by Michael Bray
Ryder could win this.
For the first time, Chase had acknowledged that he might not survive. It was always there of course; sitting somewhere in the back of his mind, but it was the first time it had come to the fore. Death would be easy in such a hostile environment, and although he wasn’t to Alex-levels of panic yet, he was close. He thought of Ashley and Elsie, how they would cope when he was gone, asking himself how they would live, how they would survive on their own. He knew then, as that moment as he pulled himself through the cave, that Ashley was right. He should never have signed up for this. Not when he was so unprepared nor had any concept of what the show would entail. He heard her voice, swimming out the place in his head where she lived. He recalled the day he had left the apartment; how she wouldn’t look at him after telling him countless times that he was wrong to go. She had been right. So right. He got stuck, wedged between two jutting pieces of rock which pressed into his chest. He would have to go under. He ducked, his head plunging beneath the water line as he pulled himself along past the obstruction, then resurfacing for a lungful of air. He pulled his bag through, the material having more flexibility that his bones.
She would know now. What was here. What he was up against. The thoughts plagued him and refused to go away. She would have seen it on television. The dinosaur attack, the ruthless brutality in which it had decimated that other contestant. He searched for her name, but couldn’t recall it, then in turn wondered if that made him a bad person. He had barely spoken to her. All he remembered was that she always had her earphones in. he thought about her now, what her family might be thinking. For them, there was no more need to watch the show. For them the pain was over. Chase wondered why she was there. What her motivations had been for taking part in such a barbaric game.
Ellie.
Her name had been Ellie. She was a living, breathing human being with imperfections and problems the same as the rest of them. She had hopes of winning for reasons she believed in, just like the rest of them. And in the end it wasn’t enough, because she had been crushed into pulp by something which had no right to exist in the modern world. Chase asked himself how arrogant the rest of them must be to think the outcome for the rest of them would be any different.
Panic was starting to creep in. Physically, he felt fine apart from the cold. It was the mental fatigue which was getting to him. He was tired and hungry, and wanted to be out of this crushing coffin and breathing fresh air again. It felt like a lifetime since he had last seen daylight, and yet a check of his watch told him it had been less than an hour. Just when it felt as if he couldn’t handle anymore, the walls started to widen, and his feet found the ground again.
“It’s opening up again,” he grunted over his shoulder, the elation he felt impossible to put into words. The cave sloped up and opened into a bowl again. After the time spent in such a confined space, the cave felt immense, like the church he had been married in back before things started to go wrong. Chase led them out of the water onto land, then fell to his knees, grateful to have solid ground under him again. Moses trudged out behind him, boots and clothes heavy with water. He walked a little closer and then sat on his pack, leaning against the wall, eyes closed as his lips moved in silent prayer. Alex came next. Scrambling out of the water, clawing at the rock as he pulled himself clear and fell in a heap next to Chase, breath ragged as he rolled onto his back and stared at the roof. They lay there for a while, grateful to still be alive, then Chase opened his backpack, took off his wet shirt and put the clothes he had taken off back on. Boots and socks, then his t-shirt. His outer shirt was sodden. He wrung it out, forearms flexing as he squeezed out the excess water. He then tied the shirt to the back of his backpack and put it back on. Whilst Moses chewed on the last of his ration bars, Alex did the same as Chase, replacing his dry clothes and tying his outer shirt to the back of his backpack. Sure enough, their combat trousers were still wet, but their feet and bodies were dry.
“Alright,” Chase said. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” He led them further, the terrain now sloping back towards higher ground as the cave widened. He found his thoughts going back to his family, and allowed his body to move forward on autopilot. He thought about all the things he would never see, all the things he would miss if he died on The Island. His pace slowed as he came to terms with it. The decision to join the show which he was sure was in the best interests of his family was looking increasingly selfish. He let his feet guide him through the narrow passageways as he became increasingly withdrawn. He barely noticed as the natural light started to increase. He was thinking of Elsie, and wondering if he would ever see her again when he was grabbed from behind. A powerful hand clamped over his mouth and yanked him to the ground. He struggled, kicking as Moses threw his other arm around Chase’s chest.
He’s desperate, Chase thought as he struggled against the surprisingly strong older man. He’s been fading for a while and now he’s desperate to win. I underestimated him.
Moses’s voice in his ear, hot and hissed. “Be quiet, hold still.”
Chase stopped struggling, realising that Moses wasn’t trying to kill him, just restrain him.
“Look,” Moses whispered.
Chase did as he was told. Ahead, the cave opened up into a larger space. White light bled from the outside world like liquid gold. Chase focussed on it. He had already seen the way out, and couldn’t figure out why Moses was so spooked until he looked closer. Not outside the cave, but within it. There, by the entrance was a dinosaur. He didn’t know the species. He wasn’t too familiar with the different kinds of creatures Lomar had put on The Island; all he knew was that it was big. It lay on its side by the entrance, its massive belly moving in the rhythmic pattern of sleep. If Moses hadn’t stopped him, he would have walked right towards it and likely wouldn’t have seen it before it was too late. Alex crouched beside them and looked at the sleeping creature. It was greenish brown, its muscles lean and ready to attack. It looked like a smaller version of the tyrannosaurus rex. It appeared to be from the same family, sharing many of its characteristics.
“What is it?” Chase whispered as Moses released his grip.
“Majungasaurus. Carnivore. Incredibly dangerous,” Alex replied.
“How do you know?” Moses said, eyeing Alex mistrustfully.
“I did my research.”
“Yeah, I forgot you knew what they had here.”
Alex didn’t respond. Instead, he shifted position. “We should wait. It will go out to feed soon. Either it’s resting or this is its lair. We’re lucky it can’t smell us. If we had been downwind and coming the other way, we’d all be dead.”
“We might be yet,” Moses said. “If it sees us, we have no way of escaping.”
“Then we better hunker down until it decides to move on,” Chase said.
“No. We don’t have time. We need to find food and shelter before dark.”
Moses and Chase looked at Alex, trying to decide if he was being serious or not. Seeing their uncertainty, he smiled in the gloom. “Relax, I’m not going mad. We know there is a lot of jungle out there. Chances are we can sneak past it and into the woods to safety.”
“Screw that,” Moses said, shaking his head for emphasis. “I saw what happened to that girl. You can forget it.”
“You can do what you want to,” Alex shrugged. “But trust me, I’ve researched these things and the last thing you want is to be out here and exposed after dark.”
“What do you think?” Moses asked Chase, eyes like white pinpricks in the gloom. Chase didn’t have a response. He had no idea what the best choice was, good or bad. All he knew was that every hour wasted was another hour his daughter was being ravaged by her illness. When he really thought about it, nothing else mattered. He glanced at the sleeping dinosaur, and then out at the blazing sunshine beyond, teasing them with how near and far it was away. It felt like he had been underground for an eternity, and longed to feel that warmth on his skin. He knew nothing about dinosaurs. He
suspected Alex didn’t know as much as he thought he did either. Nobody could be prepared enough for this. No matter. He wasn’t prepared to stay there any longer.
“Alright, I’m in. we stick to the wall, move quietly.” He turned to Moses. “How is that foot?”
“Don’t concern yourself with that. It’s fine,” Moses snapped.
Chase next glanced at Alex. There was a defiance in his face. Something that was almost a sense of enjoyment rather than fear. Chase realised he was starting to find himself increasingly wary of the younger man, and seeing him as more of a contender as time went on. “Alright, let’s move,” he said as he led them out of the safety of the tunnels and into the wider section of the cave. As he had instructed, they hugged the wall, keeping it close to their right side. Alex was just behind, keeping close to his shoulder, a constant presence. Once again, Chase was struck with the ridiculous notion that he was more uncomfortable with Alex at his back than approaching the sleeping Majungasaurus. Moses was at the rear, and seemed to Chase to be making a lot of noise, even if it wasn’t his intention. Every few steps he wound grunt, or suck air through his teeth as his damaged feet touched the ground. Both Chase and Alex were throwing regular glances at the older man, who was either ignoring them or oblivious, his brow furrowed as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.
Up close, the Majungasaurus was much bigger than it had appeared from the rear of the cave. They were now thirty feet away from it, and in turn only fifty away from the exit and the freedom that lay beyond. The one ton dinosaur still lay on its side, eyes closed, tail curled up underneath its massive, muscular legs. Near the entrance in front of it were the remains of something none of them could identify. Shredded flesh. Blood. A few shafts of bone. It was clear that this was once another dinosaur, perhaps even one of its own kind and had since become the Majungasaurus’s meal. Even as large as it was, the creature had been unable to finish its entire kill in one sitting.
For a man who had grown up in New York City and had never seen anything much larger than one of the many stray dogs which nosed around in the mountains of garbage cans on street corners, Chase was in awe of such an incredible creature. As terrifying as it was, the Majungasaurus was also a showcase for perfect evolutionary efficiency. Unlike the human species with its complicated web of emotions, the sleeping creature lived a beautifully simple existence. It slept when it was tired. Hunted when it was hungry, and killed when it felt threatened. There was nothing else. No society. No money to worry about. No pollution. No family. It was a perfect machine, evolved by nature to be efficient. Big powerful legs, each toe equipped with a seven inch curved claw which was more than capable of disembowelling any of them with little effort. Its tail, large at the trunk then tapered to a point gave it balance for when it attacked. Its arms were non-descript. Similar to the T-rex in position, they were much smaller, and completely useless. Anything it would ever need to grip was taken care of by the jaws. Slivers of white teeth visible as the creature slept. Like the clawed toes, the teeth were designed for maximum destruction. Alex tapped Chase on the shoulder, pointing to a spot on the side of the creature’s neck. There, on the brownish green hue of its skin, Chase could see it clearly. A brand or tattoo of sorts. An identifying marker which reminded them all that they were part of a strange game.
PROPERTY OF THE LOMAR CORPORATION
SPECEMIN NO 79 – MAJUANGASAURUS
PRODUCT I.D – 154B-2585-SD00847A
A dry, teasing breeze pushed into the cave from outside, displacing gravel and teasing their hair. They froze as one as the creature stirred. Tail flicking, toe-claw twitching.
It’s going to wake up.
Chase knew it was going to happen. He had never been surer of anything in his life. It would wake, see them and destroy them. There would be no hope of fighting back in such a confined space. One of them might survive; the odds were good of that. If Chase were a betting man he would say that Moses would be next. It stood to reason. He was the oldest. The slowest. He had blisters on his feet and would struggle to run. Unless…
He tried to change his train of thought, but it was already there. Unless it likes the hunt. Then it would chase one of the runners. And Chase knew that if it did stir, he would be one of the first to run. Not for his own life. He had already made peace with the idea of losing it, but for his daughter. That is all that kept him moving.
But the creature didn’t wake. Its tail stopped flicking. The claw stopped twitching. It let out a throaty grunt, then was still, the rhythm of its sleep bringing them a little comfort.
Chase glanced over his shoulder at the others. Moses first, then Alex. The latter lingering a little. Chase wondered if there was some kind of shared idea there, some kind of momentary, telepathic bond where, for the briefest of seconds, he was sure they had shared the same idea without ever uttering a word. He could see how it would play out.
Moses is slow. Weak. Push him down, scream and shout, then run. Run as hard as these newly cancer free lungs will allow you whilst the creature feasts on its intruder. With luck, it will take both of the others. One in four is good odds. One in three would be spectacular.
Chase glanced towards the exit. He could see the way he would go. The cave broke into a clearing, then just ten feet beyond, the jungle. The heavy, twisted jungle. A place where it would be advantage human. Ten feet or so, plus the distance from where he stood. He did the calculations. Maybe, twenty five feet total. With his old lungs, a big ask. Now though, he knew it would be easy.
One in three.
One in three.
One in three.
He knew it wasn’t right. Morally it was out of the question. But the little voice, the one he had started to think of as the voice of his self-preservation, whispered in his ear, telling him what he needed to know to justify it. You signed an agreement, it said to him. These are the rules. This is how the game works. You think they won’t do it to you if they get the chance? You think they care about Elsie?
It was hard to ignore, hard to argue when the opportunity was there in front of him.
This is the game. This is how it’s played. No room for compassion. No room for doing the right thing. The only way to win this is to become an animal. A heartless, survival driven beast.
He turned away, heart thundering, torn as to what to do, heart saying one thing, and head another. The little voice wouldn’t be deterred. They’re just waiting for the right time. They will kill you without thinking twice, and then what? You’ll have come out here and died for nothing. All because you don’t have the guts enough to get a little blood on your hands.
“Shut up.” He’d already said it before he could stop himself. He didn’t turn back. He didn’t have to. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his skull.
Now. Now is the time. It will be easy. Just run. Put those lungs to good use. Make for the trees. Fuck these people. You don’t owe them a damn thing.
He had never felt so tempted, nor had he wanted to do anything quite so desperately. The only thing that was stopping him as fear. Fear of being alone. He felt safer in a group. Could work better within a unit. At least this way he knew where they were. If they were to separate, the hunt was well and truly on. They would see him as a target, the man who had tried to kill them. Although a few days ago the idea had seemed ridiculous, he didn’t particularly like the idea of Alex hunting him down. There was something in his eyes, a feral kind of aggression which he was trying to hide. For that reason, and for that reason alone, he didn’t run. He ignored the nagging inner voice, and led them on. One foot after the other, each step closer to the cave one he was sure would be their last and that the creature would surely wake up. Only when they had reached the heat of the day, the change in light making them screw up their eyes, did they run. As a unit, they sprinted for the tree line, Moses doing his best to keep up. As they crashed into the relative cool of the canopy, still in their trio, two thoughts came to Chase. The first was how long their fragile g
roup would be able to stay together before somebody decided it was time to try and win. The second was if the others had gone through the same thought process in the cave that he had. He was pretty sure they had. With both thoughts swirling around his mind, he led them into the jungle and to whatever came next.
ODDS GET SHORTER
DAY THREE
NECKER ISLAND – 3:13PM
The sky had started to lose its unblemished shade of blue as the dark thunderheads started to build. The heat was still intense, but there was a light breeze now which told them that soon enough they would be facing the assault of the coming storm. Their encounter in the cave was still fresh in their minds as Chase, Alex and Moses toiled through the trees. Hunger was starting to become a real issue, even if none of them were quite prepared to admit it and show any kind of weakness in front of their rivals. Ignoring the moaning of his stomach, Chase led them on. He felt lighter, like his skin was too big for his frame. He knew it had only been a couple of days, but he was already exhausted. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex, who was chewing on an energy bar from his ration kit. He was the only one with any food left. Moses was falling further behind. His brow was furrowed, and he was walking with a very definite limp. Chase felt unwell, Moses, however looked terrible. At some point he had acquired a gnarled, thick branch, and was using it as a support, a walking stick of sorts as he tried to keep up.