Morning broke in a haze of golden light filtering through the canopy. The jungle awoke with a cacophony of birdcalls, insect hums, and the distant trumpeting of some colossal beast. The group trudged behind Daniel, their boots sinking into damp earth, nerves frayed thin by every rustle.Victor led confidently, claiming to know the way to his facility, but Daniel kept a wary eye on him. More than once, Marcus muttered about putting the billionaire in front as bait.
The ground soon gave way to a marshy expanse, where murky water pooled among twisted mangroves. Clouds of mosquitoes swarmed, and each step threatened to suck their boots into the mire. Ortega, ever the botanist, brightened despite the danger. “Incredible,” he whispered, pointing to a massive fern-like plant. “These species… they predate flowering plants. This is a living fossil—”
“Keep moving,” Daniel ordered. “Fossils bite, remember?”
The swamp thickened, a mist rolling over its surface. The air stank of decay, stagnant and heavy. Claire filmed in silence, her camera lens trembling as much as her hands.
A sudden ripple disturbed the water. Everyone froze.
“Please tell me that was a fish,” Marcus muttered.
The ripple grew into a wave, parting reeds as something vast slid beneath the surface. Then, with terrifying swiftness, a massive head broke the water—a crocodilian maw, lined with jagged teeth, attached to a body far larger than any living reptile.
“Deinosuchus,” Eliza gasped. “An ancient crocodile… it shouldn’t be here—”
The beast lunged. Its jaws clamped shut where Marcus had stood a moment before, splintering a log instead. Water exploded upward as the creature thrashed, its tail sending waves crashing against the mangroves.
“Move!” Daniel bellowed.
They bolted along the narrow strips of dry ground, splashing through knee-deep pools. The deinosuchus pursued, its bulk parting the swamp like a living barge, snapping its jaws with bone-shattering force.
Claire screamed as the water surged beside her, the beast rising to strike. Ortega shoved her aside at the last moment, falling back into the muck. The creature’s jaws snapped down, missing him by inches, spraying him with fetid water.
Marcus grabbed Ortega by the collar, hauling him upright as they stumbled forward. “No sightseeing! Run!”
Ahead, Victor pointed to a rise of stone breaking through the swamp. “There! High ground!”
They scrambled onto the rocks, the deinosuchus lunging but unable to climb. It thrashed at the base, roaring with a guttural bellow that sent ripples racing across the swamp. At last, with a final splash, it sank beneath the surface, the water closing over as though it had never been there.
The group collapsed on the rocks, gasping. Ortega lay trembling, mud streaking his face, his eyes wide with shock.
“That thing was… prehistoric perfection,” Victor said breathlessly, almost giddy.
Eliza turned on him, voice raw. “Perfection? It nearly ate us alive!”
Victor only smiled faintly. “Every Eden has its serpents.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “Then we cut through this swamp fast. Because the next serpent might not miss.”
Source: Some or all of the content was generated using an AI language model
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