A Pleasant Story

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Island Ventures


As the submarine moved off into the ocean, Dustin was able to survive the same way Kentucky Smith did in the movie, "Pilferers of the Misplaced Coffer." He watched carefully as the sub came to a stop on the shore of a tropical island. On the beach were piles of treasures ready to be loaded into the submarine.

"So this is where the loot came from," he said to himself. "They must pick it up here and then transport it to Pleasantview."







The divers emerged from the hatch of the submarine and gathered on the beach. Dustin cautiously slipped off the sub into the water and worked his way up the beach to hide behind a large statue.





He very quietly pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed home. He wanted to call and let Carla and Kaylie and his brothers know that he was okay. Carla answered and the connection was terrible, but at least he was able to get through and tell her he was okay. He was going to tell her more details but his phone battery died.






The divers gathered on the beach near the loot, and then began carrying it from the shore into the hold of the submarine.





As the loot began to disappear into the sub, Dustin realized that they’d eventually get to where he was hiding.


He ducked down—he had to find a place to hide! Right in front of him were some small tiki idols. He grabbed one and put it in his inventory so he’d have some proof of what he had seen.





He looked around in panic and spotted a small hut away from the beach, with some ruins and heavy foliage surrounding it.





He checked to see that the divers were busy with the treasures, then sprinted toward the hut. He ducked behind a stone pillar and peeked out to keep an eye on them.








When all the loot was stored on the sub, the group walked together away from the beach, right toward the hut! Dustin froze and watched them as they went inside.





All was silent for a few minutes, then the group emerged, now dressed in island clothing.





Dustin waited for them all to exit, then followed them quietly

He caught up to them as they entered a large boardwalk area on a beach a few miles from the shore where they'd landed. Dustin stayed far enough behind that he didn't think they'd notice him. They were mingling with tourists, but he kept focused on the tall red-headed man, who was thinking about his school days.






He followed them down to the lower level of the boardwalk, where they all gathered near what seemed to be a changing room.






Dustin ducked behind the stairs to hide himself, and when he looked again, only one of the divers was still there! Where had they gone?

As he watched, she turned and he got enough of a look at her face to realize it was the same woman he'd given his delivery package to behind the mall!






She seemed to be waiting for the tourists to clear the area, then she entered the changing room.





Dustin waited, but she did not reappear, nor did any of the others. He cautiously approached the changing room and looked in. It was empty. He hadn't taken his eyes off it since the woman went in--where had she gone? Dustin began feeling around the edges of the small room and found that the floor seemed a bit crooked. Could it be an elevator of some kind? Dustin looked for some way to control it, but gave up. The room was featureless.





Dustin watched the changing room for a long time, but the divers never reappeared. "Maybe they have some kind of underground tunnels?" he thought.


He finally gave up his vigil and went to explore his surroundings to find out where he was. He spotted an electrical outlet in the men's room, and plugged his cell phone in to recharge. He then went to look around the boardwalk.

At a souvenir display, he found little palm trees and treasure chests labeled "Twikkii Island," so now he knew where he was. It was a beautiful place and the weather was wonderful; he wished he could simply enjoy his surroundings, but his eagerness to find out what had happened to his mother filled his thoughts.






He observed the other people wandering the boardwalk and noticed that most were either wearing native islander clothing, like the divers, or else very touristy clothing. He decided to buy an outfit that might help him fit in better.






Newly garbed in his tropical clothing he wondered, "Okay, what to do now?" Now that he fit in perfectly with the others on Twikkii Island, he began to walk, a bit aimlessly, just trying to get an idea.







Then he noticed a tour guide.

"Maybe I could take a tour to give me an idea of what the island looks like," he thought, and asked the guide about the possibilities.

The guide told him about a helicopter tour of the island, and Dustin booked it to get a sense of the island's geography.


The helicopter arrived and Dustin boarded, then buckled his seatbelt quickly as the whirlybird lifted into the sky.

On the ground, someone was watching him fly away.






Dustin paid close attention to the roads and buildings of Twikkii Island as the helicopter soared over the landscape. He didn't really get any good ideas about what to investigate next, though.

When the helicopter landed, he swatted at his head. A swarm of bees had followed him!






He ran shrieking around the area near the boardwalk until finally the helicopter sailed away and the bees stopped bothering him.





As the sun set, he spotted a jewelry kiosk and went to check it out. Maybe he could find the necklace his Mom had been wearing!




No such luck. The necklace he'd given her wasn't among the choices offered. But he did find some things he thought he'd buy for his family. They'd probably like a souvenir from the island. It didn't occur to Dustin that he'd just thought of Kaylie and Carla as "family."





Dustin finished his purchases and then wandered around aimlessly, wondering what he should do next. He didn't know where to go to continue tracking the divers, and he wasn't sure where he should sleep. He collected his cell phone and then stared off down the road.






He was startled by a lovely voice from behind him saying "Hello."

Dustin stopped in his tracks and tried to catch his breath as he beheld a beautiful and exotic-looking girl.






"Uh, hi," he stuttered.

"I'm Lainey," she said, in a voice that made him think of honey flowing over water-smoothed rocks. "Welcome to Twikkii Island. It is a welcome, right? You looked like you weren't sure where to go."

Dustin nodded. "Yeah, I just got here this morning. My name's . . . " Dustin hesitated. Should he tell her his name? He didn't want anyone to know he was here. He decided quickly to give her a fake name, but halfway between "Justin" and "Dusty" he got stuck and said, "I'm Justy."





"Justy," she repeated, as though savoring the syllables. "That's nice. A little unusual. I like it, though."

Dustin fidgeted uncomfortably. Justy? Brilliant.

Lainey continued, "Are you here on your own? Maybe I could show you around."

Dustin didn't relish the idea of hunting for the divers in the dark, so he agreed.

"Great!" she said, "First I'll show you the Majestic Ruins of Jumbok IV! You didn't bring soap with you, did you?






When they arrived at the ruins, Lainey told him that they were the site of worship for an ancient civilization who had lived on the islands for millennia.






She led him to a great waterfall emerging from the mouth of a stone ruin and explained, "Here, if you have a deep wish," she told him, "you can make an offering to the ancient gods to grant your wish."

"What should I offer?" Dustin asked her.

"Any coin is acceptable," she told him. "The gods are not greedy."






Dustin fished a coin from his pocket and looked up at the fierce monument.

To himself he said, "Please help me find out what happened to my Mom," and threw the coin into the pool.

Nothing happened.






Lainey said, "I'm sorry, Justy. Sometimes the gods do not answer. Probably because they are not real." Then she laughed.

Dustin looked at her in confusion.

"It's really just a way to collect money from the tourists. But we do use the money for upkeep to keep the monuments well-tended." She reached her hand out and touched his arm at his look of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a real wish. I didn't mean to tease you."






Her face brightened and she asked, "How about we go somewhere really fun?"

Dustin would have followed Lainey anywhere; he never got tired of listening to her voice and looking at her face. But he was pleasantly surprised when she led him to a hot spring on the other side of the ruin.

"Oh, this looks cool," he said. "Can we soak in them?"






"Sure!" she said. "Did you bring a swimsuit, Justy? Follow me!"

Dustin climbed carefully into the hot springs after Lainey and tried not to stare at her beautiful bikini-clad body too obviously.

Lainey was saying, "I really love climate science. I want to go to college and then become something so I can send up weather satellites and stuff. What are you interested in?"






Dustin told her that he was currently working in the oceanography career, but that he liked all kinds of nature, including bugs, and she seemed delighted.

"That's so cool!" she exclaimed. "I almost feel like I've been studying that my whole life since I spend so much time in the water here. Living on an island brings me close to nature."







Dustin gazed at her happily. It was so fun to talk to someone his own age who just seemed to appreciate him and not judge his choices.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “There’s a very good stand here where you can get some island foods.”

Dustin agreed and followed her to the kiosk, where they continued their conversation.

"Where do you want to go to college?" He asked her.

"I'm not sure yet. Anywhere off the island. I've been here my whole life and never got a chance to travel. What about you?"





"I don't need to go to college to work in oceanography, but maybe it would be fun," he told her. "Somewhere I can study biology. Academie Le Tour has a really good program, but they are hard to get into."

She looked at him shyly and smiled. "Maybe I could go there, too. Do they have a good math program? I’ll need that for my field. "





“Oh yeah,” he said, “I think all their programs are really good. They are considered the top school for academics! They don’t even have fraternities!”






When they finished their food, Dustin felt much better. All his bee-sting discomfort had been washed away by the hot springs, and now his hunger was sated.

"Thanks for bringing me here," he told Lainey. "It was really fun."

Lainey moved close to him and asked shyly, "Would you like to go somewhere private now?"







Dustin swallowed and gulped. "Oh, sure," he choked out.

Lainey showed him to an almost-deserted place called Seawater Beach Paradise and led him down to the water's edge.

“This is one of my favorite places,” she told him. “It is very peaceful. At least, most of the time!”





Dustin stopped laughing and asked her if she wanted to sit on the sand and talk.

Lainey lowered herself gracefully and asked, "So what was your wish at the ruins? It seemed to make you really sad."

Dustin hadn't decided to tell her about his Mom; he just knew he was going to. He started with the necklace and then told her all he knew and had discovered about the divers, Lainey was quiet, just listening intently.

She sat up straight and looked him in the eyes and said, "Justy, I am so sorry about your Mom, but this all seems very dangerous." He waited for her to tell him not to do it, as Angela surely would have. But she continued, "I hope you are being very careful. These people sound ruthless. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm trying," he replied. "They haven't spotted me yet."




“I’m a little cold,” Dustin said. “Let’s make a campfire.”

Lainey smiled and said, “Or I could keep you warm.”

As they looked at the stars, Lainey snuggled up to him and said, “I will keep my ears open," she told him, "But maybe I know something already. There is a very wealthy woman who has a house here on the island and she had a bunch of sculptures stolen not long ago. Maybe these people have stolen from her."

"Can you show me her house?" Dustin asked.

"Yes of course," Lainey replied, "but it is late now and I must go home. How about tomorrow? You can call me."





Dustin said that would be great and thanked her for her help. Then he took a chance and moved closer to her. Lainey immediately put her arms around him and he held her close, then very gently kissed her.




They stepped apart and Lainey waved at him. "Goodnight, Justy," she said.

"Oh, wait," he said, "My name is actually Dustin. I was really nervous when we met and told you the wrong name."

Lainey laughed. "Well that explains it. I thought 'Justy' was a bit odd. Goodnight."





Dustin watched her walk away. He was a bit stunned. He'd come here to investigate his Mom's murder, and had met the most wonderful girl in the world.


He decided to go back to the beach where the submarine had landed and curl up in the ruins to get some sleep. He regretted not asking Lainey if she knew a cheap place he could stay, but it was way too late now and he didn't want to wake her up with a call.

As he approached the shack, he saw a crumpled figure on the ground in the distance.