“Now or never,” Jennifer yelled. “Go!”
She placed both hands against Josel’s back and shoved the traitor out of her way. Squawking and off-balance, Josel stumbled forward and crashed into the group of Dark Ones. They leaped out of the way and as they scattered, Jennifer took advantage of their momentary confusion and darted toward the tunnel. She heard Wade and the others running along behind her, but didn’t risk turning around.
Josel floundered against a Dark One. As Jennifer ran past them, she saw the creature push Josel away with one hand. Its other hand clutched the hilt of a long iron trident on which Josel had been impaled. The weapon was buried deep in the old man’s chest. Blood trickled from Josel’s open mouth and nose. The three prongs came free with a wet sucking sound, and Josel tumbled to the stone floor.
Jennifer charged past the still confused Dark Ones and plunged into the corridor. The enraged creatures roared and hissed. A hand fell on Jennifer’s shoulder and she nearly screamed.
“It’s me,” Wade yelled. “Keep going.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Jennifer ran, focusing solely on picking her feet up and putting them down again. Her legs pumped. Her heart pounded. Blood thrummed in her ears.
“Wait!” Susan’s voice echoed down the corridor. “Ed and Keoni are still back there.”
Jennifer risked a backward glance. Sure enough, the Dark Ones had closed ranks again at the tunnel mouth. She couldn’t see Ed and Keoni, but she could hear them screaming. Then, before she could process what to do next, several of the creatures gave chase, speeding down the corridor after Wade, Susan and herself. Turning, Jennifer fled, abandoning any hope of saving Ed or Keoni, and not caring if Wade and Susan followed her. Driven onward by primal fear, she plunged into the shadows and the darkness swallowed her whole.
Ed Steinhardt and Keoni Mumea stood close together, with Dark Ones closing ranks behind and in front of them. Several Dark Ones had taken off in pursuit of Jennifer, Wade, and Susan, leaving the others to block the only exit. In the center of the cavernous room, the rectangular pool of water began to pulse. That was the closest Ed could describe it; the water contained in the strange rectangle had been calm, but now it began to lap at the sides, as if some-thing within was disturbing it. Ripples and rings surged through the liquid. Simultaneously, the strange, unseen presence seemed to grow stronger.
“Oi Sole!” Keoni’s tone of voice was frantic. “Oi Sole! Oi Sole!”
“Oh my God is right,” Ed said.
Keoni’s eyes were wide with fright. “I can’t believe Josel. He fooled us the entire time. Ufakomo pukio!”
The boy lay on the ground behind them in a rapidly spreading pool of blood. Lying next to him, the village witch doctor—Josel—lay on his back. Despite the wound in his chest, he was still alive. His searching eyes lit on the advancing Dark Ones and grew wide as the creatures drew closer.
“Ia! Ia!” Josel wheezed. Blood poured from his mouth with each syllable. “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”
“That, I can’t translate.” Ed took a step closer to Keoni as the Dark Ones advanced. “What do we do?”
“We fight,” Keoni whispered. “Get ready to run.”
“Cthulhu fhtagn.” Josel breathed, his eyes wide with rapture. He let out one last rasping breath, held it, and was still. His eyes held a look of sheer reverence.
“Ga’o!” Keoni said. He nudged Ed in the side with his elbow and pointed at the rectangular object in the center of the cavern. “Look!”
The water inside the rectangular was splashing harder now. It looked to Ed as if something was stirring the water around. As they watched, the churning of the water grew more frenzied, white foam splashing the invisible barrier. The rings and ripples grew wider.
“Never mind that,” Ed gasped. “We’ve got more important things to worry about.”
The big lizard-man stepped away from the circle of Dark Ones and fixed Ed and Keoni with its glare. Ed couldn’t help but take in its majestic stance. There was an intelligent cunning in those eyes, and as he looked at the creature he realized he was gazing at a being that was older than any creature he’d ever studied. Despite his over-whelming fear, Ed couldn’t help but feel a sense of dismay that he would not leave this island alive. With that thought, he couldn’t help but feel regret that he would not be able to share what he learned about the Dark Ones with other people…and perhaps warn them.
The Dark One raised one spade-shaped claw and pointed at them. It spoke in the same guttural tongue Josel had used. As it spoke, the pressure inside the chamber grew, along with the splashing inside the rectangular.