Wendigo Island (ONC2024)

Running for our Lives

Rico Martinez

We couldn't run. Not really. Not with the shape of Alex and Kalvin. Dale threw Alex over his shoulder at some point, and that brought us to a semi-jog. Kalvin was falling behind, though. I think he wanted something to leap out and grab him. Reagan kept him moving. If he was going to drag ass to fight the cannibal or get eaten by some other random monster, then she was going to be right there with him.

We broke the treeline and found ourselves gazing at a sloped clearing. An incline that stretched out for three miles to a cliff that dropped into the ocean.

The same cliff we had hid under when we first arrived.

The same cliff with Lovebird's Nest and the spider's cave built into the side.

The very same cliff overlooking the S.O.S. on the beach.

Now that S.O.S. had paid off because two rescue choppers circled the coastline. Their search lights combed the island like angels casting out their presence.

Me, Valentina, and Draco were running now. We screamed. We cried from relief. We waved our arms in the air as we rushed to the end of the cliff.

One of the rescue choppers was so close that I could make out the Coast Guard emblem on the pilot's helmet. The sound of the propellers spinning drowned out all natural noise, but we still heard it. It sounded like the ocean itself was roaring. Val pointed down at the beach where a three ton reptile burst from beneath the sand and took to the sky.

We yelled louder.

We waved our arms faster.

A cloud of flames streaked across the night sky. The first helicopter was caught in the eye of a flamethrower. The pilot must have been fried immediately because the strength of the flame punched straight through the windshield

But the spiraling blades of the helicopter nicked the dragon, scratching its eye and cutting up its wings. Several random mechanical snapping sounds and two large explosions rocked the aircraft. It stuttered and floated for only a second. Then, it fell to the ground beside us. The propellers dug a path in the dirt at our feet. They bent and snapped. I felt the wind and heat coming off a piece of metal flying overhead.

The dragon and the last rescue chopper circled each other in the sky. While the dragon's sneak attack was a success, its wounds taught it to fear modern technology. On top of that, a .50 caliber machine gun burst into action. Both combatants kept just out of reach of each other.

Dale caught up to us and set Alex on his good foot. I remember Alex asking if the crashed chopper would have another one of those guns. With a little digging, Dale threw another (dis)mounted machine gun out of the fire and into the dirt.

It was agony to watch him figure out how to hold the gun with a flannel wrapped around his hands, but he did. The way that light and sound filled the clearing gave the dragon pause and it fled to the beach below as the helicopter landed beside us. I remember everyone pilling into the helicopter and seeing a lean figure come out of the treeline to watch us leave out over the ocean.

Then, the helicopter was tilting, and, well, that's the last thing I remember.