This Is Who We Are

by Matt Christiansen

boys played often, which coupled with an uncommon wealth of natural talent, seemed to shine through their speakers.

  “So, yeah, we’re NoCal, thanks for coming out. This is Lee, I’m Mo. Later.” Mo said, grinning, before walking off the stage, followed closely by Lee, who was now laughing audibly as he clapped Mo heartily on the back.

  As the boys walked toward the shore, they ran into Alex, who seemed to be waiting for someone uncomfortably. Seizing the opportunity to talk to the boy, Moses hurried up to him and said lightly “Hey, man, that was some sick violin-ing! Why haven’t I seen you around before?”

  “M-my parents and I just m-moved from L.A. like a w-week ago. I’m i-in Mrs. Jones’ class.” Alex answered nervously. “You guys s-sounded good too.”

  “Yeah, we were actually gonna ask you if you wanted to help us out with covering some Yellowcard songs. We’ve tried but it’s just not the same without a violin, and the way you shredded your bow was insane,” Lee spoke up.

  “Oh! Um… yeah that would b-be sweet! Look, I g-gotta go, but I’ll talk to you guys in school!” Alex said excitedly as he scurried off to where a van was waiting on the road.

  As the boys watched the van drive off they caught sight of Mack, who was beaming and waiting in his truck, and started off toward their father.

  - The Island (Part 1) -

  “So, where should we go?” Lee asked, gazing off toward the horizon.

  “I don’t know, just west I guess,” Moses replied, sounding bored. “We’ve explored the coast for like ten miles in each direction but we’ve never really gone out to sea. Let’s go farther out and see what’s there.”

  Lee nodded from the steering wheel and pushed the throttle forward a bit more, setting them off at a good clip toward where the water met the sky. The sun was still high in the Pacific sky but was beginning it’s slow descent into the west as the boys tore away from the shore.

  After what seemed to the boys to be just under an hour (neither had any sort of clock to speak of) Mo suddenly hopped up and pointed. “Dude! There’s an island over there!”

  “There’s no island on this map,” mused Lee as he scoured the old sea chart of the coastal region around their house. “We should be around here somewhere but there’s no land charted anywhere. Let’s go!”

  As the Phoenix drew closer to what was shaping up to be a sizable land mass, Lee eased back on the throttle and brought the vessel down to a crawl. The island boasted valleys and peaks that were covered almost completely with trees, the exception being the rocky peaks and a couple cliff faces. The boys gazed, transfixed, at what they saw. The closer they drew to the shore, the darker and deeper the water grew. The Phoenix slowed to a crawl as Lee brought the second of the vessel’s twin motors to a murmur, having already shut off the first one.

  Suddenly, out of the deep silence surrounding the island a sharp crack resounded, echoing through the sloping valleys. The boys eyes snapped immediately to each other as two thoughts simultaneously crossed their minds. In a fraction of a second, a light in their eyes ignited and it was decided that they would proceed with caution.

  “There’s a break in the rock face over there, looks like a cave. Think it’s big enough for a boat?” Mo whispered, squinting and pointing at a cliff face jutting from the ocean.

  “Might as well try,” answered Lee, easing the Phoenix closer to the opening. “Look at the water, I think it’s getting shallower,” he pointed out.

  “It’s getting really shallow,” Mo agreed, “dude I think we’re gonna have to kill the motor and get out. I bet we can touch here.”

  Lee immediately shut off the boat and promptly launched himself from the side of the boat, followed almost immediately by Moses. Mo surfaced first, shaking the water from his hair and standing up, exposing the upper half of his chest. Lee emerged a few feet from where Mo now stood guiding the boat toward the opening in the cliff.

  Upon reaching the cave the boys discovered that it was twenty feet square. Having plenty of room to make berth, they tethered the Phoenix to a rock jutting perfectly from the wall of the cave and set out along the shallow coast. The boys made their way along the base of the cliff, wading, swimming, diving, and enjoying themselves in the crystalline water until they came to the end of the rock face. Where the cliff abruptly ended, a small beach bridged the gap between the harsh slope and the heavily wooded shore.

  “Well, looks like we go inland from here,” Mo said gravely as they both gazed up the gentle slope flecked with trees and on to whatever awaited them on the island.

  “As nice as the path sounds, I think we should walk through the brush next to it. If those really were gunshots we heard earlier, we’re gonna need to be careful.” Lee warned.

  As he moved up the beach on the direction of a small break in the trees not fifteen feet from the worn path running inland, his voice seemed tired; this precaution was all too familiar to him.

  The boys proceeded to make their way further toward the center of the island clad only in their board shorts and weathered sandals. After they had covered a good distance Mo, who had taken the lead, paused and Lee instantly followed suit.

  “The path meets up with a bigger one up like thirty feet ahead!” Mo said, gazing ahead at what looked to be a wide road trampled and solidified by high traffic. “If there’s anything on this island it’s gotta be on that road…”

  Lee’s eyes narrowed. “Listen… there’s a vehicle coming! Let’s get closer and see if we can get a better look.”

  The boys slunk through the brush tenderly until they had the clearest view possible while remaining hidden among the vegetation. The noise from the vehicle grew presently louder and soon a small Jeep rolled bumpily into view. The vehicle was manned by two rough looking men who were both heavily tattooed. The men looked like the sort found in a sailor bar; crude and dangerous. They were heavily armed with what looked to the untrained eyes of the boys to be machine guns, hand guns, and crates upon crates of what could only be guessed to be ammunition or explosives.

  “C’mon, step on it! We’re already late with this shit…” said the man on the passenger’s side as the Jeep rolled past where the boys watched, concealed in the woods. The vehicle picked up speed as it bounced out of sight.

  “Did you see the size of those guns?! What the hell would they possibly be doing around here with guns like that?” Lee exclaimed.

  “I donno, maybe like a drug deal or something. Who knows…” Mo said, with a twinge of fear that flickered then disappeared. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  The boys followed the new wider road in the direction that the Jeep had gone, sticking to the trees as before. They switched back and forth leading until they swore they had walked the entirety of the island.

  “Man this island is bigger than it looks!” panted Lee, who was currently in the lead. “It’s almost like we’ve gone in a cir-“ He was stopped speaking mid-sentence as his eyes, which had been scanning the distance for anything different from the abundant vegetation, snagged on a non-organic glint.

  “Wha-” Mo began before being silenced by Lee’s pointing finger, which directed his eye to what had caught his attention. “Oh…”

  They continued in silence, moving slower and more cautiously now. Presently they came to the edge of a clearing. They halted just inside the line of oddly assorted trees and brush, hidden but able to observe what had been the source of the reflection through the trees.

  Lee’s unfinished thought had, indeed been correct. The boys had followed the road in what must have been a great arching circle, judging by the position of the sun, back to the side of the island facing California. The boys now gazed out at the ocean, which was beginning to burn as the sun began to sink. The glint they had seen had been caused by a small shed placed haphazardly next to a surprisingly large dock.

  The dock was occupied by a boat easily large enough to voyage on the open ocean. From the look of the vessel, it had seen more than its share of journeys; bearing faded a
nd chipping paintings of foreign looking symbols. Gradually, the boys’ gaze shifted from the boat to the shed, across a small path to a sizable ramp zig-zagging up the face of what was presumably the same cliff the boys had beheld earlier. The cliff was much shorter here than where they had tethered the Phoenix, plummeting only 40 feet, and perched atop, away from the edge, was a warehouse.

  “That warehouse’s gotta be where the Jeep was heading!” Mo said as he stared up at the path leading up the cliff.

  “Yeah, I bet you’re right. Before we go charging in there we should check out this little shed thing and that ship. Maybe there’s some clues to what’s going on.” Lee answered, staring at the shack. “It looks like the lights are off, maybe it’s empty.”

  After thoroughly scanning the area for any sign of the rough looking men from the Jeep, the boys ran, crouching stealthily up to the window on the side of the shed facing away from the cliff, so as not to be seen from the warehouse. Upon peeking in the window they confirmed that it was, indeed, empty.

  “You go in and check it out, I’ll keep watch. I’ll bang on the wall if anything happens,” Mo said in a low voice. “I’ve got better eyesight.”

  Lee nodded and ducked into the vacant boating shack. He was gone not two minutes before he reappeared, looking serious but thrilled. “Dude, all I found was this bag, and