slowing her stride or losing a single pace behind Darren, Kinsey tore into the fruit with her teeth and ripped back the peel to expose the fruity flesh inside.
She immediately tossed the fruit away and began to gag.
The smell of the fruit reached Thorne and he had to fight his own gorge. The fruit smelled like a corpse. Literally like a body that had been rotting in the sun for a couple of days. The stench coated the back of Thorne’s throat and he swallowed and spit again and again to try to dislodge it.
Kinsey looked over her shoulder quickly and gave them all an apologetic grimace. Thorne didn’t blame her; he would have done the same thing. They needed to learn about their surroundings as fast as possible, and despite the obvious dangers, only trial and error was going to cut it. They didn’t have the luxury of one of the scientists with them to sort it all out. Nor did they have the tech to stream video back to the B3 and let the eggheads whisper answers in their ear.
He wasn’t exactly sad about the latter.
Darren raised a fist and they stopped, crouching instantly. Thorne glanced behind him and saw Shane and Lucy each turn a different direction, watching for possible attacks as they waited for Darren to sign them forward or explain what he saw.
After a couple of seconds, Darren crouch walked back to Thorne, letting Kinsey take point, and huddled close.
“There is definitely something ahead of us,” Darren said. “Pretty sure it has been shadowing us on our right for a good half klick, but now it’s moved forward and is either leading us or getting set to cut us off.”
“Size?” Thorne asked.
“Pony-sized, maybe,” Darren replied. “Hard to tell with the way the light is. All the shadows from the trees and leaves are fucking with my depth perception.”
“Try having only one eye,” Shane said. “That’ll really fuck with depth perception.”
“Not a pissing match,” Thorne stated. “Do you want to move forward or skirt the thing?”
“I’d prefer to split up and surround it,” Darren said.
“But that’s not happening. No splitting up,” Thorne responded. “Forward or to the side?”
“Forward,” Darren said. “My gut says it isn’t dangerous, just something to watch out for.”
“Everything on this island is something to watch out for,” Thorne said. “But we’ll go with your gut. Lead on.”
Darren retook his place as point. Kinsey glanced over her shoulder at Thorne and he nodded to her, showing he was in agreement with Darren. She gave an imperceptible shrug as the Team stood and continued moving again.
A high-pitched squawk rang out above them and the entire Team glanced up, watching as a huge red bird flew from one treetop to another. The thing’s legs seemed impossibly long and were tipped by three claws, each with talons nearly a foot long. The bird squawked once more as it jammed its sharp, serrated beak into a hole in the trunk of one of the trees, yanking free a wriggling worm-like animal that it chomped in half and swallowed in one bite.
The bird’s head turned and its golden eyes surveyed them. It blinked a few times, the lids coming in from the sides like a reptile’s, then squawked one last time and thrust itself up out of the canopy and into the bright sky beyond.
The bird proved to be a dangerous distraction.
When they turned their attention back to the path, they found their way blocked by a herd of pony-sized creatures. But they were most certainly not ponies. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Looking very bird-like themselves, the creatures were each a little over two meters tall with elongated heads that ended in a strange mix between a beak and a lizard jaw. Feathers covered their heads and most of their body. Their arms had feathers as well, quite a few, but the appendages didn’t look like they had the strength to swat a fly let alone help the things actually fly. Their spines were long and angled, with tails that trailed out behind
She immediately tossed the fruit away and began to gag.
The smell of the fruit reached Thorne and he had to fight his own gorge. The fruit smelled like a corpse. Literally like a body that had been rotting in the sun for a couple of days. The stench coated the back of Thorne’s throat and he swallowed and spit again and again to try to dislodge it.
Kinsey looked over her shoulder quickly and gave them all an apologetic grimace. Thorne didn’t blame her; he would have done the same thing. They needed to learn about their surroundings as fast as possible, and despite the obvious dangers, only trial and error was going to cut it. They didn’t have the luxury of one of the scientists with them to sort it all out. Nor did they have the tech to stream video back to the B3 and let the eggheads whisper answers in their ear.
He wasn’t exactly sad about the latter.
Darren raised a fist and they stopped, crouching instantly. Thorne glanced behind him and saw Shane and Lucy each turn a different direction, watching for possible attacks as they waited for Darren to sign them forward or explain what he saw.
After a couple of seconds, Darren crouch walked back to Thorne, letting Kinsey take point, and huddled close.
“There is definitely something ahead of us,” Darren said. “Pretty sure it has been shadowing us on our right for a good half klick, but now it’s moved forward and is either leading us or getting set to cut us off.”
“Size?” Thorne asked.
“Pony-sized, maybe,” Darren replied. “Hard to tell with the way the light is. All the shadows from the trees and leaves are fucking with my depth perception.”
“Try having only one eye,” Shane said. “That’ll really fuck with depth perception.”
“Not a pissing match,” Thorne stated. “Do you want to move forward or skirt the thing?”
“I’d prefer to split up and surround it,” Darren said.
“But that’s not happening. No splitting up,” Thorne responded. “Forward or to the side?”
“Forward,” Darren said. “My gut says it isn’t dangerous, just something to watch out for.”
“Everything on this island is something to watch out for,” Thorne said. “But we’ll go with your gut. Lead on.”
Darren retook his place as point. Kinsey glanced over her shoulder at Thorne and he nodded to her, showing he was in agreement with Darren. She gave an imperceptible shrug as the Team stood and continued moving again.
A high-pitched squawk rang out above them and the entire Team glanced up, watching as a huge red bird flew from one treetop to another. The thing’s legs seemed impossibly long and were tipped by three claws, each with talons nearly a foot long. The bird squawked once more as it jammed its sharp, serrated beak into a hole in the trunk of one of the trees, yanking free a wriggling worm-like animal that it chomped in half and swallowed in one bite.
The bird’s head turned and its golden eyes surveyed them. It blinked a few times, the lids coming in from the sides like a reptile’s, then squawked one last time and thrust itself up out of the canopy and into the bright sky beyond.
The bird proved to be a dangerous distraction.
When they turned their attention back to the path, they found their way blocked by a herd of pony-sized creatures. But they were most certainly not ponies. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Looking very bird-like themselves, the creatures were each a little over two meters tall with elongated heads that ended in a strange mix between a beak and a lizard jaw. Feathers covered their heads and most of their body. Their arms had feathers as well, quite a few, but the appendages didn’t look like they had the strength to swat a fly let alone help the things actually fly. Their spines were long and angled, with tails that trailed out behind
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