The Island of no Return by Asmaa Nada Ch21/ Ch22

The Island of no Return 

by Asmaa Nada
 Ch21/ Ch22
 Chapter Twenty-One

In the lab, Raymond managed to find the electrical connections and Clark fixed them, lighting the whole place. As soon as the lights came on they discovered that the entire floor was nothing but glass cells lined up side by side, separated by long corridors. On each cell door was a file attached explaining the reason the occupant had been imprisoned, along with a daily report on the progress of the experiments performed on that cell’s inhabitant.

The floor was eerily quiet; those creatures made no attempt to attack. Strangely, the ground was full of nests—as if the whole floor were a single, gigantic nest for something. Clark turned and looked at Raymond and said, “Stay close to me. Don’t distract me by drifting away, understand?”

Raymond said, “Okay, I won’t move away.”

Clark turned his gaze to Mark, who understood without a word and stood behind Raymond, saying, “Don’t worry, Clark. I won’t let anything get to Raymond from behind.”

Clark said, “What do we do? Do we walk the floor to find out why it’s so quiet, or do we pick a place to sit until morning?”

Raymond said, “I’m curious—I want to inspect the floor and read what’s written on the cell doors.”

Mark laughed, trying to lighten the tension he felt. “That curiosity of yours will be the reason you die.”

Clark nodded in agreement, then said, “Let’s make sure the night passes safely, then we’ll explore the floor in the morning.”

Raymond said, “Fine. Do we have anything to light a fire with? Let’s make a circle and sit inside it.”

Mark said, “Have you lost your mind, man? We’re inside a nest of twigs and straw—we’ll burn if it ignites.”

Clark said, “Let’s see how deep the grass is on the floor, and whether we can push it aside to make a big gap. For example, we could go into one of the cells, pull out its straw, and try to close it from the inside—so if the owner of this nest appears, we won’t be easy prey.”

The two of them smiled, and Raymond said, “Easy prey—so are we easy prey or hard prey?”

Mark said, “Hurry up. I feel something strange moving around us.”

Clark looked up and said, “Mark—don’t move. Raymond, move slowly behind me and get as far back as you can. Don’t look up.”

Mark swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and looked at Clark’s eyes, where the reflection of something like a giant spider with human arms gleamed. Raymond, meanwhile, moved and circled behind Clark until he was at his back, then began to walk in a straight line—until Clark’s voice stopped him where he stood.

“Don’t move, Raymond. Don’t you dare take another step.”

Mark said, “Is what’s above Raymond different from what’s above me?”

Clark: “No—same thing. It moves fast.”

Mark: “When I looked into your eyes I saw a giant spider—but now what I see is a scorpion. Look at its tail.”

Clark: “It has the head of a female with no eyes. It moves with our movements.”

Raymond: “Why doesn’t it move toward your voice?”

Mark: “It has no ears, but it has sensing bristles.”

Clark: “Look around us, Mark. I want something I can throw to distract it.”

Raymond froze in place as that creature began trying to spin a thread to lower itself from the ceiling onto Raymond’s body.

Mark found a tree trunk near his foot, bent down slowly, and as he lowered himself he noticed the creature’s motions shift toward him. He froze, then—fast and with all his strength—hurled the branch into one of the cells. The creature shot upward and, in less than a second, appeared inside that cell. Mark shouted, “Damn—what speed is that?”

“Clark: Wait — it’s descending slowly on those ropes it’s spinning. Wait until it gets closer to the ground, and we’ll move together at the same time toward the stair door. Get ready, Raymond.”

Silence held for a full minute. Clark began a countdown from three to one; the moment he hit one, Raymond took off and Mark ran toward the door.

But Clark darted toward the cell door where the creature hung, striking the glass with a branch to distract it with repeated motions so it wouldn’t follow his friends. He succeeded: the creature froze, one hand pressed to the floor as it tried to sense the direction of movement. Once Clark was sure his friends had cleared the stair doorway — he could hear Mark shouting — “You idiot, what did you do? How could you get out now?” — he looked up.

The creature in front of him now showed two feet; it straightened, trying to sense any movement around it with those bristles that trembled in the air like mad things. Then it stopped and turned, moving steadily but slowly toward Clark.

Clark muttered, “Damn — it sensed me by my breath.”

He thought quickly about his next move. Yes, he had speed, but that thing was faster. Raymond, however, had been quicker with his thinking: he’d taken advantage of some bodies of the zombi (the walking dead) gathered at the stairwell. By provoking them with his movement, he drew them near; as they approached he dodged between them and climbed the stairs, sending the undead into the floor to cause a commotion at the entrance.

The noise drew the creature’s attention and it began to move in semi-quick steps toward the racket the undead bodies had made. Mark used the creature’s movement to his advantage and mirrored its cautious motions, attempting to match its pace.

The creature sensed Clark’s movement and stopped abruptly. Clark stopped too, holding his breath. After a few moments it began to move again. Mark pushed one of the undead bodies into the stairwell; it tumbled in and rolled, and the rest of the undead surged after it, convinced it was food. At the same time the creature climbed to the ceiling and loomed above them. Clark managed to reach the stair door and they climbed up.

Clark said, “I won’t go into that floor.”

Raymond: “But what do we do? That’s the only floor with secure doors. The problem inside is the ground and the undead — and there aren’t many of them; we cleared some downstairs.”

Clark: “And those insects — they’re bloodsuckers.”

Mark: “Our only chance is to try to reach the beach, but we need something we can set on fire to keep threats away.”

Raymond: “I have a better plan — it’s a little crazy.”

Clark nodded for him to speak. Raymond continued, “When I was setting the cameras in that floor, I found a place near the nursery door on the first level where a unicorn horse is kept. If we can reach it, we can ride it and take it to the shore.”

Mark: “You mean tame it. Do we have time for that?”

Clark: “We have no other option. You must be in the middle, Raymond; you’re the smallest.”

Mark: “I’ll take the lead this time, Clark.”

Clark: “Okay.”

They moved after descending to the ground floor. Mark tried the stair door quietly; once through he noticed the gryphon-headed lions sitting atop desks in a watchful posture, while foxes gathered at the lab entrance as if watching the whole scene. Bioluminescent insects were clustered across the ceiling, lighting the entire ground floor. Raymond whispered, “Do you remember the footage where the lions stalked humans hiding before attacking and tearing them apart?”

Mark whispered back, “I remember. They pounce on prey, rip limbs off and leave them until they gather more victims, then they pull out organs and heads from each prey one by one.”

Clark whispered, “They do that only when hungry. The doctor said that trait is what makes them different from the cat-foxes.”

Raymond: “Both are here: the gryphon-lions and the spotted foxes. Where’s the prey?”

Mark: “I fear it’s us.”

Clark: “We won’t enter that floor until we know where the prey they’re waiting for is.”

Clark felt warm breath behind him and something like tentacles brushing his back. He hissed, “Mark — look behind me, but don’t move quickly. Is there something?”

Mark turned and saw that spider-man standing behind Clark, but his form differed from what they’d seen below: this spider had four eyes, wings, eight arms, and a head like an octopus. The arms were tipped with sensors; the whole body suggested it was male. Mark said, “I think this is the doctor who transformed — he’s more like an octopod than a spider.”

Clark: “William said that even after transforming he could tell who was in front of him — or at least he could recognize his sister.”

Mark: “I think he can distinguish who’s in front of him. When he was transformed during our escape, and you were carrying Antoine, he looked at us and tried to push us away so we could pass.”

Clark turned to the octopus-man and asked, “If you haven’t attacked me yet, does that mean you’re waiting for something? Or do you realize I’m human? Can you speak?”

The octopus-man said, “When we are hungry we cannot distinguish who we see — everything becomes prey in our eyes. Do not go out that door. Go up to the first floor above ground and move through the artificial forest of the women trees. At the end of that forest you’ll find a door that leads to stairs into the nurseries. You can lock the nurseries from the inside and make the room cold — they cannot survive in a snowy environment; only the anaconda can.”

Clark: “Will you guide us?”

The octopus-man: “No. I cannot enter that forest. Those women — I experimented on them and tortured them. They will not spare me; they will take revenge. I’m tired of this life. I tried to escape many times but failed. Tonight I will be prey for the lions.”

The octopus-man passed through them and leapt into the ground floor. The lions attacked and fought him; the foxes stood watching. The three of them climbed to the first floor above ground and found themselves within the lions’ domain — though the lions were attacking the octopus-man below. Mark stood at the doorway, staring into the forest with worry on his face. Raymond asked, “What’s wrong, Mark?”

Clark answered quickly, “Why should we trust the octopus-man? It could be a trap.”

Raymond: “But the lions below — we saw them.”

Mark: “There were only five lions below. In the videos there were dozens.”

Raymond: “I still don’t see any lions here; maybe they’re spread out outside in the real forest.”

Clark: “Or maybe they’re here — every strange creature here can mimic the nature around it.”

Mark: “Why don’t we go down and take advantage of their focus on the octopus-man and slip by?”

Raymond, stepping forward with his hand raised: “No. I won’t go down again. I’ll run through here fast — there’s nothing here.”

Clark and Mark shouted together, “Step back, you lunatic! Come back here, Raymond — I swear I’ll kill you with my own hands if what’s behind you doesn’t first!”

Raymond’s eyes widened at Clark’s words. He involuntarily turned to look behind him — and at that exact moment Mark stepped back behind the door and Clark lunged forward, knife raised, trying to grab Raymond — just as a gryphon-lion emerged from the trees, moving slowly, poised to strike its prey.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Part one

They appeared behind him, spread out at measured distances that allowed them to strike together at any moment. The first lion lunged, planting its paws beside Clark, who now stood in Raymond’s place between the creature’s massive legs, slashing at its face with his knife. Meanwhile, Mark, who had rushed back inside, grabbed Raymond by the arm and dragged him out. He tore off his shirt, set it ablaze, and swung it in circles beside Clark, forcing the lions to retreat. Their glowing eyes stayed fixed on Raymond, who had collapsed near the doorway from Mark’s pull.

At that same moment, the door flung open. Someone yanked Raymond off the ground, pulled him up the stairs, and then morphed into a dragon with a wounded wing—charging straight at the lions and buying Clark and Mark just enough time to back away and escape.

For a few terrifying seconds, their hearts nearly stopped. Once they had reached a small patch of safety on the stairs, Clark turned on Raymond, striking him repeatedly as he shouted,

“You idiot! If you wanted to die, you could’ve just told me—I’d have killed you myself!”

Mark grabbed Clark’s arm, pulling him back.

“If William hadn’t returned,” he said breathlessly, “we’d be dinner for those hybrids.”

A voice came from behind them—William’s—speaking in a strange tongue, gesturing as he spoke.

“Why did you enter the lions’ den?”

Clark turned, asking quickly, “Is Antoine and the girls safe?”

William nodded and motioned with his hands. “Yes, the girls are fine. But your friend… he’ll end up like the others here.”

“We’ll talk about that once we’re back at the beach house,” Mark said grimly.

William started toward another door, gesturing again as he explained, “This is the forest of cloned women—made from the DNA of the Anaconda’s lover. Remind me, we still need a name for Antoine.”

“He’ll stay Antoine,” Clark replied firmly. “We’re not changing it.”

Raymond, still shaken, rose to his feet and shouted, “Why did you take the girls and leave us in the forest? We all moved together—”

William cut him off, again speaking in gestures. “You’d all be dead by now if I hadn’t. They’re safe on the shore, and here I am with you again. I came back, didn’t I?”

Raymond glared at him. “When you left us, you spoke Arabic—and I understand that language. You said you’d leave Clark to be eaten, that one sacrifice was better than losing everyone. You left us on purpose, William. Why did you come back?”

William slammed his fist against the wall and replied, now in Arabic, “Good that you understand this tongue. Tell your friends—if Antoine hadn’t threatened to harm my sister, I wouldn’t have returned at all. Anyway, you must make it back alive before the Anaconda begins his hunt. He’s starving—hasn’t eaten in two months.”

With that, William turned and walked into the forest of the cloned women, leaving Raymond to translate his words for the others. Clark finally said, “It doesn’t matter now. We’ll all return to the beach and talk there.”

The trio followed William as he moved calmly among the trees. The branches brushed gently against him as though greeting one of their own, but as soon as the three men passed, the trees recoiled and their limbs crept toward their legs.

“They’re with me,” William said in English. “Don’t harm them—or your friend’s sister will suffer.”

After Raymond translated, the branches seemed to relax, swaying away once more. When they reached the other side of the staircase, near the incubation chamber on the ground floor, William turned slightly and said softly,

“Goodbye, Mother.”

Descending to the lower level, they found the lions feasting on the corpse of the octopus-man. William smiled faintly.

“Good. He did as I told him. It was his only way out—otherwise, he’d have been crucified on the trees like the others, left to die slowly of hunger and thirst.”

Then he glanced at Raymond. “I’m sure Mark’s grandfather never mentioned that the Anaconda doesn’t kill his victims. He only feeds on their blood, draining every drop of moisture from their bodies—but leaves just enough inside to keep them alive for a while. Then he decorates the island’s mountains and trees with them, like ornaments on a Christmas tree.”

He paused, his eyes dark. “Did he ever tell you the Anaconda was once a doctor—one of the finest, skilled at creating human clones? Mark’s grandfather asked him to clone his daughter. But the doctor fell in love with her. They became lovers, and she refused to let any copies of herself exist. She wanted a normal life, like her half-brother—who knew nothing about her, believing she had died in a brutal assault. When the doctor fled with Vladimir’s daughter and married her, Vladimir went mad searching for them. When he found them, she was pregnant—with twins. He brought them here, experimented on them, and pinned a false criminal record on the doctor. As for his daughter, she was tortured and violated every night in front of her lover. And guess who the real monster was?”

Silence filled the air as Raymond translated for Clark and Mark. William pointed to the scattered remains of the octopus-man.

“It was him. The fool never learned from the Anaconda’s fate. He tried to help my mother escape, after Mark’s grandfather created countless copies of her—each one cursed to remember only the pain and the torment. Mark’s grandfather tricked him, made him prey to one of the hybrid creatures, and even injected him with the blood of aquatic hybrids—to turn him into a water beast. He then implanted a control chip into his brain to keep him under command.”

He continued, voice low and grim, “When his daughter gave birth to the hybrid children still inside her womb—she thought he had taken the embryos and placed them in another woman. But that was a lie. He merely altered their genes while they were still inside her. Every time she tried to explain the pain she felt, he told her it was just a side effect of his injections.”

Clark frowned. “So you’re the Anaconda’s son… but why do you and your sister look so different in age? You seem much younger when you’re human.”

After Raymond translated, William answered, “My human body stopped aging at fifteen. My sister’s at twenty-five. We grew up here, among these trees—like animals, without rights or names. I don’t even know how much time has passed. All I know is that Vladimir threw my mother to the lions after turning that doctor into an octopus. He made her so heavy she couldn’t move, then fed her to the beasts before the Anaconda’s eyes. When I was ten, another woman came—she looked so much like my mother. Vladimir forced the Anaconda to be with her in exchange for sparing his children. But, as always, Vladimir betrayed his promise. When the woman failed to conceive after many attempts, he decided to kill my sister.”

He sighed deeply. “By then, the lab was collapsing. Their sponsors had cut funding. The Anaconda’s transformation was complete—his mind filled with rage, and he gained control over every hybrid creature on this island. He shattered his chains, destroyed the safety systems, and all the beasts were set free. Their control implants failed. In the chaos, the Anaconda helped the woman and her daughter escape—told Ocean to master her shifting and hide her true powers from the world she would enter. Years passed. He came to the forest often—to feed me, and to warn me never to leave.”

William spoke as he moved toward the incubation chamber. But instead of using the nearby door, he entered through a narrow corridor between the wall of the chamber and the elevator shaft. Lost in his tale, he didn’t notice the others falling behind. When he finally reached the inner room, he shut the doors quickly, lowered the temperature, and said,

“This room won’t hold long at this level—only a few hours. The power supply from the generators is almost gone. After that, there’ll be no electricity left, not until the Anaconda and his sea monsters attack another ship foolish enough to come close, and harvest what they need to make the engines run again.”

“So you are the Anaconda’s son,” Clark said quietly.

William smiled faintly. “When the beast grows hungry, nothing can stop him—not even his own blood. Only my mother could calm him. But Vladimir managed to take her off the island, to continue his experiments on her. She’s the only reason he ever survived.”

“But you just told us,” Raymond said, translating Clark’s words as he spoke, “that Mark’s grandfather threw her to the lions!”

“That’s what he told Clone Number Ten,” William replied. “But when the Anaconda destroyed everything, Vladimir and a few doctors escaped into the jungle. The Anaconda hunted them down, killed them one by one—his revenge for himself and for his lover. But before killing Vladimir, he saw her again. He realized she was still alive—and Vladimir had been using her as a shield.”

“How do you know that?” Mark asked, suspicion rising in his tone. “There are contradictions in your story.”

Before Raymond could translate, the lights flickered out. The hum of the coolers died, and the only glow left came from the eerie green shimmer in William’s eyes. His voice changed, now speaking in a strange language none of them understood.

“I can’t take all three of you back,” he said darkly. “And I will not leave my children hungry. Fools—you ignored Dr. Ocean’s warning, carved into human bones on the mountains, and the message left by the Anaconda’s lover on Vladimir’s cursed map. It was greed—nothing else—that brought you here… to Anaconda Island.”

Chapter Twenty-Two 

(Part Two)

The door behind them swung open — the one leading to the back forest. A cluster of enormous serpents was coiled around the mangled remains of something unrecognizable.

Raymond glanced around and frowned. “This isn’t the right door — we’re on the opposite side of the lab,” he said.

In Arabic, William replied, “Yes. We can’t go out that way. He’s looking for you either way.”

Clark asked sharply, “Who are you? And how did you get from the beach back to the lab so fast?”

Before their eyes, William’s form twisted and changed — until the creature standing before them was no longer a man but the octopus-man. In English, he said,

“I like how you think. So I’ll leave you for last. But I’ll answer your question anyway. You must’ve realized by now — we were a group of convicts, sentenced for various crimes. Some of us volunteered for these experiments in exchange for freedom and clean records. Others… were forced into them — like the Anaconda and his lover, Vladimir’s daughter.

As for Ocean and William, they were the youngest doctors ever brought here for training — the prodigies meant to participate in humanity’s greatest military experiments. To create human weapons. We ran the same trials on them… and then released them to roam this island.”

Mark muttered bitterly, “Damn it, I almost believed your story inside.”

The octopus-man smiled darkly. “It wasn’t all lies. Some truths are mixed in. If you survive tonight, perhaps you’ll learn the rest.”

Raymond stepped forward. “Where are the Anaconda’s children?”

He never received an answer. A flying dragon swooped down, seized the octopus-man, and lifted him into the air as he struggled fiercely.

Clark turned quickly, scanning the surroundings. “I should’ve never left that branch behind.”

Raymond said, “The trees are close — I’ll grab another one. But what are you planning to do with it?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He dashed toward a nearby tree where fallen logs lay scattered, picked one up, and turned back, holding it high. That’s when Mark’s terrified shout reached him — as Clark sprinted toward him, weapon raised.

“Run! Don’t stop — don’t look back!”

Behind Raymond, something massive stirred — stalking him silently, poised to strike. It was a monstrous beast, with the body of a rhinoceros and a long, jagged horn atop its head. The creature reared on its hind legs, then lunged forward, charging at Raymond’s back!

At that instant, William burst from the lab door in his beastly form. He raced past Clark, leaped over Raymond, and collided with the charging creature — grabbing its horn, twisting around it, and climbing onto its back. Clark managed to wound the beast’s leg, but his blade lodged deep in the flesh and wouldn’t come loose.

Then — a piercing shriek split the air. A colossal bird descended from the clouds, seized Raymond by the head, and bit it clean off, flying away as a fountain of blood erupted from his neck.

William finally brought the rhino-beast down. But when he turned back, he found Mark and Clark standing beside Raymond’s headless body, frozen in horror. William gestured quickly:

> “No time to grieve. Either we bury him… or let him rise as one of the Zombas.”

Clark knelt, lifted Raymond’s body, and nodded. William pointed toward the lab doors, and they followed. He grabbed a lantern he’d left near the entrance, lit it, and led the way through the dark, silent corridors until they reached the exit.

Outside, the moonlight had begun to spill across the clearing. A small herd of unicorns grazed nearby, their white coats glowing faintly in the silver light. William gestured toward the ground:

> “Shall we bury him here? We can’t leave him above ground — his body will start moving soon. The fluids from the bird that bit him… will bring him back without a mind.”

Clark turned to Mark. “How are we supposed to dig?”

“Look,” Mark replied, pointing. “He’s already doing it.”

Clark watched as William, now in fox form, dug rapidly into the soil with both claws and feet. When the pit was ready, he returned to his human form. Together, the three placed Raymond’s body inside and covered it once more.

Moments later, from between the trees, a figure appeared — human from the waist up, serpent below.

“That must be the Anaconda,” Mark whispered. “But why is he just watching us instead of attacking?”

William gestured:

> “He isn’t hungry. A ship wrecked near the shore — he fed. No trace of any survivors.”

Clark motioned, Who are you?

William traced the letters of his name in the air, then signaled: Let’s return to the shore. We’ll talk there.

He transformed again into a giant fox and crouched. Clark and Mark climbed onto his back, and together they raced away — in the opposite direction of the Anaconda, whose colossal body rose high enough to pierce the clouds. His head vanished into the mist, but the two burning red eyes followed them in silence.

When they reached the shore, William leapt through the fire circle and shifted back into human form. Antoine ran to embrace his friends.

Overcome with exhaustion and grief, Mark broke down in tears.

“Where’s Raymond?” Mary cried. “Why isn’t he with you? Did you leave him behind?”

Ocean looked at William, signing the same questions Mary had asked. In Arabic, William answered solemnly:

> “He didn’t make it. We tried to save him, but a flying dragon tore his head off while we fought the rhino beast. We buried him beneath the carnivore’s soil.”

Ocean collapsed into tears. “He was my only chance — the only one who could’ve freed me from this island. How long must I wait for someone else to love me?”

As Elizabeth translated their words, the entire camp fell silent, weeping for Raymond. The night stretched on in heavy mourning until dawn approached.

By then, Clark noticed something strange — Antoine’s body was changing. His features were sharpening, his build growing heavier. He motioned for Mary and whispered when she came close,

“Mary, we risked everything to heal Antoine. But… he’s not the same. He’s changing — not into an octopus, but something else.”

Mark nodded grimly. “I felt it too when he hugged me. His skin—it’s smoother now, but almost like fish scales.”

Mary sighed, guilt washing over her. “That scorpion, Ocean—she told me which blood to use from the transformed hybrids. It was at William’s request. But I fear I mixed too many kinds. I don’t know what Antoine will become.”

From where he lay on the rocks, Antoine spoke softly, his voice now echoing unnaturally:

“I can hear you perfectly… even from up here. Maybe this transformation isn’t as bad as you think.”

Clark jumped down from the wooden hut and approached him.

“My friend, I won’t leave you here. We’ll all leave this cursed island together.”

Antoine’s once-blue eyes had turned to a dark, burning yellow. “You swore to me,” he said quietly, “that if we couldn’t escape—you’d kill me yourself.”

From above, Mark shouted, “We will escape! My grandfather Vladimir did — there must be a way!”

In Arabic, William said, “I’ve been here with Ocean for decades—maybe longer. I don’t want to crush your hope, but no one leaves this place… unless the Anaconda allows it.”

Elizabeth translated his words, and Alice replied firmly, “The Anaconda understands our language. He once tried to protect me. At sunrise, I’ll go into the forest, find him, and ask him myself to let us go.”

Ocean answered sharply in Arabic, “I don’t know why he’s interested in you—or why he ordered us to protect you. But despite his power over this island and its creatures, the forest crawls with transformed killers. You wouldn’t make it to his lair alive.”

Alice said quietly, “If he told you to protect me, then he has spoken to you before.”

Ocean shook her head. “He speaks only to those he chooses, when he chooses. No one can speak to him first.”

Elizabeth looked around the group. “Before we let Alice go through with her plan, we need answers—real ones. Who are you, Ocean? How can we trust anything you say, after all the deception?”

Mary added, “And we need to know everything about the Anaconda—why he’s so interested in Alice. I don’t think her resemblance to his lover is the only reason.”

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