TWO
Dr. Mika Mitsurai stares out from the window of the helicopter. Sitting beside her is Sonji Hiku, her official guide, a representative of the government's Agriculture and Environmental Division. They are on a government chartered helicopter to the island of Tori-Shima in the Philippine Sea. A circular shape island about 373 miles south of Tokyo also classified as a Class A active volcano by Japan's Meteorological Agency. Tori-Shima is also a sanctuary for sea-birds such as the Japanese Murrelet, short-tailed Albatross, and Common Kestrel. It is strictly prohibited to land on the island, unless authorized by the Japanese government. It is also a rich site for tourism as boats are allowed to travel near the ocean for bird watching, but restricted from landing ashore.
"We're honored you've accepted our invitation Dr. Mitsurai," says Sonji.
"No the honor is all mine. It's not often you're personally called for assistance by the government."
"Well to be specific Dr., you're here because we would like you to investigate the disappearance of the local wildlife. As you know Tori-Shima is a preserve for our sea birds, and it's been reported recently they all have disappeared."
"The disappearance of sea birds? Wouldn't it have been appropriate to call the expertise of an Ornithologist?"
"Unfortunately, the situation is not limited to just birds from this island. There is also a high decreased in fishing around the area, as well as wildlife in the neighboring Izu islands. But we do believe this is the start of the phenomena. That's why we require your expertise Dr. as an ecologist; perhaps you can determine the variables causing this. We're concern about the wildlife's disappearance since its spreading."
Mika ponders his last statement in her mind. A decrease in wildlife in the neighboring islands, and this is the epicenter.
Upon their descent, the helicopter docks on a landing strip on the western shore. Mika and Sonji depart the helicopter and start their track into the island. They follow a trail inland, Mika taking notice of all the flora and fauna around. Nothing seems particular at the moment, no disturbance of vegetation, but at the same time, no signs of wildlife. The island is almost silent. Only the chirping and cricketing from some insects can be heard, but nothing from the birds. As a natural preserve for sea-birds, there doesn't seem to be any at all.
Mika decides to proceed further inland. The center of the island provides little help as most of it is volcanic ash and rock. The pair decides to return to the sheltered area inland to further investigate. It's not easy trying to locate clues in a forest of vegetation. It's similar to finding a needle in a hay stack. They travel back to the trail, but veer a little eastward.
"Have you been here before?" Mika asks Sonji.
"No I haven't, this is my first time. Is something the matter?"
"Take a look over there. See those trees with the low hanging branches. Do you notice anything strange about them?"
"No, nothing in particular."
The pair walks to the direction of the tree.
"Look at the branches, see how all of them hang low, except for one. It's broken. Something must have caused it. It's not natural for only one branch to break."
Mika looks further eastward. She notices subtle details in the environment. Another tree can be seen with broken branches. A couple of feet away there are trampled foliage. They follow the new clues continuing eastward inland, until they settle upon an enormous cave near the center of the island. The cave seems to be an extension of the island's volcano. The pair enters the cave. It's dark and very humid inside. The temperature from the volcano rises the temperature in the cave to an unbearable 90 degrees Fahrenheit. They immediately perspire as they continue deeper. A little further from the entrance, the cave is completely dark. Mika removes her penlight and shines it around. They stare in shock as the cave is littered with feathers, carcasses, and droppings. So much bones and guano are piled at the end of the cave the ground can't be seen. Closer examination indicates they are mostly avian wildlife.
Sonji turns to Mika to ask, "What do you make of this?"
"All these bones and feathers, these are all the sea-birds from the island. Something ate all the avian wildlife," respond Mika.
"Are there any other animals besides sea birds here?" Mika asks.
"No, this is an isolated island in the middle of the ocean. No outside creature would be able to come on the island unless it's another bird. We don't have any records of any birds of prey either."
"No I doubt it would be a bird of prey, if there was, we would have spotted it already. This doesn't make sense. To have consumed this much in this short amount of time, there would have to be many predators. Even if there were, the ecosystem here would have been drastically altered to accommodate the ratio of predators to prey."
"Sonji, you said the same is happening in the neighboring islands?"
"Yes Dr., according to our report, the Izu Islands is seeing a drastic decline in wildlife. It's nothing similar to this though."
"No it wouldn't, the surrounding Izu islands are much larger. But if we don't hurry and find the source, we may be too late. This is extremely serious. We should head back to the other islands and report our findings."
"What do you think happened here?" Dr. Mitsurai.
"I believe we have an apex predator that's devouring everything in its path. Judging by all the bones here, it may be as large as a wild cat or possibly larger. If our findings at the other islands are correct, then it has to either be amphibian or avian."
"Why do you think that Dr.?"
"How else would it be able travel from island to island?"