The Island In The Mist: A Dinosaur Thriller Read online

  Roughly thirty-five million years ago, the state of Mississippi and many other states across the south were covered in ocean. The oceans were shallow, but they were full of aquatic life. The Basilosaurus was a prehistoric whale that thrived in the shallow seas. When all of those oceans dried up, countless Basilosaurus skeletons were left scattered across the southeast. In the nineteenth century, the fossils of the Basilosaurus were found so frequently that they were regularly used to make furniture. They were still plentiful in the twentieth century and had become so popular that four years earlier, the state of Mississippi decided to make it the state fossil. Alabama did the same a few years later. Occasionally, very complete specimens were found when the summer heat dried up the rivers. Peter spent a lot of time on the rivers during this time with hope that he would find some uncovered remains of Basilosaurus. Almost two weeks ago, he finally did. His excitement got the best of him as he wasted no time retrieving his tools and he began carelessly chipping away at the almost rock-hard clay encasement surrounding much of the skeleton. He’d already damaged many of the vertebrae when he finally made the decision to call Jonathon.

  It aggravated Jonathon that Peter didn’t contact him before the damage had been done, but he never let him know it. After all, amateur paleontologists were responsible for many of the greatest finds in history. They were valuable to the science and the last thing he wanted was to form a reputation as a scientist that despised them. Suddenly, the phone began to ring. He instantly thought of Peter. I plainly told him I’d call him when I was finished, he thought. He shook his head and snatched up the phone.

  “Peter, I told you I’d—”

  “Hello, Jonathon,” the soft, feminine voice interrupted.

  It was his girlfriend Lucy, and she sounded as if something was wrong. She usually didn’t call him at work and her voice was a lot softer than usual.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “We need to talk…soon. When can you meet me for lunch?”

  He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was only a few more minutes until twelve. “I can leave right now if you’d like. Where do you want to meet?”

  “Meet me at that place you took me to a few weeks ago,” she responded.

  He didn’t respond because he didn’t have any idea what place she was referring to. He closed his eyes and struggled to remember.

  Lucy sensed his memory lapse. “That place that makes the deli sandwiches. I think its downtown.”

  “Oh yes,” he said, remembering. “I’ll meet you there in half an hour.”

  She never said another word, just hung the phone up abruptly. That wasn’t like her and he had a feeling he knew what was up.

  ***

  When Jonathon arrived, Lucy was already there waiting for him at a table outside. It was a very pleasant day; the sun was hidden behind gray clouds and the temperature was considerably cooler than it had been a few days earlier. He strolled over and kissed her on the cheek. She didn’t pull away, but there was a coldness about her that he didn’t like.

  “Have you ordered anything yet?” he asked.

  “No. To be honest, I’m not hungry at all. I just need to talk to you in person,” she replied, her lips trembling a bit as she spoke.

  “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  Suddenly, her eyes watered up and tears began to stream down her soft cheeks. “It’s over, Jonathon. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  He wasn’t surprised with what he was hearing. He knew all along that she was going to say something like that. He just sighed and nodded.

  His response seemed to anger her.

  “Do you not have anything to say to me?” She wasn’t trying to hide her emotions at all, and actually she’d become a little loud. Jonathon slowly peeked around in both directions and felt his face redden when he noticed all the people around them were now watching them.

  “Sweetie,” he whispered. “I don’t know what to say. I had a feeling this is what you wanted to meet about. I really don’t want to lose you, but I don’t know what the solution for all of this is either.”

  “I’ve been more than patient with you. I’ve poured every ounce of myself into this relationship. I’ve tried so hard to prove to you how much I love you,” she sobbed. Now her makeup was streaking all over her face.

  “I know that, and I love you too. But, I’m just not ready to make the kind of commitment you want me to make.”

  Lucy shook her head and tried desperately to prevent more tears from flowing. She finally placed both of her elbows on the table and held her head in her hands. Her long, curly brown hair cascaded down her arms and hid her face from view. “I just don’t understand why,” she said. “I just don’t get it. If you love me and you only want to be with me, then why not marry me? We’ve been together for eight wonderful years.”

  Jonathon sat quietly a moment, not sure how to respond. He genuinely felt bad for Lucy, and he felt guilty for putting her through all of this. To be honest, he didn’t understand why he felt that way either.

  “I guess it’s just a guy thing,” he said, finally. “You know we’re all afraid of that kind of commitment. Lucy, it’s not fair for you to let something like this tear you up this badly. It’s certainly not fair for me to try and keep you around when I obviously can’t give you what you want right now. I want you to know that I’ll always be around if you need me.”

  He waited for her to say something, but she remained silent.

  “I don’t want you to keep hurting, so I’m just going to leave. I love you, and I’m sorry,” he said. He rose from the table, took a moment to give a disapproving glare at all the onlookers surrounding them, and then escaped as quickly as he could.

  ***

  A sharp knock on the heavy wooden door woke Angus from the afternoon nap he was enjoying in his office. The large leather chair was as soft as a pillow, and it seemed to swallow him up when he sat in it. It was perfect for napping.

  “Come in,” he called out groggily.

  Travis let himself in and was followed by a tall, slender man dressed in denim shorts and a polo shirt. He also wore hiking boots and sunglasses. They both sat down in the two large leather chairs across from Angus’s wide wooden desk. Angus’s chair squeaked loudly as he adjusted from the leaned back position he was in before they knocked on his door. He sat upright and rolled the chair up closely to his desk.

  “You have good news,” he said with hope in his voice.

  Travis smiled and the other man nodded. “Yes, sir, we have great news. I think we found it,” he replied.

  “The Puerto Rican said it was a relatively small island with a shroud of mist surrounding it, right?” the other man asked.

  “That’s correct, Eric…tell me you found it,” Angus answered.

  Eric grinned widely and that was all the confirmation Angus needed. He stood up from his chair and rushed around to hug both men. “Thank you, thank you so much,” he said happily.

  “You’re welcome, sir, but there is more that you need to know,” Eric replied, cautiously.

  Angus stopped himself.

  “Oh yes, of course. Please tell me everything,” he said as he made his way back to his chair behind the desk.

  “First off,” Eric began. “The island was extremely tricky to find. It seemed like I flew all over the Atlantic these past two months looking for your island, and I was just about to decide it didn’t exist when I spotted something odd. At first, it appeared to be smoke, or steam coming from an underwater volcano. I thought back to what the Puerto Rican said about mist around the island; it turned out that he was right. The mist that covers it serves as a great camouflage against the ocean. From the air, it’s very hard to see, and I would guess the same would hold true from a ship. It would be hard to spot on the horizon because then it would be camouflaged with the clouds. It’s in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and before I go any further, let me tell you I ain’t a very superstitious person.”

  Angus nodd
ed. “No, of course not.”

  “However, there is some really strange stuff about that island you should know before you explore it.”

  “Like what sort of strange stuff?” Angus asked, curiously.

  “Well, for starters, the day after I discovered it, I set out early to take another look at it. But the funny thing is, it wasn’t there. I double-checked my coordinates and I’d almost decided that my eyes had played tricks on me the day before. That is until I headed back and spotted the island again. I jotted the coordinates down again, thinking I’d just made a mistake, but when I returned the next day, it was gone again,” he replied.

  Angus said nothing; he just sat quietly, wide-eyed.

  Eric pulled out a map and unfolded it across Angus’s desk. “The only way for this to make sense is for me to just show you,” he said. “The three corners of the Bermuda Triangle touch Miami, San Juan, and Bermuda. I drew the triangle on this map to show you just how central this island is.”

  Angus nodded, and took note that part of the triangle touched San Juan, Puerto Rico.

  Eric continued. “You’ll also notice that I drew several red ‘X’s to form a circle within the triangle. Next to each ‘X,’ you will also see that I’ve written a date. Over a course of one week, this is the path that the island moved.”

  “Whoa, wait,” Angus interrupted. “Did you say it moved?”

  “Yes, I know it sounds crazy but this island moves every day.”

  “But that’s not possible,” Angus argued.

  “I understand that, sir, I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes.”

  “That’s amazing,” Angus said softly.

  “The good thing is that I’ve noticed it makes the same movement every week. It moves in this circular pattern exactly the way I’ve drawn it out. Fortunately, that will make it easy to find again. I don’t have any explanation for why it does this, except we should all take note that it lies in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. I’ve read a lot about the possibility of other dimensions. I wonder if maybe this island is on the edge of another dimension. We’ve all heard supernatural stories about the Bermuda Triangle.”

  “Another dimension? Fascinating. Well done, Eric,” Angus said, clearly interested but unafraid of the strange phenomena. “I’m very impressed that you found it. The camouflage and the constant movement is probably why it’s never been discovered before now.”

  “I agree,” Eric replied. “Keep in mind, I had plenty of time to look. I constantly searched for this island for nearly two months. I had about decided you were wasting your money, but as long as you continued to pay me, I was going to keep looking.”

  “I appreciate your efforts.” Angus turned his attention back to Travis. “How soon do you think we can put a crew together and explore the island?” he asked.

  At this point, Travis became restless in his seat. “Sir, there is one more twist that you need to hear.”

  “Well, by all means, spill it,” Angus said impatiently.

  Travis glanced over at Eric. “Go on, tell him,” he urged.

  Eric nodded, and then let out a sigh. “Well, as you already know, the island is covered in a thick mist. It’s not just the sides, the top is covered also. From the air, I couldn’t see the ground at all. To be absolutely sure there was an island beneath it, I had to make a risky decision to fly within the mist. I say it was risky because for all I know, there could be mountains everywhere, and it would be easy to fly straight into one when I came through the other side.”

  “That does sound dangerous,” Angus agreed.

  “I circled a few times and finally found a spot I felt comfortable entering. I dropped down as slowly as I could until I popped through. At first, all I saw was jungle, but then I reached a huge clearing near the center of the island. That’s where I saw them,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Saw them? What did you see?” Angus asked.

  “Dinosaurs. There were dinosaurs everywhere. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Dinosaurs? Are you absolutely certain of that?”

  “Mr. Wedgeworth, I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. It was definitely dinosaurs. My plane was very low, just above the treetops. When I came upon the open clearing in the center of the island, there was no mistaking what I saw. There were countless herds of them. All different kinds too.”

  Angus sat silently and fidgeted with his fingers as he thought to himself. “Osvaldo hasn’t mentioned anything to me about dinosaurs,” he said, finally.

  “Well, sir, I suggest you ask him. I know what I saw,” Eric replied flatly.

  ***

  Osvaldo wondered what was going on when Frank showed up suddenly and yanked him up the stairs to another room he’d never seen before. He was forced to sit down in a wooden chair. Frank then used a plastic tie strap to fasten Osvaldo’s wrists to the back of the chair. Osvaldo wondered if he really seemed that threatening to his captors for them to take such measures in keeping him restrained.

  After a few minutes, the door swung open and Angus entered. He grabbed an office chair with wheels and rolled it over to where Osvaldo was sitting.

  “Osvaldo, I appreciate you coming up here to meet me on such short notice,” he said in a nauseatingly polite tone.

  “If you really appreciate it, you will untie me.”

  Angus looked at Frank. “His hands are bound; it is really necessary to bind him to the chair also?”

  Frank said nothing, although he was secretly annoyed that now he was going to have to cut off the tie strap he’d just put on. He pulled out a pocketknife and cut it loose. Osvaldo leaned forward and let his arms rest on his back. It felt much better than having the wooden back of the chair between them.

  “Thank you, but releasing my hands would be nice too,” he said.

  Angus laughed. “Now you’re pushing your luck, Grandpa. I have something I need to ask you.”

  “I have something I need to ask you too,” Osvaldo shot back.

  “Okay, you first,” Angus replied with obvious interest.

  “Where is Armando?”

  “He’s nearby, don’t you worry.”

  “I want to see him,” Osvaldo said.

  The old man shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. At least not yet. If you continue to cooperate with us you will eventually see him again. If you don’t, well…”

  “What do you want?” Osvaldo asked angrily.

  “Tell me about the dinosaurs.”

  Osvaldo suddenly felt his heart race. He clenched his jaw just to keep it from dropping to the floor. If he knows about the dinosaurs, then he’s found the island, he realized. He was aware of the fact that Angus had been searching for it for two months now, but he never dreamed he’d actually find it. It had been five hundred years since he discovered it and no one, to his knowledge, had ever found it since.

  “You found the island,” he said in a whisper.

  “Yes, I found it. Are there dinosaurs on it?”

  “Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “There are enormous dinosaurs on the island.”

  “Then why haven’t you told me anything about them?” Angus asked, a hint of rage was in his voice.

  “I never thought you would find it, honestly. I just figured after all of these years it didn’t exist anymore.”

  Angus stood up and struck Osvaldo squarely across the jaw with the back of his hand. “Is there anything else you’re withholding from me?”

  It was a hard hit, but Osvaldo hardly noticed it. He was still in shock that the old man had actually found the island.

  “No…there isn’t anything else,” he said.

  “Good, you go back to your dungeon and get some rest. You and Armando will be accompanying us on a little expedition after we make our preparations to leave,” he snarled as he began to walk out of the room.

  “No! Armando cannot go with you! I will cooperate with you, just please leave Armando here!”
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  Osvaldo was pleading, and it was the first sign of weakness Angus had observed since they’d kidnapped him. He stopped and turned back toward him.

  “I’m afraid Armando has to come along. You’re the only one who knows where the fountain is. Let’s just suppose we arrive at the island and you refuse to help. Think of Armando as sort of an insurance policy. It’s actually very simple. You’ll cooperate, or we’ll hurt your grandson,” he answered.

  Osvaldo was on the verge of tears; his eyes were full of pure terror.

  “No! I will cooperate, I swear it! I don’t want my grandson anywhere near that island, it is extremely dangerous! Please!”

  Angus left the room and walked down the hallway back to his office where Eric and Travis waited. He hardly noticed Osvaldo’s loud, frantic screaming that echoed all around him.

  Chapter 7:

  The bright light from the refrigerator illuminated Jonathon’s now scruffy face and he retrieved a carton of orange juice. He filled a small glass he’d gotten out of the cabinet and proceeded to chug the cold citrus drink right where he stood. He couldn’t get Lucy off of his mind. He figured most men would drink alcohol to drown their blues away, but he absolutely hated the bitter taste of it. Orange juice and Hawaiian Punch were going to have to do the job for him.

  He wandered to the living room and flicked the switch on the wall to brighten things up a bit. The room wasn’t very extravagant, but it wouldn’t be hard for someone to figure out what he did for a living just by looking around. He had lots of specimens lying around. Actually, the majority of what he had was teeth and ancient clam shells. Unfortunately, that was pretty much all there was to be found in his part of the country since it had once been an ocean. Because of his lack of animals to study, he’d become quite the expert on the Basilosaurus and it was what most people in the profession knew him by. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t have any experience with other dinosaurs. He’d been on lots of digs in the Badlands of Montana and North Dakota, and as he thought about it, he decided he should plan another trip there in the near future.