Vapor (13 page)

A distant hissing noise, like water sizzling on hot metal, filled my ears. Pausing mid-stroke, I looked toward the island. A dark shadow, the one I’d seen from above, flitted across the mountainous landscape. It walked on four legs, moving with an odd sort of jerky precision.

Even on all fours it looked as tall as a person. From my research, I knew cows, pigs, and goats, all descendants of former livestock, lived on Pagan. But this creature was far too big to be any of them.

So, what the hell are you?

Lightning flashed across the dark sky. I blinked.

The strange creature was gone.

I resumed swimming. My knees started to wobble. My arms grew sore. The water felt cold against my skin.

A gust of wind careened against me. The current roiled. I felt myself pushed northeast, away from the island. Battling the elements was the surest way to death. But I couldn’t let them control my fate either. So, I compromised by fighting my way south while allowing nature to shift me in an easterly course.

Ahead, I saw an elevated shore, resting on ten feet of boulders. The surf pounded against the rock, creating large amounts of foam.

I heard some splashes. My gaze shot to the east.

A fin rose out of the water.

Heart pounding, I picked up speed. My legs kicked harder. My arms churned, keeping pace with my lower half.

As I passed Stevens, I gave him a hand signal. He glanced east, toward the fin. His jaw set. He began to swim faster.

Kicking my legs, I caught up with Graham and Beverly. Beverly flashed me a sly smile. I could tell she was taking it easy, saving her strength for the final stretch. It was a good strategy.

Unfortunately, our race had a new entrant.

“Shark,” I said between strokes. “Over there.”

They lifted their heads. Their eyes grew wide at the same time. Then they began to stroke faster.

Glancing east, I caught sight of four separate fins. Three of them stayed in a tight area. The fourth one grew larger as it headed toward us.

I pushed harder. The current picked up speed, shifting me toward the sharks. The nearest one drew within twenty feet.

I swam even faster. If the shark had wanted to attack us, it could’ve done so by now. Most likely, it was still sizing us up, trying to identify us.

Trying to figure out if we’d make tasty prey.

I reached the boulders. Waves pounded against me, slamming me into the rocks. Shrugging off the blows, I gripped a pair of outcroppings. My shoulders strained as I pulled myself upward. My feet found footholds and I reached up again, gripping more outcroppings.

Beverly reached the rocks and climbed up a few feet. She stretched a hand to Graham. He grasped it and she pulled him to a handhold. He grabbed hold of it and clambered, artificial leg and all, to safety.

I helped Stevens onto the boulders. After a short climb, we reached a flat, dirt-covered platform. Lungs heaving, I sprawled on top of it. The shark swam below us, about ten feet from the rocks. I couldn’t see its body in the dark water. But its shadow indicated a length of roughly twelve feet.

“Damn.” Graham inhaled a long breath. “That was close.”

Stevens sank to the ground. “What were they?”

“Tiger sharks?” I shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t get a good look at them.”

We rested for a few minutes. Then I took off my socks and rung out the water. I donned them again along with my boots.

“I just realized something,” Beverly said.

I glanced at her. “What?”

She smirked. “I won the race.”

“Wait, just a—”

“Quiet.” Graham held up a hand. “Does anyone hear that?”

Stevens cocked his head. “It’s coming from the west.”

I heard a whirring noise. I grabbed my goggles from my satchel and quickly donned them. “Okay, I see a small raft. It’s equipped with an outboard motor.” I adjusted the magnification. In the distance, I saw a tiny craft shoot across the waves. “It’s heading this way.”

“Get down.” Beverly flattened herself against the dirt.

With my eyes locked on the raft, I lowered myself to the ground. It smelled of salt and dead grass.

The engine ceased. The raft slowed to a crawl. A spotlight appeared on the bow, illuminating the rocky water. The raft shifted in a complete circle, tracing the waves. Then the engine started again. Slowly, the raft puttered forward.

A man knelt in the middle of the raft. He directed its movements as well as those of the spotlight. A breathing apparatus, hooked up to a diver’s tank, covered his face. Even so, I still recognized him. “It’s him,” I said. “The Polynesian guy from Israel.”

Graham exhaled. “Well, at least we know we’re in the right place.”

My jaw tightened. “They’re searching for survivors.”

“Then we should make sure they don’t find any.” Twisting toward the south, Graham snaked past a couple of boulders.

We followed him behind the rocks. “Does anyone have a satphone?” Beverly asked. “Mine’s gone.”

I shook my head.

“Lost my phone while swimming,” Stevens said.

Beverly looked at Graham. “How about you?”

“Bottom of the ocean,” he replied.

“At least we’re alive.” Stevens exhaled. “Things could be worse.”

Air rushed. A high-pitched shrieking noise, like nails on a chalkboard, filled the forest.

I turned west. A drone, exactly like the one from Israel, shot past the volcano. It was close, maybe a few hundred feet above ground level and a thousand feet from our position. Moments later, I saw dozens of twisting pillars of smoke.

Chemtrails.

“Things just got worse,” I said. “Much worse.”

My feet stayed rooted to the ground as I watched the drone zip across the ocean. Moments later, it began a banking maneuver.

Beverly squinted at the sky. “Looks like it’s coming back again.”

It’s flying a crossing pattern.

The drone had flown northeast, showering the western side of the volcano with chemtrails. Now, it was heading southeast, preparing to cover the volcano’s eastern side. It was an efficient and neat way to saturate the area with chemtrails.

It was also deadly as hell.

I studied the chemtrails, their position in the sky. I studied their movements and how the wind affected them. “Follow me.”

Unsheathing my machete, I chopped my way through a mess of dead vines. Then I ran south, straight toward the volcano.

The horrible shrieking noise returned. It grew louder and louder.

I crossed hills, leapt over rocks, and dodged trees. The shrieking noise turned skull-piercing. Gritting my teeth, I watched the drone zoom past the volcano.

I didn’t know who was directly controlling it. Nor did I care. Almost certainly, the pilot was following orders. And those orders most likely came from Simona Wolcott or one of her underlings.

Grayish chemtrails snaked downward, shooting deadly tentacles of smoke in all directions. We couldn’t hide from them. Nor could we dodge or outrun them.

But we can outmaneuver them.

I veered southwest. Pouring on the speed, I charged up a hill. The plane had flown steeply angled routes along both sides of the volcano. The main goal was probably to target the ocean as well as the shoreline. But that didn’t cover everything. The flight pattern left the volcano’s backside completely untouched.

I kept an eye out for the drone, but it didn’t return. The landscape turned rocky and increasingly vertical. Undeterred, I scrambled over a tall boulder, using ridges, cracks, clefts, and small peaks as hand and footholds. Reaching back, I helped Stevens onto the boulder. Then I lowered my hand to Graham.

With Beverly’s help, Graham climbed halfway up the boulder. Reaching up, he grabbed my fingers. Steeling myself, I pulled him upward.

Stevens grabbed Graham’s right arm. Working together, we hauled him onto the cliff.

Quickly, Beverly scaled the rocks. As she climbed onto the boulder, I turned skyward.

The chemtrails continued to glide downward, streaking with great speed. Powerful wind currents caught hold of them, nudging them slightly to the northeast. It wasn’t much.

But it was enough.

“What …?” Stevens hunched over, gasping for air. “What was that?”

“A chemical shower,” I said between deep breaths. “Simona’s people were covering their bases in case we survived the crash.”

He shook his head. “What the hell did you get me into?”

I exchanged glances with Beverly. “It’s a long story.”

“Nice moves out there.” Exhaling loudly, Graham clapped me on the back. “Reminded me of your dad.”

I frowned.

“You’ve got his instincts, his quickness. Did you know he used to accompany me on expeditions?”

I blinked a few times. Graham’s revelation was a stark reminder of how I’d hardly known my father. “But—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the strange hissing noise rang out again. It came from the west and quickly increased in volume, penetrating every inch of my head. I clutched my ears. Gritted my teeth. But I couldn’t block it out.

The sound reversed course. It diminished in volume before disappearing entirely. Releasing my ears, I twisted toward its origin point. Through the foliage, I caught a glimpse of the volcano’s edge.

“What was that?” Stevens winced. “It sounded … I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“I don’t know.” I stared hard at a distant shadow. Abruptly, it shifted positions, merging with other shadows. “And I don’t think we want to find out.”

“Follow me.” Adopting a crouching position, Beverly glided through a string of boulders to a lower level. Stopping inside a rock-enclosed space, she rose to her full height. “Okay, this will do for now. What’s our supply situation?”

“I’ve got my pistol and some ammunition. My machete, too.” I shrugged off my satchel. “But no food or water.”

“I’ve got my gun,” Graham said. “And that’s it.”

Stevens stared forlornly at the ocean. “I’ve got nothing.”

A pang of guilt hit my gut. If we hadn’t hired him, Stevens would still be in Saipan, drinking beers and swapping tall tales with other pilots. Instead, he was fighting to survive while mourning the loss of his helicopter.

“I’ve got my gun. Plus, some money. Not that it’ll do us much good out here.” Beverly exhaled. “We need to find shelter. Then we’ll look for fresh water.”

I arched an eyebrow. “We didn’t come here for a campout.”

“We’re stranded with no supplies. The only people within reach tried to kill us. If we hope to survive—”

“Then we need to get off this rock as quickly as possible,” I said, finishing her thought with my own. “We need to stick to the plan. We infiltrate the hangar and figure out why Simona wanted the reliquary. Then we grab it and get the hell out of here.”

Stevens sighed. “How are we supposed to leave? In case you haven’t noticed, my helicopter is lying on the bottom of the ocean.”

“You saw Pagan Bay. Eco-Trek has boats, large ones.” Swatting away some pesky flies, I gave the volcano another glimpse. It rose above the dead tree trunks. Deep gullies and ridges lined its steep slopes. “Right now, they think we’re dead. Their guard will be down. With a little luck, we can steal the reliquary and be on our way to Saipan by daybreak.”

Graham shook his head. “That thing is heavy. We’ll have to—”

The air hissed. The sound reached right into my head and stabbed at my brain, pounding away at it until I could barely think.

I grew dizzy. My knees started to wobble.

Dead leaves crunched in the distance. Branches snapped.

I spun to the west. But all I saw was darkness. “Something’s out there,” I whispered. “Something big.”

“This place is nothing but dirt and rocks,” Beverly replied. “It couldn’t support anything larger than a snake.”

More leaves crunched. Heavy footsteps struck the dry soil. “Come on,” I whispered. “Let’s get out of here.”

Heading east, I forged a path through leafless bushes and crowded tree groves. Then I passed through a deep gully and hiked up the far hill. Upon reaching the top, I prepared to enter another gully.

Then I froze.

A disheveled kid stood on the opposite side of the gully. His dark skin, cloaked in ragged clothes, shone in the dim light. He sported an emaciated figure and a thick head of messy locks. Streaks of dirt covered his jaw and cheeks.

He lifted a finger to his lips. Then he waved his arms frantically, urging us to join him.

Beverly started forward.

I grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“How do you know we can trust him?”

“He hasn’t tried to kill us yet.”

Good point.

I glanced at the kid. He’d moved to the edge of a small clearing. His neck swiveled rapidly, shifting from side to side. He was clearly looking for something.

But what?

I flinched as the hissing gained intensity. Spinning around, I saw something in the gully behind us. Its body was impossibly tall and almost perfectly symmetrical. Its coat looked sleek and shiny. For a moment, it stood still.

Then it charged forward.

The creature smashed through bushes in a blur of motion. It moved so fast my eyes couldn’t keep up with it.

A loud grunt rang out. Flesh smacked the ground. Terrified screams filled the darkness as a cloud of dirt shot into the air.

What the hell?

Dust and darkness cloaked everything. I felt the presence of Beverly behind me. Graham was perched a little lower on the hill.

Oh no …

“It’s Milt.” I started down the hill. “That thing’s got him.”

Graham grabbed my arm. I tried to shake him off, but he held on with an iron grip.

Grabbing my pistol, I aimed it into the gully. But the dust cloud was too thick to see anything.

The hissing turned deafening. A loud buzzing noise rang out. Electricity filled the air.

The screams turned into gurgles. The dust cloud exploded, kicking more particles skyward.

Something struck my cheek. It felt warm and sticky. I swiped it with my finger and lifted it to my face. It was red and smelled like copper.

Blood.

My gaze shot back to the gully. The activity had died down. Although dust still choked the air, I could see Stevens’ body lying on the soil. His torso had been cleaved open with surgical precision. His tattered organs, along with tons of blood, had spilt to the ground.

Beverly’s jaw dropped.

Graham’s eyes bulged.

He’s dead.

Sweat ran down my arms and trickled onto my fingers. I stood still, my eyes locked on Stevens’ body. Through the flying dust cloak, I caught a momentary glimpse of his visage. It was frozen with horror and pain.

More dust settled to the ground. I saw a distinct shadowy form. It stood next to Stevens. The buzzing and hissing noises continued without fail.

I couldn’t see details, but I didn’t care. Quickly, I took aim at the shadow. My pistol recoiled as I fired a couple of shots.

Soft pings, like metal striking an extremely hard surface, filled the air.

Take that, you bastard.

The creature lowered its head to the ground. I waited for it to fall, to collapse into a heap of quivering, dying flesh.

The buzzing softened. Abruptly, Stevens’ face vanished. Blood and gore flew outward, splattering across the gully.

Horrified, I took a step backward.

The creature didn’t bother to feed on the remains. Instead, it lifted its blood-splattered shiny head.

And twisted toward me.

I was too far away to see everything. But a vague detail caught my attention. It horrified me, almost as much as Stevens’ death. The creature was nature’s perfect killing machine. And yet, it was also an affront to nature, a horrifying accident of evolution.

Or of something else.

“Run,” Beverly shouted.

Beverly and Graham took off running. I sprinted into the next gully, a few steps behind them.

Looking ahead, I saw the strange boy. He stood at the edge of the clearing, waving frantically at us. Then he turned around and sprinted into the forest.

The hissing rose to an even louder pitch as I reached the bottom of the gully and ran up the opposite side. It egged me on, giving me strength to run even faster. I tried to focus on our next move, on how to survive. But I couldn’t get the image of the creature out of my brain.

Two sets of teeth? One on either side? But that means two heads. What kind of animal has two heads?