Page 54 of Explorer's Revenge
Pulling the gun out, I climb to my knee, my bad leg extended so I don’t put weight on it as I take a deep breath. I blow it out as I turn off the safety with my thumb, then I squeeze the trigger, remembering my dad’s training. The sound it makes as it hits the croc’s flesh is audible, but it doesn’t even make it pause as it moves closer.
I fire again . . . and then again.
Shells fly back and hit my cheek as my arms shake. The bullets are hitting it, but it doesn’t stop.
I keep firing, needing to kill this bastard.
My eyes widen as I hit one of its eyes, but all that does is enrage it, and I have to roll out of the way at the last moment when it lunges for me again, snapping in the space I just was.
I aim once more, but the chamber is empty, and when its head turns, I know I’m toast. I can’t outrun or kill it.
I’m dead fucking meat, but that doesn’t mean I’m going down without a fight. As it jumps at me, I roll forward, grabbing the flare, then I slam it into its other eye before rolling away, keeping hold of the light as it roars.
“Why won’t you fuck off?” I snap at it. “Just fuck off and go back to eating . . .” My words trail off as I recall the body I found.
All the skeletons.
Did this thing eat them?
What the fuck?
“I’m not fucking dying here, you hear me?” I scream at it. “Fuck you and fuck this island!”
A blur shoots past me, and I fall back on my ass as there’s a roar and a hiss. Clambering to my feet, I see a black blur ripping at the creature’s neck as the croc tosses its head, trying to dislodge it.
The jaguar.
It’s attacking the creature, and I swear for a moment those glowing eyes meet mine and tell me to run. I turn and take off,leaving them behind, the stick and gun still in my hands. The rain seems to increase, blinding me as I pant and try to move faster despite the pain in my leg, and I don’t see the slope of the hill until I tumble over the edge of it.
A scream erupts from my mouth as my back hits the ground. The rainfall has turned it into a mudslide, so I flip and roll all the way down, scrambling to grab anything. I try my best to keep hold of the gun and light, but when I hit something hard at the bottom, my hands spasm and my vision goes dark.
The very last thing I see is the flare dying out and plunging me into darkness once more.
THIRTY-FOUR
WAY
We need to find Maeve. We ran off into the jungle when she did, but that thing followed her. We trace our steps back to the truck. It’s still wrecked, but we manage to grab some stuff as Wilder shines his flashlight around, picking up their tracks.
“They went that way. Spread out and remain in shouting distance at all times, okay?” he orders. We could leave her, but not a single one of us would ever do that. She needs us, and we need to find her.
Spreading out in a line, we head into the forest, careful to keep our noise to a minimum in case the creature is lurking somewhere nearby. I swear I hear a scream in the distance, but the rain soon swallows it. Wilder and I share a look as Aiy moves closer to me. All of us are worried and terrified. We walk for a while, following the broken branches and marks in the muddy ground until it starts to disappear and we have nothing to go on.
Whatever trail she left is long gone, thanks to the rain, but we try our best.
“Maeve!” Aiyaret yells, and I pull him closer, covering his mouth as his eyes widen.
“Shh, that thing is still around,” I murmur.
He nods, and I release him, but his head is still turned to me, his hair soaked and eyes worried as he leans into my side. “We have to find her. She’s hurt.”
“I know, and we will,” I promise, but he looks so concerned. I lift my hand and cup his face. “I promise we’ll find her, alright? Maeve is smart. She’ll be okay.”
“What if she’s injured?”
“More than before?” I scoff as I pull him closer by the neck. “She’s capable. Trust in that, okay?”
He closes his eyes. “I’m scared, Way,” he admits. “I have this horrible feeling none of us are going to make it off this island alive. We never should have come here.”
