The Forgotten Sibling

Chapter 13

During the bright light at the sub island and Haphmoun plummeting down toward the earth due to temporary blindness, Carlos found something extremely weird while exploring in the forest.

Of course, the island was always full of weird things, but this was even weirder. After showing it to Sam who frowned and remarked she's never seen something like it before, Carlos was sure that he found something that belonged to another person who either disappeared or perished on the island.

It was a standard tape recorder that was all busted up and dirty due to spending years in the dirt(duh). The metal was rusted, some of the rust coming off on to Carlos's hands. But the play button was still functioning perfectly. He didn't want to play it in case if his friends wanted to hear it, but he didn't know what was on the recording.

So they decided to sit on some logs they found scattered about and share what they found.

"Carlos, why don't you go first?" Sam asked. "After all, you found the.. Weirdest thing yet."

"What is it?" Tommy asked, leaning forward.

"It's a tape recorder," he said, showing it to his friends. "It was buried in the dirt and it was impossible to miss."

"That IS weird," Marissa agreed. "Did it belong to someone on the island?"

"That's my guess," Carlos said, shrugging. "I'm not fully sure because I haven't listened to it." He took a deep breath. "But now that we're here, we might as well."

Carlos pressed the "play" button on the recorder and waited for a bit, his friends sitting in a circle. Finally, the recorder started playing and they stayed quiet as they listened.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, this is [REDACTED]. We're currently stuck on an island and we need help getting out."

"What do you mean 'stuck'? Are you sure there is no lake or shore that you can at least exit out of?"

"Well, we tried, but the exit seemed to move from its previous location. We tried to track it down but it just disappeared, and we were left on the plains."

Sam mouthed Klickhaze's camp, and Carlos nodded.

The operator continued to talk.

"Are you joking with me, or are you dead serious?"

"I'm dead serious," the man said. "We're stuck on the plains and our camp is gone. We don't know where we are."

A distant roar was scarcely picked up by the recorder. "Oh, shit."

"What was that?"

"I don't have much time. One of those creatures is coming."

"Creature?"

"Yes." The man's voice was suddenly shaking with fear. "Massive, MASSIVE feline. Huge wings. Blue and white fur. Always accompanied by two others with brown and gray fur."

"Can you describe them for me, please?"

"Around sixty or seventy feet tall. Their paws shake the ground whenever they stomp around. They have terrifying eyes that dig into your soul. They have venomous teeth and lethal claws. Their roar is incredibly loud and louder than a volcanic eruption. They are brutal and deadly, but intelligent and cunning. They have a horrifying hiss that sends chills down your spine."

"We need to make sure to take those drugs away from you, because they are sure making you dream up these wild things."

"No, you don't understand," the man said in a panicked voice. "They're real. Have you heard of Catwings?"