All About Survival

The Nest Part 2

I was tempted to not turn around, to not see the terror coming up behind us ready to take our lives without hesitation. I was so tired, so damn tired of running for my life day after day, hearing the screams of dying men and watching our numbers continuously dwindle. Who would be next? I didn't think my sanity could take seeing Scott or Blaine killed; it was probably inevitable on this damned island, but I didn't want to accept it. And what if Billy was the next to be picked off? I knew without a doubt I wouldn't last without him. He was my rock, my one constant that kept me going.

As long as he was there, I would continue to force my exhausted body to survive, no matter how much it begged me to give up.

So I turned despite the temptation to not, facing the thundering Spinosaur heading straight for us. The group needed no prompting once they turned as well and once again we ran for our lives.

The trees were only a slight hindrance to the beast, their thin, weak nature causing them to easily snap as the animal burst through. It slowed him some, but not enough to get us to safety.

The days without proper food, rest or water was quickly catching up to us and if it weren't for the hindering trees, most of us would have been snatched up already. As it was, a cut-short scream and nauseating crunch announced the departure of Adam. The sound pumped another dose of adrenaline into my veins but the fact my body had been using so much of it lately doused the effect. My weary body felt only more exhausted as we continued to run and dodge the trees.

I chose the wrong second to glance back, as the beast snapped his jaws out and latched around Scott's man Darrell. As sick as I felt thinking it, I knew the man's death gave us a few critical seconds to get further away.

Something hit me from the side and it took me a long moment to recognize it was Billy keeping me from running straight into a tree.

There was only so much we could do to keep ahead of the giant beast and every step burned my exhausted muscles.

Bursting through the trees, a huge Tyrannosaur appeared in front of us, snatching up Dave as he tried to avoid this new threat. The two predators roared at each other as I dove between the Rex's legs, rejoining the rest of the group as we continued our mad sprint for our lives.

We didn't stop to watch the fight and I didn't allow myself the time to consider my surprise when the Tyrannosaur's victorious roar shook through the trees.

We kept running, the branches of the trees and undergrowth reaching out to my exposed skin, scratching and tearing at whatever flesh it could reach. The constant abuse turned my arms numb to the pain, a single mercy as the numbness engulfed my shoulder as well.

The length of ground covered beneath our feet lessened as our pace slowed until finally we stopped completely. We needed to get off the ground; we had to get up the trees. But I was sodamned tired.

I couldn't get the strength to speak let alone climb twenty feet up a tree. So I settled for collapsing on the ground, using the trunk as support while the rest of the group dropped down as well.

Billy dropped next to me, though no one said anything for a while as we struggled to regain our breath and some semblance of energy back. We couldn't go on like this; I couldn't keep going like this. By all rights I shouldn't have lasted this long anyways.

"Come on, we can't stay here." Billy announced after several long minutes, standing up, he tugged me along with him, keeping a steady arm around my waist as my legs refused to hold my weight.

I really wanted to argue with him, tell him we could stay right here, we didn't have to move for a few days. But I couldn't do that; I couldn't think of just my own body's pain, people's lives were at stake here.