The Secret Island of Edgar Dewitt

by Ferrill Gibbs

__________

  One week later, after two more large hauls of Ambercod that earned him 1,500 more dollars, Edgar decided he’d upgrade his fishing operation. He was quickly accumulating far more money than he could ever spend.

  Gone were the days of dragging catches two-by-two up and down the hill, laboring with them from the cabin to the bike. On Friday afternoon, he asked his parents if he could spend the night at Flounder’s and when they said “yes,” he went shopping.

  “What kind of a name is Flounder?” his mother had inquired, and his father had chimed in.

  Edgar rolled his eyes at them. “It’s a cool nickname,” he argued. “Like a mafia guy, you know?”

  “Maybe I should meet his mom,” she considered.

  “You can,” said Edgar, maintaining a poker face. “She works downtown. Stop by sometime. She’s the one who sells fish.”

  “Oh, yes!” exclaimed his mom. “I’ve seen her and her family before. She’s a pretty lady! Is it really OK with her that you spend the night? You’ve asked her permission?”

  “Oh, no ma’am,” said Edgar, holding back a smile. “We don’t believe in asking our mothers’ permission.”

  __________

  At dusk he rode the rusty bike to the Walmart Supercenter.

  There, with a huge wad of money, he bought a brand new bike: a Mongoose, the All Terrain Mountain Rider. It was $250 worth of beautiful, red, shiny bike.

  He also purchased a towable luggage trailer for one hundred and fifty dollars, that connected to the back of the bike perfectly. It was far more spacious than the old lawnmower trailer, and rolled along more smoothly too, with its thick, inflatable tires. It also came with a handy strap beneath which the cargo could be secured.

  That cargo, of course, being humongous hauls of fresh, tasty Ambercod.

  Edgar also bought a portable, battery-powered refrigerator, four feet deep and four feet wide, for three hundred and fifty dollars. It claimed to freeze on a single charge for up to forty-eight hours and was small enough to fit onto the luggage trailer.

  A small generator was also obtained for $250 that even came with a gas can.

  It was high time the cabin had a power source, reasoned Edgar.

  He also bought a small cutting table for filleting the fish—stainless and sturdy, capable of holding up to two hundred pounds.

  Along with everything else, he bought the best knife Walmart could offer, a box of large, plastic bags, a box of sturdy freezer bags, and several gallons of distilled, bottled water.

  At checkout, he encountered a suspicious cashier, who studied his every move, eyeing the overflowing cart with an inquisitive frown.

  “It’s for camping,” he explained

  “You going for a month?” she asked dryly, then began to scan his cartful of supplies.

  __________

  His old bike and trailer sat dejected atop the heap in the Walmart Supercenter’s dumpster. Brushing his hands clean, he mounted his new bike and carted the huge stack of new supplies through town and into the woods. Finally, back at the cabin, he unloaded everything safely inside, arranging the items, powering up the freezer and getting things prepared.

  Then, by the light of the lantern, he unboxed the stainless steel table and constructed it, sliding it into the corner by the generator. He then placed the sharp knife on its surface with the plastic bags and the distilled water and scooted the freezer adjacent to them. Placing the small, humming generator next to those, he stepped back to survey his new kitchen.

  It would do nicely.

  Now he could haul his catch directly from the hole and to the cutting table for immediate cleaning. Then he could bag it, freeze it, and, afterward, fill the cooler with frozen, filleted fish, then load the cooler directly onto the luggage rack and pedal the entire operation down to the Artese’s fish stand.

  It was perfect.

  He was a genius.

  He thought for a moment and a horrifying thought emerged. What would happen if his parents drove by while he pedaled a huge haul of Ambercod to town—on a brand spanking new red bicycle?

  Twelve

  After school the next Monday, he caught up with Shay and tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Hey,” he smiled.

  “Hey!”

  “You wanna see something cool?”

  “Sure!”

  “But it’s a secret.”

  Shay studied him through narrowing eyes.

  “Trust me,” he said. “It’s the coolest thing you’ll ever see, I promise.”

  “Well,” she said, allowing herself to be guided in the direction he was pointing her to. “How could I turn down the coolest thing I’ve ever seen?”

  “You can’t!” he laughed.

  Together they strolled into the reddish peaks beyond, out past the dirt roads and onto the foot trails, then deep into the “Indian Hills,” as Edgar liked to call them.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked after a while.

  “Just through there,” he said, pointing through a dense thicket. When the meadow opened up, the cabin emerged, and she stood before it with wide, investigative eyes.

  “Edgar,” she asked, “whose is this?” She stood before the structure, and seemed to wilt at the whistle of air streaming through the termite holes.

  Edgar stepped forward and pushed the door open, then turned and waved her inside.

  “C’mon,” he said, “don’t worry. I’ve been here a million times. There’s nothing bad in here except maybe the occasional spider.”

  “You’re not making things any better,” she said fearfully, pausing halfway through the door.

  He giggled and took her by the arm, leading her in, escorting her to the hole’s edge where together they looked down in awed silence.

  “Uh, that’s crazy,” she said, peering down. “What is this?”

  “It’s a hole,” he said.

  “Well. You don’t say.” She punched Edgar’s shoulder playfully.

  He let her gaze into the depths for a moment, her brown hair lifting from the rising air. Then she turned and walked to the make-shift kitchen where his fish-cleaning supplies were neatly arranged. She studied the workstation and the stainless steel table, the freezer, and the generator, and thoughtfully smudged a drop of dried blood on the cutting table with a pinky.

  She frowned quizzically at the blood, then lifted Edgar’s knife for inspection before placing it carefully back on the tabletop, frowning. From there, she moved to the generator and gave it an investigative tap of her shoe before opening the small freezer door to see what was inside.

  For several moments, she studied the impressively organized packages of perfectly filleted fish, then slowly closed the door and turned to him.

  “What is all of this?” she said, demanding an explanation.

  He chuckled. “OK. How about I show you what it is?”

  “Please,” she said.

  “Well, when do you have to be home?”

  “Around seven-ish, I guess. Why?”

  “Because. Just humor me. What time is it now?”

  Shay yanked out her phone and checked the time.

  “3:27.”

  “OK,” he said, walking around the hole, standing on the opposite side from her. “Toss me your cell phone for a second.”

  Hesitating for a moment, she tossed it across the hole to him. In return, he took off his watch and tossed it over to her.

  “Hold on to that for a bit,” he said.

  “What are you doing, Edgar?” She was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute.

  “So listen,” he said. “Whatever happens, don’t be afraid. Just remember that this cabin is perfectly safe. I should know, too—I spend all of my time here. I’m leaving for a little bit, but while I’m gone, please hang around ‘til I get back, OK? Just don’t g
o home.”

  He shot her a mischievous smile. “That is, if you want your cell phone back.”

  “What do you mean, when you ‘get back?’ Edgar?” she asked, her face darkened with worry. “Where are you going?”

  “Down there,” he said, pointing into the hole.

  “What!”

  “Shay, trust me. Can you look at my watch? Does it say 3:39, exactly? That’s what your cell phone says.”

  Shay absently looked down and checked it, nodding.

  “OK. Listen. I will be back with your phone at exactly 5:03—exactly on the dot. Please don’t leave. Please don’t go home. At 5:03 I will come back up this hole.”

  “No! Edgar!” she said, running around the hole to stop him, but just as she came to him, he jumped.

  She brought her hands up to her head and screamed.

  “There’re Cokes behind the freezer!” he yelled, falling rapidly.

  As scared as she seemed, Edgar knew it would be a miracle if she stuck around.

  __________

  Exactly one hour and twenty-four minutes later, Edgar popped back up.

  “I’m back,” he said, praying she would be there. As he yanked himself out of the hole, he looked around and there, in the corner, sat Shay. She rose to her feet at his arrival.

  “You’re still here!” he exclaimed, so relieved that she had stuck around. He walked over to her and offered her her cell phone.

  “What kind of trick is this?” she said, snatching the phone from his outstretched hand.

  “Hey!” he said. “Don’t be mad! I had to show it to you this way. But trust me. Can I have my watch back?” She handed it to him, and he lifted it up to present it to her. “See?” he said. “It’s exactly 5:03, just as I said. Remember that? It’s important.”

  She looked at the watch and shook her head.

  “Where did you go?” she demanded, her indignation flooding back in.

  “Well,” he said invitingly. “What if didn’t tell you where I went. What if I showed you where I went?”

  “What do you mean, ‘show me?’”

  “Well, I mean that you’re going to have to trust me—you gotta jump with me.”

  “No way!” she said, taking a quick step backward. “Are you nuts?”

  “No!” he explained. “Just, please, Shay. I just jumped down, and I’m perfectly fine, right?” He spun a circle and showed her his perfectly intact body. “I’m telling you, there’s no bottom, Shay. It’s an island down there—on the other side of the world! Just trust me. I promise I would never hurt you. You’ve gotta see what I’m talking about. You’ve gotta come with me.”

  “Edgar, I said ‘no,’” she said with finality, taking another retreating step backward.

  “Shay,” he said, waving a hand up and down his body to illustrate how he was still in one piece. “Again, take a look at me. There’s not a scratch on me, you see? And I jumped down that hole over an hour ago.”

  He took a step toward her. “Not only did I jump down and come back safe, I also told you exactly when I would come back up and I came back up exactly when I said I would, didn’t I?”

  He let that sink in and noticed she was listening. “I came back at exactly 5:03,” he repeated, “unharmed—not even a scratch—and ready to go again.”

  She studied him with two icy blue eyes.

  “You know,” he continued, “all the questions I’ve been asking in Van Rossum’s class about gravity and falling and the Earth? Well, this is why.” He pointed downward. “I want to show you what’s down there—the most incredible thing you will ever see, I promise. If I’m wrong, I will never bother you again.”

  “Edgar, I just don’t know . . .”

  “Please,” he said. “Just trust me. It will be the most amazing thing you’ve ever experienced. You’ll remember it for the rest of your life. It’s the most amazing thing anyone’s ever experienced, undoubtedly. I’ve jumped down a million times before. There’s really nothing to it, if you’ll just trust me.”

  He held out a hand to her, and she gave it a long look.

  Then, slowly, to Edgar’s absolute surprise, she reached out and took it.

  __________

  Her screams echoed for minutes after they jumped, one after the other, skull rattling and ear-drum piercing, all of them. He grabbed her by the shoulders as they fell and squeezed her tight, giving her body a gentle shake to bring her to. But, he also knew that nothing calms you the first time you fall.

  Nothing can prepare you for that.

  “AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” she screamed, and even in the raging wind, it distorted in his eardrums.

  If she keeps it up, he thought, she’ll hyperventilate. I’ve made a big mistake.

  “Shay!” he shouted, shaking her again. “Hey! Stop screaming! It’s gonna be OK!”

  He pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and shined her, then shined the walls around her.

  “Look around!” he screamed. “Get your bearings! Remember how I jumped down first?!! Remember that? Well, I fell and came back up and I’m just fine, REMEMBER? You’re gonna be OK, too!”

  Then, suddenly, she stopped screaming, just like that. And when he put the light to her face and saw her crying, he was crushed. He had done this. He had, after all, convinced her to jump, but now there was no going back.

  To show her everything was OK, he turned the flashlight onto himself and shined it on his own face. Then, he began to make a silly ghost noise.

  “Oooooo!” he said, trying to lighten things up, but it wasn’t working. Her teeth were still clenched in freefall.

  “OK,” he said. “Listen. I know you’re feeling that ‘lose-your-stomach’ sensation in your gut, but that will fade soon. In just a few minutes, Shay, I promise you, you’ll feel like you’re flying—which is amazing!”

  He kept the light on her and realized that his talking seemed to be putting her at ease. So he continued to talk, falling with her face-to-face, and chattered about whatever he could think of.

  Once they were falling through the center of the Earth, he announced their arrival.

  “You feel how hot it is?” he pointed out. “We are at the Earth’s core now. Isn’t that cool?”

  She looked around, slightly overtaken by curiosity, and then nodded stiffly, her squinty eyes still stricken with fear.

  “You’re probably getting pretty thirsty right now, aren’t you?” he continued.

  She nodded again.

  “Yeah, well, that’s because it’s a sauna down here! Outside this magical brick wall, it’s probably about five million degrees.”

  He reminded her of a question he’d asked in Van Rossum’s class just a few days before.

  “Remember that? Van Rossum told me that no human could ever visit the Earth’s core without gravity crushing him—or her? Well, here we are!”

  When he noticed she was relaxing more by the minute, he released her and spun a circle in midair to demonstrate their surroundings. “You ever think you would visit the center of the Earth?” he shouted.

  Her eyes widened at the thought. Then, wonderfully, her rigid body seemed to relax completely. She looked around and began to take it in, then spun and half-smiled at Edgar.

  “Yes!” he grinned. “Yes! That’s right! You’re going to be OK!”

  She loosened her rigid neck and twirled in a clumsy circle, checking out the walls around her, reaching for the bricks. Responsively, Edgar moved further from her to give her some space—to let her begin to enjoy falling. She floated over to the walls and touched the speeding blocks, then floated back to Edgar and smiled. He stretched his four limbs out wide and slowly rose above her, then brought them back in and quickly darted below her, flipping expertly in the air like an aeronautic daredevil.

  He finished with a precise somersault.

  “Wow,”
she mouthed. “You’re good!”

  In the white glow of the flashlight, she surrendered an uneven, sheepish grin.

  As the other side of the world approached, he floated to her and took her gently by the arms.

  “Up there,” he said, pointing at the dim yellow light ahead, “when you get to the light, grab the side walls. And then hold on tight.”

  Shay looked ahead and nodded.

  “When we arrive at the end of the hole, your body’s gonna stop moving upward. That’s when you grab hold of the bricks.”

  She nodded again and parted from him. He watched as she used her body to float to the edge—something she did very well—then, when the top of the hole came to her, she skillfully snatched the side and dangled safely.

  “All right!” shouted Edgar. “You’re a natural! Perfect!”

  He dangled beside her on the ledge for a moment, then climbed out to help her up.

  But when he turned to assist her, she was already climbing out on her own.

  “Whoa,” he said. “Do you do gymnastics or something?”

  She stood and faced him for a moment, then, visibly distraught from the traumatic event that had just taken place, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees and stood very still, her mass of mocha hair hanging down over her face.