Monsters In The Mist (The Island In The Mist Book 2)

by C. G. Mosley

  “No, we’re not,” Eric said. “But they’ve got one of my men. I’ve got to get him back, and I’ve got to find out what these men are doing on this island.”

  He raced the jeep alongside the ATV. He shouted toward the driver.

  “Sir, stop the vehicle. We mean you no harm!”

  “Yeah, I sort of don’t believe that, Gill,” the ATV driver said, glaring over at him.

  Eric instantly recognized Silas Treadwell and his heart skipped a beat. “What are you doing here?”

  “Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing!” Silas replied.

  “Pull the vehicle over so we can talk about this!”

  “I got a better idea,” Silas said. “You pull over and I won’t kill you…you can be on your way, and we’ll be on ours.”

  Eric looked in his mirror just in time to see Hardcastle pointing a handgun at the man on the hood of his jeep. It was at that moment he recognized Jonathon. He feared this day may come, and he’d prepared himself for what needed to be done if it did happen.

  “Shoot him,” Eric shouted to Hardcastle. “Shoot him now!”

  ***

  Hardcastle was somewhat shocked and stunned to hear Eric giving him the order to shoot the man on the hood of his vehicle. It must’ve meant Eric knew him and knew he was bad news. “No offense, pal, but it looks like you’re a goner,” he said as he pulled the trigger.

  Jonathon instinctively rolled off the side of the vehicle and grabbed the side mirror. His legs were dragging dangerously close to the rear wheel, but miraculously, the side mirror held. He could hear bullets tearing through the windshield, piercing through the empty air where, a mere second earlier, he’d been lying.

  “You slippery son of a gun,” Hardcastle fumed. He pointed the weapon toward Jonathon, but because of the armored cage on the sides of the jeep, there was no clear view for a shot. He then redirected his attention out of the windshield and could see a dense patch of thorny, prehistoric brush lining the edge of the road. There was no way the man could hold on if he drove the side of the jeep into that.

  Jonathon felt the jeep veer toward the shoulder of the road. He looked ahead and saw the nasty-looking foliage ahead. Remaining where he was suddenly was no longer an option. He held the side mirror tightly with his right arm and used his free left hand to remove the large knife from the holster on his belt. He suddenly flung the knife between the bars on the cage and landed it firmly into the thigh of the driver.

  Hardcastle wailed and inadvertently dropped the handgun from his free hand. A hand reached out and yanked the knife from his thigh—it was George Monroe.

  “Take the wheel,” Hardcastle said through clenched teeth.

  George was still groggy, but he quickly slipped into the seat just as Hardcastle had left it. Jonathon was climbing over the windshield just as Hardcastle had gotten to his feet. He lunged at him and began pummeling him as both men fell toward the empty space in the rear of the jeep just below the turret.

  ***

  “Jump into the jeep!” Eric shouted at Dave. He drove the jeep gently against the back of the ATV.

  Silas immediately reached up and pulled the open overhead door to their protective cage shut again. Dave reached for the handle, but Henry held it firmly in place.

  “You’re not going anywhere, son,” he said.

  Eric was now beyond angry; he was borderline furious.

  “Dave, fasten your seat belt,” he shouted as he intentionally decelerated the jeep. Now he was going to put enough distance between the two vehicles so that when he came charging back, the collision would be great enough to flip the ATV over if need be. Dave did as he was told and held on—he knew what was coming.

  Henry leaned forward. “Silas, we’ve got to get off the road, it’s our only chance!”

  “We’re on the same page, Henry,” he replied, and he pointed at a clearing through the woods. Beyond the clearing, they could see the murky water of the small river than ran through the island.

  “Alright,” Henry said when he spotted what Silas was pointing at. “As long as you’re sure she’ll float!”

  “She’s never failed me before,” Silas replied.

  Eric began his charge toward the ATV for what he hoped would be the final time. Just as he was about to make contact, the little amphibious vehicle suddenly veered hard to the right and shot off the road through a narrow path that led to the river. Eric slammed on the brakes and the jeep slid to a stop.

  ***

  Jonathon thought he’d gotten the upper hand when he fell forward and on top of Glenn Hardcastle. However, he quickly realized he severely underestimated the man’s strength. Hardcastle managed to plant the foot on his uninjured leg into Jonathon’s chest and pushed with enough force to throw him back and into the dashboard of the vehicle. Before Jonathon had a chance to lunge at him again, Hardcastle was already on his feet. Both men traded blows and it seemed both of them were on even ground.

  George continued to motor ahead in an effort to catch back up to Eric. As he rounded a curve, he noticed the other jeep at a dead stop ahead of them. George grabbed the emergency brake in a desperate attempt to stop the vehicle. The jeep’s wheels locked up and inertia caused Jonathon and Hardcastle to tumble over the windshield, onto the hood, and finally landing in the middle of the sandy road, the jeep stopping just mere feet away from hitting them.

  The two men continued to roll around on the ground, throwing and landing punches whenever possible. Eric ran over to them and grabbed Hardcastle as George grabbed Jonathon.

  “Stop it, both of you!” Eric yelled. He glared at Jonathon. “We’ve both got other problems right now!” he said, pointing toward the clearing that led to the river.

  Jonathon immediately lost interest in Hardcastle and began running toward the murky water. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the amphibious vehicle floating, but it was short lived. A little further down the river, he noticed a large conglomeration of tree limbs, logs, and other shrubbery taking up half the width of the river. It looked similar to a beaver damn, but none of the tree debris showed signs of gnaw marks. It all looked as if it was simply collected and piled there. Jonathon could tell that the ATV was simply floating with the current. He could hear Silas desperately trying to re-fire the engine.

  He looked over at Eric. “What is that?”

  Hardcastle ran to the riverbank, holding his sore jaw. “That is bad news.”

  “Can you do something?” Eric asked in a very worried tone.

  “No…I’m sorry, they’re screwed,” he replied.

  Eric grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to face him. “You’re the dino wrangler! Do something!”

  Jonathon butted between them. “Someone tell me what that is!”

  Charlie was standing beside George, behind the arguing men. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Titanoboa.”

  Jonathon looked toward the river again, and he could see the sickening sight of thousands of tiny brown scales moving at once as another horrific prehistoric beast uncoiled from somewhere behind the debris. It looked like an anaconda—only bigger. Much, much bigger.

  Titanoboa was a prehistoric snake that grew up to nearly fifty feet long and easily weighed 2,500 pounds. The one Jonathon was looking at was every bit of that length and weight. It seemed that the enormous snake had somehow constructed the giant debris pile structure and used it much in the same way a spider uses a web. It collected living things that may have fallen into the river and quickly made a meal of them. Now, Henry, Silas, and Dave were headed toward it.

  “Dad…Silas…you guys have got to get out of there!” Jonathon yelled.

  “That vehicle they’re in—is it strong enough to protect them?” Eric asked.

  “Not a chance,” Charlie said somberly.

  “No,” Jonathon agreed. “And even if somehow it could withstand the thousands of pounds of pressure that snake could put on it, they’d still be trapped when the snake drags it under water.”


  “Dave! Get out of there!” Eric yelled frantically.

  Chapter 23

  “Okay, fellas, this ride is over,” Silas said, as he began unstrapping belts.

  “Get this thing open,” Dave said, panicked.

  Henry was already trying to open the door, but it wasn’t budging.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Silas said in disbelief.

  He put his large hand on it and jerked the lever hard. It still didn’t move.

  “It must’ve gotten jammed when we crashed into the water.”

  “Okay, we’ve got to go now!” Dave screamed, his eyes were wide and focused on something on the bank ahead.

  Henry whipped his head around just in time to see the gigantic snake dive into the river, leaving a trail of swirling water in its wake. It was headed straight toward them.

  Silas reached back toward the dash and opened a glove box. He retrieved a handgun.

  “Shouldn’t we be grabbing the rifles?” Dave asked.

  “No time to try to shoot that thing with a rifle,” Silas replied. “And this isn’t for the snake anyway. Get back!” He pointed the gun toward the latch and fired the weapon. The thunderous blast instantly made all of the passenger’s ears ring, but it did the job. The latch broke free and Dave immediately threw open the door.

  Before Silas and Henry were even aware of what was happening, Dave jumped into the murky water and began frantically swimming toward the bank.

  “What are you doing? You fool, you’ll be the first one to go!” Silas yelled after him.

  Henry watched in horror as the water began swirling just behind Dave. “Give me that gun!” he snapped with desperation, snatching the weapon from Silas. Henry began firing the weapon into the water where the swirling was occurring behind Dave. When he had fired the last shot, he and Silas watched the water intensely for any sign of movement. Silas glanced back up to check on Dave’s progress.

  “Well, what do you know?” he said. “The kid made it out of the water.”

  At that moment, the large head of the mammoth snake shot up from the murky water less than ten feet away from Silas and Henry.

  “My God!” Henry shouted as he fell back in his seat.

  The snake lunged for Henry, but Silas jerked the protective cage down just in time. The snake seemed to improvise. It glanced off the top of the vehicle, dove back into the water, and suddenly what they were all fearing began to become reality. The snake was wrapping itself around the ATV.

  ***

  “Get Dave!” Eric shouted. George Monroe took off running back to the road where he would be able to cross the bridge and get to the other side where Dave was.

  “We’ve got to do something,” Jonathon said. “Do we have any weapons?”

  “Sure, we’ve got lots of weapons, but nothing that won’t risk tearing through those men at the same time. Open your eyes; the snake is completely wrapped around them now,” Eric said. “We can’t even see them anymore. They’re completely entombed.”

  “Dad! Silas! Can you hear me?”

  “I hear you, son.” Henry’s reply was muffled. “Get out of here. Save yourself! Finish what you came here for!”

  “I’m not leaving, Dad,” Jonathon answered.

  They could all see the muscles in the giant snake’s body tighten and the metal cage began to creak and bend in protest. Slowly, the vehicle began to submerge.

  “Dad!” Jonathon screamed.

  No reply.

  Charlie Nelson began to sob. “Oh my God,” was all she muttered over and over.

  “Silas!”

  No reply.

  Eric grabbed Jonathon’s shoulder and the vehicle sank further. “They’re gone; there is nothing you can do.”

  Jonathon jerked free and began making his way toward the water. “I won’t give up; I’m going after them.”

  “Are you nuts?” Eric said.

  Jonathon just ignored him and began to wade into the water. Eric glanced over at Hardcastle. “Stop him!”

  Hardcastle picked up a large stick and ran after him. Jonathon was concentrating so hard on getting to Silas and his father, he never knew what was coming behind him. Hardcastle swung the stick hard and made contact with the back of Jonathon’s head. He fell like a sack of potatoes, and both Hardcastle and Eric had to pull him from the river.

  “Why did you do that?” Charlie screamed.

  “I saved him from himself, Ms. Nelson,” Eric said coldly. “Now if you don’t mind, please return to the vehicle. We’ve got to return to base.”

  “What about the croc?” Hardcastle asked, still rubbing his sore jaw.

  “The croc will have to wait.”

  “Do you know this guy?” Hardcastle asked.

  Eric nodded. “Yes, and his arriving on this island can’t mean anything good for us. We’ve got to take him back and question him.”

  “Well, what makes you think he’ll talk to us?”

  “He may not talk to us, but I think I may know someone he will talk to,” Eric replied. He looked back toward the river just in time to see the rest of the ATV disappear into the river. Moments later, both jeeps were rumbling back toward the base camp.

  Chapter 24

  “Jonathon is here? On the island?”

  Annie was a combination of elation and concern all at once. She had not seen Jonathon since they’d both been on the island seven years ago. Last she’d heard, he and Lucy had gotten married and had seemingly moved on from their adventurous past. Try as she might, Annie could not think of a single good reason for Jonathon to return. After all, it was he that made them all vow to keep the place a secret. A vow that she’d only half-heartedly taken.

  “Why on earth is he on this island?” she asked Eric emphatically.

  “That’s exactly what I’d like for you to find out,” he replied.

  They were in Eric’s living room; the picturesque view from his open balcony lit the room up brightly.

  “What do you mean—I mean, why me? Just ask him yourself!”

  Eric shook his head, reached in his pocket, and retrieved a cigarette. “No,” he replied, lighting it up. “He’s never liked me, and he almost certainly disapproves of me being here running this operation. But you—he likes you—he knows you. He would be a lot more willing to talk to you than he would me.”

  Annie sighed and pushed her dangling red locks away from her face. “What is it you want me to ask him?”

  “I want to find out why he is here and what he knows about my operation.”

  “He may be here for the fountain,” Annie added.

  The statement made Eric chuckle. “Ah yes, the fountain of youth,” he said. “The fountain that neither you nor I have ever seen.”

  “The fountain is what drove my uncle here,” Annie said. “Jonathon and the others found it…they told me about it.”

  “And yet I’ve been here for years and have never found it,” he rebutted, blowing smoke out his nose.

  “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist—I mean, how else do you explain all of these dinosaurs that have managed to avoid extinction?”

  Eric paused and seemed to be in deep thought.

  “I can’t see Jonathon coming here for the fountain,” Annie said after a few silent minutes.

  Eric fell back into the soft cushions on the couch, looking defeated. “Well, we’re never going to get any answers sitting here trying desperately to understand the psyche of Jonathon Williams,” he said. “I need you to speak to him and get any information you can.”

  Annie stood up. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was very curious and wanted answers too. “Okay, so where do I find him?”

  ***

  Jonathon awoke groggy and plagued with a pounding headache. He was lying on a couch in what appeared to be some sort of break room. After a few minutes, he reluctantly propped himself up on the couch, and soon after, forced himself to get up. He rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to relieve some of the pain he was feeling. Then he surveyed
the room.

  On the counter, the first thing he noticed was a bottle of Tylenol. He made a beeline for the medication and wasted no time throwing a few pills in his mouth. Next, he rummaged through the cabinets for something to eat in hopes of ridding his body of the terrible hunger he was now experiencing. He found a box of cookies, half-full, and made quick work of the contents. He then eyed a Coke machine in the corner of the room. After fishing a couple of quarters from his pocket, he purchased the classic beverage and drank the entire can at once.

  Suddenly feeling much better, Jonathon then made his way to the door and, as he suspected, it was locked. He thought of his father and of Silas. As tears began to well up in his eyes, he rubbed the moisture away and fought off the incredible urge to weep. There would be plenty of time for that later. For now, he had to focus on getting out of his current predicament. He pounded on the door and began yelling for someone to open it. There was no response, but Jonathon suddenly heard footsteps approaching. He began yelling again, demanding for whoever was on the other side to open the door and release him. There was no response, but the footsteps seemed to stop directly in front of the door. It was then that he noticed a folded piece of paper slide under the door. The footsteps then hurried away.

  Jonathon plucked the sheet off the floor, unfolded it, and read the neatly printed words.

  Stay Calm

  You Have A Friend Here

  Will Get You Out ASAP!

  He crumpled the paper up immediately after reading it and stuffed it in his pants pocket. The author was a complete mystery to him, but it did somewhat ease his mind. Was it Dave? There were a million questions running through his head like a freight train on the way to nowhere. It was undoubtedly contributing to his headache. He was anxious for the Tylenol to kick in.

  Jonathon again looked around the room for any avenue of escape. There were no windows, and the door was very solid wood encased in a metal frame. It seemed that breaking out on his own would be impossible. Sooner or later, he knew someone was going to come and check on him. If he could find a suitable weapon, he could make his escape then. But then, where would he go? He knew nothing about the facility where he was being held. He assumed he was being held in one of the buildings where Dave had told him Eric’s operation was. But for all he knew, he may not even be on the island anymore. Thoughts of Silas and his father once again tried to creep back in the forefront of his mind, and once again, Jonathon willed them away. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching again.