The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey by Frank Peretti

of Toco-Rey!”

FIVE
    A rmond Basehart and his three men were suddenly startled by faraway, echoing screams coming out of the pit like anguished screams from hell. Tomás, Juan, and Carlos crouched, gripping their rifles, their eyes white and wide with terror in the dark of the jungle.
    Even scientific-minded Dr. Basehart was unnerved by the sound. “It’s—I think it’s the girl.”
    Tomás nodded, his face etched with fear. “This is not good, señor. It’s—”
    The sound was getting closer, louder, wilder. They could hear running footsteps, the other Coopers shouting, the girl screaming. All the voices echoed from far below like ghosts in a deep, forbidden crypt.
    Dr. Basehart leaned over the wall and shined his light into the pit. “One of you had better get down there and see what happened.” He looked at his men. “It could be—AAUUGH!”
    Something grabbed his arm, then the edge of his coat, then clawed and climbed over him like a wild cat, knocking him to the ground. Juan and Carlos cursed in Spanish, unable to believe their eyes.
    â€œGrab her!” Tomás yelled. “Señorita, stop!”
    Juan dropped his rifle to free his hands. She was coming right at him, her eyes wild, her teeth bared, her breath huffing.
    He tried to stop her, plead with her. He grabbed hold of her. “Señorita, please—”
    She threw him off as if he weighed nothing, and he tumbled head over heels into the brush. Without looking back, she ran headlong into the jungle. They could hear her crashing through the thick growth into the dark night, getting farther and farther away. She screamed again.
    And then they heard another scream— the other scream, from somewhere in the ruins. It seemed to be answering her.
    â€œBasehart!” came Dr. Cooper’s voice from below.
    Dr. Basehart and his men dove at the rope and pulled Dr. Cooper from the pit.
    â€œWhere’s my daughter?” Jacob Cooper demanded, scrambling over the wall.
    â€œShe . . .” Dr. Basehart fumbled to answer, still in shock.

    â€œWhere is she?” he yelled.
    Dr. Basehart’s voice trembled. “She ran into the jungle. We couldn’t stop her. She was mad, out of her mind!”
    â€œGet my son out of there!”
    They quickly pulled Jay out of the pit.
    Dr. Cooper was seething. “So the green slugs are harmless, eh?” He grabbed Tomás by the collar.
    â€œYou call that harmless? My daughter is a raving animal!”
    Dr. Basehart intervened, pulling Jacob Cooper away from Tomás. “Dr. Cooper, we are just as surprised as you! We had no idea—”
    They heard another scream. It was Lila.
    â€œCome on,” said Dr. Cooper, leading the way into the jungle, “we’ll talk later.”
    Tomás cautioned, “It is dangerous! There are snakes, carvies, maybe Kachakas!”
    â€œCome on!”
    They pushed into the jungle, trying their best to follow Lila’s trail. Dr. Cooper kept probing the thick growth with his flashlight, finding broken branches, trampled leaves and vines, footprints in the soft earth. Her speed and agility through this tangled mess was uncanny. Not only was she out of her mind, but a massive adrenaline rush also gave her super strength. Sometimes it seemed she had bounded over the top of everything.
    â€œThe curse of Toco-Rey,” Dr. Cooper muttered bitterly, groping about, slashing with his machete. “Toxic slime! That’s all José de Carlon encountered. That’s all it ever was. I shouldn’t have believed Tomás. I should have gotten Lila out of here right away and put her in a hospital!”
    Dr. Basehart tried to defend himself. “Dr. Cooper, we can’t be sure what caused—”
    â€œThen find out!” Dr. Cooper snapped back. “You’re the scientist, the biologist with the lab. Find out what the stuff is and how we can undo whatever it’s