Exile

by S. M. Wilson

  “What?” asked Storm. She could feel the anxiety in her chest.

  “They’re ramming him,” Reban broke in as he took a few steps towards the water. “They’re actually ramming him. Him and the boat.”

  Storm wrinkled her brow. “But why?” She stepped forward too, just as one final ram tipped the boat over and the rest of the team and crew toppled into the water. One of them was a Stipulator who had been guarding Reban. Storm let out an involuntary squeal.

  Reban started striding out into the water but Lincoln grabbed his arm.

  “Don’t. Tylosauruses. They’re marine predators. This isn’t a mistake. This is how they kill.”

  Now that all the people were in the water, the pack seemed to move in the same motion. Ramming continually at the bodies in the water. The two Stipulators on shore were yelling. “Get out! Try and get ashore!”

  Storm could see the conflict written all over Reban’s face. She could tell he wanted to get in there, to try to drag the others to shore.

  The first guy floated to the surface. It was clear he was unconscious, face down in the water. He would drown. The pack was concentrating on the others, ramming them all continually. This must be the way that they hunted. Once they had stunned their prey, they left them alone – obviously waiting for them to die.

  It was systematic. And the water was so clear that everything was visible. The creatures had thick scaly skins, a bit like the tiny lizards back on Earthasia. Some were bigger than others – longer, their large bodies propelling them through the bay in only a few seconds. But it was clear their manoeuvrability was affected by the shallow edges of the bay.

  One tylosaurus started circling the first guy. After a few seconds its jaw opened and snapped at his leg. A thin ribbon of red snaked out through the clear blue water, disappearing into the vast ocean just as quickly as it appeared.

  The water was still full of grey. Six people now floated face down in the bay. Only one was left floating face up. Only one person still had a chance of survival. The Stipulator. His black cloak floated around him, rippling in the water. The bodies were bobbing around, sometimes knocked by the waves created by the moving pack. The Stipulator’s body was the only one edging a little closer to the shore.

  The rest of the tylosauruses started circling the first body. Now that one had started feasting it seemed that the rest were equally engaged. Their jaws snapped at their prey and Leif hid his head in his hands. Things had been bad enough at the cloudy lake, now they could see virtually everything in detail. Storm winced and turned away.

  Two of the other Finalists – Froan Jung and Tena Koll – were with the other team on the beach. They had their eyes averted already, not needing to watch what came next. But the rest of the group were dumbfounded. From the ship, the bay had looked tranquil and the green space of Piloria had called out to them, lulling them into some made-up fantasy. The reality was so different.

  Reban moved from Storm’s side, causing her to turn around. He was fast, going before anyone had a chance to stop him, his boots abandoned on the sand. He strode out thigh-deep in the water then dived underneath, lapping across the bay towards the unconscious Stipulator. Storm slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. She turned away, pressing her hands down on Leif’s shoulders, who was kneeling on the sand in front of her. Leif looked up in astonishment. She couldn’t watch.

  Lincoln stepped in front of her and pulled her sideways towards him. “It’s okay,” he said quietly, “they’re too busy.”

  He flinched and she gulped. The noise of flesh being torn from the bone ripped through the air. She couldn’t breathe.

  Storm turned again and looked out of the corner of her eye. Reban was moving so quietly through the water. His head wasn’t even coming up for air, his hands just ploughing forward. He finally surfaced just as the black floating cloak was in reach. He yanked it towards him, using the cloak to reel in the other Stipulator.

  Something happened. It was like a moment of recognition that someone in the water was not part of their pack. Reban must have sensed it instantly. His hands wrapped around the body of his colleague and he lay on his back, kicking madly.

  The tylosauruses moved forward as one. The other Stipulators started shouting from the shore, “Come on! Come on!” and Storm couldn’t help but join in. “Move, Reban. Move!”

  It was madness really. There was no way he could hear anything with his head in the water and his legs powering so hard towards shore. The first tylosaurus caught him quickly, but it was cautious – almost as if it wasn’t quite sure what this creature was. It gave him a sideways nudge. Reban didn’t stop. His legs kept kicking furiously.

  Lincoln glanced towards Leif. “Come on.” He strode out into the water, ready to assist as soon as Reban was close enough.

  Leif blinked, then moved. Storm couldn’t believe it. After everything he’d experienced, after losing two friends, he still had the strength to stride out into the water towards another predator.

  In a matter of seconds, both Lincoln and Leif were in up to their chests. The second nudge at Reban was more powerful, pushing him sideways. It took him a second to get back into the rhythm of his kicks. There was a moment of fury. These creatures were big and the rapidly approaching beach was impeding their movements.

  The largest of the creatures raised itself up out of the water. Its long body was slim and muscular. Was it grey or green? Storm didn’t have time to decide because its flattened tail slapped against the water, propelling it forward at lightning speed. For the briefest of seconds its smooth underside revealed its paddle-like limbs with lizard-type scales. But it was the mouth which took all her attention. The snout that had been used for battering its prey was hardly visible once it opened its jaws, exposing two rows of pointy, cone-shaped teeth.

  The jaw snapped shut only a few millisectars from Reban’s toes.

  The geography of the bay was actually on the team’s side. Because the creatures were so large and the bay relatively shallow, they couldn’t turn easily or get too close to shore. Both Lincoln and Leif grabbed Reban’s shoulders at the same time, allowing him to get his feet on the sand beneath him as they grappled for the unconscious Stipulator. But one of the tylosauruses was equally determined. Its head and jaw rose out of the water and snapped straight towards the Stipulator’s body.

  Storm couldn’t help it. She was in the water too, her fear pushed aside by adrenaline. As Reban found his feet, his arm was still wrapped tightly around his colleague. The tylosaurus missed the Stipulator’s leg, instead snagging part of the cloak in its mouth. Its jaw ground closed, yanking the Stipulator’s body from Reban’s grasp.

  Reban let out a yell as Lincoln and Leif leaped forward in the water to grab at the body. Leif caught one arm, and Lincoln part of the collar of the cloak, both immediately leaning back towards the shore. The tylosaurus’s jaw flicked from side to side with anger as it realized it hadn’t really caught its prey. The motion sent a loud tearing sound through the air, as the black cloak was released from the Stipulator’s body. The effect was instant.

  Reban, Lincoln and Leif fell backwards, landing on their backsides in the shallow water just as the black cloak billowed up into the air like some kind of secret signal.

  Storm jumped forward again and tugged the Stipulator back, just out of reach of the jaws of the tylosaurus. It was furious, impeded by the size of its body. It clearly wasn’t like the deinosuchus. It had no ability to be on both land and water. For a few seconds it struggled as its body caught on the sandbank, before one large slap of its tail flipped it sideways and back into the bay.

  The other two Stipulators ran over and dragged their unconscious colleague from the waves, up onto the beach. Leif, Lincoln and Reban were left panting on the sand.

  The other team crowded around the Stipulators, trying to help. Storm blinked. It had only been a few minutes and the clear, tranquil bay had turned into a hunting ground. She could hear the thud of her heart in her ears.

>   She turned and glanced at the ship. Most of the crew were staring in horror at the bay, watching the rest of the bodies floating in the water.

  The angry tylosaurus moved with a flick of its tail, joining the rest of the pack. The pack that was circling the floating bodies.

  Reban still hadn’t caught his breath. He was panting heavily, but he pushed himself to his feet. “We don’t need to watch this,” he muttered. He glanced at Storm. “Can we get away from here?”

  She was still shocked by what had just happened. It all seemed so unreal. So unexpected. Octavius had said this bay was safe. This was the place the ship normally docked for a week. She shook her head. “I don’t know which way to go. We’ve never been here before. This isn’t where we landed last time.”

  Reban frowned and strode over to the other Stipulators. “Why have we come to a different landing spot?”

  One of them looked up at him blankly. The unconscious Stipulator was on the sand in front of him. But the man’s chest was rising and falling. He was alive.

  “We drop the candidates at one spot, then moor the boat here for the rest of the week. It’s always been safe. There’s never been any problem.”

  He glanced up at the bay and gulped. “I’ve swum in this bay. We’ve caught fish here.”

  “Who told you to drop us here?” demanded Reban.

  The two Stipulators glanced at each other. It didn’t seem to matter that Reban was no longer Chief Stipulator. Now Silas wasn’t around, they were apparently still a little in awe of the man who’d held that position.

  After a few seconds one of them spoke. “Octavius,” was all he said.

  Storm could feel everyone look at her. Her teammates knew she’d worked for Octavius.

  Reban persisted. “Why here? Why somewhere different?”

  The Stipulator shrugged. “It made sense,” he said.

  Reban was clearly frustrated. He turned to Storm. “But why here? Why didn’t he put you on a terrain you are familiar with? Surely that was the point of sending you here?”

  “Some of us didn’t get told the point,” muttered Leif. “Some of us got dragged out of our beds in the middle of the night.”

  Storm shrugged. “Octavius – he gave me part of a map. He’d charted this coastline. We’re closer here to the nests than we were before.”

  The other Stipulator looked up from where he was tending to his colleague. “I heard a rumour that Octavius said you weren’t to go anywhere near that lake again.”

  Reban narrowed his gaze. “Who wasn’t to go near that lake? Me?”

  The Stipulator looked a little embarrassed. He lifted a slightly shaking hand. “No. Her.”

  Storm gulped as all eyes turned to her again. “I don’t know. I don’t know why.”

  Reban let out an exasperated sigh, striding off towards the green foliage next to the beach.

  Lincoln shook his head as he watched, then glanced back to Storm.

  Leif narrowed his eyes. “Where’s he going? I thought he wanted us to help him. To teach him how to survive. Can’t do that if he walks off.”

  The two Stipulators were still kneeling on the beach with their colleague. Froan and Tena from the other team had been helping, but now they stood up and looked around.

  Storm turned to her other teammates. “Let’s just leave the Stipulators here. They won’t want to come with us.” She glanced towards the two boats on the beach. “Hopefully they can find a safe way back to the ship.”

  She picked up her backpack from the beach, as Lincoln turned to Leif. “Have you got the carrier?”

  In all the chaos no one had really thought about the reason they were there – the viruses.

  Leif nodded and walked over towards a clump of bushes. He pulled the silver case from it and strode back over. He looked to Froan. “Do you still have yours?” Froan nodded and held up his identical case. “Then let’s not waste any more time.”

  “We’ll go to the raptors first,” said Storm quickly.

  Leif looked at her in confusion. “Why not the pterosaurs?”

  The pterosaur nest was easiest to reach, but it was nowhere near Blaine’s shack. Nowhere near the leaves they wanted to collect. She spoke quickly. “We’ll go there last. There’s no point in us going to the same place at the same time. It would draw too much attention from the dinosaurs,” she added quickly. That seemed simple enough. A group of ten people was sure to attract more attention.

  The other team glanced at each other uncertainly before finally nodding in agreement.

  “We’ll go to the pterosaur nest first then,” said Tena. “I guess we’ll see you back here in a few days.”

  Storm pressed her lips together. Last time around two members of that team had barely made it back alive. Would their chances improve any with three new members? Would they actually manage to plant any of the viruses? It seemed unlikely.

  Leif was watching Reban, who was standing a little distance away, waiting for them to move. He gave Storm and Lincoln a sideways glance and smiled. “Well, if we’re taking along a new team member, I guess now we know how the Stipulators will find out if we plant the viruses.”

  There was a whole array of awkward glances.

  And something else. Was it a feeling of dread? She’d seen how Reban had been treated in the parliament chamber. Surely he wouldn’t still work for them? Octavius had mentioned he could report back on how the viruses worked. But would he also actually report back on whether they planted them or not? Would he actually report the fact his own daughter was reluctant, and cost her a place back home on the ship?

  A few trickles of sweat ran down her back, reminding her exactly where they were. She didn’t have time to worry about things like that. She and Lincoln had agreed why they were here.

  Storm reached over and put her hand on Jesa’s shoulder. Jesa hadn’t said a single word since the attack. Her tanned skin was pale, her dark eyes wide.

  Something clenched inside Storm. First time around this had been her. That first time, she’d seen the megalodon attack in the ocean, and then the deinosuchus at the lake. She knew exactly how Jesa was feeling right now.

  “Welcome to Piloria,” she said quietly. “Now let’s move.”

  The jungle closed around them instantly: the insects alive and noisy, the bright bursts of colour from the forest floor, and the dark creeping vines around the trees. But the thing that put his senses on alert most was the smell.

  Lincoln had forgotten this. The richness. The fullness of it.

  Beside him, Jesa gagged and he smiled. It did take a little getting used to. He hadn’t expected it to impact on him quite so fiercely.

  After a few minutes of tramping, they reached a clearing. Reban was standing with his hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his face already. It was odd seeing him in clothes other than the Stipulator garb. The vest and waistcoat he now wore revealed muscles and definition Lincoln hadn’t expected. Maybe Reban was fitter than Lincoln thought.

  Piloria was much warmer than Earthasia, but it was as if the jungle intensified the heat even more. Every breath was thick with moisture.

  Storm barely even glanced at Reban on her way past – she was too busy staring at her map. “Come or don’t come,” she said blithely. “We won’t wait for you.”

  There was a flicker of annoyance on Reban’s face. But he picked up his discarded backpack and started to follow them through the jungle.

  Lincoln ran his hands over the wide variety of leaves as they walked on. The range was huge. Every shade of green, from the palest moss to the brightest neon, some leaves prickly, lots smooth; from the size of a fingernail to the length of their thighs. The whole time he walked he inhaled deeply, as the ground squelched beneath his feet. Searching for the familiar scent – the strong evergreen leaves that were made into the ointment.

  But it wasn’t there. Not in this part of the jungle. Maybe the plant only grew in one particular place. He’d have to find out.

  They trekked for more
than an hour, leaves slapping constantly against his skin, until they finally emerged into the blistering sun.

  This time there were no transporters waiting at the other side of the jungle.

  This time there was no lake in the distance.

  To their right, for as far as the eye could see, there was marsh.

  Storm stepped up alongside him. “Interesting,” she said. “Probably fewer dinosaurs too.”

  Lincoln pointed to the left. “But we have to go this way, to the raptor and T-rex nests.”

  Reban wandered a little ahead of them, staring at the unfamiliar terrain and out of their earshot.

  “No,” said Jesa sharply. “We need to find my father. I want to see him.”

  Lincoln turned to her. “We will. We need to find the plants. We need to find the cure for the blistering skin plague. Your father is the only person who knows how to make it. But” – he hesitated as he turned to Storm – “we may well pass the watering holes along the way. Is it really so wrong to try and plant the virus? Would it really be so bad to have fewer killer dinosaurs around?”

  Storm’s voice was the first to break the silence. “There are so many. I thought we’d met the worst of them the first time around. But then today, in the bay? I didn’t even know those creatures existed. There’s a whole continent of predators here. A whole continent that’s evolved with no human interference. Is it really so right to start now?”

  Leif spun around to face her, swinging the silver carrier. He couldn’t hide the anger on his face and stepped right up to her. “Well, I’m going to interfere. I’m going to start as soon as I find the first watering hole. Do you think I want to hide up a tree from the raptors? Do you think I want to watch a T-rex rip someone’s arm from its socket? No. I’ll happily put this stuff in their watering holes. It might not work. Who knows? But if it does, I’ll be glad. I’ll be glad to have helped get rid of some of them.” He gave an ironic laugh and held up his hands. “This place might actually be quite nice without them.”