Island Mystery (closed)

[Asa]

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"Legends myths they all hold an element of truth within them."

This little island was no different. Stories handed down from time out of mind was that a young male either chose or was chosen to go to the island as an offering or sacrifice no one knew to the being that dwelled there. Centuries of this going on till the people eventually vanished or were wiped out no one knew for sure on that either till limited written history was found and he went in search of these people this being and to solve this mystery.

It had been so long since anyone had come to the island. Till now... She felt the footsteps and could hear the breathing and heart beat she could smell him... After so many many years... Life...

~~~~~~~~~

Life... The scent unmistakable and the feel of footsteps undeniable as she sat in the long empty and and long hidden town built by those long ago sent to her for the magics that protected the ancient people who called the nearby mainland home.

 

[LucianDevine]

Jarek confidently stepped out of his small kayak when he felt it touch ground on the beach that surrounded the small island. He pulled it ashore, tossed his paddle inside, and grabbed his backpack and machete before turning towards the treeline that lay just beyond the beach. A quick glance at the sun told him that he had plenty of time to explore before he had to worry about making camp for the night.

As he'd done so many times before, Jarek strode confidently towards the unknown that was before him. He was the man that the popular nature and history channels called when they got wind of something like this, a long-forgotten piece of land and history that they wanted to cover. Before they could do that though, they needed to know if what was there was worth their time and money. It was for that reason that they sent field parties, or in this case, Jarek. Though his fee was incredibly high, it was still cheaper than it would cost to send an entire field team, and if something happened to him, it was less of a lost investment on their part.

Jarek hadn't been born with his name, but rather had legally changed his name to it. He'd been the only child of a couple of drug addicts, and had learned a long time ago that there was only one person he could count on, himself. So, after getting himself legally emancipated at fifteen years of age, he'd changed his name to Jarek Bakar, loosely translated as fierce, strong, and alone. He stood a proud six feet tall, had a muscular body that he'd worked hard to get, and had a steady brown gaze that was as steady and confident as he was.

So, without even a hint of hesitation, Jarek started into the jungle, hacking at the vines and tree branches that sought to impede him with his machete. Written histories had just been discovered in the remains of a village on the nearby mainland talking about sending young and strong males to this island as offerings or sacrifices. The histories were limited to say the least, and didn't specially mention who or what the offerings were being offered to or even why they were being offered up. It was impossible for people to not wonder about such things, and now here he was, searching for the truth, whatever it may be.

 

[Asa]

Centuries of silence.... Solitude... Sleep... Now... Life again set foot on her island. But why... How... Who? She made her way along the ancient rooftops and walls then taking to the trees and darkness of the canopy. She moved quickly the stronger the feel of life became but also the pain of the island as well from whoever this was striking at the vegetation. Closing the distance she remained hidden for now to study this person.

 

[LucianDevine]

With no map to guide him, Jarek had but one direction he could reasonably go, forward. So, with his machete swinging before him, clearing the path, he moved in as straight a line as he could, walking until he found what he was expecting. With the histories being as limited as they were, his expectations were equally limited. He could really only expect something like a mass grave, a blood altar, or maybe a temple to one entity or another.

Since Jarek had checked the position of the sun before he'd started into the jungle, he'd figured that he would have the time to find what he was looking for before dark. The jungle however, seemed to have other ideas. It just seemed to go on and on, and almost before he knew it, things started to go dim beneath the canopy of the trees.

Though Jarek was confident in his ability to survive a night in the jungle, even a jungle he hadn't been in before, he still wanted to avoid it as best he could. He pushed his efforts with his machete up a notch, hacking harder and faster. Even now, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and started to stand on end. He got the feeling that he was being watched. To be fair though, he was surrounded on all sides by the sights and sounds of the jungle. So of course he was being watched. So he tried to push that feeling out of his mind.

After another hour went by, Jarek was covered with a sheen of sweat as his efforts to get through the jungle were starting to resemble desperation rather than determination. Just when he was about to give up and start to think about finding a place to spend the night, something in the distance caught his eye. He didn't know what it was exactly, but somehow the jungle seemed different up ahead, thinner perhaps? He pushed on, the possibility of actually being near his destination reinvigorating him a bit. The closer he got, the surer he got that the jungle was thinning out. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he finally came to the edge of the treeline though.

Spreading out before him was a clearing, not an empty clearing though, but rather a clearing that had rows of houses on either side of it. It wasn't even the fact that there were houses there. It was the fact that the houses were more than just wooden shacks thrown together by villagers. Architecturally speaking, they were decades ahead of the capabilities of the villagers who made them.

Jarek was so caught up in the houses themselves, that it took him a while to realize that not only were these houses here, but they weren't overrun by the jungle that surrounded the clearing. He half expected to actually see people coming and going. He then realized that it was more than just the houses that were somehow untouched by the jungle. The entire clearing was like that. The trees at the edges grew straight up, with not even a branch extending past a certain point into the clearing. He could do little other than just stand at the edge of it, thoroughly perplexed by what he was seeing.

 

[Asa]

The island let him find the village so she stepped from the shadows of the far row of little houses.

Who are you? Have the villagers returned? It has finally vanished?

 

[LucianDevine]

A slight hint of movement in the shadows near one of the houses caught Jarek's attention. He thought it was nothing at first, but then when he focused on it, he saw a form take shape. A few moments after that, he knew for sure that it was a woman walking towards him.

The woman's appearance caught Jarek off guard to say the least. He could do nothing else but stare at her as she approached him. The dark haired beauty was exotic and breathtaking. She almost seemed to glide over the ground rather than walk upon it, her sheer white sarong clung to her sun-kissed form, accentuating every sensual curve of her body.

It took Jarek a couple of moments to even realize that the woman had spoken to him. It took him another couple for her words to actually register in his mind. They didn't make any sense to him at all...

"I...I'm Jarek..." He stammered at last before shaking his head. "What villagers...and has what vanished?

 

[Asa]

He did not know what she was talking about. How could this be? None knew of her or the island but the mainland villagers and the dark mist and the "monster" it held.

The villagers always called me Spirit.

Her head tilted studying him.

Did the villagers not send you as sacrifice? If not then has the dark mist finally vanished?

 

[LucianDevine]

Half of Spirit's made sense, the part about the sacrifices. The other half of it though, made no sense at all.

"The village is gone...The villagers either died off or abandoned it centuries ago..."

Jarek met Spirit's gaze as she cocked her head to the side a bit, clearly looking him over.

"What mist are you talking about? Jarek asked. "I don't understand."

 

[Asa]

The dark mist held a creature that sought to hunt the island and the villagers. I kept the mist from finding any of us and they thanked me with a sacrifice.

She sat down thinking on them being gone.

I fell asleep next to the last sacrifice and that is all I remember. Till I felt your presence on the island. You hurt the island some but still it let you find the village that I taught the sacrifices to build.

 

[LucianDevine]

Spirit's words confirmed some of what Jarek knew from the writings that had been found. Despite those confirmations though, her words also brought up a lot of questions. It wasn't until she mentioned that he'd hurt the island that he remembered that he was still holding the machete loosely in one hand. He sheathed it and looked around the village once more before he finally dared to take a step into the clearing.

"I think you must be confused..." Jarek started as he slowly lowered himself to sit across from her. "The last sacrifice that likely came from the mainland was probably hundreds of years ago. There is no way you could have been alive for that. Is it possible that you are just remembering stories that your parents or grandparents told you?"

Jarek wasn't trying to offend Spirit or call her a liar, but he knew that she was probably just in shock. Hell, maybe she her ancestors had come from the mainland, and hearing about it's fate had left her in some kind of shock, and she was trying to rationalize all of it to herself?

 

[Asa]

What are parents? Grandparents?

She looked genuinely confused now at his words.

I have been here in this place since before the villagers and before the mist and its creature.

 

[LucianDevine]

Spirit's words had Jarek looking as genuinely confused as she had seemed to be at his.

"How is that possible Spirit...?" Jarek asked softly, his mind trying to wrap itself around what she was trying to tell him. "How could you have been alive back then, yet still be here now? Hos could you have helped protect the mainland from whatever the beast was?"

"What...are you...?" Jarek asked at last.

 

[Asa]

I am their guardian... Was their guardian.

She took a step closer studying him. His clothing was strange from what she was used to seeing on anyone.

 

[LucianDevine]

Jarek watched Spirit stand as she spoke, and he did the same, rising slowly to his feet. He saw her studying him once again, and he simply stood still, letting her do so in peace as he let his eyes take all of her in once more.

"And what will you do now Spirit..." Jarek asked softly as he lifted his gaze to find hers once more.

 

[Asa]

I... I do not know. They are gone but you have not said if the mist or its creature are gone ad well?

She grew concerned about that little fact.

 

[LucianDevine]

Jarek felt sympathetic towards Spirit. Everything she knew was gone, and now she was likely feeling lost and confused.

"I came from the mainland earlier today." Jarek started as he continued to hold her dark gaze. "There wasn't any sign of mist or anything that sounds like the kind of creature you're talking about." He felt a strong desire to hold her, comfort her, or offer at least some type of support, but he forced himself to resist the urge as he continued to watch and study her.

 

[Asa]

It could not have been destroyed.

She paced a little getting a little agitated trying to figure it all out.

I have to find out what happened how it could have harmed them or how they escaped it. Answers... I need answers.

 

[LucianDevine]

Jarek found himself torn as he watched Spirit start to pace, noticeably agitated. He still wasn't sure if he truly believed that she was who and what she said she was, but it was hard not to be at least a little curious.

"Is there anything I can do to help...?" Jarek asked at last, not entirely sure what kind of answer he was expecting.

 

[Asa]

I... I have never left my island before. A sacrifice was always sent...

Suddenly she began running from the village deeper into the island then to the far shore where a simple primitive bamboo dock barely held its place in the water as she stood staring out over the water and skies.

Her path carried her towards an inlet that would have been on aerial maps just a little west of the gap between the mainland and the island.