by K D McNiven
“What do you need?”
“Over here,” he replied.
The time had come for Daisuke to collect the eggs. He shoved a large insulated container into Alberto's hands, then turned to remove the eggs. One by one, he placed them delicately inside the cushioned container to ensure their safety while transporting them, ignoring Alberto's questioning eyes. When the last one had been tucked safely away, Daisuke took the box into his hands and started for the door. Once he distanced himself from the lab, he would set off the explosives he had planted throughout the facility triggered by his cell phone. His mouth twisted into an evil smile. There would be no evidence left connecting him in any way, and Wilhelm would no longer be an issue or the man they had just stuffed into the metal storage compartment.
Wilhelm and Fumiko entered at this point, halting when they realized what Daisuke intended to do. Wilhelm looked stricken. Apparently, Daisuke had every intention of taking the eggs out of the compound to the ship. He was mad! What could he possibly be thinking? Wilhelm stepped in front of him, refusing to give him access into the hallway. This project had been his. He’d done all the work. He couldn’t just stand idly by and watch Daisuke do something so outlandish and jeopardize the eggs.
“What are you doing, man? Are you insane?”
“I’m taking my investment with me since you’ve botched things up so badly. I don’t intend to lose all the money I’ve dumped into this project because of your profligacy. You don’t actually think I’m going to trust you after what has happened, now do you?”
“You’ve been watching what these animals are capable of,” Wilhelm protested.
“Only because you foolishly let them run free instead of holding them in a secure facility as you should have done.”
“They needed to be raised in their natural environment,” Wilhelm defended.
“And they were. You’ve seen how well that turned out, didn’t you?” he said harshly. “Now, they’re going to live in the park we have constructed. Their new habitat will be much the same as the rainforest. Granted, on a much smaller scale. However, their dwelling will be fortified to ensure safety—unlike yours—so people can enjoy them and not be eaten by them.”
“We can fortify this compound,” he said, making a desperate attempt to change his mind. “If you remove the eggs and something goes wrong, we have to start all over again! You may never reproduce Purussaurus again!”
A cruel smile lifted his lips. “You don’t understand, Wilhelm. You’re finished. I’m washing my hands of you. Fumiko will accompany me back to the ship and will be the overseer. We’ll make out just fine without you.”
“You can’t do that!”
A cold smile twisted his lips. “But I already have.”
Fumiko clutched the sleeve of Wilhelm’s white lab jacket. Her breath caught in her throat. She only wanted to be free from Daisuke and his cruelty. When she thought she would be working with Wilhelm, a sense of freedom had filled her. It had been her misfortune to have been placed under Daisuke’s guardianship by her mother. Fumiko had only been ten years old. Her mother had been desperate at the time when Fumiko’s father was killed out at sea. Because of Daisuke’s wealth, her mother thought Fumiko would be well tended to. Unfortunately, except for the fine clothing and lodgings, Fumiko had been his prized possession, forced to do his bidding.
Tears filled her eyes but she quickly blinked them back. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her pain. Wilhelm had treated her with the utmost dignity and respect. It was Wilhelm she desired to stay with. She loathed the very thought of going with Daisuke, and yet, what choice did she have? He would force her to go and punish her if she resisted.
Her gaze panned the room, stopping when she caught sight of something glinting on the counter top. A scalpel. Desperation drove her. Without further thought, she flung Wilhelm to the side out of the way, slipping her fingers around the steel handle. She whirled back around, making a mad dash forward, her arm swinging wide. The blade slashed Daisuke’s neck, and blood spurted from the gaping wound. Immediately following her unsuspected outburst, a shot rang out.
“No!” yelled Wilhelm, running forward to grab the collapsing woman. A thin line of blood trickled down her face from a hole the size of a quarter centered in her forehead.
Daisuke turned and withdrawing his own gun, shot the man behind him for taking Fumiko’s life. Even though it was the guard’s job to guard over him, Daisuke had not given the order to shoot her. Therefore, he had to pay with his own life.
He stared down at her blank face. Despite the fact she tried to kill him, he loved her. Seeing her lifeless body cradled in Wilhelm’s arms angered him still further. From his back pocket, he withdrew a handkerchief and pressed it against his neck, scarlet blood oozing through his fingers, and spattered onto the tile below. Nothing could be done now. He would have to count his losses, take the eggs, and get back to the ship.
He raised his hand to flag the man in possession of the eggs to follow and took to the stairs just outside the room. He started out the front to determine how they could get to one of the vehicles without one of the Purussaurus’ tearing them to shreds. His worries dissipated as he caught sight of the helicopter returning.
“Perfect,” he whispered, grabbing the radio clipped to his belt. “Nagatoki, lower a ladder. Get as close to the compound door as possible and hoist me out of here.”
“Hai,” Nagatoki acknowledged, and banked right, circling to the front of the building.
Within minutes, the chopper hovered overhead and a ladder dropped down just feet away. It would prove difficult climbing with the container of eggs, but he would have to manage. Tucking the box under his arm, he hurried forward, fighting to grab hold of the swinging ladder. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the Purussaurus’ heads snap to attention and seeing Daisuke it spun around and headed in his direction.
Panic-stricken, Daisuke managed to get his foot onto the ladder and clasped his fingers tightly around the hemp rope. But it wasn’t only the Purussaurus that caught his notice. Bursting out of the front door came Wilhelm, his teeth clenched, his eyes wild. He ran full-tilt toward Daisuke, and when he reached him, his hands clutched hold of his shirt. With brute force Wilhelm began tugging at him fiercely, Daisuke fighting to hold on to the rope. He could feel himself being pulled from the ladder, the rope burning into his hands. Fearful of losing the eggs, he tossed the container to the other guard and forcefully kicked Wilhelm in the gut.
Wilhelm stumbled backward, but managing to keep on his feet, he began another charge, looking much like a vicious bull as he plowed into Daisuke, the two of them tumbling to the ground. Fists flew.
The guard spotted the Purussaurus storming toward them. Without hesitation, he hurdled the two men wrestling on the ground and started climbing the ladder, frantically trying to get away, still in possession of the eggs. He wasn’t going to stay rooted like a statue, waiting to see who would win the fight, or who would be eaten by the ginormous beast.
Managing to free himself, Daisuke pushed Wilhelm with such force, he went sprawling onto the ground. With no time left, he took the advantage and sprinted for the ladder, seeing it had already begun to be hoisted without him. He leaped into the air, catching the rope and propelled himself upward.
Wilhelm, face bloodied from Daisuke’s rock-hard fists, started forward but turned back when he heard a trumpeting sound. The ground beneath him shook. The Purussaurus had come up from behind, its jaws opened wide. He could smell the creature’s hot putrid breath against his face, see razor-sharp teeth stained with red blood. His eyes widened with terror. With one snap of its jaw, Wilhelm disappeared into its mouth. The sound of bones crunching reverberated in the stale air as the beast devoured him in one gulp.
Daisuke quickened his steps on the flimsy rope cords, climbing higher to distance himself from the jaws of the monster. The beast grabbed a corner piece of the ladder and began shaking it from side to side. The chopper commen
ced rocking making Daisuke’s climb more difficult. Adrenalin appeared to be the only thing driving him. From his pocket, he withdrew his four-inch knife and took to sawing the rope before the animal managed to cause the helicopter to malfunction and find themselves plummeting to the ground. It took some work, sweat running in streams down his face, but finally, Daisuke cut them free. The chopper banked a hard right, circling around and headed back toward the ship.
***
During the commotion of the overturned truck, Rourke and Meg crouched low and ran as fast as they could toward the other military truck and leaped into the back. They began digging through the boxes, realizing all the men had scattered, and they were on their own.
“Here,” said Meg, removing the wooden top on a box. “It’s the mortar and shells. If we can set it up outside, maybe we could take out one Purussaurus?”
Rourke slipped it out of the box. His heart beat so hard he wondered if it would explode. Their fear had become tangible. How could it not? He couldn’t erase the gruesome image of the beast devouring Jayden, and he could only imagine how traumatic it was on Meg. Jayden had been her friend. Perhaps more than that? Either way, the incident turned out to be a horrifying scene. One he would never forget.
Rourke peered out of the back bed in time to see Wilhelm being attacked. Glancing upward at a darkening sky threatening to rain, he spied Daisuke dangling from a suspended ladder, the chopper circling back toward the ship. One of the Purussaurus’ had slipped back into the water, while the other was thrashing its head looking for more people.
Meg sat erect; her breath rapid. She couldn’t push back the fear that plagued her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Rourke, trying to fathom what his next move would be. She wondered if they would make it out alive. For the first time since Rourke had come, she realized how much he meant to her. Even considering the thought something horrible could happen to him sent shock-waves up and down her spine.
“Okay, Meg,” he whispered. “We’re going to have to slip out of the truck and set up the mortar and pray to God it works! One of the Purussaurus’ has left so at the moment we only have to contend with this one.” Her blank expression gave him cause to worry. “We can do this, Meg.” Still sitting in cold silence, Rourke moved over, slipped his hand to the back of her neck, and bending forward, kissed her deeply. Lovingly.
It only took a few seconds for her to thaw and slip her arms passionately round him, knowing in the back of her mind it might be the last for both of them. When they broke apart, she nodded. “Let’s do this!”
Together, they hopped out of the back and hunkered down. Rourke began to set up the mortar, Meg doing her best to help even though her hands were shaking so badly she seemed to fumble everything she touched. The Purussaurus, with its incredibly sharp hearing, caught the sound of twigs snapping beneath Rourke and Meg’s feet as they worked diligently several feet away. Its gold eyes with the vertical black pupil stared them down. Without hesitation, it lunged forward, its broad three-toed feet slapping soundly against the ground. It headed directly for them.
“Oh no, Rourke! It’s coming our way. Hurry!”
Rourke spread out the tripod stand and loaded one of the shells into the tube. He looked at the screen and set sites on the beast charging them. With trembling hands, he adjusted the ELV (elevation of his target) on the screen, making note that the travel time (TRV) would be twenty seconds. He hoped he’d made the adequate adjustments, seeing he had no time left. With the flick of the button, the mortar discharged. Rourke and Meg stared helplessly, hands limp at their sides, mouth gaped as the Purussaurus closed the narrow gap between them. Counting the seconds down in his head, Rourke could barely breathe.
With a loud blast, the Purussaurus exploded into thousands of bloody pieces that rained down from the sky. At the same time, the clouds opened up and rain down poured on therm. Both jumped up and down laughing, giving a two-handed high five.
“Yes! We did it!” Meg laughed, rivulets of water running from the top of her head to the bottom of her chin.
“Not finished yet,” he said, collecting the mortar and tossing it into the back of the truck. “Climb in. Let’s get back to the zodiac.”
“What about Kyle?”
“You stay here, I’ll go see if I can find him.” He gazed intently into her eyes. “If I’m not back within five minutes, get out of here and back to the ship.”
“But…”
“I mean it, Meg. I want you safe, and right now the ship is the best place.”
“Hurry!”
Rourke grabbed up his rifle and without delay made a mad dash toward the compound, which had been the last place he had seen him. He burst through the door, gun at ready. “Kyle,” he called out, his voice echoing through the empty corridor. “Where are you?” He took to the stairs, rushed down the hall, kicking doors open. The place looked deserted. But then he heard a banging noise from somewhere behind. He turned back and rushed into the lab.
“Kyle?”
The banging grew louder and Rourke pin-pointed the sound coming from a metal closet, locked from the outside. In three wide strides, he flipped the lock, swung back the door, and saw Kyle sitting folded legged on the floor, sweat pouring down his face.
“Thank you,” Kyle said. “If I’d been in there any longer, I’d been fried like an egg in a skillet! Blasted heat.”
“Come on. We’re going to head to the beach,” Rourke said, heading for the door. He passed a side-glance. “And Kyle, glad you made it out alive.”
“Can’t say the same for everyone.” Kyle pointed at Fumiko’s twisted body, laying in a pool of sticky blood, a quarter-sized hole in her forehead.
“When this is over, we’ll come back and torch this place. I don’t want to leave even a scrap of evidence it ever existed.”
“Agreed.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
⁂
Meg wrung her hands, fidgeting on her feet left to right, relieved when she saw both Rourke and Kyle running her direction. Every sound made her jump. She had to admit, she would be overjoyed to get back to the ship. The day's events had left her empty. Numb. It would take some time to erase the gruesome pictures out of her mind.
Once Rourke and Kyle made it back to the truck, Rourke detoured, heading back toward the river. Meg turned to him in disbelief, wondering what he had in mind. They’d had enough for one day. Surely, he didn’t plan on going after the other Purussaurus they had seen sliding down the muddy banks into the river.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Before we head back, we need to go get the commander’s body and take it back into town. He deserves a proper burial. Also, we need to see if the townspeople need extra hands. The place was a mess when we left.”
Rourke and Kyle loaded the commander’s body into the back of the truck, tossing an old wadded up blanket over him. A sad affair, Rourke thought. The commander had stiff-armed them for a long while, fearful of taking action. Now that he had, it had been his demise. A sense of guilt stabbed at Rourke for having pressed the commander. Then again, what other choice did they have? The ORI’s small untrained researchers could only do so much. It had been necessary for the commander to join forces with them. As he glimpsed the Japanese ship in the distance, he knew the conflict was far from over. They would still require the help of the Brazilian forces.
Once they had left the commander’s body at the station, they drove into the town. People were wandering aimlessly inspecting the damage, which happened to be quite extensive. It would take quite some time to clean up and to make the needed repairs.
Meg found a woman kneeling in the street, the corpse of a man draped over her lap. Tears stained her ruddy cheeks, and when she glanced up, Meg saw excruciating pain etched in her eyes. Meg knelt beside her, dropping a hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“Can I help you get him inside?”
The woman nodded. Meg motioned for Rourke and Kyle to come and give a helping hand. Behind them was a
small store, the front partially crushed. It served as their home as well the woman told them as they carried the man inside and stretched him out in the back room on an old feather mattress.
“We’ll let the authorities know, so they can help with the burial arrangements,” Meg told her. “We’re so sorry for your loss.”
Meg did what she could not to break down into sobs. So many people had lost their lives. She thought of Jayden. Life would never be the same again. When she stepped out into the oppressive heat, she caught sight of the elderly man she had spoken with some time back who had refused to speak with them about the Purussaurus. He looked up and their eyes met. Meg walked towards him and immediately saw his grief.
“I should have spoken with you that evening,” he said, lowering his eyes as if ashamed.
“You did what you thought was right at the time. You were afraid.”
“Look at what has happened, though. I-I…”
She touched his arm compassionately. “It does no good to dwell on what you should or should not have done. Right now, everyone needs to pull together and rebuild.”
He nodded and sorrowfully walked slowly down the street.
Meg took note of Rourke and Kyle shimmying a lodge pole beneath the sagged storefront they had just been in so the porch overhang wouldn’t collapse and do more damage. She smiled. Seemed when things took a turn for the worst, people tended to come together and work side by side for the common good.
***
Rourke fired up the jeep engine, and they headed back toward the shore. The zodiac had remained stationed on the white sandy beach until which time they were ready to head back to the ship. Once parked, they slid out of the truck and hurried their steps to the boat, coming to a standstill when they spotted another ship moving in the direction of the Japanese one. By the flag flapping in the breeze, they knew more troops from Brazil had arrived, refusing to let the matter drop.