Savage Jungle

by Shea, Hunter

  “Help me,” Natalie said. Austin helped steady her on her feet. “You think our friends could get us back to our camp?”

  “Hell, anything’s possible.”

  They walked through the small crowd of Orang Pendeks, who were mesmerized by the fire. Surya and Ridwan followed, stepping past Gadang Ur’s stone perimeter and into the lush jungle.

  “Damn, I forgot about the hill,” Austin said, staring upwards.

  Surya let out a short yelp.

  They were surrounded by Orang Pendeks. Austin’s heart stopped, until he saw the physical state most were in. Children milled about their legs.

  He let out a long breath.

  The Orang Pendeks grabbed their arms and started to climb, carrying them as easily as one would carry a lunch pail.

  Of all they had witnessed and done, this was perhaps the most surreal.

  Natalie even giggled at one point as a cryptid slipped its fingers under her armpit.

  Before they knew it, they were atop the hill. They looked down at Gadang Ur, the blaze expanding further and further.

  “It’s sad,” Natalie said.

  “What’s sad?”

  “It really was a beautiful city. And we destroyed it.”

  “We had to if we wanted to get out alive,” Austin said.

  She sighed. “I know. That doesn’t make it less sad.”

  Surya tugged on his arm. “We must go before it is too dark. Hopefully, Yandi has a nice fire going and we will find him easily.”

  They walked into the jungle, a throng of Orang Pendeks silently at their side, escorting them through the deadliest and most awe-inspiring place on the planet.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The fires raged out of control, consuming everything in their path. Only a deluge from above could stop them, and as fate would have it, it was a dry night. The stones of Gadang Ur would survive, but it would never look the same.

  Henrik Kooper sat atop the carcass of a dead rhinoceros. The reflection of the flames danced in his eyes. He looked away to assess his wounds. His left arm was broken, his side pierced by one of the fleeing dinosaurs, its whiplike tail sharp as a razor blade.

  In the center of the melee, he’d somehow survived. How was a question he may never be able to answer. He’d suffered an incredible blow to the head, rendering him unconscious. Through divine intervention or blind luck, he’d managed to fall but not get trampled.

  He awoke to the smell of smoke.

  “This would surely have been one of the true wonders of the world,” he said aloud.

  Not that the world should ever be made aware of its existence. Gadang Ur needed to be lost to history, cloaked in mystery, its location guarded by those who knew better.

  Only his hubris and need for revenge had taken them where no man should dare tread.

  He felt nothing but an empty sadness.

  The fire was the only thing that gave him hope. It meant someone had survived.

  He wondered if he should try to make his way to camp, or simply sit here and let go, so close to where his father had breathed his last.

  The image of his father’s skull twisted in his gut. He was sure the skull was in pieces now, if not reduced to powder.

  If I’m going to die here, it won’t be while sitting on a rotting animal.

  He slid off the rhino, the pain in his arm and side blinding. By the shifting light of the encroaching wildfire, he could see the full scope of the carnage that had ensued here. The fallen bodies of ancient creatures that would be the prize of any museum lay everywhere he turned. They were already home to the buzzing of hungry insects.

  How had all this been possible? What were the Orang Pendeks, truly?

  There had been a definite struggle between good and evil here, and when nature couldn’t restore balance, it had sent Henrik and his friends here instead.

  “Uffff!”

  Henrik snapped his head toward the sound.

  He couldn’t believe his eyes.

  The Orang Pendek leader, scarred face twisted in agony, lay underneath a fallen dinosaur. It struggled to pull itself free. Henrik ambled to his father’s killer, staring into its depthless eyes.

  He saw no remorse. No regret. Not even fear. Only hatred glared back at him.

  “From the ashes, a gift,” he said, peering down at the wounded creature.

  Kneeling next to its head, it tried to snap at him. Henrik didn’t flinch. He extracted his knife, pressed his knee on its skull to hold it in place. The Orang Pendek howled.

  “This is a mercy you never afforded my father…or your own people.”

  Using his one good arm, he sawed the blade across its throat. Its cries turned to wet pops.

  Henrik didn’t stop until his knife came out the other side. He pulled its head free from its neck, blood spattering his boots, the awful stench nearly making his lungs close off.

  “I should mount you on a stake and carry you with me.”

  Something moved behind him.

  He turned around, the head dangling from his grasp.

  The female they’d called Lucille watched him. She looked at the head, closed her eyes for a moment, turned and started to walk away. Henrik didn’t move until she looked over her shoulder. He knew that look. He was meant to follow.

  Henrik followed Lucille to the one corner of the city that wasn’t on fire. Luke and Dragline were waiting for them. Before he stepped into the jungle, he took one last look at Gadang Ur, then tossed the head of the beast that had forever altered his life into a pile of stones.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Natalie clung to Austin as if they were conjoined twins. It was so dark, she could barely see, but she could very well hear all of the Orang Pendeks around them.

  “You sure we’re going the right way?” she asked Surya.

  “In this darkness, we are doing the best we can, I am sure.”

  The best they could do was basically let the Orang Pendeks lead the way.

  “You know,” Austin said, “If I decide to write a book about this, no one will ever publish it. It’s just way too out there.”

  “I don’t know. I like way out there books. I’d read it.”

  “You’re coming to Chicago with me when we get out of here. No ifs, ands, or buts. You take some time and figure out what you want to do or where you want to go from there.”

  “Yes, big brother.”

  That reminded Natalie that they would have to fly all the way from Indonesia to Chicago. Normally, just the thought of flying would put her in a panic.

  Not this time. She felt only a longing to get on a plane and back to her home country that she hadn’t seen in so long.

  There was a tremendous thrashing in the brush ahead of them. Everyone stopped moving.

  “Really?” Natalie said, wondering how the fuck much more they were expected to take.

  A tree cracked and fell to the ground. Moonlight spilled through the split canopy.

  The big ass dinosaur that had chased her and Austin when they’d first fled the camp bellowed.

  “What the hell is that thing again?” she asked her brother.

  “A Majungasaurus. Christ.”

  “I can’t outrun this thing again.”

  “Neither can I. Maybe it has bad night vision and will just walk on by.”

  In the darkness, Surya prayed out loud. Whatever invisibility they might have had was gone in an instant. The Majungasaurus swiveled its huge head their way and roared.

  Natalie and Austin clung tightly to one another. There was no way out this time. They were exhausted and hurt and had one knife between them. The Majungasaurus had the easiest midnight snack of its life laid out before it.

  Which is exactly when the Orang Pendeks let out an ungodly noise, their collective voices rising from the pitch.

  The Majungasaurus’s head swiveled back and forth, as if to shake off the unbearable noise. Even Natalie had to clamp her hands over her ears.

  And just like that, the fierce prehisto
ric predator turned and left, stomping away as if it were running for its life.

  “Holy crap,” Natalie said.

  “Talk about adapting to your environment,” Austin said.

  The Orang Pendeks once again fell silent, resuming their trek across the jungle. The helpless humans followed.

  Surya said with pride, “You see. My prayers worked.”

  Natalie shook her head. “Yeah, I’m sure it had nothing to do with our friends.”

  It took them hours, but the Orang Pendeks eventually got them back to their camp. There was no fire. No Yandi. Just open crates and scattered supplies.

  Keeping their distance, the Orang Pendeks returned to the jungle. There were no sappy goodbyes, no human to cryptid special moments. They had accomplished their task, most likely out of gratefulness for their having wiped out their oppressors, and it was time to go home.

  Time for everyone to go home.

  “Yandi! Yandi!” Surya shouted while Ridwan made a fire.

  The porter wasn’t to be found. Natalie hoped he’d simply run off and was even now safe back with civilization.

  They ate from packs of food Henrik had brought, all of the fresh food the porters had carried gone. She could see from the strange footprints in the mud that quite a few creatures had been at the camp.

  “Who’s got first watch?” Austin said after they had their fill.

  Natalie was going to volunteer herself but fell asleep as she was attempting to talk. Everyone else was soon to follow.

  The jungle watched over them instead.

  “So, so lazy.”

  Natalie thought the words were the remnants of a dream. She stretched her legs, the pain in her ankle fully waking her up.

  Henrik stood over her.

  “Henrik?” She rubbed her eyes once, twice. “Henrik!”

  It was a struggle to get up, but she managed, wrapping her arms around Henrik’s neck. She had woken the others who were now on their feet as well, gathering the man they had all assumed was dead.

  “What? How? I mean…” Natalie sputtered.

  Henrik was pale and his arm was bent at a nauseating angle. But he still managed to maintain his composure.

  “Our three friends brought me here,” he said. “In fact, they just left. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really must sit down.”

  Austin and Ridwan helped him down. Natalie and Surya went through the scant medical supplies they had left. She cleaned out the wound on his side while Surya did what he could to put a splint on his arm and a sling around his neck. Henrik didn’t protest, but he did ask for something to drink.

  Austin handed him some water while Ridwan heated something over the fire.

  “I have so many questions to ask, but they can wait for later,” Austin said.

  “Bless you,” Henrik said, closing his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind if I get a couple hours sleep before we head for home.”

  Natalie looked at their little band of wounded survivors. “I think we could all use a few more hours of rest. Just close your eyes. You earned it. We’ll watch over things.”

  Monkeys shrieked overhead and insects buzzed incessantly.

  This time, Natalie wasn’t complaining.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  One week later, they were back on the private jet, headed first to Germany. Natalie and Austin would spend some time with Henrik at the very same spa to nurse their wounds. Instead of months, Natalie had said she wanted to get back to the States in a couple of weeks. Austin agreed.

  Surya and Ridwan had stayed with them in Padang, Henrik putting them in the best accommodations he could find. It didn’t come close to repaying them for everything he had put them through. And there was also the matter of taking care of the families of Hengki, Yandi, Saharto, Deddy and Bambang.

  Henrik wasn’t sure he’d ever get over the guilt. Perhaps he was never meant to get over it. That, and more, would be his penance.

  Oscar had had no family. His loss wounded Henrik to his core. Of course, he’d met his end saving Natalie. He was always destined to die helping others. Oscar was an amazing man and dear friend. Any time Henrik’s mind had finally settled down to a dull roar, memories of Oscar came flooding in, and he found himself crying for the first time since his father’s murder.

  But he would not venture back to Gadang Ur. Nor would he ever let vengeance fester in his heart and twist his life.

  Surya had managed to tell part of their story to a local paper, leaving Henrik, Austin and Natalie out of the picture, as they’d planned. Almost as soon as he cast it aside, Henrik had gone back and retrieved the head of the scarred Orang Pendek. People needed to see. Surya presented the unassailable evidence to the media. Sumatra swelled with pride that the Orang Pendek were real. And true to their nature, they left well enough alone, not daring to tell anyone where to find them.

  “You sure you don’t need a pill?” he said to Natalie.

  She sat by the window, staring at the clouds. “I can’t believe how beautiful it looks from up here.”

  Austin sipped a scotch next to her. “I think she’s good. Hey, check this out.”

  He handed his tablet to Henrik. It showed the home page for one of the major American news outlets. The headline read :

  BIGFOOT IS REAL! MULTIPLE CREATURES FOUND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

  “There are ten alive and in captivity so far,” Austin said. “Seems they just walked out of the woods. A hunter shot and killed one, but the rest came out peaceably.”

  That got Natalie to take her attention away from the view. “They just turned up out of nowhere?”

  “That’s what it looks like.”

  She looked to Henrik. “Maybe you were right. Did we really pull away the veil?”

  He scanned the article, including one that said there was growing evidence for a lake monster in Lake Michigan. It seemed that the world no longer needed to hide its mysteries. With each new discovery came newfound belief, that belief emboldening what were myths to become reality.

  Everything would be different now.

  He went across the small aisle and patted Natalie’s hand. “Someone had to do it.”

  She sat back in her seat, casting her gaze to the clouds.

  “Well, aren’t we lucky?”

  The End

  Read on for a free sample of Crazy Eights

  PROLOGUE

  One thing Buckeye loved was taking a shit in the woods.

  He tugged on the leash, his four paws scurrying over the summer leaves and dried twigs as he yanked his owner along the beaten path that led further up the Allegheny Mountains. His golden fur brushed against the bellworts, capturing pollen that caused a slight itch to begin spreading. Buckeye paused, using his hind leg to scratch it away as best he could.

  “Who’s a good boy?” the man on the other end of the leash asked.

  Buckeye panted. He was a good boy. For nine years he’d been a good boy, and he loved his owner more than anything in this world. A world that was small and large all at once. Small because sometimes it was only four walls with limited space to move around in, and large on days like today when those walls disappeared and he could stretch his legs in the warm country air.

  “What a beautiful day, right, Buckeye?”

  The retriever sneezed, turning his attention back toward the ground. He picked up on something—something familiar and exciting. The scent of a small, furry animal with a twitchy nose that always seemed to elude him. He tugged harder on the leash, eager to search out the rabbit so he could chase it, because he loved to chase things, even if they always got away.

  “Whoa, slow down there, buddy. What’s your hurry?”

  He ignored the voice of his owner, scampering forward, his nose picking up the trail. It wasn’t strong yet, but he knew the further along he went the more noticeable it would become, and from there he might be able to track it down and at least get a good look at the small animal. Even if he’d never be able to catch it.

  “Who’s a good do
g? Who’s a good dog? Good boy, Buckeye, good boy.”

  His heart leapt at the sound of his owner’s voice. He loved it when he spoke like that. His normal voice was deep and serious, but when he spoke to Buckeye it changed. Became higher and friendlier. It made Buckeye feel loved, and he loved love.

  He also loved rabbits, and the scent he’d smelled became stronger, just like he knew it would. He raised his eyes and looked ahead, hoping to get a good look at it. He scanned the forest, searching through the trees and brush for the little critter, but no, there was nothing. He dipped his nose, continuing to seek it out, and then all of a sudden the trail went as cold as that white stuff he liked to jump around in sometimes. Snow, his owner called it. He loved snow, and love, and rabbits, and shitting in the woods.

  But this new scent, the one that replaced the rabbit, wasn’t very pleasant at all. It smelled…dangerous.

  Buckeye barked. No sir, he didn’t like it one bit.

  “Hang on boy, I want to get a look at this.”

  He looked back at his owner, who was holding something in his hand that he panned across the countryside, when really he should have been paying closer attention to what was in the woods. Didn’t he smell it?

  “God, what an amazing day outside, huh?”

  It was an amazing day. At least it was up until a few moments ago. Now Buckeye wasn’t so sure. This new scent was strong in his nostrils. It was old, and dangerous, and smelled like trouble.

  He had to do something. He had to warn his owner because if he didn’t he’d feel bad if something happened to him.

  Buckeye barked. Louder this time. There was definitely something out in these woods, and it wasn’t a rabbit.

  “Quiet, Buckeye.”

  Quiet? This was no time to be quiet. How can anyone be quiet at a time like this? There was something…there…right through those trees. He saw it, coming closer.

  Closer.

  His barking intensified and he tugged on the leash. Whatever it was wasn’t going to get the man who took care of him. Who fed him, and cuddled him, and threw the ball for him. That was his master, and he had to protect the master.