by Russ Watts
She plunged abruptly into darkness, the sunlight and sky a distant blurry vision above the surface of the water. Water raced into her mouth as she tried to focus on staying alive. She guessed she had sunk fifteen feet or more, yet she did not hit the bottom of whatever they had landed in. She had been waiting to hit rocks, but the water had broken her fall, and even though she was showering underneath a hillside collapsing on top of her, she knew there was still a chance. Phoenix kicked upwards, her lungs burning with the precious little air she had in her. She tried to swim up to the surface, but there was a current pulling her the other way. The surface was getting closer, but it took all her energy to get there and fight the current that was trying to pull her down. Finally, her head broke the surface of the water and she quickly sucked in huge mouthfuls of air. She heaved and heard splashing noises around her. She heard someone call out for help, but couldn’t identify who it was. She tried to tread water, but she was drifting downstream, and she looked up to see if there were some overhanging vines she could grab hold of. When she looked up at where they had come from, she felt all hope in her die. The dinosaur was falling, fast, and it was coming right for her. Its jaws were snapping loudly, eagerly, searching for something to bite. She waited for the impact, her shoulders sagging as her legs strained to keep her head above water. She had been so close. She had tasted freedom and life for a moment then. Even when the water had engulfed her, she thought there was still a way to get off the island and home alive. As the dinosaur angrily rushed toward her, she knew the only way home was in a body bag. And as the ice-cold water tugged at her feet, she let her body go. She let go of memories of her sisters, of any chance she might have of seeing Karl or home again, and closed her eyes. It was over.
CHAPTER 11
Its eyes darted cautiously around the upper tree branches and the bird risked a mating call. The island was its home although recently things had changed. The bird had seen unusual creatures descend upon the island, yet it didn’t bother with them. It ruffled its feathers and chirruped. It made no matter. The monster never bothered with it. The bird had seen the creatures falling from the sky. It wondered why they didn’t fly away to safety, but only for a moment. It was preoccupied with finding a mate. Its dark green feathers hid it well in the upper branches of the trees, and it had a full belly after gorging on bugs disturbed from their nests and homes by the strange creatures. It darted away from the invaders and left them alone. The island would take care of them; it always did. The bird whistled and heard a faint reply. It was time to move on.
Phoenix coughed up a salty mixture of blood and water, and reached a hand up onto a slimy rock. It was damp, but held firm, and she pulled her aching body out of the lagoon. She hauled herself up the stony bank out of the water and rolled over onto a flat rock. A shaft of sunlight filtered through the protective trees and its warmth on her cheek felt good. The spot of sunlight was no larger than a dollar coin, but she would take it. She coughed up again, not caring that the bloody saliva was rolling down her cheek. She didn’t care what she looked like. She was just grateful and amazed in equal measure that she was still breathing. Phoenix looked up at the sky and the green trees waving gently at her. A tiny bird with dark green plumage flitted between the branches, seemingly looking for food. The trees remained motionless, oblivious to what had just happened. It was just another day for them, just another twenty-four hours of soaking up the life-giving rays of the sun. Phoenix sat up reluctantly and immediately her head swam. She placed both of her palms flat on the rock and waiting for the head rush to subside. Quite how or why she was still alive, she didn’t know. The dinosaur had impacted upon the water right above her. It had driven her under water, and somewhere in that icy cold maelstrom the dinosaur had been right alongside her. Somehow, she had avoided becoming lunch for it for a second time. She was aware of being swept along under water, over and over as if she were inside a giant washing machine until she had blacked out. She had come around a minute ago, on the banks of the lagoon. She looked around and her suspicions were realized. It was the same one, the same damn lagoon: they were back where they had started.
Phoenix slowly got to her feet. She knew that any sudden movements would likely bring on another dizzy spell, so she moved very slowly. When she was finally upright, she looked for the rest of her unit. They had ended up in the river that fed it and had now devoured half of the hill. The waterfall that had poured into the lagoon earlier was now just a trickle. A huge dam had formed above it, made mostly out of boulders and trees. Yet atop it all was the dinosaur. Phoenix tensed up when she saw it. Its blue eyes were looking right at her, and its two arms were perched above the waterfall as if it was about to climb right over it and down to her. She took a step back and waited for it to roar or to attack. She waited a full ten seconds, counting slowly and silently in her head, before doubt began to gnaw at her belly. She let the pain in her body wake her up some more and she continued to stare at the creature. Its blue eyes were still looking at her, but it wasn’t moving. As she began to skirt around the edge of the lagoon, she saw that it wasn’t getting up or doing anything. It wasn’t even breathing. The closer she got, the more she knew for certain that it was dead. A smile escaped the corner of her mouth. It flitted there momentarily before pain extinguished it. The titan’s blood was gushing over the waterfall into the lagoon, and the sight of all that blood-red water reminded Phoenix that her unit was still missing. Some of that blood could be theirs. Still, the thought refused to leave her. They had done it. They had killed it.
Phoenix bent over and laughed. Her abdomen was racked with pain as she laughed, but she couldn’t stop it. Her body shook and her laughter turned into a coughing fit. It was absurd. They had just killed a dinosaur. She looked up and saw its dead eyes looking at her, and Phoenix laughed again. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t cut out for a suburban life like her sisters. She wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on this. She didn’t know how the day was going to end, but when she closed her eyes, she at least could say she had looked into the eyes of death and fought back.
“Oh, shit the bed, this is unreal.” Phoenix spat and straightened her back. The hot sun formed droplets of sweat and the salty water stung her wounds. She was mildly surprised that nothing was broken, but knew her unit were almost certainly not going to be as fortunate. She still hadn’t seen any of them since waking.
“Good afternoon campers, anyone here?” Phoenix called out, her voice carrying across the water. The high-pitched squawk of a distant bird answered her over the gentle lapping over the water near her feet. Something rustled in the shrubs behind her and she turned around.
“Little help?”
Phoenix jumped, startled by the voice. She looked at the rocks around her and then finally spotted Karl, one arm outstretched and reaching up into the sky.
“Jesus.” Phoenix raced to him, ignoring the pain that erupted in her right leg as she ran, and grabbed him with both hands. She pulled him to her, grateful to find somebody else alive.
“Okay, well that hurt.” Karl exhaled and rubbed the back of his shaven head. “Like, a lot.”
“How the hell did you get here?” asked Phoenix. She looked over him. It was miraculous that he was still in one piece. Lacerations and blood covered his body, and his shirt had been ripped to pieces, but he appeared to be in good health considering.
“Same as you, I guess.” Karl looked at her and immediately tore off a scrap of cotton on the end of his shirt. He used it to dab at the cuts on Phoenix’ head as they knelt at the edge of the crimson lagoon. He began to wipe away the blood and dirt that was smeared across her face. “I saw the beast come down on top of you. I thought you were history. The water took me over the edge of those rocks and I swam here. I felt kinda woozy, so I was just taking a minute to get my breath back. I think I blacked out for a while. It felt quite peaceful just lying there if I’m honest. I was hoping I’d dreamt it all.”
“Me too.” Phoenix winced as Karl drew the cotton acro
ss her chin. He cupped one hand around her face and examined her closely. “You’re going to need stitches in that.”
Phoenix shrugged. The weight of responsibility was hovering over her again. Stitches would have to wait. “I guess we should find the doctor and the others. I expect everyone is going to have a few cuts and bruises to attend to.” She remembered Darius. She remembered how he looked. He was going to need more than a few stitches.
Karl kept his hand on her face and raised her eyes up to his. His brown eyes bore into hers. “We did the right thing. Whatever comes out of this, it isn’t on us. If we’d stayed up there on that mountain, she would’ve killed us all. That bitch wasn’t going to stop until it had taken a giant bite out of each and every one of us. It would’ve brought the hillside down anyway even if we hadn’t. That grenade just gave us a chance.”
Carrying the bodies of Sawyer and Travers out of Mosul, Phoenix thought she would never be in such a position again, and certainly not on this operation.
“I thought I was dead,” said Phoenix quietly. She shivered, her damp clothes in the shadow of the tall trees making her feel cold despite the adrenalin and the incessant sunshine hiding above the canopy. The sweat on her body felt cold once she was out of direct sunlight.
“Well, I for one am glad you’re not.” Karl got to his feet and pulled Phoenix up. He grinned. “If you’d died, I’d have no one to bitch to. All right, Fifi, let’s round up the others and get the hell out of dodge.”
Phoenix took the scrap of cotton from him and dabbed at her bleeding chin. She had always felt a grudging respect for Karl but rarely seen his softer side. He had a teenage daughter back in Chicago, but he almost never spoke of her or his ex-wife. It was as if he had to keep up the image he had of a tough soldier and anything that might suggest he was human after all might impact upon his reputation. She could see how he filled the role well. He worked out all the time and his olive skin and muscles brought him a lot of attention. He never told her why he had broken up with his wife, never talked about why his brother had gone off the rails. It was better that way. Let him have his secrets. They worked well together, despite their differences. Even though he could be a royal pain in the ass, it was good to have him on her side. He pushed her, made her be better than she might otherwise be.
“Darius? Alex? Get your damn asses out here!” shouted Karl.
As they scanned the area for any sign of life, Phoenix and Karl couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the dead dinosaur. They had gotten lucky. It was dead and its rotting carcass would take weeks to decompose.
“There,” said Phoenix finally, pointing out movement on the far side of the lagoon. “Is that Alex?”
They raced around to the forlorn figure and found Alex struggling to his feet.
“Damn, feels like a truck hit me,” said Alex, clutching his head.
“Looks like it, too,” replied Phoenix. Alex was intact, though his face had already started to bruise and his left eye was sporting a nasty-looking cut under it.
“You’ll do just fine, Private.” Karl and Phoenix helped him up. “Any sign of the doc or Darius?”
Alex rolled his neck around his shoulders. “You mean before or after that fucking dinosaur landed on top of me?” He ran a hand over his closely shaved head. “Sorry, sorry. I know.”
“Did you see them?” asked Phoenix, folding her arms. The jungle was around them again and that meant one thing: they could retrace their path back to the beach. Within an hour or two, they could be back on the beach waiting for Freddy to take them away from the island. The sooner they had Darius and Max back, they could get moving. “Can you remember anything at all?”
Alex leant down at the water’s edge, cupped his hands, and splashed water over his head. “Not much after the explosion. I know that bitch took a hit,” he said, looking over at the dead dinosaur. “But it didn’t kill her. Must’ve been the fall that finally did it. I didn’t see what happened to you or anyone else. All I know is that thing landed on me and then I was falling with it. Christ, I thought it was going to eat me as we were falling, you know? If we hadn’t landed in the water, we’d be toast. No doubt that if you hadn’t tossed the grenade when you did, I would’ve been dead meat. That thing would’ve eaten me whole.”
“Yeah, but a scrawny thing like you would’ve only been like an appetizer,” said Karl. “Änd another thing, you still smell like shit, Alex. You might want to scrub up.”
Phoenix looked again at the dinosaur. It was hard to believe, but it was truly dead. The bulk of its body had come to rest behind the waterfall along with half of the hillside. The water running off the mountain was building up, unable to get past the unorthodox damn apart from in a slow trickle. They had discovered a prehistoric monster, something that human eyes had never seen apart from in books and Spielberg movies, and then they had killed it. Would they be judged on that? Would the world understand?
“Ma’am, does your leg hurt?” asked Alex as he splashed water over his face.
“Hm? Why?” It did hurt, but she had forgotten about it. So much of her body hurt that all her pain had bundled itself up into a neat little ball which she had stowed away for the future. She had more to contend with, like finding the rest of her unit and explaining how they had killed the only living dinosaur in the world, than complaining about a few cuts and bruises.
“Well, for one thing, you’ve got a giant fucking tooth stick out of it,” replied Alex.
Phoenix looked down and saw it. Jutting out of her right thigh was what looked like a bone. It was yellow and jagged down one side, and bizarrely yet undeniably a tooth. The sharp end was only a couple of inches away from her groin.
“Shit, so that’s what that is.” Phoenix went to pull it out, but Karl stopped her.
“No, not yet. If you pull it out now, you might hit an artery. We need to find a compress or bandage to stop any bleeding. Wait until we find the doctor. Hopefully Max might still have his kit with him. He still had it on his back when the hill collapsed.”
“Damn it, my bag,” said Alex, looking around. “I lost it.”
“Don’t sweat it, soldier.” Phoenix knew they were out of everything. They had no weapons, no food or water, and no radio. “We all lost our packs. Just be thankful you’re still alive. We’ll be lucky if any of our gear turns up. I think it’s buried under that monster.”
“Okay, we need to find Darius and Max. Then we’re out of here,” said Karl, looking at Phoenix. “Don’t tell me we’re still going to try to find those three saps from Space54. I think it’s safe to say they’re dead.”
“We’re leaving,” agreed Phoenix. “Just as soon as we find—”
As she looked out across the lagoon toward the dinosaur, she caught sight of something out of place. She put her hands above her eyes and squinted. Beneath the dinosaur was an arm, lying across a rock, and the body it was attached to lay out of sight.
“Damn it, I think that’s Darius,” she said. It could have been the doctor, but something about the complexion of the skin made her think otherwise. “We have to get up there. Alex, stay here,” ordered Phoenix. “Look around for the doctor. Karl and I will go check on Darius.”
“But—”
“Wait.” Phoenix began to scamper after Karl who was already clambering over scorching hot boulders to the top of the waterfall. “And find the doctor!”
Phoenix followed Karl’s path, knowing he had a natural ability that would see him skip over the rocks in twice the time it took her to. He used some vines as makeshift ropes and was soon around the edge of the lagoon, gaining height as he rapidly climbed around the dwindling falls. Karl was quicker than her and nimble on his feet despite his size. When she caught up with him, he was already standing atop the dinosaur as if he had conquered Everest. She could imagine him planting a flag in the beast’s hide and claiming it for America.
“Down here,” yelled Karl.
He disappeared as he slid down the belly of the dinosaur and Phoenix raced
after him. Every step she took caused the tooth in her leg to send shuddering pain through her body, but she just wanted to get Darius out of there. The monster smelt foul, as if it had already started to rot. As she climbed its carcass, she was even more amazed at its bulk. It was a true monster, an abomination that had no right to exist. She didn’t feel even slightly bad for killing it. It had been it or them. It felt surreal as she reached its apex. She could see back down the river that fed the waterfall and down to the edge of the lagoon. She peered up at the hill, but there was just a giant dust cloud where it had been. It hung suspended over the island like a protective shield. She could also see the massive injury the grenade had caused to the dinosaur. Blood still oozed from its side where she could see its pink flesh and rubbery innards. As she scanned the monster, she noticed that its head was cocked to one side, not in line with its body. She surmised that in the fall it had broken its neck. Perhaps it had drowned. Whatever had killed it, she was just pleased it was over.
Phoenix slid down the beast’s belly and found Karl down on his knees. The edge of the waterfall was close and the stink of the dinosaur was almost overwhelming. It was as if the burning sun was already making its body expand and rot in the heat, and she imagined how many scavengers it would take to strip the thing down to its bones.
“How is he?” Phoenix saw Darius lying on a rock next to the beast. The turgid water was flowing around him, lazily snaking its way between the flat rocks until it descended into the lagoon. One of Darius’ legs was trapped under the dinosaur and one of his arms had been twisted into an unnatural position. His eyes were closed and Karl was holding his hand. Phoenix bent down next to them, unable to kneel because of the burgeoning pain in her leg. She looked at Karl and felt her heart flutter.