The Island (9 page)

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.

Dinosaur.

Dinosaur.

Dinosaur.

No matter how many times he said it, it still made no rational sense. He was looking at the impossible, and yet there it was taking place right in front of him. He had just watched a Tyrannosaurus rex decimate a girl right in front of his eyes. As he watched, the massive creature shook its head, and Ellie’s severed arm fell into the water, landing with a hollow thud
.
That was enough. Chase turned and ran, making for the tree line where they might at least be safe. As he did so, he looked at Ryder, who had already scaled a tree and was perched in the upper branches, watching events unfold.

He knew
, Chase’s inner voice said.
He knew what was going to happen and led us here to die.

He entered the cover of the trees, hiding in the undergrowth and watching as the dinosaur retreated back the way it had come with its meal.

The Island had claimed its first victim.

FIVE

“You knew that was going to happen,” Chase said as Ryder climbed down from the tree. He, like the others, was in a state of total shock at what had happened. Moses was sitting on an overturned tree trunk, hands clasped in front of him, eyes wide as he let the heat dry his clothes. Perrie sat beside him, trembling, her eyes streaked with makeup.

“I didn’t know anything was going to happen,” Ryder said as he climbed down from the tree, going nose to nose with Chase. “If you want to make something of it, you do it.”

Although Ryder was bigger and stronger than Chase, anger had become the great equaliser. “You led us here and knew that thing would attack us. That’s why you stayed up here,” Chase said, shoving Ryder in the chest.

“You think if I knew there would be those…things in the trees I’d willingly come here? You’re out of your fucking mind.”

“Dinosaurs. Just say it. We all know what we saw.” Even to say the word sounded impossible, ridiculous, even. Even so, it seemed that Lomar had found a way to make it happen, and has inhabited his island with them.

“And you think I’d lead you here if I knew that thing was there?”

“Why not? All you’ve talked about is how you’ll win and nobody else stands a chance. Well congratulations. Your odds are down to one in five.”

Ryder looked around the group, stepping back a touch when he found that all eyes were on him. “Alright look, I swear to you I had no idea what was down here. True enough, I hung back because I know animals are drawn to water sources too. After what we heard last night, I –”

“What did you hear last night?” Moses asked, looking up at them.

Chase and Ryder glanced at each other, then at Alex, who was staring at the floor and refused to make eye contact with them. Chase cleared his throat. “Last night, after you all went to bed, we heard a noise, a roar, something big. Now we know what it was.”

“And you didn’t think to tell anyone?” Perrie screeched. She was panting and looked dishevelled. Ellie’s blood was still on her had had started to dry onto her skin. “You should have told us, you had no right to keep it from us.”

“Look, it wasn’t intentional, it as a shock to us too.”

“You knew there was something out there something big and close and you didn’t tell us,” she repeated. “This was supposed to be a TV show. Look at me. I’ve got blood on me. I have that other girl’s blood all over me.”

She was close to losing it, flipping out completely. Chase didn’t want to get into any kind of argument with her. Firstly, he didn’t have the energy to get into it; second, she had been hit hardest by what had happened. The rest of them knew what they were up against. For her, she had just realised that there was no director behind the camera, no stunt people of production teams writing their storylines. She now realised that her young life was very much in danger.

“Look,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation. “Fair enough, we should have said something. That was a mistake. None of us here know what’s in store for us. None of us expected to find these…things on The Island either.” He turned back to Ryder, still angry and determined not to let him off the hook. “But you knew we were at risk. You led us here and now someone is dead.”

“Oh, come on,” Ryder said, pointing at Chase “This is because we didn’t follow your lead and go climbing up into those hills.”

“If we had we’d all still be alive.”