After checking out the room, Derrick wandered back outside and looked around. The island was amazing – almost every kind of landscape he could imagine was represented other than arctic ice packs. The island even had a snow-covered peak. It was tempting to see if he could find the baboon gardener again, and he even started towards the jungle-like section that probably held apes and other large monkeys. However, the distant roar of a lion sent a chill up his back and he turned towards the grassy plains that looked like African savannah. Circe had promised that none of her animals would harm a human. He checked his phone – there was no signal, of course, but the camera was working. What a selfie that would be!
The island must be larger than it looked, for he walked nearly an hour before reaching the broad expanse of dry brush and trees. It took another ten minutes before he found the lions, and then he nearly walked into them. He recoiled from the sight of two lionesses and a lion ripping apart the carcass of some sort of large deer-like animal with long, curved horns. A wildebeest? Then the carcass jerked, and he realized with a mix of horror and excitement that the prey was in its death throws. Being eaten alive! The stink of blood, bile, and the heavy odor of the lions all hit him at once, and he thought he might puke. The huge male stopped eating, staring at him with golden eyes, and then leapt forward suddenly, knocking Derrick to the ground before he could get away.
The boy cried out and cringed under the weight of the huge beast, bringing his arms up over his face. Hot liquid dripped from the lion’s mouth, a mix of blood and saliva, combined with equally hot breath that carried the smell of meat and blood. The beast’s muzzle dropped close, and Derrick wet himself in terror as a coarse tongue slobbered over his ear and matted his hair. A claw caught his shirt and sliced it open, though it did not cut the skin it scraped over. Then the huge jaws opened and the whole back of Derrick’s head was engulfed, fangs digging lightly into the sides of his skull. The tongue seemed to dig into his head, through the bone itself, and probe deep into the teen’s brain. And just as suddenly, he release Derrick and went back to eating.
Derrick lay shaking on the ground, confused and still terrified. Reaching up, he was afraid the whole top of his head was gone, but his fingers found matted hair. Something was odd about his skull, though – it felt flatter, oddly shaped, like the dome of his skull had deflated somehow. Then his exploring fingers found something else.