Read Online Dragon Island by Shane Berryhill - Free Book Online

island.”
    “Dor-ah-gon’s Mouth,” I say, sounding out the word. “As in the dragon’s mouth?”
    Kitsune nods.
    The name is a good one. The hole swallows up the evening’s fading twilight so that nothing but darkness is visible in the farthest reaches of its creeper-covered throat.
    It’s an ominous place. Even the cicadas know it. They’ve gone silent out of respect.
    Kitsune grabs one of the vines running into the cave’s vertical entrance and motions for me to join her.
    “Come, Raymond-sai. We must hurry.”
    She wants me to climb down into that black pit!
    Dread presses down on my chest like a lead weight. Once again, my legs adhere themselves to the ground and refuse to move.
    Why does everything have to be so hard here on Kaiju Island ? Since the plane-crash, I’ve had to endure one horrible experience after another.
    I desperately want to go home to Mom and Bear.
    “I—” I stutter, “I can’t.”
    “Now is not the time for silliness, Raymond-sai. “The sun will soon set. We need to get under—”
    At that moment, a single loud screech sounds from the darkness below.
    “Oh, spit!” I say, verging on hysterics. “Oh, crap! It’s Ryuu! He’s heard us!”
    The screech is joined by thousands of others. The combined shrieks create a din of noise unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It’s like a chorus from hell.
    I sink to my knees and press the palms of my hands over my ears, but it doesn’t block out the noise. I scream, trying to replace the horrifying sound with that of my own frightened voice.
    Then all falls silent.
    Kitsune and I look at each other. We lean over the hole’s edge and peer down its throat.
    For a moment, I see nothing. Just the bottomless, black pit. Then I notice the darkness begin to move and flutter. My heart jackhammers as fear presses against my bladder, threatening to empty it.
    I grab Kitsune’s free hand. She’s trembling. Not as badly as I am, but her shakes are there, making her fear as undeniable as my own.
    The cacophony of screeching returns, louder than ever.
    “Get down!” Kitsune says. We both dive face-first to the ground just as hundreds of bat-creatures burst from Doragon’s Mouth in a mad flight for the blood-red sky.
    As we lay here, our hands covering our heads, I dare a quick glance at the monsters. What I see is right out of Bram Stroker’s Dracula.
    The bat kaiju are as large as a man. They have wingspans that would fill up my living room back in the States. They are furless, and their skin glistens like slick, black oil in the setting sun’s light. A filmy glaze covers their eyes and twin yellow fangs protrude from their upper palate.
    But what’s worse—even worse than their screeching—is the malevolent intelligence I see in their snub-nosed faces. It’s the look of a cold, calculating predator on the hunt.
    I jerk my head back down. Tears leak from my eyes as I offer up silent prayers for our safety.
    I miss Bear sooooo much.
    Then the bat kaiju are gone as quickly as they came.
    I feel Kitsune’s hand on my shoulder.
    “Raymond-sai, we must go.”
    I don’t move.
    I hear Kitsune sigh.
    “Raymond-sai, I cannot lie to you. The deep labyrinth is far from safe. But if we are still out here in the open once night falls, we will surely die.”
    Minutes pass.
    The sun sinks lower.
    “For goodness sake, Raymond-sai! You are supposed to be the heir of Kintaro. Start acting like it!”
    Despite Kitsune’s words, I don’t want to move. Not another step. Not another inch. I’ve had my fill of the island. Death would almost be preferable at this point.
    Almost.
    Slowly, I rise to my hands and knees. I wipe my face and nod at Kitsune. She nods in return.
    Kitsune walks to the edge of Doragon’s Mouth and takes a tangle of creepers in hand. Then she edges out over the cave like a spelunker and starts to lower herself down.
    I rise to my feet, adjust Kusanagi on my back, and do the same.
    We climb down, the twilight dissipating with every