Island Of The Cryptids

31

Jake's breath was terribly shaky and hoarse as he approached the clearing. His feet flew across the trodden ground, pumping his muscles, making his lungs breath fire. His breath hissed out of his teeth, which were clenched together and jarred against each other with every hammering step.

He rounded the small bend that lead into the clearing, eyes running rampant, searching for the wreckage of the Explorer. He entered the clearing, then stopped dead in his tracks.

The Explorer was missing.

He was so taken aback by this that he almost turned around and ran straight back to the plane. But he stayed put, calming himself down.

Where there used to be the mangled corpse of the Explorer from the attack many hours earlier that night, which now seemed like an eternity ago, there was a smeared patch of muddy ground with a few fragments of metal and glass shards stuck in it. It confused Jake to no end. He approached the small radar building, running his thoughts.

Something had taken it, that was for sure. A metal object that big and that damaged didn't just move on its own. Perhaps one of the larger cryptids had waited until the ground had gone and then hauled it into the forest, just like the raptor-thing had taken Misty?

Jake panned his gun at the treeline, expecting to see something move. When nothing did, he pocketed it and resumed his thought train.

The things had taken Misty into the forest. Something had stolen the captain's body. Now, something had taken the Explorer. Jake pondered. The creatures were taking things. They were taking them somewhere, for whatever use. The thing had killed the captain, according to Kaeli, then came back for the body. The thing had attacked Tucker, then came back for the car. It confused him to no end. But he was sure of one thing; he couldn't find the phone unless he found the car. And to find the car, he had to find wherever the cryptids were taking things.

He swung open the iron door of the radar tower's base and stepped into the swamp that dwelled inside. The water level had stayed the same, and now it was a coffee brown and carrying fragments of paper and bodies of dead rats.

He waded through the ankle deep water towards the trunk with the flares and the books. He had to find out more. He was so intrigued. He reached into the already open compartment and pulled out the book he had been intently reading earlier, and flipped to the page he left off on and continued.

The minutes blended together, and Jake lost track of time. The next thing he knew, his socks and shoes were soaked through, and he was shivering, hands clammy, but not because of the water.

He knew what the truth was, so he was careful not to touch it as he carefully ran out, then up into the clearing and towards the camp, straining his lungs.