PREDATOR ISLAND (Sea Lab Book 2)

CHAPTER 54

The next morning, Jake awoke with Sarah's head on his chest and her arm wrapped around him. The campfire burned the remaining embers of what had been a blazing celebration of survival. They'd made it through the night without being eaten by a ferocious feline predator that they still didn't fully understand. After all the feats he'd seen Sarah do, lifting a one thousand pound dead animal off of herself seemed more incredible than ripping the treasure chest open underwater or saving him from falling into the river. Judging by the carcass, he wondered if he'd underestimated its true weight. Last night, the more he paced around it and tilted his head to peer at its monstrous size, he began to imagine it weighing more than twelve hundred pounds, maybe up to fifteen hundred. From its hind quarters to the tip of its mangled nose, he walked it off in four and half lunging steps. If each step were around three feet in length, that rough measurement put it at thirteen and a half feet long. It was much bigger than the largest tiger or lion on Earth.

Apparently, the big cat crash landed on the island in the downed cargo plane and escaped its cage to wreak havoc on the few inhabitants and native wildlife. As the rising sun brightened his eyes, Jake remembered the name Dylan chose for the island not long after they arrived. And with that, he sighed loud enough to awaken Sarah.

They had survived Predator Island.

Once everyone was up and moving around, Jake started thinking about the treasure they'd found and the long hike back to Chatham Bay. It took them two full days to reach this end of the island. But that journey was slower because they were taking their time, finding and following the clues from the old map. And it involved a detour to Cerro Yglesia. They wouldn't be going that way this time. And if they followed the river and found the trail they cut through the jungle, they'd save a lot of time and energy. Jake estimated they could make the trip in a full day if they didn't waste time or goof off along the way. But to gather the gold they'd have to bring the yacht around, and to do that, they'd have to pilot the craft themselves since Captain Marlon Steele had been murdered by the pirate couple.

Before they set off on foot, Dylan tried to raise the captain by radio without any luck. He and Savannah were dejected and downcast. As they started toward the steep slope that led out of the bay area, Jake decided they were lucky to be alive. Killing the cat and finding the treasure of Bennett Graham seemed like consolation prizes next to surviving.

Their clothes had dried out but their remaining backpacks were still damp. But they had enough food left for the long hike, so that was comforting. As they drew near the edge of the jungle, a buzzing sound carried over the mountain top. Jake threw up a hand and everyone stopped.

"You hear that?" he said.

"It's getting closer," Sarah replied.

Both of them turned to see Dylan with a smooth smile on his face. "I have a feeling our luck has taken a turn for the better."

The buzz grew louder until a tiny dot appeared in the blue sky overhead. That dot grew larger as it approached their position. Then it dawned on Jake what it was...a drone...the drone from the yacht.

But how? There was only one possibility.

The little flying machine zipped over the waterfall and then made a turn for the rocky coastline where they'd spent the night. It hovered over their campsite as if studying the blackened and doused pit that burned not long ago. Then the drone tilted up and buzzed toward them. When it reached them, it landed and went quiet.

Dylan walked up to it and removed a piece of paper from its compartment and read it aloud. "Stay where you are, I'm coming. And in case you're wondering, I'm alive...somehow."

A few hours later, the yacht powered around the southern coast of Cocos Island and anchored offshore of Yglesia Bay.

When Captain Steele came ashore in a small skiff with his shoulder hastily bandaged, he explained how the pirates boarded the boat and disabled his radio. Then the man shot him in the shoulder and Steele was propelled overboard where he floated and waited against the hull for the couple to leave. He heard them talking and knew they were going to the island with plans to overtake the treasure hunters, dispose of anyone not needed, and steal the gold when it was all said and done. Without a way to communicate, the captain had to wait until daylight to begin the search. Of course, he started with the volcano and worked his way south and east until he spotted them, mainly by the lingering smoke from their campfire.

After Sarah dressed the captain's wound properly, and after several strenuous trips back and forth to the island—and the cave behind the waterfall—the yacht set sail at dusk for San Diego. When Jake asked how they were going to liquidate the gold for everyone's share, Captain Steele said, "I know a guy."

Jake took him at his word. And he had a good idea who that guy was when he caught a glimpse of Savannah Lockhart's sly smile.

As they left the island behind, Sarah pulled him close and kissed him passionately. "What was that for?" Jake asked with a wide grin.

"Oh..." she replied. "For a lot of things. But mostly, I kissed you because I can and that's enough."