“You shouldn’t smoke you know.”
“No?”
“It kills, in fact. Didn’t you check the warning on the package?”
“I must have missed it.” She smiled and took another drag, her eyes never leaving Trevor. A humorous grin formed as she wiped beads of water from her chest. “I better quit then. Let’s say this is the last one. Okay?”
“Good thing you ran into me. I saved your life. You can thank me later.”
“Or is it a good thing you ran into me?” she asked.
“I don’t know… You haven’t saved my life yet.”
“Maybe I have.”
“Philosophy major. Knew it.”
She smiled and stared at her cigarette. She observed it with a furrowed brow before taking one last drag, tilting her head back and huffing out the smoke. “Here. You finish my last cigarette ever. There’s no stronger bond on earth than that.”
“What’s one more favor?” Trevor accepted the stubby dart. Two drags and it was done. He put it out on the stone and flicked it.
“Hey now. You treat this place with respect, Trev.”
“My apologies. There was no soil around to bury it in.”
“I’ll bury that attitude of yours if you’re not careful.”
Trevor held up his hands. “I’ll be good. I swear.”
“That’s a good boy.”
“So… Where are you from?” he asked.
She ignored the question and floated close to Trevor, eyes on fire. She held her lustful gaze and moved in slowly. The steam rose around her face. He could see himself in her pupils. All he could think about was her lips on his.
“It’s okay, Trevor. It’s simple isn’t it? You do what you gotta do.” She placed a hand on his beating chest, the warm feeling making her eyes light up, a crooked smile forming on her gorgeous face.
She leaned in about 90 percent of the way; Trevor covered the remaining ten, and they kissed.
When she pulled away, he didn’t know what would happen next, he simply wanted it to keep happening. It was out of his control now. Then, she leaned in closely and whispered, “I have to go. It was nice meeting you.”
She left Trevor sitting there in the hot spring with empty thoughts. In the distance he thought he could hear someone.
“Trevor.”
He snapped out of it. The gang was there, staring at him with looks of concern.
“Hey,” he managed to squeak out.
“You okay? You eat some bad berries, bro?”
“I’m fine. Just need a drink. Or ten.”
Ashton was more than pleased.
Chapter Seven - Erin
Stefan was gauging the group with concerned eyes. Skye lay on a towel with her head resting between Ashton’s legs. They must have made up. How did Ashton deal with her shit? Erin knew that Skye had cheated on him countless times back home, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him. He must have known. She was far from discreet.
Skye snapped her bubble gum and Stefan spoke. “In your picnic basket sits your lunch. Turkey sandwiches. And underneath your bagged lunches is a sheet of paper with your first… task we’ll call it. Your mission is to solve the murder of the Royal Family.”
“The who now?” Ashton asked.
“The Royal Family of Belize. Stefan looked excited. “Their lineage dates back to the Mayan immigration. Spawned from refugees, later slaves and merchants, they rose to gain control and ownership of over half of Belize before colonization came into effect in the late 1800s. Under the legislation at the time, they were able to find a balance, or peace, if you will, between the Mayan and the British power that was expanding. When the new constitution took force, they lost their power and social status as the British formed a monopoly, stripping many of those with private land. The support of the Mayans wasn’t great enough to start a war, so they reached an agreement with the British. The Royal Family agreed to leave Belize under two conditions: first, their followers were to be provided equal opportunity for employment and a small sum of resources to start over, and second, the Royal Family would be granted full ownership of one of their favorite islands. This very one we stand on today, in fact… Forced out and heartbroken, their plan was to grow their roots here; create generations; win back their rights; form alliances with those who rebelled against the Belize Estate and Produce Company, along with the British colony in general; and from there, start taking unused land. They’d start with all the vacant islands and cays before taking back what was rightfully theirs. But that didn’t happen for the Royal Family. Their agreement was broken the day presumed mercenaries from the colony stormed the beach and murdered the family of four.”
“Quite the long-term strategy. Very educational and interesting,” said Trevor.
Erin was displeased with the comment.
Stefan smiled, and he continued. “Rumor has it…” He laughed. “I should really be doing this at night with a flashlight to my face.” He glanced at Trevor. “Rumor has it that their spirits are still trapped here on this island. They’ve grown restless, frustrated, hostile, and they feed off those burdened by their sins. It is up to you, my courageous friends, to locate the names of the killer, or killers, in order to set the family free from their entrapment, so that they can haunt the current family members of their murderous ancestors.”
“This is so hot,” said Skye, followed by a cackling laugh.
Trevor had that foolish smirk on his face. Erin wanted to slap it off.
“So what do you guys think? You up for it?”
“Hell yeah,” agreed Ashton and Skye.
“Erin?”
She nodded yes.
“Trevor?”
“I’m not the imaginative type.”
“Awesome. Because you all don’t have a choice. You can’t leave the island until the mission is complete. That’s one of my rules.”
“What are some other rules?” asked Erin.
“Completion of one task simply leads you to the next. You work from twelve o’clock until twelve o’clock if the full time is needed. In the mornings, you can ask a total of three hints me. Use them as you wish. My home is off-limits until the mission is completed. There is no fleeing the island. Well, please don’t try to leave; none of you are good enough swimmers. Phelps couldn’t make that trek. You would drown for sure, and that’s bad for business… There is no passing on a task. All must be completed. I repeat, all must be completed. Oh, and remember, the end goal is to find the names—the journey along the way may seem odd.”
Everyone was enthused, with the exception of Trevor. “They’re ghosts. What, they need a last name so they can check the white pages before enacting their revenge? I think the creators of Clue and every indie horror film ever made might take legal issue.”
The group didn’t reply, and Stefan pretended Trevor was a ghost himself. “This is still your island, people. Just remember, you’re sharing it with some pissed off spirits, so make sure you don’t do anything that would upset them. We’ll see who has the most fortitude. Are you as excited as I am?”
“Very.” Skye kissed Ashton sloppily.
“There’s no way we’re doing twelve hours per day of this,” said Trevor.
“Okay, well enjoy. I’ll be outside intermittently throughout; no schedule, just random. Remember the rules and be safe. As safe as you can be, that is. I’ll see you all in the morning for a scuba run.”
Erin turned to Trevor. “Cheer up. It’ll be fun.”
“We’re good then?”
“Good.”
He looked at her with kind eyes. The ones she loved.
“Last night was great. Can we just be more like that? And less like… you know?”
He exhaled, looking down at the sand between his toes. He scrunched them together, grabbing a foot full.