Chapter 10

Night fell quickly, with its darkened haze enveloping the island almost instantly.

Jacob and Erin had spent most of the evening preparing for the day ahead.  The search of the island was now priority, as they had shelter, food and water.  Jacob noted that were he ever to get back to civilization to always take note of how great pigs tasted, roasted over an open fire. 

As Jacob nailed boards against the rear door, he made sure to stop every few seconds to listen for movement on the other side.  So far, he had heard nothing.  Finally the last of the wooden scraps from the shed were in place, nailed enough times to prevent a hurricane from ripping the door open.  He stared, content with his work, and turned around to head back to the kitchen area. 

Erin sat on the side cot, the dog lying asleep in her lap and she looked up at him and smiled.  She turned her head back towards the little dog, with something obviously on her mind.  Her brilliant green eyes like two gem stones that lit up with the beauty of the open fire, as she sat there in deep thought.   

“You look like something is bothering you?”  Jacob said, knowing that being ship wrecked on an island and sleeping on a cot in a rotting light house wasn’t the best of situations. 

“I was just considering the possibility of there being others on the island.  I know I have search for many days, but the thing that has me troubled is that I always felt like someone or something was watching me.  I know that may sound silly, though given what we have both been through, not so silly any more.

But there was something that you said that has me troubled.  I remembered you said when you first woke up that you followed a flash of red into the jungle.”

“Yes.  I assumed it was you with the red tank top.” 

“I never said anything before, though I think I just now had the time to think clearly without fighting for my life, but I was actually camped out on the beach all that day.  I wasn’t even near the jungle or the area where I found you asleep.”

“You think there are others on this island?”

“That is what I’m thinking.  Things just don’t seem to make much sense.  I guess searching the island tomorrow might bring more things into perspective.  It is just odd.”

Erin looked up at Jacob and smiled again.  “Luckily I have you to protect me. 

Jacob smiled once more.  “I’m not sure how many super heroes there are who wear hiking boots and dress pants, but I will damn sure do my best.”

Erin started to laugh but quickly noticed the dog’s eyes were open. 

The dog’s ears perked up and they both looked in the direction of the front door.  There was a scraping along the wooden frame.  The dog’s growl was low and stern, and the hair on its back was standing straight up. 

Jacob put his finger to his mouth and then pointed to the dog.  Erin quickly hushed the dog by rubbing its ears, which in turn did calm the dog a bit.  His attention was still on the front of the lighthouse.  The scratching moved along the wall and stopped just before the front window. 

The outline of a shadow appeared just outside the window, though with the night air and moisture of the day’s rain, nothing could be seen but a clouded image.  Jacob stared closely, trying to pick through the tiny droplets of water to gather some idea of what was looking at them through the window when the pots and pans started flying across the room, smacking into the distant wall nearly striking Jacob.  He dove to the ground to avoid them and Erin grabbed the dog and ducked under the cot.  The window cracked and spider-webbed and the loud sound of heavy breathing could be heard over the rustling wind outside.

The front door began to twist and contort, as if by some power unknown to either Jacob or Erin and splintered under the strain.  Lightning flashed outside and the pots and pans continued to clang and clatter against the wall. The wood crackled and broke into pieces and from beneath the safety of the table, Jacob could see the visage of a woman appear at the doorway.  He dress was flowing white, and her hair streamed down her in amber waves.  He watched as she walked right passed them, not paying attention to Jacob or Erin hiding just feet away. 

She walked towards the hallway.  Her body twisted in a sexual and powerful way that drew in attention like a vacuum.  Jacob couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak, and couldn’t move.  He just sat there, drawn into a dazed expression and searched within his mind for the power to resist the fear growing like a uncontrollable madness within him. 

Her outline disappeared down the hallway and the pots and pans stopped their dance along the wooden exterior, sound seeming to cease completely.  The front door of the lighthouse had been obliterated into tiny scraps of wood.  Jacob’s strength and will returned and he made his way out from under the table.  Erin stared in disbelief towards the entrance to the small hallway.  The dog was lying beside her, paws over his eyes as if to escape the terrible lights that just moments ago danced off of the walls within the tiny wooden room.

Jacob walked, slowly towards the front door, and peered down the hallway.  It was dark once more, with little to no light pouring down the tiny corridor from the kitchen fire.  The darkness was almost enveloping.  The turmoil was very common to that same swirling whirl of hell he had seen that morning before Erin had brought him back to reality. 

“Reality?”  He found himself, saying out loud to no one. 

Erin looked towards him, as if to study him.  He was staring down the hallway and talking about reality?  In what completely screwed up reality did a woman burst through a door wielding a lightning storm and disappear into a tiny black hallway?  None of which she was ever aware.

Jacob’s brows were furrowed in concentration.  He never appeared afraid but rather welcomed the situation they were in and held it with a scientific sort of confusion.  This scared Erin more than she would admit, though she could really do nothing to warrant the situation as simple and easy to understand, so he perhaps just had a way of hiding his fear behind the confusion.  Moments passed and suddenly both of their thoughts were broken by the dog once again on the defensive, barking uncontrollably towards the hallway. 

Within a moments and before either of them could speak, a loud heart pounding scream echoed throughout the lighthouse.  The glass in all of the windows shattered at the high pitch and glass covered both of them in a blanket of tiny shards.  The dog had taken this as a perfect opportunity to run back out the front door and away from this nuthouse.  Jacob and Erin began gathering their things, what they could and both of them took the dog’s side of common sense and left the lighthouse. 

As they stepped out of the clearing and back into the dense jungle, Jacob turned back one last time to something that made his blood turn cold.  The boy stood only a few paces away from him.  His head turned in a familiar sinister fashion as if he was studying Jacob for some cruel experiment.  The only experiment Jacob could think of was how the boy could torture him and kill him in the most brutal and painful way. 

Erin ran off following the dog, as Jacob stood petrified like a statue. 

“Your time is coming Jacob.” The ghastly hideous voice bubbled from the boys mouth as he spit up seaweed and sea water.  It was like a drowning victim trying to give someone advice on how to save them.  The whole scene seemed backwards in some way.

The fear within him kept Jacob from uttering a single word.  He could do nothing but watch as the boy took a step towards him.  He came even closer, and in doing so, that familiar pungent smell of rotting flesh and death stung Jacob’s nostrils and caused his eyes to water. 

 The boy’s tattered shorts swayed in the night breeze and droplets of murky black water dripped from them onto the jungle floor.  His eyes burned a pale yellow and Jacob could see sores on him, like something tiny had been taking bites of him.  It made Jacob’s stomach churn and he nearly fell, catching himself on a tree as the boy came ever closer. 

Jacob’s heart raced and his head pounded that familiar throbbing pain that always accompanied the boy’s presence. 

“Why…what do…you want from me?” Jacob said, his voice coming out in a squeaked tone like a pre-pubescent teenager. 

The boy’s mouth twisted in an evil grin as he smiled, the moonlight above caught the grayed black tint of his teeth. 

“I want you to know what happened.  I want you to stop playing house and fucking every walking thing on this island.  I want you to open your eyes and see what is going on around you.  I want you to remember!” the last sentence bounced off the trees and entered Jacob’s mind like a hammer. 

It accompanied a series of images, dancing across his vision like a stale dream.  It ran through his mind like an old movie projector, stopping on a familiar frame in which he could see, as if through a bird’s eye view, the plane.  He saw his body being flung out from the side of the plane, just moments after the lightning had struck the side engine.  The fall was nearly three thousand feet up and he saw the black dot of his body dropping further and further into the dark swirling clouds. 

The plane was struck a second time by another bolt of lightning and burst into flames, the fuel tank taking the full brunt of the natural blast of white light.  As the fuel line dripped the smell of diesel filled the swirling air like a dense roaring cloud of poisonous gas.  The screaming people inside didn’t have a chance.  One man jumped out of the side just before the plane exploded into a brilliant and deadly display of fireworks.  The storm clouds rippled in effect to the power of the explosion and the misty fog seemed to be sucked into the flaming debris like a vacuum. 

The air felt still and cold.  Jacob’s eyes were a blur and he searched all around for any signs of life…

The air rushed back into his lungs and he sat up gasping.  Erin’s hand was on his shoulder and she was shaking him trying to get him to wake up. 

“You scared the shit out of me!  I was running after the dog and when I looked back you were gone.  I came running back and saw you lying on the ground, not breathing.  What the hell happened?”

Before Jacob could respond, bits of fiery debris started falling all around them.  The air had that same familiar burning diesel smell and Jacob could only stare in disbelief as a chunk of a plane fell crashing into the lighthouse.  The ground swallowed the impact like a meteor, and instantly the entire formation of the lighthouse was engulfed in flames, save the part that was obliterated from the impact of the falling mass of steel and fire. 

Erin’s face turned to pure terror, watching as fire and metal rained about them like falling death.  She tugged at Jacob to run, but he sat steadfast in disbelief.  A large chunk of the plane had landed just feet away and as the edges smoldered and steamed, he caught site of the number written in flat red paint. 

Flight 65?

“What is it?” Erin said, her curiosity finally winning over her fear. 

Jacob looked up at her, confused and terrified. 

“That is my flight, the one that crashed.” 

And as if to answer those words, a man fell just from them.  His body imploded into the Earth like a bag of meat.  Blood splattered the trees and surrounding vegetation and though his entire body was now swollen and broken beyond recognition from the impact, Jacob recognized the blood-soaked fabric of a Hawaiian shirt.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jacob woke up in a daze.  For the first time since he had been here, he felt no headache and no sore muscles.  His eyes scanned the room, and especially the hallway leading away from the kitchen of the lighthouse he now called home. 

He was lying beside Erin, each of them naked.

It was a dream…

Erin snored softly, obviously still exhausted from the day before.  He knew she had not slept the evening before as he had.  He decided to let her sleep.  His thoughts still wondered on many topics, most of which lead to unanswered questions and numerous events which he could not explain. 

Then it came to him.  The floor of the lighthouse tower, the creature…

He quickly got up from the cot and looked around for something in which to arm himself.  He grabbed his pants off of the floor and quickly put them on.  As he did so, he noticed outside the window that a light rain had caused the time of day to be undetermined.  The falling water cascaded down the tiny port windows, along with some drips falling from the ceiling in areas that needed some roof work. 

He found the largest of the small skillets and made his way down the hallway.  He searched each of the rooms once over as he passed, not wanting to leave anything unchecked while Erin slept soundly a few feet down the hall. 

He made his way to the door at the end of the hallway, the one that lead up to the tower and down to the basement, and pressed his ear against the wooden frame.  He heard nothing.

He slowly opened the door and noticed that with the dark clouds overhead, the room was now cast in an even darker shadow than in the previous day.  He had no flashlight or way to transport light with him, and suddenly it occurred to him it might not be a good idea to head into the darkness with a frying pan. 

He shut the door once more and ensured that it was indeed locked.  He dragged a chair out of one of the side rooms and placed it under the handle of the door.  He hoped it would hold until he could at least find some way to reinforce it.  He gave the door a tug and as he did so, the chair slid tight against the floor. 

“It will do for now,” he told himself, hoping that speaking the words aloud would actually make him believe them.  In truth, he was doubtful that anything could keep that thing, or things, locked away for long.

His stomach growled in earnest.  Aside from some crudely sanitized well water, he hadn’t truly had anything on his stomach now since he had opened his eyes in the tree three days ago.  He needed to find some food and fast. 

He remembered seeing a small shed attached to the back of the house, near the window he crawled through when they found the lighthouse.  If he could find some rope and perhaps some type of hammer, he could get to work setting some snares in the forest along animal paths.  He might not be able to make sandals out of tree bark, but he felt confident he could set a loop trap that could hopefully snare some food. 

As he passed back by Erin, her snores still soft and steady, he put his shirt back on and set out to search the shed.  The rain was not nearly as bad as it had been.  It was a slight sprinkle for the most part, only occasionally picking up for a brief moment to dump some extra weight here and there onto the island below.  The clouds were a swirl of darkened anger though and he knew that although it was only a small storm now, in any minute it could turn into a hurricane. 

He found the shed he had noticed the day before, although it seemed much smaller than his mind could have recalled.  It was roughly the size of one of the bedrooms of the house, though it sat alone by itself against the exterior of the lighthouse.  It was painted a similar off-white with black framework.  Although it lacked the elegance of the lighthouse, the paint appeared to be in a better state and the roof looked patched. 

He pried open the door, instantly getting hit by the musty and stale odor of dirt and grime.  The dust that fell from the wooden doors filled the room with a stagnant cloud that lingered in the pale light shining through the opening.  There was a bench at the back of the room, followed by shelves that lined all three of the adjoining walls.  There were a number of buckets, gardening tools, and similar items commonly found within a shed scattered haphazardly about. 

The thing that drew Jacob’s attention was the miscellaneous animal bones scattered about the shed, arranged in some sort of unusual design.  At first it appeared to be some sort of triangle with a crisscrossing box below, but then the entire arrangement came into focus as a crude outline of the lighthouse. 

Jacob stepped over the bones, not wanting to disturb whatever creepy voodoo practice that they were placed there for and instead grabbed a bundle of rope and a hand axe.  As he turned to leave, he noticed there was a can of fuel and some boards and nails stacked against the inside door frame, and he grabbed those as well. 

He left the shed as he had found it, closing the door behind him and setting the latch in place.  As he turned to face the lighthouse he noticed something different about the place.  It was somehow less run down and more modern in some ways.  The sun had broken through the veil of clouds above and was falling directly onto the side of the lighthouse.  The building seemed more majestic and in much less disrepair. 

Setting this aside as nothing more than a trick of the sunlight against the darkened sky, he gathered the bundle of items and returned to the front door.  As he did, his eyes were instantly drawn to the empty cot.  It sat, upturned and tossed against the stove, and Erin was nowhere to be seen. 

“Erin!”

Jacob’s mind raced with images of dismay, hiding his thoughts behind a sudden impulse of negative and darkened emotions.  He searched the rooms frantically for her.  His heart raced once again and his head once more began to throb, setting his entire being into a loose panic. 

Then it hit him.  The door to the rear room, the lighthouse tower, was open.  Its darkness seeping out into the light.  Shadows raced within its dark mass like a swirling vortex.  He could hear her voice, Erin’s, somewhere deep within the silent whispers of darkness.  His feet inched closer, unsure as to whether it would even matter if he tried to save her, as she was now probably food for the creatures within that horrid blackness. 

He came closer, within a foot of the opening, just outside the grip of what he knew to be sudden death.  It was calling to him, drawing him into its grasp like an evil vice.  He was being driven to his death by fear, curiosity, and desire.  There was within him a new man, something born from the evil this island had enveloped him in and that part was what wanted this darkness.  He struggled to keep his feet from going any further, his mind knowing that he would die if he were to take just one more step towards the demons within.  His heart beat was not roaring like he knew it should have been, but instead beat in a steady pace, waiting in earnest for some excitement. 

“Are you ok?”

Jacob’s mind came into focus and the darkness subsided to the pale light of the lighthouse tower.  His heart took off like a stampeding buffalo as if it were somehow held at bay, a damn of courage holding back all of his fear and terror. 

He turned to see Erin, her hand on his shoulder, standing behind him.

“I woke up and you were gone.  I went out to the edge of the woods to go to the little girl’s room,” she said, with obvious concern and distress on her face.  “I called out your name, but you were nowhere around.  I came back and here you are, staring into the doorway like you saw a ghost and were too terrified to run from it.” 

“I…I thought that you were…” his words not quite keeping pace with his mental progression, Jacob’s words sounds more like a distant squeak than his normal familiar baritone.  “I thought you were in trouble, in there.”  Jacob pointed into the back room.

“Well, I am here.  I am fine, as you can see; very hungry and a little tired and sore from that cot, but more or less fine.” 

The look of fear was still on Jacob’s face as he stared at her in deep thoughts.  His temples throbbing and his brows furrowed in contemplation. 

“What happened to the cots?  I went to the shed out back to look for something useful to help us get some food and when I returned the cots were overturned and this back room was standing wide open.  I thought the worst.” 

“Ah, yeah…about that.  Well I was attempting to put my clothes back on and apparently lack the grace to brace myself while standing on one leg.  I fell over and crashed into the cots in the process.” 

Erin’s face went from concern to embarrassment.  Her cheeks flushed a pale red and her eyes left his and went to the floor.  As she looked back up, she saw Jacob’s face now smiling. 

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am fine.  And I don’t appreciate you laughing at me.”  She said, a smile also appearing on her face.  “I think I bruised my ass.”

They returned to the kitchen, reset the cots and walked back out into the open air.  Jacob stretched his arms out in both directions and gathered up the items he had discarded earlier, in his panicked state; first the rope and then the hand axe. 

“I figured we could set some snares in the jungle close by.  Though I am no expert, I think we can catch at least something to eat.  Much like you, I am starving.  After setting some of the snares, we should head out and do some more searching.  We might get lucky and find some fruit trees or berries growing wild.”

Erin’s eyes looked up at the sky and found some relief in the clouds that seemed to be moving away and drifting further out onto the Pacific. 

“I saw a path earlier when I was searching for a place to…well you know.  It leads down from the cliff side and onto the beach.  There appeared to be a small, but manageable area to maybe attempt some spear fishing.”  Erin said as she searched Jacob’s face for his opinion.  Her insides curled up as she looked upon his stern and familiar face.  Her thoughts raced back to the previous night, a little foggy as to some details, but quite certain of the feeling he had given her.  She could still remember him inside her, livid and strong and desire once more brought her to that moment. 

“We can probably find some suitable sticks in the jungle.  We can keep an eye out when we are setting the snares.  I am sure you know more than this than I do, so we can work together to get something going,” Jacob could feel her staring at him, and he knew all too well what was on her mind.  He also remembered the love they had made and he knew that that much was no dream, as surreal as it seemed.  He cared for her, whether it was the numerous near death experiences, the crazy evil of this island, or how over two short days they had managed to lean on each other in ways he never thought he would be able to do again after his ex. 

His heart skipped a beat at that last thought.  He could truly trust her and he knew she felt the same way about him.  No matter what was to come, he would not die alone.

As he lead the way into the trees, the darkness from the cloud cover above had finally broken into a beautiful sunny day.  The light from above mixed with the dense canopy overhead made the temperature hot and humid. 

Within a couple of hours and with Erin’s help they had set a number of traps, nearly a dozen in all, all along some paths that looked widely used by some type of animals.  Jacob’s stomach continued its growl and he could feel some of his strength starting to wane beneath the lack of calories and heat.  He was now drenched in sweat and some spear fishing in the cool ocean sounded like a good plan.

He found some suitable sticks, nearly 5 feet in length and set about sharpening the ends in a manner that allowed it to puncture a fish, but prevent it from wriggling off.  This was done by adding a rear facing barb.  Those adventures shows he always watched were starting to pan out.  The only left was to harden them in a fire and they would be set. 

Jacob had noticed Erin was wandering away and apparently on the search for the place to put the last remaining snare trap when he heard her scream.  He broke into a run, somehow managing to keep a hold of the spears he had made while traversing the dense jungle floor.  The sticks and vines raked at his face and arms as he ran, before losing his balance and rolling through a small fern-like plant.

He brought himself back onto his hands and knees and listened for Erin’s voice.  The silence was deafening and he once again began his run.  As he came out into a lush break in the jungle floor, the trees above cast an eerie spotlight on a rocky section, with large round boulders scattered about forming a tiny island surrounding by an ocean of plants and vines.  Sitting on the rock, waving in a mischievous way was Erin, her eyes full of happiness and joy. 

Sitting beside her, tail wagging and full of life, was a small dog. 

Jacob’s heart had stopped.  The constant up and down of his pulse had made his chest burn with pain.  He was so stressed and worn out that a scream of joy could not even be discerned from that of fear. 

He walked up to the rock and sat down beside him, the dog bouncing all about at the signs of his new friends.  It appeared to be a terrier of some type, though probably a mutt.  It had shaggy white hair, a brown muzzle and a black spot across its back. 

“I think he was alone.  He seems very happy to have company,” Erin said, her eyes full of joy and happiness and she snuggled up against him. 

Jacob smiled at her.  This was the first moment since he had met her, when he could clearly see her happy. 

“I wonder where he came from?”  Jacob said, looking around for signs of anyone else. 

“I don’t know.  Maybe he was a passenger on the plane that you were on.”

“I don’t remember him; of course he would have probably been in the luggage area.  Regardless, this is a good sign.  If he survived the crash, then perhaps there are others aside from myself who also did.”

Erin’s expression changed to that thought.  “We should try to find them.  I say we continue to work on getting some food and set out first thing tomorrow morning to do a little recon mission across the island.  We need to get a good bearing of where we are and just how big this island truly is. 

I read about this guy one time, which got stranded much in the same way we did.  He fought for survival for 3 months before he died of an infection.  When the truth was that on the other side of the island he was living on, there was a small town with people, phones, electricity and a small hospital.”

“Wow.  Talk about poor luck.”  Jacob was too busy petting the dog, the whole while being a typical man and only listening to her but not truly hearing what she was saying. 

She elbowed him in the side.  “Excuse me, but what did I even just say?” 

“Uh…something about the thinking of me naked.  I get that all the time so I just pretend not to hear.” 

There was another elbow and then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  As she did so, she whispered in his ear, “If I was thinking about you naked, I probably would have thrown you down against the rock and had my way with you.  You know?  Jump your bones right here and now.”  As she pulled away she tugged at his ear with her teeth.

Jacob’s heart skipped a beat and he didn’t want to tell her that he truly wanted her to do just that.  He couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious, but he wasn’t laughing. 

One more light nudge against his arm and she jumped down off the rock.  The dog went scurrying down after her, barking and hopping about like it was a game.  Jacob followed suit, delving back through the jungle. 

As they were about to exit the trees back onto the plateau that housed the lighthouse, a squeal broke out from the trees behind them. 

Erin’s face looked both concerned and excited.  “I know what that sound is!”

Jacob was more alarmed than excited.  He turned to look back into the trees and then back at Erin. 

“And what would that be?”

“Dinner!” was her reply, as she pulled the knife from her belt and walked back into the trees. 

Chapter 8

Jacob’s mind raced in an attempt to find some way to help her.  Erin was dangling from the lighthouse staircase, having fallen through on their first ascent up the rotten spiral.  Her eyes were full of fear, and he knew that were she to fall, she would not survive.  The lighthouse tower was built over a solid stone basement and the drop that would have only been 20 feet to ground level, was essentially 35 feet straight down to a hard stone floor below. 

Erin’s hands were slipping and as Jacob inched his way to the edge, he heard the sound of the wood cracking and splintering below his feet.  He searched frantically for some object he could extend to Erin, allowing her to grab on to something more stable, but saw nothing close by. 

Time was running out, like sand from an hour glass.  He could see in his mind the last few remaining grains dropping into the inevitable.  The shadows below, hidden from the light of the small windows above, appeared to come alive and reach for her as she dangled seconds from death’s grip. 

Jacob’s heart thumped louder and louder and he knew he could do nothing but watch as Erin’s body plummeted to the ground below.  His mind knew that he would once again be alone on this God-forsaken island and he could not bear to come to terms with that. 

His muscles tightened and his mind raced for an answer, one that he knew was right at the front of his thoughts.  It was like looking through a dense fog, at some bright light in the distance that was just out of reach.  Suddenly like a train rushing at him, he reached for the wooden boards along the side of the walls and pried with all of his strength.  He heard one nail, then another, and then the final springing free.  He used the board to extend out to her. 

Her eyes were clinched shut, bearing the full brunt of her dead weight just at the ends of her fingers was too much to witness with eyes wide open. 

Jacob’s voice screamed at her, but she never opened her eyes to look up towards him.  As her fingers gave in to the pain and stress and let loose of their grip on the half broken board, she felt the prodding of the board tapping her shoulder.  As if by some miracle she reached out just in time to grab hold of the board.  The nail that was still embedded cut her wrist and she screamed out in pain.   

Suddenly like a missile the sound of Jacob’s voice cut through the air. 

“Hold on tight! I am going to pull you up.” 

She nodded, still in pain and balancing herself with the last ounce of strength she had left.  Her arms burned in resentment and fought her every second.  It took a few moments until she was safe in Jacob’s arms.  His muscles tightened around her as he held her close.  She returned the hug with gratitude she had never known and allowed the moment to last as long as she could.

She was safe.  Once again this stranger had saved her.  She knew in her mind he was no longer a stranger, but rather now qualified as one of her closest and only friends given the circumstances. 

Jacob’s thoughts wandered in and out of confusion and relief. 

After a brief moment of hugging, the silence was broken by the sound of the boards under their feet making an unwelcome sound of splintering and began to give way.  As if by some chance, Jacob lifted Erin in the air and tossed her to the steps above.  As he did so, the steps below his feet crumbled under the weight and force and he began to fall.

The fall seemed to last forever and as Jacob hit the ground the air was knocked from his lungs and his eyes stared blank at the ceiling above. 

Erin watched in utter disbelief, shock over taking her entire body.  He had saved her.  She knew not the reason but this man had saved her once again and in doing so had forfeited his own life.  She saw blood leaking from his body as it lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, 35 feet below. 

As if by some miracle, she could hear a labored breath.  It resonated like a hammer and anvil from the floor below. 

He was alive!?

Erin could barely breathe, her mind taking in the full brunt force of the miracle at hand.  Her heart raced in her chest and she knew deep down inside, she must find a way to get to him before his breath stopped.  She had to find some way to help him as he had done for her so many times.  It was Jacob that needed saved this time and she would do whatever it took to make sure that happened. 

Jacob’s eyes stared at the ceiling, strangely his mind had not went blank as he fell, but rather stayed motionless and painless.  He could hear his own breathing and saw Erin looking over the broken steps above in complete horror and anguish.  He could not feel his arms, fingers, legs…or anything for that matter.  He was a complete numb corpse with only his lungs still taking air in and out. 

He thought of the many urban legends surrounding a guy who lay there, alive and barely so, while being embalmed on a cold morgue table.  His eyes flashed back and forth, unable to believe what had happened and afraid all at the same time.

The warmth came suddenly, down his back and legs, and the smells blasted through his numb mind, absorbing the dank odor of a musty basement.  The smell of copper slapped him like a wet glove, not copper…blood?

He was bleeding, that was what the warmth was.  He was bleeding and he could feel the blood leaking from his open wounds and could smell the coppery scent as it rolled across the stone floor.  His heart beat pumping his life out onto the rough surface. 

His fingers twitched and his toes did the same.  The feelings rushed into him like a wave, hitting him of a sudden brute impact.  His mind knew he was alive, now he knew that for sure.  He let the feelings take him over, the pain causing him to grit his teeth and suck in labored breaths.  He tried to lean forward, but the pain burst through his head like a railroad spike.  He tried to speak but only could produce loud breathing sounds. 

Suddenly he knew there was something down here with him.  He heard the lapping sound of a tongue—a dog?  He could smell a rotting animal smell and he could feel the hot breath of a creature just out of the light, its shadow twitching like a seizure in the cold, damp darkness. 

His eyes watched, in complete horror as the creature emerged just into his vision, out of the darkened hue of the basement.  Its arms were a pale grey, hairless and yet not completely bare, as patches of dark matted muddy clumps lined their surface.  The face was a twisted visage of teeth and blood covered lips, not entirely inhuman and not entirely animal.  The nose was stretched in a long, snout-like way that resembled that of a rodent.  The teeth were jagged and sharp and cut through the darkness like tiny blades, reflected the little light from above in a sheen gleam. 

The creature was in total about the size of a small child, its claws scraping the ground like a dog trying to get its master to play.  It jumped from side to side, never straying too far into the light, and yet unwilling to give up on reaching Jacob’s limp body.    It knelt to the ground, licking the blood that leaked from him like a dehydrated dog in the heat of summer.   Its legs and body were mostly human, bipedal and yet enlarged to produce an almost animalistic nature. 

Jacob could smell the rotting odor and if he could feel his arms and legs, he would have run up the steps as fast as he could.  His mind was struck by complete and utter fear.  Not only was he in the most pain he had ever felt in his entire life, but he was inches from death at the hands of some demonic dog-child. 

The creature growled and danced about once more, walking around Jacob as if pacing.  He thought it was going to lunge at him, though it kept its distance from the light.  Jacob’s eyes roamed the surrounding darkness, which enveloped him in a perfect circle.  The window above, in the shape of a circle, cast a glow around him like a spotlight from a stage show. 

Suddenly he felt strength return to his arms and legs, like a burst of adrenaline.  He could feel the pain subside from his limbs and broken torso.  The snapping of bones re-aligning themselves was nothing short of madness, though he could feel the sharp pains as his body fought to heal itself.  The creature growled in earnest and contempt. 

It’s cruel and twisted face twisted into an evil grin.  Its eyes gleamed a bright red and of a sudden, the creature vanished back into the darkness.  He could hear the creature’s breathing and growls as it ran further and further away, only to be joined what he recognized as a second creature only by distant sounds and torment.  He could feel his body once more, complete and he once again tried to move his head, though still in horrid pain, he sat up and stared all around him.

Sure the danger was either gone or at least not in the immediate area, he crawled onto his hands and knees and searched the room.  A hand on his shoulder brought the fear back into his heart and he turned ready to fight or die trying as Erin’s face shot him a terrified look. 

He dropped his hands and collapsed. 

“I think I need to rest,” was all he managed to say before he slowly slipped into the blackness.  He could faintly feel Erin tugging him, pulling his body up the stairs and he tried desperately to aid her and use his own muscles to push himself along, but he could barely manage to keep his vision from dropping away. 

His eyes sprang open and he sat up, now dazzled by the light of the fire roaring in the tiny stove of the lighthouse kitchen.  Erin sat beside him, rubbing his head with a water soaked piece of fabric. 

“What happened?”  Jacob muttered, grabbing his ever throbbing head, the felt as if he had been hit by a Heavy Weight boxer.  “Did I just get hit by a truck?”

“No,” Erin’s voice spoke softly, quiet and unsure, “you fell 35 feet onto a hard stone floor and somehow lived with no injuries but a bad fever.  You…saved my life.  Twice.”

Jacob’s mind fought to recall the events from earlier, but he could only remember the sound of Erin’s voice singing to him as he slept.  He was somehow conscious of that part of the last few hours, but nothing else. 

“I don’t remember much.  I honestly feel like I have a tremendous hang over and haven’t felt this bad since college.” 

Erin smiled down at him, “Well, regardless of what you remember and how you feel now, you are alive.  I am very grateful you didn’t leave me alone on this damn island.  If you die and leave me here, I will find your ass in the afterlife and make it a living hell.” 

Jacob’s smile was like a tiny glimmer, shining in the dancing fire.  Erin’s heart began to beat faster as she looked down at him, her hero, and the man of whom she knew very little about.  She liked that their pasts were not the first thing on either of their minds, as she knew he held within him pain and resentment for something.  His eyes always held a mystery and troubled look, when he wasn’t in his thinking mode he was recalling events that either happened or were bound to happen. 

He was unreadable, desirable and most of all, dependable.  Though the way he had landed, dead on the stone floor and came out of it with only a headache made her slightly afraid of him.  She also remembers seeing him, if only for a brief moment between her anguish, rip the side of the lighthouse off with his bare hands before he used the board to save her life.  As he closed his eyes and drifted back into his somber dream, she heard movement down the hall. 

At first it was only a small footfall on the basement stairs, then it was the sound of claws scraping the rotting wood.  Something was coming up from the basement, of that much she was sure.  ?

As she reached under her pillow for the knife, she saw a creature, knelt just out of the light of the fire, watching her with interest and malice.  As the creature crawled about on the wooden floor, scraping its claws along the rotten planks, she could smell its horrid odor from the cot where she lay only feet from the shadows. 

What in the hell is that?

As the light from the fire faded, slowly and surely from the grips of surrounding darkness, she could see the image of a woman standing behind the creature.  Her eyes were a beautiful green and she was standing naked in the glow.  She was smiling at Erin, a grin that made Erin feel welcome and made her whole body ache with desire. 

As Jacob gasped, Erin was on top of him.  His eyes were confused and he noticed his headache was gone.  Erin was naked and full of a passion he knew so well.  His whole body was rushing with rejuvenated strength and endurance.  She kissed him, slow at first but then faster and more passionate. 

Her hand was down his pants, pulling at him and making him want her like no one had ever done before.  She was moving her way down his body, using her hands to guide her along.  Her nails dug into his shirtless body, scraping the skin and driving him into a comma of desire.  As her mouth moved over him, he took it in like a rush of sexual power.

He threw Erin down on the cot, nearly breaking the tattered wooden frame; he made his way inside her.  He pushed himself, harder and deeper into her.  He was in control once more and although he was conscious of what was happening; his mind was drunk on desire and lust.  He allowed her to grip him around the buttocks, scraping against his bare skin with her nails.  He could smell the desire on her, like some animalistic rage within both of them. 

He heard her moans and screams as it resonated down the halls and up the tall tower of the lighthouse.  Her naked form convulsed in the pulsing light of the dancing flames and he watched as her breasts moved under his momentum.  His mind was lost and driven only by power and sexual need. 

As he felt himself ready to let go, he saw in the darkness, just outside of the dancing light, the face of a woman he knew all too well.  As Erin screamed beneath him and he was gripped with the burning pleasure of an orgasm; he saw the woman walking away.  His eyes were shut briefly and they were once again alone; both his and Erin’s bodies lying beside one another at last.  He could feel her hands rubbing his head and the slight rise and fall of her chest beside him. 

He was too tired to talk or think or move.  He allowed her to care for him, like a child.  The slight touch of her hand sliding loosely through his hair had him asleep in a matter of seconds, exhaustion finally taking hold once more. 

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Erin’s thoughts were placated by the falling rain and dreary silence, adding to the dread she felt inside.  She knew that she didn’t love Mark and in her own sick way was only sleeping with him to get her adventure around the world she had always dreamed about.  The idea that she had only used him for her own gain was what had her troubled. 

Before the previous night he was always very friendly to her.  She knew he loved her in much the same way she had always pictured feeling about someone else, however; Mark was not her type in the least.  She prayed for the mysterious and the open book lovable kind was never really her forte. 

She watched as Jacob walked ahead of her.  He was using the knife she had given him as a sort of machete, though it lacked in size, she was amazed at his strength.  She knew nothing about this man.  She was secretly scared of him and trusted him no more than she trusted a stranger on the street. 

He was average build, with muscular jaw bones and short well cropped brown hair.  His eyes were a deep blue that only drew her in when she stared at him for a long period of time.  Although he was no body builder or cut like an athlete, he held within him strength, untamed and raw.  She did not say anything to him earlier when she saw him digging the hole with his bare hands, but she saw ferocity within him that she had never seen before. 

It would have taken three men with shovels to complete the task in the time he managed to do it with his bare hands.  He had also left quite an impression on a large tree that she didn’t tell him she saw as he was knelt before it.  It was almost inhuman. 

She never told Jacob the entire story, nor did she mention what had started the fight that had occurred between her and Mark before he came to consciousness.  Mark had helped her drag Jacob into the cabin and kept mostly silent as he did so.  He kept an aura of pain and sorrow about him that he had never had before and the abrupt change in his attitude towards life is what truly frightened her. 

Only when she asked him what was bothering him did he explode like a cave full of dynamite.  His eyes flashed red and he screamed in a tone that was both demeaning and horrifying that, “it was none of her fucking business.”

She was not one to take that kind of aggression for no reason and that is when she returned with some unkind words of her own. 

His eyes had madness within them.  They burned like hot coals, which reflected the fire-light like a mirror of dancing flames.  She had never seen such insanity or sociopathic expression in her life.  His only desire was to kill and his rough beard and matted black hair only added to the crazed look on his face.  Before she had time to think or consider a plan, he was upon her with both fists colliding with her face. 

She rubbed at the soreness of her jaw and the bruised ring around her left eye. 

“We should probably get that treated.”

Jacob’s voice broke her thoughts. She looked at him, standing there in a torn and muddy silk shirt, suit pants, hiking boots and wielding a 5 inch knife and could do nothing else but smile. 

Jacob’s expression changed from concern to confusion, and then it was as if he knew what she was smiling about.  She watched him look down at himself, brush some leaves and debris from his shirt, and then add, “Well, I don’t know if the dry cleaners can help me anymore.  But I think the trade off for these designer boots was worth losing my $300 leather shoes.  Brings out the seriousness of the situation, don’t you think?”

Erin’s smile faded, and she stared just above Jacob’s shoulder and back through the trees into the distance. 

Is that a…“lighthouse!”

Her voice resonated off the trees and seemed to travel the length of the island.  Jacob at first appeared startled and then abruptly turned to see what she was staring at.  He said nothing, but began cutting and swinging once more as if he too saw something.  She took pursuit to follow him once more. 

As they pushed on through the trees it came more into view.  In the distance there appeared an old lighthouse, at the top of the next hill, overlooking the ocean.  It was positioned in the a-typical lighthouse location, atop a small hill that crawled atop some jagged rocks along the surf.

It stood majestic and strong, though more than run down from age.  Within minutes they were standing before it, and it stood now taller than ever, reaching into the sky.  It’s white, painted base was chipping and some of the wooden siding lay on the ground, battered and rotted from the constant rain. 

Erin stepped up on the tiny porch and peered in the window as Jacob walked around the side to investigate the area more thoroughly.  She brushed away the cob webs and dust and looked through the window.  It appeared to be a tiny room, with a series of shelves and a cot on one side and a small desk and chair on the other.  The walls appeared intact for the most part and the floor, although splintered in places, also seemed whole.

As she turned to walk away, within her peripheral vision there was a movement within the room and she turned back and looked.  She saw the back of a child’s head, a boy, walking around the corner and into the hallway.  The glimpse was instant and she hadn’t time to determine much of anything, though she could have sworn there was blood on the back of his head. 

She ran to the door and tried to open it, thinking the worst of the child inside.  As she grabbed the handle and turned, it wouldn’t budge.  She pushed as hard as she could against the rotted frame, but it was built soundly. 

At once the door swung open and the dust covered the face of the man standing before her.  His eyes burned in a familiar fury, and his black shaggy hair fell in matted clumps.  He was covered in dirt and his breathing was labored. 

He remained in the shadows, his face covered by falling dust that made her eyes water and her breath to temporarily be taken from her.  She stepped back, coughing as the feet of the man stepped forward. 

She was losing her senses, and could barely manage to remain standing as a hand fell on her shoulder and as she attempted to move backwards she lost her footing and fell.  She fell much softer than she would have imagined and then it hit her that she was in someone’s arms.  She had her eyes closed as if that would have helped the inevitable thud of the hard ground on her back.  She opened them and saw Jacob, holding her, concern and fear on his face. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you, or give you an asthma attack with the dust.  I found an open window and climbed through.”

Her eyes watered and burned but she looked up into his eyes and was suddenly more than happy to see him.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and could feel the tension and stress relax on him in an instant.  He returned the hug and held her close. 

“The boy!” 

She jumped up at once, rubbing the dust from her eyes and walked back onto the tiny porch.  She walked into the room that she guessed was the kitchen.  It had a small pot-bellied stove in one corner and a small table by the rear wall.  She made her way through the open door beside the table and into the hallway.  Four rooms lined each side of the wall and she took the first one on the right, assuming this to be the closest in proximity to the front window. 

She could hear Jacob close behind her and felt strength and courage at having him close by.  Stranger or not, he had saved her twice now and she could feel the trust slowly growing for him. 

The room was as she had seen it through the window and she looked around in each darkened corner for any sign of the boy.  “Hello?” she called out, more in a whisper than a shout.  She did not want to alarm him, if he was scared and felt they were out to hurt him. 

She saw nothing.  She went to the next few rooms, the first a bathroom without plumbing and a pump for a sink.  The tub was an old porcelain wash-basin in the corner.  She went to the next room and found it to be another room complete with a bed and a stand up wardrobe.  The fourth room led to a set of staircases, one leading down and the other one up in a spiral wrap-around for the post of the light above. 

She called once more, but heard nothing.  The lighthouse was vacant.  There were not even footprints in the fallen dust aside from their own. 

Jacob stopped her and turned her towards him.  He looked into her with those blue eyes and she was suddenly much calmer. 

“What did you see?” he asked with concern still imminent on his voice. 

“There was a child, or so I thought.  I saw him walk out of the room I was looking in through the window on the porch.  I didn’t get a very good look at him, but it he was most certainly there.”

She noticed fear grow on Jacob’s face and his eyes left hers and stared at the far wall behind her.  She at first thought he saw something behind her, but after a quick glance to where he was staring, and then returning to him, he was now staring at the floor in deep thought. 

“Did you see him as well?” she asked, knowing the answer almost before she spoke.

“I…I am not sure.” Jacob’s voice trailed with fear and was broken like a shy child reading in front of his whole class for the first time. 

“Why do I not believe you?”

“Since I have been here, I have been having some strange day dreams.  I say dreams because that is the only thing I can call them without sounding like a complete lunatic.  At first I saw a boy, floating dead out on the surf.  I pulled his body to shore and as I dug a grave for him, I took my eyes from where he lay.  When I returned, the boy’s body was gone. 

When I followed you through the woods later, I came out into a small clearing and as I lost consciousness, I saw the same child, swollen from the heat, standing before me.  Please understand I have believed it to only be the heat and lack of water making me see things.  I truly don’t believe that I saw him until I lost consciousness a second time down along the beach when I was walking with you. 

It seems that when I see them, that there is a migraine that follows closely behind and it causes me to pass out.”

Erin’s eyes sat it thought and as she stared off, her face became shadowed with fear and confusion. 

“Wait, did you say them?  You only mentioned a boy and not a second person.”

“I apologize, I must have misspoken.  It was only the boy I have seen so far.” 

She could tell by the look on his face he was hiding something.  She had no doubt there was a second person or thing he had seen, but he felt that it was not knowledge he wanted to share.  She had not shared with him that she saw her dead ex-bf at the door when he opened it, so she felt that bat-shit crazy was just common in the tropical heat. 

She finally broke the awkward silence with a sudden impulse, “I believe this place is as good as any to set up camp.  There are two beds in separate rooms, which I think can be made somewhat habitable.  Although I don’t think they are going to be the most comfortable, it beats sleeping on the ground in the damn jungle again.” 

“I think we should see if the pumps in the kitchen and bathroom work.  If there is an old well under us that we can siphon water from, then I think this would be a great place.”

Jacob stood and walked out of the room with the staircase.  Erin fell close behind him and stayed near his heels, once again glancing in each room as they passed by as if there was something more to see. 

They entered the kitchen and as Jacob sat working the hand pump above the drain, she began preparing the tiny stove for a fire.  As she had placed the tiny pieces of wood into the pit, she heard a sudden gush of water and she turned to see Jacob standing, drenched from head to toe with muddy water. 

“I think there was a clog.” Jacob said, cracking a smile behind his mud-covered face. 

“Well, I think you solved that problem.”  Erin began to smile again and shuffled through the shelves of cooking items for some matches or something to start the fire with, grabbing a hold of a small box. 

Soon the fire was rolling and Jacob had removed his shirt to let it dry off near the heat.  The water ran clear after a couple of tedious hours pumping away and using one of the pans on the shelf, they had set about boiling the water to remove any bacteria.  This was a technique Erin knew all too well and after describing the intricate details of diarrhea and vomiting, Jacob agreed that boiling the water would be the best option. 

They moved the cots into the kitchen and gathered some large green leaves from the trees outside for bedding.  It would not be the best, but would suffice. 

Soon night had crept over the island and the ocean waves crashed mercilessly against the cliff, now at high tide, below.  Erin sat staring at the tiny glow of the fire and the sudden impact of fear came over her once more.  Jacob was laying there, fiddling with the knife and some tree branch he had picked up and she could feel a whisper coming from down the hallway.  It was faint at first, barely audible over the crackling wood. 

She saw the faint outline of a boy’s face once more in the darkness within.  His eyes glowed faintly.  He was staring at her with disgust and loathing. 

She tried to speak or do anything to get Jacob’s attention but failed to do so.  Her voice was gone, stripped away by the fear beating inside her chest.  The boy did not move.  He stood fast and smiled mischievously at her, and then turned to walk into the far room with the staircase. 

Suddenly her voice returned and she turned to see Jacob dozing off beside her in the neighboring cot.  His soft snore sounding much more loudly than it should have in the deathly silent lighthouse room.  She moved closer to him and shook him violently.  He sprang up as if the whole building was on fire, grabbing for his knife on the stand beside him. 

“Wha…?!” was all he managed to say before he saw the look of dread and fear on Erin’s face. 

“Something tells me we are not alone and do not belong here,” Erin said in a much calmer voice than she thought possible through the throbbing beat of her heart.  Jacob looked around as if in answer to her words and returned his gaze back to her. 

“What happened?” 

“The boy is still here and I don’t think you are crazy or suffering from heat exhaustion.  He was staring at me, from the shadows of the hallway.  His eyes were burning a deep red and he smiled before vanishing into the far room.”

“Something tells me we won’t get much sleep tonight,” Jacob said, as if the understanding was mutual between them both.  “We should keep watch and stay as alert as possible. 

The rest of the night ventured along quietly.  Jacob took watch for the first 4 hours and then Erin the next 4.  As morning broke through the dust covered windows of the lighthouse kitchen, the bloodshot and weary eyes of both Jacob and Erin added to the Jacob’s notion of not getting much sleep. 

“Today would be a good day to try to get that light working up above; hopefully we can use that to signal for help for any passing ship.” Jacob said, as he shuffled to get out of the bed and stretched both arms as far as they could go. 

Erin stood and did much the same thing, soon following Jacob down the hallway to the far room.  As they reached the door, they noticed footprints in the dust-covered floor.  Jacob turned to Erin and she knew at once what he was thinking…they needed to get off of this island and fast.