𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑵𝑨𝑹𝒀 - James Conrad

four

4|the beast

Dorothy took in a deep breath as they moved closer to the storm cloud. The helicopter shook rapidly as they entered the storm. She reached out and grabbed the nearest thing, feeling it's warmth cup her hand back. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath until sunlight hits her eyelids.

"It's beautiful." She exhaled, leaning over Conrad to look out at the beautiful terrain.

"It is." Mason agreed, hanging out her side of the helicopter to take pictures while it was calm.

They were all in awe over the island as one of the helicopters blasted music. One by one the bombs dropped, destroying the mystical peace. Explosions filled the forest floor, burning everything near.

Everyone's hearts dropped, the air stilling as a helicopter went flying past them on fire. A giant beast stood towering over the low flying helicopters, grabbing them and throwing them out the sky.

"Is that a monkey?" Slivko, one of the pilots, questioned, Conrad's eyes instantly moving to Dorothy who was in too much shock to make a comment. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know." The co-pilot yelled back. The soldiers fired guns at the creature, only making it angrier as its attack got violent.

"Pull out now! Pull out!" Conrad screamed at the two pilots as they continued to shoot at it.

"I don't take orders from you." Slivko snapped back. They all watched as more helicopters went down, the beast starting to swipe at those on the ground. A soldier hit their windscreen before flying into the motor of the propeller. "Hang on!"

"Prepare to crash." Dorothy braced herself, holding on to the straps on the chair and protecting her head as their helicopter crashed into the trees.

"I don't get paid enough." Dorothy coughed as she slumped her body against a tree, trying to breathe normally again. She watched as Conrad stood on the cliff edge watching the beast walk away from the destruction.

"Calling all units! Is anybody airborne?" Slivko shouted down the communication device. "I repeat, is anybody airborne?"

"They're all down. Every one of them." Conrad informed him grimly. "We're on the south side of the island. There's a river a couple of klicks from here. If we stick to the banks, we'll make it to the exfil site on the north shore."

"And then what? All our choppers are down." Nieves yelled at him, clearly freaking out.

"We'll find a way to signal the ship." The mercenary walked up to him, daring him to try and make a plan. "They'll send a search party. We just have to make it by the exit window."

"I should be sitting at a desk." The man complained as he walked away.

"So, wait, are we just not gonna talk about this?" Slivko stated, freaking out over the disastrous attack.

"My best guess is we're scattered over a four to five mile radius." Conrad informed him, watching as he paced around their small safe area. "We should head north and join anyone we find. Are you all right?"

"I think so." Dorothy accepted his hand as he helped her off the ground, her legs still shaking in panic. "I don't know how to properly answer that question after what I just witnessed."

"I don't know what that was either." He said before teasing her, watching as a smile returned to her lips. "You just had to guess a giant monkey."

"I hope I don't become a millionaire after we survive this." She joked, winking at him as he only knew what she was talking about. "All that money that they paid you? I hope you're worth it."

"We're really not gonna talk about it?" Slivko interrupted their moment as he freaked out. "You know this is not normal, right? Stuff like that doesn't just happen!"

"It's called the Hollow Earth theory." Brooks informed them about the mission as they wandered through the thick terrain. "Randa hired me because I wrote a paper substantiating what most people think is a crack pot idea. That there are these massive underground spaces isolated from the surface world."

"Passageways." San added on as everyone else stayed silent. "Randa believed this island may be one of those."

"An emergency point for whatever lives below." The geologist explained. Dorothy stumbled slightly as they walked down the hill, grabbing on to Conrad's arm to catch herself before silently apologising. She mentally calmed her thoughts away from how muscular his arms actually were. "Ancient sources like what we just saw. I thought he was out of his mind."

"This is Slivko. Do you read?" Slivko tried again as they walked into long grass, unable to see much except the person in front. "Anybody out there? We're headed north to the exfil location."