Page 9

Chapter eight

Darla

I sit silently in the tree, watching them stare at my dad’s grave.

I didn’t want them looking at it. I didn’t even like looking at myself, but I still visited him at least once every few weeks. Being here didn’t remind me of all the good times my dad and I spent together, it reminded me of how it ended.

He was too good of a man to end up buried in the woods, where nobody but me, and apparently these three strangers, would ever visit. But I didn’t have a choice, I had to bury him.

The men get to their feet and silently move away, making me relax a little. I don’t follow them, not yet. It’s been a while since I came here and I feel like it’s as good a time as any to talk to dad.

“Eep!” I lift my head as Mo-Mo drops down from a branch, still clinging to it with his left arm and leg, while his right is reaching out towards me with a couple of flowers in his fist.

I smile sadly as I take them from him. “Thanks, Mo-Mo.” This wasn’t the first time I’d come here, and he often came with me, it made it a little easier to have company .

I make my way down the tree, then slowly kneel down beside the grave marker.

“Hey dad. It’s been a while, I know. Things have changed a bit recently. As you just saw, I’m not alone here anymore. But don’t worry, they don’t know I’m here. I’m going to keep myself hidden until they’re rescued, then it will just be me and Mo-Mo again.”

“Eep!”

I tilt my head up and smile at my furry friend, who’s sitting on a nearby branch, watching me.

Looking back down, I place the flowers on the grave. “I miss you, dad. I love you.” Wiping the stray tear from my eye, I stand up and take a deep breath. Then I put my game face back on, knowing I can’t stand around here all day, I have some spying to do.

I climb back into the tree and head in the direction the men went.

I’m not really sure where they’re going, but I have an idea that they didn’t know either.

They were just walking blindly through the jungle, looking for food.

It only takes me about ten minutes to catch up with them, since it’s faster for me to move through the trees than it is for them to move through the untouched jungle.

Finding them is relatively easy since they stomp through the trees, making enough noise to let the entire island know they’re here. I suppose that didn’t matter though, when you were as big as they were, and you weren’t alone, you could afford to be as loud as you pleased.

I climb up higher and move in front of them, trying to figure out where they’re heading.

We’re in a part of the island I don’t often visit.

When I move a little lower to the ground, I remember part of the reason why I never come here.

This area is riddled with strychnine trees.

Since the little orange berries are deadly, this area gives me a creepy feeling.

And since the other animals know to stay away, this area feels much quieter than the rest of the island.

Realizing those men are headed straight towards this spot, I start to panic. Will they know what they are? I certainly didn’t, but luckily my dad remembered his boy scout training and knew what they were straight away. I’ve stayed clear of this place ever since, just to be safe.

I need something to steer them away from this area. A distraction, perhaps?

Looking around, I try to think. I could build a fire back at camp, but they wouldn’t see or smell the smoke from here, definitely not before they reach the trees. What if I made a noise in a different direction, would they go investigate it?

I hear them getting closer and realize I only have a couple of minutes before they stumble on the first tree.

Deciding I have no other choice than an obvious warning, I quickly jump down to the ground and use my feet to try to clear some debris from the ground in front of the first tree. It needs to be a large enough spot that they will notice it.

I pull a large leaf from a nearby bush and use it to pull a couple berries from the tree, not wanting to risk even touching them with my fingers, then I drop them onto the cleared spot on the ground. I pull out McStabby and carve a large X in the dirt in front of them.

I wish I could carve the mark in the tree itself, but I knew I didn’t have enough time for that. A branch snaps under someone’s foot close by and I jump up to the closest branch, quickly climbing out of view.

I try to stay above the spot I marked, afraid that if I’m too far away, and they don’t see my warning, that I’ll be too late to stop them. But that would mean showing myself to them .

I hold my breath as they come into view.

“Oh wow, look at all those berries!” Bower exclaims.

Damn it, Bower! Look down! I grumble internally.

“Every tree around here is full of them,” King says as he steps right past my warning between a couple of trees and looks around.

“Hmm…” West says, making the other two turn to him in question.

“What?” King asks, but West stays silent, his eyes scanning the trees before turning in a circle.

“It’s pretty quiet here.”

The other two frown at West, but then they seem to tilt their heads, as if listening.

“You’re right, too quiet. I can’t hear any birds. Why?” King asks as he starts scanning the area, too.

Thank goodness for West, he must be able to feel what I do in this grove. It feels almost unnatural compared to the rest of the island.

“Well, would ya look at that,” Bower says. I have to move my head to see him better. He has his hands on his hips and is staring at the ground, at my warning.

Yes! Bower for the win!

“What do you think it means?”

“I think it’s obvious, don’t eat the berries,” King says, moving over to look at my message.

“Maybe they just want them for themselves?”

West shakes his head. “No, there aren’t any berries missing from these branches. It looks like everyone on this island knows to stay away from them… even the birds.”

“You think they’re poisonous?”

West slowly nods. “Yeah, I do. ”

“Let’s go back, this place gives me the creeps,” King says, heading back the way they came.

“Yeah, now you’ve said it, I can feel it, too.” Bower follows him and West takes a second to scan the area. When his head swivels up in my direction, I pull my head back and freeze, hoping he can’t see me from where he stands.

After a few moments, I hear his boots crunching as he retreats and I let out a relieved breath as I cling to my branch.

That was too close.