Expedition to White Maple Islands

Meridian Securities Corp. Case# 7634

Partner of Morgan & Strauss Investment Banking

Internal Affairs Staff: Jacob Brandy

ID: 278419

Date: June 12, 1937

Investigation Report:

Case was assigned to investigator by Director Hommell. The reason and purpose for the internal investigation is for the expedition of resources and land planning by Meridian Securities Corp. in the White Maple archipelago approximately 3000 km east of Chile. The company tasked with reconnaissance aboard the SS Lucia- property of Meridian Securities- lost contact with Lucia and her captain for approximately 96 hours upon making landfall on the 24th of January 1937. On the 27th of January 1937, SS Lucia received the last communications from First Lieutenant Marconi, a radiotelegraph message transcribed from Morse code to read as follows: “Mayday mayday. Need reinforcements, island is teeming with life. Few soldiers left, many dead and few severely injured. Those injured will not make it. Capt. Doyle is dead.” Prior communications with Lucia indicated the company made contact with life on the main island. No description of biological lifeforms was transmitted within 96 hours. The captain of the Lucia- Abraham Starbuck- dispatched a platoon of soldiers- that was serving as crew to the ship- after receiving the last transmission to aid the remaining combatants. Capt. Starbuck then wrote in his log:

January 28th, 1937- The hands on the lookout have yet to spot the landing boat sent to aid those men. No messages on the telegraph have come in, now we know these islands are teeming with savages and are ready to defend their home. Good thing we sent out Doyle’s company ahead to establish a base. With the cartographers and investment surveyors still on the ship, this expedition is not lost. We will have to come back with heavy artillery and more men to clear out any warrior tribes that get in our way. The land looks perfect from the deck and the calm, southern hemisphere weather, guarantees a lot of potential in these islands for future projects. One of the surveyors remarked “I can see it now Captain Starbuck…Eden Resorts!”

January 29th, 1937- Still no sign from the landing boat, our radio operator has been sending code continuously since 0600 this morning. He reports ‘no signal has been sent back.’ I can’t afford to send more men in search of the first rescue party. The ship will be running on a skeleton crew and the trip back home will be too dangerous with few hands. I will give them another 48 hours before departing and report what has transpired. Perhaps the men on land have to continuously fight off those savages and will get in contact with the ship once they have established a stronghold. Meridian trains us well, there is a reason we are the best paramilitary in the world. I have faith that those boys will get the job done. The weather remains to be calm, our provisions are plenty, and the men have faith in their compatriots that they will return. 

January 30th, 1937- I am starting to get worried, but still no response. Our poor lad operating the radiotelegraph has not been able to get proper rest. The lookouts have not seen anything coming from the islands. We are the only ones anchored in these waters. No other vessels have been spotted passing close to these islands, it makes the day very somber as we go about maintaining the ship. However there is an eerie feeling once the sun settles, the waters are more active at night, large whales seem to breach and splash around for food. One of the lookouts said he spotted one of these whales one night, he reported it looking quite large, larger than any whale he had ever seen. He said something about having a large elongated tail and two flippers in the back as it dived into the water. The boy needs to get his eyes checked cause whales don’t have flippers in their hindquarters, but that’s Colby, he’s a strange lad but he means well. I am afraid that if we do not get a response back by tomorrow or get a glimpse of the landing boat. We will prep the ship to make our trip back to San Francisco. God only knows what those boys saw or are fighting out there, if we do leave, hopefully, they can hold out till we return with more men.

January 31st, 1937- CONTACT! Perhaps Colby’s eyes work perfectly fine because he spotted the landing craft on the horizon coming to view past some large rocks in the shoreline. The rest of the crew and the other Meridian contractors were joyful because we no longer had to leave our comrades behind for the sake of this venture. Our joyfulness was abruptly ceased by terror, for what we saw remaining on that boat will haunt our minds till death’s embrace takes us to that good night. I am only writing this entry to fulfill my duty as captain of the Lucia. May St. Uriel the Archangel shine a beam of bright heavenly grace upon our souls in this voyage, for God knows in our hearts we need it. We were able to pull the boat in after no radio messages were being transmitted back to us. The boat was floating aimlessly and we all wondered why, suddenly we got our answer. Once we pulled it in, one of the cartographers was anxious as to when will he be able to set foot on these islands. He opened the cockpit doors and then hurled his breakfast all over the stern trying to keep his composure. The stench was horrendous, a few of the crew were able to drag three bodies and lay them on the deck of the Lucia. All three were men from the rescue party, their tags read PFC Wallace, CPL Jackson, and CPL Woods. May they rest in peace, but it was strange, they were the only ones on board. Wallace’s whole left arm was gone, I am no coroner, but it seems to me as if it was torn off by sheer brute force, like when someone gets a limb torn off from a shark. The left side of his abdomen was lacerated, these wounds were not the wounds of spears and arrows, these lacerations looked like claw marks, three of them. This poor lad was mauled by some beast it seems, but what beast has three toes and would leave deep cuts like this? Jackson had similar markings on his back, with puncture wounds indicating powerful bites. I am surprised his spinal cord was not showing. Woods had similar punctures on his abdomen and lower back, but his were deeper. They looked very similar to canine punctures. Meaning, my assumptions are he was bitten by a large animal capable of wrapping its jaws around the torso of a 6’3” man. How that is possible? I do not know and I do not want to know, I could tell he had severe organ damage and cracked ribs from the pressure of this ‘bite.’ It seems the wounds got septic fast and poisoned the organs in all three. The smell of rotten flesh overcame us all, it was a stench not associated with the bodies. The men seemed like they had been dead for a few hours so it was strange for that awful ‘old carrion’ smell to fill the air. It was also strange for the blood to have been poisoned so fast. Jimmy-one of the cooks- noted that there was a yellow substance on all the bite marks and the upper arm from Wallace’s lost limb. Upon further inspection, I caught whiffs of what smelled like acidic bile but with hints of sweetness, like dried vomit. This puss-like substance was not viscous, it had the same texture of saliva. My fingertip started to tingle and I quickly rubbed the saliva off. Animal toxins, these men encountered venomous beasts of some kind. Whatever happened on that island, it seems they were the only ones able to escape. We gave the men a proper sailor’s funeral and allowed the ocean to be their final resting place. The men do not look well, and the lingering thoughts of the condition of the others who were not so lucky to get off the island bring too much anxiety about what lurks within those islands, it will not allow me to sleep. We have set sail immediately after properly disposing of the bodies and expect to reach San Francisco by March. Part of me wants vengeance, part of me knows that whatever did this to those men- a whole company and a platoon’s worth of trained men- should not be awakened. I do not know what will happen next…Lord have mercy!

Incidents were reported immediately to Meridian Securities Corp. upon the arrival of SS Lucia. The Lucia made port on the 25th of March 1937. After countless briefings of those who witnessed the only bodies to escape the island and their descriptions. Various meetings took place with both boards of directors from Meridian Securities Corp. and Morgan & Strauss Investment Banking. Multiple NDAs were signed by crew and contractors to keep confidentiality of potential future projects for Morgan & Strauss. The Chilean Government does not recognize nor take claim to the White Maple archipelago, thus they refuse to aid Meridian Securities in investigating what biological life forms reside within the archipelago. The Secretary of Wildlife and Conservation for the Chilean Government spoke over the telephone during a board of directors meeting on the 1st of May 1937. He went on record by stating: “Desde que descubrieron esas islas, nada pero historias de terror han venido de allí. Si ustedes siguen yendo, nomás van a encontrar muerte.” (Ever since they discovered those islands, nothing but stories of terror have come from there. If you continue to go, you will only find death.)  

The annual prospectus for Morgan & Strauss predicts a significant return on investment with a 14% dividend yield in the next five years upon building vacation resorts and resource mining. With no documented sources, biological surveys, and research on the archipelago. No endangered species or native tribes can be identified for registry in the California Endangered Species Act. Morgan & Strauss thus have agreed to continue to fund and use Meridian Securities for future expeditions to the White Maple islands. Internal investigation concludes with the missing company led by Capt. Doyle that all members of the company have officially been declared deceased and thus their contracts terminated. The families will be notified and proper funeral rites will be given to all the men lost. Official statements from Meridian Securities will ensure employees, investors, and the public, that undiscovered native tribes have refused to welcome foreigners into their lands. With the advancement of technology and trade, they have refused to cooperate with world government bodies, world trade markets, and private capital ventures to be integrated into civilized society. Meridian Securities will take it upon themselves to retrieve any or all lost equipment, and remains of those lost if possible, and exercise different tactics to neutralize all threats that may bring harm to contractors and employees on these expeditions. Funding for larger squads, armaments, ammo, rations, field kits, and miscellaneous supplies are being prepared and will be ready for the next expedition set to leave approximately on the 24th of February 1938. 

Staff Signature: Jacob Brandy

02/22/38

Dear Denise,

My love and joy I cannot express how much I already miss your soft lips and wonderful voice. It pains me to know that I will not hold you in my arms for what will seem like an eternity. Although this is not the type of initiation I was expecting, adventure awaits my love. There are heroisms all around us, and I for one am glad to be going on this venture. Ever since I got discharged from the Army, you have been my pillar of hope and motivation. I know how difficult it is for you to hear me hark on about my purpose of being a true soldier at heart, but this is the moment I have been waiting for. Yes, this contract has been a godsend, but all of my past assignments have been basic security detail, constant drills, and tedious inspections. Finally! I will be in another part of the world fighting actual threats and being of use to my comrades. I will get the chance to prove myself and earn being called a soldier. I am writing this letter before I leave to report and get accustomed to the quarters I will be staying in, and also the rest of the ship and her crew. I will drop this letter off at the post on my way to the docks and will continue to write more so you can see the vast open ocean, any wonderful wildlife, and my heroic deeds. When I return you will see through my writing all that I will experience. This is what I have been waiting for honey! And I would not be here without your love and support. Till then, I love you!

Your one and only,

Oliver Driscoll

03/08/38

Denise, It has been about two weeks since we departed from San Francisco. A lot of the more experienced men have accepted me and invited me to drink with them in the evenings. I hear all kinds of stories from them, stories about defending prime ministers in war-torn countries. Aiding rebels in overthrowing corrupt governments. Security detail in expeditions to the Arctic and seeing all the wonders that this world provides. I hope that after this venture, I too will have my own stories to tell. One of the men, Lt. McGregor, told us some stories two nights ago about the island we are going to. “Being studious makes a soldier that much more deadlier,” he started. We have not been briefed yet on our mission and still have a ways to go but Lt. McGregor said our destination is called the 'White Maple’ Islands, it is an archipelago. “Legends speak of tyrant lizards,” he went on. We all laughed because what he said made one hell of a drinking story. I never pay attention to the news but the men were harking on about savages, revenge, and establishing a base of operations in these islands. Lt. McGregor looked disgruntled as the men sang songs of war and boasted our superior firepower for a sure fine victory. I am told that the men before us were not as prepared and thus were taken by surprise. We have the advantage this time and with these newfound brethren by my side, I tell you, Denise. We will come back as avengers!

03/26/38

Denise, not much has been happening over the last few weeks. Our work detail is very simple and straightforward, the men rotate chores and help the crew with the ship, her name is The Diana Pearl. The sunrises and the sunsets over the vast blue ocean are some of the most amazing wonders I have ever seen. I look forward to waking up just so I can see the sun shine brightly on the calm sea. I hope that one day you and I will both be able to experience this together. I have been reading more of that book you gave me to entertain myself. I am not one for romance novels but ‘Abbey’s Secret Bridge’ is spectacular! I am currently in the part where Veronica’s dad is about to punish her and send her away but Paul falls on his sword for her and takes the blame for what happened at the Polo Grounds. I will finish the book by the time I return or even sooner, but I am going to write down my predictions now so you and I both can come back to this and see if I get it right. I suspect that Ellie will leave that self-centered Charles for Fernand. And! Abbey will hold on to the promise that she gave to Quincy despite her temptations and lust for Jonathan. I cannot wait for us to laugh and discuss our thoughts on this book. On another note though, we will start to have our briefings here very soon. I look forward to learning about our mission and how long we will be staying there. I will continue to write so that you may have this journal and learn what I have learned.

04/10/38

Denise, Capt. Marquise has briefed us on our assignment. I am excited and so are the other men. The archipelago consists of 8 islands grouped with only about 1000 meters separating each island with various lakes and rivers running between all of them. Capt. Marquise called the biggest one ‘Site A’ and that is where we will be landing first. Well, the squad I am in and a few others will be making landfall their first, more troops will be sent to the other islands to encircle ‘Site A.’ The last company, I learned was led by a Capt. Doyle. It seems we will land around the same location as they did and gather as much intel and equipment as we can. Other squads will flank the islands and attack the savages from all directions. We have no intel on what weapons or fighting methods they use but we will be armed with heavy explosives and heavy machine guns to sweep the tree lines with. We will reach the islands in 4 days, on the 15th at 00:00 we will man the small boats and take control of these islands.

04/13/38

It is almost time, the squads have gone over the plans multiple times. Lt. McGregor insists on his squad painting their faces and “shoot anything that moves.” I believe we will be doing the same thing. Our lieutenant, Lt. Hayes has inspected our weapons and made sure everything is ready for what we will be carrying. It will be 10 men per craft, I have already acquainted myself with the other 9 I will be with. As I write this, I notice the solemn air within the quarters. Each man is writing in his own journal, praying, smoking a cigar, or sharpening a knife. We are prepared to go into the unknown, we know so little of these islands and know that the men before us faced great foes. No matter how prepared we may be, we still have no clue in what we are fighting. CPL Dominic has been going on and on over the past few days about “all this so some rich investors can tear down perfectly good jungles.” Although I agree our motives may not be morally correct, we are in the private sector, and the private sector is all about who can give us the most money to do their dirty work. Do I like it? No, but this is a job, and someone has to do it. This contract pays well and I am not going to complain about it. This will be my last journal entry until we have made landfall and secured our perimeter. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous, but I think these are good nerves. I know we will secure the beaches and drive out anyone that opposes us. I am ready Denise, this is what I have been waiting for. I will fight courageously alongside these men I have known to admire and call my brothers.

04/16/38

I don’t know the exact time, my watch is waterlogged and broken, but the sun is starting to rise. This journal managed to stay intact despite getting wet and some ink running off. We managed to dry our belongings and our rifles and ammo that we salvaged from the wreck. This journal will keep my sanity in the meantime while we figure out where exactly we are at, and how we get in contact with the main ship or others from the company. Hell, where do I begin?! how did we get ourselves into this mess?! Yesterday when we drew near these islands we commenced our operation and tried to move fast as a storm was brewing near the west, we were not concerned about the rain, in fact, we welcomed it as it gave us extra cover to land on the beaches unnoticed and attack the natives. Little did we know that Zephyrus flurry would engulf our boat. I do not recall ‘strange whales’ as Moreno-one of the men- put it. All I remember was waves crashing unto us and our boat came crashing among the shore rocks. I blacked out and came to my senses laying on the coarse, rough pebble shore of what I believe is ‘Site A’. I came away with a few bruises and soreness but no broken bones. We lost Denham, the poor lad drowned and there was nothing we could do. We left his body by the wreckage and erected a makeshift cross from some twigs. Now there are only 9 of us left, and only a few of our supplies were able to make it. A few rations, few first aid kits, enough ammo for each man- thank God- and one crate of fragment grenades. We have set up a make-shift camp with what we could not too far from the beach. Moreno keeps on blabbering on about what he says ‘attacked’ our boat. 

“It was massive! Did you lads not see it? Its head must have been about 12 feet tall. The storm concealed its presence but I tell ya, that was the strangest whale I have ever seen. Actually...I don’t believe it was a whale at all, it breached the water with its snout, its flesh was course and pebble-like that of a reptile, and its eyes were beady and in the front of its head, not sides like a whale or any fish I know of. Its maw was long and slightly open and I only glanced a few teeth before it came crashing onto our boat. Its teeth were like daggers!” I think Moreno is in hysterics right now, he was close to Denham, and this is probably his way of blaming something. It’s no one’s fault we couldn’t keep the boat afloat, these things happen when waters get too choppy. I’m just glad we only had one casualty, but I hope Moreno keeps his composure, I hope we ALL keep our composures. We still have a mission to fulfill, we need to do a reconnaissance and figure out where we are, try and see if we can regroup with another squad, and also be on the lookout for natives who might get the jump on us.

I don’t like this island already, it is thick with tropical trees and dense jungle. Luckily there was enough wood close to shore for a fire, but the denseness of it all gives me an eerie feeling, like we’re being watched right now. Massive birds crowd the shores and the sky in the distance. Strange noises come from within the jungle, like elephants bellowing. Insects are massive and make all kinds of hissing and clicking noises. This island is extremely green and beautiful and is teeming with life, but despite all that, death seems to be stalking. We all have our rifles and bayonets ready, we will move from here in a bit and trek to a high spot that we see from our current location to map out the island the best we can. The others in the company should have already landed and should be enclosing in towards the center to drive out the natives. I hope we find them, the faster we regroup and execute our mission, the faster we get out of here. I will write more when I have time.

04/16/38 continued…

Break time right now, it’s about midday and it’s hot and humid. We found a small creek and refreshed ourselves. I do not know how many miles we have trekked but we’re close to the hills that we can climb and look beyond. Oh Denise, if you saw the insects we have encountered, you would have fainted from the terror. Giant scorpions the size of our boots! Never seen anything like it, strange coloring too. Some were purple with orange, teal with yellow, green and pink. I’ve never been so grossed out yet so intrigued by an insect before. I observed one devouring a small lizard and another walking by a broken tree trunk. We have to make sure to build some form of barrier around our camp for the night to avoid them. What is also strange is we have heard some ‘yelping’ if you could call it that. A strange type of chirping from some local birds but it is not coming from the sky, it’s coming from the ground all around us. I haven’t seen any ‘chickens’ but Flores swears he saw two ‘chickens’ checking us out as we were walking and then scatter. 

“I swear they were chickens, small and bulky ones,” he remarked. “They had little feathering on their backs that looked more like quills than feathers. They were greenish brown with some stripes across their bodies. One was standing upright on a log, it was strange though, never seen a chicken with so many feathers on its behind. It almost looked like a tail the way it swayed a bit, almost worked as a counterweight as it stood upright on two very muscular legs. It bobbed its head in the air in swift, short movements.”

Strange chicken if you ask me, but then he continued describing how it didn’t have a beak, it had more of a snout with ‘rough’ skin. The second one was behind the one he was observing then they both yelped and scattered. I haven’t seen any of these birds that he mentioned but I do hear the yelping. If it’s a flock of chickens, then they are either following us or there are just so many of them on this island. I guess that is what the natives hunt, but talking about natives we have tried to keep an eye out for any evidence of them and have yet to run into any. The jungle is alive but difficult to see anything, we hear calls from birds and animals but have not run into anything large. I have my rifle ready and we are keeping a low profile, don’t want to get ambushed.

04/17/38

A new day! And hopefully, we get the chance to regroup with our men. We made it to the hilltop yesterday and were able to see the shore which we crashed in. Yet I am afraid we cannot see The Diana Pearl out on the horizon. The island is vast with vegetation. There are large mountains towards the center, CPL Parent gasped as he pointed to a flock of birds towards the mountains. He has good eyesight for I could not quite get a good glimpse of them. “Those leathery wings,” he remarked. “No no, it is impossible,” we all asked what was impossible. Acquiescently, he responded with a faux smile, something about giant fruit bats and how he did not know they would exist on these islands. I don’t know if the others caught it, but I don’t believe what he saw were fruit bats.

We decided to make camp here last night, before falling asleep CPL Ramirez mapped out roughly where we are on the island. Our course was thrown off by the storm but if we keep heading east, then we will be able to find where Doyle’s men were supposed to set up camp. The rest of the company will be closing in on the island so if we focus on where we need to go and start heading towards the center, then we will eventually come in contact with our comrades. Not all is lost! However the night was not calm, I was awoken by what seemed like a large cow or trumpet of sorts. There was loud bellowing from a herd of animals somewhere in the distance, our lookout at that time was perking his neck, and he whispered he could not see anything from our position. The bellowing sounded like the animals were large and singing to each other. At one point I thought they were war horns but there was no cadence to them to make sure. The sounds soon hushed as the night continued. I was able to get some rest, but those sounds were loud and I have yet to see any large creatures to be sure where exactly they are coming from. I would like to see these animals, I have never seen wild bovine before, but that is not what we are here for. We need to get this mission back on track. We will be moving out as soon as we finish breakfast. Oh Denise, how I miss you, but the thought of your smile is what drives my optimism. We will find our comrades, we will get in contact with the ship, and we will take hold of this island!

04/18/38

Ok, I think it is the 18th already, hell what does it matter? Moreno doesn’t know if his watch is correct but it seems that the hands are showing it is already past midnight. I think we are safe for now, we have created a perimeter and Dempsey is trying his best to treat Forger. His wounds are getting worse and we do not have any antidote to stop the poison. We all woke up to a shriek from Forger, I had my rifle ready as I thought this was it…the natives had found us. But no it was not natives, it was some strange small bipedal lizard-looking creatures. Flores was able to shoot one and the rest scattered. Forger was our lookout, his screams were loud and there is no doubt that we have already given away our position. As soon as Dempsey tended the wounds, Forger managed to say but a few words. “Their bites…they burn.”

Dempsey says that his breathing is already slowing down. That is it, Forger will not make it. There will only be 8 of us left. Flores picked up the remainder of the limp body of the creature he shot, the .30-06 cartridge did a number on this venomous vermin. “Son-of-a! It’s one of those damned chickens that have been following us.”

Flores cannot believe it, none of us can. We have lit another fire to get a better look and prepare a defensive position just in case. How can a creature this size cause so much harm?! Forger was bitten on his left arm, it swelled and turned purple, bites and scratches over his neck and abdomen. They had started to tear into his stomach and bite muscle tissue. Flores passed the body of the lizard so we could all see it. The bullet tore off half of its upper body leaving only one arm hanging by a thread of flesh, and its legs and tail are covered in little bits of its viscera. The little arm has claws on the end of it. The legs are thicker than any birds I have ever seen, they are definitely built for sprinting. It has three toes, and very sharp claws on the ends of its toes, the innermost toe has a thicker claw that has more of a curve to it than the other two. It also has a rather peculiar tail with some small feathers at the end of it that seem thicker than any bird feather I have ever held in comparison.

I noticed that when it got to Parent, he examined the carcass, dropped it, got up and shook himself, then walked away for a bit. It seemed like he uttered something as well…poor lad. We are not doing too well and this mission already seems like a failure. Forger is wheezing and is starting to cough, not much longer now. Dempsey did the best he could with the kits that we have. 

We have little medicine left, a few rations, our water supply will need to be refilled soon, we already lost two men in our squad, we have zero contact with anyone else, and we are completely dark in this jungle. We need to get out of here before we lose more men. I was fond of Luke Forger, and I will miss him dearly, Dempsey has declared him dead and we will carry all of his belongings that we can to give back to his family. We will try our best to bury him and move out as soon as we are done, we cannot stay here for long, and I can start to hear that ‘yelping’ again.

04/19/38

Midday by now, none of us have been able to get proper rest. The most I have got from yesterday is 3 hours. Also, it seems that my constant writing has landed me the role of the scribe without my knowing or consent. With this new role, I will try to make justice of what we have and will encounter. Those damned ‘chickens’ are now getting bold. We’ve killed 5 of them and yet we still hear the chirping and yelping that they do. They are not chickens however, these creatures are something different. They’re fast, agile, and bear sharp teeth. We are constantly looking over our shoulders through the thick brush.

Parent seems to be the one most informed of the fauna here. He says they are ‘ornitholestes’ whatever that name means. We can’t let them near us as we have seen what they did when they killed Forger. We are getting weary and are slowly losing hope. It seems we have yet to make progress and now the men are starting to argue. Ramirez and Darrow suggest we keep going straight towards the center. Parent and Salamanca want to start heading toward the coast and abort the mission. I for one believe if we stick to the mission we are bound to come across the other squads.

We will have to follow orders for the sake of getting out of here. There is a chance that the other squads did not lose their boats and still have communication with the main ship. Parent seems the most frightened of all the men, he seems to know a lot of the creatures we are encountering and he believes “bigger ones are waiting for us the more we venture towards the center.” The squad has voted and we will continue on. We do not have much of a choice, encountering another squad will raise our chances of survival.

04/20/38

I was awakened by a loud boom moments ago. It seems Darrow shot and killed another of those ornitholestes during his night watch. I cannot go back to sleep.

It feels like an hour has passed and Darrow is very vigilant turning his head with every wood creak or insect buzz. I do not hear the chirping or yelping anymore, I hope the one Darrow killed is the last one. It is not long now for the sun to rise.

As I write this, I can sense that rain is coming…or so it seems. I feel; and I think the others feel it too, a sort of ‘rumble’ in the air. A low vibration through the earth as if lightning has struck many miles away. It’s eerie and I do not know why the hairs on my back have stood, but it is very difficult to force myself to go back to sleep. 

04/21/38 

Where do I begin? Dragons! Giant lizards! Those skeletons that one sees at a museum as a kid. Alive! Denise, they are alive! Let me retract here for a bit. Yesterday we started to head northeast, for the majority of the day, there has been very little to document other than the plants and trees we see with some larger insects buzzing all around us. The ornitholestes have stopped following us. Now and then we feel some sort of vibration through our bones, yet there are no heavy clouds in the sky to indicate rain. During the night we did not get much rest because at various times all of us were awoken by deep bass-like tones. They sounded like deep hissing from an old large reptile of sorts. 

All of this strangeness though is starting to make sense. Today as we were hiking towards our destination. Without warning Ramirez ordered us to get down and get quiet. We stayed silent for a long while listening to the ambient sounds all around us. I was curious as to what Ramirez heard because we could not distinguish any unique sounds within the orchestra of the jungle. It was but a couple of minutes passed that suddenly our ears perked. Horns in the distance, like a war party moving through the jungle toward the direction we were heading. We crept through the dense jungle slowly listening as the war party seemed to draw near. The trumpets then started to sound familiar. I was certain these were the horns of the bovine that kept me up during our first nights on this island.

The closer we approached the sounds the more chaotic and thunderous it became. The bellowing and vocalizations of various animals sauntering through the jungle became clear as we finally approached a clearing. Here! Here is where we have witnessed history! Here is where we have made a great discovery! I can’t believe it, they are massive…Parent-of course is the one who knows a lot about these creatures and assured us that they “only eat plants.” Iguadon, iganadon…iguanadon, oh! It is spelled something like that according to him. Large quadruped creatures, easily over 3 meters tall, probably a good 9-10 meters long, thick and stiff tails, and they have large heads with beaks. Parent also commented that they have “large knives as thumbs.”

Other animals in the herd were pointed out to us by Parent as well: Corysoarus, corythasur- I’m gonna have to ask him how to spell these- styracosurus, and pachceflasurus. There is a lot of each one of them! A big herd of animals grazing and moving through the thick grass like wildebeests in the Sahara. I will make a separate entry to describe each one.

Parent has corrected my spelling, here are the names and descriptions of all the animals we have observed:

Iguanodon- Thick tails, strong legs, quadruped, spikes on the front legs, strong neck muscles, has a beak. Dark greenish and teal colors. Some have black stripes while others have more of a spotted pattern.

Corythosaurus- Same as the iguanodons, they seem slightly taller as most stand on their hind legs for longer periods of time. About 3 meters tall, 10 meters long, with strong hind legs but weaker-looking front legs. They have a more prominent beak, almost like a duck’s bill actually. And their crests! they have large colorful crests on their heads that make them look like real-life dragons. Some are large and protrude high above their heads like crowns, others are not as large. Striped and splash patterns of orange, white, black, and red. With base colors of green and brown.

Styracosaurus- The best way I could describe them is ‘armored rhinos’! Big bulky brutes with a large horn protruding from their noses. About 2 meters in height, and 5 meters in length, these quadruped tanks have a large shield extending from their craniums covering the tops of their necks. This shield has spikes growing all over it that vary in length. These shields have all kinds of patterns and color palettes that it is too much to write down. They seem like the leaders of this large herd of plant eaters as they are the most vocal and it seems that they are the most vigilant.

Pachycephalosaurus- Wyverns without wings. Bipedal with very strong-looking legs, well-built arms, and a muscular body frame. About 1 1/2 meters tall and 3 meters long. They have large heads with bony spikes protruding from the bridge of their noses. Long spikes that look more like horns cover the sides of the cranium along with the back of the head all slanted at an angle pointing backwards. The spikes cover a big bony dome on top of their head. Their heads are big with sharp-looking beaks. Colors vary from dark brown to greenish-yellow among the herd. 

04/21/38 continued…

This is truly magnificent! I will save that section of the journal to pencil down any more of these creatures we encounter on the island.

About 20 minutes have passed, and our observations have been unbelievable. We have managed to stay downwind at about 60 meters from the herd. It seems they are not aware of our presence. There are large families of each of the species, the young stay close to the adults and tussle with each other. The pachycephalosauruses seem to be the most brutish and bully the other young herbivores. 

One thing I have noticed and Parent also pointed it out to us, is the absolute paranoia these animals have. Those deep, bass vibrations we have sensed earlier, it seems that they sense it too. A few stretch their necks and sniff the air vocalizing amongst each other every time those vibrations pass through the air. There are no signs of a storm approaching, yet we all feel that low hissing rumble in our bones. In fact, as I am writing this, they seem more on edge, and the rumble seems to be growing in intensity.

Good God! There is a foul stench in the air…carrion, rotting for days somewhere. One of the animals must have died and is just lying there decaying amongst the herd, albeit we cannot see it. It is getting stronger…strange, this smell was not noticeable earlier but it is penetrating our nostrils more with every second. The animals are getting louder, and the behaviors of the young are sporadic. Their bellows are louder, like manic bulls. “They’re circling their young, the styracosaurus, look,” murmured Darrow. The other species are doing similar formations, they are all intertwining with each other creating large perimeters with the most mature looking of the animals on the outside. 

I don’t think they have noticed us, but they sense something. I see Moreno take the safety off of his machine gun, Ramirez has a grenade in his hand. Flores, Salamanca, and Darrow are clenching their rifles, their knuckles white as paper. Parent and myself have placed a few grenades in front of us ready to deter the animals if they come our way. Low vibrations, it is not an earthquake, the earth is not moving, there is no storm…why is my hair standing, why do I feel the urge to run, my adrenaline is spiking, rotting flesh is in the air and it is filling my lungs, I need to retch but I can’t. 

Difficulty documenting...putrid smell all around us. Parent nudges me…from the tree lines on the other side of the clearing. A large head appears, covered by shadows. I can make out a few details, but it seems different from all the other animals we’ve observed. The head is attached to a large and tall body…from this distance, I can tell its size is massive but we are easily more than 150 meters away from it. I hear small gasps behind me, Darrow points and whispers “2 o’clock”. Another large head emerges like a phantom from the branches, hot breath coming from the wyvern’s maw. Its lips retract a bit revealing scimitars for teeth, the rest of the body follows behind a thick impenetrable neck able to support the massive serpentine head. Feathering covers the top of the beast. It stretches both its arms, I see sharp claws on the end of its fingers, two fingers on each arm. They’re smaller compared to its massive legs, another one! Three, there are three of them, it emerges from our 10 o’clock. Flanking, they are flanking the herd. Striped patterns, reddish with black, like tigers. Thick formidable bodies, long tails like sturdy oaks, two muscular legs shaped like that of a massive bird, three long toes, and sharp claws at the end of each. Their stature has to be about 6-7 meters tall, and 13 meters long. They have a powerful and elegant gait moving all their mass with ease and agility. 

My amazement and awe of these beasts made me forget everything. The grotesque smell...it is their unique scent. Their thick dirty hide, abrasions, and scars on each. The low vibrations and tingling of my bones, the rumbles, the bass…it is how they are communicating. Circling the herd with precise movements, calculating, observing, and picking their prey. The rest tremble in fear as their loud bellows and false charges do little to frighten these giants. We know it, those herbivore animals know it. We are in the presence of the kings of this island. No, not kings…tyrants.

04/22/38

We have made great discoveries and tragic ones. Following up on the last journal entry: According to Parent, what we witnessed less than 24 hours ago were three tyrannosaurs. It was a spectacle to behold! Fights broke out among the animals as the bravest styracosaurs gave all their might to fend off the predators. Their long horns and thick shields however were no match to the powerful, bone-crushing jaws of the tyrannosaurs. Loud snapping, cracking, and cries came from the poor creatures as the tyrants trampled pachycephalosaurus skulls into the dirt. Snapped styracosaur crests and horns with their jaws. Ripped iguanodon limbs leaving them defenseless, and tore corythosaur flesh with ease in front of their young. Gore, visceral, tormenting, bloody death…yet we couldn’t look away. Parent snapped us out of our shock and urged us to move and we followed, for we did not want to be sniffed out by the predators. I had hoped that the bigger game on this island would suffice for those ferocious brutes. Alas! I was wrong. After the predators got their kills, the herd stampeded elsewhere, we were not sure where since we had departed by then, but we could hear the panic in the distance.

Soon our wonder and awe left as we came back to reality. We are stuck here in the home of those tyrannical lizards. And few have grown accustomed to human flesh already it seems. We found some remains of others from the company. They were torn to shreds, and the denseness of the jungle muffled the fight because we never heard screaming or gunshots. Dempsey speculates about two days since they died. Blood is completely dry and flies are infesting the remains of what they didn’t want. These men have the same markings to indicate the predators of this island, claw marks like the ornitholestes and tyrannosaurs. Bite marks indicate sharp teeth, we are starting to see a pattern of how these predators are equipped. What is different from these bodies however is the aroma of dried vomit. There are yellowish-beige splotches all around the kills and the ground. “That’s a lot of puss, but it ain’t from the men I think,” said Dempsey. Salamanca remarked about the venom and how it affected Forger when he passed. If this is toxins-which we all believe it to be-then it is safe to presume this creature was larger, perhaps the tyrannosaurs we saw.

Ramirez pointed out that it was not the tyrannosaurs though, we observed that they have two claws on each hand. “Look at these markings,” Ramirez said pointing to claw marks on the trunks of some thick trees. “Three slashes, smaller than the tyrannosaurs too.”

“More dried splotches over here,” said Flores drawing our attention to dried and hardened blobs of the same puss on various trees. “These look very old and discolored, same stench though.”

“We are in their territory,” remarked Parent. “I don’t know who’s or what’s, but these are signs of an animal marking its territory.”

By looking at what remains from the kills and the imprints all around us, we assumed we would meet the same fate if we did not move quickly and quietly from here. 

04/22/38 continued…

Night time...we are getting closer to the center towards the mountains. The trees are getting less dense and the terrain is becoming more rocky. Parent is staying up for the first watch. I could not help but ask what type of creature he suspected killed the other squad. “I have a theory,” he said acquiescently. I asked him what it was but he did not want to say. “It does not make sense for there to be that many predators on this island, I’m hoping the markings on the trees are from scavengers. The mass of those tyrannosaurs tells me they have little competition.” He sat there staring into the campfire in silence before he spoke again. “As long as we avoid those tyrannosaurs we should be fine.”

I trust that he is right, after all, we felt how they communicate. We also know their stench by now. If we ever feel or hear those low rumbles, or smell pungent rotting meat in the air, then we know to run.

04/24/38

We are finally making progress! I have to admit that I have been losing hope, and I think the other men have as well. Although no one says anything, I can see in their eyes how all of this has affected us. But now we have some hope that we may finally get off this island! We regrouped with two other squads yesterday evening as we are closing in on where Doyle’s men were supposed to create a perimeter. We were frightened at first because ever since yesterday morning we have been hearing some ‘hooting’ sounds. I have not noticed any birds that we could trace the sound to, but I noticed Parent acting more paranoid. Moreno even expressed the feeling that “something is watching us.” With what we have seen and know now about this island, we are on high alert, but I digress…we heard rustling within the foliage a few meters from us. Then we heard voices, we were all relieved as the more we have in a group the better. The other squad also seemed relieved to find us, however only 8 men are left from both their squads. I did not realize they comprised of two, they seem to have found each other first. A Private by the name of Vallejo stated that they lost 12 men to “some giant horned demons.” According to his description; they were tall and fast sprinters, they were bipedal, with long strong tails, stubby arms, and spikes all across their dorsals. They had short snouts and two protruding horns like a bull. “A devil more like it,” he said. “We lost some good lads I tell ya.” 

Of course, I had to glance at Parent to see if the description identified any creature that he may know. He nodded his head and muffled under his breath something that sounded like carno. Interestingly enough, the other men all stated that they were able to bring down one of these ferocious 'carnos'. “It took quite a bit of rounds,” said Vallejo. “But in the end, we got that son-of-a-bitch. It is a shame we lost so many, but we avenged them. If they bleed, they can die.”  

Some good news is they didn’t lose their radio and Vallejo stated that The Diana Pearl knows the situation. If they were also able to kill one of the larger beasts, then we have a chance if we come across those tyrannosaurs. Communication with the ship and chances of survival increased. Soon we will be sailing home, and soon I will feel the warm embrace of your love my sweet Denise.

04/25/38

‘Hooting’ is not stopping, multiple ‘owls’ now. No birds in sight, where is it coming from? The sounds, are all around us. We must be close to where the first company was. We are resting and soon we will march again. today has been chaotic, we are definitely being followed but we do not know what is following us. We have not seen it, with all the hooting I suspect small creatures like when we encountered the ornitholestes but less brazen. The other men also seem uneasy and I have yet to learn everyone’s name but we are getting along nicely. I mean we must get along if we are to survive…currently as I write this. I feel eyes on me, somewhere, something is watching me. I have seen more of those discolored blobs on rocks and trees. The wind has a bitter aroma to it, like a sweet fragrance masking a blight. 

04/26/38

We made it…and I now regret it. I sit here on a supply crate with overgrown vines engulfing it. Most of the equipment is damaged by the elements or consumed by foliage. By the looks of it, it seems Doyle’s men never even had a chance to set up a proper camp or any kind of fortitude. Most of the equipment is still packed and what is unpacked seems like the task was given up halfway through. Bones and weapons lay all over the ground. We have walked around collecting as many dog tags as we can. These men were attacked by something and never had the opportunity to defend themselves. There are no natives, no battles to be won, no glory to claim. This land does not belong to man, it belongs to death and demons. There is no hope of turning this into some paradise without excessive amounts of gold and blood.

Still, Meridian is going to want all of this returned……that damned hooting…I have my rifle ready, anyway, whether all of this is junk or not, we need to fulfill ou-

04/26/38 Conti-

 Mayday Mayday…

This is the end, this is it. There is no hope for me, no hope for any of us. I lay here in pain trying to control my breathing, I’m sweating like crazy and I feel my body temperature rising. My ankle is broken. I tried to get up but the sudden rush of adrenaline and sharp nerve pain made it clear that is not possible. My left palm has a rash as the toxins have seared the epidermis. 

We were ambushed by a pack of wyverns, about the size of an average man. I was wrong to think that the hooting we were hearing was from small creatures. No… these devils were large. Like giant angry roosters, the sacks underneath their chins wobbled as their swift movements tore through us. They leaped from the foliage and in an instant I saw Moreno get disemboweled, his last attempt to help was to throw a grenade but the explosion and shrapnel only disoriented everybody and injured a few. Lots of screams, screeching, and that smell of vomit…some of us screamed for our lives as these wyverns pierced our souls with their lifeless reptilian eyes. Crests that formed into the shape of a V adorned their heads like princes of hell wearing faux crowns in mockery of all this is good. The beasts then unveiled leathery, slimy, grotesque, and hypnotic large frills from the side of their necks that encircled their heads. The demons surrounded us, their screeching and hissing drove out all rationale. Their frills rattled causing an indescribable noise that anyone that hears it will never forget. Shortly after, chaos ensued. We opened fire with no plan or direction, and to our surprise, they fired back at us. Their projectiles were hitting us like a bombardment of arrows, yellowish bile that sizzled on contact. I witnessed Ramirez scream in agony as his eyes boiled from the venom. I shot a few of the beasts but little happened, they seemed unfazed by our screaming and gunshots as they tore through man after man. 

I felt hopeless watching three tear the arms and intestines from Flores as he was still alive. Salamanca and a few others got their skulls crushed by the wyverns' powerful jaws. Darrow was screaming from the venom burning his neck and face while two of the creatures started biting into his legs. Dempsey was holding his intestines with one hand while firing his pistol at one of the beasts leaping to devour him. I emptied my magazines taking out a few devils, it was not long before I ran out of ammo. There was no hope, those that could run, we ran as fast as we could. Parent was behind me…Parent…he was telling me to run when suddenly one pounced on his back. I saw it flay his skin like wet paper with its razor-sharp claws, yet he was still screaming for me to run. My legs were frozen as I watched the jaws of the beast clamp down on the back of his neck and pick him up like a cat picks up her kittens. His speech was incoherent at that point, just wails of what air was left in his lungs. Blood dripping from his back, his body went into shock as soon as another wyvern passed him while he was dangling and tore the lower part of his right arm off. 

I ran, and I ran, and I ran till the screams seemed to stop following me. Forgive me, CPL Parent, I am no Wiglaf. I kept running but unfortunately, I tumbled down a slope and now I lay here broken, bruised, and hopeless. The worst part is I don’t know what sick level of hell I find myself in. Tall trees all around me, there are two rotting carcasses of some animals in the corner of this pit, I can see a clear path ahead of me but I cannot move. I have deduced through my writing- as it has helped my sanity in the predicament that I find myself in- that I am in a nesting ground of sorts. I see that the sun is setting and it will soon be night. I have seen what the creatures on this island do, and it is not long before it happens to me. St. George of Lydda overcame his dragons in Silene and over Diocletian giving more glory to Our Lord and Savior. We cowered and ran when we had to face ours. Now I lay here in wait, pain throbbing through my body, the sounds of the jungle reminding me of the inevitable. Now at my lowest, I pray for strength and protection though I was never devout. Perhaps recovering my breath and using the moonlight to my advantage I can find a way to crawl, where to? I don’t know…The Diana Pearl knows about our situation, perhaps they are sending a rescue squad as I write this, yes perhaps there is hope for me after al-

No, no…please Lord no, I…the low rumble makes my ankle hurt, and my bones are vibrating like gelatin. That vibration through the air, the low bass is getting louder, pounding, creeping. The throbbing getting...worse, the waves of sound flowing through me like swords. My lungs are frail, hyperventilating, I feel as if my heart is going to burst. I-I get it now, I know where I lay. The air turns sour into a putrid rotting smell…Christ, in my life I may not have been as devout as I should have but in this hour, these last minutes please-please send me refuge. Please let me find comfort in the bosom of your mother and let her hold me and take me into her immaculate heart just as she accepted John. Closer, closer, I can sense every step, its odor more powerful…it is near but where?

I see it now…eyes! Glowing faintly reflecting what little light is left at dusk. Two front-facing orbs, I see grey mist flowing in rhythm with every respire from its nostrils. Its massive head peering over the only opening, the entrance to its nest. It is still, and so am I, the only movement is my hand…oh no…the pen, the scribbling. It is staring in my direction, the massive tyrannosaur lifts its head in the air like a dog catching a scent. The vomit, the blood, the injured fool of a man laying here with tears running down his face. It lowers its head back down knowing I am here. The pain in my ankle is sharp with every low hum the beast takes, I’m bound to make a sound sooner or later. Why is it not moving? Why is there only one, where are the other two? The eyes are fixated on my direction.

Another silhouette…smaller, same bodily structure through the opening between the trees, it is underneath the taller one. Its eyes are also fixated on my direction. It moves its head, it bellows, not as deep…juvenile. It just took a step forward! No

If anyone finds this...

Hail, Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women

It’s coming…please, all I ask is to make it quick.