by Greig Beck
“An island,” Ben repeated. “I don’t have an answer for that. Nothing up here is normal, or makes sense.”
Emma slipped and Ben caught her.
“Thanks,” she said and wiped her greasy boot.
Ben looked down. There were crushed plants at their feet, still oozing slippery sap, and looking as though they’d been run over by tractor tires. He crouched, and Steve, Emma, and Jenny peered over his shoulder while Koenig kept his eyes on the jungle. Bellakov continued to stare up at the strange spinning cloud cover.
Ben saw that the tracks cut across their trail and kept going. He put his hands in the indentations. “What the hell makes a track like this?”
Koenig briefly looked down and over his shoulder. “Nothing I know. I would have said something lay down here, but I can see it was moving, and kept moving.” He flicked on his flashlight and followed the depressions in the grasses and mud, until they vanished…just stopped and then vanished. “Never seen it before.”
“I know.” Jenny also crouched, and then looked up, her eyes round. “And you do too, Ben. Remember when we were down by the river and you found those tracks?”
Ben nodded and his head snapped back down. “You’re shitting me?”
“I’ve been on trapping expeditions in the Amazon for the zoo. We hunted the giant green anaconda; they leave tracks like this, but on a much smaller scale.” She rose to her feet.
But frowned. “But you said the tracks of the one we found by the river was big, and they didn’t get much bigger.” He pointed at the ground. “This thing is five times bigger.”
“They don’t get much bigger…in our time,” Jenny said softly.
“I’ve also hunted anaconda,” Koenig said. “They can be mean suckers – crush a full grown man down to mush. One that big?” He shrugged. “I don’t want to meet it.”
“We already did, once.” Ben looked to Jenny.
“In the cave we climbed up in; one took Bourke. So big it filled the place.” Her lips pressed together for a moment. “I hope it was the same one.”
“And now dead.” Ben looked up at her as silver light broke through the clouds.
“At last, we can…” Bellakov stopped talking and his brows snapped together as the setting moon was revealed.
Ben looked up. “That moon.”
“Yeah, that’s some moon.” Steve gaped up at it.
“So big. I mean it looks like we could almost reach out and touch it.” Bellakov shook his head. “Fuck I hate this place.”
The moon vanished behind the clouds and threw them back into darkness. Jenny shone her light on the tracks again. “I think we need to get out of here.”
“If it is another one, you think it might still be hanging around?” Koenig gripped his rifle a little tighter.
“Hanging around is right,” Jenny said. “Look; the tracks on the ground disappear.” She turned to the group. “Because I think it took to the trees.”
“This gets better and better.” Ben looked up, now feeling like they were being watched. “Let’s keep moving…and everyone keep their eyes open.”
*****
They continued to press on, weaving through the jungle as the light began to increase. Ben was sure this was the way they’d come, but still hadn’t seen a single blaze mark he’d previously made. He was about to wave Koenig closer when he spotted the mouth of the stream.
“Thank God,” he whispered.
“Self-doubt is a terrible thing.” Koenig winked.
“Curse of the humble.” Ben grinned and stepped out into the shallow water.
The stream cut a path through the dense jungle, and with the canopy roof, also created a dark cave. Ben paused, just letting his eyes run over everything. He then lifted his gaze to the canopy. The light was still weak, and the treetops knitted together in an unbroken ceiling of green. But thankfully, there was nothing that looked like a giant snake – not that he’d ever seen one before.
They’d been travelling now for a couple of hours, and the humidity was still energy-sapping. The clouds had dropped, so even as the light rose, the clouds had become a low-lying fog that twisted through the jungle like smoke.
He called the group in. “Let’s take five.”
He stepped out of the stream and felt a pang of hunger stab at his gut. He ignored it. They were out of food, and by rights, he should have been hunting. But hunting meant shooting, and he definitely didn’t want that when silence probably meant their survival.
However, they needed to keep their energy levels up, so he might have to ask Koenig to use his hunting skills and see if he could either trap something or catch and kill it just with his knife. He looked down at the stream; he also remembered in some of the pools he had seen a few silver shapes dart back and forth, so fish wasn’t off the menu either.
“Walt, let’s scout ahead. The rest of you stay on guard.”
“You got it,” Koenig replied, shouldering his rifle.
Ben saw Bellakov stare hard at them.
“Back in five minutes.” He saw that the mercenary continued to stare.“Scouts honor.”
He and Walt Koenig then headed down along the edge of the streambed, walking for a few moments until he was sure he was out of earshot. Ben turned.
“That friend of yours, Bellakov; what’s his number?” he asked.
Koenig’s mouth turned down as he shook his head. “Don’t really know him. Barlow brought us together. The guy was a mercenary and hunted everything from lions to people. He trusts no one, not even me.” He shrugged. “Barlow kept him on a leash, but now he’s gone, well…” he glanced at Ben. “I wouldn’t turn my back on him.”
“Didn’t plan on it,” Ben said. “And thanks.”
They continued for another few minutes along the stream edge, and there were no more tracks or obvious dangers. A few small animals covered in fur or bristles that might have been primitive feathers, squealed and darted back into the jungle at their approach. It was a good sign – if there was game around, then there probably wasn’t too many predators.
“We’ll need to catch one of those soon,” Ben said. “Without guns if possible.”
Koenig nodded. “No problem. Just tell me when.”
Ben crouched down at the edge of the stream. “This isn’t good.”
There were flattened areas all along the stream bank, three feet wide, and with odd markings that looked like something had been dragged.
Walt crouched, put his hand in them, and then lifted them to his nose. He looked up momentarily into the tree canopy. “One of those snake things.” He turned to Ben. “You believe in coincidences?”
Ben snorted. “No.” He turned. “So we both think it was following us before.”
“Maybe, or maybe there’s another one.” Walt wiped his fingers on his pants. “Or maybe there’s a lot of them.”
“And that just makes me feel a hellova lot worse.” Ben got to his feet.
Walt nodded. “Then you’re gonna love this bit; it’s almost impossible to hide from a big snake.” He looked up. “They can see your body heat.”
Ben exhaled and looked up at the dense overhead canopy. He could feel the damp fronds brushing his back and neck.
“Yep.” Walt nodded. “The big guys like boas, pythons, anacondas and even vipers have these tiny holes on their faces called pit organs. They’re used to detect infrared radiation.” He smiled without mirth. “To them, we’re just moving, hot sacks of food.”
“Thank you, Walt; I feel much better now.” Ben began to turn away. “Let’s head ba…”
“Hey…” Walt quickly held up a hand. “Don’t. Move. A muscle.”
Ben froze, staring over his shoulder at the man’s face. He could see both alarm and fascination.
“What…what?” Ben said, trying to only move his lips.
“On your back.” Walt shook his head, his brows up real high. “A fucking beauty.”
“What’s on my back?” Ben suddenly felt some extra weight there – like
a large soft hand. “What the hell is it? I can feel it.”
“A fucking spider bigger than your head.” Walt angled his gaze. “Wowee; that’s one big mother.” He pulled back. “It’s looking at me.”
Ben turned a little more, getting pissed off. “Get it off.”
“I ain’t grabbin’ that thing; looks dangerous.” Walt’s grin widened. “Besides; it might decide to run for it and head to higher ground, you know, up to your head and face.”
“You bastard.” Ben couldn’t help grinning himself. “I’ll get it myself.” He began to look for a stick or something to reach back and wipe it away. But when he bent lower, he felt the thing move. Suddenly, he felt the first if its bristly legs against the skin of his neck. Instead of the soft finger-like touch he expected, he felt the pinprick sharpness of tiny hooks.
He slowly straightened. “Little help here.”
“All right; will you hold still?” Walt retrieved the stick Ben had been reaching for. “Now don’t move a muscle, a-aaand...”
Ben gritted his teeth, waiting.
“Fore!”
Walt swung, connected, and suddenly the weight on his neck and back was gone. There was the sound of an impact out in the jungle, but then a mad scrambling.
“That’ll be ten bucks, buddy.” Walt’s grin was wider than ever. “Anything else I can help you with?”
Ben shook his head. “Put it on my tab. And while you’re at –”
The crack of a rifle made him flinch, and then spin to the noise.
CHAPTER 31
Emma took a cloth, dipped it into the stream, and then used it to wipe her greasy brow and neck. The humidity made it feel like they were in a warm bath, and she felt dog-tired.
Steve loitered near a tree, shotgun cradled in his arms. Jenny crouched by a pool in the stream and stared into it, captivated by some fish, bug, or other aquatic animal. And the creepy Janus Bellakov glanced at each of them, his dark eyes like windows on a dead soul. The guy gave her the creeps.
“These fish; I think they’re Arowana,” Jenny said, frowning down into the water.
“Yeah, I was going to say that.” Steve grinned.
Jenny looked up and chuckled for a moment before turning back and pointing. “But seriously, these guys have been around since the Jurassic.”
“Uh-hu.” Steve tilted his head. “More importantly, can we eat them? Raw is fine.”
Jenny bobbed her head. “Probably; but they’d barely be a mouthful. Especially for a mouth as big as…” She looked up again and the smile froze on her face.
Emma swung to look at her and saw the woman’s wide-eyed stare. Her eyes darted to where Jenny faced as she realised Jenny she wasn’t actually looking at Steve but at something above him.
Emma’s eyes moved upwards, following the scaly tree trunk, and further up into the paddle like fronds above him. Steve must have seen the expressions on their faces and began to look confused, and then fearful.
“What…what?”
Jenny began to make a tiny guttural noise in her throat, as no words would come. She lifted an arm to point.
In the canopy above Steve was the flicker of movement – a tongue, forked, and as thick as a man’s arm. It had come from a diamond-shaped head, easily four feet across, with two glass-like eyes. The monstrous muscular body, twined within the branches of the tree, but also disappeared further back into the dark jungle. The thing was enormous and easily longer than a bus, or even two buses!
From the corner of Emma’s eyes, she saw Bellakov, standing there, watching, but not making any move to help even though he had a rifle cradled in his arms.
Emma fumbled for her handgun as Steve finally looked upwards. The man reacted, first with alarm, and then by swinging the muzzle of the Mossberg shotgun up at the colossal snake hanging over him like an evil apparition.
Perhaps it was the movement, or the chemical signals of fear the man started to give off, but at that moment, the monster struck.
The V-shaped mouth sprung open, revealing hundreds of backward-curving teeth, each longer than Emma’s hands, as the head shot forward, striking hard and driving Steve to the ground with a whoosh of his breath. The shotgun discharged, blasting into the trees as the coils of the snake piled down on top of him.
Steve was gripped from shoulder to groin in the mouth, his face more shock than pain as he was then lifted from the ground, and the coils began to wrap around him.
Emma pointed her handgun, but her hand shook like she was receiving an electric shock. She knew if she pulled the trigger she’d more than likely hit her friend instead of the snake.
“Shoot it,” she screamed, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Bellakov ease back into the jungle a few steps, his gun up, but not aiming directly at the giant reptile.
Another shot rang out as Jenny stood, legs planted wide and two hands on her gun. She fired again, and this time must have hit the snake, as it jerked a bit and the massive knot of scaled muscle began to unravel. But instead of dropping its prize, it started to slide into the jungle, taking the now screaming man in its mouth with it.
“Hey!” Ben appeared with Koenig at his shoulder.
“Sn-nn-naaake.” Emma turned, pointing. “It, the snake, it’s got Steve.”
Ben ran past her, sprinting into the jungle, with Walt right at his shoulder. Both men fired their guns, but even as they flew past, Emma saw that the massive creature had already vanished, gliding and shooting through holes in the jungle the men couldn’t possibly follow. Horrifyingly, Steve’s agonized voice could still be heard, but growing fainter by the second.
Emma sat down hard, her hands on her knees and gun pointed at the ground. She burst into tears, feeling helpless and empty, and scared shitless. She wiped her eyes, and then after another few moments, another emotion boiled to the surface.
With her teeth grit, she turned to where Bellakov loitered. “What the fuck?” She stood and marched up the opposite bank towards him. “What’s the matter with you? Why didn’t you help?”
Bellakov’s eyes were half-lidded and unflinching as he stared back. “I might have hit him. Same reason you didn’t fire.”
“Bullshit,” she spat. “You’re a hunter; you could have taken a shot.” She bared her teeth at the man. “And that thing was over 50 feet long and as thick as a horse. You could have hit it anywhere. You’re supposed to be a crack shot.”
Bellakov inhaled, making his chest swell. His lips turned down as he looked over her head. “You misunderstand my position here, girlie. I’m not here as your fucking bodyguard. Best you remember that.” He lowered his eyes to her, and all she saw in them was contempt.
“You fu…” Emma glared, but bit her lip. He was right. The guy was an asshole, and probably been in on the Ben beat down in the UK. She had nothing to gain by thinking he was actually part of their team. “Fuck you.” She turned away and waded back across the stream to where Jenny still sat in a daze.
The woman smiled tightly, but her eyes were brimmed with tears. “It was probably tracking us the whole time.” She wiped at her nose. “I should have known when I encountered the first one – there’s obviously a breeding population here.” She looked up, real fear in her eyes. “We have no idea how many there are.”
“Shush.” Emma put her arm around her. “Do you think…they might get Steve back?”
Jenny’s mouth opened and she looked at her with incredulity. After a moment, she just shook her head.
Emma nodded. “I know, I was just…hoping.” She motioned to Bellakov who was watching the jungle in the direction Ben and Koenig had gone. “That asshole did nothing.”
Jenny let her eyes drift to the man. “I think… I think he probably knew it had been tracking us.” Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe he let it take Steve in the hope that it would be sated and leave us alone.”
“Oh Jesus.” Emma felt a little sick at the thought. “Could that asshole basically be prepared to sacrifice one of us to save his own skin?”
J
enny exhaled shakily. “I don’t think I want to know.”
Emma ground her teeth. “I do.”
*****
Ben and Walt pushed back out of the jungle, and Ben quickly found Jenny and Emma. He went to the zoologist and took her hand and then looked deep into her eyes.
“I’m sorry; he’s gone.”
She dropped her head. “I knew it.”
Walt Koenig crossed to where Bellakov stood and the pair spoke quietly.
Ben released her hand and she walked away to sit down by herself. Emma put a hand up on his shoulder but her eyes went to Bellakov. “We tracked it for a while, but it could go places we couldn’t. After a while, it just vanished; maybe into a hole or up into the trees.” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think…” Emma continued to watch Bellakov and Koenig. “I think Bellakov let it happen.” She looked up into Ben’s face.
“What?” Ben frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He was just watching, standing back. He just let it happen, like he didn’t care.” She swallowed nervously. “He could have taken a shot, but he didn’t.” Emma folded her arms, tight, and went to sit with Jenny.
Ben remembered what Bellakov had said about the airplane: there were too many people, he’d said. He shook the thought away. No way, he thought. But…
He turned back to the jungle where the monster snake had taken Steve Chambers, his friend. The guy was always smiling, adventurous, and it only seemed like yesterday they were riding pushbikes together.
First Andrea, then Dan, and now Steve, gone. Only days ago, none of them had expected to be here, and now…
He jammed his handgun back in his holster, only from habit. The weapon was now empty. He took one last look at the dark jungle.
Goodbye, buddy, he whispered, and then turned away.
“Come on, people, we’re out of here.”
*****
In another hour, they found one of the trees that Ben had blazed, indicating their original path back to the clearing and the downed fighter plane. For some reason, the familiarity comforted them all the way to the clearing.