Dark Island Book 1 (Complete)

Chapter 17

Harold placed piles of palm leaves next to each of the three fires. “We should stay right here on the beach. This area’s open, and a helicopter will have a very good chance of seeing our distress signals.”
The sun shines brightly and the cool morning breeze felt good on my face. I threw another log into the fire. I thought about rescue. How long will it take them to find us? Other questions haunted me too. Will we really have to stay the night here? Where will we sleep? I assumed we would have to make a mattress and blanket out of dry vegetation. Palm fronds and tree bark sounded somewhat rough, though, and sharing my bed with freakish spiders that would latch onto my skin and suck me dry of every blood cell and liquid in my body well, which was not going to happen either. I was not worried about food anymore. Ronnie and I could catch fish with our bare hands, and Harold could skin them. We had water to drink, plus a fire to stay warm at night and cook with. The flames reached into the air like long fingers as I turned the crackling logs with a stick. Sparks danced like erratic fireflies. The rising heat scorched my arms and I stepped back. “I’ll start looking for some bigger logs so we can-“
A loud screeching sound in the distance interrupted our conversation. The wailing shriek echoed, like a cry from some savage creature. I whipped my head around as I jumped. “What was that?” Shivers ran down my spine and Ronnie and Harold exchanged worried glanced.
“Hey, Harold. You’ve been around the rainforest before on all your boat trips,” said Ronnie. “What kind of animal was that?”
“I have no idea; I’ve never heard something like that before.” Ronnie shook my shoulder.
“Dude! I think... wasn’t... wasn’t that a lion?”
That was something I did not want to hear. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention again. “No, it can’t be. They’re only found in Africa or India... aren’t they, Harold?”
Eyebrows raised, Harold stared at the direction of the sound. “Pretty much.”
Ronnie slowly scanned the vegetation. “We need to know what we’re up against. If we’re stuck here, we have to know what creatures are lurking around.”
He then bounded toward the jungle without a second thought. I shot Harold a look, and he just shook his head and shrugged. Why does Ronnie always have to prove something? Or does he really crave excitement and risk that much?
“Yoh, Ronnie!” I yelled. “Where the heck are you going?”
“To check things out!” he yelled back. “Stay here with Harold. I’ll let you know what I find.”
Harold huffed out a breath. “We better go get him.”
“Yeah, or he’ll hunt that thing deep into who-knows-where.” I ran after Ronnie, twigs and branches snapping under my feet as I trailed through the tropical foliage. He did not get far before I reached him and pulled at his shirt to get his attention. The last time he had tried something so idiotic, he was four years old. He had chased two dears into the woods and a search party found him six hours later. I guessed he hadn’t changed his thrill-seeking ways, or maybe it was just bred into his DNA. A bookworm who is also an adrenaline junky.
“Are you insane?” I gripped his arm to draw him closer, but he quickly pulled away. “This isn’t the time or place for playing big game hunter. Listen, we need to stay close to the fires. You know what happened the last time we left the safety of shore.”
Ronnie pushed branches aside, took another step into the dense vegetation, and then straightened to listen. “I can’t see anything. But I think we should find weapons to protect ourselves.” I stepped in between the towering tropical plants that sported large elephant war-like leaves. I scanned past the black and green, splotched vegetation. “I don’t see anything either.”
Another screeching sound. I swallowed, my pulse drumming. “What is it?”
“I think it’s a howler monkey?” Harold shifted his stance as he peered through the giant leaves. “I heard them in Brazil. You can hear them from miles away and their calls sound more like a screech than a howl. Or so I thought I did.”
I blew out a loud breath. “So if it is a howler monkey why is it over here? We are not in South-America. Something doesn’t make sense.”
Harold shrugged. “Ronnie what do you think?”
“I want to believe it’s some kind of animal, monkey perhaps. I really do. However, my gut says it’s not. Look at what we’ve seen. We have seen sand defy the laws of nature. We saw huge spiders. Something about this island isn’t right, and it doesn’t sit well with me.”
“The only logical explanation is that it’s a small animal perhaps,” said Harold.
Ronnie sighed. “I’m not sure there is anything logical about this island. And that’s why I shot off into the jungle. I wanted to see what was causing that sound. I needed to know for my own sanity.”
“Until we have more proof, let’s just say its monkeys.” Ronnie nodded.
I placed a hand over my racing heart. “Anything’s possible. If it’s nothing but a monkey, then I’m not going to get all stressed out over it.”
The chirping of birds intensified, overshadowing the rhythmical crashing of waves against the shore and I took that to be a good sign. I knew wildlife usually clams up when a predator approaches. The birds were just more proof everything was A-okay.
I touched Ronnie’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re out here chasing wild animals. Do you have a screw loose?”
He smiled, shaking his head. “You make me sound like a lunatic. As one of my ex- girlfriends put it. I’m fully flawed.”
I laughed. Beth used to say that about him all the time. It was funny that he labeled her as a 'girlfriend' when they’d called it quits after only two months. But that was a record for Ronnie. Another thunderous sound echoed through the jungle. This time, everything became silent, except for the ocean.
Ronnie’s eyes widened and his head slowly turned to face the direction of the sound. “Something’s not right “
My heart leapt at the noise. It did not sound like any animal I had ever heard. My imaginings of what it might be twisted my stomach into knots. I so much wanted to believe Harold- that it was just a harmless small animal, howling from miles away-but in a world of glowing sand, basketball sized spiders and humongous plants, who knew what kind of creature was out there waiting to attack.