Island 731

be risking our lives for nothing. Returning with more people, and weapons, is the only way to be sure and not lose any more lives.”

“You can stay on the ship,” Joliet said, growing angry. She turned to Hawkins. “Both of you can. Kam is our friend.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we leave,” Hawkins said. “Only that a search grid wouldn’t be much better than leaving.”

“Then what are you proposing, Mr. Hawkins?” Drake asked.

“The sun set thirty minutes ago, so it’s too dark to take the Magellan out of the lagoon tonight. I’ll take the Zodiac back to the beach in the morning, while you take the Magellan off shore. I’ll pick up the trail again and find Kam. On my own. Come back to the beach in a week. If I find Kam, we’ll be there.”

“And if neither of you are there in a week?” Bray asked.

“Then do like I said, come back with an army.”

“You can’t go alone,” Joliet said. “You were almost killed. We’re coming with you.”

“When you say ‘we’re,’ are you including me?” Bray asked.

Joliet glared at him.

“Thought so.”

Hawkins lowered his sketch pad. “I’m going alone.”

Joliet locked eyes with him. “Bullshit.”

“I won’t risk your life,” he said.

“It’s mine to risk.”

Hawkins sensed that arguing wouldn’t help, but if he’d known the island was populated, he’d have never agreed to let her join him the first time out. “You’ll slow me down.”

“We did just fine before and I saved your life.” Joliet crossed her arms over her chest.

The captain tapped a fork against his glass like he was about to give a toast at a wedding. Everyone turned to him. “I understand that this is a tense situation, but please try to keep your heads.”

“Not the best choice of words,” Bray said.

The captain ignored Bray’s comment. “I think we’ve ruled out leaving, and when it comes to finding Kam, I trust Hawkins’s opinion.” Drake raised his hand to Joliet, who was about to protest. He turned to Hawkins. “But I can’t let you go alone. Blok, what do we have for weapons?”

“Ahh, there’s the rifle. Two spearguns.”

“There’s a kitchen full of knives,” Ray Clifton said from the door, which he nearly filled. He dried his hands on a towel and stepped into the room. He paused behind Hawkins’s chair. “Overheard your conversation. We got cleavers, too. Keep ’em sharp.” He motioned to Hawkins’s drawing. “Make short work of those dracos there.”

“Draco?” Hawkins said, looking up over his shoulder at the behemoth of a man.

“That flying lizard,” Ray said. “It’s called a draco. Saw it on Discovery. That’s what you saw on the island, right?”

Bray stood up across the table and reached out for the sketch pad. “Let me see that.” He took the pad and sat down with it.

“Here’s how we’re going to play it,” Drake said. “In the morning, we’ll take the Magellan through the strait. I’m going to need every set of eyes to help us maneuver through there, so no one is leaving the ship until we’re out. Then Hawkins, Blok, Joliet, and if he chooses to, Bray, will return to track down Kam. Take whatever weapons you can find. I’ll give you three days to find him.”

Hawkins began to protest. “Three days is—”

“As much as you’re going to get,” Drake said. “When the sun heads for the horizon on day three, I’ll bring the Magellan closer to the island so you can rendezvous with us, with or without Kam. Understood?”

Hawkins nodded, but didn’t speak. The three-day deadline wouldn’t give them enough time to cover a lot of ground, but whoever took Kam wouldn’t just be wandering the island aimlessly. That path would end somewhere, and he felt confident they could find out where inside three days. But he had no way of knowing if Kam would still be there when they arrived, or even if he’d still be alive. He did, however, have an idea.

“What about you, Captain?” Hawkins said, looking at the old captain’s bulging muscles. “Let them take the ship out and you help me find Kam.”

A wide grin formed on the captain’s face. “Much as I’d like that, I’m the captain of this ship, and this isn’t Star Trek. My duty is here.”

Hawkins figured as much, but had to ask. While Bray was overweight, Blok a skinny rail of a man, and Joliet not much bigger than a fourteen-year-old boy, the captain was strong and in good shape. They’d cover a lot more ground and he had no doubt that the old sea dog would be good in a fight. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t worry about Drake as much as he would Joliet, or even Bray. His relationship with the captain had remained professional. He’d become attached to Bray and Joliet. Their welfare would be a distraction.

“Are these teeth right?” Bray asked, looking up from the drawing.

“Yeah,” Hawkins said. “Why?”

“It had fangs?”

“Yes. Like a snake, but shorter.”

“What about color?” Bray asked.

“Yellow with black stripes,” Joliet answered.

“And you got the size right? It was this slender?”

Hawkins lost his patience with Bray’s rapid-fire questions. “Yes. That’s what it looked like. Do you know what it is?”

“I told you,” Ray said. “That’s a draco.”

Bray stood and turned the pad around so they could all see it. “Your right,” he said to Ray. “But you’re also wrong. The wings are formed by a thin membrane stretched between ribs that the draco lizard can open. But they can’t fly, like a bird. They glide. Usually to escape predators. The wings, limbs, and head are all draco, but the rest… that’s something else.”

“Something else?” Joliet asked.

“You of all people should see it,” Bray said. He propped the sketch pad against his belly. Using both his hands, he covered the creature’s open wings and limbs in the top view Hawkins had drawn. “Remember the coloration. Ignore the size of the head, but take the fangs into account.”

Joliet looked for just a moment before she gasped. “Hydrophis melanocephalus.”

“Hydro-what?” Ray asked.

“A sea snake,” she said, her voice suddenly full of dread.

“That’s bad?” Hawkins asked.

“Sea snakes have the most potent venom of any snake. Far more deadly than any land snake. In fact, it’s the most deadly natural substance in the world.” She looked at Hawkins. “If either of us had been bit…”

“How come we don’t hear about people dying from sea snake bites?” Hawkins asked.

“Because they’re docile,” Joliet said. “You can swim right up and play with them. Millions of years of not being screwed with have made them nice. Probably why their fangs are shorter than the average venomous snake, too. They don’t bite unless severely provoked.”

“Like if you’re trying to eat them,” Bray said. “But just about everything in the ocean knows not to bother.”

Ray looked dubious. “Doesn’t look like a sea snake to me.”

“Nor does it look like a draco,” Bray said. “Because it’s neither. And both.”

“Just what the hell are you talking about, Bray?” Drake asked, raising his voice.

“It’s a chimera,” Joliet said.

The captain didn’t look impressed. “Which is?”

“Two or more creatures merged to form something new,” Bray answered.

“Something unnatural,” Hawkins added. His stomach twisted. There was another word he believed could describe the creature. “Another experiment.”