Conquering the Land of No Return (Part 2)

After having a quick snack of beef jerky and dried mangoes from their adventure packs,  Jack and Eduardo began to survey the island and record their observations. Inaccessible Island was full of wildlife. There were tall trees, many vines, and some green bushes and shrubs. Jack and Eduardo also noticed a stream that ran deeper into the island.

“Let’s follow the stream, that way we won’t get lost.” Jack suggested.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.” replied Eduardo.

           

Jack led the way through some underbrush and Eduardo followed him. Jack tasted the stream-water and determined that it was fresh.

“At least we’ll have an abundant water supply.” Jack said.

           

The farther and deeper they went into the island, the more trees came into view. They soon had to use their army knives to clear a path for them to walk through. There were also very many bugs. Mosquitoes, flies and other insects swarmed around Jack and Eduardo and they were bitten multiple times. After applying some bug ointment, Eduardo noticed something peculiar. The skin where he had been bitten had turned a pale shade of green.

“Hey Jack, wait up! Does this look normal to you?” Eduardo asked. Eduardo showed him his

skin.

“I have never seen anything like that.... which kind of bug bit you? Jack asked.

“I have no idea, they were swarming all around me!” Eduardo exclaimed.

“We better get out of here, let’s find some shelter.” Jack ordered.

           

And that was the problem. There was no place to set up camp! Plants covered most of the land to the point where you could only see plants! As Jack and Eduardo returned to where they had started, they looked up at the sky.

“The sky’s getting dark; I think it’s going to rain!” Eduardo shouted.

           

Indeed it was. Dark clouds gathered together overhead creating an ominous shadow. Jack and Eduardo found a small patch of grass underneath some trees that would be perfect to set up their tents. Just as they were about to take their tent out of their adventure packs, the ground underneath them shook with a fury and Jack and Eduardo fell off balance. The winds picked up and soon it was howling in their ears. Then something totally unexpected happened. The grass underneath them started to sink into the ground. It was as if someone was pulling it back into the Earth! Jack and Eduardo were astonished. Soon, the trees, bushes and shrubs all began to sink into the ground. After a few hair-raising minutes, everything calmed down. The super beautiful and peaceful landscape of Inaccessible Island had simply disappeared. And replacing it was a barren rock land, just like all the photographs.

“I can’t believe this what happened? This is impossible!!” Jack yelled with disbelief.

Looking around them, all Jack and Eduardo could see were rocks. Inaccessible Island had basically been converted from a beautiful island to a rocky plain. But all was not lost. This explained the changes in landscape that the news station had reported. Jack and Eduardo concluded that Inaccessible Island probably changed like this every day. But to be sure, they would have to wait for tomorrow. Jack and Eduardo found an alcove where they would be shaded from the wind. The alcove also allowed them to see everything else that was happening on the island.

The next day, Jack and Eduardo woke up to birds singing in their ears and the sun shining brightly. They had both had a good rest and they were ready for another long day of adventure. They were putting on their adventure packs and just ready to leave when they noticed that everything was back to normal. The trees, bushes and shrubs were all there. The same stream that they had seen the day before was there. It was as if nothing had ever happened. This only proved their theory correct and both men were happy that they had discovered something.

Jack and Eduardo decided that they would go around the circumference of the island rather than through the middle because it would be easier. Plus, they wanted to see the other side of the island. So as to not get lost, Jack and Eduardo both took out compasses that they had brought from Brazil. They were both surprised to find out that both their compasses were broken.

“The man on the docks told me that I would need his compass. How strange.” Jack thought.

Jack took out the old man’s compass from his adventure pack, and it worked just fine. Jack and Eduardo continued on towards the other side of the island. After a couple hours of walking and climbing, Jack and Eduardo were both exhausted. They decided to take a break near a couple of trees.

“Hey Jack, look over here! I think I found something!” Eduardo exclaimed.

“Well, what is it?” Jack asked.

“It looks like a harp to me.” replied Eduardo.

            Jack quickly ran to where Eduardo was standing. In his hands, Eduardo had a golden harp with 12 sparkling white strings.

“I wonder what it’s doing here. Maybe someone left it.” Jack concluded.

“I think I remember how to play a song.” Eduardo said.

            Eduardo then began to play an enchanting melody. The music rang softly in the air and the animals on Inaccessible Island stirred. Eduardo had been a champion harp player back in high school, and he still had most of his talent. Jack was enjoying the music when suddenly the trees that they were leaning against started to move apart. They were sitting above a trap door! The ground underneath the trees continued to separate until Jack and Eduardo could see nothing but darkness down below. Jack lost his balance and plummeted into the pit. Having seen this, Eduardo followed and jumped into the pit, hoping to rescue his friend. 

------- End of Part 2--------------

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