Island Survival: Starts by chopping a tree-Chapter 57 Danger of the island
[Mass release]
Jeff, who was done with his work, glanced at the spot where the girls were. He saw that they were very focused on making those ropes.
Looking at the sky, he noticed it was around 4:00 p.m. If he was correct, he turned the pot slightly to ensure the drying was even.
When he was done with each one, Jeff saw that his wounds were starting to get dirty again. So he had to clean them to avoid infections.
Looking at the girls seated and doing their work, he just left the place as he arrived at the river.
When he was cleaning his wounds, he had to tell them something when he came back. Keeping this a secret is not good.
This is to ensure they know how to be careful and act cautiously on this island. He then took medicine as he cleaned the bandaged clothes.
After doing that, he also munched on the medicine. When it was squashed, he applied it to his wounds, ensuring the poultice got inside his flesh.
Bandaging it again, he went back to the girls, who were done seeing him come back. They showed them their work, feeling proud.
Glancing at the stack of ropes on the ground, Jeff nodded and praised them, making them happy and filling their faces with a radiant smile.
"Alright, then, I have something to tell you. It’s better for you to understand what we are dealing with on this island." Jeff’s expression was serious.
Seeing his look devoid of any joke right now, they nodded their heads. Wondering what kind of news he was going to say.
Jeff then sat on the ground, crossing his legs, as the girls who were already seated in front of him waited for what he was about to say.
"To tell you the truth, when I was out exploring, I met many creatures. Animals that we considered to be..." he made a suspense as he looked at them.
He did not want to tell them this to not make them scared, but if he did that, then they would not know how vulnerable they are.
"Extinct," he finished, as the girl looked at him with a confused expression.
Charlotte who was very much confused on what he means inquired, "What extinct animal are you referring to, are you referring about dinasours?" she asked since this is what she comes into her mind.
"Are there dinosaurs here, captain?" Ariana asked, starting to get scared. If that was true, then it was really dangerous to stay here in the open field.
"But a dinosaur is kind of unscientific, right? Since they have been dead for about 60 million years," Emma said.
"Your right big sister, dinasours have been dead for millions of years living in this island is not possible right?" Layla said, starting to feel goosebumps looking at Jeff with fear.
Jessica was very quiet this time as her body began to tremble. Her mind was thinking about the extinct animals.
She imagined that every creature she watched in the movie would start to appear and eat her.
Seeing their looks as they waited for him to answer, he sighs in contemplation. Since they have to know this, if they are scared about it, at least they are going to be more careful when going out.
"I’m not sure if dinosaurs are still around, but I’d say there’s about a 10% chance they could have lived and roamed this island," Jeff replied after giving it some thought.
Upon hearing his words, they were taken aback by the possibility that a dinosaur might actually be roaming this island.
"Are you really sure about this, Captain?" Jessica was the first to ask, her voice trembling with disbelief.
The other girls also looked at him, not believing it, but they knew that Jeff was smart and knew a lot about stuff, so they had to believe it.
Seeing their disbelief, Jeff smiled wryly as he responded, "I’m only 10% sure that a dinosaur actually lived on this island. But do you want to know how I got these injuries when I was out exploring the bamboo forest alone?" He gestured to his bandaged wound.
Looking at his wounds, they all thought he must have slipped or hurt himself while hunting wild boars since he did not explain it to them clearly.
"Are you saying that big gash in your arm is the cause of one of those extinct animals?" Layla said, her voice began to tremble, looking at his wounds.
Ariana felt fear as she held Jessica’s arms, worried that a long-extinct animal might suddenly appear and attack them.
As Jessica hugged her tightly, she felt numb from the tension, but Ariana noticed Jessica’s scared and rigid body start to relax a bit, finding some comfort in their shared embrace.
"Is it true that an extinct animal caused that injury of yours?" Emma asked with a narrowed gaze.
Jeff looked at both of them and nodded, "When I was out exploring, like about three days ago, I guess, I decided to go deeper into the bamboo forest to hunt boars. That is when I found a cave that is a very good site for our shelter."
The girls were listening to him attentively, as he recounted his experience.
"When I was wondering inside, it was really a great place for our shelter. We could make some walls and some furnishing to make it good since there was also an overhanging rock for the rooftop. And when I was about to leave, someone blocked the exit," he stated as they gulp.
"In front of me is an animal, a Megalania, also known as Varanus Priscus. That animal is already believed to have gone extinct around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. I fought my way out at that time when I was hit by its tail, gashing my arm on a big rock. Luckily, I escaped the cave; it did not chase me when I was out as it just looked at me, giving me a warning." he recounted, about the arrogant look of that Comodo dragon.
The girls hearing that it was an animal that had lived for 40,000 to 50,000 years ago. They were scared shitless, Jeff then began to describe on how big that Megalania was making them even more afraid to meet that.
"40,000 to 50,000 years ago? But captain, how did you come to the conclusion that dinosaurs still exist?" Charlotte inquired since it was about a thousand years and not a million years.
The other also questioned this since it’s only about a thousand years and not a million. Clearly, they are less knowledgeable about the history of the planet.
"To tell you, Megalania, an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, lived during the Pleistocene epoch, approximately 1.6 million to 40,000 years ago. So tell me, isn’t the chances of a dinosaur to live during this island had a 10% possibility?" He said, his gaze upwards, looking at them.
"If they could adapt to the island condition, then what would happen to those animals who were very dominant in their time? Would they still be living and hunting on the island?" he questioned, which silenced them.
"I did not tell you this because I’m not entirely sure yet, but earlier this morning when I was out to hunt. I saw a wolf," he said with a piercing gaze at each of them.
They did not say anything as they waited for him to finish his words. " It’s not an ordinary wolf, but an extinct animal too, known as a Dire Wolf," he bellowed to the group.
When the girls heard the animals’ names, they were confused because a dire wolf and a wolf they saw on TV were different? Seeing their confused look, he explained it to them.
"Dire wolves are one of an iconic species; they lived during the late Pleistocene epoch that is around 125,000 to 10,000 years ago.
They coexisted with many other large mammals, such as mammoth and saber-toothed cate, in North and South America"
"The extinction of the dire wolves occurred approximately 10,000 years ago, coinciding with the end of the ice age and the start of the Holocene epoch" he added some details.
Now, having a good understanding of what he said, "Also, as I went even deeper from the island. I saw a big, massive trail carved into the forest floor; the bamboos were bent as if something colossal must have crawled its way deeper into the island. From what It looks like, I think that it must be another extinct animal that must have been around the Paleocene Epoch about 66 to 56 million years ago." he gave out his conclusion after analyzing what kind of animal it was when it left those trails.
Hearing that an animal that had lived for 66 million years ago was wandering this island, all of them began to feel scared.
This time, despair and the feeling of going back home resurface in each of their minds. Even though it was somewhat relaxing, it was so dangerous that their lives were now hanging on the thread if one of these extinct animals found them.
Seeing their pale faces, he shook his head, knowing their reaction would be something like this.
"I know that telling you must be desperate to leave this island, right? But I’m starting to think that even the ocean must be more dangerous, since if there are extinct animals on the island, then what about the ocean?" He sighs, telling them about this.
Hearing that even the ocean had become even more dangerous than land, they were helpless now, not knowing what to do.
"Look, I told you this so you can be careful. Don’t worry when I was observing those animals. They don’t literally come to the outskirts of the island but just wander around the insides of the island, where food and prey are everywhere." The sense of comfort gave them reassurance, encouraging the girls to explore the nearby areas while doing their best to stay close to the camp.
"Captain, how are you so knowledgeable about this?" Jessica asked since this is not about building, medicine, or survival stuff.
