16 A Nest Of Snakes

When Marx woke up the following morning, the jungle was bathed by the morning glow. The space beside him was empty and he smelt the aroma of meat being grilled nearby. He rolled the blankets and keep them in the backpack. He placed the pillow in corner of the tree house and climbed down the bamboo ladder.

The pain in his thigh has considerably lessened and he no longer felt the throbbing pain in his forehead.

Amaya handed him the skewered meat, a banana and some wild berries. He finished the food quickly. When Amaya passed him a jar of water, Marx put a drop of chlorine in it and waited for some time before drinking.

"What did you place in the water?" Amaya asked.

"It is chlorine. To purify the water." He explained briefly.

After cleaning the place and putting off the fire, they left the tree house and continued to look for the crash site. After two hours, they finally find the place and Marx was horrified at what he saw.

The airplane was a mangle of metals. Blood was splattered all around but there were no traces of the crew.

"Do you think someone rescued them?" Marx asked in a low voice.

Amaya looked at him with pity in her eyes.

"There is nobody else on this island other than me. I'm afraid your friends were eaten by the wild animals." Amaya said nonchalantly as she examined the blood scattered around. There were no carcasses nor bones left. She had a bad feeling about it.

Marx did not want to ponder or think about what happened to the crew. He used his best judgment to identify where the cockpit was. He needed to find the satellite phone so he can call for rescue.

After a lot of digging and so much difficulty he finally found what he was looking for. His body was drenched in perspiration and the wound in his thigh started throbbing again. He quickly stuffed the satellite phone inside his backpack.

Marx heard a hissing sound. He tightened his grip on his gun. Amaya held her bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver slung at her back. She aimed at a tree and released the arrow. They heard a big thud and a huge snake fell from the tree.

"Hurry, we need to leave. This is a snake's nest and its mating season. There are too many of them." Amaya said with urgency.

Marx saw a blur of red rushing toward the direction of Amaya. He pulled the trigger and a loud sound reverberated throughout the jungle. Another snake fell to the ground, with its head shattered.

The gunshot caused a disturbance and startled the birds that were resting in the trees. They flurried away in panic.

"Let's go." Aryana pushed Marx over Khalil while she rode Strata backward.

The snakes were chasing them. Amaya continuously shoot her arrows precisely hitting the snakes on the head.

Marx shifted his position so he was facing the snakes. He fired three more bullets killing the three who were catching up with them. The gunpowder and the sound shocked the snakes and threw them into chaos. It provided Amaya and Marx with the time they needed to finally escape.

"Phew… That was close! I almost run out of arrows." Amaya said calmly as if nothing serious happened. She jumped off Strata and started to take leisure strides beside Khalil.

"By the way, your weapon is so awesome. It sounded like thunder and kills instantly."

"It is called a gun." Marx locked the trigger before passing it to Amaya. Amaya did not dare touch it but looked at it curiously.

"I't looked dangerous. I think I need to be careful." She said as she mounted Strata again and led the way.

The animals continued to run and they finally stopped on top of the mountain. It was a crater of an extinct volcano.

"This is the highest point of the island. From here we can see everything."

Marx looked around and all he could see was the endless blue of the ocean. The topography surrounding the island was unique. It seemed to refract all the light toward the island.

"Daddy said that from the outside, this island looked like a mirage and so nobody came and that's why I called this the Island of Miraga."

Marx took out the satellite phone and dialed a series of numbers.

His signal was picked out right away.

"This is Marx Skylar." He said, his voice hoarse.

Shouts of glee were heard from the other line.

"On Marx, you had us worried. We thought that you perished in the crash." It was Karl and he was crying.

"Where are the others? Where did you crash? Why can't we find any trace of the plane at all?"

"We crashed into an uninhabited island four hours from Usturia. Checked the plane crash from 15 years ago. It was at the same place. I am the only survivor." He said sadly.

"Can you track the signal from this phone?"

"Yes." Someone replied from the other line.

"You cannot send an airplane to do the rescue. It has to be a boat. Send the latest Skylar naval boat."

"Sir, we calculated your position and our fastest boat will reach you in 10 days."

"That should be ok. Where is Karl?"

"I am here boss," Karl said from the other line.

"Prepare women's clothes and undergarments, C size, and send them over when the rescue comes."

"Boss? You said earlier you were the only survivor."

"Just do it. By the way, the island has a small shoreline. Direct the boat to the shoreline."

While Marx was busy talking, Amaya used her knife to cut palm-like leaves. Her fingers worked fast as she weaved the leaves into small baskets. She then dug out several herbs from the soil, put them in the baskets, and arranged them on Strata's back.

"This is the milagrosa. A rare medicinal plant that's quite difficult to grow." She said when she noticed Marx observing her.

Amaya sniffed the air and scrunched up her nose.

"Did you smell that?" Amaya asked and kept looking around to investigate.

"It is sulfur," Marx replied. Realization hit him.

"The volcano is waking up."