by DAN MONTY
Horrified, he scratched at them and oh how they burned! Looking into the mirror he stared in disbelief as his eyes blackened and widened. He screamed at the top of his lungs, his mouth growing wider as his teeth started to crumble. He grabbed his jaws in agony as his mouth enlarged, large jagged teeth forcing their way out of his gums. He howled in pain as the overgrown shark teeth pushed outwards and his face peeled off revealing a monstrous shark face glaring back at him from the mirror.
“AGGGHHH!” Jordan screamed, bolting up in bed in fright and disgust, grabbing his sweaty face to be certain it was still his. “Holy suffering shit!” he yelled, catching his breath. He reached by his bedside table and drank the rest of the water from the glass he had set there.
Another nightmare! Probably the worst one ever! He caught his breath finally, rubbing his eyes and throwing back the sheets. “Of course!” he mumbled. The sheets were yellow with stains of urine. He lifted his shirt and saw there were no gills. Of course there were no gills! That’s madness! It was just a nightmare, no different from the many he had been tortured by throughout his life. Goddamn sharks! All that crap Hans had said the day before and the gliding, ghostlike beasts swimming around that room they had eaten in. It must’ve slimed into his subconscious and slithered into the darkest parts of his psyche like a giant worm.
As he sat in his urine, he pondered all of this, before getting out of bed and stripping it and calling housekeeping for fresh linens. Jerry walked into the room from the balcony as Jordan hung up the phone to the concierge desk. “Dude! You should have seen the size of the sharks we... what’s that smell? Is that piss?” he asked. Jordan nodded. “I had a nightmare, okay? And don’t tell me about fucking sharks right now!” he replied to Jerry, who was holding his nose. “Okay! Okay! Relax, bro! It’s all good! Are you okay? You need some water?” Jerry asked trying to sound comforting. He could be a dumbass, but Jerry wasn’t a bad guy. He just wanted to make people laugh and for the most part he did, but this Jordan Reeves was a tough nut to crack. “No! No! I don’t want water thank you! I’m sorry I’m shouting so much! I just watched myself pull my face off into the sink, and a shark head was underneath!” He shouted, still trying to calm his nerves.
Jerry held up his hands in surrender, “Woah! Woah! Okay, so you had a shark head? Under your head? Okay that’s fucked up! I feel your pain, dude. I’ll just... give you some space," he said, leaving Jordan to realign his chi.
Jerry exited Jordan’s room, almost bumping into the housekeeping lady. “Oh hi,” he said, the old woman smiling. “Yeah, be gentle with him. He had a bad case of shark-face," he said, walking off down the hall. Abigale passed Jerry, who said, “Hi," as she brushed past. Abby seemed distracted and mumbled something as she ran upstairs heading to her room and closing the door behind her.
Jerry stood downstairs in the lobby scratching his head. Okay, is everyone having a bad day? He thought to himself, whirling on his feet and walking to a nearby water fountain, turning on the tap and taking a drink. Connor walked up behind him and slapped him playfully on the back. “Hey man! Are we drinking or what?” he asked. Jerry adjusted his glasses and nodded, “Oh, we are drinking! Is Bo coming or what?” he asked. Connor shrugged, taking a drink of water from the tap as well. “I got beers out by the pool! Maybe he’ll show up. I mean I invited him, but why wait? He knows where we’ll be,” he commented, and Jerry nodded in agreement. “Let’s get wasted!” Jerry laughed and they headed out to the pool.
The pool was attached to the side of the resort. It was built into rocks in the ground and featured a fountain at its centre. There was a small Jacuzzi attached to the left side, which is where Jerry and Connor got comfortable drinking Corona beer. “Could you believe that shark messing with us like that? That was crazy! Has that ever happened to you before?” Jerry asked. Connor shook his head, sipping on beer. “No I’ve never seen anything like that. I mean, maybe on Shark Week or something, but it was pretty crazy. Even Bo looked scared!” Connor replied, taking another swig. “I dunno man... “ Connor started, “...I don’t know many cases where sharks, even whites have acted like that. I mean it’s like she was trying to scare us," he went on sounding creeped out.
Sharks have little interest in humans contrary to popular belief. Humans are too small and boney, and factually we just don’t taste good to a shark. Sharks are fish – animals; they exhibit unusual behaviours from time to time like any other living creature... and she could have been playing.
Bo Landers had other ideas, which he made them all aware of as he approached the pool. “She was,” he said. The guys turned in the pool, holding up beers in welcome. “What do you mean? She was trying to scare us? That’s crazy?” Connor remarked. Bo shook his head, and said, “I don’t think it is. Look, sharks have been acting strangely in the last few years. Some have been friendly, others more aggressive. The shifting tides and climate change is fuckin’ everything up. Water levels are changing, their food source is being depleted by hunting, sharks are being forced into hunting differently and relocating to different areas – not to mention being hunted themselves. They don’t see us as a sustainable food source, but that don’t mean they don’t see us as a threat.”
Bo's words hung in the air and Jerry shook his head. “Dude are you saying... They’re pissed?” Jerry asked, and Bo grabbed a beer, opening it with his teeth. “Wouldn’t you be?” Bo offered, drinking down his cool beer and sitting by the pool, belching loudly.
“Yeah, speaking of acting strangely, what the hell is wrong with everyone? Jordan had this crazy nightmare and pissed himself, and Abby ran off to her and room all pissed off an’ shit. We are on an island, right? Should we not be partying right now? We are all rich!” Jerry added. Bo shook his head. “Not everyone cares about money, Jerry," Bo replied, grabbing another beer and getting to his feet, “some people have other problems,” he went on, winking at them and walking off. Jerry watched him leave and smiled, “He’s like a cowboy, isn’t he? Like a cowboy that Hollywood used like a whore and tossed back in the sea,” he concluded with a sudden sad face. Connor laughed, “Amen, brother.”
◇◇◇◇
As it turned out, Abigale did care about money – she just didn’t care about it too much right now. She was thinking about Chandice and what she had said by the waterfall.
Run she had said. Run, like it was a bizarre warning. Like Abby was in danger, like they all might be in danger. Why? What was the danger she had been referring to? Abigale lay on her bed thinking it over in her mind as though she was trying to solve some strange, hidden riddle with no clue. The question of what Chandice had meant was disturbing enough, but then she had vanished without a trace. Where had she gone? Had she imagined it? Imagined Chandice? Surely not! Only one thing was certain, since Abigale had returned from the jungle she felt very strange.
The room was quiet except for the dripping tap in her en suite, which was slowly driving her mad. Drip. Drip. Drip... the sound was constant, becoming clearer, and unshakable. It was four in the afternoon and Abby lay on the bed, still in her clothes. Get out of here girl, Chandice had said, run. Drip. Drip. Drip. Abigale wasn’t moving, staring mindlessly at the ceiling, virtual paralysis had set in.
The haunting voice of Chandice in her head played over and over like a skipping record. Drip. Drip. Drip – driving her mad. Abby closed her eyes trying to block out the sounds. She had been so thirsty, her tongue unquenched by the water bottle she had refilled when she had returned from the jungle.
You don’t know, do you? Oh girl, even a poison apple looks beautiful on the outside... Abby opened her eyes. Sleep would not come... and the dripping tap could not be ignored.
There is a darkness on this island, you may not see it at first. But over time, you be seeing it just fine. Chandice’s words calling out from inside Abby’s mind. Somewhere, from the depths of her heart... Abby could feel it. Chandice was warning her that the island had a secret. Abby loved money but secrets drove her mad. She rolled over in the bed,
and covered her eyes – dripping faucets, warning voices... make it stop she thought. Drip. Drip. Drip. The torture continued until she couldn’t bare it any longer, climbing out of the bed and walking into the en suite.
She gripped the top of the tap, rotating it and sighing at the relief of a sudden silence.
She turned around. “Abby!” Chandice said, standing before her where she hadn’t been before.
Chandice was rotting, crabs crawling over her skin, and water running out of the black holes where eyes should have been, black water running from her mouth.
Her body was grotesque and wrinkled, twisted like a burned doll. Chandice reached for her, gagging, her mouth a contorted expression of terror. “RUN," Chandice said, “RUN LIKE WATER!” Abby wanted to scream as she backed away, but no sound was coming out. Everything turned to black.
◇◇◇◇
Abby was shaken awake by Bo, who was standing over her calling her name. She was in bed and Bo looked worried. “Abby! Are you okay?” he asked quietly, as she rubbed her eyes, struggling to be born back into reality. “Bo?... Chandice! Bo I saw her! She was... oh God she was covered in crabs... and she... Bo she told me to run! She said... “ but Bo cut her off. “Abby, calm down. Okay? You need to relax. Now I think you had a bad dream or something, a'right? That’s all! I heard you screaming. Are you okay?” he asked as she sat up in the bed.
Truthfully, she didn’t know. She had no idea what was real, what she’d seen or how she felt other than she felt as though she was going crazy. “Did you see her? Bo? Did you see her? I... I think she’s sick or... oh my God. Bo something’s not right... “ Abby mumbled.
Bo was looking at her with grave concern. She wasn’t making sense, and he was worried she was sick or worse, going mad. “A’right listen, you stay here. I’m going to get a doctor, okay? You stay here. Try to get some rest.” Bo went to leave but Abby grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him close to her. “There’s something... wrong with this island, Bo. I... I couldn’t see it before but... I think I’m starting to... “ she whispered, her voice filled with terror. Bo looked into her eyes and saw something he’d seen many times in his life; fear. She was terrified. He caressed her cheek... and she let him go. Bo sighed and walked out of the room.
He walked out into the hallway of the resort and down the stairs, crossing the lobby, and over to the concierge desk. The concierge was a man in his 30s, with slicked black hair and a neat moustache. He spoke with a gentle American accent into a phone, signalling to Bo he would only be a minute.
“No he didn’t!” he said into the phone, laughing like an aristocrat and smoking a cigarette. He was so pompous and arrogant that Bo thought he could puke.
“...Oh for goodness sake, Caroline! You deserve so much better! Yes! Look I have to go, there’s business to attend to... ” he went on. Bo rolled his eyes as the drama queen storyteller on the phone went on.
“...Yes of course, darling! You’re my Betty Boop! Boop-boop-be-doop! Talk soon!” he concluded, hanging up the phone and looking over Bo. “Can I help you?” he asked and Bo didn’t waste a second. “Yeah, look Abby? The girl that came with us, she needs a doctor. I think she’s sick or... I don’t know... “ he said, and the concierge nodded, “Okay I’ll send someone right up. You have yourself a nice day!” he said and Bo watched as the man pulled the sleaziest and worst fake smile Bo had ever seen. “Thanks," he said, walking back up the stairs to the rooms above. Weird fucking guy Bo thought to himself as he climbed the staircase.
Jerry was at the top of the stairs holding a box of empty beer bottles. “Dude, I got so wasted last night, have you seen Jordan? He’s totally gone,” he mumbled. Bo shook his head. “Fuck! People just go nuts and vanish around here. I’m just taking out some trash. Are you okay? You look like shit!” he exclaimed and Bo patted him on the back saying, “...Ask me later,” before brushing past him heading to Abby’s room. Jerry nodded, walking down the stairs.
Abby was quiet when the doctor came in to look her over. Bo quietly woke her up and she sat up in bed. “Hello Abby. I’m doctor Allen, how are you feeling?” he asked. Abby seemed jittery and fearful, confused as well.
“She told me to run," she said, “but she wasn’t there. I saw her kill the snake but... I feel sick!” she added, the doctor sticking a thermometer in her mouth. “You have a fever, Abby. Can you remember the last time you had anything to drink?” he asked. Abby nodded. “So thirsty - " she said and the doctor pulled Bo aside, whispering in his ear. “I’m going to take her to the clinic. Does she take any medications you are aware of?” he asked. Bo shrugged, “I got no idea," he said. Dr Allen nodded. “Okay Abby, are you alright to walk?” he asked and Abby nodded. She got to her feet and the doctor helped her out of the room.
Bo watched them go, sitting on Abby’s bed, not feeling right about any of this. In fact, things hadn’t felt right since they’d all arrived.
7
Jerry threw up into the toilet. He knew it would come but as the projectile vomit flew from his open mouth he honestly couldn’t remember eating half of what he saw. Connor appeared behind him, and laughed out loud. “Oh dude! That’s nasty!” he said and laughed more. Jerry holding up his middle finger as the vomiting continued. “Alright, this is lame, you want a beer?” Connor chuckled. Jerry turned away from the toilet bowl, scowling in protest. “Go to hell Connor!” he moaned, “Ugh, I don’t feel so good!” Jerry said as he hugged the toilet like it were a life raft. “I think I shit my pants," he added, wiping his glasses on his shirt. Connor shook his head and helped the man to his feet.
“Honestly, you’re an embarrassment. I gotta piss,” he said, pushing past Jerry. “Did you hear about Abby? She went nuts or something. Bo said she was hallucinating or sick... “ Connor said but Jerry wasn’t listening. He was standing at the entrance to the en suite, frozen. “Jerry? I said she was... “ and before continuing, Connor flushed and went to leave the en suite.
He saw Jerry standing there motionless and tapped him on the shoulder “...Dude? You hear what I said?” he asked, but Jerry spun around, hands held up as he screamed in his face.
Connor screamed, falling back towards the sink and Jerry laughed like a kid. “Oh! Dude! I totally had you!” he said. Connor tried his best to look cool. “Dick!“ he said. Jerry laughed, walking out of the room. “You should have seen your face!” he went on chuckling, “You looked like a baby for like three seconds, it was hilarious!” The morons left the room, walking out into the hallway where they met Hans Strucker, who was standing in his white suit, arms crossed with a grin on his face.
“And what are you two rascals up to now?” he said. Jerry stopped laughing. “I um... barfed... like, a lot. Connor peed... NOT sure why I’m telling you this... “ Jerry muttered under his breath and Hans nodded.
“Well I hope you two lovebirds are done, because tomorrow I need you both on level C. Six am, please be punctual, and bring Bo along,” Hans added. The men nodded in agreement. Hans looked them both up and down. “Connor, you have piss on your pants," he said, walking away, and Connor covered the stain with his hands. Jerry looked at his friend and shook his head. “Seriously?” he asked.
◇◇◇◇
Abigale opened her eyes in a dark room.
It was night and it seemed like she was in some kind of hospital room. A light rain fell outside her room and she felt warm and safe under the white sheets.
A drip pumped 20 mls of an intravenous isotonic crystalloid into her veins to rehydrate her, but despite this measure, Abby still had a dry mouth. The feeling of the needle sticking in her arm was irritating, but she sure wasn’t about to rip it out herself.
She fell back on the pillow after examining the apparatus and stared at the slow spinning fan which hung from the ceiling. What a mess she thought to herself. Her mind was cloudy and she struggled to think clearly. She remembered Chandice. How deathly and zombielike she looked in the en suite. She couldn’t have been real. No way. Somehow she had imagined it. Somehow she had
dreamt it. Had she fallen? Hit her head?
She rubbed the back of her head and it certainly was sore. That must have been it... but the waterfall? The sea snake at the water? How could she explain that?
Run.
Chandice had told her to run. She sighed, moving her head from side to side, her neck tight with tension. Nothing was making sense. Not a damn thing.
By her hand was a small device attached to a console behind her head. It was a nurse call button and it took a few moments to process what it was. She ran a finger through her dark hair then pressed the button. A low beep, constant but not overly annoying went off somewhere behind her.
She was in a private room wherever she was, and considering it seemed hospital-like, it really was quite nice. Her bed was surrounded by machinery but it wasn’t at all scary.
She had gone to hospital at the Royal Melbourne back home many times and it always made her feel uneasy. Then again, she couldn’t remember having a private room. Private health insurance had always seemed like a joke to Abby.
Her mother would often say to her, “Abby, you need private health insurance! I don’t want you ending up in a terrible hospital with no options! Options are important Abby! So is your health!” but Abby would laugh it off. Her mother worried and panicked. Abby had never even broken a bone in her life.
She pressed the button again, but it was still beeping from the first time she pressed it. What the hell, man come on... she thought to herself.
As if an answer to prayers, the voice of an old woman called out “Alright! Alright! Hold your fanny!” Abby was shocked at first, then resorted to quietly giggling to herself. Fanny? No one said fanny any more.