Lair Of The Spider Apes: Part IV
The jeep sped off as Thibodeaux spoke of a stash of weapons he had back at base that might be of use, but Genevieve was not focused on that. She looked back, camera in hand, as the sun was setting behind the structure. An orange glow crested the building, with several silhouettes appearing on the roof of the building. Genevieve raised her camera and began filming. As the image became smaller and smaller, more silhouettes filled out the sunset, each one a devil in its own right.
Jonathon sat in the backseat, somber and silent. He had looked as if he had gained twenty years in the last few days. Genevieve filmed his sadness as the jeep bounced along the jungle road. If she was to die, she would at least make sure her final moments were doing what she had fell in love with years ago, the art of film making. She focused in on Jonathon's face as his eyes watered, but refused to let one tear fall. He finally fell from his reverie, and his forlorn look of devastation was enough for Genevieve, and she put the camera down once again.
She had not been paying attention to Thibodeaux, who was yelling all sorts of profanities through a satellite phone.
"Listen, I do not care if even Aphrodite herself has knelt before you with her mouth agape, put on some slacks and get your whirlybird up in the air! I'm transmitting my location from the this phone, and the coordinates will not be exact, mind you. I am in a particularly diabolical situation and need an immediate extraction. Compensation? My Lord man, I'll put your unborn bastards through medical school if you can get us out of here! Now no time to delay, cast away your Delilah and find your way to the skies! Alright! Keep in touch." Thibodeaux finished his animated conversation and then turned to Genevieve. He could see hope had left her eyes, and he tried to be reassuring.
"We are almost to the village, dear Genevieve. I have procured us a way of escape, but it will take a few moments before it arrives. I have several highly potent firearms at my tent, and we should be able to defend ourselves in some manner." Thibodeaux spoke with as much confidence as he could, but even he could not cover all the cracks within what he had said.
"Did you see how many there were on top of the facility?" Genevieve asked quietly. Thibodeaux regarded her for a moment and then nodded.
"We are going to die." Jonathon muttered from the backseat.
"Perhaps. But if I am to leave this Earth tonight, it will be in a fiery display, not as just another meal on the dinner plate." Thibodeaux remarked.
"Please, stop." Genevieve asked of Thibodeaux. His mannerisms had begun to wear on her, and he obliged. They drove on in silence once more as the village was almost in sight. As the jeep skidded through the mud and dirt, turning a bend, the catastrophe that await them filled the windshield.
The village was ablaze, with villagers screaming, running, or lying dead in the dirt road. The three visitors looked on in horrific awe as the flashes of silver fur could be seen flying between the trees and darting in between huts.
"How did they get here so quick?" Genevieve asked.
"I believe we have fallen for the oldest trick in the book." Thibodeaux said. He had another quip to add, but he was unable to get it out.
The jeep took a heavy impact on the drivers side as a giant spider ape slammed into the side of it. Genevieve screamed, and Jonathon cried out in fear as the jeep fishtailed in the muddy road. Thibodeaux tried to gain control but knew their fate was sealed. The jeep had been going too fast for him to do anything now.
"Hold on!" Thibodeaux shouted as the jeep lost its edge and began a brutal roll. The jeep rolled over on its side four times, each one punctuated with the sound of metal crumpling in on itself. After its final roll, the jeep was upside down and leaking gasoline.
Genevieve was breathing heavy. The darkness was spinning around in her head with an orange glow. The world was slowly coming into focus. The first thing she saw were legs, squirming in front of her. She blinked once, and then again, as the ground was above her. Genevieve began to realize what had happened, and she looked about frantically. The legs moving in front of her shifted, and she could see Jonathon's face illuminated by the glow of the burning village. He put his finger to his mouth to signal silence.
Genevieve reached her hands around the seat, looking for the buckle so she could get out of the death trap she was stuck in. As she did, she saw Jonathon crawl free of the wreckage. She could only see the ground and his legs from the knees down. Jonathon took a few very cautious steps, slow and deliberate. Genevieve watched him take two more steps, then stop. Genevieve had found the buckle with her hand and was trying to press it to unlock but it was not complying. She tried to look at where it was but it was too dark to see.
She looked back at Jonathon's legs. He began to make a limp sprint to the dark overgrowth of trees and foliage. He only made it a few steps before two large silver legs dropped from the sky in front of him. Genevieve's hand left the buckle and wrapped around her mouth, holding in her terror.
Jonathon was lifted off the ground and driven back into the jeep. The jeep shuddered from the impact, and Genevieve closed her eyes as Jonathon's legs dangled just in view, convulsing and leaving a pool of blood in the dirt below. The macabre drumming on the jeep suddenly stopped, and Genevieve found the courage to open her eyes. Jonathon's feet hung just outside the upside down window for a moment, and then shot upwards, accompanied by the hideous roar of the spider ape.
Genevieve could not grieve. She had to get out. She reached back to the buckle, and this time it unlatched, and she fell down, splashing headfirst into the mud. She laid still for a moment, listening for any sign of the apes outside the overturned jeep. She then looked at the still body of Thibodeaux. His arms were outstretched, almost touching the ground. Blood flowed from his head, and Genevieve could not tell if he was breathing or not, so she reached out and tugged at his arm, whispering his name.
"Thibodeaux...Thibodeaux..." She tried, but to no avail. She shifted in her position, now looking out the way Jonathon had gone. As she shuffled her body, she felt something heavy hit her side. Genevieve ran her hand along it an instantly knew what it was.
The camera.
She pulled it close to her face, and hit the power. Miraculously, it turned on. The glow of the view screen lit up her face, and she cried just a moment. Genevieve switched on the night vision mode, and turned the camera out to the jungle. She had a fighting chance now.
Using the camera, she scanned from left to right, seeing all the way into the thick jungle. She saw no sign of the apes, and slowly crawled out of the jeep.
Once out, Genevieve whirled around with the camera, looking for any threat. Her bones and body ached, but she did not relent. With the area seemingly clear, she used the camera as her eyes and headed into the jungle.
As she left the jeep, Thibodeaux began to stir. His eyes fluttered open, and he spit some blood from his mouth. With one eye he blinked at the predicament he was in. Through the minimal light of the village's fire, and despite being upside down, Thibodeaux could see that just a few hundred meters away was his tent. It was barely visible, but he knew his gear well.
"And some folks say there is no God." He whispered to himself. He even smirked for a moment, until a familiar scream shot from the dark of the jungle.
Genevieve.
"Well then. Best be to it." Thibodeaux reached for his knife and cut himself free of the seatbelt.
Genevieve had barely gotten into the jungle before the sounds of twigs snapping and branches breaking sent her into a panic. She started to run as something massive pounded the ground behind her, it was too close. The camera's night vision helped, but the foliage was so dense she still couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her. Branches, vines, and leaves smacked her as she ran.
Her feet got caught up on a fallen tree and she fell to the ground. She laid motionless as she heard whatever was pursuing her slow as well, and then the sounds stopped altogether. Genevieve's hand was still wrapped around the camera and she slowly and silently brought it to her face so she could see.
There was a clearing up a head. The sound of muffled steps came from the same way. Genevieve's hands trembled as she saw glowing orbs coming from the darkness and into the clearing.
Eight orbs. Not orbs, though. Eyes.
A spider ape moved into the clearing, and Genevieve could feel tears begin to roll down her flushed cheeks. Another ape stepped out of the darkness, followed by a third, then a fourth. Each one stood erect, their fangs clacking together, echoing through the clearing.
They did not seem to know Genevieve was near, and the four began to head back into the darkness. As they did, Genevieve's camera flashed a warning on screen.
BATTERY LOW.
It also beeped four times. Loudly.
"No, no, no..." Genevieve wrestled with it to silence it, but as she did, she heard the sickening roar of the spider apes. Genevieve sat up, but she had nowhere to go and her body could not keep going. She did not want to die in the dark, so she looked at the screen, sobbing. Within the night vision she saw the four retreating spider apes burst back through the brush heading straight towards her. The screen on her camera went completely white.
Not only did the screen brighten, but the whole clearing lit up. Genevieve watched as a bright stream of fire filled the area, igniting a spider ape. The ape flung itself around in agony before falling to the ground, clawing in the dirt pathetically as its fur burned. It soon became still, a small pyre within the jungle clearing.
The source of the flame strode into the clearing, sending more flames at the other three spider apes. One was hit and caught fire as well, as the others retreated while roaring in anger and fear.
Thibodeaux stood in the clearing, his flamethrower in hand, and he turned to where Genevieve was hiding. He rushed over to her and embraced her for a moment.
"Oh Genevieve I thought I had lost you and my days were to be cursed from here on out. What a delight this is." Thibodeaux was in his environment, and Genevieve was falling into shock. Thibodeaux noticed and moved quickly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few magnesium flares. He put them in Genevieve's hand and then helped her stand up.
"Now listen. Listen Genevieve!" Thibodeaux shouted. Genevieve's eyes locked with his, and he knew he had her back, at least for the moment.
"Take these, and take your camera, and you head toward the moon, right there in the sky. The helicopter is coming from that direction. Try to find a clearing like this, and once you hear the helicopter, pull this right here and they will ignite. Hold them high, Genevieve. You go and get yourself out of here." Thibodeaux said as he cupped her cheek gently with his hand.
"What about you? I can't, I can't just leave you here." Genevieve pleaded.
"Honey, this is my dream. I'll find you, when this is all over. But you need to go. And now." As if on cue, the roar of a spider ape cut through the night. Thibodeaux put on some goggles and turned back to the clearing, fire bursting from his weapon.
Genevieve watched for a moment, more, then ran into the jungle, her camera once again her guide. The jungle behind her grew brighter and brighter the further she got.
She found a clearing and fell to her knees. The camera was still in her hand, and her body was in agony. Each muscle burned and her vision was beginning to blur. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out. She tried once more, and got up to a standing position, and that was when she heard it. A most beautiful sound.
A helicopter.
She was so overcome with joy she fell to her knees once more, and pulled out the flares Thibodeaux had given her. She had one in each hand, and the helicopter's search light took no time in zeroing in on her. It came in low, and a rope ladder was extended. Despite her condition, Genevieve wasted no time in scurrying up the ladder and into her salvation.
"Fucking hell! What happened? Where's Thibodeaux?" The pilot yelled at Genevieve. She just smiled and pointed to another eruption of flame some distance away.
"Holy shit. He's a madman!" The pilot exclaimed.
"Quite right." Genevieve whispered.
"There are more choppers en route. He set off a military grade distress signal, and now there are several rescue birds coming in, so we gotta go. hopefully he can hold out until the others get here, but I'm not sticking around for that shit!" The pilot said.
Genevieve sat in the helicopter and watched as the sun rose and illuminated the jungle. Her breath quickened, and more tears filled her eyes as they flew over miles of web covered treetops as they left the chaos behind them.
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