by Jeff Dixon
“Ah, Ben Gunn’s Cave…that sounds like what we’re looking for.” Hawk leaned in toward the phone.
“Here’s the description.” Shep read the brochure. “Ben Gunn’s Cave—as mysterious as the strange hermit himself. Its exact location is unknown even today…but we know it is someplace on the island!”
“Seriously?” Hawk’s mouth was slightly ajar. “They built Ben Gunn’s Cave?”
“Well, no…actually, they didn’t ever build it. These were proposed attractions that guests never saw,” Shep reminded him. “The project lost steam, and they decided to create an island designed more for strolling than swashbuckling. Discovery Island was the new name, and it was accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. It was a place noted for its birds, plants, and turtle populations. A place to make amazing discoveries. Discovery Island.”
“But they never built Ben Gunn’s cave?”
“No, but here’s another bit of information I ran across. On some of the early development documents, I did find the names of both Farren Rales and George Colmes.”
“OK, thanks…I have enough to go on.” Hawk closed his laptop. “Shep, you make sure you’re somewhere safe. Stay out of sight. I’ll call you when I get back.”
“Back? Back from where?”
“Discovery Island.”
“Hawk, Discovery Island has been closed to the public since 1999. Nothing has happened there at all. For the most part, it has been deserted and isolated. No one ever goes there, and the company has placed some serious restrictive rules—which I already know you don’t care about—on setting foot on the property.”
“Oh, so you mean there’s a company policy that makes the island off-limits, and if you go there, it could be grounds for termination?” Hawk already knew the answer to this because he had been given that information by a cast member once on a boat ride past the island.
“Well, yes, that…and…wait a minute.” Shep was working the screens in front of him again. “A few years ago, some guy swam out and took pictures of the place at night. Really spooky and weird stuff to be sure. He posted them on a blog, and the mystery of the island took on a conspiracy theory sort of legacy. The speculation of why they had just deserted the island. Stuff like that began to circulate. That guy, at least according to the rumors, was given a lifetime ban and hit with the threat of trespassing charges that were fairly serious.”
“So it sounds like there is something important on the island, then, doesn’t it?”
“Yes…” The smile had left Shep’s voice.
“Like I said, stay safe, I’ll call you when I get back.” He ended the call.
Hawk left his apartment and bounded down the stairs into the Magic Kingdom. There were two security officers at the bottom of the stairs.
The security officer named Leroy, according to his name tag, stepped up to him. “Sir? Are you going somewhere?”
“We’re supposed to accompany you,” the second officer, John, added.
“I’m going somewhere, but you stay here. Just make sure no one gets into my place.” Hawk kept moving past them.
“But sir.” John tried to get him to slow down for a moment and engage them in conversation.
“It’s fine. It’s my call. You stay here.” Hawk jogged across Main Street, U.S.A. and ducked into the backstage area on the opposite side.
The afternoon had grown late. There was now a steady breeze while the tropics were torn up as the storm moved across them. The disruptions in the weather patterns were now rippling across the state of Florida and up the East Coast of the US. Hurricanes were so massive, especially Hurricane Ginger, the weather was going to be impacted by the storm for a few days to be certain. Wind ruffling his hair, Hawk mapped out his route in his mind. He would move through the backstage area and exit on one of the service roads that would carry him across to the Contemporary Resort. From there, he would take one of the boats from the dock and cut over to Discovery Island. He had no idea what he would be looking for, but he would find it once he was there.
The dock area of the Contemporary was already closed for the day, and with the inclement weather, it would not be opened tomorrow. He had to place a few phone calls and get a cast member to help him grab one of the security water boats. These boats were used to keep guests safe on the water and out of danger during a normal operating day in the resorts. Although the offer had been made to transport Hawk to the island, the CCA had insisted the helpful cast member go back to work prepping for the storm. After a few quick instructions, Hawk was now captaining his own watercraft toward the island.
The water was choppy, and the wind was getting brisk as Hawk cut through Bay Lake toward the island. He slowed as he came upon a wrecked ship that was a part of the Discovery Island’s Shipwreck Beach. The beach was many years gone, and the shoreline was grown over with trees that extended out over the water. He circled the island and caught sight of the original docking area. Much of it was gone too, and he let the motor idle while he looked to see if this might be the best place to set ashore. He decided to keep looking, and around the edge of the island he saw an old dock, roughly maintained, next to a storage shed. The old building had a large front door with a sign that read Landscape Storage.
There was a rusted horseshoe mounted above it, and Hawk decided if he could get the boat close enough, he would dock here. He turned the boat to starboard, timed it, and then idled the engine as he pulled alongside the dock and placed a hand on the post attached to the dock. Holding on as the boat pitched in the rough water was harder than he had anticipated, and it took him longer than he would have liked to secure the craft to the dock and step out. As the sun began to fall from the sky, he cinched the rope hard enough to keep the boat safe from harm at the dock.
He stepped back onto the boat and grabbed the flashlight he’d noticed secured below the wheel. When he slid the switch, it lit up, and he flipped it over in his hand as once again he stepped out on the dock and got ready to explore Discovery Island and find Ben Gunn’s Cave.
CHAPTER THIRTY - NINE
Two Days Ago
Evening
Immediately after stepping away from the dock, Hawk realized exploring the island was not going to be easy. Overgrowth had waged war with the pathway and won. Foliage now grew without any restraint, and it was apparent that Discovery Island had been abandoned. Pushing back limbs, pulling away spider webs, and knocking back branches, Hawk slowly made his way deeper onto the island. Although abandoned, the island was teeming with life. The trees surrounding him were a symphony of noise. Through the darkness, the cries of thousands of birds made the island anything but silent. There was cawing and cooing in all directions, the bird sounds blending together like voices speaking to one another in conversation. With each snap of a branch, a group of birds would startle and take off all at once, causing the noise level to rise. The sudden sound and flutter of wings caused Hawk to jump, and his heart began to beat faster as he explored.
The path was nearly indistinguishable, and he pulled back a clump of large branches in front of him. Vines had grown up and through the branches, creating a nearly solid wall of forest. Barely able to open up enough room for himself, Hawk eased through the gap and found himself standing along a pathway lined with cages. He adjusted his light. At one time, they must have been veterinary cages with some additional storage areas constructed as well. They formed a long, narrow row of structures lining either side of a cracked concrete pathway. Hawk doubted this had been a guest area. Shining his light into each cage, he made his way through the gauntlet of wire, reinforced bars, and buildings. He was relieved at no longer having to dig his way through the grown-over paths, if only for a moment.
He was thinking back on the clue and wondering where Ben Gunn’s cave might have been located—if it had been built. He tried to orient himself, and once he did, realized that the beach area was on the opposite side of the island from where he was. Perhaps there was a cave just off what had once been the beach.
He moved back into the thick brush of the island, shoving limbs out of his path, occasionally checking the ground to see if there might be any indicator he was following a trail. There was not. Hawk was sweating. The breeze was strong, the blowing of the trees all around him creating noise, loud rustling of branches, and yet…he was sweating. The combination of nerves, excitement, and hard work to cover the island had him wishing he might have waited until daylight to try this trip. However, the urgency that drove him could not wait; besides, he anticipated the storm would make exploring the island even more difficult.
A massive group of birds flew right over his head, causing him to duck. As a slight drizzle began to fall, Hawk saw a concrete building in the jungle. He battled through vines to the door and found it was open. The mustiness of being closed for a long period of time wafted out to meet him. Inside he found a light switch, and much to his amazement, the lights flickered to life. What he saw gave him the feel of a place where something had gone horribly wrong, a place that had been evacuated in a rush. The floor was littered with stuff that was here on the last day Discovery Island had remained open. Trash, snapshots of guests…and oddly, jars containing coiled-up snakes. A large wooden sign leaning against the wall read Welcome To Discovery Island.
He saw a guide map for the island, yellowed with age, and picked it up. Studying it, he surmised he must be in one of the three educational pavilions scattered across the island. If he was correct, the beach could be found by traveling along whatever remnants of a path he could find to a place called Flamingo Lagoon.
When he stepped back outside, the drizzle had become a steady downpour. The birds had grown silent, yielding to the sound of rain pounding against the foliage all around him. The island had been suspended in time. Wildlife now ruled here, and he was intruding on the ebb and flow of life. Squinting through the rain, he continued his pattern of dragging himself through the jungle growth. He knew the rain would come and go until the major storm arrived. This weather pattern would only get worse over the next few hours. Eventually he made it to what he believed was Flamingo Lagoon. A partial beach area still remained, although it was more undergrowth than beach all these years later. He used his flashlight to recheck his map. If he could travel along what was left of the beach, he could reach an area called Pelican Bay, which would allow him to travel to the edge of the island near the area called Shipwreck Beach. If there was a cave here, he thought it was most logical to find it near the wrecked ship, which seemed to be the last remnant of the days when the island was called Treasure Island.
The ground collapsed beneath him, and he slid down into the edge of a lagoon. Sinking chest deep, he kicked, trying to find the bottom. Grabbing a handhold, he used it to steady himself to get back out of the water. The bottom was soft sand that suctioned itself around his shoes, making it difficult to move. He climbed free from the water, and the rain stopped as suddenly as if someone had turned off a spigot. Weather was strange when a hurricane closed in to be certain. Shoes sloshing, he moved along whatever beach line he could find. Interrupted by natural barricades where he had to climb over tree limbs and then into dense underbrush, he wove his way in and out wherever there was enough beach to travel along. He became aware of a noise through the underbrush moving along with him. Since the rain had just stopped, the winged creatures calling the island home had not yet renewed filling the night sky with sounds, so the movement in the trees was something he could not now miss. What kind of animal was it? Hawk stopped and stood silently.
As he stopped, the noise from the trees stopped as well. He aimed his flashlight in the direction the sounds had come from. The beam illuminated the foliage near him and nothing more. Cautiously, he moved forward and continued heading toward the shipwreck. As he moved, the noise returned. He imagined some creature stalking him, waiting to pounce. He told himself he was being silly. Then he realized that he indeed might be stalked—not by an animal but by a person. All someone would have had to do was follow him to the island. But to get to the island would require a boat, and it had been difficult enough for him to secure one in this weather; it would have been impossible for someone else to have done so. Or so he hoped. Again, he stopped; and the sound stopped as well. He moved forward, and the noise moved forward at the same time. It was a spooky game, and he didn’t like it.
He shook his head as he made his way toward the wrecked ship. Trying to assure himself that the island was full of wildlife but nothing that would hurt him, he tried to ignore the unease he was carrying with him. He bullied his way through the trees and got to the remains of the ship. Crawling on top of it, he pulled himself into it and used his light to inspect it. There was nothing there. It would have been too easy if whatever he was looking for was there, but it would have been nice. Another burst of rain began to fall, and he crawled back over the side of the ship and grabbed a tree branch to steady himself. He looked down the length of the boat and noticed a slim opening in the trees. Hawk pushed himself into the leaves surrounding him and headed toward it. After what seemed like an eternity to traverse a mere twenty-five feet, he could see this was not just an opening in the trees; this was an opening into…a cave.
He jumped through the opening and played the beam of his light over the very small area he’d ducked inside of. The low-hanging roof forced him to his knees; the undergrowth from outside the cave had found a home inside as well. Ignoring the distraction of being wet, dirty, and tired from the journey to get to this spot, he rebooted his thinking into clue-seeking mode. Crawling to his left, he moved along the wall of the cave toward the back. Weeds, branches, limbs, and litter filled this long-forgotten, never-completed remnant of a bygone attraction. His hand hit something solid under the vines. It didn’t feel like a branch.
Using his hands to pull away the clinging branches around the rectangular object, he freed it and discovered a wooden chest. It was a foot long and about eight inches deep. He turned it around so he could inspect it closely and knew instantly it was what he was looking for. It had a lock mechanism that was unmistakable. It featured an oval with an outline of Mickey Mouse emblazoned on it. It was a MagicBand lock, much like the ones that guests would see when using their bands in the resort. This was the clue Farren had hidden for him. He realized with a sickening feeling that the MagicBand that he needed to open it was the one that had been ripped off his wrist in his fight in One Man’s Dream inside Hollywood Studios—the one that was on the wrist of Kiran Roberts.
Gripping the treasure chest, he crawled out of the cave. Once again, the rain had stopped. Standing up, he refocused on what he needed to do next, and he knew it was time to get off the island. The breeze had disappeared along with the rain, and there was an eerie stillness around him. He became aware of something moving near him. This time the movement was not from the trees; it was from the water. Grabbing his light, he aimed it across the lake. A boat was on the water, a hundred and fifty yards away, floating toward the Contemporary Resort. He groaned. Although he couldn’t be sure, he thought he recognized the boat.
His watercraft was now loose and floating away from him, stranding him on Discovery Island.
He quickly pushed back along the beach and then into the trees near the lagoon. Thrashing through the tangle of vines and branches, he tried to make his way around the edge of the island toward the dock where he had landed. He was sure he had secured the boat properly. He had been overcautious when fastening the ropes to the dock because he knew he would need a way off the island. The wind and the rain had been brisk, but not enough to break the boat loose. There was no way the boat could have come loose without help. Perhaps it had been a person following him through the trees, but if that were so, why untie his boat? The guy could have just taken the chest after Hawk found it…right?
He was still asking himself questions he had no answer for when he rounded the edge of the island, getting a clear view of the storage shed he had docked the boat next to. A driving rain pelted him and the surrounding jungle. Lightning flash
ed as thunder shook the trees. All of his questions floated away because he now knew for certain his boat was no longer there. He was marooned on Discovery Island.
CHAPTER FORTY
One Day Ago
Midnight
Hawk tried to call Shep, but his cell phone was dead. He realized that when he fell into the lagoon, he had trashed another cell phone. Now, seated on the dock in front of the utility shed, he studied the treasure box closely. It appeared airtight; even the hinges were hidden. There was no way of knowing how long it had been hidden in the cave. He could break it open, he was sure of it, but he feared there being a fail-safe put in place in the event it was found by someone without the right key, in this case, the MagicBand. That wasn’t his most urgent problem.
If he couldn’t reach Shep, he would be stranded on the island. In a hurricane. Shep would be worried, but Hawk doubted he would come looking, since Hawk was prone to disappearing and changing plans when he was caught up in quests like this. Also Hawk had been adamant about his friends staying safe, and that included staying out of sight in the resort to ride out the storm.
Weighing his options, he decided there was only one reasonable thing to do, although he didn’t like it much. He held the treasure chest under his arm like a football and leaped off the dock into the dark water of Bay Lake. Relentlessly, he surged through the water. The closest landing point was in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, which was in the process of being emptied out with the storm approaching. Guests would have been relocated to other resorts; if not tonight, then no later than tomorrow. He swam toward the nearest point.