"So, when I said I would see after school I didn't realize that I would be seeing you all day as well." Marcus said honestly as the final bell for school rang. The class got to their feet as a single entity and Marcus set his backpack over one shoulder.
"Yeah, pretty cool having all the same classes." Cam said brightly, placing an arm around Marcus's shoulders and steering him out of the classroom and into the outside world. Zach and Evie followed closely behind them, chatting away.
Carefully extracting himself from under Cam's arm, Marcus stepped away and said, "Listen, I appreciate that you guys are trying to make me feel welcome and all that but I have some things I need to do."
"Oh well, alright." Evie said, clearly unhappy with Marcus's polite excusal. "You are going to meet us at the café, right?"
"Of course." Marcus said smoothly. "I just need to run home and grab some things. Where is this place at?"
"You know where the docks are, right?" Evie asked. "It's on the raised pier opposite them. Large glass doors, you can't miss it."
"Alright, well, I will meet you there once I grab some things at home." Marcus said, turning down the street towards his house and walking away from the trio. "See ya later."
In all reality, Marcus did indeed have every intention of meeting them at the café. But first he wanted to take another crack at Mako. He grabbed the key from the potted plant and unlocked the door to his house, throwing the door open wide and letting it slowly close. He placed the key on an end-table as he walked inside, heading to the kitchen. He had just reached into his refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water just as the door to the house finally closed. He made his way upstairs and grabbed his spare backpack and another long coil of rope from his spare climbing gear before sweeping back out of his house. He closed the door behind him and quickly locked it, tossing the key in the plant as he always did.
Once he stepped onto the street he frowned as a strange shiver ran up his spine. He turned around, searching for what though he was not sure. He shrugged off the momentary unease and continued down the street, heading toward the docks. As he expected, the pier was teeming with people going about their various tasks. He wandered down the pier, searching for one person in particular andtheir various tasks. He wandered down the pier, searching for one person in particular. He found the man he was looking for hunched over his boat's engine compartment and grumbling a steady stream of curses. "Ahoy!" Marcus called, laughing quietly at his own joke.
"Ahoy?" Evie's father said as he sat up and wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand. "What are you, a pirate now?"
"Maybe." Marcus said thoughtfully. "I think I would make a very good pirate."
"Well, you won't do much pirating without a ship." He told the young man, tossing him the key to his small boat. "You came to take her out on another trip, right?"
"That's right." Marcus grinned. "Gonna do some more exploring on Mako."
"Be careful." Evie's father warned as he returned to work on his boat. "Tonight's a full moon. Mako gets a bit funny on nights like tonight."
"A bit funny?" Marcus asked curiously.
"Don't ask." The man said, grunting as he began to tug on something in the depths of the engine compartment. "It's just a bit of local superstition. Just be careful out there, eh?"
"No problem." Marcus agreed. "Where are you going to be when I get back?"
"I probably won't be around much longer." The man said, "If you are worried about the keys don't worry about it. Just give them to Evie tomorrow at school if you see her."
"Oh, I don't think that will be much of a problem." Marcus said under his breath. "They seem to be following me."
Marcus bade the man farewell and made his way to the end of the pier where the small watercraft sat bobbing gently in the water. He stepped onto the aluminum hull and set his backpack down on the floor, taking a seat at the helm. He quickly started the outboard and untied the boat from the dock, pushing off with one foot. He waited until he was away from the other boats before gunning the engine and speeding off towards the island that was barely discernible in the distance. The closer he got to the island, the more his anticipation grew of what he might find in his exploration. The sun was already low in the sky, the beginnings of the evening already evident in its off-orange rays of light. When he finally ran the boat onto the sand his gut was tight with anticipation. He tied the boat off to a heavy-looking driftwood stump that had washed up on the beach and set off into the island.
When he had finally found his way back to the cliffs he had climbed the other day Marcus immediately withdrew the rope from his bag and tied it off to a nearby boulder. He pulled on the rope several times before beginning his climb up the rock face. The climb this time wasn't easy, but as he had prior knowledge of the cliff he made his way to the top in less than half the time it had taken him last time. As he pulled himself onto the ledge the last vestiges of the sun had disappeared over the horizon. As before, the hole in the top of the rocks astounded Marcus. He had actually begun to wonder if he had possibly imagined his escapade into the cave. He tested the rope he had tied to his waist again before pulling a second coil from his bag along with another climbing axe. As before, he tossed the axe over the side of the cliff and pulled on it slowly until it caught on the rock face. Not willing to take any chances, Marcus yanked on the rope hard for several minutes until he was absolutely certain that it was not going to go anywhere. He turned back to the hole and hesitated for just a moment. He took a step back and yanked on the first rope once more with all his might, just to test it once more to put his mind at ease.
He yanked hard on the rope and immediately felt the weightlessness on the other end. The force of his moment staggered him back several steps and he teetered on the edge of the cliffs for a long moment. His arms wind milled as he desperately tried to reclaim his balance, but to no avail. He began to descend backward slowly at first but he was soon enough falling through open air. He fell perhaps twenty feet when he felt a sudden jerk around his navel as the second rope was suddenly pulled tight. His breath was stolen from him as the rope tightened around his middle, but the feeling was quickly erased. The sudden stop spun his head against the side of the rock and the last thing he remembered seeing was spots of color dancing before his eyes before he passed out.