by Russ Watts
Karl reached the shallower coral and tried to stand. He was cast into shadow as the dinosaur looked over him. Phoenix watched in terror as it snapped its jaws in Karl’s direction. He ducked and dove under the water, and the monster narrowly missed him.
“Karl!” Phoenix brandished the machete in her hands, watching what the monster was going to do next. In its presence, she felt infinitesimal, like an ant staring up at a colossus.
Karl’s head reappeared above the water and the dinosaur clambered over the coral to him. It moved slowly, less graceful out of the water than in it, yet still fast enough that it would catch him before he reached land. Phoenix called again for him to hurry.
“Jesus Christ.”
Phoenix heard Max’s voice from behind her. She had forgotten all about him.
“This isn’t happening. It can’t be.”
Max must have frozen when the dinosaur had emerged. Phoenix heard his feet slap against the wet sand and then he was running, back to Jane, back to the jungle, back to the island’s interior.
“Max, stop,” said Phoenix. Yet as he began to run, she noticed the monster’s attention drawn away from Karl. Its green eyes flickered and swiveled to look at Max. Perhaps the movement on the beach had done enough to draw it away from Karl. Max’s cowardice may just be enough to save him.
Phoenix waded into the crystal-clear water up to her waist. Karl was half-swimming, half-running over the coral. She could see panic etched on his face and fear in his eyes.
“Come on, Karl, you can make it.” She urged him on, beckoning him to her.
The dinosaur thrashed its tail around, sending huge waves toward the beach and then it lunged. Phoenix thought it was going to charge right at her, for Max and Jane, yet it changed direction and opened its jaws. Its jaws moved quickly, scooping up sea water, dead coral, and Karl. He tumbled over and over as the monster raised up its head, and Phoenix screamed with rage and frustration as it snapped its jaws shut. A huge wall of water fell from between its teeth. She heard Karl call out once, call her name, and then he was gone.
For a moment, she heard nothing. Max was gone, back to Jane. The dinosaur was swallowing Karl and looking at her silently. There were no more chances, no more options for Karl. He was dead. Phoenix was all that was left of her unit. She turned slowly and placed one foot in front of the other, the sea water clutching at her, trying to stop her from leaving. She reached the dry sand without thinking about what she would do next. Without Karl, it felt like she was nobody. Who was she without her men, without him? With her back to the beast, she looked and saw Max and Jane fighting. They were arguing over something, pushing and shoving like schoolchildren, but it all played out in her head like a silent movie. Even though she was back on the beach, the water was swelling up around her ankles. It was like a tsunami, pushing her forward, charging up the beach toward the jungle. Phoenix couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t think what to do next. What was there to do? She had nothing left. She was on her last legs and felt empty inside. It had all come to nothing.
“No!”
Jane’s cries snapped Phoenix out of her shock. Max was pulling at something in Jane’s hands. He was pulling at the machete, trying to get it off her. Phoenix saw Jane shove Max away and he tripped over, hitting his head on a small rock as he lay spread out on the beach. Phoenix felt cold suddenly as the sunlight disappeared and she knew what was next. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the massive dinosaur close behind. It was ambling over the coral to her, its huge teeth dripping with saltwater and blood. The knowledge that she was about to die didn’t come as any great shock or discomfort. It was how it should be. She had led her unit into battle and failed them all. They were dead. She was powerless now, unable to stop the inevitable.
Phoenix stopped halfway up the beach and closed her eyes. It was over. The machete hung limp in her hands. There was no fight left. Karl’s death had made sure of that. A low rumble washed over her, a guttural sound that made her flesh crawl. She could feel the monster’s breath warm her back.
She had lost.
CHAPTER 16
Phoenix grabbed Jane’s hand. It was cold and limp. “Jane, move. We have to get away from here.”
Jane stood like a statue, her eyes lost in a world of her own making.
“Jane, come on!” Phoenix shoved her and Jane followed as if she were a robot, her legs moving stiffly and reluctantly. Phoenix didn’t care if Jane was in shock. They had no choice now but to abandon the rendezvous with Freddy. They had to abandon the beach and perhaps any chance of getting off the island forever.
Tears began to well in Phoenix’s eyes. It wasn’t the prospect of never getting home or the thought of being killed by the dinosaur, eaten alive. It was the knowledge that no matter what she did, Karl was dead. He was gone. Phoenix dragged Jane along, listening to the monster crawling along the island behind her. She didn’t know where she was going, where to run to, but she had to get it away from Freddy. He at least could be saved. If he arrived in time to see that thing, he might even be able to raise the alert.
Phoenix ran along the beach with Jane, just hoping to live for one more day. It had been Jane who had brought her out of her stupor. Losing Karl was the final blow, the last thing she thought she could handle. Yet somehow Jane had made her see that there was still something she had to do. It was the fight with Max that had spurred her on. When Max had fallen, he had hit his head badly, enough to knock him unconscious. Jane had looked at Phoenix with disbelief. She had no idea what to do. The dinosaur that had killed Karl was almost on them. Phoenix had seen something in Jane then, something real and alive. She couldn’t give up on her, this young girl who had survived for so long on her own.
Phoenix had sprinted out from underneath the grasping jaws of the monster and grabbed Jane. The monster had paused, giving Phoenix a chance. Jane had insisted on tending to Max, on trying to bring him around or carry him, but they had only seconds to decide. That was when Phoenix had told Jane they had to leave him. He had made his own bed. If he hadn’t been so busy trying to force Jane into giving up the machete, he could have saved himself. There would’ve been time for everyone to get inland or find somewhere to hide. As it was, they were forced to leave Max behind. Jane had looked up into the monster’s eyes and retreated into herself, and so Phoenix had been forced to drag her along by the hand.
A snapping sound caused Phoenix to turn and look back. She saw the dinosaur stood over Max. The creature’s long body filled the beach and its tail crashed into the jungle, knocking down trees that had stood for years. She saw the dinosaur’s jaws reach down and nudge Max. It was testing him, trying to find out if he was worth eating. The snapping noise was the sound of its jaws smashing together. She knew they could crush anything. They were designed for mincing bone, meat and tissue. There was no wonder the island was deserted. The local chief may have known what really lived on this island and created a story about it being an ancestral home, strictly off limits, to keep his people safe. The monsters had probably made short work of whatever animal life had once lived here: pigs, fowl, parrots, all decimated. Fish had to be a large part of their diet, perhaps even the odd inquisitive local who got too close. The thing hovering above Max did resemble a crocodile, but there was something more primitive about it. Now that it was out of the water, Phoenix appreciated its true size: it had to be eighty feet long and fifty feet high. It was undeniably another dinosaur.
Max rolled over and she saw him move an arm. Phoenix refused to feel guilty about it. She hoped he would stay unconscious. That might have saved him, but he was waking up now. The monster nudged his body again and Max sat upright. Phoenix saw his eyes widen in terror as the dinosaur leered over him. Suddenly, Max was on his feet and running, a thin line of blood dribbling down the side of his head from where he had fallen.
“Keep running, Jane,” ordered Phoenix. “Keep going.”
They found themselves running onto rocks and had to jump over several large rock-pools. The tide was
coming in. Phoenix heard a cry and firmly held Jane’s hand.
“Wait,” said Jane as she pulled up. “I have to… I have to see this.”
Phoenix glared at Jane. “We should keep going, Jane.”
But Jane refused to move. Her eyes drifted back to the beach. The monster was chasing after Max. Phoenix saw him running toward them, tears streaming down his bloodied face. The monster could have caught him easily, snapped him up in its jaws in an instant, so why was it just following him? Was it just using him to lure them back?
“It’s playing with him,” said Jane in a monotone voice. “Like a—”
“Like a cat,” said Phoenix. She had been thinking the same thing. “Jane, I really think we should move.” Phoenix looked around. The rocks they were climbing were slippery and dangerous. Their progress would be slowed considerably by going over them, yet getting back to the beach or jungle was impossible. The monster would be able to get to them long before they reached the cover of the trees. “We don’t have time to—”
Jane gasped as the monster lunged for Max. It knocked him off his feet with a glancing blow from its closed jaws. Max’s body flew several yards through the air before hitting the ground. The wet sand was solid and he cried out in pain.
“Wait,” said Jane again.
Phoenix watched Max try to get to his feet. His left arm hung limply by his side and she suspected it was broken. Agony was etched all over his face and as he struggled to get up the monster approached. Despite its size, it was agile and it jerked forward, latching its jaws around his midriff. Max screamed in pain as he was slowly lifted into the air.
“Jesus,” whispered Phoenix. The guilt at leaving Max behind threatened to resurface so she thought of Karl. She remembered how Max had led them to this, tricked them and led to the deaths of her unit. No, she wasn’t going to let his death be on her. He had brought this on himself.
The monster kept hold of Max and then smashed his body against the ground. Max yelled out in pain once more as the monster lifted him back up. Max’s body was shattered. Phoenix could see blood dripping from his eyes and ears, and both his legs were twisted at unnatural angles. His white hair was matted with blood, and as he coughed, more blood spilled over his lips. The monster raised him high into the air and then slammed him back down onto the hard ground. Max didn’t yell anymore.
Phoenix saw his body go limp. The monster dragged Max across the sand and then dropped him. The hideous creature’s head turned to her and she saw its yellow eyes look at her and Jane. Was it gloating? Was it showing off, proving who was boss? Or was she just imagining it, projecting human thoughts onto a primitive animal that thought of nothing except eating and sleeping? She had no idea what sort of brain process the thing had, or if it had any idea what it was doing. It seemed to be toying with Max’s body, as if deciding whether it was just a plaything or food.
With a movement that was so quick she almost missed it, the monster grabbed Max in its jaws, flipped him up into the air, and then swallowed him. His body was obliterated in the monster’s powerful jaws, crushed to nothing, and then he was gone. Phoenix didn’t feel any relief that Max was dead. She didn’t think she cared anymore about what happened to him. He was just another name she was going to have to add to the long list of the dead when she got back home.
Home.
Phoenix turned to Jane. “Think we can go now?”
“I wanted to make sure. That bastard didn’t come here for me. He would’ve let me die. All he wanted was the probe and the rocks.”
Phoenix nodded. The sun was setting and Freddy would be here any time. A plan was forming in her mind. It was beyond dangerous, but there was little option. They could spend the rest of their lives playing hide and seek on the desolate island with the monster or they could try to find a way home. The only way off the island was Freddy’s boat. She had to find a way to make it work.
Jane stepped up onto a rock and shielded her eyes from the setting sun. “It’s over now. Max can rot in hell.”
“I’m with you on that one, Jane.” Phoenix watched the monster carefully. It was relishing the satisfaction that Max’s body had provided for its belly. The dinosaur remained motionless for the moment. She had no doubt it wouldn’t be long before it came for them. It had their scent now. It had a taste for human blood. Karl and Max had given it an appetite and next on the menu were her and Jane. “Give me your machete.”
“Why?” Jane held it to her chest. “That’s what Max said. You thinking of running out on me too?”
Phoenix had to admire Jane. Her strength was apparent, although it came and went. Sometimes she slipped back into lethargy or shock, probably because her body was now so weak. But the real Jane was a strong woman, a woman who deserved to live. “I’ve got an idea. It might just be the only way we can get to that boat. It’s coming, Jane. It’s coming right now, and if we miss it, there won’t be another one. Trust me, I’m not like him. I’m not going to leave you.”
Phoenix held out her hand and Jane offered her the machete. As Phoenix took it, she looked back at the monster. It took a step toward them and Phoenix looked back at Jane. “These rocks are going to save us, Jane. I’m going to wait right here for it.” There was a small alcove to her right, dripping with seaweed. “You keep climbing over these rocks. You’ll be down the other side before it can catch up with you. When you get to the other side, swim around it. Swim back to where we came from and find Freddy.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going to swim anywhere with that thing after us. And what about you? You’re just going to hide and let me risk my ass?”
“No. I told you I have a plan. We’re going to bait it. Give ourselves a chance.”
“Let me guess, I’m the bait?”
“Sorry, Jane, but that fucker has a taste for us now. It will follow you, yes, but the second it gets up on these rocks, it will be forced to slow down. That’s when I’m going to unleash fucking hell on that bastard. These two machetes should be enough. I’ll cut its throat and carve out its eyes. Trust me. You’ll have plenty of time to get around the rocks and back to the beach.”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t we just…?”
The dinosaur roared and charged. The tremors of its guttural roar sent vibrations through the ground and Phoenix scampered back into the alcove. Her feet splashed through a shallow rock-pool and she saw a crab scuttle away as she disturbed the water.
“Go, Jane, go!”
Jane hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran. She darted as quickly as she could up and over the rocks, and then was gone. Phoenix felt cold salty water drip down her back as she huddled back under the rock. The sun evidently never made it this far and the air was cool. The two machetes weighed heavily in her hands and Phoenix held onto them firmly. Her fingers coiled around the grips and she waited for the beast to appear. It would come right over her. She could feel it coming, feel its heavy body crashing over the rocks close by. It was chasing them and it wouldn’t stop unless she could force it to. She had to make this work. She had been up close and personal with a dinosaur before. The one that resembled a T-rex in the jungle had tossed her around and she had scarcely made it out alive. Yet she had fought it off and won. She had to do it again. It was a different beast, but it was the same situation. It was kill or be killed. It was an animal, nothing more, nothing less. It had a beating heart, and if she could stop that, she could do anything. The stench of meat and blood stung her nostrils and she knew it was close. She gritted her teeth and prepared to run out of the cave. She wasn’t afraid. She had a purpose and a job to do. She had a family to get home to. She had Jane to think of. If she failed then Jane would surely die, perhaps Freddy too. Nobody would know what happened here on this forgotten island. Karl didn’t deserve that.
Phoenix stared out at a pool a few feet away. The shallow water rippled as the monster got closer. Phoenix felt the muscles in her legs screaming with pain and she looked down at the blood seeping from her wounds. There was nothing she
could do about them now. She had to do this. She had to do it for her unit, for Jane, for Karl; for herself.
The dinosaur’s jaws appeared first, reflected in the pool. Then she saw it. The monster was clambering over the rocks right above her. It was following Jane just as planned. The monster’s lower jaw slowly emerged right above her like the hull of a boat, dribbling with bloody saliva. The skin was yellow and wrinkly, yet rough and covered in barnacles. As more of the monster appeared, she saw it plant one stout leg down right in front of her. The rock trembled beneath its weight and then Phoenix saw its neck. Skin sagged and shimmered in the low light, and she knew this was it. This was what she had to do. She had to strike whilst she had the chance.
Phoenix quickly got to her feet and ran from the cave. She screamed and lunged for the beast before it could move away. Whirling the two machetes above her head, she sliced through the skin, stabbing the sharp blades over and over into the monster’s throat. A fountain of warm blood washed down over Phoenix and she raged as she slashed at the monster. Fire rained down over her, drenching her in sticky, foul gore.
“Fucking die!” she yelled as the monster reared up. She heard it bellow and then its jaws slammed down, threatening to squash her like a bug on the rocks.
Phoenix rolled away, grasping the machetes. Her whole body was covered in blood and gore. She suspected that some of what had swamped her was from Max. Pieces of bone and flesh slid down her aching body. She wiped her eyes and saw the monster rear up again. She ran to it, slamming the machetes’ blades into its leg, using them like icepicks to climb up the beast. Every time she sliced one of the blades through its skin, she could feel its pain. The monster tried to buck her off, twisting around and around, but she held on. It was stuck atop the rocky outcrop, unable to quickly turn in either direction.
