Uphill march

"We better get out of here, Little Guy." Caroline said as she scooped up the cub in her arms as she looked around. The sides of the hole were sandy slopes all around. "Okay, it's just like at the beach, which means..."

Walking over to the slopes, Caroline raised her foot and stomped into the sand, doing the same with her other foot as she trudged through while leaning forward and using her spear as a walking stick. She could feel the Cheethog cub shiver as Caroline held it tightly. "It's okay, Little Guy. We'll be out shortly..."

"Oh, this was a bad idea!" Jane cried, embracing Alex as the 'island' continued to move. "What do you think this is? Some kind of mutant alligator?!"

As soon as Jane asked that, a large head attached to a long neck emerged from the water, revealing it to have the head of a... Manatee? Sure enough, the creature turned around to look at the newcomers on it's back, revealing a manatee face with long protruding tusks, the creature chowing down on water plants as it looked at the women in bemusement.

"Okay... It's eating plants, so we're safe, right?"

"That pig thing was eating mushrooms before it chased us..."

"Good point."

The long necked manatee-like creature merely stared at the two for several seconds before lowering it's head back underwater to feed again. Alex and Jane merely looked at each other before nodding in understanding, slipping back into the water and swimming back to shore.

"And... We're... Out!" Caroline said with a laugh, wiping her brow in exhaustion as she tried to catch her breath. Sitting the cub down, the woman sat down next to it, petting it as she watched the cub continue to shake. "Boy, you're quite shaky, huh? I think I'll call you Shakes. You like that?"

Shakes merely shook as it stared behind his rescuer, the woman merely letting out a nervous chuckle in response.

"There's something bad behind me, isn't there, Shakes?"

"Well, that was close." Jane said, the two women sitting down on a rock to dry. "I guess not everything on this island wants to kill us after all."

"You know... No, you wouldn't agree to it." Alex said, "Nevermi-"

"No, no. Let me hear. Please."

"Well..." Alex began again, "It would appear some of the more dangerous freaks live in more isolated parts of the island. If we avoid those areas, maybe we could... You know? Live here... Forever?"

"Live here?"

"I mean, what's back in civilization for us?" Alex asked, "I can't get my dream job because of some perverted creep blacklisting me and you've got some **** traffickers on your ass. Here, we're free to live as we want and do what we want. You said it yourself yesterday, we could set up our own society and live of fish and fruits. Yesterday I thought you were crazy, but now?"

"You know what?" Jane asked as she leaned in and kissed Alex, "I'd like that a lot. Just the two of us, no worries, no responsibilities. Although," she gave an impish grin, "how are we gonna set up a society if were both women? I ain't sharing you with any hunky Tarzan like native."

"Well, whoever made these freaks of nature must have had a lab nearby." Alex replied, "And they have to be manmade, you can't get even a quarter of these crossbreeds naturally. If we find that, not only do we have shelter, but I could do what they did to whip us up a couple of crazy kids. Oh, and..." She gave her own impish grin, "Dibs on being the daddy!"

"You just want to see what I look like as a fat ass."

"I'll admit the thought has crossed my mind."

The two women laughed before leaning in to kiss again, but before another lovemaking session could begin.

"My God?! Jane? Alex? Don’t worry guys, I’m coming!"

Jane and Alex jumped in surprise at the familiar voice. "Caroline?!"

Much to the girl's confusion, the silky chicken from the night before was the only thing standing in front of them. This confusion turned to surprise as the chicken opened it's beak and Caroline's voice came out.

"Just hold on, I’m coming for you." The bird repeated as the two women went slack jawed. "A... Chicken?"

"Oh, crap! Caroline!" Alex whispered. "We forgot all about her!"

"I mean," Jane began, "I'm sure she's fine, right?"

"It mimics their voices! AAAHHHH!"

"Oh crap! The chicken killed her!" Jane shrieked in horror.

"With what?" Alex asked, a mixture of fear and confusion in her voice.

"S-sweet little kitty, d-don’t eat me. You don’t want to fatten yourself for those Antlilas."

"Oh thank goodness! She's still al- Wait, kitty?!" Alex gasped, "Oh no!"

"What the hell is an 'Antlila'?!" Jane asked.

"You’re just a cub, or a piglet. And your paw looks injured, you poor thing."

"Okay, that's... Wait, is that good or bad?" Jane asked Alex.

"Well, it -"

"We better get out of here, Little Guy. Okay, it's just like at the beach, which means... It's okay, Little Guy. We'll be out shortly..."

"Start making sense before I deep fry you, you stupid bird!" Jane snapped, "Is our friend alive or not?!"

"Jane, Sweetheart, love of my life, and my Jungle Queen to be." Alex began, "It can't actually talk. It just repeats whatever it hears. That means she's, hopefully, alive. But, be out of what...?"

"And... We're... Out! Boy, you're quite shaky, huh? I think I'll call you Shakes. You like that?" The chicken repeated before letting out Caroline's nervous chuckle. "There's something bad behind me, isn't there, Shakes? GAH! AN ANTLILA!"

Just then, the sound of a loud roar and a few gun shots rang out through the jungle.

"CAROLINE!" Jane and Alex screamed as they raced into the direction of the noises...

Completely missing when the chicken opened it's beak again. This time using Sarah's voice.

"Get away from her, you son of bitch!"

"W-where did it go?!" Caroline asked, clinging Shakes to her chest as she shook a little.

"I think we scared it off." Sarah replied, cocking her shotgun. "Antlilas are ferocious predators in their own right, but they get spooked easily by loud noises. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Shakes and I are good."

"Shakes?" Kyle asked, turning to see the Cheethog cub in her arms. "Oh no. Do you realize what that thing -"

"He's hurt!" Caroline interrupted, gesturing to Shakes' paw.

"It doesn't matter! Once the pack comes looking for him -"

"Kyle, think about it." Sarah reminded her husband, "We both know that once the pack sees one of their own in those pits, they consider them goners and abandon them. And a majority of them manage to get out alive."

"Still, I don't think -"

"CAROLINE!"

The three looked up to see Jane and Alex coming out of the brush, hand in hand as they stopped in front of them. At the presence of the two new, partially dressed, people (one being a man), the two naked women blushed as they threw their free hands over their crotches.

"Alex! Jane!" Caroline said excitedly, getting to her feet as she cradled Shakes and ran to her friends. "You're alright!"

"Caroline? Where were you? What's going on? Who are they?" Jane asked, gesturing to Sarah and Kyle for that last question.

"We'll explain later, but right now, we -" Caroline sniffed the air before turning to Alex. "Alex? Why do you smell like lavender?"

"Oh, that?" Alex asked. "It's weird, but I got sprayed by this purple skunk, which I thought was going to result in me smelling like a dumpster fire like it usually would. However, it made me smell like -"

"Excuse my interruption," Sarah butted in, "but did you say 'purple skunk'? Did it have a heart shaped tail?"

"Yeah... How did you know?"

"Lust Musker." Sarah and Kyle said to one another in unison.

"Lust Musker? Antlila?" Jane asked, "Just what kind of low budget, Avatar knockoff did we land in?"

"More importantly, just what does that even mean that I got sprayed by a 'Lust Musker'?" Alex asked.

Kyle and Sarah looked at each other again, trying to think about how to respond...