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He’s bigger than I thought … taller … broader … more muscular than I could ever imagine.
He leans in … to sniff me.
My whole body tenses, and a shiver runs up and down my spine.
Did he actually just sniff me? What kind of caveman does that?
I’m acutely aware of how close he is and the way he’s looking at me … as if I’m something new. Something he’s never seen before. A brand-new toy.
And right now … he has his hands on me.
Dark mud stains right where his skin touches mine.
What does he intend to do with me?
I can’t stay with him. He’s the one who put me in this damn pit, so he’s dangerous. I have to get out of here. Have to flee. Have to get to safety. Anywhere is fine as long as it’s not with him. I can’t trust him.
So the moment he releases my wrist to pull up the ladder, I bolt.
I don’t think. I run.
My feet take me as fast they can, past the trees and into the jungle beyond.
I don’t know where I am or where I’m going.
I just know that I need to get away from him.
Anything to stop him from putting me back into that pit.
Or worse.
I don’t know what he’s planning, and I don’t intend to find out either.
I just want to go back home.
So I run as hard as I can, hoping I’m going in the same direction and not in circles. I don’t want to get lost, but I have no freaking clue where I am, and this place … it’s like a maze.
Thick trees and bushes everywhere, not a path in sight.
How am I ever going to get home?
I need to find a marker. Someplace I can find my bearings like a large rock or a hill.
But how do I find one if I don’t know where to look?
The only place is up, so I grasp a thick tree and try to climb it. It’s tough, and the trunk is coarse, leaving scratch marks on my skin, but I ignore the pain and push upward, reaching for the next branch.
I manage to grasp it and pull myself up. On and on until I get as high as possible. Until I can look at the ground below me and see the vast jungle stretching for miles.
There’s no city. No village. No boats or a harbor. Nothing but trees, beaches, and the endless sea.
Holy shit … what is this place?
And then I see it … in the distance …
Smoke through the trees.
Scorched earth.
A part of the jungle completely ruined.
And in the middle is a mangled helicopter filled with smoke and bits of metal all over.
I swallow away the lump in my throat and let my eyes roam. I gaze at the horizon and the sea beyond, and I finally come to the realization …
I’m on an island.
And the mere sight of this place instantly brings back all the memories.
They come pouring into my head at full throttle as if I’m watching a movie at high speed with images flashing by.
Everything from the flight to this island where I was supposed to run tests and explore with fellow wildlife biologists to the deafening sounds of destruction.
My hands tremble … releasing the branches I’m holding.
My body tumbles backward, and I faint midway through my fall.
Chapter Four
Accompanying Song: “Hungry Faces” by Mogwai
Juliet
Before
From my tiny window, I gaze at the ocean below. The horizon is spectacular with no land in sight. I never get used to its beauty. Traveling always makes me feel like this … as if I’m becoming attune with nature itself.
I don’t know why; I just like getting out there. In the real world.
Not being inside the lab.
I shiver at the thought of having to spend every single day of my life cooped up in some refrigerated basement chem lab. I don’t know how my co-workers do it, but I guess they really love the microscope. Me? I much prefer to go into the wild.
Study the animals and the plants in their own habitat where they belong and coexist perfectly. Like a well-oiled machine but without the pollution or noise.
I smile to myself, thinking about all the things I’m going to see. I wonder if I’ll discover a new type of plant or even a whole new animal species. That’d be amazing, but I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
Even if what my boss said about the uncharted island part is true, that still doesn’t mean there will be anything we haven’t seen before.
I can’t help but feel a little excited at the prospect of doing some research out there. When my boss told me I was selected for the program and that we’d be going to one of the most remote areas in the world, I practically peed my shorts from excitement.
