he didn’t think so. A lot may have happened, but it had happened in a very short time. Five minutes.

  He knew Thorne wasn’t breathing, that was obvious by the lack of bubbles coming from the man’s nose or mouth. What he didn’t know was for how long Thorne had been out of air. He may have been an old frogman, but he was still a frogman. He could hold his breath for a very long time.

  So, it could have been one minute or several minutes without air. There was no way for Darren to know. What he did know was that he wasn’t going to get Thorne without going back up and getting himself a fresh lungful.

  He broke the surface and Kinsey nearly pounced on him.

  “Where is he?” she nearly shrieked.

  “Get it together, ‘Sey!” Darren snapped. “I see him, but I’ll need your help to get him out of the water! Calm the fuck down and get ready!”

  Kinsey shouted something at Darren, but he didn’t hear it, already submerged for his rescue attempt. Attempt was the key word. Thorne was down deep, was between two rocks, and was being held there by the force of the water coming from above. While he didn’t have the entire weight of the waterfall on him, Thorne had a good amount of pressure holding him where he was, and Darren knew it was going to take every ounce of his strength to get him up to safety.

  What happened to Thorne after he was up out of the water, Darren couldn’t even begin to guess.

  He breaststroked down, down, down until he could reach Thorne’s clothing. Darren grabbed two fistfuls of shirt and pulled. Thorne came free a lot easier than Darren thought he would. Wrapping one hand up under Thorne’s arms, Darren reached for the surface with his other hand and stroked with the last remaining bit of strength he had. Which wasn’t much.

  Darren felt his lungs begin to burn then to catch fire and roast his insides. The arm holding Thorne had gone numb, and he risked a quick glance to make sure he was still holding the man. He was and the sight of Thorne’s slack-jawed face only served to double Darren’s efforts. He put his all into every stroke and the rippling sunlight above grew closer and closer.

  “Get him out now!” Darren yelled as he broke the surface and took in enough air to shout. “Take him!”

  Kinsey didn’t wait to be shouted at again. She took her father and backstroked to the edge of the pool as Darren just floated for a few seconds to catch his breath. His arms were like noodles and he had to force himself to get moving again, knowing his job was far from over.

  Kinsey was struggling to get her father up over the rocky lip of the pool. Darren clambered up out of the water onto his belly, spun himself around, and reached down for Thorne. He grabbed him by the sleeves of his shirt just over the shoulders and heaved. Something popped in his back, but he ignored it as he heaved again and managed to get Thorne’s torso up over the lip of the pool.

  Out of the water and kneeling next to Darren, Kinsey grabbed her father under the armpits, shoving Darren out of the way with her hip, and yanked. She roared at the top of her lungs in a way that dared the universe to defy her. Darren couldn’t help but smile as she succeeded in getting her father up onto dry land and immediately turned him onto his side, slamming her fists into his back.

  “Got to give him air,” Darren said and gently moved Kinsey out of the way so he could perform CPR.

  Thorne was blue. He wasn’t breathing and there was no pulse in his neck, but Darren didn’t let any of that deter him. He was banking on the cold water giving him a couple of minutes of cushion before brain damage set in. He knew he had a shot at bringing the man back without harm, if he could get him to start breathing on his own immediately.

  Quick, short breaths followed by chest compressions. He repeated the pattern over and over. But nothing happened. Thorne was still blue, still not breathing, still had no pulse.

  Quick, short breaths followed by chest compressions.

  Darren could feel Kinsey’s panic ratcheting up. He could almost hear the wail of anguish that was just behind her lips, ready to burst forth the second he gave up and called it.

  So Darren didn’t give up and he didn’t call it.

  Quick, short breaths followed by chest compressions.

  Water exploded from Thorne’s mouth and nose. He gasped and looked about, his eyes wild and uncomprehending.

  “Daddy!” Kinsey shrieked and hugged him to her, again shoving Darren out of the way with her hip.

  Thorne’s eyes closed then popped back open. He grunted something, but Darren couldn’t make it out.

  “What?” Darren asked.

  “Cardiac…arrest,” Thorne mumbled then his eyes closed again and didn’t open back up.

  “What? What did he say?” Kinsey asked, looking down at her father’s unconscious face. “Daddy? What did you say?”

  “Cardiac arrest,” Darren said and gently felt at Thorne’s neck. The erratic and weak pulse confirmed the claim. “Shit. We’ve got to get him out of here.”

  Darren tapped at his ear and said a quick prayer.

  “Ballantine? Do you read me?” Darren called over the com.

  “Loud and clear, Mr. Chambers,” Ballantine responded. “Good to hear you’re alive. What’s your ETA?”

  “No ETA,” Darren said. “We’ve got a problem.” He quickly relayed the situation.

  Ballantine didn’t hesitate.

  “We’re coming for you,” he said.

  “Don’t,” Darren said. “We’ll manage to get him to the beach. Just be ready.”

  “Bullshit. You won’t make it without help,” Ballantine said. “Don’t argue, Chambers. We’re coming for you.”

  “What about Shane?” Darren asked.

  “We’ll deal with that after we have Commander Thorne back safe on the B3 and in the infirmary,” Ballantine said. “One crisis at a time, please.”

  “Fine,” Darren said, his fingers still on Thorne’s neck. “Hurry. I don’t know how long he can hang on.”

  ***

  “How fast can you get me, Lucy, and Gunnar through the jungle?” Ballantine asked as he burst into the Toyshop. “Do we have anything that flies?”

  “What?” Carlos responded, completely perplexed. “Flies? What the hell would we have in here that flies?”

  “We have drones,” Ingrid said. “But they can’t hold you.”

  “Can you make them bigger?” Ballantine asked. “Like in the next two minutes?”

  “Don’t be an ass,” Carlos said. “If we could do work that fast, we wouldn’t be stuck on this island.”

  “Give me solutions, not excuses!” Ballantine roared.

  “Nothing that flies,” Moshi said, giving Ballantine a glare as she arrived at the front of the Toyshop to join everyone else. It was a meek glare, but a glare nonetheless. “Rolls. Not flies.”

  “Rolls,” Ballantine said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Moshi. “I like the sound
of that. Rolls how? Like a bike or trike or an ATV?”

  “Nothing big,” Moshi said. “Rolls on feet.”

  “Rolls on feet?” Ballantine replied. “Not liking the sound of that as much. What are we talking about? Rollerblades? Those in-line skate things, but for trail riding? I saw that on the X-Games, didn’t I?”

  “Trail board,” Moshi said. “Like skateboard.”

  “That’s not good,” Ballantine said. “Never did learn to skateboard. Kind of missed that window of popularity as a youth.”

  “I can’t imagine you were ever young,” Carlos said. “I always thought you popped out wearing those khakis and that polo shirt.”

  “That would be funny except that it isn’t,” Ballantine said. “Moshi? Bring me the trail board. Three of them, please. We have a Thorne to rescue.”

  “Three?” Moshi asked, shaking her head. “Only the one.”

  “Only the one?” Ballantine mused. “Well, then I hope Gunnar knows how to skateboard because he’s going to have to use it to get to Thorne first.”

  “It’s not that hard,” Ingrid said. “It’s not that easy, but not that hard. If he’s ever surfed or skateboarded, then he should be just fine.”

  ***

  Gunnar stared at the trail board on his lap as Lucy raced the Zodiac to the beach. Yeah, sure, he had skateboarded as a kid. He was from Southern California. He’d skateboarded, surfed, snowboarded, done it all. But he’d never trail boarded and sure as hell had never gone racing through an unfamiliar, dangerous jungle before without backup. Not that he’d done it with backup before either.

  “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” Gunnar asked.

  “No,” Ballantine said, clapping him on the shoulder. “You’ll be just fine. Moshi and Ingrid told you how it works. Just keep calm and follow the map in your glasses. Remember, Commander Thorne is relying on you. Get to him as fast as you humanly can.”

  Gunnar adjusted the pair of sunglasses that were settled onto his nose. They were slightly heavier than regular glasses and that was because they held tech that would allow him to superimpose a GPS map over his vision so he could direct the trail board to Thorne.