As I was picking from one of the trees I noticed carved in big bold letters that it said, ‘GREED KILLS’. I had collected from different trees, pounds of coconuts, mangos, oranges, and figs and had dragged them back to everyone before they woke up. It was awkward. It must have only taken me two minute to open each coconut, and each one was filled with water. The sign on the tree would be the first thing that I warned them about. They all began to get up at the same time. Their faces were covered in sand. As they arose from the ground, they all had the same expression as they did when they woke up in the fish. “Where in the world are we”, asked Heather. It was funny that she had asked that, I was glad that she did. She had made it a lot easier for me to tell the team where we were. Nevertheless, I still did not know how everyone would react when I told them the latest news. It was hard for me to get the words out. “That’s just it, we are not of this world”, I said nervously as I looked down at sand and rubbed the back of my neck hoping they would believe me. Then I remembered my dream ‘Speak boldly and with authority’. So I pretended I was scratching my neck rather than rubbing it, and acted as if I was clearing my throat to cover up my nervous emotions. Before anyone could argue with me or decide that I was crazy again, I quickly added, “I know we had not eaten in three days so before you all had woken up, I had brought plenty of food”. No one but Shaltu hesitated to eat what was there. Even Duke who was miraculously uninjured throughout the whole trip wasted no time eating. “I am sorry. Maybe I did not here you correctly. Did you just say that we are not of this world”, asked Shaltu in a surprised tone of voice. He let out a little laugh, thinking that I was only playing. Then, seeing the seriousness on my face, he quickly stopped laughing. I was hoping that I would not have to repeat myself. I stood where I could get a better view of everybody close together and began to speak. “Everyone I need you to listen. In case you did not hear, we are on an island that is of another world, and I you don’t believe me I have proof. I feel that I must warn you now. No matter how beautiful this island is, there is evil here, and we will be struggling against the authorities of this place, against the spiritual powers over this dark place, and against the supernatural forces of evil in the air. However, we must all remember that we have the Lord, and as long as we all have him we cannot be defeated”, I explained. As I was speaking, Shaltu was peeling an orange. By the time I was finished talking, he had finished eating. There was orange juice dripping off of his hands and chin. “I would like to see this proof that you are talking about”, He said. Everyone slowly stopped eating and looked at me in agreement. To be honest, I was not surprised. Had I have been looking in a mirror, I probably would not have believed myself. “Very well but before I show you, I should probably recommend that we wash ourselves off first, to get rid of the sand and the foul stench from the fish’s stomach”, I suggested. There were no disagreements. We had smelled as if we had not showered in weeks, and although wetting ourselves in the salt water would not make us clean, it would seem to help. I tried my hardest to scrub my blue and white checkered button down shirt and my kaki pants. Something had told me to get rid of the watch that I was wearing. I had purposely dropped it in the ocean before checking in my shirt pocket. I had pulled out the dark brown calfskin watch with a stainless steel case and white dial given to me by my old professor. It was as if I knew that it was there. How could it be? It was not there before, and even if it was, how did I not loose it? It did not matter. I quickly strapped on the leather watch. “Now that we are all clean and smell island fresh, may we please see this proof that you speak of”, Shaltu asked sarcastically. He was becoming anxious and very impatient. Nevertheless, he remained calm for as long he possibly could. It was strange. Now every time Shaltu spoke, I had a bad feeling. “Yes everybody, now I will take you all so that I may show you the warning of all the evil in this place”, I agreed reluctantly, leading everyone back along the beach to where I had gathered the fruit. Shaltu was behind the rest of the group. I stopped as I came upon the tree with the words carved in it. Shaltu pushed everyone aside so that he may see what it was that I was pointing out first. His face must have been one inch away from tree. He spent about ten seconds reading the two words to him-self over and over. It was as if he was examining every detail of the carving. He backed away. “This is it? This is your shocking proof, ‘GREED KILLS’? An Iguana could have scratched this out with his claws”, Shaltu said in disbelief. Whether he was hoping for something different or not, I could not tell. However, he was expecting something more. He walked back towards the water upset and put both of his hands on his waste, as he began to pace back and forward. The rest of the team began to study the saying just as Shaltu did. The difference was that they took more heed to the warning than Shaltu did. I was not sure if it was because of the fact of the eerie wording or that I was their leader. Nevertheless, I was the leader, and it was my responsibility to hold the team together. I backed up so that everyone could hear me including Shaltu. “Alright everybody, there is no possible way that we will find out anything about this place today. It’s getting dark so all we can do is wait until morning comes, and then we can get an early start. I’ll go look for some wood so we can start a fire. Persistence, I will need you to go with Shaltu to bring back some food. Paul, Heather, and Duke I need you to stay here. This is where we are setting up camp”, I explained, giving everyone their part. The last thing any of us needed was to get lost in an unfamiliar place. I did not have to walk long, but as I walked along the shore looking for wood to burn I began to talk to the Lord.
“Oh Lord, I thank you for bringing us through this day. Please, continue to let me be the leader you want me to be. Do not let my will be done, but let your will be done. I ask you that you continue to give me the wisdom, the knowledge, and understanding to make the right decisions in leading my team in life threatening situations. Holy spirit, be my guiding light”, I said.
I could not find any firewood as I was walking. However, I saw a tree that stood out to me. It was a normal tree just like any other bordering the sand. I casually approached it, and to my surprising, there hidden between the bushes by the tree were plenty of thick hard pieces of wood and two strong vines to tie them up with. There was beyond more to burn. After collecting and tying up the wood, I noticed as I lifted it up by the vines, at the bottom of the pile was a shiny gold coin with the number 30 on it. I did not touch the coin. Instead I remembered how the Lord told me that I would not only be going up against flesh and blood. Was this the spiritual forces of evil he was talking about because the sight of the coin alone gave me a bad feeling. I wanted nothing to do with it. I took the firewood and returned to the campsite. I did not bother to bring up the gold coin. I wanted to forget about it. I knew that it was bad news. Persistence and Shaltu were already back with plenty of food laid out in the sand. Paul turned to me. “Look at all of this food that these two found”, He said excitedly with widened eyes. His arm was extended towards the abundance of soon to be dinner as if he welcoming me to it. My arms were getting tired. I was struggling with the firewood. Heather who seemed to be the only one who was not mesmerized by the food had ran towards me to take the heavy burden from me. After relieving me of that huge weight, I began to take deep breaths of relief. “Thank you Heather. You can just set the wood down over there. I’ll set it up, and start the fire. Paul you can cook the food”, I said loudly as I turned my head toward Paul. That night after we had finished eating, we sat around the fire, and as the waves had rolled back and forward on the beach, we had discussed what the plans would be for tomorrow. “I still don’t understand. Why can we not just go explore the island now? We have traveled through pitch black before. Remember that cave we discovered in Antarctica. Now Howard, you are complaining about a beach. This place does not look so scary to me”, said Shaltu. Shaltu was slowly beginning to change. The trust that I used to have for him was slowly fading. The great fact that I would lay down my life for my friend was beginning to feel less welcoming. Everyone was quiet. I looked at Shaltu directly in his eyes. “If you are done with your big speech then I will tell you why we must wait until morning. First of all, when discovered that cave in Antarctica, you must realize that we had all been to that continent before. We knew what the weather conditions would be like. Second of all, as dangerous as it was we still had some of our equipment with us. And third of all, we knew the terrain. This Island is not even on this planet. We have no equipment, and we don’t even know what or who lives out here. So before you start getting anxious, remember that it is not only you who is stranded out here. We are all in this together. Dying on the job is one thing, but I refuse to have anyone killed because of carelessness”, I explained earnestly. Shaltu was definitely not happy with my response. I could see the anger in his face, and it did not help that no one else agreed with him. It seemed as though, he was all by his self. The fire was getting lower. Persistence took two more blocks of wood and through it into the fire. Rather than saying my name, I heard Paul clear his throat to signal my attention. I did not have to answer Paul. I simply looked at him before he began to speak. “Howard, I was just curious. The only part we have seen so far is the beach, and we have not even seen much of that. Now as you said, we don’t know anything about this place. So my question is not when but where exactly do we start trailing this Island. For all we know, our first step could be in a pile of quicksand”, Paul said softly and unsure. I have never known Paul to be afraid of anything or anybody. Not that I am saying that he was afraid, but the nervous expression on his face said a lot. It said that, although loyal to the team, he was still hesitant about finding out more about the island. Shaltu rolled his eyes as he looked into the fire. “I was actually thinking about that question myself while I was collecting wood, and for that I need everyone to listen – you to Duke. Tomorrow we are going to wake up twenty minutes earlier than I planned. That’s four-forty am. Duke and I are going to scout the beach, and Duke is going to find the three best places to enter into the island. I’m going to mark each entrance so we will remember where it is. Each of us will go in pairs. Once we begin our mission we are our own. We’ll all set up markers throughout the island so we can meet back here before the sun goes down. I notice we all still have our watches. Does everyone understand the plan”, I explained. Persistence who barely ever said anything had something to say. “Yes I am sure that we all understand, but I do have a question. What do we do if we discover anything worth taking? That is after all our job”, she asked, while looking down to check her nails. Everyone’s eyes had turned directly at me. The fire was dimming again. This time nobody had threw any wood into it. “I am glad you reminded me. If you find ANYTHING, you are to mark it and leave it. Wait and tell us about it so we can look at it together. We are not collecting anything on this expedition. That is not our mission. Everyone Do I make myself clear”, I asked firmly. Persistence never minded how I talked to her because she knew that it was always out of respect, and I respected everything she contributed to the team. “That is all I wanted to know”, she said as Paul and Heather both nodded their head. Duke even let out a bark. Shaltu reluctantly tipped his head. Later, after everyone had fallen asleep, I stayed awake to watch the fire burn out. It was then that I saw next to me a man whose body was shining. He appeared out of nowhere. It was strange. It was not a bright or dull light. Instead it was more of a special glow. The man was dressed in pure white robes. He had long hair with a beard and mustache. He sat up straight next to me. His hands were red and he kept them visible on his knees. However, I looked and talked to him like he was any other person. “Howard, you look troubled. What is wrong”, He said in such a calm soothing voice. I had no idea how he knew my name, or why I should even talk to him. Less than a minute ago, the only people I knew to be on this Island was my team, and yet I answered, “This place is brand new to me. I don’t want anything to happen to this team. On top of that, I feel like I am loosing the trust of some of my friends. I don’t know why the Lord put me here, but I just want to whole mission to be over”, I said distraught not know I was talking to Jesus himself. He simply smiled before putting his left hand out in front him and showing me his palms. “Howard, look at how big these holes in my hands are. One can only imagine how much that must have hurt, and that was not until after I was betrayed, seized, abandoned, tried unjustly, whipped, and forced to carry my own cross up a hill. After the nails went through these hands, I hung on my cross and died quietly for hours. Howard, I saw my mission through to the end. I think you should see yours through to end also. Do not worry. You are a great leader. You will always have the Holy Spirit with you for guidance. As for friend’s sake, it is as I said, ‘I was betrayed’. Remember, I will always be watching you”, He explained in such a peaceful voice. I was in awe. I was listening to every word just said. However, my face had a blank stare. My mouth was open, but I was lost for words. I had realized who I was talking to. It was Jesus, The Christ. As great of a story this would have made to tell everyone later, I decided that it was best to keep it to myself. I fell asleep shortly after the one next to me left. It was not long before it was four-forty. I open my eyes and sprung to my feet after a short peaceful rest. No alarms had gone off and there were no loud noises to wake me up. There were only the sound of me breathing and the calm ocean waves. It felt as though my heart was going to beat through my chest. We were still new to this island and now we are about to explore it. Duke was sleeping by his self around where the fire was. “Duke, come here”, I whispered. Dukes head had quickly rose up with his ears at attention. He looked at me, and very quietly walked toward me. He walked into my chest as I began to rub his head. “Good morning boy. Alright, you can have one mango right now. Then I need you to wake everybody up. Eat fast”, I instructed Duke. I did not need to bother getting ready. I spent the first two minutes by myself getting mentally prepared for the day while Duke ate his breakfast. I would close my eyes and take deep breaths in and out. “I can do this. I can do I can do this. I can do this”, I would tell myself under my breath. After Duke finished eating his Mango, he began to run around in circles barking so that everyone would wake up and get up. Heather was the first out of the three. Then Paul slowly rose and gave out a huge stretched. Shaltu was the last to quickly push himself up. As I slowly turned around to tell the team what to do, they slowly looked at me. “Alright, me and Duke, are going to go along the beach to look for entrances to the island”, I said loudly. Shaltu was in the back waiting for me to finish. “Remember, stay vigilant! We are not looking for anything or friends”, I said looking at Shaltu, reminding him. He rolled his eyes, and put his head down as he began to scratch his head. “You are right. Then again, what exactly are we here for”, Shaltu scoffed sarcastically. I raised my head over everybody, and looked toward Shaltu. “Did I not say that I am not sure what is on this Island? The only way we make it off, is if we should stay together as the team. Heather I need to speak to you before we all leave”, I said turning my head from Shaltu to Heather. My whole attitude had quickly changed from sharp to soft as I turned to her. I pulled her to the side so we may have a discreet conversation. We were about seven inches apart. I looked into Heathers eyes, and could not help but take her hands. “Heather, I know you, but I still want you to be careful with Paul. I love you and care for you deeply, and I don’t want anything to happen to you”, I explained passionately. I still wanted to marry her. She was wearing the ring that I had bought her. Heather took a deep breath. “I love you to, and don’t worry nothing will ever keep us apart. I will always be with you. I want you to be careful to”, she said softly. There was no point in holding back. The two of us had kissed for about two seconds. After letting go, she walked toward Paul as if nothing happened. She had a straight face as if she was ready to start her day. “Alright team, Duke and I are going to look for three entrances to the island. I am going to bring three pieces of wood with me to use as markers. We will be back in fifteen minutes. That should give you enough time to eat breakfast. After picking up three pieces of unused firewood, the two of us left. The rest of the team began to eat their breakfast, not paying attention as Duke and I walk further and further away. As the beach had turned it seemed as though all that was left for them to see were footprints in the sand. Duke and I had searched and searched and had found nothing. “Come on Duke. Let’s hurry up. We don’t have a lot of time”, I said, as I looked down at him. Duke Barked and ran ahead. I could not even see him. Two minutes later, I heard a distant barking. I Jogged ahead only to hear the barking get louder. I saw the one entrance Duke had discovered. However, as I was running, I did not notice the other two that he found. After marking the one I had seen, He led me back to the others. They were not as big as the other, but they were still big nonetheless. After setting up the last two markers, we began to head home. “You did good Duke”, I said, as I scratched his head. We had both ran back down the beach to tell the others of the entrances we had found. They were done eating and were all set to go. Paul was with Heather, and Shaltu was bitterly next to Persistence. I of course would go with Duke. After being in front of everybody, I announced how Duke and I set up the markers. All the team would have to do is to find them, and use them as the entrance and exit point. “Alright everybody, It’s time to go. When you see your marker, that is where you will enter the island. Make sure you secure your marker. I do not want anybody getting lost out here. Let’s say a quick prayer before we go”, I said.
Dear Lord
As we go out today on another mission today
We ask that you go before us
Guide us, oh Lord
In your name we pray
Amen.
“Come on team, this way”, I said in a loud serious voice. As I began walking, I waved my hand over my shoulder signaling everybody to follow me. For some reason, it became more evident, that we were going into ‘The Land of The Unknown’. Everyone began to walk slower. The whole group was quiet. It even seem as though the sand became deeper. We came upon the first entrance. “Heather and Paul, You take this entrance”, I said in a saddened voice. I did not want to see Heather go, but I had to be the leader. Heather looked into my eyes, and mouthed the words I love you. No one noticed but me. I then proceeded with Duke leading Persistence and Shaltu to the next entrance. I was a little less resentful when they left. Duke and I continued walking as the last entrance was made for us. After looking through the entrance, we then looked to each other, and then back at the inside of the island.