23. Reunion in Gorge of Death
Ran was ruminating the things he should do.
This forest was full of predators. Animals, plants, even rivers! Ran's mind was filled with apprehension. They had lost contact for several days. Moreover, he left the communication receiver in the ship. But Ran believed his teammates were tough and could anticipate all kinds of obstacles. After all, they had the same experience as him.
Ran tried to think positively while continuing to walk through the forest. Ran didn't want to rush. He couldn't afford to be careless.
After all, he wasn't completely oblivious in his search for them. Each of them had trans locator on their watches and it was still on. They could track each other's signal from the watch they were wearing. This was the safety standard for the expedition team.
The trans locator gave a light signal indicating the distance. The brighter the light, the closer the distance. Ran continued to observe the indicator light as he continued his trek.
When the path began to climb on a fairly high hill, Ran's indicator turned brighter. Thank God! They were so close! Ran was elated but the excitement only lasted a moment. The indicator suddenly dimmed and then turned off. Good grief! Where are they?
Ran was half running going up the hill. He didn't want to lose track of his teammates.
Ran reached the top of the hill breathless and saw something that made his heart sink. There were backpacks which he believed belonged to his friends scattered on the ground. He also saw a glittering object on the ground. It was a watch!
Rabat's watch was stepped on or hit by something heavy. There were footprints everywhere. Some were human footprints as well as footprints of…giant primates!
Ran squatted down to confirm the traces and the number of people circulating in this place. There were clearly the footprints of three people of different sizes and the footprints of a primate nearly three times the size of a human foot. Ugh, what's this? Why is this island inhabited by so many strange creatures?
Ran continued to check the surroundings carefully. The footprints of his three friends headed in one direction. Ran followed the footprints and ended up at the edge of a ravine!
From their tracks, it was clear that the three of them were running desperately and ended up on the edge of the cliff. Ran looked down. This cliff was not very high. Ran also saw in the canyon below a large river flowing calmly. Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Most likely they would survive.
A growl behind startled Ran and made him turn quickly. My God! What creature is this?!
A tall, hairy figure resembling a gorilla but standing upright with arms and legs that were proportioned like a human stood in front of him. He had hairy face like a primate, but his nose and mouth and eyes were just like humans. Gosh! Ran was stunned.
Ran realized the creature's intention when it growled again showing its sharp teeth and raised his hands that were clawed like razors. It was going to attack him.
Without thinking twice, Ran jumped into the river below.
He knew how to land a body on the surface of the water well. Ran glided smoothly into the deep calm river.
Ran didn't rush to surface. He dove and swam in the water for a while heading downstream. He was worried that the Kingkong followed him and threw itself into the river as well. The creature looked vicious and threatening.
Ran pulled his body into a sandy riverbank with a lot of bamboo growing on it. At least it was protected enough. But he had to remain vigilant. Too many unexpected things in this forest. Who would have thought there was a giant hairy creature that looked very similar to humans.
While wringing out his soaking wet clothes, Ran looked around. He was on a flat canyon. But surrounded directly by the steep walls of the hills. It was impossible to go here if not by the river route. But something feels weird here. Ran's sharp eyes looked at the bamboo grove in front of him.
The clump was like an ordinary bamboo grove. Green in color with no leaf. Maybe it was because of the dry season that the leaves all withered. Something wasn't right.
Raannn! Raannn! Ruuuuun!
The voice initially sounded faint in Ran's ears. But it sounded very familiar. It was Ben!
Ran turned and was surprised to see his three friends across the river waving their hands and clothes warning him. What's wrong with them? Why am I being told to run fast? Ran was still processing the whole situation. But his hunch confirmed that there was indeed something off.
The bamboo sticks pulled themselves one by one from the ground then crawling and flocking towards Ran.
Hah! Those are not bamboo sticks. Those are snakes!
Quickly Ran threw himself into the river and swam as hard as he could. The snakes swam after him. It was terrifying!
Ben, Tet, and Rabat across the river were anxious watching Ran racing to save himself from a bunch of green snakes as big as bamboo sticks.
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Before they saw Ran across the river, his teammates saw that the kingkong that was chasing them had landed on the wrong side of the canyon of death. One "bamboo" stick bit him. He retaliated by bitting off the snake head. But in a matter of seconds, the giant Kingkong was dead. The snakes that looked like bamboo clumps were extremely venomous.
And they consumed the Kingkong's body by forming a bamboo grove around it. That was why Ran couldn't see the Kingkong's corpse because the "bamboo" clump was very thick.
Now Ran was swimming, trying to escape from the most venomous snakes in the world. Witnessed by his three friends who absolutely couldn't do anything to help him.
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