Devoured By Him: The Wildman

Chapter 3

"Five human body temperatures detected," the robotic voice of the chip replied, echoing in her mind.

Hurrying toward the source of the voices, Kyla soon spotted her teammates gathered in a small clearing, their voices raised in argument. Sheila was pacing back and forth, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. At the same time, Brian attempts to reason with Thomas, whose stubborn behaviour leads them into trouble again.

"We need to find a place to rest," Brian insisted, his tone strained with frustration. "We can't keep running like this."

Thomas scoffed, his expression defiant. "And risk getting caught by those crazy red monkeys again? No way."

Kyla couldn't help but chuckle at their predicament. She stepped into the clearing and pointed her bright flashlight toward them. The sudden burst of light caused them to curse in shock, shielding their eyes from the brightness.

"What the hell, Kyla?" Brian exclaimed, squinting against the glare. "You trying to blind us?"

She grinned mischievously, lowering the flashlight slightly. "I was just making sure I didn't accidentally stumble upon a pack of red monkeys myself," she said.

Sheila rolled her eyes, her irritation palpable. "Well, now that you're here, maybe you can talk some sense into Thomas."

Kyla raised an eyebrow, turning her attention to the stubborn man. "What's the plan, Thomas? Keep running until we collapse from exhaustion?"

Thomas bristled at her words, and refused to respond.

"How about you follow me?" she called over her shoulder, her voice laced with authority. "I've set up a temporary campsite not far from here. We'll be safe there for the night."

"So, what's the plan once we get to your campsite?" Brian asked, his voice tinged with scepticism.

Kyla shot him an ironic smile over her shoulder. "The plan is simple: we rest, regroup, and figure out our next move in the morning."

"Area scanning," the robotic voice intoned in her mind, its reassuring presence a constant source of comfort amidst the chaos of the jungle.

Sheila nodded in agreement, her expression weary but determined. "Sounds like a plan to me. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use some shut-eye."

"Area scanning – no danger detected," the robotic voice announced, its reassurance providing a small measure of comfort amidst the uncertainty of their surroundings.

Brea felt relief wash over her at the news, knowing they were safe for now. But the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach refused to dissipate entirely, a nagging reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows.

With each step, the tension among the group seemed to mount, their nerves frayed from hours of relentless pursuit and constant danger. Brian kept glancing over his shoulder, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his weapon, while Sheila muttered under her breath, her frustration evident in the tight set of her jaw.

"We should have never listened to Thomas," Sheila grumbled, glancing resentfully at him.

Thomas bristled at her accusation, his jaw clenched in frustration. "I'm just trying to keep us safe, okay? Those monkeys were no joke."

"We should head east," Brian suggested, his tone measured. "There's bound to be a clearing where we can set up camp for the night."

Thomas scoffed, his expression defiant. "And risk stumbling into another pack of those crazy red monkeys? No thanks."

Kyla rolled her eyes at their bickering, her patience wearing thin. "Enough," she interjected, her voice sharp. "We're following my lead. I know this jungle better than anyone."

Thomas scoffed, his tone bold as ever. "Yeah, well, good luck getting any sleep with all these creepy crawlies around."

Kyla rolled her eyes, pushing aside a thick tangle of vines to reveal the clearing where her makeshift shelter awaited them. "Trust me, Thomas. My campsite is the safest place in this jungle. Now quit complaining and help me set up some defences."

"Thanks, Kyla," Sheila murmured, her tone softer than usual. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

She smirked in response, her sassy demeanour firmly in place. "You'd probably still be arguing about where to go while those crazy red monkeys closed in on you," she said.

Sheila snorted and couldn't agree more.

As the crackling flames of the firewood cast flickering shadows across the clearing, Kyla lounged in her makeshift hammock. Despite the lack of space near the fire, she didn't mind. The jacket's warmth and the hammock's gentle sway lulled her into a state of relaxation, her senses on high alert even as she allowed herself to drift into a light slumber.

Around her, the rest of the team gathered near the fire, their weary faces illuminated by its dancing light. Brian sat close to the flames, his eyes scanning the darkness beyond the perimeter cautiously. Sheila sat beside him, her expression pensive as she stared into the flickering embers, lost in thought.

"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Sheila asked, her voice low and contemplative.

Brian sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as if trying to ease the tension building within him. "Right now, our priority is staying alive and finding a way to contact help."

Sheila nodded, her expression serious. "Yes, we need to find a way to signal for help. We can't rely on luck to escape this mess."

Thomas scoffed, poking at the fire with a stick. "And how do you suggest we do that? We're in the middle of nowhere with no way to communicate with the outside world or the Base."

Ever the restless soul, Thomas paced back and forth along the edge of the clearing, his movements agitated as he muttered to himself about the dangers lurking in the jungle. Despite his bravado, his voice had a nervous edge that betrayed his fear.

"We should have never come to this damn island," he grumbled, his voice carrying through the night air. "It's a death trap, I tell you."

Brian looked at him pointedly. "We had no choice, Thomas. This mission is too important to abandon now."

Half-listening to their conversation, Kyla couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement at Thomas's negativity. Rolling over in her hammock, she called out to him, her voice laced with sarcasm. "That's what I have been chanting for a day."

Thomas shot her a scowl, but Brian interjected, his tone firm before he could respond.

"That's enough, both of you. We need to focus on staying alive out here, not arguing amongst ourselves," he said, his voice low as he glanced around at his teammates' weary faces. So, who's taking the first watch?"

"I'll take it," Thomas volunteered, his tone gruff. "Can't trust any of you to keep an eye out for danger."

Sheila rolled her eyes, nudging him playfully. "Oh, please. You just want an excuse to stay up and keep watch for those crazy red monkeys."

Thomas scowled, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Hey, better safe than sorry, right?"

Kyla chuckled softly. "Just make sure you keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual. We don't know what else might be lurking out there."

She sighed, rolling over in her hammock. "I'll take the second shift. Just wake me up when it's my turn."

With the campsite secured and the watch rotation in place, Kyla drifted into a restless sleep, her mind plagued by visions of unseen dangers lurking in the shadows.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

As the night draped its cloak of darkness over the jungle, Kyla stirred from her slumber as Thomas nudged her awake, signalling that it was her turn to keep watch.

With a groan, Kyla pushed herself up from her makeshift hammock, her senses on high alert as she surveyed the campsite. Her teammates lay sprawled out around her, their faces illuminated by the flickering firelight as they slept soundly, oblivious to the dangers lurking in the shadows.

"Area scanning... No danger detected," the chip's voice intoned, its words reassuringly echoing amidst the darkness.

But despite its assurances, Kyla couldn't shake the unease that gnawed at her insides, a nagging sense of foreboding that refused to be ignored. The chip embedded in her brain beeped intermittently, its robotic voice echoing in her mind as it scanned the surrounding area for any anomalies. Sometimes, it detected human body temperatures lurking in the forest's shadows, only to have them vanish without a trace moments later. Kyla's frustration simmered beneath the surface as she struggled to make sense of the mysterious presence haunting their campsite.

"Area scanning... No danger detected."

"What are you up to?" she muttered under her breath, her voice barely audible above the gentle rustle of the leaves. "What do you want from us?"

With a sigh, Kyla leaned back against the trunk of a nearby tree, her gaze never wavering from the shadowy depths of the forest. Somehow, her mind drifted back to a chilling memory from a previous mission that still haunted her. It was a mission like any other, or so she had thought until they stumbled upon a group of cannibals deep in the heart of the jungle.

The memory flooded her mind with vivid images of blood-soaked earth and the sickening sound of flesh being torn from bone. She could still taste the metallic tang of fear on her tongue as she watched helplessly while her teammates were devoured, their screams echoing in her ears long after they had fallen silent.

The experience had left her traumatized, haunted by nightmares that lingered long after she had returned home. It had turned her stomach at the mere thought of consuming meat, driving her to adopt a vegan lifestyle as a means of distancing herself from the brutality she had witnessed.

"I swear, if we run into another pack of cannibals out here, I'm going to lose it," Kyla muttered to herself, her voice tinged with a mixture of fear and anger.

"f**k," Kyla gritted her teeth, her irritation bubbling to the surface as the chip continued to flicker and beep incessantly. With a deep breath, she forced herself to push aside the distractions, focusing instead on the task before her.

Ignoring the flickering sound of the chip, Kyla waited until she was sure her teammates were sound asleep before retrieving the metal rod from her pack. With swift, precise movements, she drove it into the ground, the tip sinking deep into the earth as she activated the chip's signal.

"Come on, you piece of junk," Kyla muttered to herself, her voice laced with impatience as she activated the chip's signal to connect with the metal rod.

The chip hummed to life, connecting with the rod and extending its detection range, reaching out into the jungle's darkness. She muttered to herself, her voice laced with a hint of satisfaction. "Finally, some progress,"

With a satisfied smirk, Kyla leaned back against a nearby tree, her eyes fixed on the blinking light as she waited for the chip to do its work. The high concentration of energy spars was her goldmine.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes, shutting out the distractions of the jungle around her. She could feel the weight of her teammates' sleeping forms nearby, their presence a constant reminder of the risks they faced in this unforgiving wilderness.

As the light at the end of the metal rod began to blink, a surge of excitement coursed through her veins. The chip's beeping in her mind was like music to her ears, a symphony of triumph as it successfully detected the location of the energy spars.

"Looks like Lady Luck is finally on our side," Kyla murmured, a smug grin across her face.