Nate's footsteps fell lightly on the sand as he jogged down the beach. Although the day was still early, neon lights danced across the young boy's clothes as he darted past the tourist traps and novelty shops that littered Diamond Harbor's business district. Once a bustling fishing town, Diamond Harbor was now the center of tourism in the Pacific. Vacationers and street vendors bustled about in the afternoon heat, barely giving a passing glance towards the boy headed across the beach towards a bungalow sheltered just on the edge of the water. The bungalow was dated, a relic of Diamond Harbor's fishing past. Although modest, the building was well maintained, with a fresh coat of yellow paint shining in the sun. A girl sat atop the bungalow's porch fence, with her feet dangling off the side. The girl was staring off towards the ocean, watching the light glitter on the waves as the Nate approached from behind. As Nate walked beneath the girl's feet, she turned her attention away from the water towards him.
"C'mon Kay, or we're gonna miss it!" Before Nate's sentence had even finished, Kay's feet had hit the burning sand. A crooked grin filled Nate's face as Kay darted past him at a dead sprint, nothing more than a blur of wiry black hair and rich tan skin dancing across the beach. Nate fumbled to match Kay's pace, eventually removing his sandals altogether in order to find better traction on the fine white grains of sand beneath him. Although the decision to remove the sandals had closed much of the gap between Nate and Kay, Nate immediately regretted it. Once again Nate pondered how Kay seemed to glide on the scalding sand with ease, while he could barely stand the heat for more than a few moments. Kay slowed her pace, turning to chuckle at Nate, who had decided flinging himself into the cool ocean shallows was the best course of action. Although Nate's feet no longer felt as though they had walked across hot coals, his tan shorts and light green t-shirt were now positively soaked. Kay's chuckle escalated into full cackling laughter as Nate let himself fall from his sitting position in the water to a belly up position with his face barely poking up above the clear ocean surface. The boy's expression was one of absolute defeat.
Kay plopped down next to her beaten companion, letting the gentle waves lap the side of her lilac colored dress and the dark capris beneath. Kay's voice took on a tone of mock condescension, "Better luck next time, sport. You almost had me. I mean, not really, but…" Kay was silenced by a playful fist to the shoulder.
"I would have had you beat for sure if it wasn't for this stupid sand!" Nate's lamenting was accompanied by a shower of sand sent flying as his arms shot up into the air.
"In your dreams, Nate. I could race you with a broken leg and still come out on top." Kay leapt up, striking a victory pose before flexing. Her display of bravado went on for some time, before being halted by Nate's unimpressed stare. Kay's hand dropped to meet Nate's, clasping around it as Nate rose to his feet. "So, what'd your dad dredge up this time? He find another ship or something?" Kay met Nate's gaze, eagerly awaiting his answer.
"It must be something pretty cool, because Dad wouldn't tell me. He just told me I had to be there when they brought it ashore. He said it'd blow our minds." Nate was bouncing up and down in excitement, his soaking wet clothes flopping around on his lean frame. "Like I said before, we've gotta hurry. Dad said they'd be bringing it to shore outside Club Luau at 1:30."
"We'd never make it in time if we walked. You know what that means…" Kay's smile widened as she finished her sentence. Before Nate could object, Kay took off across the sand, laughing as Nate begrudgingly followed behind. "I'll go easy on you this time, Nate, since I'm feeling so generous." Kay's mockery was met with a grunt as Nate took off at full speed after her.
The two children raced across the beach towards a towering oceanside hotel. The building was a faded blue, with a sign depicting a tiki mask adorning the roof along with the words "Club Luau Waterfront Resort". Along the shore near the building sat dozens of beach chairs shaded by festive umbrellas of varying bright colors. The resort's exterior was virtually deserted, save for a fairly large and unsightly fishing boat slowly crawling towards the beach. By the time Kay reached the resort, the boat had come ashore, tearing through the previously undisturbed sand and sending mud spraying everywhere. As the boat came to a stop, Nate caught up to Kay, his breath heaving and staggered. Nate collapsed onto one of the lounge chairs as a figure descended from the unconventionally parked ship. The man clambering down the side was tall and lanky, with wild black hair sticking out in every direction from beneath his straw hat. Kay waved at the man as he walked towards the children, his bare chest a contrastingly bright red when compared to his dark jeans. "Hiya Mr. Duggar!" Kay exclaimed brightly.
"Hey Dad…" Nate choked out in between breaths. Mr. Duggar strode over to his son before turning to look at Kay.
"I take it Nate hasn't given up on beating you yet, eh Kaitlyn? He'll get you one of these days, I guarantee it. We Duggars are full of surprises." Mr. Duggar let out a roaring laugh before turning back to his son. "I'm glad you made it. Trust me, it'll be worth all the heavy breathing once you see my latest find." With a motion of his hand, Mr. Duggar directed the children's attention towards the fishing ship, where something wrapped in a net was being unloaded onto the beach by five burly men and a rather rickety looking crane. Almost immediately after the object was swung out over the boat's side the rope attaching the object to the crane let out a strained noise. The rope snapped moments later, sending the net and its contents plummeting towards the ground. The object hit the sand with a loud thud, crushing part of a beach chair underneath. The object was roughly 20 meters in diameter, with a smooth chrome surface. Despite having been submerged in saltwater, the disk shaped piece of salvage looked pristine. Some sort of symbol was present on the object's upper half, one neither of the children recognized. The design was a large diamond, broken into four smaller, diamond shaped segments of varying color. The top diamond was white, the right was blue, the bottom was pink, and the left was yellow. The two children stared intently at Mr. Duggar's find before Nate broke the silence.
"So, what exactly is it, Dad?" Mr. Duggar met his son's gaze with a look of near disbelief before putting his hand to his head and chuckling. When Mr. Duggar lifted his head back up, his expression was one of dead seriousness.
"What's the matter, son? Haven't you ever seen a flying saucer before?"