It is the year of our Lord, 1908. As I was shifting through my papers here in my office. I found a particular map that was given to me by one of my servants. Now I have heard stories of sailors and fishermen encountering an island further west from Brazil. As I now temporarily reside here until I return to London. The more I hear of this, the more it intrigues me, so I want to check out this unknown world that very few eyes have set upon. And as my luck would have it, there was a British merchant ship arriving in a few days. I spoke to one of my colleagues.
And they have heard of this unknown island. And with so much interest, we have talked it over and decided to head there. When the Mercantile Marine Service has finally arrived. I spoke to the shipmaster and informed him of this island that intrigues us. And with the support of the university where I worked. The shipmaster was hesitant, but he needed to arrive in South Africa. And since this island was already easy for us, he might as well just take a short excursion. But not to mention that I needed to go to South Africa as well since I knew a friend of mine who lives there. It was a win-win for the both of us, I say. So I grabbed all I could bring and got on board with me and my colleagues. There’s so much convincing and lots of paperwork. We sailed away.
As we landed on this island, we went to explore. There, I have seen mountains located in the center and mangroves that are found north and east. Within the island’s mountainous interior, covered in lush rainforest And I remain open to anyone who reads this message. We’re in the subtropics, located in the South Atlantic. It was to my utmost surprise to even find this. But I wouldn’t be surprised, as the Atlantic Ocean itself can hold such undiscovered islands. It was out of sheer fascination with all the exploration that we have conducted throughout the Atlantic. This island is well over 430 miles long. I mean, how can such an island this big even be undetected?
It raises so many questions about how it was even possible. We have conducted a geological survey on this island. And to our shock, this island has been dated back to the Eocene-Oligocene epoch. We were so astonished to even have a land this ancient in our modern world. plus, not to mention its paleogeographical importance. A leftover of Gondwana. If not the only remnant of when Africa and South America split apart. We went wild over this discovery. Because, in fact, this has been such a rarity that no man in his entire existence on this planet has made such a discovery. We can finally unlock the mysteries of the past. And as we dug in deeper, we forgot about the flora of this island. We have determined that these species of plants have not been found anywhere else.
Of all the specimens that we have collected, we have concluded that these plant species are primitive, if not antediluvian, in nature. The coloration of these plants is almost variegated. Being darker than others meant you were heading deeper within these subtropical rainforests. And if my calculations are correct, these plant species may be the missing link between our modern vegetation and that of the past.
Even the fungi here are ancient as well. By Jove. This is a gold mine filled with wonders. And as we dug in a little bit deeper, we found that the soil is rich with nutrients. the healthiest soil that I and others have ever seen before. It was when we were alerted by one of the sailors, who had discovered something in a cave. And so we went to explore it. And when we did, the first thing that we distinguished was the vegetation within.
Plant life within caves may have been unheard of, but once you explore East Asia, you will find caves with plant life and an opening on the ceiling where sunlight can shine. But what we have also found is the abundance of minerals within this cave. And then it revealed to us that this cave contains raw gold.
The rarest of them all, finding raw gold in its natural form in these caves, was truly unexpected. And my God, there are lots of them. I aimed my torch at those walls, and there they glittered like stars. I took some out of the walls and placed them in my leather pouch as I returned to camp. And I have to say that there is much to explore on this island.
Until I have seen something unexpected. Moving the shrubs and bushes was something that none of us had ever expected to see. Species that were long gone during the early days of the Holocene epoch when man came and wiped them out And that it was a Meiolanid, or in fact, a group of them. And these were the size of glyptodonts if not bigger than them. And with them were these giant, long-necked chelonoidis, bigger than those found in the Galapagos. Our excitement was electric.
Two species of testudines contemporarily live together on this island. Of course, the Meiolanids must have originated in South America, whereas the Chelonoidis, or giant tortoises, must have had their genesis in Africa. The further we walked among them, the less they were concerned about our presence. I would not blame these animals, as they have not come into contact with humans. And browsing with these large, heavy-set testudines were these Acrodontans.
In fact, we have discovered just three of them. The first were the horned ones, which were the largest, browsing on the water plants. Their behavior and mannerisms are almost reminiscent of hippos—well, their equivalent to them. While the rest were arboreal. Along with the species of geckos, we heard deep footsteps heading in our direction. We paused, and we looked at each other. And coming out of the deep foliage was this large ratite. The first thing that came to mind was an elephant bird. But not quite as big as an elephant bird.
Though shorter than it, yet still larger than us. as we continued on, we spotted these flightless, plump pigeon-like birds and rotund parrots that lost the ability to fly, both of these animals were foraging on the floor, picking off fruits and nuts. The jungle came alive with the many songs of birds that we had never heard or seen before. and the rarity of them is astounding within this untraversable, anachronistic verdure.
in lieu of returning to our ship. We decided to procrastinate for the night. With our tents up and our campfire ready, we made all the necessary preparations that could make our stay very gracious. I knew that it was best to prepare for anything when making these excursions. We have brought our food, our beverages, and the like. Me with my good colleagues, along with the sailors of his majesty’s Mercantile Marine Service. With a change of clothes, I have gotten into the most congenial position.
Ah, it feels so agreeable, even if my legs are tired and my feet are sore. Here, I have no trouble. Well, unlike back on that ship of ours, But I do say that breathing in fresh air in your lungs for the first time is better than dealing with the pollution back in London or being in the confines of Rio de Janeiro. Here, this island is genuinely undefiled. As if the almighty himself did not want humanity to abuse this relic of the past.
The following morning, I woke up to so much pandemonium. As if my ears were banging, like the bells back in church. I was drowsy, as I barely got any footing. Sailors were raising their voices and scrambling to get their weapons. When one of my colleagues informed me that one of their men had gone missing during the night. When their chief officer, a robust man with broad shoulders, ordered them to search, When he glanced at me, he grabbed me by the collar and blamed me for this. It was preposterous for me to be blamed for one of his men being lost. It wasn’t my fault that he couldn’t keep track of his own men. And besides, this is a new land. A land has not been discovered, and a land that no man has ever set his eyes upon. The disrespect of this chief officer and his Scottish attitude. How dare he? But he was calmed by the shipmaster, who placed his hand on his wrist in a firm grasp.
And thus we went on to search for the missing person. It took hours as we trekked within this immeasurable rainforest. The more we dug in, the more difficult it became. As the terrain became opaque. My God, you couldn’t see anything before you as we were surrounded by this dense jungle. You cannot see above us due to the thick canopy. With only dots of sunlight streaking through the clouds of leaves and branches. It was not until we all heard it Everyone stopped in their tracks. When this loud, bellowing roar pierced the foundations of this jungle.
Then followed another, and another. It was when I grasped a fundamental realization that with all the herbivorous species we encountered, I could only forget about their predators. And upon hearing that roar for the second time, I knew we were going to deal with such a large carnivorous beast. And the most frightening thing about it was that we could not see it. And this dense forest proved to be the most difficult. We ventured way too deep. Of course, we have left the path behind us with the use of machetes and axes. But it is this terrain that would lead to a dire outcome.
And the one question that came to mind was: Is it far, or is it close? I saw the sailors armed to the teeth, yet me and my colleagues were vulnerable like a humble mouse. It was when we heard branches breaking and the bushes tearing. We begin to hear heavy footsteps slowly making their way towards us. I was frightened, with a chill running down my spine. I can hear the blood rushing to my ears. When it proved to be too much for my colleagues, they ran away. Backtracking on the same path that we all took.
Both the shipmaster and the chief officer ordered their men to be steadfast and vigilant. And that discipline must be taken. Cowardice will not be taken lightly. As the two spoke to their men. Courageousness filled their hearts. Now fully motivated, the shipmaster, holding his pistol, led the way to search for their missing comrade and to take down whatever came across their path. In truth, I wish I had that motivation. But I am neither a sailor nor a royal marine. Just a professor of geology and environmental science.
When I heard screams coming from behind us. It was that of my colleagues; hearing their bloodcurdling howls struck me. I turned around and saw the chief officer, stone-faced, gazing at me with his squinted eyes as sweat poured from his forehead, down to his heavy brows. I slowly lowered my head, as if I did not want to be scolded. The melodies of the birds fell silent. Hearing those heavy footsteps as something very heavy rolled through it. With his hand gestures, the shipmaster gave the orders to split into two groups. The first is his to command, and the second is commanded by the Chief Officer. And I was in that second group. I despise that chief officer. There was nothing I could do. With the use of their axes and machetes, the sailors marched on by cutting the foliage down.
The sound of thunder broke out in the heavens. The winds picked up strength, stretching the tree branches. Rain began to pour down. With the murky fog making our venture into this rainforest impenetrable. I was drenched to the bone but kept on moving. Not wanting to lose sight of the men before me. When sounds of gunfire were heard west of our direction. Men screaming at the top of their lungs as a deathly roar emitted. But we cannot get to them.
Not in this rain or in this forest. We didn’t wait a second when the chief officer decided to order his men to fall back. When the sound of a low growl was pronounced just inches away from me. The sailor who was beside me suddenly disappeared. As if he vanished in thin air. Then the same from behind me. I was beginning to be frightened by what was going on. Whereas the man carrying his rifle to my right shushed me. There he whispered to me to crouch down. All I could see was just him, the leaves, the fog, and the silhouettes of a few sailors behind them.
The man shot his rifle, as It was when something grabbed him from behind. A hail of gunfire erupted. The chief officer and the sailors were shooting in all directions. I had to tuck my head under my arms as I lay down on my stomach. I closed my eyes, and I could hear the screams of these men shooting at something that was ambushing them. Until it fell silent. I raised my head, opened my eyes, and saw that there was no one around me. The sailors that were there all disappeared. I was now alone.
Until I heard the sound of flesh being torn apart and bones being crushed, I knew what it was: something was eating the sailors. I sat on my knees and monitored my surroundings. My whole body was trembling, and my heart was in my throat. With a flash of lightning, I could see something in the fog walking in my direction with heavy footsteps. With each flash that comes, I can make the outline of it. It was a large quadrupedal reptile. I’d say from the direction it was coming from. I mean, I am having a little bit of trouble seeing this beast. But fear has overtaken me, and I have fled from the scene.
I ran like I hadn’t run before. I did not want to look back, but with a loud, ear-splitting roar The beast chased after me, and the earth shook as it did so. I kept on running and didn’t care if my whole body was being scratched by those branches. I used every ounce of strength that I had to get the hell out of there. When I accidentally slipped down and slid on the edge. But I have to get up. As far as I know, that thing was gaining ground on me. There, I ran out towards a field. Well, more like a subtropical Savannah. Almost identical to what was seen in Brazil, watching the similarities of what this island has.
There I saw the Meiolanids and long-necked giant tortoises trying to flee as they knew what was coming. With large males taking a defensive posture. And the ratites and other flightless birds that have already fled. Hearing the large Meiolanids bellowing and growling. When it emerged out of the confines of the jungle, I got a clear look at it. There before me was a relic of the Paleogene. A large, heavyset sebecid, covered in scutes and osteoderms, blood red in colorization. horns on its head and a heavy jaw filled with crocodile-like teeth. it was about 6 feet, 8 inches tall, and I believe it to be between 20 and 25 feet or more. And I could see it had heavy, broad shoulders and, I believe, large, wide feet. And the snout was broad yet somewhat narrow, crocodilian-like but almost similar to that of a megalosaurian, yet with horns like a dragon. What’s stunned me is that it can walk bipedally as it gets close to the large Meiolanids.
Following behind it were four others. It was a family of them. And the large one, presumably the bull. As I hid behind this dead tree and with the rain that finally ceased. The only thing I could do was write it down in my journal and do my utmost to record it. Until the large bull took sight of me. Where I can also see the younglings following behind their mother. which, too, was as large as the bull. There I could see in her mouth was the Chief Officer, with his lower half missing, and his viscera hanging. Fear consumed me. Whimpering like a child, I had nowhere to go, and I was too tired. I was their easy prey. I’m hoping for the bull to focus on that large Meiolanid. But it did not want to bother with that armored behemoth. Gazing at his immense size with the sun coming out of the clouds.
I was shedding tears, trying to ask God to please help me. I know I am going to die. And if anyone could reach this message that I will soon put away in this pouch of mine, please note that if you were to find my remains, return to where you once came from.And if you come across this, Dracosuchus, run away. Only death resides on this island.