Escape from the Thorny Devil: The Adventures of Griffin & Karen EP 3 Part 2

In the last installment, “The Thorny Devil,” Griffin and Karen ventured into the treacherous Daintree Rainforest, seeking the mythical Aurorafolia dracaena. But an ancient guardian, the colossal Thorny Devil, stood in their way. In a heart-pounding race against time, they battled through the creature’s lair, desperate to secure the glowing purple flowers. With allies falling and dark omens rising, will the plant bring salvation or damnation?

Trapped by the Thorny Devil

As they made their way back to the main entrance of the cave, the group could hear the thorny devil heading back, its angry snarls getting closer and closer. Bruce and his mates, who were now hiding at the side of the cave under a thick web of vines, quickly began to search for a distraction to give Griffin, Karen, and Jack enough time to make it out of the cave safely.

Suddenly, one of Bruce’s mates spotted a large boulder at the edge of the cave entrance. “Hey, Bruce, what if we push that boulder down the hill? It could create a diversion for the lizard and give them enough time to get out.”

Bruce nodded, “Good idea. Let’s give it a try.”

The group carefully made their way from beneath the canopy and up the side of the cave, behind the large boulder. With a concerted push by the three men, the boulder dislodged and started rolling down the hill, causing a loud rumbling noise and kicking up a cloud of dust. The thorny devil immediately turned its attention towards the boulder, lunging at it with its massive jaws.

Griffin, Karen, and Jack took this opportunity to make their escape, running as fast as they could toward the exit. However, as they ran from the exit and the other three men ran down the hill to rejoin them, the devil quickly turned around from the fallen boulder to see the group escaping.

They all ran as fast as they could, their hearts pounding with fear. Bruce’s mates were struggling to keep up, and one of them fell behind. With lightning-like reflexes, the lizard snapped towards the group, quickly closing ground and clamping its massive jaws down on the hand of the man who lagged a step behind the group. The arm easily came off into the Thorny Devil’s mouth like it was biting into an eclair.

Hearing the anguished scream at their heels, the group quickly turned to see the man on the ground squirming in pain and the lizard chomping down on the severed limb.

“Come on, we have to go back and get him!” Karen cried out, turning back towards the creature.

“Karen, it’s too dangerous!” Griffin shouted, trying to stop her.

But Karen was determined. “We can’t leave him behind, Griffin! We have to do something!”

The group watched as Karen ran back towards the creature, throwing rocks and shouting to get its attention. Bruce quickly pulled out more smoke bombs, lighting them and throwing them towards the lizard, with his remaining mate and Jack joining him, firing their weapons in an attempt to distract it.

Finally, the creature turned its attention away from Bruce’s mate, giving Karen enough time to drag him under the thick canopy, disappearing out of sight from the monster.

As they lay cowering under the canopy, Griffin’s hand creating a scream-tight seal over the mouth of the injured man, they could hear the thorny devil pacing outside, its claws clicking against the rocky ground. They knew they had to come up with a plan before the creature decided to come back and finish them off.

Jack quickly pulled out a map, studying it intently. “I think we can use the terrain to our advantage,” he said, pointing to a nearby cliff. “I’ll double around and lead him to the cliff away from you guys, and you hurry up and get this man help. I’ll meet you all at the next town.”

Griffin nodded, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement. “Ok, but you better be careful. We’ll see you back in town.”

Taking Bruce’s remaining sack of smoke bombs, Jack darted out the back of the canopy, shouting at the giant reptile, quickly getting its attention.

[Jack whistles at the Thorny Devil]

“Over here, you ugly mug! Come and play with Uncle Jack,” Jack said with a daredevil grin across his face while pulling the pins of two smoke bombs.

Throwing the smoke bombs to give himself cover, Jack made his way up the side of the cliff, which had a deep ravine to the side of it, the beast searching through the smoke trying to find its prey.

Jack, who was quickly making his way up the side of the cliff, was finally spotted by the scoping giant lizard. Letting out a blaring hiss, the Thorny Devil made its way over to the cliff to claim its meal.

As the distance between them and the Thorny Devil grew, Karen quickly pushed Griffin to the side and started attending to the man. Blood flowed freely from the part of his arm that remained, quickly saturating the shirt she had wrapped around it earlier, and he was barely conscious. She began using her limited medical experience to try and stop the bleeding, bandaging the man’s hand as best she could to buy him more time.

“Stay with us, mate,” Bruce said, his voice thick with concern. “We’ll get you out of here and get you some help.”

“We have to get him help. I did the best I could, but he won’t survive for long like this,” Karen said to Bruce with a tone of concerned urgency in her voice.

“Aye, the truck is less than a click away, and the closest town two clicks from there.”

“Hold on, mate, I won’t let you die!”

As they ran back to the truck, Karen did her best to keep the man alive, applying pressure to the wound and trying to keep him conscious.

[Group at Truck getting man into the truck. The sound of rock falling and a monstrous squeal in the distance]

“That must be Jack. That thing probably got him,” Bruce said with sadness in his voice.

“Are you okay?” Griffin asked Karen, his voice filled with concern.

Karen nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I’m okay. I just can’t stand the thought of us having two more deaths on our hands just because of our research.”

“There was no way to predict this, Karen. That lizard looked unnatural. How could we have known it would be there?!” Griffin said in a comforting tone, his arms wrapped around Karen.

“I guess you’re right. But we have to make sure he makes it, Griffin!”

“We will, Karen.”

Mysteries of the Cliff

As they drove away from the area, Karen kept looking back at the cliff, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jack. But all she could see was the thick smoke and a flock of giant black birds circling.

They reached the town and rushed the injured man to the medical center, where he was taken into emergency surgery. The group waited anxiously in the waiting room, praying that he would pull through.

Just as they were about to give up hope, Jack burst into the room, covered in dirt and bruises, but alive. They all breathed a sigh of relief as Jack approached them.

“I thought the Thorny Devil got you,” Karen said, embracing Jack tightly.

“Aye. It tried, but I was too quick for it,” Jack replied with a grin. “I lured it up the side of the cliff, but the rocks couldn’t support its weight and gave way. It fell to its death.”

The group cheered at the news, grateful that Jack had made it out alive.

“But there’s something else,” Jack said, his expression turning serious. “I found something up there. Something very strange.”

“What is it?” Bruce asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“I can’t say for sure yet, but I think there was some kind of ritual there recently. There was blood and dead animals all over the top of that cliff.”

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, their curiosity piqued.

Karen couldn’t shake the image of the giant black birds circling above the smoke. It was as if they were waiting for something, watching the group as they drove away.

As they settled into the lodge that night, Karen couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Jack’s discovery had sparked something inside her, a burning desire to find out what was really going on and what else there was to this mysterious plant…

Stay tuned for their next experiment, their lives are going to become more complicated than they ever imagined!