PREDATOR ISLAND (Sea Lab Book 2)

CHAPTER 29

Jake led the way this time, charging through the jungle foliage, leaves slapping him in the face. He didn't know why he burst in front of Dylan and Savannah and everyone else. Maybe it was all the carnage he'd seen in this strange and long day? Maybe his mind needed a distraction? And following the clues of this treasure might be what he needed. As he walked at a brisk clip, Dr. Graham called to him, beckoning him to hurry. Jake did just that, leading with his arms and ducking his head against the obtrusive limbs trying to poke his eyes out.

Before they found the plane wreckage and the huge cage with the open door—even back to when they found the waterfall clue—he'd contemplated what the serpent's head might look like. The more he pondered it, the more he couldn't visualize it. Its elusiveness escaped his imagination. He thought, how could there be a rock formation in the shape of a snake head...with eyes? It didn't make sense unless someone carved it out with a hammer and chisel. And that would take a considerable amount of time, which he assumed, Captain Bennett Graham, a pirate on the run from the British Navy, wouldn't have.

"Wait up, Jake," Sarah said from close behind. Who was she kidding? She didn't need him to wait for her, she could catch up to him by turning on the jets. If she could beat Tony in arm wrestling and snag Jake by the wrist back at the narrow ledge, then she'd have no problem catching him, even in a dead run.

Jake emerged from the rainforest at the river's edge. The noise of the rushing water drew his attention to its rumbling surface. Briefly, he scanned the whitewash, his eyes lifting to the jungle on the other side. Then his gaze shifted to this side, searching for Dr. Graham. He stood fifty feet away, beside himself, giddy like a school kid. He shouted and waved his arms for Jake to hurry. Whatever this serpent's head looked like, he was about to see it. It wouldn't be elusive anymore as its form was laid bare for everyone in the landing party.

Jake turned and grabbed Sarah by the hand. At the sight of her eyes, he slowed, breathing deeply to catch his breath. He panted, but not because of running. The valley narrowed around him, closing in on him. He felt like he wanted to hide, ashamed he'd let his emotions get the best of him. He didn't know why. He shouldn't be blushing and regretful. So what if he'd let the moment get to him? It was a moment of discovery and he needed it to regain his mental toughness.

Dylan and Savannah rushed past them.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

Jake shook his head. "Yeah."

"You're acting..."

"I don't know, I just feel like this adventure is getting all-to-real with the dead bodies stacking up." Jake threw a wayward hand the air. "I didn't even see the pilot and the dead crew members, and it felt...well...I don't know..."

"It's normal, Jake. Seeing death and carnage on this level is not easy for a person to absorb. It's not easy for anyone to take in."

"But you saw the people in the plane and you didn't bat an eye."

"Just because I didn't breakdown like Rachel doesn't mean it didn't affect me. I just try not to let it show, for her sake, really."

"I just needed the distraction that this treasure hunt brings." Jake brushed a hand through his hair and sighed. "I remember Takeshi Ishikawa's dead, vacant eyes staring back at me when he tried to stop me from getting away. As the ship sank, I glanced back for only a second. Even in the darkness, from the light of the moon pool, I knew his soul was no longer inside his body. He was dead."

"Yes, and fortunately, you had a DPV."

Jake nodded with a slight chuckle. "That little hand-held underwater jet ski. I remember."

"Come on," Tony said as he and Rachel went to go see the rock formation. Jake looked up as they moved by and saw Dylan and Savannah with Dr. Graham, studying a large and smooth rock.

Jake could only see the backside of it. "At the time, I was so worried about you, making sure you were still alive, that I didn't care about Ishikawa being dead. But now...I guess it's the accumulated effect of one body after another in such a short period of time. And then I heard the doctor calling, saying he'd found it, and I just wanted to get away."

"Well, we're away from the plane now...and the dead bodies."

"Are you two going to hurry up and get over here?" Tony said. "You've got to see this."

Still, Sarah held Jake's hand. She tightened her grip and tugged him along. "Come on, let's see what all the commotion is about."

The serpent's head was a natural rock formation. The river had cut a deep groove into the channel, leaving the bank ten feet above the water. But several large flat rocks created stair steps down to the level inches above the flow. Jake and Sarah hopped down each slab to the lowest one. Separated from the final step, another rock rose above the current, rounded and smoothed by the process of water  erosion. Over hundreds, maybe thousands of years, the river scoured the surface of the rock, sculpting a unique masterpiece. The water had rushed around it and formed what looked like the top part of a snake's body, curving into what appeared to be a serpent's head. It was completely natural. The formation reminded Jake of the face on Mars. The trick of light and shape of rocks gave the illusion that someone had created a monument on the red planet. Aliens? No. Just wind erosion, or water, if it ever flowed on the surface. The only thing that was manmade about the serpent were a pair of eyes that had been hammer drilled by hand tools. The head and the eyes faced down river, slightly off course of the rapids.

Dylan asked Savannah for the compass. Once he had it, he said, "It points southwest. We'll have to cross the river to keep going."

"We can continue downstream until we find a way across, but we need to keep moving because we have, oh, " Savannah checked her watch, glanced up at the sun, "about an hour left in the day. Nightfall is on the way."

Rachel shook her head. Tony sighed.

Jake knew his friend dreaded having to keep her calm.

Heck, the way his nerves had been jumping lately, Jake might need more of Sarah's comforting skills. Which was not a bad thing. Anyway.

Unfortunately, the hour before sundown ticked by fast. They managed to work their way further downstream, and were able to stick close to the river. In the moments of twilight, Dr. Graham spotted a massive rock next to the water's edge. Underneath the front of the elongated slab, the current had washed out a moderately sized den. It made a good place to set up camp.

Dylan suggested they build a fire.

Dr. Graham advised against it.

When Rachel asked why not, he replied by saying they needed to maintain a low level of visibility, for things that go bump in the night. That brought stares from everyone. Another of the doctor's survival tips.

After eating food from their packs, they fell asleep in the dead of night.