Flight 12

Flight 12 – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER 14: DEPARTS AND LETTERS

Previously, at the Phallic Tower:

• Jasper, a sex addict trying to reform, is tempted by Leo, especially after they find the amber dodecagon, which prompts Leo to strip and beg Jasper to fuck him, stimulating Jasper and horrifying Leo's father Ed; Leo had earlier borrowed clothing from Ed, Lucas, and Tim.

• Harry, on an expedition with Seth and Paul, witnesses Paul being swallowed up into the earth by the blue dodecagon.

Elsewhere on the surface:

• Abe, searching for other survivors, sees Percy rape the Bahamian Theo Sebold; he resolves to avoid Percy, and consoles himself over Seth's certain death by writing a remembrance in shells on the beach, as well as a plea for help that he hopes a passing plane will spot.

In Aruba:

• Jordan and Miles have uncovered the address of Stimulever, Inc., the parent company of Zen Tropical Airways, whom they intend to sue. Jordan, a biological male who had intended to have a sex-change operation before marrying Augie, has – thinking Augie dead – chosen to remain male. Augie, naïve and religiously conservative, is unaware of Jordan's birth gender.

Underground:

• Stan, having been captured by Hamish, learns a little about his new surroundings from one of its denizens – Ian O'Leahy, a former romantic interest of Seth who had disappeared a year ago.

• • • • • • • • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2 * * * * * * * *

THE PHALLIC TOWER – SETH

Abe, whose taste in movies was different from mine, had once coaxed me into watching an old film on TCM called "Five Came Back", which was kind of fun, if you could tolerate how corny it was. It was about a plane carrying twelve people (how's that for coincidence?) that crashes in a remote location (sound familiar?). The plane is `repaired', but can only carry five of them. Various events kill off some less admirable characters, but the remainder face difficult ethical choices: who will escape and who will be left behind? Bad news for the leftovers: the natives are cannibals.

I thought about that title as Harry and I returned to the tower. Three of us had departed on that expedition, and only two came back. Our island lacked any obvious cannibals. But what it did have was equally scary – because I didn't know what it was.

What would we say to the others? The complete truth – assuming Harry was not delusional – was ridiculous. And yet there was no avoiding that one of our party was missing.

When we got back, Jasper rushed up to me.

• (Jasper) These . . . things. These dodecagons. They're poison.

Oh, shit, what else happened? He'd gone off with Leo and Ed, neither of whom looked the worse for wear. I took inventory: Augie, Vic, Tim, Lucas, Dai, and (I was guessing here) Cody. All present and accounted for. Okay, no one's missing; what's the crisis?

• (Jasper) Leo went crazy. When he saw the dodecagon, he stripped naked, ran down to it and screamed for me to have sex with him. He even reached into my pants and . . . pulled me out. Fortunately, Ed didn't see that part, but it was embarrassing to say the least.

• Ed's not exactly delighted that Leo is gay.

• He called him a bloody poofter in front of me. He must think I'm straight.

So Jasper IS gay. I had noticed him seeming to look longingly at some of the others, but I could have been reading into a situation what I wanted to read into it. Jasper was sexy, and subconsciously I think I wanted him to be gay. I was ashamed of myself for thinking that, so soon after Abe's presumed death, but if I were to rebound from Abe like I had rebounded from so many others before him, Jasper would not be such a bad –

Stop it, Seth. This place is getting to you. And remember that you're naked and others won't need to read your mind in order to discern your thoughts – they can read another part of your body.

Shortly afterwards, Harry came up to me.

• (Harry) Ours wasn't the only dodecagon incident. You won't believe this, but Augie stripped off at one of them.

• AUGIE???

• Yeah, Augie.

• Leo I could see, but . . . Augie?

• Wait – Leo too?

• Leo, too.

• And Cody yesterday and Paul – it's an epidemic, Seth.

• So it would seem.

• You have to address it.

• I suppose so. . . .God, Harry, am I really ready for this leadership thing?

• `Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them'.

• Winston Churchill.

• Shakespeare. Twelfth Night.

• I always thought it was Churchill. Anyway, I'm not great. I don't feel great, Harry.

• Then substitute the word `leader'. You've had leadership thrust upon you – but I think you're a born leader anyway. You'll be fine, Seth. They're looking to you to lead them.

• I don't have all the answers.

• They're not expecting you to. They just need reassurance.

Reassurance. How could I give them reassurance, when I was so lacking in it myself?

Harry agreed to corral everybody, and I spoke.

• Look, I know we're all confused and upset, and I am, too. I have some –

• (Dai) Wait, we're not all here. Where's Paul?

• (Lucas, to me) Wasn't he with you?

Shit. Not the way I wanted this to start.

• I'll get to that, but I want to tell you the one good thing from our expedition. We found –

• (Lucas) He didn't come back with you? What are you hiding, Herrick?

• (Leo) Maybe Harry ate him.

• (Ed) Shut up, Leo.

I paused. Ten pairs of eyes were watching me intensively. Until Harry stepped in to help.

• (Harry) Paul disappeared. We don't know what happened.

• (Dai) Paul disappeared?

• (Lucas) What do you mean, disappeared? Didn't you guys stay together? Shit, you're presenting yourself as some kind of leader? Maybe someone else should be in charge.

• (Jasper) Are you nominating yourself, Lucas?

• (Lucas) You could do worse.

• (Jasper) Let them explain.

• (Dai) Omigod, Paul!

• I take responsibility for Paul's disappearance. We had just found water – the good news I wanted to share – and then we spotted another bit of wreckage. Harry and I went to check it out, but Paul stayed behind to wash in the stream. And when we got back he was gone.

• (Harry) We think he was searching for the blue dodecagon. The one that had made him strip yesterday. He was hoping if he found it he could rid himself of the jockstrap he couldn't remove.

• We searched all over and found no trace of him. We waited as long as we could but he didn't reappear. Hopefully he'll come back tonight.

Well, nothing I or Harry had said was untruthful. We just left out the part where Harry saw Paul at the blue dodecagon, being swallowed up and buried alive.

• The thing is, we've all got to avoid these dodecagons. Maybe Paul found it, maybe something weird happened, I don't know. But they seem to affect at least some of us.

• (Harry) We think there may be twelve of them, scattered around the island.

• Right, twelve. Everything is in twelves. Yesterday, we saw five – yellow, blue, vermillion, orange, and violet. Jasper, what color was the one you found?

• (Jasper) Amber. Like the stripe on the tower – the one between orange and yellow.

• (Tim) These stripes – they're the colors of a standard color wheel: red, vermillion, orange, amber, yellow, chartreuse, green, teal, blue, violet, purple, magenta.

• (Vic) We saw the green one. It . . . had an effect.

• Then we've found seven so far. There are probably five others out there somewhere. We have to avoid them at all costs. If you see one in the distance, stay away. Try to steer others away from them. We don't know why they affect some of us and not others.

• (Ed) It's not even that. Leo and I saw the vermillion one yesterday and it had no effect, but the amber one today brought out the worst in my son.

• (Leo) Fuck you, Dad.

• (Ed) Well, it did. You behaved disgracefully. If you had any strength of character –

• (Leo) If YOU had any strength of character, you would accept the fact that I'm gay and leave me the fuck alone.

• (Lucas) Yes, you're the height of responsibility, aren't you? Wearing everybody else's clothes. Well, if you wanted to strip off, why don't you strip off now and give everybody their clothes back?

• ENOUGH! We're not getting anywhere by squabbling! Leo, you should give Lucas back his shoes.

• (Ed) And I'll take my shirt back, thank you.

• (Leo) Well, I can't take off these pants. I'm not wearing underwear.

• (Tim) I'll trade you. I'll give you my underwear if I can have my pants back.

• (Harry) Tomorrow we'll take you to the stream we found and you can wash your clothes. And yourselves.

• (Leo) Can I keep these clothes until then?

• Yeah, I guess. Tim, Ed, Lucas?

• (grudging agreement)

• Speaking of the stream, we found three water bottles at the wreckage site, and brought them back for you. Everyone can have a third of a bottle. And we can go back and get more.

That seemed to calm things down a bit. Paul, of course, didn't return.

THE THRONE ROOM – PERCY

• It's the end of the second day and you still haven't procured Derisian. Your sensors won't last much past tomorrow.

• I'll get him tomorrow, Hame. He was in range when I found Sebold. I'm pretty sure he's still on the west side of the island, probably at the beach. I'll start there tomorrow morning.

• You have until Tuesday to fetch him, Percy. Otherwise, I'm sealing The Twelve inside the Tower and sending up everybody to search. As it is, I've had to hold up the meeting with the left-siders. I wanted all of them here. I can't wait any longer. I'll have to do it with one missing.

• Hamish, are you going to tell me why Derisian's so important?

• He's Herrick's lover.

• And why is Herrick important?

• You'll find out in due time. Stimulever wants me to keep it under wraps for now. But – if you capture Derisian, you can have him as your boy.

• My pussycat.

• Pussycat?

• Well, you have a dog. Why shouldn't I have a cat?

• Then you shall have your pussycat. And your pussycat's pussy.

STAN'S CELL – STAN

The shock wasn't so much that someone appeared at our door. It was WHO appeared at our door: Percy. The damn flight attendant. He was the first person I had seen down here who was not nude. He wore a long silk caftan, somewhere between gray and lavender on the color spectrum.

• It's time.

Time for what? Ian seemed to know. His expression conveyed both caution and anxiety; he nodded toward the exit. It was time to meet the boss.

Percy led us down the corridor, stopping at various other doors and collecting other men, always in pairs, and all in the nude. Half of each pair was someone from the plane. Ah, there was Al. But I didn't spot Abe, my other sleeping companion from the beach.

We went into the same white room in which I had arrived, but the foam-rubber on which I'd landed had been replaced by a hardwood floor. In the center were a dozen chairs, in two rows. Ian beckoned me to sit in one of them, and retreated to a side wall with the other escorts.

There was one empty chair – Abe's? I was on the end of the second row, next to a mahogany-colored man whom I remembered was named Theo. His lighter-skinned friend Piers was in the front, next to Al.

I looked over our escorts. All were nude, and most looked unfriendly, Ian included. He had his role to play, he said – was he playing a role now? Or had he been playing a role when he seemed congenial, just another victim of this Hamish person.

Barry the pilot, who had greeted me upon arrival, was not among them initially. When he entered the room, I gasped. He was crawling on all fours; protruding from his buttocks was a puppy dog tail, apparently inserted in his butthole. Around his neck was a collar, attached to a leash that was over fifteen feet long, allowing Barry to enter the room before we could see who was holding the other end.

The man holding the other end was of average height, stocky but powerfully built, with a dark stubble covering his chin and a thick set of black chest hair. Aside from Percy, he was the only person in the room wearing clothes, which consisted of a leather vest, open in the middle to exposed his developed chest, an oversized leather codpiece, and chaps that left his ass exposed. On his feet were a pair of black cowboy boots. He held Barry's leash with his left hand; his right hand held a bullwhip.

Barry crawled to a spot in front of the eleven of us, faced the leash-holder, and raised up on his knees, bunching his elbows at his side but extending his hands in front of him, pointing down, like a dog begging for food.

• Down boy.

Barry dropped to all fours.

• Good doggie.

Hamish – for that's who he had to be – came over and caressed Barry's head with his hand. Barry stuck out his tongue and tried to lick Hamish's hand.

• No, boy, that's enough. Lay down.

Barry lowered himself to a prone position. Hamish released his grip on the leash and let it drop to the floor. Barry didn't move. Hamish stood on Barry's bare back and addressed us.

• I have long awaited the arrival of Flight 12. But not because of you – because of the right side of the plane. We call them The Twelve. They are important. You left-siders are not.

• My name is Hamish. The men you see along the wall are my lieutenants, collected over the course of the last three years. My lieutenants are horny. They need sex. That's why you're here. If you're not gay – you'll have an adjustment to make. If you are gay, I hope you're bottoms.

• Each flight that brought me a lieutenant also brought me eleven bottoms. Why aren't there dozens of bottoms living here now? Because we gradually release them over the next three months, before the next flight arrives.

• You? You probably won't get kept very long. As more guests arrive – which we anticipate – we'll have to release the overage. So your captivity won't last long, no more than a month. I think that's good news, don't you?

• Each of you has been housed with one of my lieutenants. You will do everything he tells you to do. You will suck his cock when he tells you to suck his cock, and you will spread your ass when he tells you to spread your ass. And more. Do not expect that your roommate will be the only one using your body. Courtesy of this space, our lieutenants all have incredibly strong libidos and are capable of multiple orgasms a day.

• Barry, you've been a good doggie today. Say hello to our new arrivals.

• (Barry) Woof!

• You see, he's been well-trained. I think he deserves a reward, don't you? Barry, which of these boys would you like to fuck?

My sphincter involuntarily tightened. Was this really going to happen? Barry looked at Hamish expectantly, as if to ask a question.

• You may stand, boy. And let's take that adorable puppy-dog tail out of you.

One of the `lieutenants' trotted over, grabbed the puppy-dog tail and yanked it out in one thrust, making Barry yelp. The puppy-dog tail was like the tip of the iceberg; there was several times more inside Barry's ass than was visible protruding from it. It was a good eight inches long and thick. Barry then had his collar removed.

I found it incomprehensible that twenty-four hours ago, I had been greeted by this man. Now he had been reduced to a dog on a leash with a dildo stuck far up his ass. Was such humiliation in store for me?

Barry stood and looked over the eleven of us. Finally he made his choice – Theo.

• Excellent choice, Barry. You like them dark, don't you, boy? This one is straight, but my husband fucked him earlier today, so he's been opened up a bit. Well, go to it, boy.

A different Barry stood before us, grinning exuberantly, his manhood at full mast. And he proceeded to plow the shit out of Theo in front of us, the first time in my life I had ever witnessed gay sex. Theo, opened up or not, did not seem to enjoy it one bit. To my utter astonishment, I kinda did.

• • • • • • • • MONDAY, DECEMBER 3 * * * * * * * *

ORANJESTAD, ARUBA – JORDAN

Thanks to Nick, we had enough information to contact Stimulever. Miles had warned us that lawsuits could take a while, and we should allow the law firm weeks or even months to put it together.

This was unacceptable. I didn't care about the money – I wanted accountability, and above all I wanted answers. What had really happened to the plane? Why hadn't ZTA contacted us? And most perplexing of all – why had there been no press coverage?

There were two dozen men on that plane; there must be two dozen families in search of answers. But I had no idea who they were, or how to contact them. We needed a list of passengers – and the only way to get that was from the airline. The airline that was hiding from us.

At least ZTA had to know we were onto them. Miles and I drafted a letter to the Board of Directors of Stimulever, informing them of our request for a list of passengers on ZTA Flight 12 from Santo Domingo, and that if we did not receive it within 24 hours, we were going to go to the press and raise hell big-time.

This outfit definitely did not want publicity, and the threat of a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal would put the fear of God into them, wouldn't it?

Feeling virtuous after sending an email to the address that Nick had been able to capture, I felt like celebrating. And I felt like actualizing a decision I had made.

• I'm going to get my hair done, Jen.

• Really? I kind of like it as it is. It's just getting to the length where you look totally female, without the wig. So don't let them cut it too short.

• I hear you. See you.

Sorry, Jen, but I intended to cut it short. Way short. I was headed not for a hair salon but for a barber shop. Afterwards, I bought a ton of men's clothing at the Royal Plaza Mall. Jordan Murdock, heterosexual female, was reverting to Jordan Murdock, gay male.

A strange thing occurred at the mall. I ran into the pink-haired woman who'd been with us at the airport when they told us that Flight 12 had vanished from the radar screen. I said hello and she walked right past. I called after her:

• Hey, remember me? You were at the airport. Flight 12? We're going to sue ZTA, want to join us?

She turned around, looked at me as if I was from the planet Mars, and continued on her way.

THE DARK ROOM – PAUL

It was pitch black. I was in pain. I was confused. That about summed it up.

Where the hell was I? I was sitting. I felt groggy, like I was coming out of anesthesia. Pain reverberated throughout my body, but it was centered in my rectum, like something large had been stuck up there.

My memory was starting to return. I had gone to the dodecagon. I had sneaked away from Seth and Harry because I knew they would disapprove. I remembered how beautiful it was, with that bright blue six-foot phallus. And how much I wanted to hug it and lick it, and . . . then something slithered up my leg and into my ass and fucked me. It wasn't a person, it was a thing, some kind of THING, which sounds really creepy, but it was wonderful, and I wanted it to last forever. And then it – whatever `it' was – wasn't there anymore. And my feet were frozen and my knees felt weak and I was falling . . .

Then what? I was here. It felt like something was in my ass, but it wasn't whatever had been fucking me, because that felt wonderful and this was uncomfortable.

I could not move. It was as if my arms and legs were glued to the arms and legs of the chair. I couldn't even lift my butt.

Omigod, I was paralyzed. I must have broken my spine when I fell. But why was there no light? Am I blind? Why was there -

• Hello, Paul.

I gasped. The voice came out of nowhere. Had he – whoever he was – been here all along? However long that was.

• Where am I? Why is it so dark? Am I paralyzed?

• No, you're not paralyzed. You're just being restrained.

• I don't feel any restraints.

• But you feel other things, don't you. You feel the dildo up your ass?

• . . . Dildo?

• What did you think was causing all that discomfort, a hemorrhoid?

• Where am I? I remember . . . falling. From that beautiful blue dodecagon.

• The blue portal, yes. Yes, you fell, Paul. You fell right down to us.

• Us?

• We're not quite ready for you. It's not that you arrived early, you came right on time. But other things aren't ready. We don't have all the pieces in place.

• You're talking gibberish.

• Seth's boyfriend isn't here yet.

• Seth? You know Seth?

• We know Seth. We know all your friends from the plane. We can't bring you out yet, because we have to start the procedures for the left-siders.

• . . . Procedures.

• You see, we can't have too many bottoms. We have to hold you in abeyance.

I must be hallucinating. I was in a hospital somewhere. Maybe I had been ever since the plane crash. I had dreamed up the island, the blue dodecagon, and this person in front of me, talking nonsense.

• Could you turn on the light? I can't see a thing. Are there others here or just you?

• No, sorry, Paul, I can't do that. We're going to have to keep you in the dark a little bit longer.

• . . . Do I know you? Your voice sounds familiar.

• You know me. You know my cock. I think it was the very first one up your sweet white ass. Back in high school.

• . . . ANTHONY???

THE PHALLIC TOWER – HARRY

It was Monday morning, December 3rd. Forty-eight hours since we had awakened on this island. I rose early, noticed Gary (Cody? Ray?) stretched out on the yellow wedge, Augie on the green, and Leo on the amber. The very colors of the dodecagons that had made each of them go nuts. How weird was that?

Seth organized a group trip to the stream, so that we could both bathe and wash the clothes we had been wearing continuously for the past three days. This generated anxiety. I didn't like being nude in front of others any more than Augie did, but for a different reason. Augie because he thought it indecent, me due to shame.

Of course I had done it before – even fat guys have to take PE. I found a place upstream, away from the main group, where there was an accumulation of water. Jasper followed me, but the rest stayed at the main pool below. We undressed and slipped into the same pool; I was extremely self-conscious even though Jasper wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to me and the rest were at least fifty feet away. Stupid, cowardly Harry. Just be a regular guy and don't be weird about nudity around other guys. But then, this wasn't any group of guys – most were gay. And hot.

Seth had spoken to me earlier about wanting to leave the group and journey on independently from here. He said it was to search for Paul, but I knew it was really to search for Abe. He wanted to find the west coast; we'd explored much of the northeastern section of the island – if Abe (or Paul) was alive, he might be toward the west. The stream we found was flowing southwest; if he followed it, it should lead to the ocean.

I was apprehensive; he was smart enough to avoid the dodecagons if he saw one, but was he strong enough to overcome their power? I was terrified he wouldn't come back, and then who would lead us – Lucas?

Minus Seth, we headed back as a group. With my bulk, I'm not the world's fastest walker, especially with uneven terrain. Several of the more energetic – Ed, Leo, Vic, Jasper and Cody – asked if they could go on ahead. Vic was confident he knew the path, and there were no dodecagons en route; what could happen?

THE WOODS – JASPER

• (Leo) Hold on a sec, I've got to make a call of nature.

• (Ed) Sure, hold up, guys. . . . Leo, where are you going?

• There are trees all around, Leo. Just go behind one.

• (Leo) I don't have to pee, it's number two.

The rest of us exchanged exasperated looks as Leo wandered off into one of the denser parts of the forest. He had irritated everyone on the way back, complaining about the trip to the stream, whining that he couldn't have a bottle of water all for himself - after all, it was his birthday - bragging about retaking Lucas' shoes at the stream without Lucas noticing. He had somehow managed to persuade Ed and Tim to let him keep their clothes until we got back to the tower.

Leo undressing in front of me would have set my libido into overdrive. It was why I had followed Harry upstream to bathe. I knew I could control myself around Harry's flab, but didn't want to be near a naked Leo. So when he ventured off the trail to take his pants down, I didn't follow. Nor did anyone else.

Which was a mistake, because Leo didn't return. Vic commented first.

• (Vic) He should be back by now.

• (Ray) He should have been back minutes ago. Maybe he's out there jerking off, the little pervert.

What was the deal with Ray? He seemed to spend half of the time trying to seduce Augie, but other times he seemed downright homophobic – like now. Something was off. I'd seen Harry talking to him a bunch. I'd have to find some time to talk to Harry, figure out the score with this guy.

But right now the object of concern was Leo. A thought occurred to me:

• You don't suppose he went to try to find that dodecagon, do you? The amber one?

• (Ed) Why would he do that? It drove him crazy.

• The blue one drove Paul crazy. And Harry and Seth said he was searching for it.

• (Vic) I think they affect some guys and not others. But once they do, you want to go back there.

• Do you think we should go back to that dodecagon to look for him?

• (Ray) They said not to. They said to stay away from them things, they drive you loco. I know I seen one of them things but first it was yellow and then it was green and it was all different somehow. But that's probably `cause . . .

• Probably `cause what?

• . . . Nuthin'.

I think he was going to say something revealing, something that would help me solve the mystery of this guy. But Vic interrupted my thoughts.

• Look, Leo's dodecagon didn't affect you guys yesterday. I think you'd be safe if you went back.

• (Ed) Maybe. . . .

• (Vic) We'll go with you.

• (Ray) If you don't mind, I won't. Those things spook me. Where's the amber thing from here?

• It's past the tower.

• (Ray) Then drop me off at the tower and you guys go on.

• (Vic) I'll stay with you. I don't think it's a good idea for anybody to be alone.

Especially you, his tone of voice said. When we got to the tower, Ray went inside and Vic joined him, to keep an eye on him, he said. With more than a little trepidation, I went with Ed to the spot where Leo had torn off his clothes and begged me to fuck him.

And when we got there:

• (Ed) It's gone.

• How can it be gone? This is the spot, I know it is, the image of this place is burned into my brain. Look, here's even a papaya I dropped. .

• You're right. This is the place. It was down below. Only it's not there now.

We traversed downhill to check that the dodecagon hadn't just been covered over by leaves or dirt, but there were bushes and plants covering the forest floor, at heights that would have been impossible had there been a granite slab underneath. It wasn't merely that the slab had vanished, it was as if it had never existed.

• (Ed) Jasper, did we imagine this? Was this all a hallucination? Or are we hallucinating now?

• A joint hallucination? I don't think so.

• Maybe this is all my hallucination, and I'm hallucinating you?

• You think you ate an LSD-infused papaya?

• No, you're right. There was a dodecagon here yesterday, an amber one that Leo danced on naked. But it's disappeared.

And so had Leo. It was only then that it hit me.

• Ed.

• Yeah?

• This is Leo's birthday.

• So?

• Yesterday, it was Paul's birthday and Paul disappeared.

• What are you trying to say, Jasper?

• Don't you think it's curious that two men have now vanished on their exact birthdays? And, Ed – we all have birthdays this month.

• We better stay away from these ruddy dodecagons.

WEST SIDE OF THE ISLAND – PERCY

Hamish was pissed. He'd wanted all the left-siders underground before beginning their initiation, and I hadn't managed to deliver them in time – Eton had even arrived before the complement of left-siders was complete. Another of The Twelve was due to arrive today, and Hamish would be furious if he preceded Derisian as well. I had to find Derisian, and find him fast.

When I arrived at the beach, I was rewarded – not by the sight of Derisian, but by the sight of a large set of pebbles and shells spelling out the word `HELP'.

Oh, yes, Derisian had been here. It was just a matter of time now.

I will find him.

THE WOODS – SETH

I followed the stream as it flowed downhill, passing the spot where Harry had said the blue dodecagon had sucked Paul into the earth. But now there was nothing there except nature.

The stream continued to wind its way down, continuing southwest for about three miles until it ran into a wider brook that ran through a meadowland. I began to have my doubts that the brook would lead to the ocean, but it did, about a mile later. I began tracking north along the shore in search of . . . anything.

Had this been a real vacation, I could have savored just strolling along the beach. I would have seen sandpipers, plovers, or gulls darting in and out of the waves in search of food, but there were none; it occurred to me that I had not seen or heard a single bird on this island. There were, however, lots of interesting looking shells. I saw a spot where there was an unusual concentration of shells, or maybe stones, and headed toward it. Somehow, it looked unnatural, and anything unnatural was something I needed to check out.

I approached it and saw that it was a group of stones, clearly arranged in some kind of pattern. A human hand had guided this. I grew excited but cautious. It could be a sign that someone from the left half of the plane had survived – or it could have been created long ago.

When I finally reached it, my heart went into my mouth.

GIN

AND

TIPSY

Gin and tipsy.

Either the island was playing an enormously cruel joke on me – or Abe was alive.

I will find him.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER FIFTEEN – PICKING UP THE THREATS]