Chapter 16

Erin stood and braced herself against the rotting wooden framework of the farm stable.  Jacob’s excitement was the spark of adrenaline she needed to bite back the pain of her aching muscles.  She could not remember at first how she came to be so sore all over, from her calf muscles to her shoulders, but she was in rough shape. 

Jacob was standing beside her, holding her up and balancing the force of her weight against his own.  He was panting heavily and she felt within her, her own excitement starting to grow. 

Jacob led her through the old barn, back in the direction of the small room in the northern corner.  There was a series of scattered farm tools and excess wood, rotted and warped with age, stacked near the side wall.  The rain seemed to be letting up, but nearly everything within the musty barn was wet and damp with the numerous leaks from the old roof above. 

With each step towards the gaping black hole her excitement grew. 

Jacob set her down near the side of the door and fumbled in the darkness for a few moments before reappearing with a lantern and a box of matches.  He lit the fuel and a soft orange and yellow glow danced off of the sunken walls of the old barn. 

There was now an eerie macabre look to the place. It was no longer a disheveled and dilapidated structure, but now took on a more realistic and all-be-it feature that made the whole of the empty darkness spring to life under the lamp-light.  Erin watched as the soft glow of Jacob’s lamp entered the room as she braced herself on the doorway and stared on disbelief. 

“Is that really what I think it is?” Erin said, her eyes wide open with excitement and disbelief.

“Well I think it’s a boat.”  Jacob said, with a sincere and also wry expression of sarcasm. 

“Do you think it will float?”

She watched as Jacob lifted the side of the boat up and off of the wooden frame.  Although the tarp took a hit from the weather and damp air of the barn’s interior, the boat seemed preserved and without age, as it hit the ground with a loud and sullen thud.  Erin watched as Jacob inspected the sides and joints, looking for any signs of damage or procurements of a possible leak. 

“I think it will.  It looks to be in good shape, though I do not know for sure until we put her on the water.”

The boat was not large, though it sported a small sail in the middle that was controlled by a long pole, attached to the rear rudder.  It was just big enough for them both, and almost seemed too perfect. 

She saw Jacob carefully run his fingers over the wood, as if he was remembering some detail from his past that alerted him to such a vessel, though his brows were bent in a way that told Erin it was just out of his reach or train of thought. 

Jacob set the lamp on a small table and as he did so, the light caught the faint glimpse of a small figure outside the room, standing just inside of the rear-most stable.

Erin’s breath caught in her throat when the sudden realization of where they were, what had happened and what they had chosen to ignore was just feet from the barn door. 

“Jacob?”  Her voice was a sullen and coarse wisp of air behind her obvious fear and loss of self control. 

Jacob looked up and caught her gaze, and quickly lifted the light to provide a better angle of view from where they stood.  Jacob went out into the barn and began searching into each of the stalls, but coming back with a slight shrug of the shoulders. 

“I think we need to get this boat down to the water, but first, I think we need to find out which way the water is from here.  I don’t know about you, but I want to get as far away from this damned house as possible and as soon as possible.” 

There was a rear exit to the room that housed the boat, and after a few moments of prying the door swung open with a dusty cloud following behind.  There were the remnants of a path that led deep into the jungle behind, but one that had obviously grown over with undergrowth and tiny trees. Jacob stepped out into the jungle air, and took a deep breath.  The dampness and mustiness of the barn was difficult to breath, and the fresh crispness of the outside weather was welcomed with serenity.

They used a series of rolling logs to bring the boat out into the air and began dragging it along the path, which luckily was a steady and slightly declining path that seemed to slope down towards the valley below. 

The trek was long and harsh, and although Jacob had managed to find a nearly rusted machete sitting inside the tiny shed, there were numerous smaller trees that lined the path that made the venture slow and painful.  When darkness arrived, they had made it nearly a half mile in total.  The boat itself was on bracers that held it upright, but the constant adding of rounded logs in front of the boat made the trek slow.

Jacob sat down and took a small inventory of what they had available.  As the shadow of the house on top of the hill stood, outlined by the setting sun, Jacob knew that it was best to press on.   Erin shared in his thoughts, and he did not need to speak them aloud. 

They left the boat and chose to proceed on foot, using the lantern they found in the old barn as a means of traveling after the sun set behind the distant hills.  Jacob’s breathing was calm and quiet, though Erin’s was far from either.  She knew that if the lantern’s light were to fade or dissipate, that the things hunting them would undoubtedly find them and rip them apart. 

The trees swayed nearby, giving proof to her theory.  Shadows danced along the brush and undergrowth, shortly followed by the putrid smell of rotten meat.  Jacob turned and acknowledged that she was still following, and took her hand in his, pulling her close. 

She couldn’t put a finger on her emotions for Jacob, though she knew it was more than infatuation.  She trusted him, relied on him, and knew that he would do whatever it took to get them off of this island.  His hand was warm, comforting and the heat resonating off of his sweat-soaked body sheltered her slightly from the chilling night air of the island atmosphere. 

She stared at him, focused on his movements and her own, and chose to ignore the obvious sounds of the creatures following close by.  An hour passed and although the trek was slow, they had traveled to a clearing, bordering an inlet just yards from the ocean’s waves.  Jacob set the lantern down and gathered some nearby branches for a fire. 

He kept his eyes roving in all directions, testing the distance the creatures could come within the light of the lantern and was sure to stay out of the shadows of the nearby trees and brush.  Soon they were sitting, watching the fire that was blazing, and as the fire grew in strength, the sounds of the forest close by faded. 

Jacob sat staring at the fire, obviously troubled by something or confused, both of which seemed to bear the same vibrant expression on his face.  She knew the things that had happened were not something anyone was accustomed to witnessing.  Whatever existed on this island was an evil unlike any she had ever heard of in the reality she once knew as dull and monotonous.  Her sense of adventure and need for something more in life had led her to the most dangerous place on the planet, and the saddest part was that she now wished she could turn back time and have never made these wishes.

She was sad by those thoughts, knowing she would have never met Jacob and never would have ended up knowing the true safety of family and her home, had she not witnessed the horrors of the world she wished she could now bury in her psyche and forget ever existed.  There was something about seeing her grandmother, with that twisted and evil grin as she was pulled into the darkness that made her finally understand that whatever was after them had no explanation that any scientist or specialist could produce an answer for.  This was the truth to the existence of things that were not meant for explanation or research, but rather things that needed locked away and hidden from the world of safety and reason.

Jacob stood at once and brought Erin out of her train of thought.  She looked around in alarm, but saw nothing.  Jacob walked over to the edge of the clearing, near some large green plants, that existed just outside of the light of the fire. 

“Jacob?  What are you doing?  Those things are still close by.”

Jacob turned, sadness spread across his face, “I think there is something you should know.”

Erin sat mesmerized as Jacob paced back and forth, pouring forth the vision of the little girl and the twilight zone premonition into the past.  Though it made no sense, he couldn’t help but feel guilt and the need to go back to the house and find out the truth to the whole mess.

“I don’t think we should go back there.”  Erin said, obviously afraid of ever seeing the sight of that place again.

“I know.  I don’t want too, but you know there is this strange feeling that I am somehow responsible or related to this island’s horrifying existence.  I don’t remember it, and in fact have a very vivid memory of my life, but it was so surreal and vivid that I find there has to be some sort of truth behind the whole mess.”  Jacob’s eyes were watering from the smoke of the fire, and perhaps also a slight feeling of blame.

“I think the whole scene was a trick.  There is a power here that I cannot describe or define, but it is absolute evil.  I saw my grandmother, just as I remembered her as a child, just before I was pulled into the darkness of that room.  She was dead, but smiling at me.  I don’t think letting the things get to you is going to help anything.” 

Jacob stood beside the firelight, watching the flames dancing within.  His attention turned at once towards the beach.

Erin followed his gaze but saw nothing, until the sound of cracking limbs and footsteps grabbed her attention.  There was a figure running through the trees, straight towards them.  The light from the fire cascaded against the trees opposite the small clearing and ended in shadows dancing along as the flames grew and waned.  The figure broke through the trees at a full speed and Erin gasped at seeing a man dressed in army wear and covered in bloody gashes and cuts fall face first before Jacob and Erin.  Jacob picked the man up and helped me into a sitting position against a tree stump. 

He kept trying to mouth words, but under his gasped for breath, no sound came out.  Jacob looked behind him for anything pursuing but saw only the darkness of the jungle. 

The man was fading in and out of consciousness, brought to the extreme of his physical abilities and stared at Jacob. 

“Please, just rest.  The fire’s light will protect us here.” 

The man nodded, trying to voice ‘thank you,’ but slowly faded and lost consciousness.  Erin and Jacob stared at each other in slight bewilderment and fear at the sudden inclusion of this man in their midst. 

“Where did he come from?” Erin said, he gaze searching through the trees for anyone else or perhaps what had been following him. 

“I’m not sure, but we will ask him tomorrow.  I believe for now he needs rest and hopefully he will be willing to help us drag that boat down to the beach.  I don’t think I can manage it by myself.  Why don’t you get some rest and I will keep watch for a couple hours and we will switch.  We have to keep the fire going to ward off whatever those things are.” 

Erin nodded and moved away from the stranger.  She sat against a tree just beside Jacob and laid her head on his shoulder.  She was asleep in no time and Jacob took caution to watch this man, who appeared out of nowhere until it was time to switch.  Erin sat with the same restitution and kept the fire blazing to avoid any close encounters with the creatures.  Shadows played tricks on her mind and she watched in fear as they moved from tree to tree, just outside of the light of the fire.  If it would go out, she knew without a doubt they would die.