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Eion had the kayaks ready when Fury arrived at the beach the next day. She threw her bag into the her boat and they launched into the sea and paddled out to the island.
“I’ve brought a trowel with me,” Eion commented, as they climbed the path to the eyes. Once there Fury started the stopwatch on her phone before they delved down into the depths below the rocky isle.
“I’ve brought a collapsible step.” Fury hoped her mother wouldn’t notice the step had gone missing. She didn’t want to ask if she could take it as her mother would then demand to know why she wanted it.
They descended to the cave with plenty of time before the sun shone through to illuminate the trapdoor. Fury unfolded her step but was still unable to reach the glass.
“Let me try.” Eion climbed onto the step and with his added height and the length of the trowel in his hand, he reached the earth covering the glass. It took a while but he managed to scrape the earth away until a metre-wide window appeared in the wall. The dirt clinging to the outside still filtered the light.
“Wow, that lets in a lot more light. It would be better if it was cleaner though.” Fury’s could feel the excitement build up inside her. What difference would this extra light make to the pirates visit?
“We shouldn’t make any attempt to clean the glass.” Eion shook his head. “Apart from it being dangerous, it hides the window from prying eyes. With the dirt on it, the sun won’t glint and attract curious people.”
“Even if it did, they wouldn’t be able to reach it without finding the tunnels.” Fury stated stubbornly.
“Better if they don’t get curious in the first place.”
Fury had to admit it would be better to keep the caves secret.
They sat down to eat their lunch and wait for the pirates to arrive with the rays of light. Fury glanced at her stopwatch, which she had clicked off when they arrived at the cave.
“Eion, we’re definitely getting faster on our journeys to and from this cave. We’re only taking half the time we used to.”
Fury had to wait for him to reply as he sat thinking for a few moments before he turned to her.
“This is getting weirder and weirder. We discover a tunnel and caves behind the eyes, which no one appears to have seen for at least a hundred years. We find one opening hidden behind a bush in the cliff and one glass covered opening. Then a light shines through and pirates appear and descend to the room below. Now our travels in the tunnels appear to be getting shorter and shorter. You’re the expert on the supernatural. Do you think we should carry on with this?”
“Do you think it’s dangerous?” Fury wanted to know his thoughts on the danger before she replied.
“I’m not sure. You seem sure the mists I see are ghostly pirates, so I guess they can’t harm us, and the only other thing that’s really dangerous is the tunnel under the sea, but the whole thing is weird.” Eion stood and walked over to the trapdoor. “Let’s see what happens today and then decide what to do next.”
Fury glanced at the time on her phone and saw the rays of the sun would shine through in a few minutes. Hopefully the widened array of glass would mean they would be able to see the pirates’ actions for a longer period.
The sun glinted on the glass pane and then the rays of light shone down on the floor. Immediately the pirates entered and went to the trapdoor, where they climbed down into the cave below. Fury and Eion crept over to see what the ghosts were doing: once again the pirates were piling the chests in the centre of the floor, but this time the light continued so they were able to see what happened next.
As soon as the chests were piled up, the pirate crew went over to the wall – where a stand of shovels stood. Fury knew there had been nothing there before and assumed they appeared at the same time as the pirates. Each man took a shovel and crossed to where an ‘X’ decorated the cave wall.
Another thing that wasn’t there until the pirates arrived.
They dug beneath the ‘X’ until a large hole had been excavated. Then, one by one, they dropped the chests into the hole. Before they finished, the light faded and the pirates disappeared into thin air.
“I saw the treasure, but couldn’t see the pirates properly!” Eion blinked to clear the vision from his eyes. “They were burying the treasure, weren’t they? “
“I wonder if it’s still there. Do you think they came back and dug it up to take it away? Or perhaps someone in the past already found it.” In her excitement Fury could see visions of her and Eion digging for the treasure and finding gold and gems.
“We can dig for it, but we’d need a spade. I think it might be best to pick a time when the pirates aren’t around. It would be weird to be digging while they’re dropping the chests in the hole.” Eion grinned at her. “It would be fun to find treasure, wouldn’t it? I’m not sure if we’d be able to keep it. Some countries only give you a finder’s fee. Depends if its historical or not.”
“Let’s go and sit on the beach,” Fury suggested. “There’s nothing more we can do here today and we’ve spent a lot of time underground, let’s go and enjoy the sunshine.”
They reached the eyes and Fury checked the stopwatch. “Faster again, we really are speeding through time. Do you think it’s got anything to do with the pirates?”
“Not the pirates, but the ghost part of it might be responsible.”
After returning to the beach, they left the kayaks on the car and went for a walk along the sand with the sun shining down on them.
“Your hair looks really lovely in the sunlight.”
Fury looked at Eion in surprise. Why had he mentioned her hair? To her chagrin he changed the subject.
“Pirates are usually aggressive. I wish I could see them more clearly. Everything appeared blurry to me.” Eion frowned. “You’re obviously more susceptible to seeing ghosts than me. Perhaps because you’ve already had interaction with one.”
Fury felt confused by Eion’s comments. First he praised her hair, then he said she saw ghosts better than him. What did he mean? She had slipped off her shoes when they began their walk, and now she went to paddle at the edge of the water. As the water covered her toes she ducked her head, not wanting Eion to see the confusion in her eyes. He didn’t seem to notice as he casually took her hand in his. A blush crept from the contact, up her arm and neck to her face.
“Fury, I really do want to see you after the summer. I’ve looked Cave up on the map and it’s less than a couple of hours drive from Christchurch. I could easily come to see you for a weekend, if your parents would let me stay with you. You could show me where the ghost lived.” He said the last with a grin and she shyly smiled back.
“I’d like to, Eion, but I’d have to check it with my mother first. Maybe we’d better wait until you’ve settled into uni before we ask. We can keep in touch by email and messenger.”
He nodded and pulled her close. Fury held her breath, not sure if he wanted to kiss her. Despite being eager for his embrace, she pulled away.
“I’m sorry.” Eion looked crestfallen. “I’m taking things too fast, aren’t I?”
“No, no.” Fury wondered how she could explain her reaction, and decided to tell him the truth. “My mother thought we were becoming boyfriend and girlfriend and she started to freak out. I promised her I would let her know if we became more than friends. I think a kiss takes it one step further. I’d rather not lie to her, but if I tell her you kissed me she’ll insist I don’t see you anymore. She thinks I’m still a child and considers this to be a holiday friendship. In a few months, when she sees we’re still friends and want to go to the next step, she’ll be more receptive.”
Eion grinned. “Phew, thank goodness. For a moment there I thought you didn’t like me.”
They returned along the beach and discussed their plans for the next few days.
“Can we go and dig for the treasure tomorrow? I don’t think I’ll sleep tonight as I’ll be thinking of gold and jewels all night long.” Fury grinned but her stomach fluttered at the thought of finding treasure.
“I think we should do something else for a few days. It would avoid any suspicion of us going out in the kayaks or boards. Any ideas?”
“We could go for bike rides I suppose.” Fury’s reluctance was obvious. She didn’t like having her dreams of treasure hunting dashed.
“It’s okay, Fury. If there is treasure there it isn’t going anywhere. I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning and we’ll go along the bike trails.”
Eion patted her shoulder and turned toward home. As Fury walked toward the villa she went over their earlier conversation about meeting up when he got to uni. She wondered why she hadn’t asked Eion about the girl who showed a fondness for him.
I think it’s a case of – if I don’t mention her, I can pretend she doesn’t exist.
Satisfied with her explanation she headed home to help her mother prepare the evening meal.