Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

***THEO***

T he sun had reached its zenith and begun to sink in the sky when Theo looked around and realized how far they'd walked down the beach. "We should probably head back soon," he said, pulling Eden to a stop. "It's going to start getting really hot in a little while."

"It's already hot. Let's sit in the shade for a while before we go back," she said, pointing to a tree a few thousand feet from the water. "Look, there's a perfect little depression in the sand under that tree. It looks like a couch."

"It does, if you use your imagination," he said, grinning at her. "But what the heck, let's go try it out."

When they were sitting in the sandy depression, Eden turned to him and grinned. "It's pretty comfortable, but there's something missing," she said. "We need some cushions or something."

He looked around. "We're fresh out of cushions," he said, then jumped up. "But I have something that might help."

After he'd broken off an armful of huge fern leaves, he helped Eden back to her feet, then laid them over the sand and stood back. "Ta-da, that should be nice and soft now," he said. "Go on, give it a try." Eden sank onto the leaves, then grinned at him. "It's perfect," she said holding her hand out to him. "Come and sit with me for a while."

He sat down next to Eden, put his arm around her, and she snuggled up to him with a contented sigh. "I wish it could just be us; I wish we could get away from the rest of the world," she said, closing her eyes. "I can just imagine it… no more expectations, no more worrying that you're too old for me, just the two of us."

Closing his own eyes, suddenly very sleepy, he shifted so they were both more comfortable. "Lost together on a deserted island," he said. "I like the idea of that."

"Hmmm, maybe not alone, there could be a tribe of local people," she said, half asleep. "They could help us live off the land, show us how to fish and grow food, you know, stuff like that."

"Sounds good to me," he said, his mind already cloudy with sleep. "Where do I sign up?"

Eden made a little noise, but then her breathing evened out, and he knew that she was asleep. "A nap might be nice," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Sleep well, my little vixen."

Only seconds later the comforting veil of sleep slid over him, and he fell deeply asleep, reassured by the sound of Eden's breathing and the feeling of having her in his arms. Around them the forest began to shimmer, the leaves on the trees shook as if in a strong wind, and the water rose and fell on the shore as if time no longer mattered. When the forest became calm again, the land around them had changed, but they slept on, unaware of what awaited them when they awoke.

Theo was the first to surface from the deep slumber, and he opened his eyes groggily. He was having a hard time getting his brain to focus, but he finally managed to look around him. The feeling that something wasn't quite right slowly settled over him as he watched the waves slipping onto the shore and then retreating. Unable to find the reason for the sensation, he untangled himself from Eden, slowly got to his feet, and stretched his cramped muscles. Amazed that he'd slept so deeply and for so long, he looked up and down the shore, trying again to figure out what was wrong.

He heard Eden stirring behind him but didn't turn around. "How long have we been asleep?" she asked. "It feels like forever."

"It's only been a couple of hours," he said, glancing up at the sun. "I can't believe I crashed like that. I never nap during the day."

"It's all the exercise and fresh air," she said, walking up next to him. "We probably needed it."

"I guess," he said, unable to shake the feeling that something was off. "Maybe we should head back. It's already late afternoon, and I was hoping we could go to dinner together."

"You mean a date?" Eden asked, a big grin on her face.

"That's exactly what I meant," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Our first date."

"Then let's get moving. I need a shower before I change my clothes," she said, pulling him down the beach. "I've never been on a real date before."

"You've been on fake dates?" he asked. "Is there such a thing?"

"Yeah, when your mother sets you up with someone she thinks is acceptable, but you find revolting," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I guess that never happens to you, though."

"Oh, I've been on a few of those dates," he said, laughing. "I just never thought of them that way."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, their hands clasped together, and it wasn't long before they reached the spot where they'd had their picnic, but to his surprise, there was nothing there. He stood staring at the empty space for a few seconds, then looked over at Eden, who had the same confused look on her face.

"Isn't this where we left all our stuff?" she asked, looking up at him. "I would swear this is where we were."

The feeling that something was off came back only much stronger, and he turned a full circle, looking at the beach and the forest, then looked down at her. "This is it, I'm sure of it," he said. "Maybe Max sent someone for the basket, and they took everything by mistake. Let's head back to the village, I'm sure there's an explanation."

"I'm sure you're right. It's just weird, they didn't even leave our towels," she said, looking a little uneasy. "I can't believe anyone would steal them, it's just so strange."

"I'm sure it's just a mix-up," he said, no longer able to ignore the weird feeling in his stomach, but not ready to share. "We'll sort it out when we get back."

***Eden***

By the time they were halfway back to the village Eden had begun to notice that the landscape around them didn't look quite right, but didn't say anything, afraid that Theo would think she was imagining things. Only a minute later though, it became clear to her that it wasn't her imagination, and they both froze, staring at the empty space where the marina was supposed to be. Instead of the bustling docks filled with boats and happy guests, there was just empty water sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight, and for a second, she was so shocked that she couldn't breathe. "

"Ummm……. Theo, where is everything?" she finally squeaked. "Are we lost? Did we go the wrong way?"

He looked back the way they'd come, then over at the empty bay, then down at her. "I don't think so…I mean, we couldn't have," he finally said. "But this doesn't make any sense. It couldn't have all just disappeared."

"What are we going to do?" she asked, trying not to panic. "This must be a bad dream or something."

Theo pulled her into his arms. "It's okay; we're going to be fine," he said. "We'll figure out what's going on. We just need to stay calm and stick together."

She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around him. "Right, stay calm and stick together," she said. "I wanted an adventure, but…"

Her words trailed off when Theo suddenly tensed up, then pushed her behind him. "Theo, what's…" she started to ask, then saw the men standing on the beach, all dressed in some kind of loincloth and holding very large spears with sharpened stones on the tips. "Oh……."

One of the men stepped forward, then gestured toward where the village used to be. He said a few words she couldn't understand, then gestured again. "I think they want us to go with them," Theo said. "There's a trail that leads into the jungle that I can see from here."

"Should we go?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Do you think they're going to hurt us?"

"I don't think so," he said, putting his arm around her. "You're safe with me, Eden, I promise. I can protect you if it comes to that."

She looked up at him. "I know," she said, then looked back over at the men. "I keep thinking that I'm dreaming, and I'll wake up soon."

"I think this is real," Theo said, then tensed up even more when the men began to surround them. "We have to decide what we want to do, go with them or try to escape. I vote for going with them, they don't look like they want to hurt us."

After studying the men for a second more and seeing nothing hostile in their eyes, she turned and started down the beach in the direction the man had pointed. "I think we should go with them, at least until we figure out what's going on," she said. "Something happened while we were sleeping, I just don't know what."

"I don't usually sleep that like during the day," he said, glancing at the men around them. "Do you think they drugged us or something?"

She shook her head. "That doesn't explain the resort disappearing," she said, forcing herself to take a deep breath to hold back the panic. "It's like we went back in time, a long way back in time."

They were walking through where the little village had been. "That's the only thing that makes sense at this point," he said, looking carefully around. "There's no sign that anything was ever here. Even if this was some kind of elaborate joke, that's just not possible."

"Unless we're both going crazy," she said. "A shared psychosis or something like that."

"I think we should stick with your time travel hypothesis," he said, a little smile on his face. "We're not both crazy."

"Well, that makes more sense than time travel," she said, with a sigh. "I'm trying really hard not to be scared, Theo."

"I know, sweetheart," he said. "But I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you."

The trail started to climb into the jungle, forcing them to walk single file ending the conversation, and she replayed Theo's words in her head every time she started to feel the fear and panic creep up. But as they got further from the beach and the jungle closed around them, it became more difficult to stay calm. Even on an island this size, they could get lost for days if they tried to escape, and the thought of wandering around in such a hostile environment scared her even more than what the men might do to them.

When she turned to look back at Theo, she was sure that he was thinking the same thing, but he flashed her a smile and gave her a thumbs up. Not feeling much better, she smiled back at him, then turned back around, wondering how much further they had to go. Only a few minutes later, she spotted a clearing in the trees ahead, and her heart began to pound furiously in her chest, but only a second later, Theo was by her side, taking her hand.

She looked up at him, let out a relieved sigh when her nerves instantly calmed, and a wave of comfort washed over her. Under different circumstances, she might have questioned what she was feeling, but right then, it was just a relief to have Theo by her side. When they came out of the jungle into the clearing, she paused for a second, surprised by the busy little settlement in front of them, then let Theo pull her forward.

An older man was walking toward them, a smile on his face. Several women followed him, their hands full of trays and bowls of food. "Welcome to our village," the older man said, his words slow and measured. "Come and have food, you are hungry."

They both stared at him in astonishment, but Theo found his voice first. "Thank you," he said. "We are hungry."

The man motioned for them to follow him. "I am Peter," the man said over his shoulder. "You are very welcome. We mean you no harm. You eat, you rest, then we talk."

He led them through the village to a small hut, ignoring the stares of the other villagers, pulled back the covering from the door, and gestured for them to go in. She hesitated for a second, but Theo nodded his head, and she slipped through into the quiet, cool darkness. Theo was right behind her, and they stood watching as Peter and the women crowded in with them.

"Eat, sleep, then we talk," Peter said, then waved his hand at the women and said something in a language she couldn't understand. They quickly set down the food, then backed out of the hut. "Now, you relax, I'll be back……later."