Sara crept around to the other side of the boat, a growing feeling of dread creeping up her back. She had to fight the thicket, and branches poked at her hair and caught on her clothing. The cabin was setting on the ground, partially crushed like a stepped-on soda can. Two of the bridge windows were broken out. Sara shone the light through one, peering into the cabin interior.
The inside was filled with mud and dead leaves. Pieces of a deck chair, part of a life preserver, and various other detritus vied for space with an abandoned raccoon nest. Amid the mess, resting on a pile of disintegrating magazines, was a hardcover book that looked disturbingly familiar. The silver embossing on the cover was faded and dirty, but it clearly said, LOG.
Sara reached through the window, brushing the book with her fingertips. She leaned in further, snagged it, and then something screeched. Before she could pull back, it pounced, scrambling up her arm, over her shoulder, and racing into the forest.
Guess that raccoon nest wasn’t abandoned after all, Sara thought, leaning against the wreckage, clutching the book to her hammering heart. When her pulse returned to something resembling normal, she took a closer look at the log.
Please don’t let this be what I think it is.
The book was damp and smelled of mildew. The cardboard cover wilted as she opened it up. There, on the first page, Sara’s fears were confirmed. Handwritten on the first blank line was:
SS MINNOW, CAPTAIN JOSEPH RANDHURST
Joe. Martin’s brother.
Sara had always liked her brother-in-law. Joe was sort of like a more playful, less serious version of her husband. Rather than dedicating his life to making a difference, Joe preferred the life of leisure, day trading and blowing his money on travel and toys. Sara could remember the day Joe talked about buying a boat. He’d come over for Thanksgiving dinner, extolling the many virtues of living on the open water. The three of them killed four bottles of wine, and afterward Martin and Sara disregarded Joe’s plans. Joe always talked about doing silly things like that, but never did.
For Christmas that year, Sara had bought Joe the captain’s log book as a gag gift, a goofy nod to that memorable night.
That was six years ago. That spring, Joe disappeared.
Martin had taken some time off to search for him. He still continued to take occasional weekends to follow down some old lead or ancient hearsay, refusing to believe his brother was dead.
It seemed Joe had bought that boat after all. He’d apparently named it the SS Minnow, and taken it here.
Which meant Martin knew Joe had come here. After all these years, he’d followed his brother’s trail to Plincer’s island.
Sara shook her head, not wanting to believe it. How could her husband bring the children here? How could he risk all of their lives?
“I didn’t know there was anyone here, Sara. Jesus, I would never do anything to hurt you or the kids. You know that.”
But was that the truth? Was he so anxious to find his brother that he jeopardized all of them?
No, not Martin. Martin couldn’t have willfully brought them here if he thought it could do them harm.
Yet Sara couldn’t help but wonder. If Martin had kept this secret from her, what other secrets had he kept?
Sara was dwelling on that when she heard someone scream.
Martin followed the cries, hurrying through the woods as fast as he could.
Meticulous a planner as he was, he couldn’t have predicted all of the misfortunes that occurred on this trip. It was all his fault, he knew. Hopefully the consequences wouldn’t be as dire as they were shaping up to be.
He hurdled a cluster of Hawthorn shrubs and stopped dead, his flashlight focusing on Tom.
Tom wasn’t alone. A large man with sharp teeth was munching on his finger.
Martin’s first reaction was surprise. Then came disbelief, swiftly followed by anger.
“Hey! Freakshow! Get your goddamn hands off my kid!”
“Martin…” Tom whimpered.
The tall psychotic opened his mouth, releasing Tom’s finger; the bone was still attached, but the flesh had pretty much been stripped off. He smiled at Martin, flashing his vampire teeth.
“Martin. Tom boy hurt his finger. Lester is making it all better.”
Martin clenched his fists. “Lester better back the fuck off.”
Lester stuck his hands in his overalls, winked, and then quickly backed into the woods. Good thing, too. Seven feet or not, Martin was so angry he had been ready to throw himself at the larger man.
“Martin…”
Tom was on his knees, his body wracked by sobs. Martin went over, placed his hand on the teen’s shoulder.
“Easy, Tom. Easy. I’ve got you now.”
“That guy…that guy Lester…he was…”
“Lester is gone.” Martin’s eyes darted around the forest to make sure. “He won’t hurt you anymore. I promise.”
He patted the Tom’s back, then eased his hands under his armpits, gently guiding him to his feet. The kid looked shattered, and with good reason.
“We’ve got to find the others, Tom. Do you have any idea where they are?”
Tom sniffled, seemingly getting his control back. Then he looked at his hand and began bawling again. Martin could appreciate the pain and fear, but they didn’t have any time to waste.
“Tom, do you know where Sara is?”
“That’s my bone…Jesus Christ…my bone is sticking out.”
“You finger can be fixed,” Tom lied. “Now do you know where Sara is?”
“How can it be fixed?” Tom whined, drawing out his vowels. “Theeeere’s nooooo skiiiiiiiiin leeeeeeft.”
Martin put his hand on Tom’s chin, forcing the boy to look at him. “Focus, Tom. Sara. Where is she?”
“I dunno.”
“How about the kids. Cindy?”
“She’s with Tyrone. I think they’re still at the camp.”
“Meadow?”
“Oh, God. I aaaaaaaate Meeeaaaadooooow…”
Martin realized he wasn’t going to get anything out of Tom. He stared off into the woods, thinking of Sara, and felt like putting his fist through a tree.
Calm down. This island isn’t that big. You’ll find her.
Martin knew he would. He just hoped Sara would still be alive when he did.
Cindy used the rest of the burn ointment on Tyrone’s hand, then wrapped it in gauze. Her shoulder hurt like crazy, so she couldn’t even imagine the pain he must have been in.
“Sara said you need to drink this. When she comes back, I’ll ask if you can have more aspirin.”
Cindy tilted the water bottle up to Tyrone’s lips. Some spilled down his chin, but he managed to swallow a few gulps. She cupped his cheek. A few hours ago, Tyrone had been just another kid at the Center. But now Cindy felt such a wealth of affection for him she was ready to start crying.
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
Cindy fought the urge to hug him. “Sara will be back soon. The boat is coming. We’re gonna be safe.”
“Cool.”
“You’re in a lot of pain, huh?” After she said it, Cindy wanted to bury her head in a hole. Of course he was in a lot of pain.
“Ain’ so bad,” Tyrone said. “Cause you’re here.”
This time she did hug him. Cindy held the embrace until she realized how exposed they were. With neither of them paying attention, those wild people could sneak up.
“We need to watch the trees. Make sure no one is coming.”
Cindy took one side, Tyrone the other. The woods were quiet and dark, and though a sliver of moonlight broke through the tree tops, it was hard to see more than a few yards. Her eyes swept back and forth, like a security camera.
When she heard the scream it made her feel like she needed to pee again.