"Mayday! Mayday! Can anybody read me?" yelled the pilot as the damaged Osprey descended. The squadron of troops was tense as the pilot got no response and sent out another call.

"What's going on?!" Scott yelled over the sound of the damaged propellers.
"Does it look like I know?!" replied Sergeant Turner.
He stood at the tail end of the Osprey and looked outside the opening. Where he had just seen the sun and dessert, he now saw rain and darkness. Suddenly the plane began to experience turbulence and shook violently. The sergeant flailed his arms as he tried to regain balance. Scott reached out to grab him, but his leader leaned too far and fell out.
"No!" Scott cried.
If the fact that they were going to crash didn't scare the men on board, the loss of their leader did. Some of the marines were beginning to be overwhelmed by fear, while others latched themselves to whatever secure object they could find.
"Brace yourselves!" screamed the pilot.
Everyone screamed as the half plane shook violently. Twigs and branches could be heard breaking apart from the outside. The aircraft came to a sudden stop and the last thing Scott saw was everyone and everything being thrown out of place.

"Scott. Scott wake up!" Sam yelled. She slapped his face hard and only got a moan out of him.
It was the sound of thunder rolling over that got him to wake in a jolt. Dazed and confused, he looked around. Three of his men were attempting to put out a fire engulfing the left propeller, while others were evacuating the injured and taking any supplies out they could get.
"What just happened?" he asked, not yet grasping it all.
"What do you think?"
He turned over to see Josh getting a patch on his arm. "We got shot down."
Scott rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he said in a sarcastic manner.
Sam pulled him on his feet and stood back as he brushed himself.
"Scott," Sam waited until he gave her his attention. "With Sergeant Turner gone, that makes you the commanding officer."
He froze, his eyes widened in realization. Not sure what to do, he slowly looked up, almost appearing to be looking at dead space. It went on for a minute until Sam spoke up.
"Scott?"
He snapped out of his trance and looked back at her.
"Your first order?"
"Yes, first order, uh… Is everyone out of the plane?"
"Yes."
"Good. What about our supplies?
"We've gotten most out, but we don't know what's been damaged."
"Alright then, we need to establish a perimeter around the area. Find out how far into enemy territory we are and, more importantly, find out just where we are."
"Sir, there's a problem," said another male.
Scott turned around to face the Marine, who stood just a few inched shorter than him.
"What's that, Daniel?"
"It's with some of our equipment. Our radios aren't working. Neither is the GPS. In fact, none of our satellite-based equipment is working."
Scott was disappointed at the news. His eyes darted furiously as he tried to figure out a backup plan. "We'll have to wait till morning. For now I need a perimeter set up. Daniel, I want you to get two others and scout around."
"Yes sir." He nodded and left.
"So," said Sam, "What do you make of all this?"
He looked around. Even with the pouring rain, the flames were large and bright enough to illuminate everything within twenty yards. There were ferns and bushes all around them along with tree trunks. He looked up a trunk next to him and could see as far up as the light would reveal until it was enveloped in darkness.
"I'm not quite sure, he admitted, "but it bothers me."

Scott stretched himself and yawned. From the inside of the osprey he looked out the back and saw sunshine piercing through the treetops. The only evidence that there was a storm last night was the drops of water dripping from the top of the plane entrance. He walked out of the cabin and got a better look at his surroundings. The terrain was far from a dessert. A combination of towering conifer trees and their shorter deciduous counterparts surrounded them. It was baffling for the new leader.
His bewilderment was broken when he looked over to see some of his team moving bodies around. "What's the toll?" he asked Oscar.
The African American turned around with dog tags in his hand. "Other than loosing Sergeant, both pilots are dead, along with Joseph, Alex, Jeff, and Michael. Tis a shame," he said, shaking his head.
"It could've been worse." Scott then looked back inside the plane.
Daniel had headphones on while he spun a dial on the radio, trying to get a signal.
"Any luck?" Scott asked.
Daniel's expression answered the question before he even spoke. He took his headphones off. "No. The weird thing is that the radio is perfectly fine. It's not damaged in any way, but I just can't get a signal."
"Is there anything that works?"
Daniel shrugged. "The hand-held radios work." He handed one to him.
Scott pressed a button and talked into the speaker.
"Mike, do you read me?" He waited for a moment. A static-covered voice answered.
"Yeah, I hear you."
"Have you found anything out there?"
"Negative, but this place is creeping me out. I'm hearing a lot of unusual wildlife out here."
"We're in a forest, what do you expect?"
"No, I mean they sound unnatural."
Scott stopped and took the moment to listen. He could hear the birds in the distance engaging in their daily conversation. There wasn't too much that was unusual about the call patterns, but some of the birds did in fact sound a little odd. He spoke in the radio again.
"They must be some exotic species. Come back and help set up camp."
"Roger that."

A tall, cloaked being lumbered out of his cave. Last night's storm didn't give him much time to sleep, especially the strange, thunderous-like sound he heard. He had never heard anything like it. About an hour afterwards, he could smell fuel. It had been a long time since he had smelled its pungent odder. Yet it seemed a little different. No matter, he made the connection between the sound and the fuel. There were trespassers on his island, and all intruders must be dealt with.

"You're not making any sense," said the confused leader.
"Well, you'll have to see it for yourself then," Mike argued. He opened his pack and pulled out a canteen. He twisted the top off and poured out its contents.
"Hey! Don't! That's precious-" Scott stopped himself hallway with his mouth half open. He finished his sentence, but more softly, "Water."
Everyone was astonished as a translucent, metallic-colored liquid poured out.
"You- you didn't drink that, did you?" The leader inquired.
Josh smiled and slapped Mike on the back of the shoulder. "I gave him all of my chocolate bars and twenty bucks if he did."
Scott face-palmed himself. "How long ago did you drink this and how much?"
Mike shrugged. "About two hours ago. I've had at least a pint so far."
Oscar approached him and turned Mike's head towards him. "Have you been experiencing stomach problems or any weird side effects?" he inquired as he examined Mike's eyes.
"Honestly, no. I feel fine."
Sam and some of the marines gave each other concerned looks.
"For now, you are," Said Scott. "Just where did you find this 'water'?"
Josh pointed over his shoulder. "At least a hundred yards to the south."
Sam pulled out her compass. She held it steady and waited for the needle to stop. It didn't. Sam stared at the compass, stunned as the needle kept spinning back and forth.
"Amanda, is your compass working?"
Amanda pulled out hers. "No."
Soon everyone pulled out their compasses and where perplexed and astonished.
"Okay, this is getting weird," Said Josh.
Scott then looked up at the sky. The rising sun was to his left, meaning Josh was indeed pointing south.
"From now on, looks like we're going to be navigating the old fashion way."

Scott was trained to be prepared for anything: an attack, rescuing someone, and if needed, what to do if alone in enemy territory. His training couldn't prepare him and his comrades for what they saw. A small stream trickled in front of them, their stunned faces reflecting off the metallic-colored water.
"Well, I think it's safe to say we're not in Kansas anymore," Josh jested.
"This isn't exactly Narnia either," smiled Sam.
"The stream. It has to lead to a river," Blurted Scott.
The two stopped their war of comebacks and looked at Scott, who stared downstream. Without saying a word, he walked alongside the stream. The others followed closely. For half a mile they made their way down a slope. The stream itself grew slightly as another small stream merged with it. Soon the slope became steeper. A light rumble began to fill the forest around them, while the vegetation around was becoming thicker. Scott stumbled as he pushed his way through.
He finally made his way into a clearing and found himself on the bank of a small, shallow river. The water was moving swiftly over small rapids and around boulders that jutted out. Just like the stream, the water was a translucent metallic color. Mike and Josh walked over to the edge of the bank and hopped on a few of the boulders.
After making it halfway across, Mike stopped and looked downstream. "I think there's a water fall up ahead!" he shouted.
Curious, Scott and Sam walked down the bank. Mike and Josh hopped their way back to shore and followed. The rumble of the falls became more evident the closer they got. They stopped right at the edge and looked down at the four hundred foot drop. Most of the water falling down scattered into a mist, which was then carried away by the wind. What water made it to the ground disappeared into the forest that covered its path. Farther out, they could see a large body of water. The large mass of water stretched from north to south. Their best bet was that it was ocean. The only problem with that theory was that it too was metallic.
Scott placed his hands on his hips and stared at the river. "This makes no sense." He pulled out his radio and talked into it. "Daniel, please tell me you've got some idea as to where we are." He waited for a moment.
"Sorry, but I got nothing," Daniel replied.
"Well, maybe this can help: We just made it to a tall water fall, and looking out, we can see what we think is the ocean."
"The ocean? Scott, for us to be that close to the ocean, or perhaps the Black Sea even, we would've had to crash several hundred miles off course."
Sam was listening closely to their conversation, but something down below caught the corner of her eye. She knelt down and turned over a rock partly submerged in the water.
"Uh, guys."
The three men were engaged with Daniel in a debate over whether or not the maps were correct. She picked up the small object and cradled it in her hands.
"Guys," she said a little louder.
They still didn't respond.
"Guys!"
The three stopped and turned around. Scott opened his mouth, but it hung open. Their eyes widened and their gaze went upward, over her head. She wasn't quite sure what they were doing until a shadow passed over her. She looked up and was shocked as a large animal flew over them. It was huge, having bat-like wings that spanned twenty feet. What was most surprising was that for a moment they though they saw it made partially out of metal. The large creature screeched as it turned around and flew at them. Flying in closer, they were able to confirm that it was in fact part robotic. They also noticed it had its talons stretching towards them.
"Run!" ordered Scott.
Nobody questioned him as they followed behind. The creature screeched again and brought its wings closer to its body. It dove down and readied its talons. Mike looked back and saw the claws coming at him fast and jumped to the ground right before it could grab him. The creature cried in disappointment as it climbed into the air to try again. He got back on his feet and fired his gun. The first round missed, but the second round pierced through the membrane skin of its right wing. It gave off another screech and flew away. He then sprinted back into the forest and caught up to his comrades, who hid along a fallen tree, gasping for air.
"What… the hell… was that!?" gasped Scott. "Or better yet… what, the hell… is this place?!"
"Maybe," Josh took a few more gasps for air and restarted. "Maybe those actors on Lost weren't really actors at all and we just found the same island they crashed on."
"Shut up, Josh!" Scott sat down and rubbed his forehead.
Sam held out her clasped hands. "Guys, something tells me the wildlife here is more different than you think." She opened them to reveal a small, half mechanical crab. It crawled around her hand. She put her hand next to Scott's, allowing the crab to walk onto his. He looked closely at the crab and all of its components.
"What do you make of all this?" asked Mike.
Scott kept his gaze on the little crab. "I don't know. But if there's creatures like that thing in the sky, then I don't want to know what's prowling around on the ground." Then his face froze in an epiphany. He pulled out the radio again. "Daniel, call everyone back to the plane now. When we get back, I want a head count."

The cloaked being stopped as loud bangs passed over, scaring the birds out of their perches. His large ears went up and turned in different directions, homing in on the source. When he got a good idea of where it came from, he climbed up a tall fir tree until he got close to the top. He looked out and observed the tall cliffs that stood out in the distance.
The wind blew across his face, carrying with it tiny particles that his sense of smell picked up. The scent wasn't old, but its owner was certainly quite a distance away. He knew if he was fast enough, he could catch the intruders before sunset. He jumped off the tree and landed onto branches of other trees until he made it to the ground and ran for the cliffs.

"I have a theory," Josh declared, talking as though he was a world-renowned scientist. "The water in the area is the cause for the robotic creatures. It must have some chemical properties that, over time, turn them into cyborgs! Which means soon Mike here will become part mechanical."
Mike rolled his eyes at the idea. "Oh please, like that would happen."
Josh shrugged, "You never know," and slapped him on the back as he walked past him.
Mike dismissed it, but soon the concept began to take hold in his mind. "perhaps it's possible there is a connection between the strange water and the creatures," he thought. He stopped and placed a hand on his stomach as nausea began to set in.
Sam noticed she couldn't hear Mike's feet and turned around. "What's wrong?"
The other two stopped and looked back.
"Do you really think it's possible? Could I really change into something I might not like?" asked Mike.
"Don't be ridiculous," said Scott. "You're not going to change into anything. Now let's hurry up. I don't want to keep the others waiting." He only took a few steps and stopped. Before his comrades could ask him anything, a soft buzzing sound encircled them. They looked in all directions as the sound in their ears rang louder.
Mike looked over his shoulder and exclaimed "Oh my-!"
They all turned around and saw a swarm of large, mosquito-like insects nearly twice their size, flying at them in random zigzagging patterns.
Scott gave his order by firing at the insects. The others were quick to comply and supported him. Two insects chirped wildly as they were hit and dropped to the ground like flies. The sudden loss did not deter the bugs as they flew circles around them, swooping in their attempts to snag a meal. In the midst of the fight Sam noticed a hum ringing in her ears at a lower frequency. She used her pinky to clean out her ear, but she could still hear it. She was about to dismiss it as hearing loss from the gunshots, but a blur caught her attention. She only got a quick look before running for her leader.
"Get down!" she yelled as she pushed Scott.
He felt a strong breeze pass over him and heard a scream. He got back on his feet and saw a much larger version of the insects fly away with Sam in its hands.
"Sam!" Scott screamed.
The smaller insects immediately dispersed, flying high above the canopy. The buzzing sound of their wings dissipated, leaving the forest completely absent of sound.
Mike was almost lost for words. "Do I want to know what all that was?"
"No," said Scott. He picked up Sam's rifle and ran after the larger insect. "But I'm afraid I know what they're going to do to her!"
"Scott, wait!" cried Mike.
They pursued after him.
"She could be anywhere by now," reasoned Josh.
"I'm not going to let another comrade die out here, especially when they're going to get eaten!"

Sam's high-pitched screams pierced through the forest canopy. The large insect that held her made several sudden and unexpected maneuvers, making it difficult for her to reach out for her Glock 9mm gun. She could feel her fingertips touch the holster. Another sudden turn broke her concentration. She gave it another try, reaching as far and hard as she could. The strap came off and she firmly grabbed the gun. Looking up and aiming carefully, she shot the creature's midsection several times.
The giant insect screeched in agony and released Sam before diving to the ground. Her feet hit the ground and she rolled several times. For what felt like minutes, she laid still before slowly standing up. She looked around and saw the creature twenty yards away, wings twitching as the last ounce of life faded. Not wanting to take any more chances, she drew the gun again and fired three more rounds. It stopped moving.
She sighed with relief, and then pulled out her compass. The needle still spun back and forth as though it was drunk. Suddenly a gunshot ran through the forest. An idea came to her and she fired a shot in the air. She waited and was answered with another gunshot. She was able to find the direction of the shot and limped her way towards it. For ten minutes her sore legs ached for her to take a rest. She found a large tree and leaned her weight on it. She aimed her gun in the air and fired another shot. The response was quicker this time. They were getting close. Tired, she sat down and let the sun's rays bathe her face. There was something odd about the light. It wasn't as warm as she thought it would be. For her, it felt somewhat artificial.
Her thought was interrupted by the sound of a disturbed bush. She looked around. "Scott?" she yelled nervously.
There was no response, and no sign of any large creatures around. She was skeptical of the silence, but sat back up against the tree and closed her eyes. Soon the warm light on her face went cold and dark. Not sure what caused it, she opened her eyes and stared straight into a pair of blue orbs towering over her. She only got a second to look at the cloaked figure, as it growled and flared its six-inch long teeth at her, before she yelled to the top of her lungs.
It grabbed her by the vest, lifted her into the air and slammed her against the tree. "I've had enough of these 'games'. Tell her to leave me alone!" It snarled.
Sam was flabbergasted. Her mouth gapped open and could barely utter a word. "Wha- what?"
Its eyes narrowed as it growled. "Don't play stupid!"
He threw her thirty yards across the forest. Without her pack, the impact of her back against the tree would've been a lot more painful. The sore and moaning marine got up as fast as she could. She got another good look at her attacker and could tell it stood at least nine feet tall, most of his figure covered in a black cloak. It had a long, brown head with green sickle-like ears protruding from the back. What looked like two rows of spikes rattled along his spine as he crouched down to pounce. She turned around and ran. He gave a quick roar and gave chase, catching up to her faster than she would've expected him too. She felt his hands push her to the ground from behind. She lifted her head out of the ground with a face covered in dirt.
The next thing she felt was a large hand grab her by the top of the helmet and pull her up. She held onto his wrist to keep the weight of her body from internally decapitating her. Once again she was face to face with the attacker.
"She might be creative in using you, but you're not fooling me," he growled.
"What are you talking about?!" Her question infuriated him.
He marched over to a tree and began to climb up with little difficulty. The marine frantically tried to unbuckle the helmet. The creature looked down and saw what she was doing. He lightly tossed her in the air and grabbed the back of her collar. The unexpected move startled her and she looked down to find herself already thirty feet in the air and climbing. This time she hung on to him for dear life.
"Scott!" she screamed.
Sixty feet up the tree he found a branch barely strong enough to hold them both up. He tossed her on it and pressed his foot on her stomach. The branch creaked under the stress.
"You seem pretty fragile, so I'll make this simple. Tell me where she is, or I'll find out whether or not another fatality to her growing list will get her to leave me alone for good."
From his cloak he drew out a three-pronged blade, nearly as long as she was tall, and let the tips touch her neck. Her eyes opened wide. She squirmed around, trying to break free, when her hand brushed along her holster. The pistol was there, but her attacker had his full attention on her.
She tried to stall him, "I-I-".
"Sam!" rang a familiar voice.
Both looked down to see the three marines running through the brush. The creature growled at them. Seeing her chance, she drew out the gun and fired. The bullet struck him on the shoulder. He hollered in pain and took a step to the side. The branch cracked and broke under the weight. The three men watched as Sam and the dark figure plummeted to the ground. The dark figure showed cat-like reflexes as it twisted its body around and landed on a nearby branch and jumped from tree to tree as far and fast as possible from them. Sam, on the other hand, hit every branch in her way and landed hard on her side.
"Sam!" yelled Scott. "Sam, are you alright?"
She moaned and rolled over, revealing a dirt-covered face with a small scratch along the left side of her cheek.
"I think so," she slurred.
Mike kept an eye on the canopy for the cloaked figure. "What was that?"
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I-I don't know. But he's pretty upset about our presence, and I think I just made him furious."
She slowly stood up, holding onto Mike and Scott as they pulled her to her feet. Her sore body reverberated pain through her like a gong. She could only bear a few steps on her own before collapsing into their arms again. Josh took off her pack and carried it while the others wrapped her arms around their necks and escorted her back to the plane.