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The next two days passed without any bother. Her mother had mentioned the orcas in passing, but Fury had merely replied “Really?” and her mother had taken this to mean Fury hadn’t seen them.
The third day they went out in the kayaks but the cloudy weather meant they had no chance of seeing the light shine from the glass in the cliff face. Eion had found a crowbar and a large lamp at home and he’d placed these in the kayak.
“I’ve got a picnic lunch for us too. Why are you laughing Fury?”
“I brought lunch as well. We’ll be stuffed if we eat everything.”
They left the beach but this time they went straight to the island, stowed the kayaks and went through the cave system with no stops until they reached the cave with the trapdoor.
They set to work on the trapdoor, hoping to get it open in case the clouds cleared and the sun shone on the glass. Once the sand had been removed, it showed the outline of a door with the ring set into one side. Eion tried to pull the door up, but it refused to budge. He dragged the crowbar from his backpack and placed the end at the crack which indicated the outline. After standing on it to make it open, he pulled back on the long arm and forced it to the ground. The trapdoor lifted with a creak, and flakes of rust fell into the gap.
“Wow, what do you think is down there?” Fury leaned over and stuck her head down the dark hole. “Don’t think the headlamps are going to be much use. They’ll only light up a small space.”
“Move over.” Eion gave her a nudge and Fury moved out of the way. “There’s a ladder here, we’d better check if it’s safe before we use it.”
Although Fury could see the sense in Eion’s words, she couldn’t wait and she pushed past him and swung herself onto the ladder, then climbed down into the darkness.
“Fury.” Eion sounded annoyed. “Are you okay?”
“Yep. The floor is sandy but I can’t see much. Hand down the lamp.”
Eion leaned in and lowered the lamp, then climbed down the rungs to join her. The stronger light showed a hard packed earth floor but no hidden treasure. Fiury glanced around hoping there were other openings, but rocky walls and the floor were all that she could see.
“I guess that’s it then.” Eion sounded as disappointed as Fury felt. “There are no other tunnels or caves to search.”
“We’d best get back to the kayaks.” Fury could hear the disappointment in her voice and Eion looked equally dejected.
She led the way back up the ladder and, despite the fact they hadn’t found anything, they carefully covered up all traces of the trapdoor, before making their way through the tunnels, past the eyes and down to where the kayaks were tied up.
They paddled back to the beach where Fury helped Eion put the kayaks on the car.
“Let’s go sit on the beach and eat our lunch.” He suggested.
No words were spoken as they sat side by side and ate their food, Fury wondered what would happen now. Their days had been taken up with looking for the treasure. Now they’d realised there wasn’t anything to find, would Eion decide he no longer wanted to go paddle boarding or kayaking with her?
“I think we’ve done quite well really.” Eion gazed out to sea. “We’ve found the tunnels and caves and I don’t think anyone else has discovered them. Shame there wasn’t any treasure but it was a long shot given the time since the pirates were here. It will make a change to be out in the sunshine instead of in musty old tunnels.”
He took a drink of water then turned to Fury.
“Do you fancy something different tomorrow? A bike ride with a picnic? We could go down the Great Taste Trail to Mapua, have lunch, then come back in the afternoon.”
“Sounds great,” Fury’s mood lifted. He did still want to hang out with her. “Some bikes came with the house, so I’ll get Dad to check one over for me.”
In the early afternoon they went their separate ways and Fury wondered if, after the excitement of the search for treasure, the rest of the holidays would be as much fun.
*****
Fury’s father hauled a bike out from the shed. “Will this one do?”
She looked at the faded blue bike. It had a step through frame and straight handlebars with gears near the brake handles.
“This one will be fine, Dad. It only needs the saddle adjusting and tyres pumped up. Then a final check over by you to make sure all is safe and usable.”
Her father set to work and a few hours later the bike didn’t look quite so shabby.
“Here we are. All ready to go for a cycle ride. Remember, though, it’s not a BMX like the one you have at home, so no riding in the hills on it.” He looked sternly at her and Fury nodded.
Fury went for a short ride up and down the road to familiarise herself with the bike and when she came back she pronounced it satisfactory.
Not as nice as my bike at home, but it will do.
Next morning Eion stood waiting for her at the beginning of the bike trail.
“We have to start off on the road, past the airport and along by the sea. We turn right near Richmond, and keeping the sea beside us, and head for Rabbit Island, using the routes over stop banks, a causeway and a bridge.”
“I thought you said we were going to Mapua?”
“This is the interesting bit. We go across Rabbit Island and catch the ferry across to Mapua. We’ll have lunch there, then a quick ride around and catch the ferry back.”
They set off in the sunshine side by side and soon reached the bike trail by the sea. Fury dropped back whenever other riders wanted to pass. The water glinted turquoise blue on their right, while an edge of grass separated them from the main road on their left. They reached Richmond and turned right and followed the trail beside the sea until they reached the place where it joined the road again. Going across various stop banks led them to a bridge, which Eion told her had been specially built for the Great Taste Trail. After crossing this bridge they carried on until they reached the sea again and rode across to Rabbit Island where the trail led them to a beach.
“We do have a choice which route to take, but I think this time we’ll go on the track at the edge of the island. It will lead us to the ferry.”
Eion set off left along the track, with Fury following him. To her surprise her legs weren’t hurting, probably due to the strength gained on the paddle board, but her rear end objected to the uncomfortable saddle on the bike.
Despite the discomfort she found it wonderful riding beside the sea with the wind blowing at her auburn hair where it stuck out from the bottom of her bike helmet. They reached the beach where the ferry came across from Mapua, but at the present time it sat at the jetty on the other side.
“Won’t be long,” Eion assured her. “It’s a quick crossing.”
They leaned the bikes against the trees and lay back on the sand, enjoying the sunlight filtering through the branches.
“Fury, do you have a boyfriend?”
Eion’s question took her by surprise. Why did he want to know?
“No, haven’t seen anyone I like until now.”
Idiot, you make it sound like you were waiting for him to ask.
“What about you, do you have someone special?”
“No. I didn’t want to get involved before I went away to university. It didn’t seem fair on me or any girl I wanted to connect with.”
Fury hid her puzzlement. If he didn’t have a girlfriend, who was the girl who looked at him so adoringly? Did she fancy Eion and he didn’t know about it? Fury resisted the temptation to ask and the noise of the ferry arriving ended their conversation.