Cave of Bones (Dark Island Series Book 2)

by J. D. Matheny

  Once again, the shrill cry of the child rang out, louder and more powerful than before, almost as if it sensed their presence. That spurred his wife into action and she moved forward briskly, crossing the sand with one hand braced on the small of her back, and approaching the foot of the stone stairway. She waited for just a moment for Bolo to catch up, then took his arm and proceeded up the steps, each stair presenting a formidable challenge for her bulk. Once she was at the top, her breath was coming heavily and sweat was rolling down her face and body. As soon as he was confident she was okay, he looked around the interior of the Bure, expecting to see the intimidating figure of Daucina standing and watching them, which would most likely be followed by his wife’s screams.

  The building was empty, as far as he could tell. The only thing that remained was an altar in the middle of the room that was shrouded with a long, white cloth hanging down from the ceiling. Behind the cloth they could hear the plaintive whimpers of a baby.

  Sala rushed around the end of the altar and made a delighted exclamation. Bolo followed her around and there upon the cold stone slab was a light brown, wrinkled baby looking as if it had just left the womb and been cleaned off. The child was nestled into a large mound of moss and leaves and was waving its arms and legs around enthusiastically. Not it, a he, Bolo saw.

  His wife reached two hands gently under the squirming baby and lifted it up to her, cradling it against her breast, on top of a large tummy that made for a good platform for the baby to rest upon. It looked natural, the two together. His wife smiling and cooing down at the delicate little thing and him gurgling and looking back up at her. It made Bolo’s heart swell. Soon he would see the same interaction, only with a child of his own. A dark-colored child. This one’s skin was a very light brown shade and there was a patch of dark hair atop his head.

  “Bolo, whose child is this? Why is he out here in this place all alone? Where is his mother?” A mix of emotions were fighting over each other, the battle playing out on her face as she went through excitement, confusion, joy, and concern.

  “Those questions I don’t have answers to, wife. I know only that this baby was brought here by somebody very special and you were needed for the child’s survival. His mother is not here, so you must be his mother. You can feed him and care for him. You will do that, won’t you?”

  “I don’t understand Bolo; a child just doesn’t appear in the jungle. He’s only just born! His mother must be here somewhere.” She looked around the Bure, absently stroking the baby’s cheek with the back of her fingers. Then she looked him in the eye, concern now the dominant expression, joy and excitement no longer present. “Bolo, how did you know this baby would be here? Did something happen to the mother? Is she … dead?” She looked quickly down at the baby, as if worried he heard what she said and would be upset. The baby went on gurgling in its own special language and waving its arms and legs around as before.

  “My sweet wife, I have done nothing to the mother. There is no woman on this island that I know of except for you, so I cannot answer that. What I can answer is why the baby is here, but I think first you should find a place to sit and rest and see if the baby will feed from your breast. He is a robust thing, I’m sure he must be hungry.”

  She paused briefly, but then her instincts took over again. “I’ll feed. You talk.” The look she gave said she was not open for arguments. She went to the top step of the staircase they had walked up only moments before, and with his help, lowered herself down to a seated position. She then worked to expose one large breast and lifted the baby’s face toward it, who instantly latched on and began to suck greedily. So pleased was his wife he began to think she might forget all about her need for an explanation from him.

  “Well?” she asked, without taking her doting eyes from the little one.

  So be it, he thought. He had been preparing for this since he left this island the previous evening. Bolo launched into his tale, starting from the beginning, with the incredible luck he’d been having following a school of tuna until he was near Vaqava’s shore. He spoke of the strange light he saw then, rising from the depths below his boat. How that light had turned into a … man. An unusually large, powerful man with no face and a crown of flickering flames upon his head. He tried to describe what made for the creature’s face, that strange, swirling black pit that seemed endless and made you feel like you were falling in when you stared at it.

  Then he spoke of the vision he saw when he lost himself in that endless pit. First, he saw the past, a proud people living on Vaqava. Happy people, their days filled with gathering food, weaving mats, and dining together in one large group. There was singing and dancing, there was kava, but more than anything, there was joy and plenty. He watched a figure separate from the group, gather up a plate full of food and a large bouquet of flowers, and walk to the lake. All the bounty he had gathered was placed in a small boat and rowed out to the Bure Kalou in the middle of the lake, where it was then taken in and placed on the altar as an offering.

  Then the vision changed. The villagers, all of them, which amounted to roughly three hundred, were on the outer shores of the island. The chief was speaking with a small group of white men, who had two large ships floating far out in the water. The men were invited into the village for a celebration. It seemed that things went well and the days passed, with the villagers showing the white men their way of life and filling up their smaller boats with vegetables and fruits, while the white men returned their favors with blankets and insignificant amounts of canned food and drink.

  After some more time passed, the white men were gone, and a terrible change came over the island. The villagers began getting horribly sick, many of them succumbing to some strange illness. He saw them being carried into caves and left. He saw the panic in the eyes of the survivors and the suspicious looks they cast out over the lake toward the Bure. It was obvious the blame for this catastrophe, in their eyes, fell solely on the God they worshipped, Daucina. They appeared frightened of their God, possibly thinking he had allowed this to happen to them because he was displeased. Maybe even allowed wasn’t the right word, maybe inflicted was more accurate.

  Then the vision progressed and the people, less than a hundred in number now, were all loaded on to boats and sailing off the island toward Kabara. Daucina remained on the island, at first unconcerned with the people leaving, but then quickly angered and striking out at the stragglers that fell behind. Then a strange thing happened, after a time. He seemed to diminish, growing gradually smaller and weaker. Soon he found he couldn’t travel more than a short distance beyond the shores of the island.

  Lastly, Bolo was shown the future of his people. The reliance on the modern world and the technology that came with it. A once proud and joyful people were now nothing more than soulless husks that trudged off each day to meaningless jobs in an ongoing struggle to feed their families. No longer did the food and materials needed for their daily lives come from the land that was their mother. They had forgotten how to gather and use those things that were provided. Now they were simply scraping together meager amounts of money to buy what they could from large markets. Not the outdoor markets where Fijians gathered to sell their crop, but big markets full of metal and glass and bright lights. Markets that were owned by others. Non-Fijians, who had no connection to their people, other than whatever they could take from them.

  These things could not be allowed to pass. Daucina showed him this and Bolo felt it strongly in his heart. He loved his land, he loved his people, and the greatness of both should be restored. The future had to be secured for his family. He had been shown a way for this to happen, for the people to unite again in their traditions. They must come back to the Old Ways, which meant coming back to Daucina.

  “That is why the baby is important,” he said, looking down at the small bundle in his wife’s arms. “I’m unsure how or why, but the baby is the key. He made this known to me.”

  “Bolo, husband, you truly believe all of
this that you have told me? Have you been coming out to this island to drink kava and have these crazy visions? Tell me now, where did this baby come from? It’s important Bolo.” Her look was one of exasperation.

  Bolo frowned, feeling put off. To have shared all of this with his wife only to be rejected made him feel frustrated and disheartened. It was quite a tale, he understood that, but his wife should support him no matter what tale he spoke. That was her obligation to him as a wife.

  Well, he thought, she’ll just need to do what must be done, whether she believes or not. The baby won’t be left here to starve and he wouldn’t allow him to be taken back to the village. That would lead to many questions he didn’t have answers for, not to mention Daucina wanted the baby to remain here, so here he would stay.

  “I have told you all that I know, wife. I hoped you would believe me, like it is your duty to do, but you have chosen not to. Believe what you want, as long as you care for the child and keep him fed and happy. Maybe Daucina will bless you with a visit and you will see for yourself.” His tone was more solemn now than before. Sala’s rejection hurt him and he covered his pain with formality. “Stay here with the baby. You have the fruit for your hungers. I wish to look around. I will return later with water.” With that, he moved past her and made his way down the staircase.

  “Bolo! Take me home, with the baby. We can’t remain here.” Her tone was incredulous. The very idea of remaining on an uninhabited island with this newborn child of mystery was ridiculous to her.

  “We will remain, wife. This is our home now,” he said matter-of-factly. He looked around slowly at the island, taking in the calm water of the lake, the lushness of the surrounding forest, and the feel of the sun as it grew in the sky, warming his face. “Daucina has blessed us, brought us here, brought us back to our home. You should be thankful, wife.” He looked back at her from the bottom of the stairs, “If you’re thinking to leave, I would suggest you think twice. I don’t believe Daucina would like it very much.”

  With that warning, he strode off toward the raft, leaving Sala to her duty.

  12

  Thomas awoke with a start as Sophie jerked against him and came to with a sharp cry. He looked down on her with concern, noting the red rim around her eyes and the trails of tears winding down her face. There was a moment of confusion as they stared at one another, both trying to determine what was happening. He watched her look at the boat, then around at the deep marine blue waters stretching out around them on all sides, then back at him with a pleading look. Her bottom lip quivered for a moment, then her face was suddenly buried back into his shoulder.

  “I con handit tompse, I cont.” Her words exploded into him and he could feel the vibration of them course through his torso.

  “Sophie, you’re okay! Tell me what’s wrong.”

  She lifted her head slightly, creating a small gap of air between them, but still didn’t meet his eyes. “I can’t handle it! I can’t do it! He isn’t going to even want me.”

  “Oh, honey, you can’t be talking about the baby. Of course he’s going to want his mother, why wouldn’t he?” He paused for a moment, letting something settle into place in his mind. “You said he. You’re having a boy? You didn’t mention it before now.”

  “I didn’t know before now.” She was silent, almost whispering. “Now I know. I know he’s a boy and I know that, when the time comes, if it comes, he won’t choose me.” Her eyes lost their pleading look and now only desolation was left.

  “Sophie, that’s not true. It was traumatic, what happened to you. To both of you. But he will know you. As soon as he hears your voice, feels your touch, he’ll know you. Just you don’t worry about that. What do you mean you didn’t know you had a boy until now? Not another dream, was it?” His tone held a hint of disbelief, but more than that, it held a larger dose of apprehension.

  Sophie looked at him with eyes full of resignation, lifeless and dull. “A dream, a vision, I don’t know what it was, but it was real, just like before. In the bathtub. I thought I was there. On the island. I saw them there. He was holding my baby, Thomas. Like he was the father. Like it was normal.” She tilted her face up and to the side to catch the wind, breathed in deeply to fill her lungs with the taste of the sea, then slumped back down. She seemed almost devoid of emotion now and stared blankly forward. “My baby loves him Thomas. He chose him over me. I lost. I’m lost.” She spoke, then stared forward without expression.

  Thomas didn’t like this strange attitude one bit. It scared him. He gripped her shoulders firmly and observed the flinch of pain it caused her with grim satisfaction. There was no relish in causing her discomfort but now he deemed it necessary. “You’ll shake out of this Sophie, now! You have a newborn child out there on some shitberg island with some shitass creep, waiting for his mommy to come rescue him. You won’t give up on him, Sophie. I won’t allow it! Now get a grip on yourself and tell me what happened. In detail.” His tone was hard-hitting and he spoke only inches from her face. It worked. Her eyes met his and they already looked clearer than they had just a moment ago, as if just waking.

  Sophie recounted the vision for him. In detail. She started from the very beginning, leaving nothing out, until she got to the very end. She was quick in the telling, but thorough. It felt to her like venom pouring forth out of her and when she was done she felt almost normal again. The dark and hopeless taint that the dream had left on her was gone. In its place was a righteous anger.

  “I’ll shove my fist through whatever It has for a face and pull whatever It has for brains right out where It can see it.” Her face burned hot and her jaw clenched. Then, just like that, she broke into a smile and snorted. “Only it doesn’t have eyes.” She laughed long and hard at that one.

  Thomas wasn’t sure whether to be relieved at this version of his sister or nervous that she might be cracking up. Then he saw the fiery resolve in her eyes and went with relief. This was the hard-ass side of Sophie he knew was there. Nobody could exhibit sweet and spicy so well as his sister.

  “Sophie. In all seriousness. What do you think this thing is? I mean, do you think it really is like you see it in your … visions?”

  “I have no doubt.” Her face lost all signs of mirth. “Jacob saw It. He described It. What I’m seeing is the same and I don’t think it’s what he put in my head. It’s too real. In those visions, I can’t just see It Thomas, I can feel It. He took my baby in a vision, Thomas. What can do something like that? No man, that’s for sure. Whatever It is, It isn’t like us. It isn’t like anything.”

  “What can we do against something like that?” Thomas stared at her, looking troubled. He hoped for an answer, possibly something she knew intuitively from her connection with the Thing, but expected nothing. “I’d tear It apart with my bear hands if it were possible, but something tells me that, from what you’ve seen and said, it isn’t likely to happen.”

  “I don’t know if it can be destroyed, Thomas. I didn’t have any grand ideas like that. My only hope is to get my hands on Kai and escape the island with him. If I can do that, if we can do that, then I’ll consider it a victory.”

  “Kai?” He looked at her curiously.

  “It means ‘The Sea’ in mama’s native tongue. It’s fitting, I think. He was conceived in the sea. Pretty much.” She looked at her older brother sheepishly but then noticed the look on his face and felt pleased. He looked like he approved.

  “Kai. It’s a good name. We’ll get Kai back. And we’ll figure out a way to stop this Thing, Sophie. We must. I’m not going to live the rest of my days wondering if one, or both of you, is just going to up and disappear on me because of some voodoo Godlike freak of nature.”

  “Well,” she nodded forward to the front of the boat, “that’s why we’re going with your plan isn’t it? To see what we can find out about this voodoo freak?”

  Thomas followed her gesture and saw the island of Kabara growing large in front of them. He had placed a lot of hope on those village
rs, right or wrong. Just how much hope he hadn’t realized until just that moment. Suddenly it seemed as if their whole future rode on what those primitive people could tell them.

  If they could tell them anything at all.

  13

  Bolo sat up straight and took a deep breath, feeling the warm and salty spray of sweat hit his tongue. He closed his eyes and swam in the pool of sunlight that was gradually swallowing him up as the sun rose higher into the clear blue sky. It was a good day for building and he felt the sting in his hands as he flexed them open and closed to emphasize that point. Satisfied with the pile of plant fiber he had amassed over the last couple hours he began to contemplate the project ahead in more detail, eyeing the hard dirt surface before him and picturing the walls of their new home. Fijian vales were simple, so he was not long in the process before he was satisfied. There would be a square room with one doorway on the right side leading to a smaller room for storage of food items, cooking utensils, and other small necessities. Behind the house would exist the outbuilding where one could handle their private needs which resulted from Daucina’s blessings of a full stomach the day before.

  He had been up early that day, before the purple dark fully lightened to a soft grey, eager to start the process of habitation. His God had given him a vision that filled his soul with fire and he meant to feed that fire with the fruit of his labors. It was not often a young Fijian had a true purpose outside of feeding his family, and Bolo was thrilled to feel the motivation of the purpose he was now entrusted with. Reminding his people who they were and what they were meant to do. They were a people, like all peoples of the world, meant to live off the land and to give back to the Gods who provided such bountiful lands to them. He heard about the wonders of the modern world, always spoken about in awed whispers, as if the objects of such revelry were the Gods themselves. Well, it’s time to remind my people what really matters. To bring them back home and give them purpose again, he thought.