The flight was pretty smooth. Despite not being afraid of air travel, Jude did experience a minor panic attack on the ascent. But that was totally normal, right? People are not supposed to fly after all.
As the plane touched down, Jude looked down at his wristwatch:
9:42
Well, that was about all the travel he needed for a lifetime. The upside of all this sitting was that it gave his ankle time to rest.
After deplaning, they all got onto the last of the Komodo Hall sponsored busses and were on their way to the ‘Komodo House’. Not the end of the trains, planes, and automobiles experience though. Oh no, not by a long shot. After they were signed in at Komodo House, they were to take a boat to the island. Preston kept him company as much as he could, dividing his time between talking to Jude and to the other students and getting told off by Davies for “disturbing the peace”.
It was a relief when they finally got off the second bus. Mr. Davies instructed them to form a single line as they exited. There was a path leading up to a small fisherman’s lodge overlooking the vast ocean. Jude hadn’t been to the beach since he was about two years old and couldn’t remember the trip very well. But there was something vaguely familiar about the salty air, icy breeze, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
He hadn’t noticed he’d stopped walking until someone tugged his arm, “Hey,” Preston waved, his pale face red from the freezing air “Still with us? Davies will throw a fit if he sees you stopped.”
Jude grinned sheepishly, “Oh, haha, thanks. Still here.”
The first thing that arrested Jude’s senses as they were all led into the lodge was the smell of fish. He also noticed that, other than the sun streaming through the windows, the lodge was pretty somber. There was a desk made of very dark old wood, files neatly stacked on it. A few stray pens lay here and there, notes taped against the wall. Behind the desk was a middle-aged woman. A name tag bearing the name ‘M. Crestling’ was clipped to her collar.
“The kids are here,” Davies said, putting down the clipboard, “Dalton around?”
Jude tuned out the rest of the conversation, busy looking around the lodge. It was not what he was expecting.
A cooler box of what might be the fish stood in a corner of the lodge, and several certificates were scattered across the walls in seemingly random order. There were a couple of old red couches off to the side near a set of stairs. A photo frame with a name tag below it. The sun shone directly on it, obscuring the details from his view. Jude stepped back a little to try and avoid the glare, but before he could see the photograph, he was shoved to the side by an older teenager, “Sorry folks!” He said before making a beeline for Preston. “Cousin!” He shouted and leaped up.
Preston caught him easily in his arms. The boy’s reddish-brown hair covered most of his face and he brushed it aside, a grin on his face, “Sup Preston.”
“I’ll drop you,” Preston said.
“Can you two just be quiet!?” Davies shouted.
“I don’t know,” Preston replied before looking at his cousin, still in his arms “Can we Dexter?”
“We can try?”
“Excuse me, Davies, but Dalton says he’s ready,” Crestling announced, “We can make our way to the pier.”
“Good. Looks like McClyde has arrived as well,” Davies said, looking back at Preston’s cousin “Let’s move!” He shouted to the rest of them.
Before they left the lodge, Jude looked back at the photo, able to see the inscription now. It was a photo of a teenage boy, maybe sixteen-years-old, with dark blue eyes, light skin, and a mop of black hair. He didn’t recognize his face, but it still sent a chill down his spine. For a moment he wondered if this was the guy that got killed at the camp. It would make sense that they would want to honor him in some way, right? But before he could read the name below it, Davies grabbed his arm and pulled him outside with an annoyed grumble.
They made their way down a stone walkway leading to the pier, and the boat. The waves chased each other on the surface like racehorses, crashing against the shore. In the distance, there were boats gathered at the pier. There was a large caravel anchored closest to the beach. As with Mr. Davies’ shirt, ‘KOMODO’ was written in large letters on one side, washed out by the salt from the sea.
Jude remembered Roger had said something to him before about an ‘old sailboat’. Wherever he got his information from, it was wrong. They arrived at the pier minutes later. Some of the students gawked and pointed, others simply stared ahead of them. Jude was mesmerized at the sight. Komodo Hall itself sounded like a pain but if he got to take a caravel to the island, it couldn’t be that bad, right?
He’d seen a caravel up close at a museum once, was even able to get on it. Being on one that was in actual working condition and sailing on it, well now, that was going to be next level. Jude’s attention was brought back to the present when he noticed a bearded man with cornrow braided black hair climbing down the wooden steps of the caravel. This had to be the Dalton guy. He had a huge wide grin on his face as he approached them.
“Robin McClyde!” He shouted joyfully, “Good to see you again! It’s been too long.”
The grey-haired man that had accompanied the other group of kids stepped forward and shook hands with Dalton, “Good to see you too, Liam. Finished the checks?”
“Yes, it’s done,” Dalton said, “She is in tip-top shape as ever!” Then he turned to the campers and gestured to the stairs leading up to the Caravel, “Everyone! Please proceed aboard in an orderly fashion. That means no running, no stunts, and please no pushing! We’ve had enough accidents,” His gaze went straight to Dexter and Preston as he said this. Preston elbowed his cousin in the ribs when he started to snicker.
“The water was cold,” Preston said, “And so was the air, you buttcrack.”
One by one, they climbed aboard. When it was Jude’s turn, he was a bit nervous about climbing the steps but it seemed sturdy so he proceeded. Once aboard, he looked around and saw seats lining the sides of the caravel. The kids that got on before him were already sitting down. McClyde gestured to an empty seat for Jude and he made his way over, looking over his shoulder but didn’t see Preston or his cousin yet. He’s probably on his own for this trip, but he held out hope that they would soon join him. Turns out that they were the last students to board the caravel and had to sit pretty far from Jude.
Mr. Davies got everyone’s attention, “I would appreciate your silence during the trip. And when I say appreciate, I mean you better be quiet or there will be consequences. Also, stay in your assigned seat until you are told otherwise. There will also be no throwing anyone overboard.”
“Other than that!” Dalton continued, “Take note that you’re safe on this trip to the island. I’ve been doing this for about six years now. Any questions?”
The hand of the girl next to Jude shot up, “How long will it be before we’re there?”
“About an hour or so,” Dalton replied. “Anyone else?” When nobody replied, Dalton continued, “Alright then! Let’s hit the waves!”
Jude watched the waves as they made their way across the ocean. He’d never been on the ocean in any type of boat before in his life. And he’d never been so far away from home either. He wondered what his family and Henry were up to all the way back in Pretoria. Were they just going on as usual? Were they even thinking of him? When Roger went on camps or traveled with his friends’ families, Jude and his parents just went on semi-normally. One less plate of food was made, a couple more phone calls were made, and family discussions flowed differently (always ending in a lecture about Jude’s ‘hobbies’).
He decided to focus his attention somewhere else. He soon found a distraction in the two people sitting next to him. A girl with light brown skin, short, rough dark brown hair and bright amber eyes was talking animatedly to her friend. She looked around ten or eleven and wasn’t much shorter than Jude. Her friend was around fourteen, white skin, brown hair, and a small marking under one of his blue-green eyes. Jude wasn’t really paying attention to their conversation, but he’d heard something about mermaids or sea monsters a few times.
The younger one – Trisha he had overheard – spoke more, the older boy was in rapture, hanging on her every word.
“You think we might see something worthy of our book on the island?” Trisha asked.
“I don’t know,” The older one shrugged, “I guess it’s possible.”
“Izzie, haven’t you ever researched the island?”
“No, not really. My focus was more on not coming to Komodo.” He sounded slightly annoyed, tugging his red jacket closer as the wind picked up a bit, his arms folded on the side of the caravel.
Trisha shook her head, “Unbelievable. Don’t even wanna know where we could be heading. Every stray road is an opportunity for adventure! I always say, and this right here counts as a stray road.”
‘Izzie’ smiled a little at that and then looked over at Jude. Jude looked away, but it was too late. He’d been caught. “What’s your opinion of the island?” The boy asked.
“What?” Trisha asked.
“I’m asking him.”
Jude sighed and turned his gaze, “Fine. You got me. I was bored.”
“And so you eavesdropped on our conversation?” Izzie asked.
Jude glared at him, “I didn’t really have to eavesdrop, it is not like you were trying to keep a secret.”
It was then that he noticed the smile on Izzie’s face. Izzie chuckled at that, “Yeah, Trish is very chatty.”
Trisha smacked his arm, “And you’re too quiet!” She turned to Jude, “I’m Trisha Coy. This is Israel Annesley, my way too quiet brother, and partner in crime.”
Jude blinked. Oh, Israel. He’d figured ‘Izzie’ was a nickname. “I’m Jude Blake.”
“What’re you in for?” Trisha asked. Jude froze, wondering how he was supposed to answer that.
“Well… I have a criminal record and my parents – they said it’s best I go to Komodo Hall. You?”
“Okay… Well, we” Trisha started.
“No,” Israel interjected. “No, I want to hear more about his story.”
“Hush,” Trisha interjected. “Where was I? Oh yes. We are just two normal kids from a normal family walking down the street being siblings and stuff-”
“Oh Trisha, you’ll bore the guy to death. Remember what Davies said, no throwing people overboard. He might just do it to himself if he has to listen to your drawn-out tale. Let’s cut to the chase. We’re Faery Hunters.”, Israel stated.
“Reckless Faery Hunters,” Trisha said in a deeper voice, “Raised by witches – living in a fantasy!”
“Trisha and I are here because we crossed a line we did not know even existed, and our parents had enough,” Israel explained.
“My moms were like ‘Trishaaaa stop it!’ and I said ‘fiiiine’ but then we heard about this museum! People say it’s haunted or whatever. Are you okay?”
Jude nodded, “Yeah, just fine.”
“You look pale,” Israel cocked his head to the side.
“Seasickness,” Jude lied, “Talking helps. Continue.”
“Um, okay,” Trisha said, skeptical “So kids at school said this museum was haunted. I mean common, they all know Israel and I are Faery Hunters so mentioning that in our general presence was a setup, am I right? It worked if that was their intent. Israel and I decided to go check it out.”
“Long story short, we got caught, I broke some ancient relic or whatever, and now we’re here,” Israel finished.
“That was my favorite part,” Trisha complained.
“You were going to make me sound like a wimp.”
“You should’ve heard him scream when security said ‘halt’.”
“I did not scream. It was a sound of intimidation, now can we please keep talking about mermaids?”
Trisha shrugged, and looked at Jude, “He wants to talk about mermaids.”
Jude, whose brain was still catching up with their words, nodded, “You can do that. I’ll uh… listen in, I guess?”
Israel laughed, “Go figure. I’m guessing you’re not a Faery Hunter then?”
Jude shook his head, “No.” At least, he didn’t think he was. “My grandpa was one.”
“Woah, what?” Trisha said, “That’s pretty cool. Did he find anything?”
Jude shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“He must have more experience than Israel and I combined!”
“Trisha,” Israel stopped her, “Man overboard. Mermaids please.”
Jude tuned out their conversation again, but he did hear the part about Trisha believing there might be magical things on the island. Apparently, Jude completely overlooked that part during his two-week research. He looked in the direction that the boat was currently heading, wondering when he’d see the island appear. He really hoped that if there was magic on the island, it wasn’t the magic Trisha and Israel were referring to.