Shade Island

A short story that follows Chris Atlas and the terrible discovery he makes while on Shade Island, an isolated place that holds an unbelievable secret.

The moon glowed brilliantly, offering a brief escape from the terrible reality that surrounded Chris Atlas. Icy winds continuously seemed to flow right through his jacket, paying no mind to the barrier that was supposed to warm him. Waves after waves hurled themselves into the wooden boards of the rowboat, splashing the slim man with unkind lake water.

Worst of all was the relentless rain, which stung like a needle as it contacted skin. It had been like this since Chris’s arrival at noon, without the leniency of a break. How anyone could withstand these conditions was implausible. Yet, the old man who commanded the dinky ship proved to be much more resistant.

A shadowy mass approached in the distance, but the rocking boat and steady fog kept Chris from making it out. Hopefully it was Shade Island, the isolated home that his brother and new sister-in-law had decided to reside. They had only gotten married a couple weeks earlier, but Belle insisted that they immediately settle to a “charming” island she had discovered. She’s had this place in mind for a very long time, and even mentioned it on the first date with Henry, a mere three months ago.

How could anyone wish to live here? Chris thought. It must be the loneliest place in the world. He then noticed the ferryman toss something from the boat, and a duo of splashes followed.

Chris quickly became suspicious, “What was that?”

“Just some luggage, but I couldn’t tell ya’ their contents,” the oarsman replied shrugging. He held up a wrinkly finger towards the impending isle, “Erry’ few months or so, the family on Shade Island gives me a buncha’ cases and says for me to throw ‘em into the deepest part of the lake. I get paid a pretty penny for not askin’ any questions too!”

This made Chris even more curious, but he restrained himself from asking anymore. He had not known that others lived on the isle with his brother and sister-in-law. Nothing was ever mentioned of it. Chris looked towards the murky figure that crept closer and closer. Looks like we’re not alone on Shade Island after all.

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

Once Chris stepped onto the soaked, muddy beach he found Henry waiting for him. Shivering like a scared animal, it was clear he had not adjusted to the cold yet.

“Hey!” yelled Henry with one arm raised as a smile spread across his face, “I was getting worried you wouldn’t make it.”

Chris loved his brother, but now more than ever, standing in the harsh weather, Henry Atlas looked fragile. He had always been that way, a lover not a fighter. He wept during tacky movie scenes, laughed at bad jokes, and trusted every stranger he encountered. Maybe these were the attributes that caused him and Belle to marry so quickly, it was hard to tell. Yet it was clear that the weather hadn’t taken a toll on his childlike innocence.

The brothers reminisced as the ferryman left the shores behind them, heading back to the mainland. As Chris yearned for shelter and a warm meal, Henry informed him of a change in plans.

“Belle set up supper with the other couple on the island,” Henry explained enthusiastically, “So we’ll just head straight to their place. And quickly too, this cold is killing me.”

The island was covered with a dense forest with a tight canopy that acted as a ceiling. Some of the rain was shielded once they were concealed under the trees, but the cold lessened only slightly. After about fifteen minutes of walking, Chris could make out the outline of a cabin through the fog that still lingered. They came nearer to find candles aglow inside.

“What are the names of the two that live here?” Chris questioned as he turned to his younger brother.

“Hmm…I think Belle mentioned Rodrick and Rose,” Henry supposed, “Although I have not yet had the pleasure to meet them myself.”

They stepped up on the squeaking porch, which obviously had been under much damage over the years. It gave Chris and uneasy feeling. I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. When he looked to see if his brother felt the same, Chris was greeted with the easy smile and excitement that his brother never lacked. Henry didn’t even notice the glance of suspicion, and continued to march towards the oak door without a second of reconsideration.

The door swung open to emit a wave of warm air. An enormous bearded bloke wearing a checkered jacket revealed himself. He had a broad chin and a neck as thick as a tree trunk, both under a mess of dark hair with some strands of gray. His cheek had one long scar across it, adding to his rough look of an older man. His hard gaze seemed to be studying Chris in a menacing way. It was almost like the man was angry with the brothers, for no reason at all. It came to the attention of Chris that before him stood a hard man, a strong man, and…a scary man. What were most interesting were his vivid green eyes, which shone like freshly polished emeralds.

“Well hello there! You must be Rodrick!” Henry threw out garbled politeness in the delightful manner he often did, “My name is Henry Atlas and I’m the husband of Belle, who I’m sure you’ve met! This is my older brother Chris, who just arrived from the mainland. It sure is cold outside, how can you guys handle this! Wow, and would you look at your home, how welcoming! I’m sure Belle is enjoying herself inside, but she hasn’t been here long has she? I only ask because I don’t want to make us seem like a bother or anything. It’s so nice to meet you, may we come in?”

The man stood there for a few seconds, keeping his eyes locked to Chris’s and his ears deaf to Henry’s endless supply of words. With little more that a scoff, he motioned the Atlas brothers inside, and then slammed the door behind them.  

Around them furs covered the walls, while the bitter frozenness of outside seemed to promptly melt away. The comfort of the house was surprising, but it’s two residents remained enigmatic. Chris was always skeptical, unlike his susceptible brother, and he wasn’t about to let his guard down now. A fire kindled at the far end of the cabin, providing light with the help of several other candles. Two women were already relaxing on a couch in the center of the room, they both turned to face the new visitors. One had a familiar face.

“Hello boys,” said a harmonious voice, “You look a bit cold, why don’t you take a seat by the fire.”

She had dark hair made of silk that streamed down her slender figure, which was only matched by her stunning smile. The cunning of both her mind and tongue easily swayed Henry, who was awfully submissive in the first place. Her name was Belle, “the perfect woman” in the words of her new husband. The same husband whom now scurried to plant a passionate kiss upon her forehead, as if he hadn’t seen her for days.

A flash of light caught Chris’s attention, and it turned out to be the reflection off a golden heart necklace hanging from Belle’s neck. The pendant she’s had since she was a girl, and never took off. It complimented her eyes well.

The large man settled down on the couch alongside the second woman, who must be his wife Rose. Belle, who was seated across from them, left to use the bathroom without request and returned swiftly. Chris hung up his jacket and felt comfortable enough to take a single seat closest to the fire.

Conversation sparked up instantly, mostly due to Henry’s irrational fear of silences. Chris was content with this because he wasn’t a fan of small talk anyways. Rodrick wasn’t a fan of any kind of talk, remaining quiet for most of the evening. His perfumed wife was much more sociable.

Most of the night Rose had her arms folded delicately over her purple flowered dress. She sat pleasantly and was clearly enjoying the company, for whenever she laughed at one of Henry’s bad jokes, her green eyes would sparkle. On her face came an effortless look of kindness, but Chris could also sense tension. Each time Rose reached for her glass, it was done cautiously as if she was worried something bad would happen.

Throughout the evening, only one thing came up in conversation that was of particular interest. Henry asked about a tattered old shack that was halfway between the two couples’ homes. It seemed to be abandoned, but also very ghostly from the way he described it.

“Stay away from that place,” Rodrick said in a musty voice, “It won’t do ya’ any good to go there. Understand boy?”

The startled Henry nodded with widened eyes, and the topic wasn’t brought up again.

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

It was around midnight when the three headed back. The weather hadn’t gotten any better at all. If anything, it was worse than before. At least Chris would be able to sleep soon, it had been a tiring day and he was done with the cold nature that engulfed him.

Halfway home, Belle mentioned something about forgetting her purse, so she headed back to Rose’s cabin and denied all of Henry’s pleas to go along with her. So once again, it was the Atlas brothers left alone in the forest. They continued for a couple more minutes until reaching the abandoned shack that Rodrick had warned them about. Chris took a step towards it.

His younger brother squealed, “What do you think you’re doing? We’re not supposed to go by there!”

         “Oh, just shut up Henry,” he responded. After all, what harm could a simple glace be?

         Despite what the others were saying, the shed didn’t look too desolated. Of course it had some broken wooden planks and missing roof shingles, but every one of its windows were intact and the door looked like it was in perfect condition.  What could make a man like Rodrick so frightened of the place?

         Suddenly, something flashed by one of the windows. It looked like the silhouette of a hooded man, yet it came and went so quickly that Chris wasn’t sure.

         “Did you see that?” Chris asked his brother.

         A look of confusion spread across Henry’s face, “See what?”

         “Inside the shack! Something, or someone, moved.”

         “Well I really doubt that,” he answered anxiously, “Rose said it’s been abandoned for years.”

         Trying to shake off of his suspicion, Chris turned away from the mystery that tempted him. Henry followed behind him closely, and they both did their best to ignore the occurrence.

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

         A branch cracked outside.

Henry nervously swung up in his bed, interrupted from well-needed sleep. He lay there for a few seconds, uncertain of what to do, before deciding to check out the noise. The cabin had scarce windows that admit scant amounts of light during the day. Now it was the middle of the night, which made the home even darker. Any light that would have helped Henry earlier was gone. Rain also continued to pour against the island, as if trying to test its strength.

         Walking around blindly, the man finally bumped into a dresser where a candle sat. It was quickly lit, and Henry slowly made his way out of his bedroom where he was greeted with even more darkness. Each step taken down the narrow hallway gave a worried creak in the floorboards. It seemed as if Shade Island was silently enjoying the clumsy movements of Henry. Every sound he made was earsplitting compared to the soft hum of rain that waited outside. He was careful not to wake Chris, who was easy to anger when tired.

         He reached the end of the corridor, peered down the old wooden stairs, and began to descend. A window met him at the bottom, but not even the shimmering moon was able to illuminate the blackness of outside. Henry was hardly able to distinguish the individual tree trunks that encircled the cabin. He moved away from the window and ignited more candles in his gloomy living room, which was still filled with moving boxes. When they moved in a week ago, Belle had told him not to rush with the unpacking.

         A branch cracked outside.

         Henry spun around towards the sound, which appeared to have come from right outside the front door. By this point, Henry’s heart was pounding so hard that he was expecting it to explode. He scurried into the kitchen, trying to remain quiet from whoever was outside. The edgy man snatched a knife, and hurried away so franticly that he forgot to shut the drawer.

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

         Chris woke up to find that it was still dim outside his window, and the rain was thankfully beginning to cease. He rolled over to take a look at his wristwatch, which marked seven o’clock. He was naturally the early bird, but what woke him up more than anything was the chilly breeze that ran through the house. After dressing and fixing the bronzed mess upon his head, Chris went down to the first floor.

         “Chris!” screamed out a trembling voice that now sprinted towards him. Before he knew it, damp arms were tightly wrapped around his waist. The man hugged back in complete shock. Before he could speak, more words were fired out in a sputtering manner.

         “Belle, calm down and tell me what’s going on.” Chris managed to say.

         “H-Henry’s gone!” she cried up to him as tears fell from her sparkling emerald eyes. Belle’s loveliness kept on distracting Chris, who remained confused.

“What do you mean he’s gone? Where did he go?”

         “He-I don’t know really-I just woke up and-” she buried her wet face once again into the man’s chest, and pointed a steady finger towards the floor, “Look!”

         Chris now knew where the draft was coming from. The door that led out to the porch was wide open, revealing large footprints that had sunken into the wet dirt. With the rain brought to an end, it was clear to see that they left a trail to-and-from the cabin. Chris couldn’t help but notice that each step was exceptionally lengthy and that they led into the heart of the forest.

         A red blade rested on the ground, surrounded by a few drops of blood. D****t Henry, what have you gotten yourself into now? It alarmed Chris deeply, but he tried not to show his fear in front of Belle, who continued to sob. Then without warning, she released her grasp.

         “Come on!” she called wildly, “We have to help him!”

         Before he could stop her, Belle threw on her hood and ran from the house. Chris hurried after her, making sure to snatch the knife on his way out.

        

 

~~~~~

 

 

         Chris Atlas reaches a clearing after fifteen minutes of chasing Belle, who was much faster than expected. Looking up, he could see they were at Rodrick and Rose’s house. Perhaps Belle was hoping for the couple to help them in their search. It didn’t matter in the end, for no one answered the knocked door.

         “What now?” Chris said still catching his breath.

         Belle looked devastated, “I don’t know, we could-“

         “Why don’t we go look around that abandoned shack?”

         “No. Don’t be stupid.” a flicker of anger rose from Belle’s eyes, “Why would he possibly be there.”

         The surprised man remained silent to the comment.

         “Here, there must be a key under the doormat or something.” Belle said as she lifted the worn out rug. Just as she predicted, a key sat under. Chris was weary about intruding, but the thought swiftly passed. They entered the home to find it completely empty.

         “Rodrick! Rose!” Belle yelled as she ran off into the next room. Chris hesitated to follow, and ultimately decided to search the upstairs rooms instead.

Once he reached the top of the steps, he could still hear Belle calling out everyone’s names as she scuttled around.

A bathroom. A bedroom. A balcony. Nothing seemed to stand out of the ordinary or help with the hunt for Henry. Then Chris found something that caught his eye. He realized that the last door of upstairs was a faded pink, and covered with auburn cracks where the painted had peeled off. The knob didn’t budge when turned. It seemed to be the only locked door in the home. Chris gave it a hefty kick and it easily swung open.

Inside was a girl’s room, probably one that belonged to a teenager or younger. It was covered in the same rosy paint, a color that seemed to be constant throughout the bleak furniture and even the shut closet door. Yet, the happiness that commonly flows through a child’s room was sucked dry and replaced with a decade of dust and eeriness. As Chris walked around, he noticed torn up stuffed-animals scattered about the room. Dolls were thrown in a corner, with their joints twisted in directions that weren’t meant to be. A toy baby had a pencil driven through its head pining it to the wall and hanging there like a rag.

The whole scene was horrifying, and Chris was ready to run out of the room and burn down the house just to rid the feeling of evil it emit. However, before he fled, something caught his eye. It was a picture frame on the dresser next to the bed, which was covered in spider webs. Chris picked it up and brushed off the dust that concealed the photograph.

It was of three people, all bunched closely together. Rodrick seemed to be gleaming with bliss, a big difference from his present-day attitude. Rose was held tightly in his sturdy arms, and the sadness in her eyes that Chris had seen the night before was gone. They both showed sincere happiness, it was easy to see. Even their house stood flawlessly behind them, not yet touched by the harshness of Shade Island. In the arms of Rodrick and Rose was a lovely-looking girl, who could have been no older than sixteen during the time. A golden heart necklace hung from her neck that complimented her radiant eyes. She looked awfully familiar.

At this moment, Chris realized that Belle had stopped calling from downstairs. He realized that his brother was gone. He realized that he was truly alone on Shade Island.

At the end of the hallway, Chris could hear the creaking of the floorboards as someone slowly approached. He gently pulled out the bloody blade that he had hidden within his jacket.

Belle peered around the corner of the door with scared, innocent-looking eyes. She politely walked in, pretending not to notice the weapon held in Chris’ clutched hand. Curiously, she gazed around the room in fake astonishment.

“Whoa Chris, what’d you find?” Belle must have lost her distress downstairs, as she spoke with complete calmness, “This room is kinda’ creepy, huh?” She giggled and then began to casually approach Chris in playful strides.

“Stay the hell away from me b***h,” he said pointing the readied knife. “I know what you are. I know what you’ve done. So you can cut the bullshit.”

Belle placed her hand softly on her heart, mimicking the feeling of pain, “But Chris, how could you even say that. I’m your own sister!”

“You’re not my sister,” said Chris, ignoring the groan of the floorboards behind him, “And you never will be.”

         “Hey!” Belle exclaimed excitedly, “I know how to make it up to ya’! Wanna’ go pay a visit to that old shack? What do you think daddy?”

         Chris spun around to face a goliath of a man, who stared down at him with the jades shared by the family. Behind him, the closet door was left wide open, exposing rows upon rows of colorful, tattered children’s clothes. In his hand, Rodrick held a wood-axe, but by the color of its stains it didn’t look like it was used for trees. In his eyes wasn’t pleasure like Belle’s, just despair. It was as if he was apologizing without words.

         The fear that flowed through Chris was too much to handle. His arm slowly lowered to his side until the knife fell from his hands, as if he didn’t have the strength to carry its weight. A single tear rolled down Chris’ face, foreign to him since he was a child. When he tried to speak, all that came out was a faint squeak. Yet, Rodrick must have read his lips anyways.

         “Why?” He lifted the axe above his shoulder, “Because some fathers will do anything to make their daughters happy.”

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

         The moon glowed brilliantly, offering a brief escape from the terrible reality that surrounded George Erikson. Although the weather around him was monstrous, it couldn’t defeat the joyfulness of finally moving in with his new wife. He had only met her a few months ago, but George instantly knew she was the perfect woman.      As the boat approached Shade Island, he noticed the ferryman throw some things into the water. It seemed to be old luggage.

         “Are you excited, honey?” the heavenly voice said next to him. George couldn’t help but smile when he looked into her eyes. Oh, how I love you Belle. I love you so much.

         “Of course darling,” the entranced man replied, “And I have good news too! My sister Abby promised to visit soon! Isn’t that fantastic?”

A perfect smile spread across the woman’s face.