by Russ Watts
“Drop it, Justin. That’s an order,” said Karl firmly. Max looked scared. Justin still had him in his grip, and Karl knew that Justin was not likely to be persuaded once he got an idea in his head. “We don’t know anything for sure, yet.”
Justin smiled. “You remember how it used to go, right? If they drowned, they were innocent, and if they floated, they were liars. Something like that. I think it’s time we put Max to the test.” Justin grabbed Max and pulled his arms behind his back. “Tell me, Max, why did you really bring us here?”
Justin kicked the back of Max’s legs and the doctor instantly dropped to his knees, sinking beneath the surface. Justin forced him to bend over, and he plunged Max’s head beneath the water. Max began thrashing, trying to twist himself free, but Justin was strong and he held him tight.
“Justin, that ain’t right,” said Alex. “He’s not done anything to us.”
“Oh yeah, what about Phoenix?” Justin pulled the doctor up.
“Please,” spluttered Max, gasping for air. “I didn’t know anything about it. I was as shocked as you.”
“Bullshit.” Justin plunged the doctor under the water again, holding his head beneath the surface as bubbles began to pop around his legs.
“You’ve got five seconds, Private.”
Justin looked over at Karl to find he had his gun aimed on him.
“Are you kidding me? I’m just trying to get us some damn answers.”
“Three seconds.”
Justin gritted his teeth and pulled the doctor up. He could see from the look on Karl’s face that he was serious. He pushed Max away toward the bank. “Fine. Whatever. It’s not like we’ve never done anything like this before. You know when you’re out in the field that you have to do what it takes. Remember Mosul? Whatever it takes, right?”
Karl watched as Max scrambled to the shoreline. Alex and Darius helped to pull him up. The shallow water led up to a stony beach and flat rocks covered in algae. “He okay?” asked Karl without taking his eyes or his gun off Justin.
“I’m fine.” Max spat and wiped his face. “I’m fine. I understand where you’re coming from, but I did not know anything about that dinosaur. Or whatever it was.”
Karl lowered his gun but kept it in his hands pointed at the water. He matched Justin’s stare. “Justin, when I give you an order, I expect you to follow it, do you understand?”
Karl had led the unit away from the clearing reluctantly. He hated abandoning Phoenix, but she was right. They were better to split up and rendezvous with the monster out of the way. Clearly, they didn’t have enough firepower to deal with it, so standing their ground would have been suicide. The unfortunate outcome was that he was now in charge. He didn’t want to get it this way, but now that he had the unit under his command, he had to enforce the rules and make sure they all knew how this was going to be. Getting Phoenix back alive might just depend on it.
“Do you understand?” Karl asked again slowly, as Justin simply stared at him. “This is not the time to lose your shit, Private.”
Growing up in Chicago, Karl had learnt how to handle himself on the streets. He had avoided getting into hard stuff and never gotten caught or a criminal record. If he had, then he probably wouldn’t hold the position he did now. The worst it had ever been for him was when his father had taken off, leaving his mother to provide for him and his brother. His mother, an immigrant from Portugal, had worked hard for them. He knew that now, although at the time he thought life had dealt him a shitty hand. It was getting caught shoplifting and a belting from his mother that had set him straight. It had come around when he had turned fifteen, and he had begun to think of what he should do with the rest of his life. If the Army hadn’t come along, he might have ended up in the clink with his brother. Luckily, he had seen the light.
“Yeah. I got it,” said Justin. The anger in his tone was obvious, but Karl knew it was as conciliatory as he was going to get.
“Good.” Karl put his gun away. “Take a look around you, Justin. Think about where we are. Interrogating Max isn’t going to change anything, and I believe him when he says he didn’t know about the dinosaur. He could just as easily have been killed as any one of us. He’s a dumbass, but he’s our dumbass, and it’s our job to make sure he gets home in one piece. I’m in charge of this operation now, so I want everyone to get their heads together.” Karl looked at them all. Alex and Darius, even Max, were looking at him differently. He was no longer their buddy; he was their boss. Was this how he looked at Phoenix? “Refill your water bottles. In no more than three minutes, I want everyone ready to go. Check your weapons. I want to know exactly how much ammo we have. This operation just changed. We’re going to find Phoenix, and then we’re going back to the beach to catch our ride home.”
Max stood up and brushed himself down. His clothes were soaked but would dry quickly in the sun. “But—”
“I don’t want to hear it, Doc. You’re lucky I didn’t let Justin drown you. Quite frankly, I was tempted to do it myself. Nobody is going to question us if you don’t make it home, so I suggest you keep your head down and your mouth shut. I just lost the best soldier I ever worked with, and I am not going to endanger any more of these men on a wild fucking goose chase to find your three colleagues. We’re going back into that jungle, finding Phoenix, and getting the hell out of here. Any questions, you can take it up with that monster. You value your life, then you’d better take a good strong dose of some shut-the-fuck-up pills.”
Karl heard Alex and Darius mutter, “yes, sir,” as they began to check their ammo.
“Justin, get the hell out of the lagoon before you catch something,” said Karl. He knew he had a couple of grenades in his pack, but that they would be running perilously low on bullets. After unloading everything they had to ward off the attack earlier, they wouldn’t have much left if they ran into it again. They hadn’t come prepared for battle.
“That monster probably pisses in it,” joked Darius.
“Yeah, well you’re drinking it, funny guy,” replied Justin as Darius lowered his bottle to the lagoon to fill it.
“Oh, shit.”
Justin looked down at the water. It looked completely untainted by anything. The waterfall was gentle, and there was nothing to suggest the dinosaur did anything but drink it. It wasn’t salty, so most likely it was just rainfall or a natural spring. After the jungle, the whole area seemed quite pleasant. There were rocks around much of the lagoon and beneath the waterfall there was a small cave. If they had time, he would have gone exploring, but he knew when Karl was serious, and he was right about finding Phoenix. They never left anyone behind. He just hoped there was something of her left to bring home. He felt slightly bad about Max, but not enough to apologize. He didn’t trust the doctor, and right now, he was the only one they had to blame for this sorry mess.
“So, what about…?” Justin felt something brush against his leg. He looked down but saw nothing. It could’ve been a log or some weeds, but the water looked clear. Whatever had brushed up against him had disappeared. He shrugged it off and headed for the shore. “So, what about Freddy? You think he was on the level when…?”
Justin felt his legs whipped out from under him and he shouted for help just before he was plunged into the cool water.
“Justin!” Karl raced into the water. “What the fuck?”
Where Justin had been standing, there was nothing but a few bubbles popping on the surface. Karl reached down into the water, but his hands felt nothing.
“Where is he?” shouted Alex. “Did you see what happened?”
“I didn’t see anything, I was checking my gear,” said Darius. “Did he go for a swim?”
“Justin, quit playing around, where are you?” Karl hadn’t seen exactly what had happened. One minute he was there, the next he was shouting something and disappearing under the water. “Justin, sound off!”
They listened and looked at the lagoon, but there was no sign of him.
“How lo
ng can he hold his breath?” asked Darius.
“A minute, maybe more?” suggested Max. “Depends.”
“On what?”
Max looked sternly at Darius. “On what pulled him under the water.”
Alex waded into the water next to Karl. He had his gun raised. “Sir, where did he go?”
Karl pursed his lips. “If he thinks this is funny, he’s got a shock coming. I thought I’d got through to him. I thought—”
Justin’s body floated to the surface a few feet away. He was face down and not moving.
“There!” shouted Darius.
Karl and Alex splashed over to Justin’s body and grabbed his arms. They turned him over and Justin opened his eyes.
“Fuck, Justin, what’s going on?” asked Alex. He looked down at Justin’s body and shivered. “Holy fuck.”
Alex nudged Karl and pointed at Justin’s legs. They were gone. Something had cut them off and there was nothing below his knees. His legs ended in bloody stumps that turned the water a deep red.
“I’m…cold,” whispered Justin as they dragged him to the shore.
“Doc, we need you,” shouted Karl. “Now!”
They urgently pulled Justin to the edge of the lake and dragged him up onto the stones. Karl looked at his legs as Max bent over him. Whatever had taken his legs had been big. It looked like a shark attack, as if something had eaten them. Karl had seen soldiers out in Iraq who had lost limbs and the sight of blood was something he had unfortunately gotten used to. But Justin was just lying there as if nothing had happened. He wasn’t screaming in pain or writhing in agony. He just lay there as the doctor pulled some bandages out of his pack and began to wrap Justin’s legs.
“What was it, Justin? What’s in there?” asked Alex.
“Tell me what we’re looking for, buddy.” Darius had his gun loaded and ready. “Tell me and we’ll get it for you.”
Justin smiled weakly. All his fire and anger were gone. It was as if he didn’t care, but Karl knew it was the shock. His brain had made his body go numb to deal with the pain.
“It was a fish. I think. It looked like a…more like a crocodile.”
“Relax, Justin, you’re doing fine. You’re going to be just fine,” said Max.
The doctor looked over his shoulder at Karl and shook his head. He resumed working on Justin’s legs.
“A fish? Well, what did it look like?” Darius pressed Justin for more information. “Was there more than one?”
“Darius, leave it.” Karl put a hand on his shoulder. “Take Alex and watch the water, but do not go in. We don’t want any more accidents or surprises.”
As Alex and Darius reluctantly left Justin with promises of retribution and began to monitor the lagoon, Max got up and stood beside Karl. They walked a couple of feet away from Justin so that he was out of earshot. A palm tree had broken over the rocks and offered some temporary shade from the burning sun as they spoke.
“How long?” Karl asked.
Max lowered his eyes. The doctor’s hands were covered in blood. He shook his head forlornly as he spoke. “Not long. He’s lost a lot of blood. I’ve bandaged him up, but he can’t feel a thing. He’s gone into shock. I can administer him some pain relief but—”
“Do it. Then let me talk to him.” Karl drew in a deep breath. “Thanks, Doc.”
Justin was mistaken. Fish didn’t do this. There was something in the water, something like that dinosaur, something unnatural. It wasn’t a crocodile either. That would have taken him whole and drowned him. Crocodiles didn’t snap off people’s legs and then let them go. Karl wanted to kill whatever had done this to Justin, and he hoped that Alex and Darius might find it. Perhaps whatever it was hadn’t gone far. Perhaps it was still circling, looking for the rest of Justin to feed on. If it resurfaced, then Karl would have a tasty bullet for it. Just how the day had gone this bad was beyond him. Nobody had said they would encounter anything like this. Intelligence on the island was limited, but it was like Phoenix had said at the briefing: they weren’t expecting anything worse than sandflies.
He watched Max slip a needle of some clear liquid into Justin’s arm. The soldier hadn’t said a word in the last few minutes. His skin was pale and his eyes were rolling around lazily as if he was drugged.
As Max got up, Karl bent down and took Justin’s hand. He looked into his eyes. “Hey, Justin. How’re you holding up?”
Karl squeezed Justin’s fingers but got no response.
“He’ll be gone in a moment. I made sure he’ll feel no pain,” whispered Max into Karl’s ear.
Karl watched the doctor trudge over to the shade of the palm tree. He sat down on a mossy rock and put his face in his hands. Justin had just tried to kill him, but the doctor was evidently cut up about the passing of another soldier.
“Hey, buddy, you know we’re going to get you home, right?” Karl squeezed Justin’s cold hand once more. It was limp and wet, and Justin barely seemed to have the energy to look at him.
“Can’t…wait,” whispered Justin. “Need… a… coffee.”
Karl smiled, remembering that Justin grew up in Seattle before joining up. “No problem. I’ll buy you a whole bucket of the stuff. Gonna have a beer first though, right?”
“Right.” Justin’s eyes rolled back in his head to expose blood-shot white eyeballs.
“Hey, Justin, hold onto me, I’m here with you. Hold on, Justin. It’s gonna be okay. You hear me? You’re going to be okay,” lied Karl. He had performed a similar speech when Sawyer had been blown to bits outside of Mosul. His body had been held together by slender pieces of flesh and muscle, and he had died quickly. Justin wasn’t even dying because of enemy fire. He had done nothing to deserve this, and it made Karl angry. At least Sawyer had known what he was getting into. Justin was young and still had a lot to offer. Now he was dying on some deserted island for no good reason at all.
“Tell him I’m sorry,” muttered Justin.
“Who?” asked Karl. He tried to reassure Justin there was nothing to worry about or apologize for. “You know, whatever it is you can tell them yourself later. Just relax. You’re fine.”
“The doc. I’m sorry.” A thin line of blood escaped Justin’s lips and ran down his cheek. “Tell him I—”
Justin’s eyes looked up into the blue sky, and Karl watched as his chest stopped moving. Gently, Karl lowered Justin’s arm. He clenched his teeth together to stop screaming and then brushed Justin’s eyelids. Another of them was gone. Dead. A boy not even halfway through his life was dead. And for what? Karl got to his feet and stared at Justin’s body. If they could even recover Phoenix’s body, they would have two dead bodies to get back. He was going to have to explain what had happened here, and yet he wasn’t sure he could explain it. How was he supposed to say that half of the unit had been killed by prehistoric creatures?
“Alex, Darius, you see anything?” Karl snapped. He took out his gun. “Well?”
“No, sir, nothing,” replied Alex. He was standing close to the doctor atop a large boulder from where he could scan the lagoon.
“Darius? You lost your fucking tongue?” Karl approached the edge of the water. It looked as peaceful as when they had first stumbled upon it. It looked like a picture postcard with crystal clear water surrounded by lush green trees, and a gentle waterfall cascading into the blue lagoon. It was deceiving, just like the island. Phoenix had thought it was beautiful, a paradise. Yet it hid dangerous and deadly secrets.
“Nothing. The water’s calm. There’s nothing here. How’s Justin doing?”
Karl saw Darius heading back to him. He had gone around the small shore and seen nothing unusual. Yet Karl knew it was there. Whatever had killed Justin was still there. It had to be. And he didn’t want to let it lie. Why should it get away with it? Karl couldn’t believe Justin was gone. In the space of barely thirty minutes, they had lost two of their own. Just what kind of island was this? What kind of place held animals that could do this?
“Listen up
,” said Karl. “Justin’s gone. There’s nothing we can do for him except catch his killer. Who wants to help me?”
There was silence. Karl knew they were letting it sink in. He also knew that his men would do everything in their power to avenge him. Grief came later. They had experienced death before and probably would again. Right now, he needed them behind him and to understand the gravity of their situation. He looked at Darius who nodded grimly. Karl turned to Alex.
“Fuck. Yeah, I’m in.”
“Right. Let’s go fishing.”
“May I say something?” asked Max. From under the shade of the palm tree, he looked at Karl. “I think it is very noble that you want revenge for Justin, but that will not solve anything. Phoenix is still out there. My three colleagues are still not found. If you hadn’t noticed, then the heat is fast approaching intolerable levels and we don’t have the time or energy to waste looking for some kind of killer fish. We should stay on track with the operation. That is the best thing you could do for your friend. I’m sorry about Justin, truly. And Phoenix. But nothing you can do is going to fix this. We need to continue the search for my three colleagues and get back to the boat. Anything that sidetracks us might jeopardize the entire operation.”
“Alex,” said Karl, unable to contain his anger, “put a bullet through the doctor’s brain for me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Max looked up at Alex. “Wait, surely you understand I am right? You can’t—”
“Get it done, soldier, then we’ll do a little hunting. I’ve had enough of this shit.” Karl removed his pack. “Take him out. This operation is over. He can’t do shit for us now. We’re better off without him.” Karl looked at Alex and winked. It only took a split-second, but Alex caught it. But the doctor didn’t know better, that they didn’t go around shooting innocent people. If he believed his life was being threatened, maybe he would learn that they didn’t want his opinions or ideas. It was his fault they were in this situation, even if he didn’t know about the monsters apparently living on the island.
“Please. Stop, I can explain,” pleaded the doctor.