No sooner had these words escaped from his mouth when the night was shattered by a number of fearsome screams. At the same time, there was wild commotion in the bushes on the island as if a stampeding elephant was about to appear.

Kevin dropped the rope. Both Candace and Melanie fled back along the path a few steps before stopping. With pulses pounding they froze, waiting for another scream. With a shaking hand, Melanie shined the flashlight at the area where the commotion had occurred. Everything was still. Not a leaf moved.

Ten tense seconds passed that seemed more like ten minutes. The group strained their ears to pick up the slightest sound. There was nothing but utter silence. All the night creatures had fallen silent. It was as if the entire jungle was waiting for a catastrophe.

“What in heaven’s name was that?” Melanie asked finally.

“I’m not sure I want to find out,” Candace said. “Let’s get out of here.”

“It must have been a couple of the bonobos,” Kevin said. He reached out and grabbed the rope. The float was being buffeted in midstream. He quickly hauled it in.

“I think Candace is right,” Melanie said. “It’s gotten too dark to see much even if they did appear. I’m spooked. Let’s go!”

“You’ll not get an argument from me,” Kevin said as he made his way over to the women. “I don’t know what we’re doing here at this hour. We’ll come back in the daylight.”

They hurried along the path to the clearing as best they could. Melanie led with the flashlight. Candace was behind her, holding on to her blouse. Kevin brought up the rear.

“It would be great to get a key for this bridge,” Kevin said as they passed the structure.

“And how do you propose to do that?” Melanie asked.

“Borrow Bertram’s,” Kevin said.

“But you told us he forbid anyone to go to the island,” Melanie said. “He’s certainly not going to lend the key.”

“We’ll have to borrow it without his knowledge,” Kevin said.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Melanie said sarcastically.

They entered the tunnel-like path leading up to the car. Halfway to the parking area Melanie said: “God, it’s dark. Am I holding the light okay for you guys?”

“It’s fine,” Candace said.

Melanie slowed then stopped.

“What’s the matter?” Kevin asked.

“There’s something strange,” she said. She cocked her head to the side, listening.

“Now don’t get me scared,” Candace warned.

“The frogs and crickets haven’t restarted their racket,” Melanie said.

In the next instant all hell broke loose. A loud, repetitive stuttering noise splintered the jungle stillness. Branches, twigs, and leaves rained down on the group. Kevin recognized the noise and reacted by reflex. Extending his arms, he literally tackled the women so that all three fell to the moist insect-infested earth.

The reason Kevin recognized the sound was because he once had inadvertently witnessed the Equatoguinean soldiers practicing. The noise was the sound of a machine gun.