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.
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