14. Skeleton Island Exploration

"Captain, you've burned 80 million dollars in 15 minutes. I understand that you managed to take the Angel of Death like I said. Now, you have two options. Take over Bio Research Alpha or destroy it. Activate the Angel of Death and instruct her to execute those two options. Understood?!"

"Keep spying on the ship using our shuttle submarine. I'm sure they don't know that our eyes and ears are around them."

"And that girl. The girl who killed one of the Death Squad members. Catch her alive. There is something interesting about her. We have to study her. Let's name her Project X."

Those lengthy explanations and orders were like sharp needles being stabbed straight into the captain's eardrums. There was only one correct answer, very well Lady Boss, consider them done.

The captain with a dog tag "Dev" on his chest rubbed his bald head. Lady Boss was the most intimidating person he had ever known. He almost got a harsh punishment for failing to take Bio Research Alpha out of the Bones Island after completing his research before being attacked by Fallen Genetic, Bio Research's toughest rival in genetic engineering for combat purposes. Luckily, he was pardoned for successfully hiding the ship.

Captain Dev survived, but most of his crew did not in a short battle against the Fallen Genetic's special forces on the banks of the lava river. Some of the survivors were taken hostage and detained somewhere. Including chief Bock and lab head Sandra.

Captain Dev wiped his forehead. He was staring at the cryonic tube of the Death Angel in front of him. There was a sinister undertone in the Lady Boss's order. Captain Dev knew it. His hope now rested on the girl who was still frozen in front of him. It took another 15 minutes to reanimated the Angel of Death. He needed to come up with a well-thought-out raid plan.

Captain Dev headed toward the bridge.

----

Ben laid Cindy on a pullout bed in the wheelhouse. He was surprised by the continuous changes that happened to her. The others too. But after all, Cindy was one of them. They were responsible for her wellbeing. No matter what she turned into.

Ran checked Cindy's vital signs. Nothing unusual. Her breathing was regular. Her pulse was normal. Even her fingers that were like eagle claws had returned back to normal. What caused her to turn into vicious animal like that earlier? Ran still couldn't figure it out.

They couldn't spend all day mulling over their fate. Something had to be done. They couldn't stay on this ship forever. It would be suicidal. The Bio Research knew their location and could attack at any moment. Besides, the electric shield was no longer working. Ran thought hard.

"Ben, try to find out if there's any room on this ship where we can safely hide temporarily. If you find one, we should put Cindy there so you can take care of her better. Tet, Rabat, and I will explore this island quickly to find a suitable location for us. This ship is no longer safe for us."

Ben hesitated. Alone with Cindy? This girl had even tried to cut off his head. Ben had nightmarish scenarios in his head.

Ran understood. He turned to his other colleagues. Ben and Tet were still traumatized by Cindy's behavior.

"Okay. I'll take care of her. Ben, you keep looking for a room on this ship. After that you, Tet and Rabat go and explore the island."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Ran's orders. Ben rushed to search for the room. Meanwhile, Tet and Rabat prepared all the supplies for an exploration.

Ran returned to check on Cindy. He and Rabat had only seen from the monitor how violent Cindy was when she beheaded one of the Death Squad members. She behaved like someone who was in a trance or possessed. Ran also noticed Cindy's threatening gesture to Ben and Tet right before she finally passed out.

Ran was very nervous about Cindy's condition.

----

Ben found a room that he thought was quite safe. At the bottom of the hatch, there was a small clinic room which door could be locked from inside. The clinic room seemed to be used only for ordinary ship crews. Not for the staff or important people on board who had a larger and more luxurious clinic next to the laboratory. That was why it was at the bottom of the hatchnear to the engine room.

Ran and Ben carried Cindy to the clinic. Ben left Ran who was waiting outside the room. Ran asked Ben to bring the only laser gun he had. They would explore an unknown island with a terrifying name Skull Island. So, no harm in carrying weapons.

Ben had learned that the only way to the mainland was to get on a lifeboat. Lowering the small lifeboats was not an easy task. The three exhausted men got into the lifeboat and began rowing out of the giant cave.

The sea was calm. Ben and the team didn't want to rush things. They all memorized the best route navigating the boat in case they needed it for emergency.

Apparently, not far behind the cave, there was a sloping beach. With doubled enthusiasm, Ben and the team landed the lifeboat and dragged it away from the beach to avoid being carried away by the rising tide.

Ben, Tet, and Rabat were looking over the expanse of the island in front of them. It looked like a very dense green wilderness stretching as far as they could see. The wilderness was so old and dense that it looked dark. It was beautiful and eerie at the same time.

The three of them were stunned by the scenery. There was absolutely no impression whatsoever that indicated the sinister nature from the name of Skull Island. Or not yet?

The three started walking. Their job was to find a good and safe place, a away from the ship that was now the most dangerous place for them.

As soon as they entered the forest, they started feeling uneasy. The forest ground was so dark and damp because the sun's ray was barely able to penetrate the tight canopy. The surrounding felt gloomy and somber.

They continued to walk through the thick forest. Tet marked their trail with light-colored spray paint so they wouldn't forget their way back. The forest became thicker and denser the further they walked. Sometimes they had to turn around because they were blocked by tendrils of a kind of rattan that were bound together, leaving no gap to pass. Except for a small animal the size of a poodle or a rabbit.

Suddenly they were surprised by an unexpected event.

A rabbit that was surprised by the appearance of humans in this forest immediately jumped away and ran as fast as it could.

The rabbit ran toward the dense vines that had the gap between the vines to get through without it knowing what awaited.

"Wrrrraaaappp...sluurrpp"

They were watching the rabbit running, and was shocked at the end! The tendrils snapped catching the frightened rabbit while trying to get through the gap.

Then something even more chilling happened! While the rabbit was struggling to get out from the vine's snare, it suddently went limp when a big flower from the top came down and sucked the rabbit dry!

The three immediately backed away. The tendrils were like ordinary rattan, but had something like head. It was alive and hungry!

Quietly, they turned away. They didn't know what else was waiting among the trees or the lianas. They thought it would be better to get out of the forest and hike on the outskirts instead.

This time they were fully alert. They didn't have a compass. So, they would rely on Tet's spray that marked the tree to lead them back. This forest was very dense and confusing.

But they all froze! All the marks from the brightly colored paint had disappeared! Just like that. It was as if all the trees had purposely wiped those marks themselves. Even the bushes they had just cleared to get past had grown back like no one ever disturbed them.

They all went pale. The forest preyed upon anything inside, and they were trapped in it. It waited for them to be off guard and then consuming them alive.

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