March 1st, 2020 – Morning

The plane had nine seats – eight for passengers and one right at the front that I assumed was reserved for an air steward. But as I quickly found out, an air steward was a luxury this old rust bucket would be lucky to have. It came as a mild surprise that they'd even bothered to fit seatbelts.

Ducking my head to avoid smacking into the low-hanging arch, I took a deep breath in for courage. The other passenger sat close to the front, fiddling with the settings on his camera. I squeezed my hips through the narrow aisle, offering him a smile he didn't return.

The intercom crackled into life.

"Good morning, passengers, this is your pilot speaking."

The pilot had an odd quality to his voice. It was guttural and slightly hoarse, like his vocal chords had been rubbed with sandpaper. I jumped into the closest seat available as the door sealed shut behind me.

"Welcome aboard Dodo Airlines towards our destination of Castlebay Island. Flying conditions today are good, with excellent visibility and a steady windspeed in a north, north-westerly direction. Our journey time today will be approximately one hour and twenty minutes, arriving into Castlebay Island at 11:50 AM. Please note that there will be no in-flight services or entertainment."

Good thing I'd brought a book.

"For now, sit back, relax and enjoy the flight."

As the plane whirred into life, I hauled my bag onto the seat next to me. It was strange to think that my entire life was packed into this bag. A life condensed to its basics. Everything I had done – everything I was – came down to a dozen changes of clothes, some toiletries and a few books. No electronics. The brochure said they wouldn't function properly on the island. Not that it mattered. It would be too risky to bring them.

The plane was moving now. I'd flown before, many times, but nothing compared to the noise this tiny plane made as it rattled down the runway. The words in my book bounced, making no sense, and wriggled around my head like earthworms squirming in the dirt. The engines turned, and with a noise that sounded like a rumble of thunder, the plane lifted into the air. We jerked, buffeted by a sudden wind, and I grabbed the armrests, my heart thudding against my ribcage.

The plane steadied. I relaxed, feeling the vibration cease. I rested my head against the window, the whir of the propellers almost soothing in its consistency. I could see patchwork fields and silvery rivers, dotted with the occasional settlement of houses. After a few minutes, it all melted into a deep blue slab of ocean, daubed with thin wisps of cloud.

I tried to go back to reading. It was easier to fill my head with someone else's words than my own. I'd spent weeks trying not to think too much about where I was going, but now it was nearly impossible to stave off. Exactly how "deserted" was Castlebay? The brochure said accommodation was "available" and food was "plentiful" – I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise – but what that translated to, I had no idea. Accommodation could be anything from a tent to a five-star hotel, although the latter I doubted. And what about other island dwellers? The fact Tom Nook was running a service largely pitched at Animals had been ticking around my brain for days. Most of the time, Animals and humans didn't cohabitate.

Something clicked. One, twice, three times. I lifted my head out of my book and found I was staring right down the barrel of a camera.

I covered my face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The other passenger lowered his camera, grunted angrily at the resulting photograph and turned away again.

"Excuse me," I tried again, trying to inject bravery into my voice. "What are you doing taking my picture?"

The photographer's shoulders heaved. "There were no good shots from this window."

"So what does that have to do with taking my photograph?"

"Needed to photograph something to make sure my settings were correct. It looked like a nice composition."

I blinked. "May I see it?"

"I deleted it. You were pulling a face."

"I see." I said stiffly. "Well, listen, please do not photograph me again. I really don't like it."

He didn't reply, already twisting his back and arms like a contortionist to point the camera at the window of the seat behind him. I looked down at my lap. The book had suddenly lost all its appeal.

"Why are you going to Castlebay?" I asked.

He took so long to answer I though he was either ignoring me or hadn't heard me.

"Work," he said eventually.

"Oh? Who do you work for?"

"Slice of Leaf Nature Magazine."

I hadn't heard of it, but I wasn't about to admit it. "That's cool," I said, hoping it didn't sound as limp to him as it did to me. "Are you well known?"

"In my field."

"What's your name? Maybe I've heard of you."

Three more shutter clicks. "Morgan Stacey."

"Nice to meet you, Morgan. I'm Aisling." The name still didn't sound right, like it was too big to fit in my mouth. "Will you be staying long?"

He pulled the camera back down and adjusted the lens. "Three months."

"Long enough, isn't it?" Now that I'd started talking, I found that I didn't want to stop. "It's scary though. But exciting. Like starting life all over again. But I suppose—"

Morgan sighed loudly, fixing me with a cool stare. "I'm sorry, but I'm actually very busy. I have a lot of work to get done. I can't be spending all this time wittering on."

I was surprised by the strength of my disappointment. I shrunk back into the chair and half-heartedly lifted my book again. Minutes unfurled, like molasses dripping from a spoon. I couldn't concentrate. There was nothing much to see beyond the wing of the plane, cutting into the blue ocean like an iceberg. This was a small plane and the ocean went on for miles. Tendrils of nerves twisted in the pit of my stomach. What would happen if we went down? Would we ever be found?

I leant against the headrest and tried to regulate my breathing. What had they taught me? Breathe in four seconds, hold for seven, exhale for eight. It was hard to focus on worrying when I had to concentrate so hard on counting.

Slowly, my body relaxed. Darkness clung to the edge of my vision, soft as velvet, and my surroundings blurred like the dipping of an artist's brush. I must have dozed, because the next thing I knew, the intercom crackled back into life.

"Attention passengers, we will soon be making our descent to Castlebay Island. At this moment, we ask that you fasten seatbelts securely in preparation for landing. Passengers flying with Tom Nook's Deserted Island Getaway Package should note that they will be met at the airport with further information. Thank you for choosing Dodo Airlines."

The Fasten Seatbelt light above the steward's seat dinged and I wriggled upwards, trying to work out the crick in my back. Morgan was busily packing away his camera and wouldn't look at me.

The weather had turned. Everything was steely grey; clouds rose like mountainous peaks and raindrops simpered against the glass. As hard as I tried, I couldn't pick out any landmass through the packed layers of cloud.

The descent started quickly. The plane roared, leaving my ears ringing, then tilted. The clouds rose up to meet us, and as we dipped further, I tried not to look. I didn't mind flying, but the landing made me nervous, worry fizzing in my stomach like popping candy. I glanced across at Morgan, but he was staring out the window, enraptured.

We were approaching the ocean with frightening speed. I could see something in the distance – land, I hoped – but we didn't seem to be flying directly towards it. We were still descending towards the ocean, getting closer with every hitching breath.

"We are now approaching Castlebay Island. Please prepare for landing."

A squeal left my lips and I shoved my hands over my mouth, as if to try to cram it back in. With a sudden drop, my stomach felt like it been detached from the rest of me and had become fully buoyant. I was engulfed by a strange feeling, like gravity gave up on holding me down. It lasted only seconds. Outside the window, I saw the plane unfold two sets of floats. Then, we slowed, almost to a crawl and the ocean was at my eye level.

We hit the water with a judder, shuddered upwards, and then came down again. With another roar, the plane slowed and then smoothly surfed forward. Morgan turned around, a deep frown creasing his face.

"Have you never ridden in a seaplane before?"

My stomach lurched and heaved. The water, separated only by a thin frame of steel, looked tar-like so close. I gasped and gripped the armrest.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Try not to feel too bad." Morgan said as we climbed from the plane and up onto the dock that stuck out into the water like a splinter in the finger. "You got most of it in the seat pocket, after all."

"Shut up," I said weakly. "I didn't realise we were coming in on a seaplane."

"Hmph." Morgan folded his arms. "You won't last five minutes on a deserted island with that weak a constitution."

I wanted to snap back, but my churning stomach gurgled again, and I clamped my mouth shut. It was slightly better out in the open, but what I really wanted was a sit down and a glass of water. Weren't we supposed to be met by someone at the airport?

I wandered partway down the dock, watching the water rush between the gaps in the wood. The dock opened out onto a stretch of beach, horseshoe shaped and framed by trees. Further beyond that, the island rolled away into hills and grassland. But not a single other person. Panic surged in me like a wave at high tide. Were we actually deserted? Left alone out here with nothing and no-one to help us?

Then, a voice.

"Greetings, greetings!"

I'd seen Tom Nook on his brochure, so I recognised him immediately as he hurried along the dock. "A warm welcome to Castlebay Island! So very glad to see you arrived in one piece, yes-yes!"

I forced a smile. "More or less. You must be Tom Nook?"

"That's correct." He extended a paw and I shook it. "Aisling, is that right?" He pronounced it wrong but I didn't correct him. "You ordered the full Getaway Package?" When I nodded, he looked at Morgan. "So, this young chap must be our photographer, yes-yes?"

"That's me. Morgan Stacey." He briefly shook Tom's paw. "Nice to meet you."

"You booked on the three-month package, yes-yes?" He didn't even wait for Morgan's reply. "Excellent, excellent! I'll have you both follow me up to Residential Services."

He was off, waddling up the dock without a second's hesitation. He was surprisingly fast. Morgan followed, making quick work of the distance, while by comparison, I had to force myself to catch up.

Rain spat from the leaden sky. I wanted to take in the island, be awe-struck by its beauty as the brochure promised, but as I slid across slippery sand, my stomach in knots, I was distinctly underwhelmed by the whole thing so far.

At least it was a short walk to Residential Services – I counted around six minutes. I expected a building, but it turned out to be a glorified green marquee pitched in a small clearing, surrounded by trees and loose boxes. Tom Nook joined up with two other animals in identical shirts, chatting freely in Animalese, while Morgan and I hung back awkwardly.

"We'll keep this short as the weather doesn't seem to be on our side today!" Tom Nook said cheerily. "On behalf of Nook Inc, we'd all like to thank you for choosing the Deserted Island Getaway Package. We hope you will be very happy here."

A chilly wind picked up. I shivered, wishing I hadn't worn shorts.

"As part of your orientation, we have prepared you some Welcome Packs that contain everything you need to know about the island."

One of the smaller raccoons pushed a heavy bag towards me. "This includes a tent and some basic amenities," he chittered. "There's also an information pack detailing all the services we offer – including buying, selling and renovating!"

"And this…" Tom Nook handed me something, then plopped an identical one into Morgan's hand. "…is our special Nookphone. You can use this for keeping in contact with residents and services, find guidance for island living and it's even programmed with a map and a camera!"

"That's… that's very kind, thank you." I said in a near-whisper. I couldn't deny it felt good to have a phone in my hand again, feel connected to the world, even if, for now, the world only reached the corners of this little island.

"It is very kind." Morgan agreed. "But I have no need for it. I have my own phone."

Tom Nook's nose twitched. "I'm sure you saw in the brochure, my dear Morgan, that regular phones don't work on Castlebay Island. Signal doesn't reach this far out, yes-yes!"

Morgan cursed under his breath, sharp words that didn't seem right to be said in front of Tom Nook and the younger Nooklings. However, Nook carried on, seemingly unbothered.

"We will also offer workshops on crafting, fishing, bug-catching and all sorts of other fun island activities!"

It was so much to take in. A dull ache drummed at the back of my head. My legs still felt like jelly. Please let this finish soon so I can lie down somewhere.

Tom Nook looked at me sympathetically. "Although, perhaps it might be best to have you both set up your tents and get some rest before we get into the nitty-gritty, yes-yes?"

I managed a grateful smile.

"The entire island is available for you to set up your tents – though we do ask that you be mindful of other villagers and not pitch too close to their space. You can check their locations on the map already programmed in your Nookphone."

"Other villagers?" Morgan frowned. "I wasn't aware there'd be other villagers here. It was billed to me as a "deserted island" getaway. Doesn't "deserted" mean "no other people"?" He said the last part with a pointed glance in my direction.

"Yes-yes! We currently have three other villagers pitched up!" Nook trilled. "It's a very popular excursion at the moment! I'm sure they'll be very pleased to meet you."

What was that old expression my mother always said? Kill them with kindness. It worked like a charm on Morgan, whose cheeks pinkened.

"Well I suppose it can't be helped. As long as no-one interferes with my work."

He turned and stomped away, without saying goodbye or thanking Tom Nook. That left me alone with him and the two younger Nooklings. My words died in my mouth.

"Better get going, Miss Aisling!" Tom Nook said. "We'll get plenty of time to get to know each other later, yes-yes?"

I nodded wordlessly.

I walked for a few minutes, only as far as it took for me to be certain I was far enough away from Nook and the Nooklings. A tree had been uprooted here, branches and stones littered the ground, and against a backdrop of dark skies, this wasn't the sort of paradise I had been expecting. Something trickled down my cheek and I wasn't sure if it was rain or tears.

The Nookphone buzzed. A tiny red notification popped up over the map icon. I pressed it, bringing up a map of the island. It looked much bigger than I originally expected, at least a couple of miles long in either direction. Four symbols showed up on the left-hand side of the screen:

Bill (Tent One)

Muffy (Tent Two)

Withheld at Villager's Request (Tent Three)

Morgan (Tent Four)

Long-pressing the icons showed the location of each house on the map. Bill's house was close to a bridge by the eastern river. Muffy's house sat in a patch of flowers near to Residential Services. Tent Three didn't show up on the map, no matter how hard I pressed. And Morgan seemed to have set up at the very top of the island, close to a rocky outcrop and a few minutes away from a thick cluster of trees.

My body ached. I needed to set up my own tent. Here was as good a place as any, I supposed, even though the area itself left a lot to be desired. The tent was simple enough to set up – Tom Nook's capsule technology was pretty much legendary – and came with a small pink radio, a lantern and a camp bed. I tested it gingerly. It seemed to hold my weight alright, even if it wasn't the comfiest thing in the world.

I set the radio to a random station, lay back in the camp bed and let sleep come for me.

Author's Notes

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much to all of you who viewed and read the teaser chapter/prologue. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it! Particular thanks to WyldClaw for your review - I heartily appreciate it!

With the arrival of the first proper chapter, I'm really excited to deepen the plot and bring in all sorts of details. I had a lot of fun while writing this so I hope you guys enjoy :)