Flight 203

CHAPTER 12

Tom woke up from the horrible dream. "That wasn't a dream." He thought. "It was a memory."
Maria stirred beside him. He sat up silently like a ninja in the shadows, and slipped out into the early morning. Dew sparkled in the sunlight, and it soaked Tom's shoes.
The towering trees that surrounded the camp shed some shade on the brightly lit clearing. Several seagulls flew above, and a butterfly fluttered brittlely on a flower that was blooming on the raspberry bush.
Tom sighed and plucked an apple from the tree, taking a savory bite of the mouthwatering fruit. Juices flowed through his mouth, and he sighed again. "If this weren't an island filled with vicious cannibals, I would love to come here on vacation." He mumbled.
Dried leaves crackled behind him. Tom spun around to see Maria beginning to stir in her bed.
"I'm starving." She complained. "I haven't had a good meal in days!" "Here." Tom replied, tossing her an immense, plump apple.
She caught it with ease, using only one hand.
"Wow!" Tom cried. "You caught that with one hand! It's as big as a softball!" "Well..." She started. "Several years ago, I was a softball coach for my local school's team. We came in second place."
"That's cool." Tom said.
Maria stood up and grabbed a stick she had sharpened; slipping it into her belt loop. Then she took a large bite out of her apple and swallowed. "It's delicious!" She said.
A groan echoed through the clearing. Tom spun around and grabbed his axe. He raised it and slowly stepped up to the palm frond door.
Another moan sounded. A muddy body flashed through a small hole in the wall. Then the door shook.
Tom kicked the door, and a loud shriek came from a creature that was flung into the lush undergrowth.
A hand swiped the axe out of his hand and kicked him back. He stumbled and fell into his butt.
A large thing clonked into the fort, and Maria screamed as it grabbed her throat, lifting her up and choking her.
Tom crawled over to the axe, but then a foot slammed down on his head, and he passed out.

Tom opened his eyes. There was darkness all around him. He couldn't even see his own feet.
A faint light glowed down a tunnel to his left.
He slowly stood up, and looked around. Scattered arms and legs and other assorted body parts lay on the ground. Sooner than later, Tom realized that he was in a cave. A gun lay on the floor, and he picked it up. Then he realized; his axe was gone.
He slipped the gun into his right pocket, which was covered in blood that wasn't his. A small radio sat on a cruddy wooden table in the center of the large cave, and he lifted up the mouthpiece, and pressed the button to talk. All there was was static.
"What the hell is this place?" Tom murmured. A bloody saw lay beside the radio, so he picked that up too; sliding it into the back of his pants.
A piercing scream echoed through the cavern.
"Maria!" He thought, scrambling to get to his gun. He brought it up and pointed it at the tunnel. Several large, bulky figures thudded into the place. They were about five times larger than the regular things, and much, much bloodier. One held a sledge hammer, one held a pointed stick, and one held a sharp spear.
Tom shot the gun three times at the thing holding the sledge hammer, but they deflected it with ease.
"You think you can kill a Cobalt with a puny gun?" It bellowed. "I don't think so!"
Then the Cobalt threw the hammer at Tom's head. He ducked just in time, and fired the rest of the clip at them. They all missed and impaled the rocks above their heads.
Laughter bellowed out of their lips. But Tom just smiled.
The rocks cracked and crumbled, plummeting down into the unsuspecting Cobalts.
Tom stepped through a crevice in the rocks and entered another cavern, though, this one had much more light. Several torches blazed on the side of the wall, and a large table sat in the center of it.
Maria laid on the metallic table, her chest covered in blood. He lifted her up and flung her over her shoulder. A flight of stairs sat to the left of him. He ran up it. Light flashed as he walked into a bright white room. About a dozen people sat at a long table.
"You have completed the Crash TV show!!! Sorry about her, she wasn't supposed to survive. Your wife nominated you to be on here, and you completed it, so you win! Congrats again for participating in this epic show! You win 50 grand!"
Tom stared at the men at the table in disbelief. What the hell was going on?
The man smiled a sickly grin. "Time for you to go home."