Chapter 6: Isla Muerte - 66 miles southeast of Sorna
Jack opened his eyes.
And gazed into...
...an alien world.
The air is a suffocating brew of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane.
Titanic shapes lumber in the distance...a herd of giants outlined against a blood-red sky.
Suddenly, the red sky turns black.
Then, out of the blackness, a gigantic ball of fire hurls to the earth.
Night becomes day...
The sky explodes.
Trees split in two and begin to burn. The soil becomes molten, first glowing red and then white hot. Sand turns to mud as if as lava.
Rivers and streams boil and gush like open wounds.
The great giants ignite like match heads. The blast wave hits...consuming the bellowing giants. Their screams merge with the howl of the wind as the shockwave rips into them, blasting them apart.
The Great Death Comet has come.
Within it's flames, an entire civilization will be removed from existence.
Some will die by the fire, the rest from cold and starvation, as a thick black cloud covers the Earth.
No escape.
Every single one of them - from the tree-tall brachiosaurs, Triceratops and Velociraptor, to the tyrannosaurus-will be gone forever.
Agony drowns out the howls of the dying titans.
Steaming waters cover them over and their bones sink deep into the mud...
Jack awoke, trying to escape from a nightmare. He breathed deep.
Bathed in sweat, Jack sat up in his bunk. He went to the sink in his quarters and splashed himself with water. It had been three days since they'd left Costa Rica and the time would soon be upon them to reach the island.
But Jack was beginning to wonder if they'd ever get there at all.
Suddenly, a wave crashed against Jack's window. He spun around, startled.
Jack hurried up above-deck. Sailors and crew members were preparing for something, securing supplies, food, provisions. Jack looked into the sky. The clouds above were almost black with an approaching tropical storm. Thunder rumbled as the storm overhead finally broke loose. There was a lightning flash, with an ear-shattering thunderclap right on its heels.
The first raindrops fell on the already busy deck.
It was going to be one hell of a storm.
At the edge of the prow, Devlin stared at the eerie silhouette of an island, visible through the thinning fog. Jagged peaks rose from a rocky shoreline.
Isla Muerte.
It was a medium-sized island, completely ringed by thick clouds that gave it a lush, mysterious appearance.
The ship was tossed back and forth. A huge rock face loomed out of the storm straight ahead. La Empresa sailed directly towards the huge rock formation which rose up two-hundred feet into the air. The ship was dwarfed by the monstrous structure. Aguado stared out at the intimidating island, unable to believe his eyes. He started spinning the wheel hard to starboard.
"Stop the engine!" he shouted in Spanish.
Devlin was drawn to the forward railing of the ship, still looking out at the landforms jutting from the ocean, towering over them in awe.
La Empresa slowed, but its weight was still carrying it forward...
Carrie rushed out of a door, on to the deck, alarmed at the panic on the ship.
The volatile sea sent La Empresa into a slow spin. As the ship sank in the trough of a wave, more rocks emerged from the water around it. Devlin ignored the situation, still looking on in utter awe at the island. Jack, however, was not yet so enthused. He looked on in shock as a jagged rock loomed out of the fog off the starboard bow.
"Rocks!" he shouted.
Aguado rushed out of the wheelhouse onto the deck and looked with horror as he realised his ship was trapped amid a labyrinth of rocks. La Empresa lolled without power in the heavy swell.
Aguado rushed back into the wheelhouse.
"Alright, fire her up!" he shouted.
The heavy throb of the engine regained strength. The reverse-propellers pulled the ship away, but still without adequate control. Carrie hurried down the stairs. She clutched the railing for support and reeled off balance, literally falling into Jack's arms as the side of La Empresa crunched against rock. She began to ride the swell towards the island.
Jack looked down at Carrie - he still had hold of her. He had just realized he hadn't noticed how green her eyes were without her glasses.
Green was his favorite color.
Lapsing back into reality, he released her and she straightened herself.
"Are you ok?" he asked, trying to save face.
"Yeah, fine." she replied, attempting the same thing.
They both shared a glance at the approaching island, looks of total disbelief on their faces.
The storm battered and crashed the ship all around them.
As each wave hit La Empresa, it groaned and scraped against the rocks, shifting slightly. Devlin lost his footing as the ship lurched violently. He landed on the floor. Aguado desperately tried to control the wheel. La Empresa was at the mercy of the raging seas as it moved even closer to the reef.
The ship plowed between the huge rocks off toward the island. The rain fell in drenching sheets on the deck and wheelhouse.
Devlin began surreptitiously supervising Lenny and Mark as they hastily loaded camera equipment on board one of the life boats. Mark packed away his headphones and sound recording equipment.
"I'm gonna have the rain all over the dialogue - sea gulls, camera noise, wind and God knows what else!"
"I don't care, Mark! You're the sound recordist - make it work!"
Jack spotted Jimmy running about, gathering up a few of his things.
He caught the boy by his shoulder. "Jimmy, what the hell is going on?"
"Devlin's planning to go ashore." Jimmy said.
Jack was speechless.
"He's not going out in this," Jack uttered in disbelief. "Is he crazy??"
Jimmy continued. "Aguado says the storm's not gonna get any better anytime soon and if we can't find anchorage now, we might not at all."
This was insane. The man was willing to brave near-hurricane winds to film a documentary...
...a documentary that could change both the worlds of paleontology, and zoology for that matter, for good.
Maybe it wasn't so insane after all. Atleast from a scientific point of view.
To a normal way of thinking it was damned.
"Jack, c'mon!" Jimmy yelled. "It's now or never!"
This was pathetic. He was being urged on by his own assistant.
Acting on instinct, or perhaps pure scientific madness, Jack jumped into a boat.
The ship creaked under the strain of the intense storm. Monroe, who'd been scarce until now, came onto the deck and joined the boarding party, a few weapons in his possession.
The two boats were swung out and lowered into the churning water.
Aguado continued fighting for control of his ship as the last of the boats were lowered into the water.
Realizing what was taking place, Aguado bolted out of the wheelhouse and onto the railing. "Devlin, you lunatic!" Aguado shouted over the storm. "You can't go ashore in these conditions! Those are twenty-foot waves out there!"
"Are you crazy Aguado!? This is it! This is Isla Muerte! I didn't come 4,000 miles on this stinkin' boat just to pack up and call it quits! I'm getting on that island if it kills me!" Devlin declared, a desperate tinch to his voice.
The man must have been suicidal.
"You just might get your wish, eh!" Aguado warned futily.
"Alright people, hang on." Monroe warned. "This might get a little rough."
The two boats made their way away from the ship, packed with crew members. In one boat was Jimmy and a few other crew members. In the other was Jack, Carrie, Devlin, Mark and Lenny - clutching camera equipment.
Aguado looked down at the boats as they made their way into the swell. "Este imbécil se morirá," He mumbled under his breath.
Monroe took command of their boat.
Lenny held the camera as Lance recorded. The boats floated away from the ship towards the shore of the island.
Colin was sitting amid a pile of video cameras and other photographic equipment.
Devlin was intoxicated with excitement. "Ok, I got the camera, I got my crew. Jack, stay with me. I may need you for reference."
"Colin!" he yelled to the boat across from them. "You got the film and the lenses?"
"As much as I can carry!" Colin shouted.
"Good. Don't lose um'! Ok, alright!"
Lance zealously filmed the island as they approached it. He turned to Carrie, who seemed very unsure of their current situation.
"How ya feelin' Carrie? Whadya say? Let's make a movie!"
"Let's just try landing this boat first, shall we?" she suggested dryly.
"Devlin, I've got a bad feeling about this." Monroe warned. "I think Ms. Connelly should have stayed on the ship."
But Monroe's words fell on deaf ears. Lance was already back in his own world.
Finally, after so many flukes, this was his chance to accomplish something of real value.
This would make his career.
"Look at this place Jack!" Lance exclaimed. "Can you believe it?! It's perfect!"
Jack had to agree with him. It was impossible not to. The island was such a presence in and of itself. A unique character in a riveting story.
It was a place where you'd want to see a dinosaur.
The intensity of the storm increased. The sky was pierced with lightning bolts.
The tiny boats were tossed about in the raging seas. Sailors tried to steer them towards the shore, as they bounced off rocks.
"This is too dangerous." Monroe demanded. "We're turning back!"
But Lance wasn't giving up.
"Over my dead body!" he shouted. "We're almost there! Come on, we can make it!"
Jack looked back at La Empresa as she disappeared completely into the darkness behind them.
The boats moved towards the island passing great rock formations jutting out of the water. The huge cliffs rose out of the waves and disappeared inland.
Devlin was balanced at the front of the boat, filming as the crew made their way ashore.
Jack looked up at the island, in all it's dark, wonderous glory and magnificence.
Another world. A world trapped in the darkest recesses of time. Such a place that only so few of Gods primates had ever witnessed.
And that perhaps even fewer survived.
Their boat ran toward a tiny, stony beach. Sheer cliffs rose straight up from the shore.
Suddenly, Devlin's boat was lifted up, as if struck by something, and then dropped back down.
Carrie, as if compelled, turned and looked over the side of the boat, into the sea. Her breathe caught in her throat:
Beneath the dark water, a gigantic, hideous reptillian face gaped up at her...
Then, suddenly, it was gone.
Carrie sat huddled to one side of the boat, drawing her rain-slicker closer around her. Carrie's fingers reflexively edged across the seat and curled over Jack's hand.
They approached another rock formation.
Wind whistled through the gaping holes in the edifice, a creepy moaning sound that mixed with the deep boom of the crashing waves.
Jack glanced over at Monroe, staring down in terror at something below the water. Following beyond his gaze, Jack then found that their boat was only moments away from crashing into a large reef.
Sticking out of the water, the imposing reef was being battered by waves.
The passengers looked on in horror as the boat smashed into the reef, splintering into a dozen pieces.
Jack lost consciousness and blackness overtook him.
Raging waters covered him over and he sank into the surf...
