Terror In The Mist (The Island In The Mist Book 3) Read online

  “I can take the thorns all day long,” Harley said, panting. “Hell, I can even take the dinosaurs…but these damn mosquitoes are killing me right now.” She swatted furiously at the open space in front of her in a futile attempt to rid herself of the worrisome—and painful—pest.

  “It’s funny you say that,” Jonathon said, as he continued to hack and slash his way forward. “Mosquitoes are responsible for more deaths throughout history than any other act of nature.”

  “I think I’ve heard that somewhere before,” she replied, swatting at a biting mosquito on her neck. “These can’t be your ordinary modern-day mosquitoes.”

  Jonathon found himself trying to focus on the insects as he worked. He’d never considered the possibility that the insects on the island could be prehistoric in nature too. They certainly seemed to him that they were slightly larger and more painful than any mosquito he’d ever encountered before. “I’ve never noticed them before,” he said, thinking aloud. “Although I’ve never been here when the weather was conducive to helping them thrive either.”

  “Well, I mean it, I’d rather deal with some vicious dinosaur right now than these little beasts,” Harley muttered angrily.

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Jonathon replied flatly. “Trust me on that.”

  Harley laughed, but there was an uneasiness to her tone as she picked up on the seriousness of Jonathon’s.

  The trek through the jungle took roughly an hour, but persistence paid off and they finally broke through to find a familiar sight.

  “It’s a road,” Harley observed. “I’m assuming this will lead us to the compound?”

  “Right,” Jonathon replied. “Although I’m sure your intel already told you that.” He noticed her arms were still slick with blood. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she answered, glancing down at her arms. “Those thorns did a number on your arms too.”

  Jonathon suddenly noticed his own forearms were bleeding. He’d been so busy working his way through the jungle that he hadn’t even felt it. All at once, he felt a wave of worry wash over him.

  “We should find a place to wash this off,” he said, staring at his arm. “The carnivores I’ve encountered here have an incredible sense of smell. I even used blood to gain the attention of some hungry pterosaurs once to make an escape.”

  “Well, then we need to get moving and get to the compound,” Harley replied, turning her attention down the road. “There is plenty of water still there to clean up.” She took one step forward when suddenly a thicket of palm trees on the opposite side of the road began moving back and forth. She and Jonathon simultaneously felt a slight vibration under their feet. Something large was moving toward them. “Jonathon, what is coming?” Harley whispered frantically. She immediately pointed her assault rifle toward the movement beyond the trees.

  “Not sure,” Jonathon answered, and he remained completely still.

  “What do we do?” Harley asked, sounding even more panicked.

  Before Jonathon could answer, a large four-legged dinosaur trampled from the shadows of the jungle and onto the dusty gravel road. The creature was large and deep gray in color—almost the same color as an elephant. There was a large frill that rose from the back of its skull adorned with two massive horns protruding horizontally from it. At the end of the dinosaur’s beak-like snout, another shorter horn protruded vertically, like that of a rhinoceros. The giant herbivore that had just stepped out in front of them was none other than the well-known Triceratops.

  Harley stepped backward quickly, still pointing her rifle at the hulking beast. “Do I need to shoot it?” she asked quickly.

  “No!” Jonathon replied immediately. “It will not bother us if we stay back.”

  The Triceratops stopped in the center of the road and raised its snout to the air, sniffing. Seconds later, it bellowed a deep, guttural moan and pawed at the ground. At that moment, Jonathon noticed another Triceratops lumber out of the shadows and onto the road, this one slightly smaller than the first. The two Triceratops turned and seemed to face each other, each of them bellowing their sad songs.

  “What are they doing?” Harley asked, her rifle still raised.

  “I’m not sure,” Jonathon whispered in response. “They seem to be communicating about something.”

  At that moment, at almost exactly the same time, the two Triceratops turned to face Harley and Jonathon. They were clearly looking at them, and for the first time, Jonathon felt an unsettling feeling creep up his spine.

  “Something isn’t right,” he said, and both Triceratops seemed to respond by pawing at the dusty road. They began moaning more furiously now. “I don’t understand what they’re getting so worked up about,” he said.

  “Umm, I think I do,” Harley said, glancing past him. “Look behind you…slowly.”

  Jonathon slowly turned and looked over his shoulder. Suddenly, it all made sense. There were three tiny Triceratops standing on the edge of the road munching on a large leafy shrub of some kind. The young dinosaurs seemed oblivious to their existence, but the other two—presumably the parents—were anything but.

  “We’ve somehow stumbled our way between them and their babies,” he whispered nervously.

  “So do I shoot now?” Harley asked anxiously.

  “They haven’t attacked us yet,” Jonathon responded. He was sympathetic with the animals but he was quickly beginning to wonder if killing them was going to be their only avenue of escape.

  The two large Triceratops took a couple of steps toward Jonathon and Harley, the larger one jumped upward slightly onto its hind legs. It released a furious sound that was the closest thing they’d heard so far to a roar. Jonathon closed his eyes as he began to reluctantly accept that Harley was going to have to use her weapon on the larger beasts so that they could survive. He was just about the give the order, when suddenly the ground beneath them began to vibrate again. This time, it had nothing to do with dinosaurs.

  Harley looked down at her feet. “What now?” she asked, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

  “That’s not a dinosaur,” Jonathon replied as the vibration increased in intensity to the point of a full-fledged tremor. “This is an earthquake!”

  The young Triceratops were apparently spooked by the shaking earth and they immediately ran toward their parents, who in turn led them away and back into the jungle to seek refuge. The ground continued to shake for almost a solid minute before stopping just as suddenly as it had begun.

  Harley sighed and slowly lowered her rifle. “So not only does the island contain dinosaurs that could kill us at every turn and mosquitoes that want to suck every drop of blood from our bodies…it also has earthquakes.” Harley paused and looked over at Jonathon. “Is there anything else about this island that you haven’t told me?” she asked.

  Jonathon held up his hands. “The earthquake is a new one on me,” he replied. “I have no idea what that’s all about.”

  Harley scratched at the back of her head. She couldn’t tell if another insect was biting her or if her mind was just playing tricks on her. “I suppose it doesn’t matter,” she replied. “We’re here and we’re not leaving until we complete the mission.”

  “That’s right,” Jonathon answered as he removed his hat a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Let’s get to the compound, find the survivors, check on Cold, and get the hell out of here.”

  “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Harley replied as she began jogging in the direction of the compound.

  Chapter 17

  Each crash into the door sounded louder than the one before. It had been going on almost constantly since Glenn Hardcastle had left them several hours ago.

  “How long do you think that door can stand up to them?” Matt asked. He was seated at a stool near the kitchen area of the rec room. His right hand clutched a hot can of beer. In his right, he held another large knife like the one Hardcastle had left with. His face looked as if it had aged ten years since
Hurricane Simon had pummeled the island and he was in much need of a hot shower.

  Charlie eyed him a long moment and wondered how awful she herself must have looked. “It’ll hold up as long as it needs to,” she replied confidently. “Sooner or later, they’ll give up and leave us alone.”

  Matt sighed and leaned back against the counter behind him. “I hope you’re right, because it’s going to be kinda hard for us to get to that door on the lower level if we can’t even leave this room,” he said.

  Charlie looked away from him, doing her best not to let him see the doubt that was creeping into her mind. She hoped the Troodons would leave them alone, but truthfully, she had no idea when or if they ever would. They were incredibly intelligent creatures and if they were under the direction of Mother, it would be up to her when they stopped. She thought back to their treatment of the animals over the past couple of years and thought hard to remember if there were ever any instances where she believed the animals had been treated badly. She could think of no such instance, but she was also cognizant of the fact that the Troodons were being held against their will. Animals as intelligent as these would undoubtedly hold resentment toward her and Matt for that reason alone. “They’ll eventually leave,” she replied again, doing her best to sound genuine.

  There was another large crash against the other side of the door followed by a scraping sound on the wood.

  “They want in really bad,” Matt said, tightening his grip around the knife.

  Charlie stared at the door, as if she were expecting a hungry Troodon break it down at any moment.

  “I suppose I should get a knife too,” she said, making her way to the kitchen. She rummaged through the drawer and found one just like the one Matt had. It was quite large and reminded her of the chosen weapon of Michael Myers.

  “I guess I should apologize to you,” Matt said as he stood from the stool.

  Charlie whipped her head around and stared at him. “Apologize? For what?” she asked incredulously.

  “I should’ve gotten you off this island,” he replied. He looked down and stared at the blade in his hand. “This thing will be useless if they break the door down.”

  Charlie frowned and walked over to him. She put an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder. “First of all, you did tell me to leave the island,” she said. “It’s my own stubbornness that kept me here…ironically, it was so I could be here to protect the very animals that are outside trying to break in and kill us,” she added, glancing at the door. “And I know for a fact that Jonathon Williams has used a knife to kill dinosaurs on this island before so don’t count us out just yet.”

  Matt shook his head. “Well, it’s too bad he’s not here,” he replied with a nervous smile. “And yeah, I may have mentioned that you needed to leave until the storm blew over…but, to be honest, I didn’t mean it.”

  Charlie pulled away from him and looked at him with bewilderment. “What exactly do you mean by that?” she asked, genuinely confused.

  Matt ran his fingers through his brown hair and took a deep breath. He seemed tense and nervous. “I mean that I wanted you here with me,” he said, glancing at her eyes. “I’ve been too chicken to ask you on a date and I thought maybe this would be my chance to get more time with you alone.” He looked away and clenched his jaw. Charlie could tell he was blushing and had become very uncomfortable.

  “Oh,” she replied, unsure how to respond. She thought a moment and then said, “Matt, if you wanted to go on a date, all you had to do was ask.”

  He glanced back at her, his eyes widened. “So, you’re saying you wouldn’t turn me down?”

  “Of course not,” she replied, smiling. “But truthfully, I don’t think you’d like me very much.”

  Matt drank the last of his warm beer and tossed the can into a nearby trash bin. “Now why would you say a thing like that?”

  Charlie stared at the empty beer can Matt had just disposed of and suddenly craved alcohol too. She opened the dead refrigerator and pulled out a hot beer of her own. “I mean that there is probably a good reason why I’m still single in my mid-thirties,” she answered as she opened the can and took a long swig of alcohol. When she lowered the can, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Matt, I haven’t been on a date in over two years,” she admitted. “Can you believe that?”

  Matt walked over to her and put an arm around her. “No, I can’t believe that all,” he replied. “You’re an attractive, intelligent woman. You’ve got a beautiful personality. You are kind, and—”

  “Okay, okay,” Charlie said with a chuckle. “I said I’d go on a date with you so you don’t have to lay it on so thick.”

  “Well, I meant every word,” Matt replied.

  “And I appreciate it, but I’ve got a huge flaw, and if you’ll be completely honest with yourself, you have the same flaw.”

  Matt narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Please enlighten me,” he said.

  Charlie smiled back at him and pursed her lips as she contemplated how to say what was on her mind. “You and I are actually a lot alike,” she said finally.

  “I know,” Matt said quickly. “Which is why I think we’re a good match.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Charlie explained. “You and I are already in love. We’re both in love with our careers. We are working together now, sure…but sooner or later, we won’t be and we’re both too in love with our jobs to give it up for any one person. If you and I were in a relationship and our careers began to get in the way, someone would have to bend a little for us to make it work. You and I both know that neither of us are willing to do that.”

  Matt laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know about that,” he said. “And neither do you.”

  “Of course I do,” Charlie argued. “Think about what we’re doing now,” she said. “You and I work on a top-secret island in the Bermuda Triangle studying dinosaurs. Very few people on this planet even know what we’re doing. What normal people do you know that live like that?”

  Matt considered what she’d said but didn’t speak.

  “We could never have a normal romantic relationship because neither of us are normal at all,” she continued.

  There was a long awkward silence. Matt was unsure of how to respond. Finally, Charlie reached out and took him by the hand.

  “Having said all that,” she began. “I meant what I said. I’d be more than happy to go on a date with you.”

  Matt stared down into her blue eyes for a solid minute before leaning over and kissing her.

  “I guess it’s up to me to change your viewpoint,” he said when he pulled back. “That was a start.”

  Charlie’s eyes were closed and she was smiling. Matt guessed it had been a long time before she’d been kissed. Her “hard to get” attitude made him want her even more. Finally, she opened her eyes, and her smile disappeared. She immediately looked toward the door, a worried look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Matt asked. He too looked toward the door.

  “They stopped,” she said. “The Troodons haven’t crashed in to the door for at least ten minutes now.”

  Matt thought about it and realized she was right. They’d apparently given up—at least for now. “Should we make a run for it?” he asked.

  Charlie opened her mouth to respond, but never got the opportunity. Once again, the earth began to shake.

  ***

  Cornelius Cold had wrapped his hand tightly around a small tree trunk for support. The ground shook violently and all around him he heard the sounds of panicked dinosaurs as they ran and scurried for some sort of refuge that would provide comfort.

  “I didn’t think it would be this intense,” Hank commented as he spread his legs far apart to keep his balance.

  “It’s going to get worse,” Cold replied. “That is why we can’t abort the mission.”

  “Do you still think we have enough time?” Hank asked.

  Cold took a breath and looked down at his watch. T
he ground finally rumbled to a halt and he immediately felt his body relax. “I’m not a geologist and I don’t exactly have one at my disposal to discuss the matter with,” he replied. “Having said that, the last forecast I heard was for three to six months. I’m starting to think that prediction is off significantly. We need to find the cave as soon as possible and collect as much water as we can. There is a possibility it won’t exist a short time from now.”

  Hank had begun walking again and was following the GPS device in his hand. “According to this thing, we’ve only got a couple of miles to hike through there,” he said, pointing to the other side of the wide valley.

  “If we’re going to cross, now would be the best time,” Cold said, taking note that the earthquake had cleared the valley of all dinosaurs. He felt throbbing pain in his arm where an hour earlier a hunk of metal had been sticking through it. Hank had done a good job of getting the bleeding under control but he knew there was a high danger of getting an infection.

  Maybe the water can heal me, he thought.

  Hank stuffed the GPS unit in his belt and readied his rifle as he began to trot across the valley. Cold followed and grabbed his arm tightly as the shock of each step he took sent a sharp pain through his wound. He knew Hank would slow down if he complained, but he also knew the quicker they got off the open plain, the better. They’d almost reached the midway point of the clearing when Hank stopped so abruptly that Cold almost ran into him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply. He assumed Hank had spotted a dinosaur.

  At first, Hank said nothing, he just knelt. It was then that Cold saw it.

  “What does this mean for your forecast?” he asked, glancing at Cold over his shoulder.

  “Oh my,” Cold replied. “I don’t think this should be occurring yet.”

  On the ground in front of them, the earth had cracked open and a ghostly appearance of steam billowed from the gash.