Something didn't feel right…
The girl looked nervously at the island on the horizon, her left hand clinging on to the ship's railing, the other clutching a tablet computer. She did her research as best as she could, and there have been conflicting information about the Rook Islands. One said it was an uninhabited group of islands perfect for cruises and beach vacations. However, there was also another information she read that said that ships have been disappearing hear the island's seas.
"Hey! Alex!"
The girl turned around, looking for the voice, her Caribbean blue eyes meeting to the gaze of a large, muscled, grizzled man, wearing a bullet proof vest, black pants and a bandanna. He was chugging on a beer, his pistol strapped to his leg. He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but grin back.
"Hi, Kidd. I guess you're really enjoying the free beer, eh?"
The older man guffawed as he stood beside the lithe woman, crushing the beer can on his massive fist, before throwing it out into the sea, which earned a scowl from the young woman. She frowned up at him, which made him stop laughing. "Oh, right… sorry. Reflex."
The girl shook her head, making her long, wavy, silver-blonde hair float against the sea breeze. "Right."
"Aw, don't be like that, kid. You're too uptight." The man, named Kidd Humphrey, said, his dark brown eyes filled with mirth. "You know, maybe if you relax once in a while, you wouldn't be so uptight. Chill! Grab a beer! Go on a date! Maybe if you let some guy slip into your panties once in a while…"
The woman laughed, "My panties are none of your business, Kidd. Besides, I'm too busy."
Kidd scoffed, "Doing what? Research? Jesus, girl… if you spend way too much behind the books, I wouldn't be surprised to see you turning into a paper."
Alex huffed and turned to look up to the guy. Kidd was rather tall and bulky despite his fifty eight years of age, reaching up to past 6 feet, compared to Alex's mere 5 feet and 5 inches and her slim frame. "Alright, Kidd… you already know about the men I date. Tell me the common thing about them."
"They're all pussies." Kidd said on reflex, making her laugh, "But yeah, I guess I see your point. You need someone strong… powerful… aggressive."
"And where do you find men like that? Aside from that biker's bar you oh-so-frequently visit?" She said, smirking at him.
"Ahh hell no, woman! I'm not letting them boys get to you!" Kidd said, "Those boys are all kinds of wrong in so many levels."
"And there you go." Alex said, waving a hand carelessly, "The reason I don't date. So many men are so wrong for me."
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Kidd said as he gazed out the ocean with her, "Anyway, I'm actually surprised they hired you."
At this, Alex smiled sweetly at him, "That's because I'm a librarian. The people who hired me know very little about the island, the history of the treasure we're searching for, and the islands' natives… so, they called me."
"But… you've never been here before, right?" Kidd said, smirking at her.
Alex blinked, "Er… yeah, but I can speak Bahasa Indonesia, so I guess it'll help when we come across the natives."
"Hmm." Kidd hummed, before straightening up, "But you know, something doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
"I can feel it in my gut." Kidd said seriously, patting his massive beer belly, making her stifle a giggle, "There's something… wrong about these islands, you know? Maybe I just don't travel that much, but still… something feels really creepy about these… Rook Islands."
The woman beside him sighed, "Kidd, honestly? Don't talk like that. You're going to make me nervous."
The elderly man guffawed and ruffled Alex's hair, causing it to become a mess on top of her pony tail. She shot him an annoyed look, "Sorry about that, kiddo. Don't worry; I'll be right here if anyone fucks you up." He winked at her, making her smile, before her walkie-talkie sounded.
"Ms. Steele, where are you?"
Alex sighed at the English-accented voice that drifted from the radio at her waist. She looked up at Kidd, who merely shook his head, as she took the radio and spoke, "I'm up here at the roof, sir."
"I know you're enjoying the view, but our guest would like to speak with you. Please come downstairs." The man on the other line, Nigel Archer, the head honcho for the expedition, said. Alex rolled her eyes.
Nigel was a self-proclaimed researcher and treasure hunter, and the person who hired her from a local library in London since she had knowledge of the Indonesian language. Tall but thin, with sharp, blue eyes, a pointy nose, and a thin mouth, he reminded Alex of a creepy human version of Nosferatu. He had researched about Rook Islands, hearing about a ship that had treasure called the Chaoyang. Although it said in the books that the ship disappeared, Nigel believes that he could still find it. He hired her as his research assistant, along with Kidd as his personal bodyguard.
Personally, Alex disliked the man, particularly since his ice cold blue eyes seemed to follow her everywhere, flirting with her even though she didn't like it... even though she had done her best to look as unattractive as possible. She had donned a long sleeved cardigan and shirt, knee-high boots, and a long skirt despite the tropical heat to keep the man's attention from her. Although she found comfort at the fact that Kidd is with her, the man's gaze really bothered her.
"Alright, sir. I'll be on my way down." Alex said, sighing again before turning to Kidd. "That man creeps the hell out of me."
"You and me both, kid." Kidd said before nodding seriously at her, "If you need me, holler as hard as you can, eh?"
She nodded and headed back down the stairs towards the cabin, where Nigel and his guest, a treasure hunter named Gunther Miles, stayed. Gunther looks and acts like a typical millionaire. He was tall, like Niles, but he was meatier because of his beer gut. He had black hair that was slightly balding at the top, a button nose and lips that looked too big on his face. His gray eyes were always bloodshut, with sagging eyebags underneath it from his late nights at a casino. Just like Niles, Alex didn't like the treasure hunter, as the man seemed obsessed with money. He owned the yacht they were in, paid for all their expenditures, since the promise of wealth from the Chaoyang was too good to ignore. Gunther also had a really nasty habit of drinking from a gold-plated flask in his pocket, making him smell constantly like brandy.
Alex huffed before knocking gently on the cabin door. She could hear the two men laughing inside, with Nigel shouting 'Come in!' when she knocked. She turned the handle and opened the door.