Angry Moon

Chapter 8b

     For the first couple of games, Edie was distracted by the various body parts bouncing all over the place, both his own and those of the others, but he soon forgot their nakedness and, after one particularly satisfying victory in which he came right up to the net and slammed the ball hard into the sand at Jessica’s feet, he realised that it had been some time since he'd last given any thought to the bareness of their bodies. Wearing nothing felt natural and unremarkable and it astonished him that he'd ever been anxious about it. He was able to give his full attention to the game, therefore, and as a result they won the next two games easily. Suspiciously easily, he thought. Were they letting his team win to make him feel good and make him more likely to join their research project?

     The next game, though, it was obvious that the Kerrs were playing to the very best of their ability in an attempt to draw even. They were grunting and straining with effort and sweat sheened their pale, nordic bodies causing sand to stick to them all the way up to their thighs. They won the next game, therefore, and danced with triumph, the three of them coming together in a victory hug with kisses and the pounding of backs.

     The tournament was interrupted by the arrival of an autoporter, trundling across the sand accompanied by a pair of casually dressed men. On its cargo deck was a large box made of starch plastic. “Ah!” cried Frank, running over to meet it. “It's here!”

     “What's here?” asked Desmond, following behind him.

     “Something we brought with us from Wilson's. Something to tempt Eddie with. I’m afraid only company employees can see what it is. The rest of you...” He shrugged apologetically.

     “We understand,” said Jasmine. “Right, Des?”

     The African nodded reluctantly. Alice took his hand and gave it a squeeze, then kissed him on the cheek. Desmond then went to the blanket to take charge of the children with Jasmine while Stuart went over go fetch James, who tossed town his drink. Frank then took the autoporter across to where an outcrop of rock reached out towards the water followed by Eddie, the project members and the two casually dressed men.

     “Private security guards,” said Ben to Eddie in a low voice. “Out of uniform so as not to attract attention. Can't take the risk of someone running off with our treasure, not that there's really much danger of that in this age of the ubiquitous camera. There is a slight danger that a corporation might have gotten wind of what we’re doing, though, so a few precautions are prudent.”

     Frank stopped the machine a couple of hundred metres away and the security guards moved to a discrete distance, waiting for when they'd be called upon to escort the autoporter back to the hotel. “Are we far enough away?” asked Eddie. “The others can still see us.”

     “Doesn’t matter. All they'll see is us weighing ourselves on a pair of scales.”

     He grinned, and Eddie looked across at Ben, who also grinned. Dammit, thought Eddie. Andrew was right! They are going to play some kind of trick on me! He made up his mind not to allow himself to be fooled by some elaborate sleight of hand. Take everything with a pinch of salt, he warned himself. Maybe pretend to be fooled, to go along with the joke, but remember that that’s probably what it is. A joke. A prank. He smiled back at the other two men as Frank opened the box and took out a pair of scales.

     He placed it on the flat, level surface of a boulder almost completely buried in the sand and stood on it. “Almost accurate,” he said. “It says I'm a couple of kilos heavier than I really am.”

     “Yes, I’m sure it's the scales that are at fault,” said Jessica with a pitying smile.

     Frank gave her a smile of pure innocence as he stepped off. “Come on, Eddie. Your turn.”