Miguel lay back on his towel. He gazed up at Maria. She was keeping a vigilant watch on their daughter. Reaching over, he grabbed Maria by the hand and pulled her down on top of him.
“Hey, how am I supposed to...?”
Miguel gave Maria a long passionate kiss. When their lips finally parted, he said, “She’ll be fine. Stop your worrying.”
“How can I? I worry about you and Jack everyday. These places you go.”
“Jack and I are a good team. We watch out for each other. I missed you.” Miguel stared into her dark chocolate eyes.
“I missed you, too.” Maria gave him a sly smile. She slipped her hand inside the front of Miguel’s trunks.
Sophia screamed from somewhere down the beach.
“Oh my God! My baby!” Maria yanked her hand out of Miguel’s trunks. She jumped to her feet. She took off like a sprinter coming out of the blocks, kicking sand in Miguel’s face.
“Hey! Wait for me.” Miguel brushed the sand out of his eyes. He ran after Maria.
Sophia screamed again, sounding even more petrified.
“Sophia! Mama’s coming!” Maria yelled.
Miguel caught up, running beside Maria.
The white sand ended.
They saw Sophia standing in the middle of a patch of dirt at the base of the shrubby hillside.
“Sophia, I told you not to wander off.” Maria stopped running.
“Are you all right honey?” Miguel could feel his legs burning from the exertion. He took a second to catch his breath and leaned over with his hands on his knees.
Maria stepped onto the dirt.
“Watch out!” Sophia shouted. “They’ll come out and get you!”
“Who will?”
Miguel saw a land crab scamper out of a burrow.
The crustacean had a blue-tinted shell, with six legs and two pinchers, one claw twice the size of the other for catching prey while the smaller one was probably used for picking out meat. Its eyes were on two stalks on the top of its eight-inch wide body.
Instead of walking forwards, the crab skittered sideways. It danced around Sophia, making her scream.
“Honey, it’s okay. It’s only a crab.”
The crab raised its pinchers.
Maria started to rush over. Another crab popped up out of the ground right in front of her. “Get out of my way!” When she went to kick the crab, it retreated back into its hole.
Miguel saw more crabs scurry out of their underground dens. They were popping up everywhere.
“Oh my God, Miguel. What do we do?”
“You get Sophia. Let me deal with them.” Miguel spotted a piece of driftwood that had washed ashore. It was shaped like a baseball bat. Perfect for what he had in mind. He picked it up, hefting it in his hand.
Sophia raised her arms.
Maria rushed in, scooping her up.
The small army of land crabs circled, clacking their claws like castanets.
Miguel swung the bat. Each time he came close to nailing a crab, it would retreat into the nearest hole. He kept swinging. For every crab that scampered into a hole, another one popped up like a prairie dog.
Maria ran through the melee, carrying Sophia. Miguel threw the stick at a crab descending back into its tunnel. He started walking backwards. Some of the crabs followed, a warning to stay off their turf.
Maria and Sophia were waiting for him on the sandy beach.
“Daddy, you sure showed those crabs,” Sophia said.
“Yeah, I guess I did. That was one crazy game of Whack-A-Mole.”
21
ARABHAR
Soon after Miguel, Maria, and Sophia came back from their misadventure on the beach, Nora contacted Jack and Miguel to explain their new assignment coinciding with the reason they were staying with the Raabs. This time the stakes were set a little higher.
She wanted them to capture a live specimen.
The following day, Amin took Jack and Miguel to a remote oasis in his battered Toyota Land Cruiser. It was inconceivable to think such a lush tropical setting could exist on such a desolate island. The picturesque date palms and marshy ferns surrounding the mossy-green bottom laguna made for the perfect travel postcard.
Cascading runoff from a high mountain source skimmed down a smooth granite face into the turquoise pool. It was as though they had stumbled onto a hidden treasure.
Jack took it all in. “This is truly amazing.”
“Does anyone on the island come here besides you?” Miguel asked Amin.
“No, they are too afraid. This is a sacred place. Islanders think it is cursed by the arabhar.”
“What about tourists? I would think once people saw this oasis on the Internet, it would go viral and they’d be flocking to see it.”
“This part of the island is forbidden to tourists.”
“So how many of these arabhars do you think there are?” Jack asked.
“I do not know. I have only seen one.”
Miguel gazed about the surrounding hills. “So what keeps them here? Why don’t they migrate somewhere else?”
“This is their home.”
“So why are you helping us if these things are sacred?”
“Asha and I enjoy living our simple life. But there will be a time when we will have to leave Socotra. Professor Howard has offered us a generous sum of money so when the time comes we must flee the island, we will be able to resettle somewhere else.”
“I understand.”
Amin opened the back of the Land Cruiser. He handed Jack and Miguel dogcatcher poles with snares on the ends. Amin grabbed a reptile cage.
He gave Jack and Miguel a serious look. “Be very careful. The arabhar is extremely poisonous.”
Amin led the way. They set out through the copse of date palms.
Jack saw something out of the corner of his eye glide between the tree trunks. He spun around. “Did you see that?”
“Be ready,” Amin replied.
An elongated shape swooped down out of the branches straight for Miguel. He saw it coming. He raised the looped end of his pole. The elusive creature veered back behind the trees. Another appeared—or was it the same one—dive-bombing over their heads.
At first Jack thought it was a bat but it was longer than the winged mammal and had flesh tone coloring.
Again, Miguel was attacked except this time he was able to cinch the noose around the snake’s head. The serpent struggled to break free, flapping its four wings. Miguel held on tight. The flying snake wrapped its wings around its body like a foreskin.
The serpent hissed in Miguel’s face.
Amin opened the lid on the reptile cage. “Shove it inside and release the noose.”
Miguel lowered the flailing snake. He released the knot, yanking the end of the pole out; Amin slammed down the lid.
Jack grinned at Miguel. “I can’t believe it. We did it. And nobody died.”
Amin gave Miguel a curious look.
Miguel only shrugged.
22
BLUE BABOON
An hour after Miguel notified Nora they’d successfully captured an arabhar a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter arrived. The blue and white whirlybird—the letters WE embossed on the fuselage—landed on its skids in a clearing near the Raab’s home. The pilot switched off the engine. Jack and Amin waited for the rotor blades to stop spinning.
Jack headed over to the aircraft. Amin carried the metal reptile cage with tiny air holes on the top.
The pilot opened the side door.
“It’s only one crate.” Jack helped Amin lift the cage into the aircraft.
The pilot strapped the container to the bulkhead so it wouldn’t slide on the floor during the flight. “Anything I should know about the cargo?”
“No one told you what you were picking up?”
“I was given a flight plan, nothing else.”
The snake banged about inside its metal confines.
The pilot leaned down to peek through the air holes. He heard a l
oud hiss and backed away.
“I wouldn’t get too close.”
“What’s in there, a python?”
Jack doubted the pilot knew much about herpetology so he decided to make one up. “It’s a Socotra Viper. Deadliest snake on the planet.”
The pilot regarded the container with newfound respect.
“One bite you’re dead.” Jack emphasized by snapping his fingers.
“Thanks for telling me.”
“Just thought you should know.”
The pilot closed the side door. A minute later, the helicopter was back in the sky flying over the ocean.
Jack glanced up the grassy hillside. He saw three tiny silhouettes coming down a path. Soon he recognized Miguel and Maria. Sophia trailed behind her parents.
He decided to go up the path to meet them halfway.
Miguel and Maria were holding hands, swinging their arms. They joined Jack on a flat ledge overlooking the beach.
“The chopper has come and gone. When you get a chance we should check in with Nora.” Jack watched Sophia walking toward them. She was holding something blue, cupped in her hands.
Maria gasped when she saw what it was. “Oh my God, Sophia. Put that down.”
“Those stupid cats were going to eat it.”
Jack saw half a dozen feral cats sitting on the knoll. The island was crawling with them.
Amin came up the path. “Oh, I see you found a blue baboon.”
The tarantula in Sophia’s hands had a metallic blue carapace with dark blue legs. It was about six inches long, covered with tiny hairs. It seemed content to be held by Sophia.
Miguel looked at Amin. “Is it poisonous?”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know.”
“Maybe you should put it down, Sophia,” Miguel urged.
“But Papa.”
Maria gave her daughter a stern look. “Sophia, do what your father tells you.”
Jack heard the tarantula make a noise like someone running a finger down the teeth of a comb.
Amin took a step toward Sophia. “That sound means you should let it go.”
The tarantula was already trying to crawl out of Sophia’s hands. She lowered the spider to the ground. It strutted off in a slow walk like it was stretching its legs.
Jack saw a mangy cat slinking through the brush. He picked up a stone. He lobbed the rock at the cat to scare it off with no intention of hitting it.
Everyone watched the blue tarantula enter a burrow. It disappeared underground.
Amin smiled. “I came to tell you Asha has prepared supper.”
Everyone followed Amin down to the house.
23
HALAH CAVE
The next day Amin drove Jack and Miguel across the island to explore the caverns in search of another cryptid on Nora’s list. Entering Halah Cave with its fifty-foot overhanging stalactites and walking between the towering stalagmites was like venturing into the mouth of a behemoth beast with giant teeth.
Jack stared down the dark, cavernous tunnel. He glanced over at Amin, careful not to shine his headlamp directly into the man’s eyes. “How far back does it go?”
“Several hundred meters.”
“Shouldn’t we have brought spelunking gear?” Miguel shone his light up at the steep limestone walls.
“We will not need it. Not for where we are going.” Amin pointed to a side passage where the polished gypsum flooring sloped. He grabbed hold of the jutting rock on the wall on his way down to keep from slipping on the slick stone floor.
The cave was as cold as the inside of a refrigerator. Jack heard a constant drip inside the wet cave.
Amin took them to a large chamber. “We should put on our masks.”
Jack reached inside his daypack. He slipped the elastic bands around his ears, covering his nose and chin with a blue surgical mask. He put on a pair of safety goggles. He looked over at Amin and Miguel. They were wearing their goggles and masks.
“We only need a small piece of it,” Jack said to Amin, his voice muffled behind the mask.
“I understand.” Amin grabbed the hilt of a short sword on his belt.
Miguel put his hand out. “Whoa. We’re not here to kill it. Just a sliver will do.”
“You do know how dangerous this animal is?”
“Nora briefed us, yes.”
“Its poisonous breath can kill you.”
“Which is why we’re wearing these masks.”
Amin directed Jack and Miguel to a large rock. “Underneath is a hole where the creature lives. I sealed it myself to keep it from getting out. No one knows that it is there but me. Remove the rock and I will lure it out.”
Jack and Miguel stood on each side of the rock. They bent down, lifting together. The rock weighed over fifty pounds. They placed it gently on the ground, afraid if they dropped it the noise would scare off the animal down in the burrow.
Amin removed a pouch from his belt. He widened the drawstring. He took out a clump of meat the size of a softball wrapped in twine to keep it from falling apart.
Jack lifted his mask to sniff the offering. It smelt putrid. “Jeez, what is that?”
“Dead goat.”
Jack pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket. He blew his nose. He knew if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to rid himself of the rank smell of rotten meat once he put his mask back on.
Amin lowered the ball of rancid meat attached to a long string. He panned out twenty feet of line, yanking it like a fisherman jiggling a lure to entice a fish. He looped a bit of line around his forefinger and waited patiently.
The line went taut, cinching around his finger so tight the string cut into the flesh, causing Amin to bleed. “Get ready.” He retrieved the line, pulling up the half-eaten chunk of meat onto the rocks.
Seconds later, a reptilian head with pinpricks for eyes and two stubby front legs with four-fingered feet rose out of the hole. Pink circular scales segmented the body as big around as a man’s wrist. The tazleworm didn’t seem afraid of the men. It looked harmless, not at all aggressive.
Amin drew his sword silently. He leaned over slowly, preparing to slice off a piece of its skin. Even a deep cut wouldn’t harm the reptile as it had the ability to rejuvenate missing tissue like a lizard growing back a tail after it was bitten off by a predator.
The tazleworm shot out of the hole, snatching the ball of meat in its mouth. The snake-like creature clambered over the rocks with its two small legs, its six-foot long body propelling it forward.
Amin swung his sword. The blade clanged against the stone, missing the creature. “We mustn’t let it get away!” He scrambled after it.
Miguel picked up a rock. He tossed it in front of the fleeing tazleworm.
Startled, the creature slithered back.
Miguel scampered after the creature. He leaped and came down, pinning it with his boot. A two-foot section of the giant worm wrapped around his shin.
“Careful, Miguel,” Jack warned. He watched the tazleworm rise like a cobra and open its mouth. Instead of baring venom-dripping fangs, the cryptid released a poisonous mist.
Amin’s swift blade swooshed over the tazleworm’s head. The creature uncoiled around Miguel’s leg. Miguel took his foot off the creature. Amin went to stab the thing with the tip of his sword. It was too elusive and slithered back into its hole.
Jack looked at Amin. “What do we do now? Try again?”
“No. That was our only chance. It won’t come out now it knows we are here.”
“I hope Nora won’t be too disappointed.” Miguel waited for Jack to help him put the heavy rock back over the hole.
Jack grabbed his side of the rock and lifted. “Hey, we did our best.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to cut it.”
24
DETWAH LAGOON
Professor Howard had been displeased to hear Miguel and Jack failed to get a sample of the tazleworm. Jack tried to make light of it with a lame joke that the thing had be
en as slippery as an eel covered in olive oil. Nora’s sour expression on Miguel’s computer screen showed she didn’t find the setback humorous. They even volunteered to stay longer in hopes of accomplishing their objective. She told them she had already arranged another assignment for them.
The next morning Maria insisted they take Sophia to the beach one last time before they went to the airport. As Miguel booked them on an afternoon flight there was plenty of time for some fun in the sun. Maria and Sophia were flying to their home in Rocklin Falls, California. Jack and Miguel had a later plane for their next destination.
Instead of going to the beach by the Raab’s house, Amin and Asha wanted to take the Walla family and Jack to their favorite spot on the island: Detwah Lagoon.
They traveled in the Land Cruiser. Amin parked on top of the rocky slope so everyone could take in the magnificent view before venturing down to the white sandy beach. As it was low tide they could see the coral shoals just beneath the surface of the shallow turquoise waters. Shorebirds swooped over the outer sandbar stretching out to the navy blue ocean.
Besides swimwear, everyone wore sandals to protect their feet from the rough terrain and hot sand. Once on the beach, they walked down the shoreline toward the edge of the water.
“This is a good spot.” Amin laid a blanket on the sand.
Asha kicked off her sandals. She opened a cloth bag. She took out a clear plastic bag filled with six-inch long sardines. “Maria, shall we go for a swim?”
“What are the fish for?”
“For my little pets.”
Maria turned to Miguel. “Coming?”
“You two go. I’ll keep an eye on Sophia.”
Sophia looked up at her father. “Papa, I’m not a baby.”
“Yes, you are.” Jack swooped her up. He ran with her out into knee-deep water. When he put her down he kicked water at her. Sophia giggled, splashing him right back.
Amin and Miguel waded out to join the fun.
Jack saw a school of silver herring swim toward them in the crystal clear water. “Sophia, don’t let the little fishies eat you.”
Cryptid Island Page 9