AN- Again I say thank you to everyone who reviewed, your comments and thoughts are very much appreciated and let me know if I'm doing a good job. As you must know by now, I do not own LXG- but I left a message on Sean Connery's website today suggesting that he reprise his role as Alan Quatermain if he has the opportunity because he is a great actor and no-one else could fill the role better. If there were to be a sequel I'd insist on there being the original cast of course! But anyway, I've started rambling, making this my longest authors note for a long time…and as always, enjoy.

Watching Alan examine the strange creature, Mina remained constantly alert for the slightest noise. Quite often there was the small rustle of an animal in the bushes, but every time it had been a rabbit- and every time the small, startled animal would freeze at the sight of the vampire and the hunter and scurry away again. Quatermain rose again, slinging his rifle back over his shoulder.

''Time to move. I can see many gun shot wounds. Sawyer obviously encountered this beast and managed to kill it…''

''He must have panicked- it's understandable that he would fire as many bullets as he could just to stop it attacking him.''

The hunter merely nodded, leading the way back through the trees. Mina followed quietly, her senses completely tuned into the environment around her. The boots of both league members caused light rustling in the leaves and the occasional snapping of twigs until they reached the beach again. Mina's heels sunk very slightly in the sand as they made their way back to the Nautiloid. The moon shone in a crescent, casting a cold glow on the small pod.

''We should follow the footprints, Alan. We have no idea what could have happened to them by now or…or what could be happening.'' She said, with something in her voice that Alan had never heard there before. Fear.

''We'll find them- Sawyer can look after himself, and Skinner still has a slight advantage.''

Tom had dozed off on the bed. Skinner, much too nervous and unsettled to feel tired, had kept watch at the window for hours. He couldn't blame the spy for being tired- he'd had a run in with a great big something or other. That thing had been like the little man, M'Ling - they assumed he was a man- that followed Montgomery around- and the evil looking boatmen…they had all looked queerly human…but Skinner knew definitely that whatever Sawyer fought with hadn't been human. He glanced down at Tom who slept on and tutted.

''I want to get out of here and go back to my nice cabin…'' He muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes. Suddenly he could hear a strange pattering of feet- he looked out of the window and saw M'Ling heading for their room. The door was unlocked and he entered, bringing in food.
''What's…this?''
''Meat.'' The man replied enthusiastically, setting the tray down. It held two plates laden with meat, bread and two cups of water. Skinner thanked him and to his relief he nodded gratefully and left them.
''Blimey, what a queer fellow…Oi. Sawyer.''

''Nnnnuh..?''
''Food.''

The American rubbed his eyes and quickly sat up, his hand moving to his holster in a reflex action. Seeing that his colt pistol was still present, he relaxed and took a plate. He examined the meat, which was cooked, and decided instead to start with his bread.

''How long was I asleep..?''
''Bout an hour or two, I'd say. Are you feeling alright?''
''Yeah, just tired…''

''Wonder what the meat is…''

The thief examined it thoroughly and sniffed it- but giving into his hunger pains he ate some and found it tasted fine. He gestured to Tom to eat some, and he did. The spy looked out of the window, seeing that the enclosure was lit by a few hanging lamps. There was another room and a set of large doors on the other side.

''We have to leave. Whoever got left here probably ran into these guys-''
''Not necessarily a good thing Sawyer…we have no idea what these blokes are doing here…''

Suddenly there came a horrific screaming that caused their hearts to leap into their throats as soon as it hit their ears. Sawyer immediately dropped his food onto his plate and tried desperately to see all the way out of the window- but of course, the cold glass panels against his forehead prevented him from doing so. He put his plate down and began to pound on the door furiously.

The second Nautiloid descended into the water with a small buoyant bounce as it landed in the water. Jekyll gripped the seat a little as the craft bobbed up and down but soon relaxed as they were moving. He could feel the vial inside his pocket- perhaps he should have brought more than one…but they couldn't be sure of what they would need to do when they got there- better not to waste it…He could the swishing sound of the water being cut by the long blades as they propelled the craft forward.
''Better stop here…'' Nemo said, more to himself. There was a slight bump and the whirring, swishing noises ceased. The captain worked the hatch door and opened it, looking out onto the shore. It seemed that the others had jumped out of their small vessel straight onto the beach, not wanting to get wet. However, Nemo didn't worry about it, especially since he wore his long black boots. Jekyll wondered which he should go for, and managed to jump over the gap between the shore and the pod. Nemo was already examining the many footprints that were now scattered along the shore as the tide came in and washed around them. He looked from the trees to the shore line, to the trees again.

''What are we going to do?'' Jekyll asked, following the footprints with his gaze. Nemo stood and sighed, pointing towards the other end of the beach.
''It's too dark to enter the jungle area. We should stay in the moonlight, where we can see more. It is safer.'' Just as he uttered the last word however, Nemo drew his sword, which glinted in the moonlight as a flash of thin silver.

There was a low growling coming from the trees, and as Jekyll looked in the same direction he could see a pair of beautiful but frightening amber eyes, lit up by the moon. The two of them froze, watching the pair of eyes, which in turn, continued to watch them.

The throaty growling continued, low and small, threatening them. A large paw came out onto the sand, and the animal remained still in the shadows, waiting for them to make a move. They remained rooted to the spot, Nemo gripping his sword tightly, poised and waiting to strike should the animal choose to advance further.

It did, slowly moving its head into view- and to their disbelief, they could see that it was a tiger…the wonderful striped coat was immediately recognisable…but it's face was not the way it should be for this species of cat…the muzzle had been elongated, and the feet, now the two league members could see, also looked longer…almost like a large furry hand…The tiger did not move as gracefully as cat should either- instead it seemed clumsy, leaning awkwardly on short hind legs as it crouched low. They could see that it was wearing a sleeveless jacket of some kind…in fact, it was a waistcoat.

But it was the next move of large and disfigured cat that sent shockwaves through Nemo and Jekyll- it began to raise itself up, off the ground, and out of its crouching position- and it kept raising itself up, using its short hind legs, until it was standing in a human fashion, on its back legs, its front legs swaying at its sides…razor claws out, and fangs bared as it continued to growl.

It took an awkward and horrifically human step towards them…

To Be Continued…