The Island

by Michael Bray

  Moses stopped walking, the rest of the group following suit and forming a rough circle.

  “Wait, you’re telling me you signed up to this, just so you could be on TV?” Moses was struggling to comprehend what Perrie was saying.

  “Of course. I love celebrities. I’ve always wanted to be one.”

  Ryder chuckled and shook his head. “This is going to be easier than I thought,” he muttered, then started walking again. The others followed suit.

  “What’s the problem? You think I’m shallow because I want to better myself?”

  Moses looked over his shoulder as he walked away. “That’s not it at all, girl.”

  “Then what is it?” she shouted after him.

  “It’s because you just killed yourself without even realising it. And I don’t like to see life wasted like that.”

  “You’ll see, you’ll all look stupid when I’m proved right,” she snapped.

  They walked on, and silence fell on the group again, leaving the world to the mosquitoes and birds and whatever else was waiting for them out there. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky, reddening the landscape with its fiery glow. The trees whispered in the light breeze as whatever secrets The Island held prepared to be shrouded in the coming dark.

  “We need to make camp soon. I suggest here in the safe zone is a good idea considering how late it is.” Ryder said, coming to rest and taking a sip from his water bottle.

  “Makes it easier to slit out throats in the night,” Moses said, calm and flat. He and Ryder locked eyes, neither willing to back down. Chase decided to speak up. He wasn’t prepared to see blood spilled just yet.

  “Look, I think it’s a good idea too. We should be safe here. In the morning, we can decide what to do, either as a group or on our own. I think we can all agree that a night’s rest will do us the world of good.”

  Moses and Ryder continued to stare each other down. Moses lowered his eyes first, shrugging his shoulders. “Works for me. Let’s set up.”

  They worked together. Each of them had singular tents in their backpacks along with basic ration kits and a water bottle. If any exercise showed how prepared they were for survival, it was this one. Those who had experienced outdoor living were able to assemble their tents quickly. Ellie was finished first, closely followed by Ryder. Their tents were stable, taut and well put together. Moses was next to finish, then Chase and Alex, each of their tents functional, if not as good looking as those constructed by Ellie and Ryder. The canvas wasn’t as tight, the support lines not as tight. But they were still functional. Perrie’s tent was a mess. She had made a half-hearted effort to assemble it, moaning and complaining all the while about how dirty her hands were getting and how she had broken a nail, about how hungry she was and how tired. The constant whining was starting to grate on everyone so much so that Ryder helped her to get her tent up and secured. They had arranged them in a rough circle around the edge of the dusty road. Ryder had lit a fire using a few branches they had sourced from the trees at the edge of the safe zone, and they now sat around it, keeping warm and contemplating their next move. In the flickering glow of the firelight, shadows danced and warped their features into shifting, demonic faces of the beasts they would have to become to survive. Perrie had already started on her rations, and was noisily chewing on an energy bar. The others watched her silently in either pity or absolute disbelief. It was way too early to be dipping into such finite resources. The sun had fallen beneath the horizon line, and only a pinkish orange smudge of colour remained in the sky, which was breathtakingly clear. Chase had never seen so many stars. His skyline had always been the smog covered skies of New York. This was simply breath taking. He wished Ashley and Elsie were able to see it with him. He glanced across the fire and saw Alex looking at him, his expression, as always, impossible to read. He had a thin stick and was pushing the end into the base of the fire, letting it light, and then removing it until the embers died down. There was a certain calmness about the group, possibly because this was their last night of sleep and knowing they were safe.

  “Has anyone heard about the last time they did this show?” Ellie said, addressing nobody in particular. She was staring into the flames, earphones finally removed.

  “I’ve heard stories. Rumours mostly. Everyone knows them,” Ryder said, looking about the group. “I heard they have people here, genetic mutations warped by nuclear radiation. I hear they’re savages, brutal killing machines with a thirst for blood.”

  Moses snorted down his nose. “Bullshit. There’s nothing like that out there.”

  “Then what is old man?” Ryder shot back.

  “Spirits of the dead. Supernatural things. Things that will make a man’s blood freeze in his veins. This island is a place between worlds where those unholy things exist.”

  “Are you for real?” Ryder said, flashing a grin around the group. “You say mutants are impossible but ghosts are? You’re out of your mind, old man.”

  Alex laughed. A single sharp bark of a sound. Everyone looked at him. In the glow of the fire, it was hard to tell if he was blushing, but Chase would have bet he was.

  “What’s so funny?” Ryder snapped.

  “You two,” Alex shot back. “Ghosts and mutants. It’s funny.”

  “Like you know any better?”

  “Actually, I know exactly what’s out there.” There was the faintest hint of a smile as he said it. Firelight danced in his eyes, making him impossible to read.

  “Go on then, tell us,” Ryder snapped.

  “Why would I ever want to do that? It’s the best advantage I have.”

  “Bullshit. You don’t know anything.” Ryder tried to smile again, but it came out more of a grimace. He was worried.

  Alex shrugged. “You believe in your mutants. I know what I know and I’m happy with that.”

  “Until you die,” Ryder snapped.

  “Or until you do,” Alex retorted, not missing a beat, showing no sign of fear. It was as if since arriving on The Island, he had grown where the others had shrunk back.

  “Anyway, I’ve heard enough. I’m getting some sleep,” Moses said, getting to his feet and dusting off his pants.

  “Me too,” Ellie agreed.

  Perrie was next to go, complaining about mosquito bites and how bad she was starting to smell. Just Chase, Ryder and Alex remained. They sat in silence, the hiss and crackle of the fire filling the spaces where conversation was absent. It was then that they heard it. A roar, a distant sound rolling towards them from somewhere far away. Chase and Ryder leapt up, staring down out into the darkness, the black hump of the hilly terrain ahead contrasting against the bluish black hue of the sky. Chase had no idea how long he stood there, straining his senses and willing his heart to return to a more regular tempo. Ryder glanced at Chase, showing the real man behind the bravado. The whites of his eyes were showing, too much of them visible.

  A whistle, a low happy tune. Something from an old show or an advertisement. Chase and Ryder turned to look at Alex. He hadn’t stood or looked panicked. He was still sitting on the floor, poking the end of his stick into the flames just long enough for it to catch, then lifting it out again. He saw them watching, stopped whistling then smiled, looking Ryder dead in the eye. “So much for your mutants.”

  With that, he tossed the stick on the fire, stood and retreated to his tent, leaving Chase and Ryder staring out into the night.

  TWO

  The rain that had threatened came in overnight, barraging the tents. Chase couldn’t sleep anyway. He was too agitated by the sound he had heard. He wondered if Ryder was the same, tossing and turning and trying to process. One thing he was sure of though, was that Alex would be sleeping without a care in the world. Deciding he had endured enough of the most sleepless night he could remember, he unzipped his sleeping bag, pulled on his boots and unzipped his tent, grateful to be doing something other than lie there and wait. He expected others to be awake, but he was the first. The fire was a smouldering
pile of wet ash and branches, the rain having long extinguished it. He looked at the other tents, eyes drifting from one to the other.

  You could kill one of them right now.

  He wasn’t sure where the little voice had come from, and liked it even less. It was a part of him that he didn’t know existed. He wondered if this was what survival instinct was, if this was that intangible thing that separates those who survive to those who curl up and die. Even so, the thought horrified him almost as much as the idea that he hadn’t entirely dismissed it. He looked at Perrie’s tent, a pale yellow dome of canvas set back a little from the rest. He had a knife in his bag. They were all given one, part of their survival kits. It was a big knife. Sharp. Serrated down one edge, and then curved at the tip into a sharp point. A real, honest to god hunting knife. He could do it quick, keep it painless. Slit her throat; cover her head with something so he didn’t get blood on him. One in six becomes one in five, and in turn the odds of his daughter’s survival would increase. He had turned back towards his tent when he snapped out of it, feeling repulsed. Could he really be such an animal that he would kill an innocent girl in her sleep? He didn’t think so. Not yet anyway. Shaken up, he walked a little way down the path, staring at the terrain ahead and knowing that whatever they had heard roar was out there somewhere. As he stared, unable to shake the dark direction his thoughts had just taken, he wondered if he might actually deserve to die.

  THREE

  The sun broke through the crowd and melted away the drizzle, resuming its punishing burn. They packed away the campsite and were on their way by seven. Subconsciously, Chase and Ryder walked together, bonded by what they had heard the night before. Neither of them mentioned it, but the look they gave each other before they set out said it all. As always, Alex brought up the rear, looking tiny in his backpack, head down, and hands in pockets. They walked for fifteen minutes, and then collectively stopped. Across the road in front of them was a concrete slab painted yellow and black. Across it in white, were the words none of them wanted to see.

  SAFE ZONE ENDS BEYOND THIS POINT

  Beyond the post, the road terminated, giving way to a vast valley with hip-high grass. At the end of the valley, dense jungle which seemed to stretch forever greeted them. To the right, an outcrop of impassive-looking terrain, grey shale which would be lethal to try and climb. To their left, the valley extended towards the wall, which was visible until it disappeared into the trees.

  “What do we do now?” Perrie asked. She had groomed her hair, applied make up and perfume. It was obvious she didn’t belong, that she had no business there.

  “The first thing we need to do is gather resources,” Ryder said. “As a rule, always head downhill. Not only will the temperature increase for every few hundred meters, that’s where you’re most likely to find fresh water. My suggestion is we stay together for now until we know what we’re dealing with out there.”

  “We have water,” Chase argued. “I say we go that way, to the high ground. Get a look at the land.”

  Ryder shook his head. “Bad idea. The sun is coming up; it’s going to be a hot day. Do you want to bake and waste all your energy by climbing up there for no reason?”

  “No less of a reason than getting water when we already have full canteens for the most part.”

  “It’s up to you,” Ryder shrugged. “No offence, but I have experience in survival where you don’t. You can do whatever the hell you want, I’m heading that way to try and find water and get under the cover for the tree canopy.”

  Just like that, it was decided. Ryder crossed the safe zone line and started down the valley, walking into the tall grass. The others followed, spacing out behind him. For a moment, Chase considered heading out on his own, but then remembered what he had heard the previous night. It was enough to help him decide that there was more safety in numbers for now. Reluctantly, he fell in with the group, keeping close to the back along with Alex, knowing that all bests were off and they were at the mercy of not only whatever lurked out there on The Island, but each other too.

  FOUR

  It was explosively hot under the jungle canopy, which made even walking a draining experience. Even breathing was a chore, each inhale of the hot air feeling like it sapped a little strength with it. Giant green leaves and thick roots blocked their way, making progress slow. The initial downhill gradient had changed, and Ryder now led them on an uphill trajectory. Chase was distantly grateful that he hadn’t come here with his lungs in the state they were in before Lomar had cured his cancer. He would already be done. As it was, his body burned with the toil of exertion as he picked his way through the terrain. Although he was struggling, there were others who were struggling even more. Moses had fallen to the back, rasping as he struggled to keep up. Perrie too, with her whining and moaning, and constant sounds of disgust or disproval as she stepped in mod, or a mosquito touched her or she broke a nail, had also fallen behind. There would be no offer of help for her this time. Not now the game was in full flow. It was now about survival. Time lost its sense of meaning. With nothing to look at but foliage, it didn’t matter anyway. After four and a half hours of walking, they reached a punishing hill, the ground carpeted in a loose covering of leaves which rustled as they ascended. Some electing to scramble on all fours, others, like Ryder traversing side on, muscular legs pumping as he made light work of the incline. Chase was in pain. He was struggling to breathe, his legs burned, his lower back was in agony from the weight of his backpack. He would need to take a break soon, and by the looks of the others, he wasn’t alone. He finally reached the top of the rise where the others waited, all of them, even Ryder breathing heavily; sweat dripping from the ends of their noses.

  “See… I told you,” Ryder said as he pointed down the opposite side of the hill.

  The forest opened up onto another natural valley, this one bathed in sunlight. At the bottom was a pool, a flowing river across which more jungle waited. Sunlight glittered on the surface of the water, which looked incredibly inviting.

  Chase turned to Ryder, unable to help but smile. “This is one of the few times I’m glad I was wrong.”

  “Game or no game, I’m going’ swimming,” Moses said as he started down the other side. As far as ideas went, Chase thought it was about the best one he had heard. The idea was infectious, and they made their way down the valley, enjoying the sun, finally feeling like they could breathe.

  Moses shook off his backpack and dived into the water fully clothed, boots and all, shaking his head as he resurfaced. “That’s the best damn feeling I can remember in a long time,” he said, wide grin on his face. Ellie followed suit, dumping her backpack, removing her boots and shirt, and then diving in. Perrie straightened her hair, and then very deliberately took off her pack, her shirt, and her tank top, revealing a black bra which barely contained her. She knew she looked good, and was showing her body to the world. She waded in, making sure she got said body wet and all but guaranteeing plenty of TV time. Ryder seemed to be enjoying the view as she suggestively flicked her hair around and washed herself, making sure she was visible from wherever the static cameras may be filming. Chase was about to join them, trying to imagine how good the water would feel, when he noticed that neither Ryder, nor Alex were making any attempt to get into the river. Ryder was hanging back at the tree line, sitting in the shade. Alex was a little further upstream and was on all fours by the water’s edge filling up his water bottle, occasionally glancing at the others as he went about his business. Chase stood, torn as to what to do. The water did look good, but there must be a reason Ryder was hanging back. He didn’t want to go back up the hill and look needy, and so he drifted towards where Alex knelt on the bank. His water bottles were now full and he was packing them away. Chase joined him, taking a long drink and then refilling his own water.

  “Not going in?” he asked.

  “No. In fact, you couldn’t pay me to go in there,” Alex said, as always his tone flat and emotionless. He flicked his
head back the way they had come. “He’s got the right idea. I would be up there too but I was getting low on water. Physically harder than I anticipated in this heat.”

  Chase nodded, and then looked further downstream towards the others who continued to splash in the water. The alarm bells inside started to ring, and he watched Alex as he stood, put on his backpack and started back up the hill.

  “What do you mean Ryder has the right idea?” Chase said as he fell in beside him.

  “He knows survival. He knows that it’s not only people that are drawn to fresh water. It’s much safer up there.”

  Chase stopped walking and half turned back towards the water in time to see it happen. From his vantage point halfway up the bank, it was all too clear. It came from the opposite side of the water, where the jungle was at its thickest. Chase was sure it must have been lying there in wait because there was no pre warning. A massive, reptilian head burst out of the trees, splintering wood as if it were kindling.

  That’s a dinosaur.

  The thought was perfectly rational as it popped into Chase’s mind as the twenty-two-foot Tyrannosaurus rex crashed through the trees and lurched into the water towards the others. Moses was almost out of the water when it happened, which is probably what saved his life. He screamed, the sound piercing the still air before he broke into a run, bag abandoned and forgotten, clothes sodden. Perrie too saw it in time, and threw herself back away from the explosion of flesh and muscle as it charged into the water. This wasn’t the animal Chase had read about in books or seen in countless television films. This was a living breathing creature of its environment. Its head and neck were covered in a soft down of feathers, which terminated into short spines. Ellie had been floating on her back directly where it had come from when the attack happened, and so stood no chance of escape. It bit down, popping her like a grape, blood and innards squirting out of her onto Perrie, who was less than ten feet away from its massive head. It stood upright with its prize, limbs hanging from its mouth as it shook its massive head from side to side, the water around it turning red. Perrie was out of the water now and sprinting up the hill. Chase was numb, unable to believe what he was looking at.