Island of the Dead

by Aline Riva

  “Don't worry,” Greg said again as he made the tea, “Parsons won't send anyone out who can't handle themselves. I'd go, but I have my boy to think of... and I've learned to shoot, I've done a few patrols on the beach too and I was there when a corpse came in from the sea. Me and this other guy took it out, two bullets, blew its head off. I hope you don't think I'm avoiding danger...”

  He turned from the heating kettle and met her gaze.

  Vicki shook her head.

  “No, no.. I understand, you need to be here for Zodiac.”

  In that moment, frustration burned in his eyes.

  “I'd love to go to the mainland and bring back supplies! This place has given me so much and I want to give something back!” he gave a sigh and shook his head, turning back to the kettle as it boiled and he carried on making the tea, “But I'm all Zodiac has left. He needs me, he's not like other kids, I sometimes wonder if he's going to struggle all his life with that biting urge...” worry clouded his eyes, “I think to myself, who will ever love him? Who would want to marry him when he's older? He hurts everyone he comes in contact with!”

  As she looked at him, Vicki wanted to put her arms around him. Zodiac was Greg's whole life, he lived for his son and until now she had not realised just how much he worried for his future.

  “He's going to be okay,” she replied as she rose from her seat, “As he gets older, he'll probably learn not to do it – he'll hold it back. And he's got the best father in the world. You're doing a great job, he's a happy boy – and so clever, too.”

  She walked over to join him. By now two mugs of tea were steaming on the counter but Greg turned away from them, held out his arms and welcomed her embrace, laying his head on her shoulder, grateful for this moment of comfort.

  “I love that kid so much,”he said as his voice trembled, “You know what I used to be like – wrong side of the law, raking in the money, not caring about anyone or anything - except how much cash I was making...then I lost everything but I'm glad I did...” he raised his head from her shoulder, blinked away tears and stayed in her embrace as he met her gaze, “I never knew anyone could be as precious to me as my son, the first time I held him in my arms I knew he was the best thing that ever happened to me. And it's hard to cope sometimes, but he's my world.”

  Vicki had never seen such a sensitive side to Greg before. All he had just said had made her love for him grow deeper still.

  Greg laughed nervously, “Was that too much, I'm sorry, Vicki... I don't often talk about how much I struggle...I keep it inside...Say something?”

  “I love you.”

  His jaw dropped.

  “What did you just...”

  “Hey guys, I just thought I'd stop by and...”

  Greg and Vicki looked to the doorway. Marc stood there staring at the sight of the two of them standing there wrapped in an embrace. Greg looked slightly tearful and Vicki seemed flushed as she looked away, then she and Greg separated and Vicki shot Marc another look and this time it was apologetic. In that moment Marc's mind was briefly in turmoil as he thought how fond he had become of Vicki, he had thought possibly one day they might get closer but surprisingly, Greg had got there first... His best friend had fallen in love and he wasn't going to knock that. Marc smiled.

  “I was just stopping by to say I'm volunteering for Raven Isle tomorrow. Parsons wants me on the supply run, but I think he's better off with me when he goes to the island – it's a closed off community, we don't know what reception we might get. I've got to look out for our leader.”

  “Be careful out there,”Greg replied.

  “I'll probably see you before I leave,” Marc added, “And I'm sorry for walking in like that – the door was open...”

  “There's nothing to apologise for,” Vicki told him as her face flushed again.

  “I'd better get going, I've got stuff to do,” Marc added as he smiled and then turned away.

  “I'll see you out,”Greg said, and he hurried after him, leaving Vicki in the kitchen and catching up with him in the hallway. The two men walked to the open front door together.

  “Sorry, mate,” Greg said as Marc stepped outside, “I know you and Vicki are good friends and -”

  “No, it's okay. We are good friends. And if you and her are going to work out, I'm happy for you both, and Zodiac needs a step mother, too.”

  It came as great relief for Greg to see no animosity in the eyes of his closest friend.

  “Are you sure?”

  Marc chuckled.

  “I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it! Now get back in there, enjoy your afternoon!”

  Greg smiled, his eyes shining with gratitude, then he gave Marc a brief hug.

  “I'll say it again – be careful out there.”

  “I'll be fine,” Marc promised, then he turned and walked away from the house. Greg closed the front door then made his way back to the kitchen, smiling as he rejoined Vicki. Now he had Marc's blessing, he felt as if the cherry was on the cake – Marc had been fond of Vicki for a long time but done nothing about it, and was clearly glad his best friend had taken a chance at happiness. For Greg, Marc's blessing had been the final confirmation that he was certainly doing the right thing at last...

  As evening shadows cast over the island, Emma took a walk over to the largest building where the windows were high and wide, heading for the residential side of the structure. Two women stood close by, on the pathway where beyond, the wide sections of tall grass swayed in the twilight breeze.

  “I'm able to do this! I've done more patrols than I can count, I've handled weaponry!” said Clare angrily as she stood there looking lean and athletic in her usual sports wear, her dark blonde hair was tied back and her flawless skin was flushed in temper as she glared at her shorter, dark haired sister.

  “It's dangerous! It's a fucking mainland supply run, are you nuts? Think about it, Sis – the mainland, those creatures are everywhere!”

  “And I'll be with two others and we'll all have guns! Why don't you get back to the bakery and start planning tomorrows schedule? You've spent half the day arguing with me and it won't make a difference! I'm going on that run!”

  “And I'm also volunteering,” said Adrian as he joined them. He stood there looking colourful in a Hawaiian print shirt and faded blue denim jeans. He hadn't changed at all in the five years since he had kicked over the cooking pot and made the cock soup joke that had never been forgotten on a day when justice had been swift and bloody. He still had short fair hair and a look in his eyes that said no sight that existed in these terrible and changed times could destroy his sense of humour.

  Emma stepped out of the shadows, joining them on the path.

  “If no one else has volunteered, I'd like to go too. I'm a pilot and if that chopper's still in one piece and on the mainland shore, I can fly us back.”

  “Sounds good to me,”Adrian replied, then he shot a glance to Maria.

  “She's good with a gun and she can fly a chopper, I've done regular patrol watch and so has your sister. I'm happy to go with these two women, I feel very safe in their company. I don't see what your problem is, Maria.”

  “I just don't want my sister to get herself killed!” she turned from Adrian, shot Clare a tearful look and then walked off and went back inside.

  “She worries too much,” Clare said dismissively, then the three of them lingered on the path, talking about the next day and the shared hope that Parsons had not had too many volunteers, because they very much wanted to do this run.

  As night fell, Vicki had washed the dishes after dinner, leaving Greg free to spend some time with his son before he sent him off to bed. He was in his room reading to him for half an hour before Zodiac finally closed his eyes and fell asleep. Vicki had listened in the hallway, as Greg read a story about a haunted house full of friendly ghosts and his son kept interrupting, asking questions about life and death and the universe and the possibility of the survival of the soul after physical death. Clearly, he was no or
dinary five year old and never would be. Now she understood why Greg looked so tired sometimes, it was tough raising a child like Zodiac alone. When he closed the bedroom door and joined her in the hallway, Greg kept his voice low as he met her gaze and spoke softly.

  “Shall we go back to the front room?”

  She leaned in and their lips touched. Kissing Vicki felt so right. He pulled away quickly, laughing as he caught her hand.

  “Maybe we should have an early night instead?”

  “Good idea!” she said as her heart pounded and the realisation hit her that she wasn't about to wake up from a dream – this was really happening, at long last after years of hoping and dreaming, Greg was finally taking her in his arms...

  As they went into his room and he closed the door quietly, he couldn't help but look at her and recall everything in that single moment:

  The day he saved her from the boat, their time spent on the rig, the terrible time after he was attacked in the water... It had been Vicki who had never left his side, she had nursed him when he was in the infirmary in the early days after their arrival on Wolfsheer Island.

  Greg's feelings were growing for her, suddenly deepening from a friendship that had been complicated by Stacy's death to something that had evened out into a deep mutual respect over the passing years. But one look in her eyes told him that Vicki had always loved him. She had loved him from the start and he had made her wait five long years...

  He stepped closer, put his arms around her and held her tightly. They stood together for a moment in silence, just embracing in the bedroom filled with wooden furniture and soft rugs as the heavy drapes at the windows framed a net that lifted with the breeze.

  “You said you loved me.”

  She met his gaze and nodded.

  “I always have.”

  He hugged her again, feeling sure that in time he would catch up with her and fall deeply for her, too. He was moving towards that, his heart was telling him loud and clear as he kissed her gently, then again with more passion and impatience. She ran her fingers though his hair, lost in the moment as the two of them kissed and nothing else mattered.

  Greg was breathless as he let her go and she slipped off her shorts and peeled off her top and he threw off his jacket and slid off his tie and quickly stripped off his shirt as his gaze stayed fixed on the sight of her, now naked, her perfect body slim and toned, her breasts full and nipples hard, one glance between her legs was all he needed to clearly see thanks to trimmed fair hair that she was more than ready for him. His hand shook as he unbuckled his belt and a sudden surge of shyness crept over him even though it didn't show as she gazed at him, taking in the sight of his toned upper body.

  “At least I don't have to warn you about my scars!” he joked, and he was still shaking as he took off the rest of his clothing. He was erect and ready for her as he joined her on the bed.

  “Say it again,” he demanded, taking her face in his hands as desire burned in his eyes, “Tell me again...”

  “I love you,” she whispered, and it was all he needed to hear.

  Greg took her in his arms and thrust firmly, making her gasp as he made love to her for the first time.

  Morning was bright and warm as the sun broke over the island of Wolfsheer. Zodiac was up and dressed and ready for breakfast as the smell of eggs and toast drifted up from downstairs. He ran from his bedroom, then saw a strange sight in his father's room and stopped and stared: Vicki was in his father's bed, she was sleeping with the sheet up to her shoulders as her long blonde hair trailed off the pillow. He turned away and bolted down the hallway, then down the stairs, running in a blur until he reached the kitchen and came to a sharp stop. Greg was at the cooker making scrambled eggs when his son came up to him, breathless from his dash.

  “Daddy, Daddy, Vicki stole your bed!”

  He glanced down at Zodiac, whose translucent eyes were wide with surprise.

  “No she didn't steal it,” he replied with a smile on his face as he turned off the heat and gave the eggs a final stir, “She stayed here last night. Vicki's going to be staying over a lot from now on. We are together now.”

  He glanced down at his son, whose jaw dropped for a moment, then he laughed fondly as the child suddenly had too many questions at once.

  “Is she your girlfriend? Are you going to marry her? Will she be my new Mummy? And when did your relationship shift from friendship to life partnership, at what point did that begin and how did it begin?”

  “So many questions!” Greg exclaimed as he buttered the toast and started to set the food on the plates, “I can't wait till you start school, your poor teacher wont be able to keep up with you! Vicki is my girlfriend. Let's leave it at that... this is new for both of us and it's too early to say more. I hope you don't mind her staying here.”

  Zodiac shrugged.

  “I like her, she's nice.”

  “I'm glad to hear it,” Greg replied as he started putting plates on the table, “Yes, she is nice. I think we will all be very happy together.”

  The meeting at Parson's place was held outside because of the volume of people who turned up offering to take their place on the supply run, while others hoped to join the party exploring the nearby isle of Raven. Parsons stepped down from the porch and looked to the gathering. As they fell silent, he paused to consider the best way to explain his choices, and then he addressed the crowd:

  “Tomorrow morning at sunrise I shall be leading a party to Raven Isle and I'll be taking my chief of security Marc - and also Doctor Christian Wells.”

  A murmur went around the group.

  “But he's the only doctor on the island!” a woman said in dismay.

  “What if one of us gets sick, what if there's an accident while you're gone?” asked a guy in the crowd, “And what if he doesn't make it back, Parsons?”

  “I'm confident we will all make it back. I'm allowing for a stay of no more than a few hours and then we will be returning. The isle is not large and the community will be small in number. But they may need medical assistance, this is why the doctor is coming with us. My decision is final.”

  As Parsons had made that statement he had glanced at Marc, who had nodded in agreement, conveying a silent thank you. Then Parsons switched to the other matter:

  “The team selected for the mainland supply run are Adrian, Clare and Emma – all experienced security patrol members and capable of handling weapons with ease. They will leave tomorrow morning and head inland, priority supplies are medicine and weapons and ammunition.”

  As a buzz of conversation went about the gathering, Emma turned to Adrian as Clare smiled.

  “How did we manage to get chosen?” she said in surprise, “Most of the people here wanted to take that mainland mission!”

  “They didn't get in first,”Adrian said smugly, “I did. I put a note through Parson's door at four in the morning, asking for the three of us to take the run.”

  “Good thinking,” Clare agreed.

  “Thanks, Adrian!” Emma added, still surprised at the outcome.

  Parsons closed the meeting with a small speech about how neither mission was without danger, but where all precautions could be taken, safety was prioritised, an assurance that seemed to ease the tension that was building in the air at the thought of the lurking dangers that might lie ahead for those departing. Then the meeting was over and Parsons went back into the house and closed the door and the crowd broke up and began to leave. Marc went back into the house to thank Antonio for allowing him to join the Raven Isle team as Emma walked off with Clare and Adrian, and he promised to start early, preparation would begin today - they needed to organise guns and ammo.

  It was late afternoon and Zodiac was playing in the garden. Greg had just met with Marc and they had spoken about Raven Isle. Greg's fears for his best friend's safety had eased somewhat by Marc reminding him that Parsons was confident the risk was minimal – and if Parsons thought so, there was no reason to doubt his word, because that man h
ad built this community and held it together even when the rest of the world had fallen apart.

  After he left, Greg had closed the door and walked back through the house heading for the garden, his thoughts still with his best friend. There was no doubt in his mind that if he had not had his son to consider, he would have asked to be on one of those departing boats come morning – he wasn't afraid to face danger, but the thought of his son growing up without him was the most frightening thought he could imagine...

  He reached the kitchen in time to look through the open doorway, Vicki was talking to Zodiac as he sat on the swing. Suddenly she seemed uneasy, said something and forced a smile and hurried back into the house.

  “What's wrong?” he asked as she went through the doorway and found him waiting there. Her face was pale.

  “Nothing,” she said, and reached for a lock of her hair, winding it around her finger and tugging lightly, bringing to mind the days after Stacy's death when she had fallen apart, blaming herself for her death at the hands of the escaped creature.

  “Don't do that,” Greg told her, catching her hand as she let go of her hair, “And don't tell me lies, either! What's up, you look worried?”

  “Zodiac was asking me if I'll be his new mother. Then he started to talk about Stacy, he said his real mother was killed in an accident.”

  “It was an accident,” Greg replied, “That's a fact, Vicki!”

  She nodded.

  “I know that, it was just upsetting to think about what happened -”

  “Then don't think about it!” he said firmly, “It's in the past. Let's just get on with our day, shall we?”

  “Okay...” she murmured, then as he left the room she twisted at her hair again, tugging sharply as she felt a snap and a break, but it did nothing to stop the memory flooding back to her as it played out all over again in her head: