Black Numos Island

Black Numos Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie Morris and Alaina Fulkerson

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Chapter 1…Goodbye Chapter 16…Kids

 

Chapter 2…Boarding the Plane Chapter 17…Finding the Hideout

 

Chapter 3…Nutty Netty Chapter 18…Invasion

 

Chapter 4…Return of Steve Chapter 19…Options

 

Chapter 5…Pranks Chapter 20…Terrifying

 

Chapter 6…The Crash Chapter 21…Landing

 

Chapter 7…Consequences Chapter 22…Nevermore

 

Chapter 8…Survivors

 

Chapter 9…Sneak Out

 

Chapter 10…Secrets, Caverns, and Secret Caverns

 

Chapter 11…Strangers

 

Chapter 12…Marc Slythe

 

Chapter 13…Hospital

 

Chapter 14…Snake!

 

Chapter 15…The Crash II

Goodbye

 

“Bye kids, we love you! See you in a week. Be nice to Netty,” Mara said in a singsongy voice.

“We will Mom!” Emily promised. As she watched her parents pick up their bags, she wondered what it would be like without them for a week. Suddenly, Sam interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes mom, we’ll be nice.” He muttered sarcastically. Luke nudged Sam and gave him a look.

Sam replied with, “What?” Luke gave him exasperated sigh as he turned to his parents and waved.

“Why does he always nudge me?” Sam asked Emily softly. Emily shrugged, and then turned to wave to her parents while saying,

“We'll miss you! Be back as soon as possible.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Sam sighed and thought, Emily, the dramatic one. It fit her perfectly.

While everyone else was deep in thought, Luke thought he heard Mara whispering to Chris, but they were too far away to hear. Just then, they grabbed their bags and headed out the door.

As soon as Mara and Chris were gone, Luke stood up to take charge. “We need to get this house whipped into shape before Netty comes!” Luke pulled a few sponges out of a garbage bag that Sam and Emily had not noticed before and began handing them to Sam and Emily. A few minutes later, he began assigning jobs.

“Sam, you’re in charge of the bathroom. Those filthy black and white tiles really need some scrubbing. Emily, you take the kitchen. I noticed that when Mom dropped her spaghetti last night she missed a few of the sauce-spots! As for me, I get the important job of dusting the furniture!”

Luke loved cleaning and organizing. The only problem was, his brother and sister didn’t. His parents scolded him whenever he let his bossy side take over when he was with his siblings. But now, they weren’t here. Interrupting his thoughts, Sam groaned.

“Why do I have to work near the toilet?”

“Because I said so!” Luke retorted.

“I don’t understand why no one likes doing this stuff,” he muttered. He turned back to Sam.

“Well, now that I’ve told you what to do, go on and do it!”

Luke grabbed a duster off the shelf next to him and stalked off into the living room, his nose in the air. Suddenly, the door slammed open. Mara ran in, with Chris right on her heels.

“Forgot my laptop!” Mara gasped. Luke calmly walked over to the couch, picked it up, and handed it to her.

“There you go, Mom. Have a nice flight.” Mara grinned and said,

“God, I love you kids.” She planted a kiss on his head and then walked out the door. Luke felt a pang of sadness as he heard Mara call out,

“Don’t make your brother and sister do too much cleaning!” But then, he smiled and got back to work.

After five minutes, he decided to check on Sam and Emily. After walking into the kitchen to find no Emily, he glared at the wall and jogged into the office. There, just like he had suspected, sat his two siblings playing a computer game.

“How dare you two mess around with computer science when you should be clean-” The doorbell rang, cutting him off.

“Yes! Saved by the bell!” shouted Sam. He and Emily jumped up and ran to the door. Luke grumpily walked after them. The wooden door was wide open when he reached them, and standing in the rain was a teenager who had a very, “different”, appearance.

“Oh,” Sam said.

“The babysitter.”

 

Boarding the Plane

Mara and Chris had three kids that they loved very much. There was Emily, their only daughter, who was sweet and always ready to work hard, even though she was a year younger than her brothers. And then there was Sam and Luke, the 12-year-old twins who fought and made nasty comments to each other a lot. But they were always nice to their one-year-younger sister. Now, Mara and Chris were saying goodbye to their three beloved kids. Plus, they were leaving the lives of their kids with a pressured and irresponsible teenager.

“Hun’, maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Mara stood up and whispered in Chris’s ear.

“Mara, you know we just got moved up to a higher position in our job, so we don’t want to lose it now.”

“I know, bu-”

“Shhh.” Chris put a finger up to Mara’s lips and wrapped his arms around her.

“Bye kids, we love you!” he said quietly. And then they were out the door, suitcases and all.

Mara had just satten down when she remembered something.

“Stop the car!” She screamed. The cab driver slammed on his brakes. Mara opened the door, jumped out of the vehicle and started running. Hesitating for a few seconds, Chris opened his door as well and jumped out. Together they ran back to their house on Walmer Street. Halfway there Mara slipped off her high-heels so she wouldn’t trip and break her ankle. She was thankful that the grizzly man hadn’t driven the taxi too far before she remembered her computer. Mara flung the door open and tried to remember where she had last placed her ThinkPad,

“Forgot my laptop!” Mara was grateful that her son knew exactly where her ThinkPad was; as soon as she and Chris ran in, Luke handed to her with a few words.

“God, I love you kids,” she said, as she kissed Luke on top of the head and raced off again with Chris at her heels.

Chris called the taxi over and together he and Mara rode to the grand MZ airport.

“C’mon Mara, we’re already late!” Mara grabbed her and Chris’s bulging suitcases and ran into the bag-check. After checking their bags in, they ran to security. Mara and Chris took of their shoes, belts, and jewelry. But, when Mara was halfway through, the the scanner beeped. She looked shocked. But

then, she looked at Chris and he tapped his wrist. Mara immediately knew what was wrong.

“Oh, I forgot to take off my watch!” she chuckled casually, like it happened every day to her.

“I guess I needed to know the time when I was going through!” Nobody laughed but Chris. She stepped back, and slid off her watch, which was speckled with glittering diamonds. She set it on the plain, beige counter and walked back through. They reached the gate just in time.

“All pre-borders, come to Gate C,” the intercom played. Chris handed both his and Mara’s tickets to the rather large man standing behind the counter.

“Hello, I’m Steve,” he said. Chris eyed him warily. People didn’t normally tell him their names if they were only going to see him for a minute or two. Mara looked suspicious, too.

“You’ll see me again,” Steve said. Together, Chris and Mara walked to the end of the gate, glancing at each other with raised eyebrows.

Mara muttered under her breath, “I love you, kids,” and stepped onto the rather smallish plane.

Nutty Netty

“Hi, I’m Netty,” the babysitter said. Netty’s appearance displayed a dark black shirt with ripped jeans and earbuds blasted on full volume (from what the kids could hear).

“You're Nutty? I believe it!” Sam shouted over the noise. He snorted, then began rolling around the floor to make Netty feel bad.

“No, I’m NETTY! That’s not even funny!” the babysitter yelled, clearly humiliated already. The kids knew how to handle babysitters. Meanwhile, Luke asked calmly,

“Your name is Neddy? But isn’t that a boy’s name?” He was more sincere when he said it, as if he actually was curious. Netty didn’t think he sounded sincere, though.

“NO, I’M NETTY!!! N-E-T-T-Y!” Emily stood out of the way, quietly laughing to herself. Seeing her, Netty warned,

“Stop laughing little girl!”

“I’m not little. I’m 11 years old, and I am much more responsible than some people could ever be,” Emily hinted, shooting a sideways glance at Sam as she plopped down onto the brown leather couch.

Netty sighed dramatically and stormed off to the kitchen.

Tired of teasing Netty, Sam came up with a new idea. Sure, maybe his idea would sort of tease Netty (and Emily), but it would also keep him busy.

“Yeah, go on and make yourself real comfy. I’ll just be in my secre- I mean in my room, doing...stuff,” he said to Emily.

“What type of ‘stuff’ does that include?” Emily asked Sam, while beginning to feel a little nervous.

“You don’t want to know,” Sam said mysteriously, shaking his oval-shaped head.

Why don’t I want to know? Hopefully he isn’t planning something terrible, thought Emily. In his messy room, Sam was mischievously thinking of a plan to scare his sister and get ‘Nutty Netty’ wet and humiliated.

I know! I’ll tell Netty that I’m sick, she’ll race in and a bucket of ice water will dump on her. And for Emily… Trixie the Clown, definitely. He hurried over to his desktop computer and printed a large picture of Trixie, which even slightly scared himself. After adding a few of his own details to the drawing, he ran downstairs to the garage to find a bucket. He rigged a pulley system. Finally, he tested his contraption. He walked through the door, and the bucket tipped.

Perfect, he thought.

After finishing his amazing invention, Sam walked down the stairs to eat dinner. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he saw Netty standing there stirring a bowl on the stove. Luke and Emily were already sitting at the table, licking their lips.

“Sit down, brat,” Netty ordered rudely.

“What is it?” Sam asked, oblivious to the order in Netty’s voice.

“Mac-n-cheese with little-kiddie-hotdog-thingies.”

“You realize that I’m 12, not 5, right?” Sam asked in disbelief. Just then, Emily spoke up,

“I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat anything that used to have a beating heart!”

“Well, you won’t be a vegetarian after this meal,” Netty retorted. Emily began to cry.

“You can’t make me eat meat! I just won’t eat dinner! And just so you know, my parents will being hearing about this!”

“Fine with me,” grumbled Netty.

“I never even wanted this job anyway. I just got hired at McDonalds and was about to take myself of that stupid babysitting website when your parents found me and hired me!” Emily stood up.

“I’ll make sure they don’t hire you again!”

“You sit down right now, young lady! Or I’ll find a high chair!”

“That’s it!” screamed Emily. She stomped to her room, ignoring the yelling from the kitchen. On her way up, she started to cry again.

“Mom and Dad will be so disappointed in me,” she whispered through cracked lips.

“You really need to shape up Emily Hessenburg!”

Return of Steve

 

“Well, that was awfully weird.” Mara and Chris were discussing the man named ‘Steve’. They were both intrigued by the strange man.

“Yeah, I agree. In all the years I’ve traveled, no one has ever told me their name just like that. I mean, maybe a few, but none acted quite so weird about it. Seriously, ‘You’ll see me again’?”

“Maybe he has expanded social skills? Possibly he just really likes his name? I don’t know,” Mara guessed. Chris chuckled.

“Yeah, I’ll bet that’s it. Really, though. I think I recognize him from somewhere, and his voice is so familiar.” Mara agreed,

“I know, right! Maybe he is a famous actor?” Chris’s jittery movements proved that he was somewhat excited. Mara began to wonder if maybe he had a cup of coffee that she didn’t know about.

“Well sweetie, better get some sleep. Italy is a long way away you know." As soon as Chris said that, Mara realized how tired she was. After closing her eyes she was asleep in minutes. Chris stared at her dark, glossy hair for awhile, and then turned to look out the window. The clear sky predicted fine weather ahead, and Chris was glad about that. Finally, he too laid his head down.

Not quite tired, he pondered the events of that day. Saying goodbye to the kids, Mara's understandable reaction, almost missing their flight, and the most intriguing, Steve.

That man is a complete stranger and mystery, Chris thought.

Well, I’m not going to think about him anymore. It’s just too strange. I wonder how the kids are doing? Despite his protest, Chris continued to think about Steve. After a while of trying to fall asleep, Chris pulled out his phone and put on some calming music. He finally fell asleep, but only just barely. Like, he was half-awake, half-asleep.

Proving that he wasn’t completely asleep, the flight attendant arrived with refreshments, and Chris sat right up.

“I’m so sorry I woke you,” the flight attendant apologized.

“Oh, that’s all right,” Chris replied.

“Well, while you’re awake, can I get you something to drink?” She asked, while setting down a napkin and a small package of pretzels.

“I’ll take a Diet Pepsi, please.”

“And, for the lady?” Her eyes lingered on Mara.

“Oh, my wife should be fine for now. Thank you, though.”

“Let me know if you need anything else, sir. Have a nice evening.” The flight attendant poured his drink, and then walked to the next seat. Not tired anymore, Chris pulled one of the plane’s provided magazines, a mechanical pencil, and an eraser. He flipped to the sudoku pages and began working just as an announcement came on the intercom.

“I thank you all for choosing DELTA as your cross-ocean plane. In case you didn’t know, this is a five to six hour flight to Italy. Please make yourself right at home, and feel free to ask for beverages and snacks. As you may have noticed, we have a large variety.” A different voice came on the intercom.

“That was your pilot, Steve speaking. Enjoy your flight."

 

 

 

 

Pranks

Pranks

 

Emily was on the leathery couch reading her very entertaining fairy tale book when Sam burst into the big family room with a foolish grin on his face.

"Do you want to hear a story, Em’?" Having recovered from the earlier argument, Emily eagerly agreed and scooted closer to Sam while snuggling up with her blanket.

Sam began the story:

“One day a mother and a father were going on a date. Their children had recently been complaining about a something watching over them at bedtime but the parents didn't believe it. They hired a babysitter and told her to put the children to bed at 8:00 and then watch television in their grand living room. So, the babysitter put the children to bed at 8:00 and then turned on the TV. While she was watching, she noticed a clown statue behind her. It began freaking her out so much that she called the father and asked him if she could move the statue.

The father hurriedly said, ‘Get the children and go to the neighbors house, now!’ The sitter didn't understand, but she did what she was told. As soon as they got inside the next-door house she called the father and asked why he made her leave the house.

His response was, ‘We have no clown statue; the children have been complaining about a something coming into their rooms at night and watching them sleep. I never thought it was true until now. That clown wasn’t a statue. It was Trixie the Clown, a living, breathing, genetically deformed human.’”

Emily was shaking with fright by the time he finished. Sam knew she was deathly afraid of clowns, so this was the perfect prank. He couldn't wait to sneak into her room tonight and hang up the extra-large picture of Trixie he printed off the Internet.

Upstairs, Luke was brushing his teeth. Netty was in the living room and Emily was already asleep; she had decided to turn in early after her tiring day. After hearing Luke get into bed, Sam ran downstairs and filled three cups with ice. He poured the ice into the bucket and and then went to the bathroom to fill it with water. Sam quickly ran into the his bedroom and called Netty, telling her to come fast, because he was going to be “sick”. Sam could hear Netty pounding up the stairs, yelling, “Get to the bathroom!”

“I can’t make it there in time!” Sam replied, snorting.

Luke sat on top bunk, watching.

“I don’t know what you’re up to, Sam, but I can tell this is not going to end well.”

Just then, Netty opened the door, ran into the room and was greeted with freezing cold water and ice cubes dumped on her head. Surprised, she dropped her iPod. She had just looked down and begun to reach for it when she screamed; her precious pink iPod screen was shattered and the whole device was water-logged.

She yelled at Sam, “You think this is funny? Well, it’s not! In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not rich! It took almost a year to save up for that iPod, you little brat! I HATE YOU KIDS! I am going home and I may or may not come back tomorrow.”

“Fine, I never did like you anyway!” Sam yelled. Luke could tell that he was upset from all the pressure.

Netty started crying and said, “I am so mad at you little brats! Why did I even take this horrible job?”

Sam fired back at her, “Because you are stupid, that's why!”

“Goodbye!" Netty yelled, and rounded the corner for the last time.

 

The Crash

 

"Did he just say Steve???!!" Chris yelled aloud. "Bu-but! He said Steve!" Some of the fellow passengers looked over at Chris like they were irritated.

“Hun, please quiet down. You are attracting attention, and that’s exactly what we don’t need.”

Chris nodded solemnly, “I’m sorry honey. I didn’t mean to yell out. I mean, I guess I was just in shock, because it’s not really that big of a deal. But guess what the captain said his name was?” Mara looked exasperated.

“I already know what he said, because you kind of, sort of, shouted it for the whole plane to hear!” Chris lowered his head. Mara swatted him playfully.

“I’m just joking, sweetheart. I only woke up after you shouted it. Okay, so what did the captain say his name was?”

Chris looked around at the other passengers on the small airplane, ducked down and whispered to Mara, “He said his name was Ste-” Chris was cut off by a loud rumbling noise.

“What? I didn’t catch that.” Suddenly, the plane jerked, and both Mara and Chris grabbed the plush armrests on either sides of the seats. Then, the plane started doing confusing loops and twists. The rumbling noise turned into a high pitched squealing. As Chris looked out the window, he saw that one of the airplane’s wings was on fire, and smoke was rising from it. Seconds later, the glass windows shattered, and a small piece of it embedded itself in Chris’s face.

“Chris! Stay low! There could be more glass and I don’t want you to get hurt!” Mara shouted over the noise. Anyone who had been sleeping was not anymore, and people were looking around wildly, while others were screaming. One little child was hugging his mother and crying at the same time.

As Chris crouched down, his back became slick with sweat. The air temperature had suddenly gone from warm to sweltering. As he looked around, he realized that a seat across the aisle was on fire. Chris looked through the broken glass on one of the opposite side’s window, and saw that the plane’s other wing was also flaming. Without him realizing it, the smoke came towards Chris. When it filled his nostrils, he noticed it.

He gagged and tried not to breath in the toxic air.

“Mara! Cover your face!” When Chris turned to look at his wife, he realized that she had already done so. Just as another chair burst into flames, a second announcement came on. It seemed that the intercom was failing just as badly as the wings, as the passengers could only make out four terrifying words; "....engine broke.....deadly crash......"

When Chris and Mara heard the word "crash" they braced themselves, which may or may not have been one of Captain Steve's instructions. The other people just looked around frantically, as if trying find something nice and pretty to be their last image before a certain and painful doom.

But, Chris knew it was not at all a certain death. If only they weren’t screaming and running around, he thought. Unlike his normally quiet voice, Chris's low voice boomed over all the noise. "Everyone, brace yourselves." Of course everybody ignored him. They couldn’t just stay still for a few seconds. They had to run around they plane screaming like maniacs. Chris had tried to help, but now it really was a certain death for everyone else on the airplane.

“Sweetheart, you tried. Now it's just up to them," Mara said kindly, though her voice caught when she said it. She grabbed Chris’s hand, and he looked at her. Tears were streaming down her face.

“We might actually die, sugar,” she whispered. “I never gave the kids a proper goodbye.” Knowing that he hadn’t either, tears welled up in Chris’s eyes. Suddenly, the plane jolted for the last terrifying time, and spiraled to the ground with the deafening sound of screams fading away into the sky.

“I love you,” was all that the couple said.

 

On a small tropical island close to where the plane crashed a young girl was sitting on the beach playing with the sand. She had just placed the finishing touch on her castle, when a flaming velvet cushion crushed the sculpture. She suddenly realized that she heard screams from above, and yelling too. The girl looked up and saw an explosion in the air. The little girl screamed and began to cry, running to her family’s hut and flinging the small door open.

“Mama y Papa!” She shouted. A worried looking mother with tan skin ran to the door, holding a pot and a towel.

“Estás lastimado?” (Are you hurt?)

“No. Hay una emergencia!” (There is an emergency!)

Her mother quickly asked, “Que paso?” (What is it?) The girl hesitated for a few seconds before commenting.

“No lo se.” (I don’t know.)

“Ir! Decirle al pueblo! Voy a decirle a su hermano y Papá! (Go! Tell the village! I will tell your brother and Papa!) The mother cried.

She hurried out of the hut and went to each hut in the island saying the same thing. She also added:

“Prepárese usted mismo! Algo malo es sobre nosotros!” (Prepare yourselves! Something bad is upon us!)

When the village leader heard the news, he ordered everyone in the village to gather food and supplies. All of the people were very worried all day long. They continued gathering supplies for weeks, until they received a messenger bird. The note attached to its foot read:

 

Un avión se ha estrellado en la isla. No te preocupes. Si ves a alguien que no está separado de su pueblo, envíe un pájaro mensajero a nosotros y darles su hospitalidad. Gracias! (A plane has crashed on your island. Do not worry. If you see anybody who is not apart of your village, send a messenger bird to us and give them your hospitality. Thanks!)

 

As their chief read the note aloud, they relaxed. They had feared that their tribal myth about a monster had come true! But, it was still a tragic accident, and they prayed long and hard. A party was sent out in search of survivors. The party returned with somber looks on their faces. They had no idea that three people actually had survived.

 

 

 

 

 

Consequences

 

Emily was startled by a racket coming from the room that Sam and Luke shared. She jumped out of her striped bed just in time to see Netty slam the front door. Emily followed her.

“Wait Netty, please don't go!” Netty didn't stop but seemed to walk even faster than she had been before.

“Netty, what happened?” Netty only jumped into her black car and drove away. Emily stormed into the twin's room.

“WHAT DID YOU DO, SAM?!” She shouted. Sam replied quickly,

“I didn't do anything!” Emily took a deep breath and calmly said,

“Did Netty just quit?” With a hint of fear in her voice she muttered something to herself that Sam couldn’t make out.

“Sam, tell the truth,” Luke butt in.

“Okay, I'm sorry Emily, I just pulled a prank and she got all mad...I really am sorry, Ems’!” Luke spoke up, “Well, the past is in the past now. But, we have a job for tomorrow: find a new nanny.” Emily turned around and nodded.

“That is exactly what we will do. And little Sammy here will be doing most of the work!” She glared at him and stalked off to her bedroom.

The next morning, Emily found her old MacBook and searched the Internet for nannies. Meanwhile Sam and Luke were going door to door also trying to find a nanny who would not have to be paid until after the sitting was over. After they had gone to all the houses in their neighborhood with no luck, they gave up and headed home.

When they arrived at the brown house they were greeted with a plump lady wearing a purple sweater and a large green skirt that looked horrible together. She had short, frizzy, hair that was the color of ketchup, and blue colored braces on her teeth. "Hi, I'm Ann" the lady said. "If you don't mind I need to speak to Emily, in private," Sam said to Ann.

Once they were alone, Sam shrieked, “How did you find her? She's hideous!” Emily shrugged. “I don't know, the profile picture was a tall, skinny woman with long black hair and her name was Sara. And, this so-called ‘Sara’ was the only one available for immediate ‘sitting.”

“What? That's like the total opposite of her though! People shouldn’t lie about themselves on the Internet,” Sam replied with panic in his voice.

“She better be nice!” Sam cried.

“Says the person who caused all of this to happen!” muttered Emily. She flipped her long, black hair over her shoulder and stalked off to her room, slamming the door. Then Sam heard a scream.

 

 

Survivors

 

Mara trembled as she reached out a hand, grasping the smoldering seat in front of her. She gazed at her surroundings. Chris lay unconscious on the seat next to her, and limp bodies were strewn elsewhere. Mara knew she had also been unconscious, but didn't know for how long. Her entire body ached, and her ribs were definitely bruised if not broken. Mara knew she was lucky to be alive. The plane had gone dark, except for one small light up front, which was flashing wildly.

Knowing she had to move before the whole plane caught on fire, Mara stuck her arms under Chris's, and started to drag him down the beaten up aisle. Though she didn’t like being disrespectful to the dearly departed, she had to kick lots of limp bodies aside. As far as she was knew, there were no survivors except herself and her husband. Mara was heading out the side of the plane, still towing Chris.

Mara began to step out of the plane, but stopped short; where she was about to place her feet-or in this case, try to place her feet-was empty air. Apparently the plane had crashed into the branches of an enormous oak tree. The limbs were thick and sturdy, which explained how it was holding up the plane.

Mara was about to shake Chris into consciousness, when he opened one of his starry eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart. Where are we? Are you O.K.? Did the plane crash?" He said groggily. Mara gave him a hug.

“Slow down, hon’. First of all, I have no clue where we are. And as for those last two questions, the answer yes. I mean, look around. We obviously crashed.”

They began climbing down through the thick limbs.

“Oof!” Mara cried as her chest banged against a limb.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Chris asked worriedly, while Mara winced and rubbed her chest.

“Well, I may or may not have forgotten to tell you that I...bruised my ribs?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped you! Too late now,” Chris grumbled. They climbed the rest of the way in silence.

“I wonder what the kids will do when they find out our plane crashed," Chris said when they had reached the ground, dusting himself off. He shook his head for a few seconds as if he was disappointed in himself.

“And I wonder what you will do when I tell you that we are the only survivors!" Mara replied.

"Wait. We are the only survivors?" Asked Chris.

"Correction. We are the only survivors!" A voice shouted from above. A familiar person had come out of the side of the plane. Chris grabbed Mara, and turned around, looking up.

"Steve?!!" They both said in unision.

Chris quickly put himself in front of his wife.

"Yeah, I'm Steve. The ticket master, the pilot, and now the survivor. I've toured this island before. I show you around when I reach you." He began to climb down through the dense branches of the tree. While they waited, Mara and Chris whispered to one another.

"How well do you think he knows this island?" Mara said quietly. "I dunno. Do you think we should follow him? He seems a little weird. Plus, he was the one who killed all these people because he crashed the plane," Chris responded.

"You realize I can hear you?" Chris and Mara spun around. Steve had already made it to the floor. "Plus, I didn't crash the plane. Well, technically I did, but still. The engine broke!I didn’t mean to!" Mara grabbed Chris’s hand and they walked a few steps away, where Steve couldn’t hear them. "He doesn't seem guilty or sad even though hundreds of people died because of him. But, he is our best hope. Let's follow him." The couple turned around and announced their decision.

“By the way I’m Mara, and this is Chris,” Mara said.

As they started walking, Mara cried out in pain.

“Darn high heels!” She screeched. Her ankle looked twisted, and was already swelling.

“Oh, sweetie. I’ll carry you the rest of the way.” Chris scooped her up and they continued journeying.

After a while, Chris asked, “Where exactly are we going?”

“I have a cave. And, I know where to find edible berries.”

“I thought you only toured this island!” Mara raged with disbelief.

“Well, I kind of have been stranded on this island before. It was a SUPER weird coincidence,” Steve replied. Chris noticed Steve looked a little nervous, and was shifting his feet.

What is this man up to? Chris thought suspiciously.

 

 

 

 

Sneak Out

 

Sam gulped, worrying about how much trouble he was going to be in. He rushed to Emily’s room, running frantically.

“Ems’ please don’t be mad! I forgot!” Sam tried.

“This is the last straw!!!” Screamed Emily. “I was able to fix your last mistake, but you just had to amuse yourself!” Emily was crying now. Sam gulped.

“Emily, it was funny at the time, but I really did forget!”

“Well, maybe you should’ve remembered!” Emily shoved Sam out her open door and slapped him.

“Just leave me alone!” She screamed. Emily turned her back on her brother Sam. Sam knew that what he did was really bad, because Emily was almost never violent. He rushed to his room. He sat on the bed, racking his brain, trying to think of how he could fix his mistake. Why, oh why didn’t I take down the Trixie the Clown picture last night?! Sam thought. He didn’t notice Luke sitting at the computer until he spoke.

“What'd ya do this time?” Luke sighed.

“None of your beeswax!” Sam glared at his twin. Generally, the siblings never fought, but apparently they couldn’t do so without their parents home. Luke perked up suddenly.

“I got an email!” He opened it up, his eyebrows raising.

“Tell Sam that I am giving him the silent treatment. From, Emily,” Luke read aloud.

“Okay, Sam, Em’ is giving you the silent treatment,” Luke said annoyingly.

“I heard!” Sam said, rolling his eyes.

Later that evening, the news came on. Emily was still mad at Sam, but she was also a little bit worried that her parents hadn't called yet. But Emily knew they would soon. They were probably just getting unpacked first. So, to buy time, she decided to watch the news. She did this every day, as she always liked to be informed of what was happening worldwide. So, she turned on the TV and flipped channels until she got to Fox 4 News. A lady with was speaking into her bulky microphone.

“We have breaking news; there has been a report of a plane crash. Officials say that this plane was going to Italy when it unexpectedly crashed. The plane was scheduled to leave at 11:00 AM on Saturday and arrive at 3:40 PM the next day. There are NO known survivors of this crash yet, but tomorrow morning a search crew is heading out to where the scientists think the plane crashed. The airport is shutting down all flights until then. The search crew will take off at the MZ airport. We will let you know the details as we get them. Now, back to you with the weather, Gary."

Emily was shocked; that was the flight that her parents had been on! Without thinking twice, she rushed to her room and started packing. She shoved a camera, cans of food (and a can opener), clothes to last her for over a week, a toothbrush, toothpaste, all of her money, and her favorite stuffed animal, Hippo. Then, she ran to the boys' room and informed them about what had happened. Emily was too scared to give Sam the silent treatment, at least for the time being. As soon as her brothers realized what she wanted to do, they started packing like crazy.

When they were all ready to go, they headed to the kitchen. They were lucky Ann was in the living room snoring loudly. Quietly Sam, Luke, and Emily snuck out. Once they were safely outside, Emily hailed a cab.

"MZ airport now!" She ordered, handing him a twenty-dollar-bill. The driver looked uncertain.

"Do your parents know about this?" He asked.

"Of course they do! What type of fool are you! I mean, seriously! What kid would hail a taxi without permission from their parents?” Emily lied very convincingly.

Luke was quietly trying to sneak an air freshener out of his pack when the driver looked his way.

Luke shyly said, "Would you like pine, tropic, or pineapple? I would recommend tropic." After all, he didn’t want the man to think that he was doing something behind his back. The cab driver looked relieved.

"Well then, tropic, please." Luke dug the tropic air freshener out of his pack and squirted some into the air. "Now it smells much better!" The driver nodded in agreement.

“You can have the bottle,” Luke offered kindly. “Use it every other day or else…” The driver and Luke continued talking about air fresheners throughout the drive until there was nothing else left to stay. Then, they drove in silence to the airport.

They continued driving for awhile, until they reached the airport. Emily stomped her foot when she saw that it had already been closed. Then, she sighed, handed over another twenty, and then ordered the cabbie to take them to the Denver Airport.

 

 

 

Secrets, Caverns, and Secret Caverns

 

After walking around the island a couple of times, (Steve had gotten lost two times) the trio stood in front of a mountain. A little hole was barely visible through all the undergrowth that was covering it up. The opening was probably large enough for a kid to walk through, and a grown-up to crawl through. Steve crawled right in, having to turn sideways to get his large shoulders through, with Chris following. Mara was the only one who hesitated.

“Are you sure there aren't any snakes or poisonous bugs?”

Chris popped his head back out and with a frustrated look on his face he muttered, “Girls!”

“Of course there are no bugs or snakes! Steve wouldn’t be going in here if there were,” Chris replied certainly. The truth was he wasn’t so sure.

The he added, “You need to check this out, honey! It’s like any explorer’s dream in here!”

Mara was starting to trust Steve, so she crawled in, too. As she stood up, dusting herself off, Mara gasped. Inside was a huge room, with a dome-shaped ceiling, and little storage spaces scraped out in the walls.

“Did you make this?” Mara didn’t get a response. Instead of repeating her question, she glared at Steve for not responding, (who did not notice) and studied the rest of the room. The walls had what looked like blood red paint on it, and they added a pop of color to the gray floor. To top it all off, there was bamboo furniture, and unlit torches attached to the wall. When she saw a large knife on the table, Mara said nothing, though it made her a little weary to think that she and her husband were with a man who they had just met that left knives lying around on tables.

While Chris said, "I guess you have been here before!" Mara went over and sat on one of the bamboo chairs. They were surprisingly sturdy!

“Would you like me to show you to your beds?” Steve asked. “I would say rooms, but as you can see there is only one big open room.” Steve then guided them over to a set of queen sized beds.

“I made them,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice. “Do you like them?”

“I love them!” Mara gushed. She went over and and touched the mattress that sat on the bamboo frame.

“They’re soft, too!” Mara added. Steve walked over and peered into one of the storage spaces in the walls.

“I’m all out of blueberries!” Steve said sadly. Then he brightened.

“Oh, well! You guys can help me pick some!” Just then, Chris’s stomach grumbled.

“I think your stomach wants you to!” Steve joked. Mara, Chris, and Steve burst out laughing. Suddenly, Mara stopped.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Chris asked.

“Nothing, just I felt bad that we are here laughing, when all those other people are dead now,” Mara replied half-heartedly.

“It’s not your fault Mara!” Steve exclaimed. “Now, let’s go pick some berries!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strangers

 

Once they were at the airport the driver started itching his head very violently. Sam thought his hair looked a little lopsided, but he wasn’t one to judge people. Suddenly, with one quick move, the driver pulled off his hair that was apparently a wig.

"Never trust a stranger!" he snarled. Emily screamed as the man pulled out a knife and pressed it to her chest. Luke opened the door and started to run, with Sam close behind. But, Emily stood frozen with fear.

“You aren’t going to get away!”

The driver started groping for his own gun but had no luck. Sam stopped, pulled a A60 pistol out of his side pocket, and waved it back and forth it tauntingly.

“That’s my gun!” The driver said, eyes flickering nervously from Sam to his gun.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have left it in the shotgun seat, where anyone could see it!”

The man growled and pushed the knife closer to Emily chest, just enough so with a flick of his wrist, the driver could split her skin.

Sam whispered, "Don't move, or I pull the trigger." Even though Sam’s hand was shaking very hard, the driver had a worried expression on his face. Sam turned to Emily.

"Catch up with Luke and get as far away as possible from here!" The man moved forward to try and stop her, but Emily had already opened the door and began sliding out of the taxi. Sam saw the driver smirk and put something small up to his lips. He breathed roughly into the tube and something thin flew out.

Sam knew right then and there that it was poisoned. As if to prove. His theory Emily let out a short piercing scream as the dart came in contact with her skin. She fell to the dirty ground. Sam turned, feeling hatred burning inside him.

“You will pay for hurting my sister!” And he held up the pistol and shot, The driver’s face held many different emotions as he winced in pain. He looked sad, confused. His face told Sam that the he deeply regretted something.

“I’m a horrible person.”

“That you are!” As the words slipped out of his mouth, Sam immediately felt guilty. It saddened Sam to see the man this way but he knew what the driver had done was unforgivable Slowly, still watching the man, Sam opened his cab door and hopped out. The man paid him no attention and cradled his arm.

Emily was writhing in her spot and Luke was nowhere to be seen. For a couple of minutes, Sam just cried. He had just shot a man and left him. His parents were probably dead, Luke was gone, and his sister was poisoned. Finally he regained his strength and stepped towards Emily.

“It’s going to be alright,” he told himself out loud. Sam felt it was a lie, considering everything they had just been through, but he knew it was the truth. right now Sam couldn’t think about those things now; he had to get Emily and Luke and headed towards safety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc Slythe

 

Steve guided the couple to a clearing outside of the cavern. There, he pointed out the berries that were edible. Steve then explained that some of the berries looked like they were blueberries, but really, they were poisonous. They were called mock-berries. Mara and Chris laughed and tossed berries into their mouths. They picked for hours, thankful that they would be able to survive on this island. Soon, they had sacks full of berries. The kept picking until the sun started to set.

On their walk back to the cavern, Steve told them about his wife Sara. He said she had long, dark hair and her laugh sounded like sandpaper. She was a sweet and caring wife. When they reached the cavern, Steve asked them to go in without him while he went to the bathroom.

When he got back, Steve retrieved three wooden plates from his bamboo dresser. Then, all three of them sat down on the bamboo furniture.

Steve said, "Guests eat first." Mara and Chris both picked up one of the indigo-colored berries, and pushed them into their hungry mouths. Mara's left arm fell to the table immediately and both, husband and wife, slumped in their beaten chairs. Mara tried to say something, but her lips wouldn’t move. Steve laughed wickedly.

"So here's the story," he began. "My name is actually Marc Slythe. Yes, yes. The most wanted criminal in America, blah, blah, blah. And, of course, I wear Anyways, I have crashed many planes on this island. But you must be wondering why other planes crash here even when I’m not driving them. I had a highly professional technician set up a system so that all planes flying over Black Numos Island-yes, that’s this island-will crash. Also, no one can get signal and can’t communicate with others.

Mara’s brain suddenly made the connection. As if reading her thoughts, Steve said, “Black Numos Island is known to others as the Bermuda Triangle. But let’s not get into those details. I built this hideout so when I was on the run, I could just steal a plane and crash it here. Until now, though, I have never had anyone survive one of my crashes. And I don't want anyone to. So now, sorry to say, I have to kill you. Actually, I’m not sorry to say! Ha! I’m never I’m just thinking of your family’s faces when they heard you were killed, or better said, murdered. But, I’m getting out of topic here. So, let me tell you how I got you two into this position. When I said that I had to go to the bathroom, I was actually injecting a paralyzing drug into the berries that are now on your plates. Then, you got paralyzed. And now I kill you, but you already knew that. I know this is a lot to take in, so let's just get the job done quickly." There was a very shocked look on both Mara and Chris's faces.

"How about we kill the beautiful wife first?" He stalked back over to his dresser, that seemed to hold everything, and selected one of the many knifes kept in his bottom drawer. He walked back over and simply plunged the knife into Mara's heart. If possible, she slumped even more in her chair. Chris tried to scream, but he couldn't. A lonesome tear rolled down his cheek. Steve wiped off the blood with his white shirt, and then he slid the knife across Chris's throat.

"Bye-bye!" He giggled.

 

 

 

 

Hospital

 

“Luke, come out! The driver’s gone and Emily’s unconscious.” Sam had been walking around outside the lonely airport for almost ten minutes. He made sure not to forget where Emily was. For a split second, Sam almost gave up hope. But then he heard footsteps behind him.

“Hurry up Luke.” A hand clamped against Sam’s mouth.

“Luke, stop!”

“Shhh! We aren’t supposed to be here!” Luke hushed. Sam couldn’t breath. “O...kay...just...s...top!” Sam choked out. Luke’s hand flew off. Suddenly, Sam couldn’t see anything. He heard a loud sound and someone cried out.

“Luke?” Sam asked. No answer. Sam felt something hit his shoulder very hard. Someone yelled. All of a sudden, all the noise stopped. Sam heard squealing tires and the blindfold fell off.

“It’s alright Sam.” Sam opened his eyes. He saw that he was in a dark alley. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Luke clutching his shoulder and wincing.

“You’re bleeding!” Luke shrugged.

“It’s better than Em’s condition.” Sam didn’t need to ask what had happened; he knew. Luke had been in a fight. Sam suddenly remembered his sister. “What are we going to do?!?!” Luke dug out his cell phone and handed it to Sam.

“Call 911, and I’ll carry Emily over here.” Luke ran off to go find Emily, and Sam dialed 911.

“911, what’s your situation?” Sam listed the address and what happened to Emily.

“We’ll be there in five to ten minutes.” Sam nodded.

“OK, thanks so much for your help.” The line went dead. As soon as Sam hung up, Luke arrived with Emily. A couple minutes later they heard sirens.

“They’re here.” Sam whispered to Luke. He handed the cell phone back to his brother and ran to meet the ambulance.

Thirty minutes later Emily was waking up in her hospital bed. After making sure Emily was okay, the nurse came in the waiting room, and Sam and Luke anxiously followed her to Emily’s room. The nurse handed them some pills.

“Give the young lady two of these pills every day for a week. Other than that, let her rest.” Luke nodded.

“Ok, thanks.” Sam handed the lady a 100-dollar-bill. They lifted Emily up, signed her out, and helped her into a small cab. Sam almost handed the cabbie a twenty, but hesitated.

“Are you, by any chance, wearing a wig?”

“Um, no?” The driver gave him a weird look.

“Just a random question! Denver airport, top speed!” The driver nodded and off they zoomed to the Denver airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snake!

 

Steve was using a knife to pick his teeth, while looking at some old newspapers he had found in his cabinet. He had just enjoyed a meal of freshly cooked salmon and some baked beans. Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise outside the cavern.

“Who's there?” Steve asked warily. He stood up abruptly and almost tripped over his chair. His knife clattered to the floor. Steve waited a second, and after hearing nothing, went outside to a stream to get a drink.

The cool water from the stream tasted good in Steve’s thirsty mouth, and he didn’t feel as hot as he did before. Having been refreshed, Steve leisurely walked back to the cave. When he made it inside, he yawned.

“All this murdering has made me tired!” Steve exclaimed, smiling to himself. “I think I’ll skip going hunting for food in the woods tonight. I can do it tomorrow instead.” He sat down on his bed and reclined back, his arms behind his head.

Steve had just begun dozing off when he heard the same rustling noise he had heard twenty minutes earlier. He jumped. Everytime he made a kill he was always nervous for the rest of the day. He shivered and closed his eyes again. But, before he could fall asleep, Steve heard it a third time, this time, louder.

“I know you’re there!” He cried, wincing at his loud voice breaking the peaceful silence. “I’m not afraid of you!” Out of habit, Steve reached for his nightstand, where he always left one of his knives. But instead his hand closed around something scaly.

“What the-” Steve glanced at what he was holding and screamed.

“SNAKE!!!” Steve leaped out of his bed, holding a pillow like a weapon.

Sssssss, the snake hissed as it slid closer. Steve looked around wildly for his knife, and then spotted it on the floor. It seemed that the snake had pushed the knife off the stand! Well, Steve was not about to be outsmarted by a slimy reptile! Not willing to get closer to the snake, he ran over to his dresser and carefully selected yet another knife.

Feeling safe now that he was armed, Steve turned to face the reptile. The snake had come alarmingly close in the short amount of time that Steve had taken to grab the knife. Even though he was a grown man, Steve was shaking with fright. He’d never been scared of anything when he was a child; except for snakes. One time he was going for a walk in the woods with a girl his age (who he liked-shhh! Don’t tell anyone!) and they got too close to a mother rattlesnake’s babies. The snake had lashed out and bit the girl on the toe. The girl barely survived and had to have her toe surgically removed before the poison reached her other body parts. She was whisked away after the accident and Steve never saw her again.

Having been frozen in memory, Steve didn’t notice when the snake slid up to him and began making slow circles around his foot. Suddenly, Steve snapped out of his flashback and shrieked loudly. Using quick reflexes, Steve snapped his wrist at the snake, releasing the knife in mid-air. The weapon sailed through the air and plunked into the ground-right next to the snake. Steve was really scared now. He stood there a second, debating what he should do next; take his chances with a poisonous reptile, or spend the night in the woods. He chose the woods.

Turning around quickly, Steve sped away into the lush green undergrowth of the tropical forest.

 

 

Empty Seats

 

The three siblings snuck into the plane together and hid in one of the five bathrooms (first class of course).

"Ew, I'm NOT sitting on the toilet! I'm going to be by the window," Emily said in disgust. Luke shrugged and sat by the door. Rather grumpily, Sam sat on the toilet. He made his siblings swear they would never speak of this to anyone, and reluctantly, they agreed. The kids chatted for a few minutes, and then sat in silence until they fell asleep.

Luke woke up abruptly to a wailing sound coming from outside the bathroom. Quickly he slid the VACANT slot on the door over to OCCUPIED. He pressed his ear against the door and listened to the conversation.

"Well you two, guess you don't get any food right now. The other bathrooms are ‘OCCUPIED’," a woman sighed sarcastically. He heard two babies cry out in hunger. He felt terrible; the poor woman needed a bathroom for her babies and he, Emily, and Sam were taking up one of the bathrooms. Luke stood up, and turning to wake his siblings. Suddenly, the plane stopped moving. His siblings woke up with a start.

“W-what’s going on?” Emily stammered. She looked down, and at her dismay she saw that the air vessel was falling straight down. Just then, Emily flew up into the air. It was her first time experiencing zero-gravity, so she didn’t know what to do. She saw that her brothers were being flattened against the ceiling as well. All of a sudden, the plane shook violently, and Emily was tossed at the roof of the bathroom. Her head made a loud crack as it hit the light. The light bulb flickered softly and then went out.

“EMILY!” Luke and Sam shouted in unison. The brothers’ ears were popping repeatedly, and they could hear the liquid waste in the toilet sloshing around. Luke started to worry very badly. Sam had squeezed his eyes shut tight, which he only did when he was uncontrollably scared.

Luke knew that this was probably the end. Emily was unconscious, Sam was useless in his scared state, and Luke was freaking out like crazy.

The plane is about to crash! Luke said to himself. As if nothing had happened, the plane suddenly stopped with a last horrible shake. Luke crashed to the ground and steadily got up, checking himself for broken bones. Sam opened his eyes.

“Lukey, is Em’ gonna’ be okay?” Sam asked worriedly, talking like a baby. Luke understood why his brother was acting like this, and wished he could do it himself, but he knew someone had to take charge. The twins came out of the bathroom and saw empty seats. Luke tripped and felt around for something he could use to pull himself back up, and then he saw that the young woman and her two children were lying on the floor, dead. He choked back a sob.

Together Sam and Luke went to see if the polite was alive, but were not surprised that he was dead. The scene of all the dead bodies was so tragic, even Sam couldn’t think this was cool.

With sudden awareness, Luke thought to himself, We are all alone. Knowing they had to leave the plane, Luke searched for the emergency exit side door. Finally spotting it, Luke put on a disgusted face and pulled away the dead man who was laying against the door. Wincing as the man thudded into the aisle, Luke shoved open the exit door.

“Sam, go get Em’. Bring her back here, and carry her if you need to,” Luke ordered. Sam jogged down the aisle and back to the restroom. A minute later, he showed up pulling Emily down the aisle.

“Be careful, Sam!” Luke shouted. “That’s your sister who you’re dragging!”

“Well, I’m not going to be able to carry her!” Sam grunted, breathing heavily. “She’s heavy!”

As soon as Sam laid Emily at Luke’s feet, Luke slipped one of the pink pills the doctor had prescribed for Emily into her mouth.

Then he said, "We need to find a safe place to rest. We can take turns carrying Emily."

After cautiously stepping on the branch that the plane was on, the brothers began climbing down the tree, their bones aching from being jostled around so much.

When they finally reached the ground,they set down Emily. Sam and Luke rested in the broad sunlight, the sun warming their skin.

"Why can't she wake up? I don't want to carry her anymore!" Sam whined. As if on cue, Emily woke up. She rubbed her eyes.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"Well, we-" Emily's scream interrupted Sam's explanation. Slithering towards them was a small green snake. Sam grinned.

He had always wanted pet snake, so he said, "Let's keep her. We can name her..." He thought for a moment.

"Natasha!"

"Sam, that's not a good idea." Luke said warily. "That's a mamba. They're poison-"

"Quick, she's getting away!" Sam yelled, cutting Luke off Natasha started slithering away. Sam followed her, but Emily stayed put. Luke ran towards Sam to stop him but forgot his sister, so he went back and started pulling Emily by the arm towards Sam. Luke would have already stopped Sam, but his sister was slowing him down.When they caught up with Sam, the snake-Natasha-was already curled up happily on his shoulders. Luke relaxed a little because she seemed harmless, and she looked fairly young.

All of a sudden, Natasha slid down and started gliding through the jungle again. Luke sighed and following Natasha. Sam and Emily joined him in the chase. Finally, the snake stopped next to a small clearing. In the clearing, there was a bubbling spring.Suddenly, Emily gasped. There was a man asleep in the water. A knife lay glinting in the sun.

"I need to get that knife!" Sam whispered. "Whoever that man is could hurt us!" Sam tiptoed silently towards the knife. Luke had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stop himself from screaming at Sam. But, Sam returned safely in a few seconds. Just then, the man woke up.

Luke whispered nervously, "If he gets out, we run. And don't drop the knife!" He looked around, bewildered, for his knife. Then, he climbed out and started walking over to the kids' hiding spot.

"He's awake! Go, go, GO!" Emily shouted. Natasha started sliding away.

"Follow her!" The siblings ran after their snake for the third time that day. Natasha slid in all different directions. It was then that Luke realized how smart the new pet really was. She was trying to throw their pursuer off track! As the trio started to get tired, Natasha finally straightened out her path, and Luke saw their destination-a mountain. Natasha slowed to a stop beside a rock. Luke and Emily followed slowly behind, breathing heavily. Sam peered around the side of the rock and let out a gasp of surprise.

 

Kids

 

Steve decided to take bath in a nearby spring to calm his nerves. He couldn’t shake the thought of how close he had come to dying. Steve could still picture the snake with her mouth open, fangs revealed. He continued to think about his near-death experience on his walk to the stream.

The trip took less than five minutes, but Steve was ready to jump into the water as soon as he got there. Five minutes of thinking about a snake was five minutes longer than he wanted to think about snakes. As soon as the spring came into view, Steve started jogging. Just in case the snake came back, just in case he had to run, Steve left on his clothes. He slid into the water.

"Ahhhh," he sighed happily. The water was steaming hot, but it felt perfect, and it relaxed Steve. Before long, he had forgotten about the green snake and had fallen asleep. He began to snore loudly, causing birds to squawk in alarm. A sudden sound woke up Steve.

"Who's there?" He said, for the second time that day.

"I have a knife," he warned. Steve reached for his knife. When his hand didn’t touch the knife, though, he slid out of the water. His clothes were dripping so much, the ground right below almost instantly turned into mud. Just then, Steve saw his knife glinting in the sunlight. He reached out his hand and his fingers closed on something, but it wasn't his knife.

"A candy wrapper!" He exclaimed. Maybe there are more survivors, he thought. Suddenly, the leaves on the outer edge of the jungle shook. Steve began to run cautiously towards the leaves, his shoes squeaking with every step. As he got closer, he heard two voices. Just as he had suspected, there were other human beings on his island-well, other than dead people.

One of the voices whisper-shouted, “Don’t drop the knife!” Steve was really angry now. They had stolen his knife! The knife that his mother's mother had been given by her mother!

“No one steals my knife and lives to tell the tale!” Steve yelled, trying to sound scary.

"He's awake! Go, go, GO!" A different voice called out. Steve kicked into his highest gear. Just as he finally thought he had caught them, he burst into a clearing. There was no one there

“Where are you?” He taunted, continuing to run. Steve's lungs were beginning to ache. Growing very weary, Steve slowed to a stop.

“Come out and let me see you!” He called out.But, Steve knew he had lost the people. He glanced around warily and sadly. Then, he realized where he was-or, didn't realize where he was.

“Where am I?” He said, almost as if he didn’t want to know. He knew he was lost. Now he would have to decide a way to go.

“Well, right could be right,” he said, a little nervous. Steve began to trudge to his right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding the Hideout

 

Sam, Emily, and Luke gaped at the cave. It was a huge room with running water, cool air, and battery-powered lightbulbs. It was basically paradise for three kids stranded in a sweltering hot jungle. The best thing about the cave was that it was completed with bamboo furniture and red paint.

“It’s like she knew that we needed a shelter,” exclaimed Sam.

“Who’s ‘she’?” Luke asked.

“You’ve already forgotten Natasha? How would you feel if she forgot you?”

“Sam, she’s a snake,” Luke said. “But, yeah I did forget about her.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Emily warned.

“Relax, Em.” Sam soothed calmly. He walked through the side of the mountain. Luke and Emily watched nervously as he looked through every drawer and every cabinet in the room.

“Nothing looks suspicious, and the only thing dangerous is this drawer full of kitchen knifes.” Both Emily and Luke let out a sigh of relief.

Emily laughed shakily, “I was scared this place was booby-trapped!”

“Em’, you watch way too many spy movies,” Sam scolded. He walked over to the sink. Sitting on the counter was a jar with a few berries in it.

“Oh, looks like we’re fresh out of berries. Guess we’ll have to go get some,” Sam grinned.

“Emily, maybe you should stay here. You aren’t in a very good condition to be walking around in a jungle,” Luke advised.

“Well, okay! Whatever you say, Doc!” Emily said, her voice thick with sarcasm. It was obvious she wasn’t very happy about getting left behind.

With that, Luke and Sam disappeared into the jungle

 

The next couple of days went by fast for Emily, who was asleep most of the time. Natasha had grown very loyal to the kids, and Luke didn’t think of her as “just a snake” anymore. Every day, they had to collect food. Emily had begun to enjoy staying in the cave, and even though she was in good enough condition to help pick berries, she didn’t. While Sam and Luke were picked berries, Natasha would stay with Emily.

One morning, Emily woke up to hear her brothers talking in hushed voices. Emily couldn’t make out what they were saying. She rubbed her eyes and walked over.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" Emily asked.

Luke replied, "Nothing much, just we realized we haven't seen Natasha all morning."

Right on cue, Natasha slithered into the cave. She wrapped her tail around Sam’s leg to get his attention then she slowly started moving towards the dresser. All three kids followed the snake. Natasha slithered behind it, and pulled out a small, square object. Sam reached for it. The object was a cracked picture frame.

"Hey, isn’t this-” Sam was interrupted.

“Marc Slythe, I believe is what you were going to say,” a deep booming voice sounded. Emily jumped and Sam pulled open the knife drawer grabbed the sharpest weapon in it.

Sam spun around when Luke gasped. His jaw dropped when he saw Marc Slythe himself standing at the entrance of the cave.

"Hi," Marc grinned. "Wait a sec, you guys looked like those people who I murdered a few days ago. What were their names? Marie and Charles? Macy and Carlos? Oh, yes! Mara and Chris."

Emily's face went pale.

"Murdered?" She whispered.

"Yes. So those guys are-were-your parents? I stabbed your Mom, then, and slit your dad's throat. Then I used their blood to apply a fresh coat of paint to my walls. Soon you will join them."

Sam didn't know if he should start screaming or if he should start crying. Suddenly, he heard a choking sound. He immediately eyed Luke and Emily, afraid the murderer had already began the process of killing them. When he saw they didn't appear to be dying, Sam looked at Marc Slythe and realized that he was the one choking. Natasha had slithered around his neck and was squeezing tightly.

“H-h-help me!” he gasped. But, the criminal slipped into unconsciousness and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Luke let out a gasp of surprise.

“That’s the guy we stole a knife from! We stole a knife from the most notorious criminal in America!” But Emily and Sam weren’t listening. They just wanted to get away from the island and be alone and safe. Emily and Sam ran as fast as they could, with no destination in their mind but wanting to get as far away as possible from the cavern. Sam, however, stopped to leave a note using the parchment paper in a shelf. Then he, too, took off running.

 

 

Invasion

 

Steve was tired of walking, and it seemed as if he was going nowhere. He decided to get some rest. He gathered some leaves and scooped them into a small lump to cushion his head. Steve tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. Even as a grown man, he was always afraid. Of snakes.

What if that snake is smart? What if it followed me out here and is going to strangle me in my sleep? worried Steve. That would be the end of murdering people!

A sudden noise caused Steve to sit up abruptly. He looked around frantically, the word “snake” blinking in his mind. Slowly, he turned around. A small ocelot was walking out of the bushes less than ten yards in front of him. That was when Steve let out the most blood-curdling scream he could manage. He had just added ocelots to his short list of fears. Surprisingly, the wild cat cowered its head and slunk off into the bushes. Still scared, the criminal took off running in the opposite direction.

After a minute, Steve was gasping hard, so he stopped and grabbed a palm tree to steady himself. It was then that he began to understand where he was.

“Hey! That’s where I hid from the cops! Right there in those bushes! And this is the tree I climbed and saw my cavern from! So that must mean……” He spun around. “My cavern is this way!” Steve whistled a happy little tune and walked the last five minutes to his cavern.

 

Huffing and puffing, Steve sat down against his cavern. He took a deep breath. Instead of walking, Steve had chosen to run to his cavern. Now, he regretted that decision. It would have taken a bit more time but he wouldn’t be as out of breath then as he was now. As he regained his breath, he heard voices. He couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but this is what he did hear:

".....knives.....isn't this?" Steve was in the main entrance now, and saw that there were kids holding a picture of him.

"Marc Slythe," Steve cut them off. There were two boys and one girl. One of the boys reached into his knife drawer and began to say something, but Steve ignored him. He started conversing with them, and realized that he had killed their parents recently.

What a coincidence! Steve thought to himself.

He was telling them about their parents deaths and threatening them, when he suddenly became very out of breath-more so than usual-and very red in the face. He reached up to his throat to find a rather abnormal texture… a snake! Steve started panicking and clawing at the snake but it was no use.

The kids were staring at him, probably thinking he was pretty pathetic. But, what would they do if they were being strangled by a snake? Steve wanted to scream at them, but he tried and ended up choking even worse. He was just about pull out a spare knife he kept in his pocket to throw at one of the kids, but the snake squeezed him tightly, cutting off the rest of his air supply. And everything went black.

 

 

 

 

 

Options

 

The note Sam had written using Marc Slythe's expensive-looking parchment he found in a drawer said that they were sorry. Of course, that weren't that sorry.

Anyways, it seemed to be that Natasha had strangled Marc Slythe to death. Sam would do anything to get back at Marc for killing his parents, but he didn’t want to stoop to Slythe’s level. If Sam killed Marc Slythe, (technically it was Natasha) then he was a murderer himself. But apologizing didn’t make it seem so harsh.

When Sam caught up to his siblings, they walked swiftly through the jungle, wanting to get off the wretched island. Emily had tears on her face, and Luke and Sam were crying silently as well.

While they were walking, Emily stumbled upon a sharp rock that twisted her ankle. She nodded to the boys to keep on going without her. Luke and Sam were astonished that she was willing to stay behind, alone, and risk possible death. Reluctantly, they agreed to leave her behind on one condition-she would not move from the exact spot she was sitting in right then, and that Natasha stayed behind with her. Emily promised she would keep Natasha with her and wouldn’t move.

Once they were left Emily, Luke started going through their choices.

"Our best hope is that someone will send out a rescue team or that a plane will fly above us and we can get their attention so they rescue us," Luke meekly said.

"I don't think that even if a plane was looking for us they would be able to see three kids in the middle of a thick, humid jungle, Luke,” Sam declined.

“Well, then, maybe we can find the old plane and try to fix it!” Luke said

Sam disagreed with this, too.

"Yeah, but if we found the plane, how would we fix it? With coconut milk, vines, and spit?” Luke just shrugged his shoulders and kept on walking ahead.

Sam followed him and they walked for what seemed hours.

The sun was beginning to go down, and it was getting darker. Sam, nervously started rambling.

"I hope Em's OK! She’s all alone in the dark, in a jungle. What if she wanders off? You know, maybe we should go and find her, don't you think so, I mean what if the killer is alive and then he-" Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind that almost blew Luke and Sam off of their feet. An engine roared, and bright lights lit up the dark sky.

"Look, a plane!" Sam cried. The airplane flew away from the brothers, and feeling scared it was going to leave them behind, Luke and Sam chased after it. The plane led them to a an open area on the edge of the island. The small plane landed and the headlights flickered off. A shape stepped out of the plane, and even in the darkness, the twins could tell who it was

Luke let out a gasp of surprise.

"But, how...you...huh...how!" stammered Sam. Quickly, the boys ran forward to hug the pilot. It was Emily.

 

 

 

 

Terrifying

 

When Steve awoke, he saw that he was now alone. His knife lay on the ground next to the now fully shattered picture of himself. Steve now knew that dangerous as those kids were, their snake was even scarier. He never should have underestimated either one of them, but he just felt so stupid being afraid of a handful of kids and a snakelet.

Steve had recognized the snake as the one that had come into his cavern before, so now it was twice that the snake had tried to kill him. Okay, so the first time the snake hadn’t tried to kill him, but it seemed like it.

Steve got up and brushed himself off with his hands. That was when he noticed he had faint bruises around his neck.

That wretched snake! thought Steve.

He didn’t know how long he had been out, but it was long enough to give bruises time to appear, so it must have been a while. He dragged himself over to his bamboo cot, lying down to think. He needed a plan to, “get rid of”-he smiled at his use of quotation-the brats. Steve sat there thinking to himself for who knows how long. Finally, he passed out.

When Steve opened his eyes, light shone in from the small opening to his cave. Jostling around in bed, Steve closed his eyes again. But he snapped them back open when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something sitting on his bamboo table. He leapt out of bed.

There, on the table, was a parrot. It held something in it’s mouth. Steve yanked it out and sat down to read what he figured was a letter.

Scribbled on nice parchment- “Wait a minute! I own this type of parchment paper!” Steve exclaimed. When he opened the letter, the handwriting was so horrible that he knew it must have been one of the kids. How the kids had gotten a parrot to deliver a letter to the correct place was another story.

The letter read three words: We are sorry! But, now that Steve knew that his expensive parchment paper had been used to write a sentence, on top of everything else that the little brats had done, Steve didn’t care if they “were sorry”. He knew it was all just an act because the kids didn’t want to die so young.

Oh well, just another reason for me to kill them, thought Steve. They have no escape off this island, and sooner or later, I will find them!

“Those little brats thought just because they apologized, they would be safe!” murmured Steve.

“Well, they thought wrong! I will not stop until I find them, kill them, and throw their bodies into a river!” He shouted viciously. “Mua ha ha ha ha!” Then he stopped and thought for a second.

“Yeah, evil laughing isn’t really my thing. Next time I’ll just make a scary smile.”

 

 

 

 

Landing

 

Emily immediately explained everything to her brothers.

"I knew that you wouldn't let me steal a plane by myself, but I was pretty sure Marc was still knocked out and I would be fine. So, I ‘twisted my ankle’ so you guys would leave me behind. Then I broke into Marc’s secret hangar that I found out about when I was exploring when you guys went out everyday for food.”

“First of all, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? And second of all, that still doesn’t explain how you know how to fly a plane!” This came from Luke.

“Remember how every month Dad used to take one of us on a ‘field trip’ and teach us something exotic?” She paused to sniff a little bit.

“Well, a couple of months ago when he took me, he taught me the basics of flying an airplane." She continued on with her story until she was out of breath. Sam was hurt that she didn't think they would let them go, but Luke just nodded and climbed into the small biplane. Natasha slithered in behind Luke closely followed by Sam and Emily.

“Sam, maybe we should leave Natasha here. I mean, at home people are going to ask questions, and she’d like it better here,” Luke suggested.

“If we leave her here than Marc Slythe will kill her. We’re taking her with us,” Sam replied stubbornly. Luke sighed.

"Alright. Let's go, Em." Emily climbed into the cockpit and prepared for take off. A few minutes later, they were in the air.

“This really is extraordinary that Emily can fly a plane!” Luke told Sam. Sam nodded.

“Yeah, and I’m not even scared!” Just then, the plane shook, and Sam grabbed the armrest. Luke laughed.

“Uh huh, you’re not scared!” He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

So off they flew. The siblings traveled overnight, the twins taking turns helping keep Emily awake. After the sun had risen, they started giving up hope that they were headed in the right direction.

But, around noon, they saw the lights of a city. It took them a few minutes to find the airport. It had turned out that they were in Las Vegas. Emily steered them towards the runway, while Sam and Luke tried to contact the radio tower to tell them to delay all take-offs.

Suddenly, Emily realized something.

"Um, guys, Dad never taught me how to land an airplane when you are flying at top speed.”

"Actually, to land a plane you jerk the plane up at the last second, then back down, then press down hard on the brakes, according to Landing Biplanes at Top Speed,” Luke simply said.

"YEAH, LIKE IT'S GOING TO BE THAT EASY!" Emily shrieked through the headset. Feeling slightly nervous and eardrums ringing, Luke took over the controls and expertly landed the plane on the runway.

The plane shook so much, Emily thought it was going to fall apart. With a final shudder, the plane stopped. The kids got off the plane and ran into the huge airport. They easily found the police and told them the whole story. The police went to inspect the plane.

At first, Emily was nervous that the police wouldn’t believe them. But, another small biplane landed shortly after the police left for the investigation. Luke was astonished when Marc Slythe himself stepped out. He grabbed some stuff from the plane and was about to take off running when he saw the kids. He growled and dropped everything he was holding and charged at them, a knife extended. Luckily, the police saw what was happening and quickly called for backup before giving chase to the country’s most notorious criminal.

Luke knew the cops believed him and his brother and sister now. Soon, reporters came in and started questioning the kids. A large camera was pointed at Emily and she knew she was on live TV. The old Emily would’ve cared, but the new Emily had spent two weeks living with Marc Slythe.

She looked the camera man in the eye, glared, and said, “Turn it off,” so coldly, even she was surprised. Then, she grabbed her brothers and booked the next flight home.

It was late, so the kids fell asleep on the plane. When they got home, Emily ushered them to bed, then headed to her own room.

As tired as Emily was, she laid awake in bed. Suddenly, she started sobbing. The realization of her parents death finally was sinking in. She rolled over and cried herself to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

Nevermore

 

Steve needed to get off the island. He ran to his secret hangar, where he had at least ten different stolen planes. He rolled out his old B-2 Bomber, shoving his most valuable possessions into the small storage compartment.

Now that his stuff was safely packed away, he selected a ten-second nuclear and grabbed some flint. Taking off down his dirt runway, Steve pulled tightly back on the joystick control.

Once he was a good hundred feet in the air, Steve turned and swiped the flint across the side of the steel plane. He grabbed the grenade, held it down to the sparks, and quickly dropped it over the side of the plane. Steve silently counted to ten. Just as he said the final number, he heard the explosion not far below him. Perfectly timed, it exploded just as it hit his home; Black Numos Island.

The grenade had been a very powerful one, and Black Numos Island was small. Therefore, the explosion caused the whole island to explode, sending rocks flying in the air. The ocean to open and up and seem to swallow what was left of the island whole.

Steve started elevating, going higher into the air so he wouldn't get hit by a piece of the flying rubble. Once he was safely away from the island-or what used to be the island-he blinked back tears. But, Steve knew that he couldn't get emotional about a tiny island that was on very few maps.

He checked his compass, and flew straight on, towards the MZ airport. A few short hours later, he saw city lights. Steve had forgotten what it was like to be in the city, even though he was there less than a month ago.

After seeing a plane take off, Steve headed towards the direction of what he assumed was the airport. He unbuckled, knowing he would have to make his landing quick, because he would be recognized easily. As soon as his wheels touched the concrete, Steve prepared to run. His small plane came to a stop.

Next to him, a trashy plane was surrounded by reporters and police officers. Steve scrambled down the steps of his B-2 Bomber, trying not to get noticed. His attempt failed. One of the reporters had turned to look at the incoming plane. She covered her mouth and screamed.

"It's Marc Slythe!" She fainted from shock.

Steve grinned and thought to himself, Weak-hearted people! A police siren blared and lights flashed. Steve wiped the smile off his face and ran as hard as he could, dodging the luggage carts that crossed his path. He could hear the rumble of a plane taking off, but he didn’t stop to find its location. He turned to look back only once, and as he did he saw the frightened face of the girl who was on his island. Steve was furious! He destroyed his island, and yet the kids had made it out alive. He would get revenge!

A surge of energy rushed through him, sending him barging through a city intersection. He ran into a store after causing a the cars behind him to crash, and quickly found a disguise and ran out. The robbery system beeped loudly, but he took off running again. Steve ran behind a building, threw on his new disguise, and came out jogging, acting like he was just going on an evening stroll. He pretended to be oblivious to the huge blockade of cars in the road, and whistled while he walked. Steve saw confused looks on the officers’ faces.

Knowing he had lost them, he sat down and started taking in huge gulps of air. He stared down at the concrete sidewalk and buried his face in his hands. "Nevermore will be those brats," he whispered. "Nevermore is my home. Nevermore is Black Numos Island.” Sadness flickered across his face. "Nevermore."

Epilouge: The Eternal Trip

 

Weeks had passed and the kids still wondered what had become if their parents. They hadn’t seen them since they left to go on their work trip, and though no one wanted to admit it, they were most likely dead. Their parents might have died like the passengers on the plane, or they might have been killed by Marc Slythe, as he claimed he did. They might have never even gotten on the plane, or they might have gotten amnesia and begun living as hobos deep in the jungle.

There were a lot of “mights” that could have happened, but the kids knew one thing for sure; wherever their parents were, they were never coming back. The siblings were forced to make money on their own, and got jobs at the local bakery washing dishes. So they could live, they had to sell their house and sleep in the park. They were always living on only a few pennies, and were never able to give themselves anything other than the necessities.

Anytime someone asked them questions about their parents, they had pretend their parents were just on a trip. And maybe they were, only a trip that lasted for eternity. But, after about a year, an FBI agent was shopping in the store that they were in, and uncovered their secret. They were orphans.

He took them to the orphanage. But as soon as he left, he came back for the kids. He thought they deserved something better. A real home. He signed the legal papers and took them to his house. He made sure they understood the rules-no electronics during the week, they should expect nothing from him other than food, and everyday when he was at work they would stay home with his wife and clean their rooms and do chores.

Sam was the only one who complained. Emily and Luke were just grateful to be sleeping in an air-conditioned home. The man who always wore black never acknowledged the children other than fixing them breakfast before he left for work. The woman was the only one in the whole world who understood them. She was almost like their own mother-almost, but not quite. The three sibling were always quiet around the house until the man left for work, after which they spent the whole day laughing and playing games with the woman. They lived there for about a month.

But still, it felt like there was a gaping hole missing from their life. One day, something big happened, something so big that their lives were all changed forever. Something that no one could ever know about.

 

 

Acknowledgements

For our parents and early readers, Lily, Onyah, Brooke, Alyssa, Rachel, and Kim.

Lily, we would like to thank you for making our day bright and cheerful on the day we thought our book was lost. Onyah, for helping us through the tough times when we had Writers’ Block. Brooke, thanks for adding funny moments into this sad story. Alyssa, for proofreading our book several times to give us feedback. Rachel for drawing our front cover and giving us ideas for the next books. And finally, Kim, for giving us suggestions and editing along side us.

And now, we would like to thank our siblings and siblings’ friends.

The soon-to-be-authors were up at the break of dawn, just as they were at every sleepover. Already feeling bored, they pondered ideas of what they could do. Suddenly, one of the girls threw out the idea of writing a chapter book, because her sister had been writing a story with her best friend. They agreed on writing a book. They sat down together and came up with a plot, and characters. After several hours the two had created Emily. Emily was an important character in the book. She possessed things that the other characters like Luke and Sam did not. Things like civilized manners and a responsible spirit were talents that the twins did not have. She also introduced a warm and friendly tone into the book. The final step was to come up with a title. One of the girls, Alaina, wanted to call the book Black Island, and the other girl thought that was too plain, and wanted to call it Numos Island. They decided to combine the two titles and call the book Black Numos Island. And that, was how Black Numos Island was born. The girls spent all day working on it, and by the end of their third grade year, they finished it. In fourth grade, they took it up again and began to edit it. After over three years of hard work, their book was finally finished. And that book is Black Numos Island!

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.05.2016

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