Dawn and Russell's jaws nearly dropped to the sand. The threesome stared all around them as the sun bronzed their faces and the fresh sea breezes played in their hair. No one moved for a few moments.

Then all at once Bob gave a whoop of joy and sprinted headlong down the slope towards the glittering sea. Fearing he had gone mad, Dawn and Russell spared each other one quick glance of dismay before they raced after him.

Behind them, at the edge of the trees, a shadowy figure watched intently. Accustomed to camouflage, he had tracked the three actors invisibly and effortlessly through the jungle. Now he waited to see what they would do.

Dawn and Russell came panting up to where Bob stood on the beach, gazing with sparkling eyes at the sea, the mountains and the sky.

"Bobby," Dawn gasped, "I'm beginning to think you did get hit by lightning!"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Oh, come on, Bob! Gilligan's Island! Being in Hawaii was weird enough! But Gilligan's Island doesn't even exist!"

"This island thinks it does," laughed Bob in childlike delight.

"You're beginning to sound like Gilligan," snorted Russell.

"Okay, Russ. Sound like the Professor. You tell us what's going on and how we got here. After all, you're the guy with the sci-fi experience."

"You tell us. You're the teacher."

"I was a math and history teacher, not a physics teacher. You're the pilot."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Oh! You two! Be serious!" Dawn stamped her foot with impatience. "Boy, at least I know I'm not hallucinating. I couldn't dream up the two of you!"

Bob smiled gently, hearing the fear behind her anger. "Well, as long as we're on the subject of everybody's past, don't you have Mexican blood - and Indian too? Haven't you ever heard stories about ancient powers?"

"Well…sure. But they're just stories. At least I always thought so!" Dawn's eyes widened in disbelief and she pulled out her amulet. "Bobby, what did David Harmon say about these things?"

"Just what he put in the script. That they were made by the ancient Mayans and they acted like gateways to other dimensions. Don't you see? It's the only answer. David didn't just wander into any tourist trap. That old Indian was the real thing! And so are these! They must have been what brought us here!"

"So that would explain why only we traveled, not the crew! We were the only ones wearing these!"

Russell tried to bring them both back down to earth. "But even if that's true, and it's a big if, how could these things bring us to a place that doesn't exist?"

"Well…" Bob thought back to what the writer had told him. "David said the Mayans believed in parallel dimensions. Maybe this is one of them. Maybe in this dimension, the Island does exist!"

"Then so do the castaways," murmured Dawn slowly. "There's a real Mary Ann here."

"And a real Professor," said Russell.

"And a real Gilligan! This is incredible! Gee, I'd love to meet him." Bob's blue eyes flashed with excitement. "What do you say? Want to try to find their camp?"

"Oh, let's!" cried Dawn, as thrilled as he was.

"Sure!" echoed Russell. "Except—" and he looked back at the green depths of the jungle, "which way do we go? Where is the castaways' camp?"

Dawn looked around a bit nervously. "Uh…Studio Two?"

"Nice try, honey. No soundstage here. It's all on location." Russell's brow furrowed and he brought his hand to his mouth as he tried to remember. "But if this island follows the logic of the show—"

"Such as it is," chuckled Bob.

"—then maybe the show can give us a clue to where the camp is. We know it wasn't near the mountains, for instance. The mountains were painted on the cyclorama in the background. They always seemed pretty far away from camp."

"And we know it wasn't near the beach," said Dawn. "It was inland. At least by the second season it was."

Bob's eyes suddenly brightened. "Hey – the lagoon!"

"What about it?" asked Russell.

"Alan and I—I mean the Skipper and Gilligan were always down there for something or other…fishing or finding one of those goofy visitors who never helped us get off the island. We were down there so often that it's got to be close to camp. There's probably even a trail. Gilligan even drove the bamboo car down to the lagoon, so the trail must be pretty wide!"

"Hey! You're right!" Dawn cried. "All we have to do is backtrack to the lagoon!"

This seemed like a wonderful idea, when a thought suddenly struck them all at the same time. "Wait a minute," said Bob. "Is anybody sure of the way? I wasn't paying attention when we first came."

Dawn winced. "Neither was I. Couldn't see the forest for the trees, I guess."

"The Professor's the scoutmaster, not me. I can't blaze a trail." Russell looked back out to sea where the wind was sending the silver-blue breakers crashing merrily on shore. "Hey, wait a minute…what's the matter with us? We're on an island, remember? If we follow the shoreline far enough, we've got to reach the lagoon. It stands to reason."

Bob smiled and shook his head. "If the island's anything like the show, that's not a very good guarantee."

Dawn, however, was all for it. Eagerly she grasped both of their hands and tugged them towards the beach. "Come on, boys. It's as good a plan as any! Let's go!"

"Dibs on the bamboo car!" shouted Bob.

The threesome thudded down the sandy slope and took off at a run down the edge of the surf, their footprints soon bubbling and flooded by the sparkling water.

On the hill, a tall figure emerged the edge of the jungle, his half-naked body covered in tattoos. He was a native scout, and the skulls that hung at his waist proclaimed the reason for his visit. Eyeing the newcomers as they raced down the shore, he fingered the machete by his side and smiled.

A flaming orange sunset spread out over the tropical sky by the time the weary trio finally stumbled on the lagoon. After pausing to scoop a much-needed drink with their bare hands from the little waterfall, they sat with outstretched feet on the fallen tree trunk by the shore. "I think I've worn the soles out of my sneakers," groaned Bob.

"I'm sure I had lines that said this was a tiny island," Russell grumbled. "It's about as tiny as Australia."

Bob shrugged. "I guess once they wrote in the mountains and the volcano, it had to get bigger. Boy, it sure does look like Kauai. That makes sense, though. All the establishing footage they used in the show was shot there, and the scenes from the pilot that got spliced into the Christmas episode."

"And a little bit of California, too. Didn't that stretch back there look like Zuma beach, where they reshot the pilot scenes with Russ and Tina and me?"

"You're right, Dawn. And I think I saw parts of Tahiti too."

"Tahiti?" Russell was incredulous. "Did I miss an episode? When did we film there?"

"We didn't. It's from the stock footage they took from Mutiny on the Bounty in the episode where the native tribe attacked us. It's a real mixed bag, this island. Boy…" Bob grinned expectantly. "Wait 'til we tell Sherwood about this!"

Dawn had been fingering her golden amulet, watching the play of the mellow evening sun across its surface. Suddenly she gasped. "Guys, wait a minute!"

The men looked up at her worried tone. "What's the matter?" asked Russell.

"We don't know that we can tell Sherwood. We don't know that we can tell anybody! How do we get back - to our world, I mean?"

That made them all trade worried glances. Then they looked all around at the water, the wide sky and the darkening jungle. Straightening a little, Bob tried to sound calm. "Presumably the way we got here. By using the amulets!"

"How exactly did we use them? What do we do?" She looked at them both helplessly. "Shouldn't we test them or something?"

By now all three were scrambling to their feet. They turned their amulets over and over, scrutinizing them as though searching for some secret inscription. There was none.

"What if we tried to recreate the scene?" Dawn insisted.

"It won't be exactly the same," Bob pointed out. "The crew's not here - and neither is their equipment."

"We could still try. At least we might learn something! Russ, you and I were standing about here." She took her costar's arm and pulled him off to the side in her determination.

Russell feigned a look of innocence. "Now where were you, Bobby? Wait a moment…it's coming to me…"

"It's coming to you all right, Russ. Just you wait." Bob sighed. "Okay, Dawn honey. I'll do it for you. At least this lagoon should be warm." He turned and waded into the rippling dark water, light foam frothing in his wake. "Hey! It is warm! Feels nice!" He waded deeper in and finally dove and vanished.

Dawn and Russell waited breathlessly on shore, clutching their amulets, but there was no flash of light, no earthquake. After a few moments there was a whoosh of water and Bob shot up, spewing water like a whale's blowhole. "Are we there yet?" he shouted.

"Oh, no luck, Bobby!" Dawn cried. "Nothing happened at all! We're not doing it right some how!"

"Take it easy," Russell urged as their soggy friend squelched his way back to their sides. "Whoever heard about a rescue from Gilligan's Island going right the first time? There's got to be a way; it's just a matter of finding it. Besides, once we get to camp we can talk to the Professor. The man's supposed to have six degrees, after all. If anyone can think of a solution, he can."

"Sure." Bob smiled at the thought of the upcoming meeting. "Let's get going. I can't wait to see their reactions when we turn up at camp!"

They turned and headed up the wide trail through the jungle. Now the light was fading fast and it became harder and harder to see their way.

The native scout, following behind them, was used to traveling by night. He crept along with catlike tread, always keeping to the shadows.

Bob suddenly gasped and stopped short. "Hey – I just thought of something not too nice."

"No bathrooms?" Russell quipped.

"Worse. The headhunters. If the island is real and the castaways are real, then there are other islands nearby, and the headhunters on them are real too." He looked nervously at his friends. "What if they actually come here?"

Russell raised a sardonic eyebrow. "You shouldn't have to worry, Bob. You never get caught by them. You run too fast."

"Gilligan runs too fast. I'm ten years older than he is, remember? I don't think I'm outrunning anybody quite that easily!"

Dawn shivered and looked at the darkening sky. "All the more reason we should hurry up and find camp. At least there's safety in numbers!"

"You're right. Let's pick it up." Being soaked hardly hampered him as Bob lengthened his stride until the other two had to hurry to keep up.

"There's more than one danger on this island, now that I think about it. There was quicksand, for example," said Dawn. "Watch your step."

"There's some pretty strange animals for a tropical island," said Bob.

"They were always friendly with you, Bobby."

Bob rolled his eyes. "There you go again, Russ. They're friendly with Gilligan. He has some kind of way with them, but I don't. Remember that lion? It acted like a big cuddly dog for Gilligan but it nearly ate me. Just don't expect me to go playing Tarzan any time, that's all."

"Oh! Then I wouldn't go running back into the lagoon any time soon. I just remembered - there are crocodiles on the island. Tina and I did a scene with one."

Bob gulped as though he'd swallowed a tennis ball. "Now you tell me! Thanks a lot, Russ!"

"Well…" his costar sounded genuinely apologetic. "Sorry. I didn't think of it back there. The one with Tina and me was just a wooden prop with a hinge on the jaw."

"A fake, eh? How come you got a fake crocodile and I got a real lion? Who's your agent? I want him!"

Dawn shuddered. "There was that crazy episode with the giant spider. Somebody really went out on a limb with that one!"

Bob shuddered too. "Geez…Why'd you have to bring that up, Dawn?"

"Sorry."

"I sure hope Walter the pigeon killed that thing! I hope it never had any babies!"

They crowded close together as the shadows deepened, trying to pick their way down the swiftly darkening trail. At last Dawn cried, "I see light up ahead! It's the camp! We've found it!"

With a gasp of relief, her friends raced along with her towards the blossoms of orange flame that quivered in the distance.