Isle of Morgeau

I craned my neck forward to catch the first glimpse of the island. This was it, we found it! The elusive Isle of Morgeau, where all of our fantasies would come true. I could already feel the sand beneath my feet, hear the wind whistling through trees, shit, I could almost see the fruits on all those plants.

“Jake!” My father’s gruff, no-nonsense voice broke me out of my daydream. “Huh?” He let out an exasperated sigh as he reiterated his statement. “When we anchor the ship, I need you and Brock to have the lifeboats ready. I need everyone on full alert, just like we-Jake!” My head snapped back around; I hadn’t noticed my mind wandering. “This isn’t a vacation. We are here on a mission. We go in, gather intel, and get out. Understood?” I nodded and joined Brock at the boats.

“Oh man, my dream is to have all the ladies I could hope for,” Brock murmured as I began to loosen the ropes holding the boat flush with the ship. “Wow, way to dream big there buddy. What are we, juniors in Hawktown High?” He shrugged as he tossed me his pile of cord. “Maybe if you saved some of the ladies for me...” I laughed and shook my head. It was true, women adored me. They just fall over each other practically at my feet. Poor Brock always got skipped over. Too bad for all of them I’m not into girls.

“Get ready to lower the boats!” Burkley shouted. I glanced over to the other half of the ship where Larson and Gavel were readying the other boat. Mittens was nowhere to be seen. Mittens, our communications expert, got her nickname from her trademark cycling gloves. Cute name because she’s delicate looking, but she’s hiding solid brass inserts in those dainty mittens.

“Wait, I had to grab the radio!” Mittens came barreling out of the radio room with two packs, one on her back and the other slung over her shoulders. “And supplies, never know when we’ll need to scrap together some kind of homing beacon or whatnot. I’ll think of something.”

My dad grunted but gave no other acknowledgement. He’s always been soft on her. I’m pretty sure he considers her his unofficial daughter he never got to have.

9 years ago my twin sister was ripped out of our lives. One day we were studying magic, the next, she was gone. Everyone suspected our defecting mother who disappeared at the same time. Ever since then, Burkley has been different, more aloof and no-nonsense. After Mittens came along though, he’s been a little more interactive. Not much though.

I sighed as my dad shouted the order to lower the boats, and watched as it fell, cutting the surface of the translucent blue water. I grabbed one of the tether ropes fastened to the side of the beautiful vessel, and vaulted off the edge towards the raft below. I landed with a satisfying clunk from my combat boots. Standard issue, nothing special. But god do they sound nice when you stick the landing.

“Alright.” Burkley began as he studied the map we were given. “We’re gonna come up on the beach just ahead of us, looks like we-“ A gust of wind interrupted him as it snatched the map from his grasp. He grunted and grasped at air, missing the map by millimeters as it fluttered into the water, a gentle wave pushing it just under the surface. With another grunt, Dad leaned over the side of the raft and retrieved it from the ocean. “Well Jake, I guess laminating our only source of direction wasn’t such a bad idea. I stand corrected.” I grinned to myself as the high horse feeling of being right washed over me.

“Alright,” he began again. “Mittens, Gavel, I need you two to start constructing our base. Larson, you’re with me. We need to gather whatever supplies we can find before it gets dark. Jake and Brock, you’re on recon. Explore the island, see what you can find. Report back by dusk whether you’ve retrieved any intel or not. Do not disturb any native habitations, and above all, keep your comms open.”

We all checked our batteries and fastened our earpieces. I couldn’t wait, maybe it was something in the air, or just the allure of adventure. Whatever it was, I was out of the boat before it had barely beached. My feet hit the shallows and I scrunched the sand up between my toes, breathing the salty air as the small waves lapped at my toned calves.

The island was even more breathtaking up close. Bleached white sand splayed out as far as I could see along the edges. Sand gave way to lush vegetation; vibrant flora and enormous foliage. The trees were so tall I couldn’t see the top, and vines curled around their branches before tumbling gracefully onto the jungle floor.

We wasted no time as our two units set out in opposite directions, leaving Gavel and Mittens to set up camp. They would be fine. Gavel is a hardy brute, built like a tank and a mind to match. When he gets it in his mind what needs to be done, it’s over. Case closed. Pun absolutely intended. Get used to those.

Brock and I worked in silence at first, our ears at the alert as we scanned the immediate area before entering the jungle.

“What would you wish for?” Brock’s voice startled me as it shattered the quiet. “What do you mean?” “What would you wish for? It’s the Isle of Morgeau, they say your dreams come true,” he added mysteriously. “Yeah I know what people say and, honestly, people are idiots.” “No shit, but IF it were true, what would you want?” I paused a moment before shrugging and shouldering on past him. “You know what I want, and a stupid island isn’t going to bring her back.” “Jake....” I ignored him, pushing through his pity like the massive vines. Wait, holy shit, they were MASSIVE massive.

“You seeing this?” Brock asked rhetorically. I knelt down next to the plants, examining the thick vine. It was easily as thick as my forearm, with odd purplish streaks twisting around its entirety. “Fascinating,” I murmured as I pulled out my machete. I found a tip and with one clean swipe I severed a foot long portion of the plant before placing it in the bag Brock filled with the native soil. “I’m going to have fun learning about this,” I said aloud.

“Then I’ll bet you’ll have fun with this!” I looked up to see Brock pushing through the last line of trees into a lush pink clearing. And I mean really pink. Magenta, baby pink, rose, almost every shade. Flowers spanning the immediate clearing, and when the pink faded, purple took its place. Then violet, then probably blue, I couldn’t see that far though. Im guessing there were miles of flowers. I ran up to the first bunch, breathing a lungful of the pleasant musty odor. Everything was beautiful, like a dream.

I carefully removed a few samples and stored them for future examination before turning back to Brock. “According to our sketch, the cluster of mountains we’re heading to is...” I turned 35 degrees to the left, “that way!” I dramatically swung my arm in the general direction and feigned a bow.

Brock pushed down a smirk and headed that direction. I followed close behind, picking up exceptional specimens from the hardy plants. I had no idea a day so perfect and beautiful would bring about unimaginable horrors. Not until 2 hours later when we reached the other side of the clearing.

Brock saw them first. His shout of alarm made every hair on my body stand straight up as I turned to witness what he had seen.

They were huge. Dark humanoid creatures, void of any discernible features from this distance other than their head and limbs. They were gathered on the other side of the ocean of flowers. And there were dozens of them. They looked to be at least 10 feet tall from where we stood, but there was no way of knowing for sure this far away and I wasn’t about to get closer. Just then, the most guttural shriek I’ve ever heard pierced through the air, as if they were right beside us.

Then they bounded forward in great leaps.

Brock and I did not hesitate. Flicking our comms to active, we alternated shouting our situation over the open frequency. I could hear Burkley barking orders out to Larson in between demands of our location. I couldn’t respond. I was out of breath, every ounce of energy and effort going into pushing myself forward. I began gasping for air when suddenly Brock’s arm reached out of the foliage and yanked me into a nearby bush. I hadn’t even seen him vanish from in front of me.

I held my hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing. Good thing too, because seconds later the terrifying face of a 20 foot monstrosity pushed through the trees not 10 feet away from where we hid and I had to hold back a cry of horror. The thing was massive. Its maw hung open to reveal rows upon rows of sharp teeth, perpetual strings of drool dribbling between the 4 inch long canines. The herd of black leathery creatures shambled closer into the jungle as they sniffed the air and pawed aimlessly at the bushes with their 3 clawed hands. I know they had 3 claws because one sliced the top half of the bush I was hiding in clear off. I got a good look, trust me.

Time stopped for a split second as I held my breath. This was it, I was gonna die. I closed my eyes and sat in the terrible darkness, my final memory that of the monster’s claws slashing towards me.