Many looked like the first boy, with that same birdlike body, except that some had hair which was wispy thin and white.
Skyler and Jude went into a third room. Here were some who could walk, but they did so with a wide-legged, shuffling gait, as if it were hard to move.
Skyler approached one who was pacing slowly in a circle.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What is wrong with you?"
The figure stopped moving and hunched its shoulders and furrowed its brow and looked up at Skyler, bewildered. Then wordlessly, it went to a corner and sat down and put its thumb in its mouth and slowly rocked back and forth.
In the fourth room were three corpses covered with flies. The smell was so putrid that Skyler and Jude could not stay.
Altogether, there were perhaps twenty or so of these poor creatures.
None were over four feet tall, and most were under three feet. They had the look of exoskeletons, as if the being inside had shrunk inside a dried husk. Jude took Skyler by the arm and led him to the center of the courtyard, under the oak tree. He was sick to his stomach and he felt a surge of vomit rising in the back of his throat, but he kept it in.
They stayed there for some minutes, too stunned to speak. Finally, Skyler collected himself and looked Jude in the eye.
"They seem to be children. They're no taller than children. But when you look at them, when you look into their eyes and see the suffering, they look like old people. What's going on?"
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. It's beyond horror."
"They're waiting to die — that much is clear."
"But from what?"
"God only knows."
"Do you think they were born like that?"
"I don't think so — why would they have been left to die? Somebody must have cared for them. Somebody must have fed them."
They fell silent again.
"We have to do something," said Skyler finally.
"Yes — but what?"
In the rear of the courtyard, they found a pump, and from it they drew a bucket of water. Then with glasses that they found in a pantry, they went from mattress to mattress in each ward, offering water to every child. Most did not take it — the water dribbled fruitlessly down their sunken cheeks-but some gulped it down greedily. Skyler tried to wash the glasses each time, worrying about contagion, but that took so long, he soon gave up and simply poured one after another.
They found a shovel in a tool shed and dug three graves out front, to the left of the gate. Then came the moment they had been dreading. They tied pieces of cloth across their lower faces and entered the last ward. The stench was overpowering; Jude opened his mouth and made retching sounds, but nothing came out. They threw a sheet over a corpse, capturing dozens of flies and causing dozens more to circle noisily in the air, and wrapped it tightly around the thin little body. Skyler lifted it easily and tossed it over his shoulder and carried it to one of the graves. He laid it carefully down, and they shoveled dirt in upon it, covering it quickly.
When they were going back for the second body, Skyler stopped Jude by the arm.
"Listen!" he said.
Jude could hear nothing.
"Voices," said Skyler. "I'm sure of it."
He led the way up an outer staircase to the second floor. There was a small tower here, and Skyler found a ladder leading to the top. From there, standing up, they could see part of the island spreading out around them, its lush foliage giving way to a perimeter of green grass and then beaches splashed by white foam.
Behind the compound, they saw six or eight newly dug graves. So someone had been here — maybe they fled when we arrived, thought Jude.
And looking back over the way they had come, across the isthmus to the larger island, they saw what Skyler had heard — four boats had anchored in the shallow water and men were wading ashore. It looked like they were carrying weapons. Others had already landed and had spread out, cutting off access to Crab Island. They were trapped.
"Who's that?" asked Skyler.
"Hell if I know, but they don't look friendly."
"Maybe the FBI."
"Maybe. Maybe not."
Skyler turned and looked at the ocean behind.
"That fishing boat is gone too. It was probably part of it."
They stood there for a couple of seconds, scared but fascinated.
"Well, we can't stay here," Skyler said with finality.
He pointed to the eastern end of the island, where the shoreline bulged and the woods of cypress, tupelo maple, holly and greenbriar ran closest to the water.
"We should head over there."
"That's where they'd expect us to go."
"'Cause that's what makes the most sense."
Jude stood there without moving, and Skyler shot him an irritated look.
"You can stand there and double-think this to death and get caught. Or you can follow me. I'm not waiting around."
Skyler turned and started back down the ladder, and as soon as his head disappeared, Jude went after him. They walked to the ground floor and through the courtyard, hearing the coughs and raspy breathing and low moans that echoed after them. They walked past the one filled grave and two gaping holes, back around the brick wall and razor wire.
As soon as they reached the woods, they felt more protected. The trees and honeysuckle and brush seemed to envelop them, though they knew they could not remain hidden forever. From the tower they had seen just how small the island was; in no time the men would divide it up and beat the bushes to flush them out. Even now, running on the path, they were actually moving toward the men, looking for a break in the forest.
About fifty paces in, Skyler cut to the left. When Jude caught up, he saw that he had turned to follow a broad stream. Soon it turned into a swamp — knarled tree trunks, hanging vines, banks of moss and black water skimming with bugs. Skyler stepped into the water and waded through it. Jude followed him, keeping an eye out for cottonmouths and water moccasins. He wondered, with his dread of snakes, whether it was more dangerous to forge the path first and stir them up or to follow behind when they were already riled.
It was hard to find steady footing and keep up with Skyler, who stopped from time to time, glancing back and waving him on urgently. Jude began to curse him under his breath and stopped looking at him, just concentrating on each step. He was sweating profusely. His legs were waterlogged and heavy, and he could already feel exhaustion nagging at him and beginning to sap his fear. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
When next he looked up, Skyler was gone.
He blinked and looked again, then stood stock still. Ahead the swamp ended; the trees stood out in dark silhouette, and through them he could see the pearl blue sky. They had reached the shore.
Jude was about to step out into the grass when he saw Skyler bounding back at him.
"Get back," he said urgently. "The fishing boat — it's right here."
Jude turned, and they ran back into the swamp.
"I think they saw me," said Skyler, breathless. "They must have. I didn't even see them until I was right on top of them."
They went crashing through the water, heedless now of the noise they were making. They kept going until they came to a solid bank, where they hauled themselves out and stopped, the water draining from their pant legs. They listened. Far ahead through the trees, a murmur of voices — metallic-sounding. Someone talking over a radio — more likely, a walkie-talkie. They were hemmed in.
"We've got to find a hiding place," said Skyler. "That's our only hope — and it's not a good one."