“Sure,” I said, clearing the junky buildup in my throat. “Just don’t disturb her.”
Starr slid his hand off the man’s chest. We watched as West crept over to the back doorway, slightly hunched over like he was about to pounce. I clenched my teeth, imaging Ruby’s frightened reaction to a stranger staring at her if she woke. I could almost hear her letting out a loud, glass-cracking scream, and West running for the door, shrieking for help.
West edged closer, stopped and stood for a long moment. Ruby never woke up.
“Incredible,” he muttered. “Where did she come from?”
“I can’t tell you,” I said. “And you can’t say anything to anyone about her.”
He turned to us. “Why is she here?”
I opened my mouth to answer, then snapped it shut. In a split-second, I decided against disclosing what Ruby had told me. I didn’t want to risk getting anyone’s hopes up about returning home if it turned out to be nothing. “She’s just visiting. Like I said, she’s a friend.”
“Are there more of her?”
“No, just her. Do you promise not to say anything?”
“Yeah, sure, I give you my word—if you tell me the truth.”
“What do you mean?”
He crossed his arms. “I mean, what’s she really doing here? Does it have anything to do with the island?”
Hope flickered in his eyes. I sensed he wanted me to tell him I’d found a way out.
“Are you hiding something, Heath?” he asked in earnest. “It wouldn’t be fair if you’ve discovered an escape route and didn’t tell the rest of us about it.”
“It’s not like that. Listen, we—”
“We need rope,” Starr cut in. “Lots of it.”
West grew confused. “Why?”
“Ruby told us there’s something weird underground and we’re going to check it out.”
“Like a cave?” West inquired. “Did you find a cave when you went up there, Heath?”
“Something like that,” I grudgingly admitted. “I didn’t want to say anything until I explored them. I swear I don’t intend to sneak out and leave everyone else behind.”
West considered this. “I can help you get rope, but I want to come too.”
I saw no harm in letting him tag along. Where we were going, an extra body could come in handy.
“All right. Starr, go with him and collect the rope. I’ll get Ruby indoors before anyone else sees her. Then I’ll get us some supplies.”
When they left, I went out to the back porch. Ruby suddenly raised her head, sending me leaping back. The island had certainly made me jumpy.
“Maaaybe youuuu should haaave closed both doors.”
“You’re awake?”
“Yesss. Thaaat screaming humaaan woooke meee.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“It’sss not yourrr fault.”
It felt good to hear someone say that. “Come inside. I have to get some stuff before we go.”
We needed supplies—lights, helmets, machetes, and perhaps a gun or two. Travis had all those things, and Khenan had taken the liberty of clearing out most of his belongings from his hut, leaving the rest for anyone wanting them.
People were on the beach getting ready to go out and dismantle their first ship. They’d held a lotto game to determine whose vessel would be first. I felt shitty for promising to help, only to dip out on the first day. I guess I’d lose my chance to live on the docks.
When I arrived at Khenan’s, he was sitting at his outside table, smoking a cigarette. He’d never smoked before, but I guess after what had happened, he decided a little tobacco couldn’t hurt. I joined him at the table and told him where I was going and why. Dread reflected in his eyes.
“I can’t,” he said, his voice trembling. “I can’t go back up dere.”
“I understand.”
“I saw t’ings,” he said.
“I know, I saw things too.”
Khenan lowered his gaze to the table. His hands shook and his eyes watered. “I seen me son dat night after da Vikings attacked us. I went to ’old ’im when ’e burst into flames, just like me brot’er. Me wife appeared, screaming at me dat is was me fault.”
“It wasn’t real,” I assured him.
“Sorry, I canna ’elp you.”
Khenan gave me protective headgear—a fighter pilot’s and a football helmet. Since we didn’t know how long we’d be underground, he included food and cooking supplies. He offered flare torches, a few knives, two machetes, lighters, and a first aid kit. He even handed me a pair of pistols. Once I had everything bagged up, I said goodbye and headed back to my hut. By the time I returned, Starr and West were waiting with loads of different types of rope.
“Think this will be enough?” Starr asked.
“I have no idea,” I said truthfully. “We’ll find out once we get there.”
Before leaving, West suggested I take more medicine. The syrup tasted like cold coffee. The crushed leaves, mixed in with the syrup, crunched between my teeth. I asked how this remedy and the other for cuts had been discovered, and he said someone had discovered it long ago and passed it on.
I told them about the fleas and what they did. We found a red leaf bush and rubbed it over ourselves. For good measure, we also sprayed ourselves with bug repellent. I offered the leaves and repellent to Ruby, but she informed me the fleas didn’t affect her.
We headed up the island after sneaking Ruby out the back. Starr and I hacked through the thick greenery, while Ruby stayed between us. It was like escorting a moving glass figurine. To my surprise, her wounds had healed overnight after I’d applied the salve, giving her a healthy body to make the steep climb. I even tied cloth around her feet to keep them from getting sliced up. Everything went fine for the first thirty minutes, until Calla crossed our path.
“Ruby!” she called, hurrying down the incline with a tall walking stick in her hand. “Thank goodness you’re all right. I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”
I thought she’d hug Ruby, but instead, she stopped and looked up at her with relief. She then shifted her eyes to me. They weren’t the windows looking in on a happy soul. “What’s the meaning of this? What are you doing with her?”
“Before you start, Ruby came to me.”
Calla’s expression loosened. She switched her attention back to Ruby. “Why would you risk your life to see him?”
“To tell me things you failed to mention when I asked about getting off the island,” I cut in snidely.
“What are you talking about?”
“The holes.”
“Oh, those. They’re nothing more than death traps.”
“What do you mean death traps?” West asked nervously.
“People have gone into them and never come back.”
“What?” Starr said. “They vanished?”
“Worse. Throughout the years, people have found holes here and there. Before I found Ruby, I helped assist some lads into one. I advised them not to go but they were headstrong. Like you, Heath. Once they went down, they never returned.”
“No one ever mentioned that,” I said. “Not even Eleanor.”
“Since the arrival of sailors, men have wandered up there, searching for answers, only to vanish or be killed by the Vikings, or lose their minds. Eventually, they stopped going up the island and remained near the shore. Eleanor knew nothing about the dangers until five men from North Village and I discovered a hole. Their disappearance still haunts me. I warned Eleanor about it and we made a pact to never let anyone know about them. It really wasn’t a problem. Most people were frightened to venture too far beyond the shoreline. Even Worley knew better after his banishment from his own village. What happened to him only perpetrated the fear.”
“Why didn’t you go into the hole with them?” West asked.
Calla’s cheeks lit up red. “I’m highly claustrophobic. As a child, I got locked in an old ice box playing silly games with my siblings. Ever since,
I’ve been deathly afraid of enclosed spaces. But that phobia saved my life.”
“If you didn’t go with them, how do you know they’re dead?” Starr asked.
“I can’t imagine what else could’ve happened. They’ve never reappeared anywhere else on the island, and I can’t imagine there’s any food or light down there for them to have survived this long.”
“You should’ve told me about them,” I said peevishly.
“I was only trying to protect you and the others from facing the same fate.” She turned to Ruby. “You shouldn’t have told him. You, more than anyone else, ought to know better.”
“Something isss down there,” Ruby said. “There is a power thaaat mussst be discovered.”
Calla kept silent a moment. Then, with a deep sigh, she said, “All right, if you really think there’s something of importance down there, let the idiots go. Come on, Ruby, let’s get you home.”
“I am going with them.”
“Whoa, what?” I said.
“You can’t go into the holes,” Calla protested. “Your body—”
“There’sss nooo doubt I’ll be injured, but my injurrrieees heal verrry fast. Until Heath caaame, there was nooo one elssse but youuu who I could contact about explorrring the underrrground. He isss willing to risk hisss life to find a waaay out, and so am I.”
“Ruby, even if there is some way off the island, you’ll die,” Calla pointed out.
“I don’t waaant to gooo on anymorrre,” she said in her reptilian tone. “I usssed to journey among the staaarsss. Nooow, I’ve been grounded foreverrr. Even my brotherrr agreees thaaat thisss isss the time to seizzze the opportunity.”
“You never said anything about how miserable you are,” Calla said weakly, on the verge of crying.
“I care for youuu,” Ruby said, placing her long hand on Calla’s shoulder. “I didn’t wish for youuu to think I did not by expressing my desirrre to leave.”
“We should go,” I interjected. “We have a long hike ahead of us.”
“Indeed,” Calla said with a sniff. “There’s a hole up near the top on the other side of the island, near my home. I can lead you to it, but we won’t get there until nightfall.”
I shook my head. “I know one that’s much closer.”
The way took some time only because of our pace. Cutting through dense, clawing foliage and dealing with biting bugs bogged us down. I warned both Starr and West—who amazed me by sticking around—that if Sassy crossed our path to let her be. Finally, we came to the hole where Phil had fallen in.
“You mean there’s going to be a badly damaged body down there?” West said when I told them. “I . . . I think I’ll stay up here.”
“Aren’t you a doctor?” Starr commented. “Haven’t you seen dead people before?”
“I don’t want to go down there, all right?” he said petulantly.
I believe he just didn’t want to risk getting killed. “It’s fine. We’ll need an extra pair of hands to help lower us down.”
Calla took one look at the black pit. “I can’t go, either.”
“I wasn’t excepting you to.” I dropped my bag of supplies. “I need you to help West get us down safely.”
I wasn’t too thrilled to have Ruby come with us. I had no idea what lay underground and I wasn’t sure if I could protect her. Even so, she and everyone else trapped on the island had every right to risk their lives to escape.
I decided to go first. We tied every rope together until we had a four hundred-foot line. Starr helped me tie one end around my waist and two separate pieces over my shoulders and between my legs, making a harness, then tied those to the main rope. We both knew what we were doing. On weekends, he and I used to fly north to Georgia for camping and mountain climbing.
“You ready?” he asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, putting on the fighter pilot helmet.
Once we checked the security of the ropes, I was set to go. I’ll admit, I had second thoughts as I leaned over the hole’s edge.
Starr, Calla, and West held the rope and began lowering me as I rappelled down against the jagged wall. I wanted to drop a flare to get an indication of how deep the hole was, but if it hit Phil’s body and burned it, would that count as disturbing it? I didn’t need another soul following me around.
Still, I wasn’t willing to face anything I might encounter down there in total darkness so I pulled out a candle as I descended and lit it, hoping the steady breeze wouldn’t blow it out. The dim circle of light above me shrank smaller and smaller. The air made me shudder, even though it wasn’t cold.
I soon saw something. The grotesque sight seized my heart and kept it from beating. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream or make any kind of sound. It was the sort of thing found in a haunted house, only it wasn’t made from latex, food coloring, or painted with oils. It came from an actual person. Chunks of skin and clumps of hair stuck to the wall, glued by thick trails of dried blood. No doubt it had been Phil. On his way down, his body must’ve slammed and scraped against the rocks, shredding him like grated cheese. I only hoped the impact had killed him instantly.
When my voice returned, I called for West and Starr to stop, giving me a chance to warn them about what waited down here. Then I continued to descend.
There were more gory bits. Apparently, Phil had ping-ponged off the walls as he fell, leaving pieces of himself on both sides. The gray circle of sunlight at the top of the hole diminished to the size of a coin and the candle became my only source of light. I worried about many things, such as the hole narrowing in on me, preventing me from going any farther, or being submerged in a massive body of water. Such thoughts drove me to take a chance and drop a flare.
I hollered for Starr and West to stop. My voice echoed upward but my descent halted. They yelled down to me but I was too far to understand them. Most likely, they wondered why a red fireball had suddenly ignited. I dropped the flare and watched it fall. The light quickly narrowed to the size of a thimble and still kept going.
“Shit.”
It eventually hit the ground. Though the flame looked more like a distant star, I could still see it. I called for West and Starr to keep lowering me. Blood and skin plastered the wall, but I ignored it. After a long ride, the hole opened up. I came through the ceiling of a wide hollow space. When I touched ground, I untied myself. Once free, I tugged on the rope, letting them know I’d hit the bottom.
I picked up the flare. It gave out enough light to show me that I was in a vast chamber the size of a basketball court. But my amazement dried up when I noticed a trail of blood on the ground. Phil’s body had been dragged away.
Chapter Thirty-two
I picked up the torch and followed the blood trail as the rope rose back up to the opening in the ceiling. The trail led to a small cave. I thought to investigate farther but decided it would be best to wait for Ruby and Starr.
What the hell could’ve dragged Phil’s body away? It had to be some kind of animal, maybe a large underground cat.
“What do you think?” I asked Gavin.
There was no answer.
“Gavin?” I called, panning the torch around, expecting to see him, but he was nowhere to be found. “If you’re trying to mess with me, it’s not funny!”
No response. I didn’t know what game he was playing but there was nothing I could do about it, so I waited.
It was a long wait. I carved the skin off the vine and mashed it in a small bowl before mixing it with seed juice. I knew Ruby would need it. The flare fizzled out and I had to relight my candle. Ruby took a long time to descend. When she finally reached the bottom, she had cuts carved into her flesh. Once I untied her, I brought out the first aid kit to clean her wounds in order to apply the salve as Starr worked his way down. Her moist skin felt grimy, like loose soil. I mentioned nothing to her about it. I’m sure my skin felt strange to her.
“I have a spirit who’s attached to me,” I told her while checking her wounds
for any sign of Phil’s blood. I had no idea what would happen if human blood came in contact with hers.
“What isss hisss naaame?”
“Gavin Cole. He was my flight student.” I paused to take a breath. “You said water holds a lot of the island’s power and in turn has kept the ships and planes from disintegrating, right?”
“Yesss.”
I then told her about Gavin’s illusion after the crash. The muscles of her face stretched when I told her how I’d been duped into burning his body.
“Ahhh, he died in the boundary. When someone touches a body out there, it givesss the fragggment easy access to manipulaaate the mind,” she said gravely.
I took out a roll of gauze from the first aid kit. “Why would the island want me to disturb his body all the way out there?”
“To ussse the enerrrgy. When someone diesss in the boundary, their life sourrrce—itsss soul—isss idle and producesss no enerrrgy for the island to absorb. Afterrr people becaaame wissse about the dead and ssstarted to leave them alooone, the fragggment found a waaay to trick the living into awaaakening the dead in the boundaries.”
“Really? The island can send an exact replica of dead people to pose as them? How is that possible?”
“The fragggment recorrrds the traaaits of an organnnism as it diesss and sendsss out imagessss of the dead to deceive the living.”
“The false Gavin came just before sunrise and vanished shortly afterward.”
“That makes senssse. The image can’t laaast long. It drains tooo much of the fragggment’s own strength. So it choooses a time when a person isss resssting to approach, making it easier to coax them into doing what it wantsss them to dooo.”
“Is the island that smart?”
“Perhaaaps.”
I wondered if that was what had driven Irving to slit his wrists in jail. Constantly being awakened by the dead and cursed at would cause anyone to go mad after a while.
“Why is it that when you ignore these fake spirits, they eventually vanish?”
“You mussst have ssspoken to Jean Laffite. Calla once spoke to him about it when sheee learrrned it frrrom aaanother humaaan.”
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