Clover pinned another drawing to the board—a collection of information they knew about their next trip. Everything was placed in a way that aided understanding, and knowledge was available at just a quick glance. She didn’t need to do something like this for every trip that they took. But she certainly enjoyed it, and found that it got her even more excited for what they’d find there—if they’d be able to uncover any of the pieces that remained unsolved.
“You’ve got one hell of an adventure ahead of you,” she said to herself, glancing over each and every detail. “But there’s nothing that’s going to stop you. Maybe this’ll be what we need to get the experience to feel more comfortable traveling further…”
They never did go far, after all. For one, they never quite had the funds, but that was something that they’ve been slowly working on for the past couple of years. Second, they needed experience to make sure that all of those funds were able to go to good use, and that they didn’t waste it all on things they didn’t need. That was what the last couple of trips had had the goal of building up to, since they were finally getting ready to do something more—something bigger.
She got so excited to think that this was only the beginning, and a wider world awaited the two of them from here on out.
But her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her room suddenly flung open.
“Clover! I was wondering if you were in here. Your parents must’ve thought we already left, because they didn’t know where you were and were surprised I came over. Turns out you’ve just been in here all day!”
Nik wandered over to where she was, and gave a cursory glance at the board. “What do you think? How much of this stuff do you really think we’re going to figure out?” It was clear in his tone that he felt the same way that she did about all of it—if not a bit more eager to get going.
“All of it!” Clover answered enthusiastically. “We’re not going to stop until there’s nothing left to uncover! This place is going to share its secrets with us, even if we don’t get to it all on an initial trip.”
“That’s the spirit!” He nudged her, signaling that it was time to step away from the board. “To think, you weren’t too sure of this when I first suggested it.” He then motioned back towards the door. “I got a handful of the stuff we need, but there’s still some information to be gathered. Do you want to go together?”
She nodded. “Then, as soon as we’re sure we’re not missing anything, we’ll be ready to go.”
He mockingly bowed as he held open the door. “After you, Milady.”
Clover grabbed her notebook and something to Artie with before following him outside.
They simply walked around town for a little bit at first, taking in the fresh sea air and giving occasional glances off towards the coast. Just beyond the piers was were their next adventure lied—out on an island no one had been to for decades. To think something so fascinating had been this close to her hometown all this time, and she was only just now realizing it…
Not like it was talked about all that much, though the reasons varied from moderately plausible to just downright ridiculous.
Like the quite frankly odd suggestions of the old woman who ran the most popular corner store in town—if not just because there were only four corner stores. “That place is haunted, you know,” she told them every time they came over. Honestly, Clover didn’t really know why they bothered trying to get more information out of her. “We used to hear stories about that old place all the time when I was growing up. It was nothing but trouble. Every now and again, young kids like you would go out there and get yourselves killed—or worse, used for whatever delusional experiments that man used to run.”
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“What man?” Nik almost always tried to ask, like he was doing right now. He never got an answer. “You’re the only person who mentions him.”
“The man who used to own it!” the old woman barked back, as if it was always obvious. “He disappeared randomly too, you know. He was a loner—don’t think anyone ever remembered him coming. My poppa, all those years ago, used to be in real estate. He didn’t know anyone had bought that island, even if he could prove that it didn’t belong to anybody until recently. Well, recently as in before it was abandoned. That alone was well over sixty years ago at this rate…”
Clover honestly didn’t expect to get anything out of it, but she still asked, “What did you hear about this guy? Aside from the fact that he owned that island and may or may not have done ‘delusional experiments,’ that is.”
“I already told you, he didn’t interact with people here much. Don’t think a single soul even knew his name. Going there—trying to find anything about him—is going to be pointless, if it doesn’t result in something terrible. You kids have bright futures ahead of you. Don’t go ruining it with something stupid like this.”
Clover couldn’t stop herself from hesitating, but Nik’s hand on her shoulder convinced her that she wasn’t going to think about it anymore.
“This old woman’s not going to tell us anything,” he said in barely a whisper. “Let’s just get going. We’re going to find bounds of more information out of literally anyone else.”
Trying to beat down a lingering sense of uncertainty, she nodded. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” She turned again to the old woman. “Thank you for talking to us.”
As they walked away, they could hear her say, “If you want to thank me, you’ll make sure you kids stay safe. I assume there’s nothing I’m going to be able to do to stop you, but I’m going to ask you to at least make smart decisions. You’re too young to have those kinds of regrets.”
“The only regret we’re going to have is if we don’t go,” Nik mumbled. “We’ve spent too long planning all of this. We’re definitely not going to let it go to waste now. Right, Clover?”
“Right.”
The next person they went to talk to was, perhaps, one of the most crucial parts of their adventure: the boat rental guy.
He noticed them as soon as they walked in, but waited a moment before greeting them. “You two are here for the boat already? Remember, I don’t care what you do with it, as long as you bring it back to me in one piece. And within a week of leaving—believe it or not, other people need the boat, and since I’ve got a business to run, I need to keep them happy. Understand that?”
Clover nodded. “We do, but we’re not leaving just yet. We’re just gathering our last bit of information, to make sure we don’t miss anything while we’re out. What did you say you knew about the island, again?”
“I know you’re not the first set of kids who’ve asked me for a boat to go out there,” he answered gruffly. “And that it’s close enough to sure not to be too big of a risk for me to rent it to them. Maybe it’s a little rough for people who have never sailed before, but to kids like you, I’m fairly confident you’ll do fine. So long as you don’t go past the island. Then you’re just asking for a death wish.”
“The corner store lady talked about a man who used to live there,” Nik began. “Do you know anything about him or what he might’ve been doing?”
The boat rental guy shrugged. “If you’re dumb enough to listen to whatever half-remembered stories that old woman has to say, then I don’t know if I trust you with one of my boats. There might be some truth to what she’s saying—maybe. But I don’t think it’s worth looking too deep into. She’d make up all kinds of stories if she thinks someone other than her will believe it.”
Clover knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t stop her nervous curiosity, and she asked, “How much of what she said do you think is true?”
“Eh, I’m pretty sure some guy lived there. Maybe he was a scientist. He didn’t come into town a lot and, when he did, he didn’t need one of my boats for it. I can’t say I even saw him, let alone talked to him. All it is is rumors, and you’re old enough to know that those are hardly reliable around here. They’d tell stories about anything, even if they know no one believes them.”
“You’re probably right. I got the impression she didn’t really know what she was talking about anyway.” Nik turned his attention back to Clover. “Where else do you want to go? We’ve still got some time.”
