pause.
Only
the breeze echoed in the silence.
"Jacob?"
Hanna ventured. "Jacob, is that you teasing us?" Her realization that
it was not Jacob came as a chill up her spine. She felt it; they all felt it, a
certain wrongness... like evil. She turned frightened eyes to her friends.
"Me bones are chilled to the core like... like I've seen a—"
"Ghosts!"
Elsie put to words what she felt as she jumped to her feet and grabbed both
Christina's and Hanna's hands. They never considered it, and, acting as one,
they were suddenly running, running as though a demon from hell chased them.
The
jungle flew past them, ferns and branches grabbed at them, scratching and
cutting their bare feet and still they ran, knowing only a collective fear that
caused the instinct of flight Hanna stumbled and Christina fell into her,
recovering quickly to help Hanna up. Elsie stopped just ahead and turned. From
the dark shadows behind them came an imagined sound of laughter, mocking, echoing
with the sounds of the jungle.
Christina
froze as blood pounded in her temples. She looked at her friends to confirm her
terrified senses. And Elsie did so with a panicked, "Run!"
Looking
like madwomen, they burst on the beach and dropped to their knees, breathless
and panting. Christina could not catch her breath, but suddenly she started
laughing and laughing. Fear melting into near hysterics, the situation suddenly
tickling her funny bone to the core of her being. "I don't believe it!
Here we are, marooned on a deserted island, a thousand miles from the nearest
civilization, from the nearest person and we—we think we're being watched
by—"
"Ghosts!"
Hanna added and suddenly laughed too. "I even imagined I heard a wicked
laugh but 'twas you, Elsie." She turned an accusing finger. "You
thought it was—"
"Me?"
Elsie cried in incredulous protest. "Hanna May Haley, in all my days I've
not ever seen a soul run as fast as you, like you was chased by the very devil,
you were..."
The
men stared at the women curiously. Justin turned over a piece of fish cooking
over a fire and rose, moving quickly to them. Christina had turned onto her
back, staring up at the gray sky, simply amazed at how ridiculous she had been.
Beau, feeling their excitement and thinking it as a signal of play, half
bounced, half ran to her and lowered to his haunches, barking and licking her
face affectionately, causing more peals of giggles as she tried to fight him
off.
Justin
stared at the sight of her like that. It was not just that her dark gold hair
spread like fire around her flushed face or her figure lay before him like an
offering; the wet cotton material all but transparent. It was her laughter, the
most innocently seductive sound he had ever heard.
He
bent over and lifted her to her feet. "Christina?" he asked
curiously.
"Oh,
Justin!" She clutched her bosom dramatically. "You wouldn't believe
what happened. We were washing by the pool back there." She looked into
the forest, then back at him. "And suddenly—I don't know why—but we
thought someone was watching us through the trees—"
"Like
the devil or a ghost," Elsie added, "and then we started running,
like... like it was chasin' us!"
Justin
looked from Christina to the two others. Cajun had come behind him, and with a
nod of Justin's head, Cajun turned and disappeared into the forest.
"Did
you see anything?" he asked Christina.
His
seriousness instantly subdued her. "Well no. How could we if there's no
one on the island except us? That's what was so funny—"
"It's
not funny," he interrupted. "I've assumed the island was
uninhabited—most of these islands are— but I won't be certain until my men
report back." He stopped short of sharing the rumors of cannibalistic
savages and said instead, "Until I'm certain, none of you are to go
anywhere without someone with you. Understood?"
Christina
nodded, as did Elsie and Hanna.
"Good.
There's plenty of fruit and fish over there," he said. "I'll be back
in a while. In the
Only
the breeze echoed in the silence.
"Jacob?"
Hanna ventured. "Jacob, is that you teasing us?" Her realization that
it was not Jacob came as a chill up her spine. She felt it; they all felt it, a
certain wrongness... like evil. She turned frightened eyes to her friends.
"Me bones are chilled to the core like... like I've seen a—"
"Ghosts!"
Elsie put to words what she felt as she jumped to her feet and grabbed both
Christina's and Hanna's hands. They never considered it, and, acting as one,
they were suddenly running, running as though a demon from hell chased them.
The
jungle flew past them, ferns and branches grabbed at them, scratching and
cutting their bare feet and still they ran, knowing only a collective fear that
caused the instinct of flight Hanna stumbled and Christina fell into her,
recovering quickly to help Hanna up. Elsie stopped just ahead and turned. From
the dark shadows behind them came an imagined sound of laughter, mocking, echoing
with the sounds of the jungle.
Christina
froze as blood pounded in her temples. She looked at her friends to confirm her
terrified senses. And Elsie did so with a panicked, "Run!"
Looking
like madwomen, they burst on the beach and dropped to their knees, breathless
and panting. Christina could not catch her breath, but suddenly she started
laughing and laughing. Fear melting into near hysterics, the situation suddenly
tickling her funny bone to the core of her being. "I don't believe it!
Here we are, marooned on a deserted island, a thousand miles from the nearest
civilization, from the nearest person and we—we think we're being watched
by—"
"Ghosts!"
Hanna added and suddenly laughed too. "I even imagined I heard a wicked
laugh but 'twas you, Elsie." She turned an accusing finger. "You
thought it was—"
"Me?"
Elsie cried in incredulous protest. "Hanna May Haley, in all my days I've
not ever seen a soul run as fast as you, like you was chased by the very devil,
you were..."
The
men stared at the women curiously. Justin turned over a piece of fish cooking
over a fire and rose, moving quickly to them. Christina had turned onto her
back, staring up at the gray sky, simply amazed at how ridiculous she had been.
Beau, feeling their excitement and thinking it as a signal of play, half
bounced, half ran to her and lowered to his haunches, barking and licking her
face affectionately, causing more peals of giggles as she tried to fight him
off.
Justin
stared at the sight of her like that. It was not just that her dark gold hair
spread like fire around her flushed face or her figure lay before him like an
offering; the wet cotton material all but transparent. It was her laughter, the
most innocently seductive sound he had ever heard.
He
bent over and lifted her to her feet. "Christina?" he asked
curiously.
"Oh,
Justin!" She clutched her bosom dramatically. "You wouldn't believe
what happened. We were washing by the pool back there." She looked into
the forest, then back at him. "And suddenly—I don't know why—but we
thought someone was watching us through the trees—"
"Like
the devil or a ghost," Elsie added, "and then we started running,
like... like it was chasin' us!"
Justin
looked from Christina to the two others. Cajun had come behind him, and with a
nod of Justin's head, Cajun turned and disappeared into the forest.
"Did
you see anything?" he asked Christina.
His
seriousness instantly subdued her. "Well no. How could we if there's no
one on the island except us? That's what was so funny—"
"It's
not funny," he interrupted. "I've assumed the island was
uninhabited—most of these islands are— but I won't be certain until my men
report back." He stopped short of sharing the rumors of cannibalistic
savages and said instead, "Until I'm certain, none of you are to go
anywhere without someone with you. Understood?"
Christina
nodded, as did Elsie and Hanna.
"Good.
There's plenty of fruit and fish over there," he said. "I'll be back
in a while. In the
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