The Adventure Unsolved

Chapter 9

It didn't take the others long to find her. Not long at all, they hadn't found anything of interest. Jerome looked disappointed, Beverley wanted to tell them about what she had found on the ceiling but something inside of her was telling her that it wasn't a good idea. So she kept quiet. She showed them the way out of the cave and when they were finally in the fresh air, she took out her compass, finding East. "Hey guys, I read something late last night on a tourist blog. You guys, or maybe your siblings and friends that are older than you, must have taken him here. He was going on and on and about the caves located on the Eastern side of the Island. Have you ever been?" As soon as the words 'Eastern side' were out her mouth, the expressions on their faces, except for Maxine who held the same happy expression, changed. They went someplace darker for a minute, all of them. But Jerome recovered the quickest, painting a smile on his face and responding to her before anyone else had the chance "I don't think we have time to get all the way out to the Eastern side of the Island before it gets dark out. And trust me, you don't want to be here overnight, or in the dark, no one stays after the sun goes down." 

"Why not?" Beverley asked, because she was genuinely curious. Jerome didn't seem like the type of guy who was scared of the dark and they were equipped with so many flashlights they could probably light up the entire Eastern side of the island alone. 

"I think there are animals that only come out at night, from what my brother has told me about it. But nobody is sure what kind of animals or if they're dangerous, because legend says that they are. I don't want to find out, that's for sure." Jerome laughed, trying to brush off the fear she heard in his voice. What was on this Island? What were they hiding? 

She tried to make light of the situation, while also asking questions. "Does legend say that anyone has ever come to the Island and not made it off?" Jerome stopped laughing and his expression became very serious. "Why are you asking that?" 

"I just curious. There are a lot of rumors surrounding this island on the forums online and it's hard to distinguish what's real and what's not." Beverley tried to explain away her simple, yet loaded question. She felt guilty as Maxine shot her a dirty look, she wasn't supposed to bring this shit up until the end of the day...but Bev couldn't help it. She needed answers.

"What have you heard? What are you curious about?" He asked her, studying her face as he did so. She kept her eye contact with him as she answered "Joey Stills." 

The name hung in the air like a balloon, slowly rising to the ceiling before bursting with a loud pop that scares all the unsuspecting people in it's wake. Nobody spoke for what felt like minutes, Beverley wasn't even sure that anyone was breathing besides her and Maxine. "Are you guys okay? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Maxine asked, touching Jerome lightly on the arm. 

"Where did you hear that name? His name was being thrown around on some internet chat room? Like gossip?" Jerome sounded angry but his facial expression was impossible to read.

"Yeah I saw his name being talked about on a tourist forum, so I decided to do some research. Because the stories they were telling about this guy were wild, they went anywhere from a serial killer living on the island to alien abductions to mermaids coming out of the water and attacking tourists. My research didn't get me very far because besides a few news articles that repeat the same words as the very few news broadcasts that covered the situation, there's nothing. His parents still want answers but no one seems to be taking the case seriously. It was the number one name mentioned on numerous tourists forums." She stopped talking because she realized she hadn't taken a breath in far too long and she didn't like the way there were all looking at her. 

"He's just some kid from the States that went missing. There's nothing much to tell because there wasn't much found. He went to the Island with some girl and they were never seen again. That's the whole story. The police closed the case within a year I think, from lack of evidence. They just poof, disappeared." 

Poof. Like an alien had just snatched them out of the cave, leaving their belongings behind. Beverley had that thought more than once, just because of how little there seemed to be in the ways of evidence. But it didn't make sense, based on the very little news coverage there was, none of the locals claimed to know anything about him, but someone from the resort town had to bring him there, otherwise, how would he have known about it? She knew she shouldn't say anything else, she shouldn't push it any further, but she just had to. It was like an itch she had to scratch, even though the itch only got worse when she did so.

"Do you know who brought him to the Island? Because according to what I've seen and read, no one claimed to know him or the woman he was with. But that's not possible, right? Because he was a tourist, so how would he have known how to get there?" She was met by silence. Jerome stared at her hard, she wasn't sure if he was trying to read her thoughts, to know if she knew more, but it made her feel uncomfortable so she looked away. Not expecting an answer from any of them.

"He probably found out about the island, the same way you found out about him, some gossipy tourist site. My brother was around during that time, they never saw Joey." He said the words without conviction, like he didn't believe what he was actually saying but he was trying to convince her of the validity behind the words.

"I've been to pretty much every tourist site there is, and while there is talk about the Island and the legends that surround it, no one has ever left directions on how to get there. I even tried to google search the directions, knowing how to get there, and came up empty. Someone had to have shown him." 

"Are you trying to imply that my brother and his friends all lied? Everyone that works at the resort lied? Why would they do that Beverley? Is there something you know that you're not telling us?" Jerome was looking at her like she was the only one in the cave, they all were, except Maxine who was still shooting her daggers.

"I don't know what I'm saying. Forget it. Let's head back to the Resort before it gets dark. The suns starting to set already." She said the words and smiled at Jerome hoping that he would believe her when she said she would forget it. He hesitated before taking Maxine's hand and leading the way back to the sea-doo's. Only when they got there, the riders were gone. Nowhere in sight. Jerome looked around quickly, in every direction, expecting to see them floating somewhere far in the water, even though he knows they were tightly secured. But they were nowhere. They were trapped on the Island and night was falling on them quickly.