Bone Isle

Chapter 1“What do you think?” Jake asked, gesturing at the map that lay on the dining table in the apartment he shared with his lover, Dave. He pushed back an errant lock of brown hair that had fallen over his forehead, his hazel eyes moving from man to man. “What are we looking for?” Tyler asked, resting his hands on the table as he peered at it. At twenty-six, he was the oldest of the friends, with black hair that was too long to be considered stylish, and piercing blue eyes. Like Jake, Dave was twenty-five. There the resemblance ended as he was a brunette with brown eyes. He leaned against Jake’s shoulder, watching the others as if waiting for them to see what Jake was talking about. Pete—brown-haired and blue-eyed—and Bart were college roommates. Bart’s hair was dark blond, his eyes hazel, and like Pete he was twenty-two. They both looked bemused. “That,” Jake said in reply to Tyler’s question. He used a pencil to point out the place he was talking about. “It’s an island. I know it doesn’t look like much on this, but I did some research online. Even found a better image of it. Hang on.” He crossed to his desk, took the computer out of sleep mode and brought up a site with stories about pirates who had been around in the eighteen-hundreds. It included links to various maps. He clicked on one and when it loaded, he zoomed in on a tiny island whose main feature was the tall, craggy mountain peaks in its center. “It’s got a weird name, Bone Isle.” “Spooky. Maybe to do with the pirate skull and crossbones flag,” Pete suggested. “You don’t really think we’ll find lost pirate treasure, do you? I bet it’s been explored by everybody and their brother.” “I’m sure we won’t, but wouldn’t it be fun to look anyway?” Jake replied. “You, Bart, and Neil have a week of Spring break coming up. We could use Tyler’s boat to get out there. It’s only ten miles off the coast.” Tyler lifted an eyebrow. “Now why did I think that would be your suggestion as soon as you said island, presuming we decide to do it?” Dave chuckled. “Because he knows you too well?” Neil, who had been standing in the background, whispered to Bart, “Does that mean what it sounds like?” At twenty-one, with green eyes and light blond hair, he was youngest and newest member of the group. He had become friends with Pete and Dave when he decided, right before he started his junior year at the college, to move into off-campus housing. He ended up in the same apartment building where they lived. They had befriended him when Pete found out he was majoring in graphic design, which sort of aligned with Pete’s major in journalism, or so he said at the time. Soon after, they’d introduced him to the rest of the group. “No,” Bart whispered back. “They grew up together is all. Some small town in the middle of nowhere.” Jake apparently overheard them because he said, “I don’t think Springfield is small or in the middle of nowhere.” Pete snorted. “It’s in Missouri. ‘Nuff said?” “Smartass,” Jake grumbled while the others grinned. “It would take some planning,” Pete commented. “Food, supplies. I’m presuming there isn’t a town there.” “You got it,” Tyler replied after taking another look at the map. “There’s the mountains, lots of green which could be trees and grass I suppose, and streams.” He shook his head. “The devil’s in the details, which it’s lacking in spades.” “How big is it?” Bart asked. “According to this,” Jake tapped the screen, “It’s about two square miles. I hit up a comparison site which said that means it’s around one and a half times as big as Central Park in New York City.” “Like I know how big that is,” Bart grumbled, rating laughs for some of the others. “If I’m reading this right,” Dave said, “some of the streams might begin in the mountains, meaning they could be fresh water, as compared to the ones that come in from the ocean. That’ll be good because we won’t have to carry water with us while we’re exploring.” “If you’re reading it right,” Tyler replied dryly. “We should bring a few cases of bottled water, just in case, and use my boat as home base. It looks like there’s a big cove—” he touched the computer screen, “—which should shelter it if the weather gets bad. Can you email me a copy of this? It’s better than the first one you showed us.” “Sure can,” Jake told him at the same time Neil said, shyly, “The cove is probably the one the pirates used.” “I’m sure,” Jake agreed. He looked at his friends. “Are we game to do this?” “I am,” Dave and Bart replied. Pete and Neil nodded. Tyler shrugged. “Why not? It’ll be a nice break from dealing with asshole customers at the restaurant.” “You won’t have any trouble getting the week off work, I hope,” Jake said. “Shouldn’t. I’m due vacation time. If they don’t like it, I’ll quit. Not like there aren’t other restaurants that could use a good waiter. What about you and Dave?” “I let my boss know yesterday that I have to go out of town because my dad’s going into the hospital next week and Mom needs me there. Not that he is, but…” Jake spread his hands and grinned. “So you already figured we’d go along with your plan.” When Jake nodded, Tyler shook his head. “You better hope you’re not calling down bad luck on your father. What about you, Dave?” “Since Dad owns the hardware store where I work, I’m sure I can convince him to give me the time off to go with Jake as moral support.” Dave smirked. “For some reason Dad likes him so it shouldn’t be too hard.” “He’d better, ‘cause you’re stuck with me so he is, too.” Jake winked. “Okay then, let’s meet here again tomorrow evening to start making lists. We have a week to get everything together.” “I presume you’re fixing dinner first,” Tyler teased. “Sure. Why not? Burgers work?” Everyone agreed they did. Pete even offered to bring beer, which definitely met with everyone’s approval. * * * * “What are you going to tell Carol?” Bart asked Pete as they drove back to their small, off-campus apartment. “Probably nothing,” Pete replied. “She’s going home over the break and she thinks I am, too.” “Then you’ll have to give your folks a heads-up that you aren’t.” “Yeah. I think…Okay, that’ll work. I’m staying here to keep you company because you’re not going home.” “As if I would.” Bart shook his head dismissively. “I’m not in the mood to deal with Mom’s newest man. Number three, I think, since the divorce.” Pete grinned. “See, I won’t be lying then, because I will be hanging out with you, only not here.” “This could be a kick, even though we both know we won’t find buried treasure. Like Jake said, undoubtedly everybody and their brother have searched for it over the last hundred years or more, so if there was any it’s long gone.” “I’m sure,” Pete agreed. “I wonder…Maybe there’s a lost gold mine somewhere in the mountains, or…” He laughed. “A cave full of a dragon’s horde of gold and jewels.” “Uh, huh. You have to stop playing those fantasy games.” Pete clutched his chest. “Never! They keep me sane.” Bart rolled his eyes. “Define sane.” * * * * “You forgot to tell them something,” Dave said when everyone had left. “Oh? What?” Jake asked, although the look he gave Dave said he knew. “That a few of the people who went treasure hunting on the island never returned.” “Yeah, well, according to what we read, the authorities put it down to them drowning, or getting lost in the mountains and falling into a crevasse or something, or being caught in a hurricane. It’s March, so it’s not hurricane season and we’re too smart to go off exploring on our own.” “That’s true, though you’d better make sure everyone knows we have to stick together.” Jake nodded. “I will. Knowing Tyler, he’ll take that as a dare.” “Only if he can shake Neil.” Jake laughed. “You noticed that, too.” “Oh yeah. The boy has a big crush on him, but he’s too shy to do anything about it.” “Maybe by the time this is over he will, or Tyler will see him as more than a wimpy kid.” “If he sees him at all. He prefers men his age or older from what I can tell,” Dave replied. “Love ‘em and leave ‘em to move on to the next one he picks up at one of the clubs.” “That’s him,” Jake agreed. “Gay playboy of, well maybe not the western world, but definitely here in the city.” Dave gave him a dry smile. “As long as he keeps his hands off you, he can sleep with anyone he wants.” “The same holds for you, not that we have to worry, we’re both younger than him.” “Twenty-five to his twenty-six. I’m not sure he’d see it as too young.” Jake pulled Dave into a tight embrace. “Stop worrying, if that’s what you’re doing. We belong together and nothing or no one is going to change that.” “I know.” Dave kissed him then suggested it was time for bed—which they both knew didn’t mean they’d go right to sleep. * * * * “Burgers and beer, the clichéd food for male bonding,” Tyler chortled as the six young men settled in Jake and Dave’s living room, plates in their laps, beers close at hand. “Except we’re already bonded,” Pete pointed out. “We wouldn’t be making plans for our big adventure if we weren’t.” “Big adventure.” Tyler shook his head in amusement. “Spoken like a true gaming fanatic.” “Bite me,” Pete muttered. “There’s nothing wrong with gaming. It takes logic and strategy to win.” “That’ll come in handy when we start exploring the island,” Dave pointed out, trying to defuse the situation before it could get worse. Tyler shrugged, took a couple of bites of his burger, then asked Dave, “Did you make arrangements to get off work next week?” “Yep. Like I said last night, I told Dad I wanted to go with Jake as moral support. He grumbled a lot but gave me the time off anyway.” “I am so ready for this,” Bart said. “Midterms are killing me.” “They’re not so bad,” Neil protested. Brad snorted. “For a junior, maybe. I’m a senior so they’re almost as important as finals if I want to get into grad school.” “I second that,” Pete said. “Not that I’m going to grad school, but good grades will help me find a decent job.” Tyler smirked. “Don’t want to end up being a waiter like me?” “Not really,” Pete replied mildly in an obvious attempt not to get into another set-to with him. “I’ll look for one as a copywriter at one of the newspapers or TV stations to start with and then work my way up from there.” “That’s right, you’re studying journalism.” Tyler glanced at Neil. “Graphic design, right?” Neil nodded. “And accounting.” Tyler pointed to Dave. “You got it, but then you knew that.” Tyler chuckled. “I did. We’ve known each other long enough, all of us, well except Neil since he’s the newcomer to our little group.” “Speaking of the group, if everyone’s finished eating, we might want to get down to planning our trip,” Jake said. They all agreed, taking their plates into the kitchen and then gathering around the dining table. The map was still there, along with pads and pencils and what Jake called his starter list of what they needed to bring with them. “It’s very tentative,” he explained. “Mostly the basics, water, food. I figured we’d get some of those freeze-dried meals backpackers use. The kind you add water to and heat.” “We have to get a camping stove,” Dave said. “I have one,” Bart told him. “And a couple of pots. We’ll have to get fuel containers for it.” “Making you our camping expert,” Pete said. “Not hardly. Dad took me hunting a few times and insisted we rough it. When he and Mom divorced, he sent me some of the stuff we used.” Bart appeared amused by the idea. “Not sure why he thought I’d need them at college but what the hell, I’ve got them and now they’ll come in handy.” “We don’t need that much camping food,” Tyler put in. “The boat has a small galley in the cabin, with a fridge. Since we’ll be using it as our base, we can eat most of our meals there. Speaking of which, we need sleeping bags because there’s only a double bed in the stateroom.” “I call dibs on that,” Jake announced. “For me and Dave.” Everyone laughed. “Backpacks, heavy-duty flashlights, maybe rain gear,” Pete added. “It is only March so we can’t count on it being dry all week.” “Good point,” Jake agreed, adding his suggestions to the list. “I can get some of this from work using my employee discount as long as everyone chips in for the cost.” “How are you going to explain it to your boss?” Tyler asked. “Supposedly you’re going home to help your mom and dad.” “Hmm. Yeah. Okay, a friend of mine is spending spring break taking a group of kids on a camping trip. I’m helping him out by getting some of the stuff cheaper than retail.” “I suppose that would work.” “It should. What else do we need to buy?” Jake asked. “Real food, bottled water, damn, we’re going to be broke by the time we leave,” Bart said. “Naw. A lot of this we already have,” Dave replied. “Clothes, personal items, backpacks, right? I bet some of us have sleeping bags or can borrow them from someone.” He looked at the others, getting nods in reply. “So basically we need to buy food of both kinds, water, and flashlights,” Jake said. “Remember to pack boots because we’ll be doing a lot of hiking.” “No kidding,” Tyler said. “When do we want to leave?” “Saturday, say around ten if that works for everyone,” Jake replied. They agreed it did. Then Neil asked, “How will we communicate while we’re exploring? We can’t use our phones, I don’t think. I doubt we’d get reception that far from the mainland.” “Good point,” Jake replied. “Not that we’re going to split up, or if we do, we’ll pair off because nobody, and I mean nobody goes off on their own.” “I agree,” Tyler said. “I’ve got two sets of two-way radios on the boat, for emergencies. Add another set to the list, and batteries, lots of batteries for them and the flashlights.” “Done.” Jake did. “Anything we’re forgetting?” Pete chuckled. “Probably. If anyone thinks of anything we can let you know. Right now, though, let’s call it a night. I have more studying to do and I’m sure Bart and Neil do as well.” Neil sighed. “Big time.” “I have a suggestion,” Dave said, holding up a hand to stop them before they took off. “We won’t need our wallets, phones, or keys while we’re on the island. Hell, there’s a good chance we might lose them while we’re crawling around in any of the caves we find. So let’s leave them at home, except our apartment keys of course. Or we could put them in the glove compartments of our cars for whoever’s driving to the marina.” “Why drive?” Bart asked. “We can hire one of those oversized cabs and save on a week of parking lot fees. I’m willing to put it on my card as long as I get paid back.” Jake nodded. “Makes sense to me. Does anyone object?” When no one did, he said, “All right. Do we want to meet again before Saturday morning?” “Let’s play it by ear, but probably not,” Tyler said. “We can divvy up the cost of whatever you buy from work when we get back from our—” he winked at Pete, “—big adventure. Since I have to shop for food anyway, I’ll pick up the camp food too, and the fuel for your stove, Bart, if you tell me what to get.” Bart did, giving him some cash for it and the food. The others chipped in as well, promising to pay the rest as Tyler had suggested when Jake had an itemized list of what he, Dave, and Tyler had spent. “Okay, we’ll see each other again on Saturday, if not before,” Pete said, heading for the door with Bart right behind him. “You need a lift, Neil?” “Please, thank you. I took a bus to get here.” “You should have let us know and we’d have picked you up. Come on.” The three of them and Tyler left. Dave locked the door before going to do the dishes and dispose of the empty beer cans. Jake organized the shopping list and emailed copies to each of his friends, adding a note on Tyler’s with the exact coordinates for the island as well as the copy of the map since he’d forgotten to give them to him before he left. “That should do it, for now,” he said when Dave joined him. “I think so. I can get the flashlights and batteries from work since they’ll probably be better than what you can buy at the store. Mag-lights I think because they’re stronger and make good weapons, like a cop’s baton.” “Weapons? Are you kidding?” “No. We don’t know what we might run into on the island in the way of wildlife. Not that I’d try to hit a bear with one, but something smaller…” Dave shrugged. “There better not be anything larger than a squirrel or badger,” Jake muttered. “Yeah, well badgers can be pretty aggressive,” Dave pointed out and feigned fighting one off. “Whatever.” Jake rolled his eyes. “Having a powerful light when we go into the mountains is a good idea so go for it.” “This isn’t a cheap vacation,” Dave grumbled as he looked at the list. “Look at it this way; we’re spending less than the cost of a roundtrip airline ticket to visit family, right?” Dave smiled. “You always do see the bright side of things, and it’ll be a hell of a lot more fun.”