Ark Of Hope: Beyond The Dark Horizon

by Roger David Francis

With Brett and Jade holding onto Robbie they followed Cassie.

  The little man in the green shorts began dancing around the deck, high kicking, his sparkling pink shoes flashing as the sun caught the glittering diamantes that adorned them. He shouted after them, “Enjoy yourselves on Sandy Island and don’t come back, we don’t need your sort on board, this is for paying passengers only.” He chuckled. “Anyway, we won’t be here. Everyone on this ship has somewhere else they need to be. Good riddance.”

  “He’s right, sir,” Gary Wurner appeared suddenly in front of them. He was agitated, two spots of colour staining his cheeks, he said, “Once you leave the ship you must never come back. It’s important that you understand that.” His eyes bore fearfully into Brett’s. “Do I make myself clear?”

  “Perfectly, don’t worry, we’ve no intention of ever stepping foot on this ship again.”

  “You’d better mean that.” Gary Wurner hissed.

  Carefully the four of them made their way down the slippery steps off the boat and onto the Island.

  Chapter 10

  The first thing they noticed was the smell; a sulphuric stench that crawled up their nostrils. The sandy beach they were standing on was lovely, glittering in the sunshine like billions of twinkling little diamonds. Cassie immediately took off her shoes and gave a deep sigh.

  “Thank God we’re finally off that ship. How creepy was that?”

  “I feel sorry for all those people,” Jade said. “You get the feeling they’re being used, made to experience the ship sinking all over again. It’s like they’re on a loop that keeps going round ending in disaster every time.” She gave a small snort of laughter. “Listen to me, talking about ghosts as if they were real.”

  Cassie nodded. “They are real, at least for now I think. It’s the waiter, Gary Wurner; he’s causing it, that’s what he told me. He said he was punishing the other passengers for stopping him getting on the lifeboat.”

  “Do you want to know what I think?” Robbie interrupted. “We’re freaked out, imaging things. We’re behaving like headless chickens, running around in circles believing everything is real when all this is really just a drug induced mass hallucination. It’s over now, we’re safe.

  “Is that what you really think, Robbie?” Cassie asked. “Because those rope marks around your neck look pretty real to me.”

  Robbie flushed. “Stop trying to confuse me.” He looked around, “there must be someone living on this Island, let’s go and find them.” He put his hand up to his neck and winced.

  “Are you okay?” Jade asked him.

  He shook his head, his eyes dull with pain. “I’ll live.” He coughed, “God, what is that smell?”

  They began walking across the soft sandy beach towards some outlying trees.

  “It’s a bit quiet, isn’t it?” Jade commented. Relieved as she was to be off the strange ship she couldn’t help feeling unnerved. The silence was getting to her, it felt thick and menacing and surprising she found herself shivering.

  Brett stopped and looked around. “There’s no birds, that’s odd.”

  Jade looked behind her, everything seemed in order; the waves were lapping gently on the shore and the Princess May remained stationary, unmoving. She couldn’t see anyone on deck and she hoped the Captain hadn’t decided to embark also, she didn’t fancy hearing any more of his rhetoric.

  They carried on until they reached the edge of the sandy bay and were standing in the shade of a group of large oak trees. The unpleasant smell was slowly fading the further from the beach they went.

  “I hate to say this,” said Cassie, “but I don’t think anyone else is on the Island. It’s too silent; we’d have heard something by now.” She paused, “Do you think the Captain was making it up about treasure hunters searching for the Chalice of Truth?”

  “Probably,” Brett replied. “It could be an old wives tale. People are always making out there’s buried treasure hidden on tropical islands, it’s just a tourist attraction scam.”

  “Sandy Island isn’t exactly a holiday destination, Brett,” Jade reminded him.

  “Even so, I shouldn’t put too much store by it.”

  “I should have bought my metal detector; if it exists I’d have found it.” Robbie said.

  “You couldn’t find the top off a can of coke with that thing,” Cassie told him. “But you’re right, Jade; it is too quiet.”

  “Maybe they’re hiding from us?” Brett suggested.

  “Who, Brett? a roaming gang of cannibalistic Islanders? A family of man eating koala bears?” Robbie was pleased to see Brett’s face flush as he went on happily, “or maybe it’s some Hellish creatures lying in wait to jump us?”

  Brett gave him a dirty look. “We don’t know, do we?” he muttered.

  Jade said, “Strange though, I mean, where are all the little animals you’d expect to see scurrying around?”

  “On someone’s dinner plate probably,” Brett muttered darkly.

  “You don’t think there are rats, do you?” Cassie squirmed. “Can we stop for a few minutes, I’m hot and it’s cool under these trees.”

  “I’m hungry,” Robbie stated. He belched gently and Cassie gave him a dirty look.

  “We all are. Maybe we could find some berries to eat.” Brett said and then put his finger to his lips. “I thought I heard something rustling in the trees,” he whispered.

  They stood quietly for a few moments but the only sound was their own breathing. Cassie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. There was no breeze, nothing to cause the leaves on the trees to shake. And just as they were relaxing a high pitched whining sound shattered the silence.

  “It’s coming from over there,” Brett pointed across to the sandy beach where they’d just come from.

  Unbelievably they watched as enormous foot prints began appearing in the sand. Gradually two feet appeared. Something invisible on two legs was coming towards them.

  “What do we do?” Jade asked Brett in panic.

  “Run!” Brett yelled.

  They ran, Robbie being pulled along by Jade. They crashed through the dense trees and finally stopped in a small clearing.

  They stood listening. “It’s gone, that awful noise,” Jade said.

  “What the hell was that?” Brett shook his head in disbelief.

  “Whatever it was, I’m not hanging around for it to come back,” Cassie said in a trembling voice. She bent down and picked something up. “What do you think this is?” she asked, holding it out.

  Brett took it from her and winced. “It’s an arrow. Jesus, what sort of people live on this Island?”

  “Tribal obviously,” Jade replied flatly, staring at it with loathing. “We’re going to have to be careful.”

  “They could be head hunters,” Robbie said with relish.

  “You know what’s odd?” Brett was holding the arrow, a puzzled expression on his face. “Look how small it is, less than half the size of a normal arrow.”

  “Maybe there’s a tribe of cannibalistic goblins hiding behind the trees,” Robbie suggested.

  “Don’t!” Jade snapped.

  They made their way out of the clearing rejoining the narrow rough path. The air had become cleaner, the smell of sulphur a distant memory as they trekked along under the shade of huge trees that overhung the path in a leafy umbrella.

  “My parent’s will be worrying now,” Jade said suddenly. “Especially my mum, I said I’d phone her; let her know how the boat trip went.”

  “Me too,” Cassie said. She shot Brett a dirty look, “My dad will want to hear all about the Professors flat earth, and what sort of day I’ve had. What do you think I should tell him, Brett? That the Professor drowned and we were chased off a ghost ship onto a desert Island? Do you think he’ll believe me?”

  “Why are you picking on me?” Brett looked offended. “Is it my fault your dad’s as closed minded as you are?”

  “You cheeky....”

  “Oh my God,” Robbie stopped sudde
nly and pointed. “Bananas,” he said gleefully.

  “Be careful,” Brett warned as Robbie grasped the nearest bunch and began peeling the thick yellowy green skin from the fruit. He bit into it and groaned with pleasure.

  “At least we’ve found a source of good food,” Jade remarked with relief. “There could be other things, berries, coconuts, but what do we do about water?”

  “Wait until it rains?” Cassie offered hopefully.

  Through a mouthful of banana Robbie laughed and then almost choked. “Great idea, Cas,” he said, “We can put the buckets out and collect the rainwater in them.”

  “I’m only trying to help,” Cas replied huffily. “If we could find coconuts we could use the shells to collect water in.”

  Brett shook his head in wonder.

  “The Princess May is still docked on the Island, it could be there for a while.” Jade bit her lip, “We could go back on board and fill up large containers.”

  “No way!” Cassie yelped. “You’ve got to be kidding if you think I’m stepping foot back on that ship.”

  “I wouldn’t trust the water on that ship, it tasted saltly to me.” Rob said.

  “Did you drink much of it?” Brett asked curiously.

  Robbie shrugged, “I had to get the taste of vomit out of my mouth, didn’t I?”

  “Oh, gross!” Cassie squealed.

  “But it’s better than having no water at all,” Jade persisted, “We could be on this island for days, weeks even before we get rescued, what do you say? We go back and fill up a container each, as much as we can carry.”

  Cassie stared at her open mouthed. “What’s wrong with you?” she spluttered. “What are you not getting, Jade? The bloody ship’s full of dead people!”

  “Spirits,” Robbie said. “Not dead people. They’re not zombies, Cas, and we don’t know how much of what happened was in our imagination, or from drugs in our food.” He shuddered slightly. “I should know,” he muttered, frowning.

  Brett narrowed his eyes and squinted ahead. “I wonder how big this island is?” he mused out loud.

  “Well, it showed up from Satellites in space,” Jade said.

  “Did it?” Brett frowned. “Then how come no one’s ever been able to find it?”

  “Haven’t we had enough of ghost people and ghost ships, do we really need a ghost island as well?” Cas grumbled.

  “What if,” Robbie began slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face, “Professor Bunting was right after all, and the earth really is flat?” He held up his hand as Jade gave a bark of derision. “Think about it, if it was true then the world has to end somewhere, why not an Island in the middle of nowhere?” He began to warm to his theme, “A place where everything comes together like ...a magnet that draws energy to it but because it’s constantly moving at a faster rate than the eye can see it somehow manages to avoid detection.”

  “Right,” Brett said, “So let’s get this straight, according to you, we’ve reached the end of the world?”

  “In a word, yes.”

  Brett was grinning. “In a word, no. The Professor believed the earth was surrounded by huge sheets of ice that no humans could penetrate, he never once mentioned to me anything about a piddling little island in the Bermuda triangle as being the source of the end of the world.”

  “Well, he didn’t know everything, did he? And who’s to say this is the only Island, there could be thousands of them, appearing and disappearing at will all placed around the edges of the world, shielding it, protecting our planet from invaders from outer space, stopping unnatural forces from penetrating our world, keeping us safe.”

  “You’re just trying to scare us, aren’t you Robbie?” Cassie asked in a small voice.

  “And succeeding, by the look on your face.” Robbie guffawed, delighted. “I didn’t know being a geek could be so much fun.”

  They’d reached the end of the path and stood staring in amazement.

  A small trellised gate leading to a long beautifully lawned garden lay ahead of them. There were rose bushes all along the side of the garden growing against a high panelled wooden fence. The smell of spices from the central herb garden wafted around the air. At the end of the garden an imposing double fronted red gabled house stood, majestically rising up from a series of stone steps leading to an oak panelled door. A circular driveway swept around to the front of the house where a smart 1920’s carriage stood, jolting slightly as the two white ponies harnessed to it fidgeted and pawed the ground.

  Brett blinked several times before he believed his eyes.

  “Jesus,” Robbie murmured.

  Cassie began smiling. “We’ve been worrying for nothing,” she said happily. “This is some sort of holiday home built by a millionaire with more money than sense. Come on, I think we’ve found paradise.”

  Robbie and Jade began walking briskly up the path that ran alongside the garden. Cassie followed them close behind, her eyes alight with anticipation, only Brett lagged behind.

  This house was so out of place on the Island he could feel his nerves jangling with fear. Just because something looked nice didn’t mean it was. Of course Cassie could be right, a millionaire’s playground, why not? Celebrities purchased Islands all the time, their own slice of paradise, why shouldn’t this be one of them? Because, a little voice whispered in his ear, it’s too good to be true, like finding a convenient ship to escape onto in a storm, like an Island waiting for them. And how could you purchase an Island that didn’t really exist? It was all right having more money than sense but that was ridiculous. Unless Jade had got it wrong. Brett sighed; maybe he was worrying for nothing. It was strange though, the old fashioned carriage outside the door. Perhaps it was the only sensible mode of transport round the island. Certainly a car wouldn’t be acceptable; the paths were not much more than dirt tracks.

  “Listen,” he said, “Maybe we should hold back. After all we don’t know who lives here and if we’re trespassing we could be in trouble.”

  “Are you being a Debbie Downer again?” Robbie shook his head. “You’re looking for a problem when there isn’t one, mate, now pull your face straight and keep up.”

  “Come on, Brett, Jade urged, “This is our best chance of finding a way home. They could have a phone.” She saw Brett’s look of incredulity, and added, “Okay, then what about a CB radio? We have to give it a try.”

  They drew nearer to the house and Brett thought he could hear the sound of a piano playing. It was obvious someone lived here but he wasn’t as sure as the others they would be welcome.

  “Do we knock or pull the bell cord?” Cassie wondered.

  Robbie reached across and tugged on the hanging rope. From inside they could hear the chimes going off and the piano abruptly ceased playing.

  “More money than sense,” Robbie muttered, looking around at the two white ponies, “Some people have all the luck.”

  “Someone’s coming,” Jade took a step back suddenly looking uncertain. “I’m not so sure this is a good idea,” she whispered.

  “What’s the worst that can happen?” Cassie asked, “We get thrown off the Island? Works for me.”

  The door opened wide and they gave a collective gasp.

  Standing framed in the door was the small figure of what appeared at first to be a man. He stood about three feet high with a round head that was too small for his body. Tufts of white hair stuck up from his scalp and he appeared to be smiling. Jade drew her breath in sharply when he opened his mouth.

  On her ninth birthday she’d been given a string puppet of an alien queen and had spent many hours working out which string was attached to which parts of her body. She remembered the mouth particularly, the way when she pulled the strings the top lip would curl up in a parody of a smile. But that was okay because the puppet queen was an alien, and they only existed in films and books, they weren’t real, so the stranger they were the better.

  This man standing in front of them had the same look about him as her alien queen. H
is top lip was drawn up and his eyes kept blinking. His short arms dangled at his side twitching every few seconds.

  She grabbed Cassie’s arm and whispered, “I don’t think he’s a real person.”

  Cassie giggled. “Perhaps he’s the butler,” she whispered back.

  A voice came from the figure though his lips didn’t appear to form the words; the sound seemed to be coming from his throat and there was no inflection in his voice. “Welcome to our home, you are expected. Where is the Professor?”

  “He’ll be along later,” Robbie said and winked at Brett. “Could we come in and have a drink of water?”

  The strange little man raised his hand in the air and Jade choked back a cry. There was no movement in the fingers; the hand was a solid block of shaped plastic, the fingers rigid.

  “Brett,” she said, “I think it’s a robot!”

  Brett’s eyes widened. “Well what do you know,” he breathed. “What’s your name?” he asked the small figure.

  “I am Wilson. At your service.”

  Brett laughed. Of all the things he’d expected to find on a desert Island this wasn’t one of them. The person who owned the house must have had the robot made for him. Cassie was right, a millionaire with more money than sense. But then a sense of foreboding stole over him. How on earth could this robot have known about the Professor? It was bizarre. Unless the millionaire had a computer set up and had been watching them through surveillance cameras; but that made no sense either, why would anyone be interested in them?

  “Please enter.” The robot turned in a jerky fashion and began walking along the hallway.

  Jade said suddenly, “there’s something creepy about this, you know that don’t you Brett?”

  Brett frowned. “Of course I do, but this could be our only way off the Island and back home,” he told her. “You might even be right, Jade; the guy living here might have a phone line, he’s got everything else. It’s worth a try I think.”

  Reluctantly Jade followed Brett, Robbie and Cassie into the house. The door closed quietly behind them.

  Chapter 11

  The Princess May was rocking gently from side to side. Gary Wurner gripped the rail and peered down into the murky depth of the ocean. He was confused. All these years he’d waited, yearning for this moment, encouraged by the Demon’s from the dark side. Time had little meaning to him. He’d heard one of the young men say it had been sixty five years since the Princess May disappeared but to him it could have been yesterday. There were no clocks in Hell.