Here Be Monsters, Part 2

The air was thick and heavy, almost tangible in its' mass. Ariel felt like she was breathing cotton candy, but instead of sugary sweetness it was a swamplike stench. Visibility was poor. The girls could see about twenty feet in front of their faces clearly, but then their surroundings began to fade away into the mist.

"I don't like this at all..." Penny said, looking down at her feet as they slightly squashed on the damp ground. "What IS this place?"

"Something about this island feels... wrong." Ariel concurred, nodding. But her urge to explore it kept her going. She was frightened, true... but she was also very excited. An uncharted island, discovered by the World Progress Alliance?! Think of the publicity! So, carefully, she led her two companions forward. Ariel and Rinoa kept one hand on their bows, ready to shoot if necessary, while Penny carried a tranquilizer gun. Not the most devastating of armaments, but they should do if a wild animal got uppity with them.

As Ariel walked slowly forward, watching her step and remaining vigilant, she suddenly caught sight of something in the sky... she thought. It was blurry and foggy, and when she looked, it was gone. Might have been just a trick of the eyes.

The first definite sign of life was spotted in a tidal pool. Ariel stopped the others when she saw something squirming out of the corner of her eye, and slowly moved in to take a look. Within the pool were several inch-long wormlike creatures. Each one crawled around on the bottom of the pool on a dozen fleshy, boneless legs, and their backs were lined with pointy spines. Their tiny, near-featureless heads waggled to and fro as they sifted the water for nutrients.

"...What the..."

Ariel knelt down, studying the creatures closely. Her eyes were wide. Penny knelt down next to her.

"What's up, Ariel? Are those a new species?"

"...No. No, they aren't. It's something a lot more incredible than a new species."

"What could be better than that?"

"A very, very, VERY old species."

"...Beg pardon?"

Ariel opened her mouth to elaborate, but the two of them had to cut off their conversation when Rinoa began excitedly calling for them. Standing up, the two girls saw their companion about twenty-five feet away, her murky silhouette all that could be made out in the fog.

They drew closer, and both girls looked down at the six-inch-long creature in a puddle that Rinoa was eagerly pointing at.

"That's... that's a trilobite!" Penny exclaimed, mouth agape.

Ariel nodded slowly. "The other creature is also prehistoric. Both of these animals have been extinct for millions of years. This goes against all conventional wisdom."

"Ariel..." Penny breathlessly grabbed Ariel's arm. "You realize what this means?! We've made the scientific discovery of the century! No, the MILLENNIUM! With this... with THESE... we'll be world-famous! And filthy rich, too!"

"Hah... Well, I suppose it's possible, if enough people care... I'd be happy just to get my name in the annals of natural science. But yes... this is an incredible find. Beyond incredible, even..."

"Doth... doth thou think there are dinosaurs upon this isle? That would'st surely make the public take notice."

"Definitely not, Rinoa." Ariel shook her head. "This island is too small to support large, active creatures like dinosaurs. Anything able to hide here for hundreds of millions of years must be sluggish and able to go long periods with little food, especially if it's of any significant size. It's more likely, though, that there's nothing here larger than this trilobite."

There was a churning of water nearby as something rose to the surface.

"...Are you sure about that?" Penny asked with a waver in her voice.

The fish was as long as a car. It's jaws slowly opened and closed, as it stared at the three girls with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Okay, okay... remain calm, everyone." Ariel said as the three of them huddled closely together, Penny and Rinoa's hands shaking as they gripped their weapons with white knuckles. "It's a fish. It can't get to us over here. We're safe."

"...What IS it? That's no fish I know..." Penny whispered, as if her not knowing the fish would offend it.

"I think it's called... Hyneria." Ariel replied, speaking quietly but not whispering. "It's a prehistoric species of fish that is believed to be part of our lineage. Its' descendants were capable of walking on land, and it eventually evolved into-"

"Ariel? P-Penny?" Rinoa stammered.

"Yes?"

"Art thou sure only the DESCENDANTS couldst walk upon the land?!"

With mounting horror, Ariel watched as Hyneria swung its' front fins forward. Very thick, strong-looking thins. With a heave, the massive fish pulled itself forward a few feet, climbing out of the water. The girls took a few steps back.

"Shoot it." Penny said, gesturing quickly at the two better-armed girls.

"But... but it is a one-of-a-kind specimen!" Rinoa frowned.

"And you'll be a one-of-a-kind meal for it if you don't shoot it!" Penny cried, taking aim with her tranquilizer gun and firing. A dart struck Hyneria in the body, but it kept coming. Ariel and her companions began backpedaling. They moved away until Hyneria vanished in the fog, but they could still hear it moving. Loud, wet thumps and a bellow issued from a primitive lung were heard in the haze, and Rinoa and Ariel aimed their bows at where they expected Hyneria to appear.

For a few moments, it was silent. Then the dragging was heard again, and Hyneria's body began to come into view, a vague outline deep in the fog. The archers took aim...

Suddenly, Hyneria's back arched, then it threw back its' head and began thrashing. Something was dreadfully wrong. The girls watched in astonishment as Hyneria's shadowy form struggled and flipped, then turned around and seemed to bite at its' tail... or something holding said tail. Then, with a tremendous suddenness, Hyneria was yanked backwards and vanished into the fog. The girls heard the sounds of a struggle... Hyneria bellowing again... the sound of a thrashing body in the water.

"...I think we need to get out of here." Ariel finally said.

"I like the way you think." Penny nodded fearfully.

The three of them hurried back in the direction of their boat. It was right where they'd left it. They approached it...

The water churned, running red with blood, as Hyneria burst from the water, its' mouth agape.

Its' tail was gone.

Ariel screamed and held her friends back as the heavily wounded fish went nearly vertical, limbs pumping uselessly at the air... and then crashed right into their skiff, damaging it. It thrashed about, causing further damage to the boat... and then SOMETHING bumped the skiff from underneath, turning it upside-down and dumping Hyneria back into the water. The girls could see more thrashing... more movement... something significantly bigger than Hyneria attacking it... and then silence, as the weakly struggling fish was carried away.

And all was quiet again, until Penny finally deigned to speak.

"Well, this sucks."