Chapter Five Gil #2
“It’s just my mom and me,” Benny replied tartly. “And if we’re discussing who is irritating…” She sighed. “Look. We are all stressed and tired. Let’s do this: we’ll meet back here at four p.m. so we can give each other an update.”
He huffed. “Fine. Sixteen hundred hours.”
“Deal.” Benny and Zara led Gil to the door.
Gil took a deep breath and stepped outside.
Outside the air was warm and sticky, the clouds heavy and the ground wet from the storm.
Looking down the street, Gil saw tree branches and leaves littering the way.
A large oak tree had snapped in half and come down across the road.
Near it stood a pole with a flashing yellow… lantern of some kind. How?
For a moment, he couldn’t tell what he was looking at.
Was this…town? In 1825, there had only been a few structures, but now the street and the buildings seemed to go on forever.
Turning left, he found the waterfront and tried to orient himself from there.
Where would his aunt and uncle’s mercantile be?
Across from the water, near the docks. Was this the same dock he used to walk on?
It was in the same location. Instead this establishment, Hooked, was next to something called Preston’s. Nothing looked or felt the same.
His unease returned. Did Sparrow really know how to find the remaining treasure? Why had she written Benny letters but none to him? Gil felt like he was adrift, floating at sea. He looked to the waterfront again to anchor himself.
A vessel came flying by them that looked like a low-slung wagon without horses. Gil jumped back, alarmed. People were inside it. He turned incredulously to Zara.
“Cars,” she explained. “Another great invention.”
“If it’s alright with you, I shall walk,” Gil said, and both girls laughed.
“Fair,” Zara agreed. “As my dad likes to say, Tackle one thing at a time. Speaking of which, after I give Gil a makeover and I grovel for forgiveness to Grams for disappearing, I should leave my parents a message. Maybe they know something about our cranky new friend Kimble that can help us. They might even know something about this treasure.”
“Tesouro Eterno,” Benny told her. “That’s what Kimble said it’s actually called.”
“Tesouro Eterno,” Zara repeated. “Fancy.”
“Tricky,” Gil told her. “That’s what that treasure is. The moment we gave our coins to Aggy for safekeeping, I never saw the treasure again. Aggy said Sparrow and Kimble were the only two who could find the treasure chest.”
Benny seemed to mull this news over. “There has to be a reason, though we haven’t found one yet. I’m just glad we have Kimble on our side. He wants to find the missing treasure more than anyone so he can break this curse of immortality.”
“I want that too. I think we all do, now that we know what happened.” Gil said, looking around at a world he no longer knew.
The sound of whistling made them look up.
A figure was shuffling down the street carrying a metal box that clanged against his side with each step. Out of the fog, Gil saw an older man emerge.
Benny recognized him. “Earl?”
“Morning!” Earl said cheerily. “I’m off to work.” He pointed to a white button that said GREENPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. On his white shirt, which had short sleeves, were words: SAVE THE LIGHTHOUSE. Strange dress for a man.
“Ugh, Earl, I don’t think Grams is going to let anyone go to the lighthouse today,” Zara said, eying Benny worriedly. “After last night’s storm, I don’t think any boats are going out. Didn’t you see the news?”
“I don’t need a boat,” Earl said testily. “I can walk to the lighthouse. There’s a sandbar now that the island is back.”
Benny inhaled sharply. “What?”
Gil froze. “You know about the island?”
Zara and Benny each put a hand on Gil to stop him from talking.
“Of course, I know about the island. It calls to me.” Earl looked at the nearby water. “Driving me mad.” He looked at Benny. “You too?”
Gil glanced at Benny, who was suddenly very pale.
“Yes,” she whispered. “But are you saying you can see a sandbar from the shore?”
“See for yourself.” He led the way to the docks. Water splashed over the wood, the sea still angry from the Blood Orange Moon, Gil guessed. Earl stopped and pointed to a large house with a tower on it out in the middle of the water, surrounded by fog.
“See? That’s the lighthouse, and next to it there’s the island and a sandbar from here to there to the island. Like a triangle.” He motioned with his index finger.
“Earl is right!” Zara gasped and reached for Benny’s hand. “Do you see it too?”
“Yes,” Benny said, her voice breaking.
“I don’t see anything,” Gil said, confused. “Where is the sandbar?”
“Right there,” Zara insisted, showing him with her finger.
Gil felt his heart beating fast. “I don’t see it.” There was only water, fog, and the lighthouse.
“You really don’t see it?” Benny frowned. “How can that be?”
“It’s right there. I’ll prove it,” said Earl, frustrated. He started walking toward the end of the dock, and Benny and Zara pulled him back to keep him from falling in the water. “Hey!”
A rumble of thunder in the distance made them stop. When they all looked up again, the fog had returned, thicker than ever, the lighthouse disappearing in the haze.
“Rats! You two made me miss it,” Earl said, shrugging out of their grasp. “The sandbar comes and goes with the tide. Now I have to wait for it to appear again.” He began to tap his right foot impatiently.
“Waiting is good,” Zara turned Earl back toward town. “Maybe have breakfast first.”
“Alright. I could go for some eggs. See you later.” Earl shuffled off again.
Zara breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, that was wild. Wasn’t that wild? Why could we see the entrance and not Gil? And how could Earl?”
“I don’t know,” Benny said shakily. “But he’s right—I don’t see the sandbar anymore.”
“Me either,” Zara whispered. “What is going on?”
“In the past, I could only find the sandbar when I was with Sparrow,” Gil told them. “Never on my own.”
“I think we have a new problem now,” Benny said worriedly. “If others can see the island and sandbars, how are we going to keep the treasure from being stolen? Earl even heard the treasure calling to him.”
“It’s like the treasure is trying to trap people,” Zara realized.
“No. We can’t let that happen again.” Gil squared his jaw and looked at the others. “Sparrow gave up everything to save me and our friends. I have to finish what she started, if it is the last thing I do.”