A table was empty near the back corner of the galley, a small kitchen with a few tables and chairs spread about the room for dining. I carried my tray with me there. I ate alone, and that was fine with me. It gave me time to ponder the thoughts that had been bothering me. I didn't know how to address them at the moment, so I sort of let them just sit there, and I decided I'd do something about those thoughts later.

They were serving codfish today… again. At least it's not caviar like my parents make me eat. I grabbed a plate of food and picked out a table to sit at. I set my plate down and wrapped the straps of my backpack around the back of the chair, then pulled out the book my grandfather gave me. I'm fairly decent at multitasking, so I flipped through the book's pages while I nibbled on pieces of fish.

The images I found scattered throughout the book were quite shocking: photographs of natives buried alive under layers of an ashy substance, abandoned streets and villages. My chewing slowed as my eyes drifted to a photo of a large mountain in the distance behind the old village. I flipped ahead a couple of pages and found a better photo and a description of the mountain. Actually, it wasn't a mountain at all, but a volcano. That explains the ash-covered people.

After reading about the now-dormant volcano, I discovered something a little more intriguing. According to ancient that had been passed down through the ages, something peculiar happened each year on the summer solstice. At this particular moment in time, all activity on the island seemed to cease: animals, wind, everything stopped. On the following day, one person would have vanished. I read some things about supposed "creatures" that were said to have been spotted scouting the forests once nightfall arrived. Of course, like any culture, these creatures could merely be myths with no factual basis at all. That was the likeliest case.

There was a sketch on the opposite page. It was of a dark being, almost human-looking; it had a the stance of a human, but its disfigured face, hunched posture, and razor-sharp claws gave the hint that it wasn't human. A chill ran up my spine. I felt uneasy staring at the drawing, even knowing that it was just a that - a drawing and nothing more. Something like that just can't exist, I thought.

I flipped the page to another section. This chapter was about the location of the island. I was shocked to discover that this island was located in a place called "Devil's Triangle," similar to the Bermuda Triangle. I wondered if this book was correct, since our professor had made no mention of any sort of "triangle" where we were going.

I was fully immersed in the book now. It said that there have been no reports from the island since the volcano last erupted, which had been well over seventy-five years by now. The book mentioned that this could be due to the inconvenience that was required to get there, and because perhaps interest had fallen due to the island now being wiped out by ash.

My heart was racing, my mind dancing. I tried to comprehend what I had been reading. According to myth, creatures appeared on the summer solstice, lurking and waiting to capture one of the natives. Even if there was the slightest possibility that this myth was truth, could such an event still occur now that the island was obliterated? No, I thought. Nonsense.

I set down my fork and used both hands to move through the pages. My brow furrowed, my concentration intensified. Several questions ran through my mind: what's so mysterious about a small island's population wiped out by a volcano? It's a natural disaster - there's nothing mysterious about that.

"Hey, Lara." a voice came from behind me. Startled, I closed the old book quickly, sending a small cloud of dust into the air.

"Thomas!" I coughed, waving the dust away from the food and myself. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" He found this funny apparently, because he was amused my surprise.

"Aw, come on," he said, pulling up a seat and inviting himself to sit at my table. "I was just wondering how you were doing. You look a little… distressed."

"How kind of you to care, but I'm fine," I began sternly, shoving the book aside and pulling my unfinished plate of food closer. "Why do you feel the need to check up on me?"

Thomas shrugged. "That old guy asked me to," he said quietly.

"Roth," I mumbled with a sigh. Thomas nodded. "Of course it was Roth. So I guess you didn't strike up a conversation with me on your own accord then?"

"Well, no, not really," he stammered. "B-but I want to. I mean if you want to, that is." He turned slightly pink. I smiled at him and then looked back down at my plate.

"I do," I said softly. I examined his features: a strong jaw line, blond hair pushed up in the front, striking pale blue eyes. We'd been friends for a while, but it wasn't until that moment that I realized the strong, attractive features he possessed. I know I shouldn't bother myself with boys, but there was something about him that was so alluring. Doubly attractive was our mutual interest of exploration and discovery. We got along quite well with each other. I promised myself that I would get to know him more, if only just as friends. He remained quiet, so I decided to spark the conversation again. "So, tell me, where does your interest in archaeology come from?"

He looked down at his fidgety hands resting on the table and smiled. "This is so cliché, but ever since I watched Indiana Jones when I was a kid, I've been interested in ancient cultures and artifacts. The mystique of it all… There's just something about it that makes me crave adventure. I could do without all the booby traps and spike pits though." He laughed, and so did I.

"I don't think that's cliché at all. A lot of my interest comes from old films like that too." He smiled, looking less self-conscious. "Anyway, I don't think we'll be doing any tomb-raiding this time around," I said through my giggling. "You probably won't have to worry about the booby traps." My attention went back to his face, and I noticed his smile was weakening. "Are you alright?"

His eyes were locked to mine. "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just got a little distracted." He smiled faintly and looked at my book. "What's that?"

I followed his gaze to the book resting on the far end of the table. "Oh, that's just a book that documents the history of the island we're headed to." He reached for the book and pulled it toward him. He flipped through the pages and looked just as intense as I felt when I skimmed through it. "Pretty interesting, isn't it?" I said, breaking the long silence. He nodded and then closed it.

"Very interesting," he said as he passed the book back to me. "I'm kind of glad we won't be setting foot there though. Looks a little dusty…" I held back another giggle as he smiled. Something about that damn smile was so enchanting.

"Hey," he said, standing up, "I'm going to head back to my room." I nodded. "You wanna come?" My heart beat a little faster, and I swore my eyes opened wide enough to give away what I was thinking. I shouldn't be doing this; he's not my priority right now. I'm here for studying artifacts, not love.

"Oh, err," I began, not really sure how to answer. I said quickly, "I'd like to finish eating first, but maybe I'll drop in later, okay?" He put on a slight, crooked smile and turned to walk out of the galley. "Oh, Thomas!" I called. "Be sure to tell Roth that I'm doing absolutely fantastic and that he needn't check on me tonight." His grin grew into a wide smile and he left the galley. I watched him as he left, up until the galley door closed behind him. I laughed with a small breath and continued to pick at the remains of my meal.