by Alex Just
~ Island – pacific ~
Tom awoke to a cacophony of birdsong and the sun, streaming down beautifully. Martin seemed to have woken up, as Tom’s mind cleared he realised with a sudden start that he’d no idea where he was. Struggling up onto his legs and clambering out of the cave, he looked left and right in search of Martin. He needed to relax. Martin waved a hello, his back to Tom as he took a morning leak.
A groan, uneven, ragged breathing. They both heard it at the same time. Tom’s heart thudded loudly against his ribs, like a caged animal trying to escape. He edged over to where the sound was coming from. Right on the water line was a body. He reached down and hauled the person up onto their feet. It turned out to be a girl. The moment she was standing upright she retched salt water and sand all over his front. With a jolt she’d shoved out of his grasp and sprinted away from him, into the forest.
‘What in hell is that all about?’ gasped Martin as he and Tom charged into pursuit. She was following the stream, an easy target. It was only a little upstream at a deep pool into which a waterfall cascaded proudly, that she realised she was making it too easy. She banked sharply into the dense jungle growth.
‘Damn it,’ cursed Tom, ‘we nearly had her.’
Martin and Tom were hot on her heels when she disappeared behind a broad tree, its roots twisting around themselves like a pit full of vipers. The two continued past and hit a shallow clearing. No sign of her. Tom spun round in a circle searching for a rustle. A sharp movement caught his eye. He snapped his head up to watch a huge lemur leap lightly over them, high up in the boughs of the forest giants, swiftly vanishing into the jungle.
‘Where the hell did she get away too?’ Martin asked suspiciously, ‘I don’t like this Tom. That was weird.’
‘Yeah.’ It was obvious Tom hadn’t heard a word that Martin had spoken. Her face was burned into his mind, a startling beauty fuelled with so much determination.
‘She was that girl from the cruise,’ Tom spoke slowly.
Martin just shook his head, frustrated. ‘Yes. I guess so. Doesn’t change that what happened was very, very weird.’
‘Hmmm. You know how to get back?’
‘Yeah, look.’ Martin pointed behind them where the undergrowth was trampled and ripped from their chase. He turned around and Tom was gone. The only light came from the sun’s rays poking in through gaps in the trees, like long pale fingers.
Martin cursed loudly and yelled out for Tom, hearing no answer he leant against a large tree. He moved towards the clearing, hoping Tom would be able to see him easier and maybe hear his yells. A sudden squeal. Martin turned. His heart immediately going a hundred miles an hour. The undergrowth rustled. He was frozen still not daring to move at all. It stopped rustling, yet still he remained unmoving. This was not Tom.
He was waiting… for what he wasn’t sure but with a sudden angry grunt, a huge boar charged out from under a palm frond, straight at Martin. With adrenaline rushing through his veins he managed to dive out of its direct path. Not fast enough. One large tusk clipped his right leg, shearing off a small chunk. Blood poured out and covered the lush green vegetation in red. Martin, too shocked to feel any pain, tried to stand. His legs barely supporting him, he just managed to grab onto a tree before collapsing again. The blood was like candy for the boar. It came rushing at Martin again, this time there was no escape, he vainly tried to scramble around the tree but he couldn’t move his leg, now that the shock was wearing off, the pain slowly begun to eat its way up into his body. The boar was ten metres away and closing, it was huge. He had to do something fast but his mind was drifting, he couldn’t think straight anymore, the boar was so close he could smell its rank odour of decay and filth. He shut his eyes, saw his life flash by in his mind...
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