[Invitation to Eden 20.0] The Island of Eden Read Free Page B

she did when she took in my scars. “Whatever makes you happy, guy. I’m just here to fly the plane.”
    Her comment weighs heavily on me as we splash closer to shore... not because there are any sparks between us, but because deep down I wonder if I will ever feel sparks like that again. Not long ago I was what many would consider a playboy...or a sexual deviant. I enjoyed women—as many as possible—enjoyed controlling their pleasure.
    I wasn’t a complete cad. Just a traditional Greek man, like my father before me. I craved passion and experience, but I knew that when I found the right lady, I’d want to marry, have a family.
    My future was stolen from me, gone forever now. Anger bubbles up inside of me again, and though I know it isn’t fair, I lash out at Joely.
    “Just here to the fly the plane... because you know things, or because you can’t stomach this face?” I regret the words as soon as I’ve spoken them. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Perhaps I’m a beast after all, eh?” 
    She glances at me from the corner of her eye.
    “We all have scars, Mr. V. Some of us are just better at hiding them.” Pausing for a second, she tugs at her ponytail, her expression contemplative. “You’re not even interested in me, big guy, so don’t be so sensitive. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m not interested either. In anyone . And I didn’t just happen to be at the charter office when you needed a pilot. I woke up and knew I had to come down. I wasn’t even planning to stop in Miami before I ...but you don’t need to know all that. What you need to know is that you and this island—this entire day seems weirdly familiar and it scares the shit out of me. But I have a feeling you can handle weird, and it’s too late to fire me since I’ve already brought you to your destination in one piece so...” She takes a breath. “...there it is.”
    Before I can comment, she’s pushing the rest of the way to shore. I press after her, and we both step onto the sand at the exact same moment.
    A sonic boom deafens me and forces me to my knees. The ringing in my ears grows louder and more insistent as I grab for Joely, my instinct to protect her from this, whatever it is.
    She’s just out of reach, and she too falls to the ground, though she seems to be moving in slow motion.
    The ground beneath us trembles, the sand rising up in a pale arc that slices through the shimmering air between us.
    And then, just as suddenly as it started, the shaking stops. The auditory assault is over.
    When Joely and I stare at each other with wide eyes, push off from where we are both crouched on the sand, the movements are no longer exaggerated.
    I swallow—my mouth is dry as dust, though it was fine just moments ago.
    “Earthquake?” I finally manage, though even as I say it, I know it’s not true. Before I ever bought this small spit of land, I researched it. The local weather patterns are unpredictable, and severe thunderstorms, water spouts, hurricanes... though not common, they’re possible.
    A small earthquake like what we just felt? Not out of the realm of possibility, but as Joely slowly shakes her head, I know, deep down I know, that something very, very strange just occurred.
    “We’re in the Triangle, Mr. V,” she says slowly, sliding the straps of the backpack from her shoulders and letting it drop to the ground. I note the way that the sand, the ultimate silence of the island swallows even that noise, which makes me wonder what on earth it was that just assaulted our eardrums. “Other pilots have shared some pretty strange stories over the years.”
    “You believe in all that? Ships lost at sea, aliens and UFO’s, magical mysteries?” I knew when I bought it, of course I knew, that the unnamed island was within the perimeter of the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. The so-called disaster zone is encapsulated within apexes at Miami, Florida, San Juan Puerto Rico and Bermuda, and it is undeniably