The People Of Nile Island

David suddenly awoke from his sleep. His head was spinning, and he felt as if his skull would crack open at any moment. He looked around and could barely make out the silhouettes of his crew mates. It was pitch black but other than that, he had no way of telling what time it was or how much time had passed since they had landed on the island.

“Good, you’re awake.” Sally’s voice rang out from across the still darkness. “We almost thought you were dead.”

David didn’t say anything. Next to Sally he could make out what seemed to be John and next to John was Sammie. When they arrived, they were a team of six. Now, only four remained and sooner or later, the people of the Island would come back and take another member of the crew and eventually, there would be no one left to take. David slowly looked around while trying not to shake his head too much. He felt as if he were on a rocking ship in the middle of the ocean and tried to keep himself from vomiting.

After finally able to get a bearing on his surroundings he was finally able to speak: “How long since if they’ve been back?”

“We don’t know.” He heard John’s voice from the darkness. “A day, maybe two.”

David nodded without saying anything. He couldn’t be certain, but he was sure time moved differently here on this island than anywhere else. The nights seemed to last forever while day light seemed to fade after an hour or so. Every now and again the hostile inhabitants would bring them food and water to keep them from dying of starvation. David would take the offerings reluctantly. He was sure the food was some kind of uncooked fish, maybe an eel or squid. It had a horrible smell with a taste that matched. Each time he swallowed; David had to fight the urge to immediately throw up. And the water wasn’t any better. Most times, David wasn’t if sure if what he was drinking was water at all. It had a black mirky color to it with a thick black texture like tar or perhaps ink.

He couldn’t be sure when the next time the people came to their cage to pay them a visit, but he had this overwhelming feeling one of his companions would be the next to be taken, perhaps even he.

“We’re going to die here, aren’t we?” Sammie’s voice cut through the darkness like a hot knife through butter. Her voice shook as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“No.” John responded. “We just have to try and figure out a way to get out these ropes and cage.”

“How?” Sally asked. Her voice was dry, and she seemed to lack the cheerful emotion she was filled with before landing on the island. “Do you have some secret plan that we don’t know about?”

“Do you have a better idea?” John retorted. “I’d rather go down fighting then do nothing at all.”

Before Sally could respond, footsteps, could be heard approaching the remaining group. David’s heart began to beat harder and faster the closer the footsteps got to them. By his count, they had three visitors. They spoke to each other in a language that David didn’t seem to recognize. In fact, he didn’t think they were talking at all. They seemed to be making a gurgling sound when they communicated with one another, almost as if they were gargling water in their mouths as they spoke. David looked from one visitor to the next trying desperately to make out what they looked like but to his dismay, there was no luck. The darkness of the night seemed to be too thick for him to see much of anything.

The only thing David could tell for certain was that each of the people in front of him seemed to walk in a hunchbacked position, almost as if they were carrying a huge weight on each of their backs. Suddenly and without warning, David felt a cold wet hand grip his head as one of the “people” in front of him began to force more of the unwanted food into his mouth, which was quickly followed by more of the black mirky water. Struggling to swallow the meal he was being forced fed, David couldn’t help but spit up and vomit some of the food, soaking his already wet and filthy shirt.

He could tell the same thing was being done to each of his companions as he was able to hear they were having the same reactions as he.

“Dammit!” David heard John’s voice cry out through the air when he was done regorging his meal. “Fuck you!” John cried out again. “You think you’re so tough? Why don’t you undo these ropes, and we see how tough you really are!” John finished his rant by spitting up some of his food at their capturers. For a long while, no sounds were made, and no voices could be heard. The three hunchbacked visitors stood around John and staired, seemingly unsure of what to do. After a moment, they retreated out of the cage and closed the door behind them, the sounds of their unusual footsteps fading off into the night.

Nobody said anything. Sammie continued to sob while David sat there wondering what was going to happen next. He had the feeling that John had made a grave mistake speaking out against the people of that island. Before he could say anything, sleep began to take over and he quickly passed out, hoping that when he woke up the next morning, this would all just be a terrible nightmare and he would be back in his apartment in his home in Willow’s Peak, WI.

David woke up the next morning to a ray of sunlight warming his face. Even though he were in fact not in his bed at home, he allowed himself to feel a little relived. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw actual day light. Each time he had been conscious, David and his companions were always bathed in a thick, unwelcoming darkness. When his eyes had adjusted to the light, David looked quickly from Sally to Sammie and back, quickly realizing that John was no longer among them. Dirty tears stained Sammie’s face while Sally sat in silence not looking at anyone.

“They took him.” Sally muttered the words slowly, barely audible to David who was looking to where John had once been sitting. “They came in the middle of the night and took him. He tried to fight them off, but you see how far that got him.”

David didn’t say anything. What could he say? Sammie was right. They were going to die on that island, and no one would ever know what had happened to them. There would be police investigations and helicopters would scan the air for any signs of their existence, but in the end, they would fade off into a footnote. David knew it would be a matter of time before they became part of the same missing persons story they themselves were looking into. He looked around for any signs that could tell them where they might be but there was nothing. Just the trees that prevented him from seeing beyond what lay outside of the woods that they were trapped in.

Suddenly, he heard the return of the same footsteps that came to take John away in the middle of the night while he was unconscious, and David knew exactly what was going to happen next. One of them were about to be taken by the people of that wretched island, never to see the light of day again. Three figures approached the cage before opening it and this time David could clearly make out their appearance. They were big bulky figures that were covered in giant black cloaks that David assumed were used to cover their giant bodies. The hoods of the cloaks covered their face, but David was able to make out a slit where he assumed the mouth would be. They weren’t very tall as they did indeed walk hunched over. David shuddered at the idea of what they must look like underneath their hoods.

The figures stood still for a long moment looking from one captive to the next before settling on David. The figure closest to him reach out with an arm that made David shudder back with fear. Instead of a human hand that was supposed to be attached to a human arm, a long tentacle like appendage slithered out from underneath its dark cloak. At the of the appendages were three worm like fingers that the figure used to wrap around David’s throat before snatching him off of the ground, breaking the binds from the cage as it did so. The figure that held David’s throat pulled hm away while the other two shut the cage behind him before following closely behind.

David felt weak. Walking was no easy task. Other than the vile things he had been forced to eat and drink, David hadn’t had anything substantial to eat since they arrived at the island. They walked for what seemed like hours, traversing through the thick woods and trees that David had to constantly keep dodging to avoid being hit the face with branches all the while trying to keep himself from being strangled by the slimy, cold arm that was still wrapped around his throat.

After a few more paces, they finally arrived to where David assumed would be the final destination of his harrowing journey. They were at what appeared to be some kind of lake front. The figure that had been dragging him by his throat finally released its grip as David fell to his knees, allowing him to finally take in some of his surroundings. Gone were the tick forest where he had spent god knows how long, but now they seemed to be in the middle of a clearing that David thought must be the center of the island. Although the space was more open than the woods, they still seemed to be tightly condensed. The walls at the far end of the clearing seemed to be covered in a black tar like substance that seemed to David to move the longer he stared at it, almost as of the walls themselves were alive. To his far right, David noticed what appeared to be a lake that was connected to the other end of where they stood; trees and forest met his gaze from across the water. That’s where we must have been kept and that’s where Sally and Sammie are right now, he thought to himself.

Before he could take his eyes away from the calm waters of the lake, David noticed another figure just barely sticking out of the water at about knee level. It was John, only he didn’t appear to be moving. In fact, David was quite aware that John was dead. His skin color had a pale blue tone to it almost as if he had been sitting in a pit of ice, he hung from thick branches that were tied together and looked as if he had been crucified only there weren’t nails that held him to the cross, but ropes. John’s stomach looked to have been sliced open, revealing his guts and intestines which dripped down into the water that he was sticking out of. Crabs and fish helped themselves to his insides while crows picked at what was left of John’s face.

David quickly tore his eyes away from what used to be his friend while trying not to vomit what little meal he had been forced to eat each night.

“I wish I could say I was sorry about your friend.” A voice rang out from behind David, revealing a woman of about mid-fifties with curly red hair. She wore a long purple gown that barely covered her feet which were stained in dirt. Apart from the figures that stood around her whose numbers had doubled while David was taking in the ghostly sight of John’s corpse, she was the only one who seemed to look human.

“But he was not respectful of our ways and not worthy for the sacrifice.” She looked at was left of John as she spoke. She wore an air of triumph on her face, almost like that of a parent who has disciplined their misbehaving child.

“Who are you?” David croaked. His throat was so dry it almost hurt for him to speak. “Why are you doing this to us?”

“No, my dear child, you misunderstand.” The woman replied, kneeling down in front of David and gently lifting his head so he stared in her eyes. “You have been blessed with a great privilege. In a few moments time, you are going to join the great beings that govern this sacred island. Your sacrifice will be appreciated by many generations to come.”

“You kill people!” David spat. “You won’t be able to get away with this! People will be looking for us and they will come here!”

The woman stood up and stepped away from David, a cold expression replacing the warm look she previously wore moments before.

“No one is coming for you.” She told him. “Nobody knows you are here. I only regret that they will not be able to witness your great sacrifice like I will.”

With one last look to David, the woman looked to one of the beings at her side and nodded. Once more, with the same worm-like appendages, the being once again grabbed David by the throat and dragged him to a pit at the center of the clearing. David’s heart beat with the might of a giant drum as he looked over the edge into the pit. It wasn’t a very far drop but the thick black water made it impossible for David to see what was inside and given the appearance of the cloaked figures, he was terrified to know what he would find once he was inside of it.

“Fear not my child.” The woman said. “Your spirit will feed the island for many moons to come.” With these final words, the woman revealed a long blade from underneath her gown, ripped open David’s shirt and slid the blade across his chest. He let out harsh scream as warm blood trickled down his abdomen. The woman then kissed him gently on the forehead before the figure released it’s cold, wet grip on his throat, dropping him down into the dark pit. It didn’t take long for David to hit the water which to his surprise, seemed to hold no temperature, nor did he sink to the bottom. He seemed to stay suspended where he at landed. David didn’t have time to wonder how long he could hold his breath until he drowned as almost at the same time this thought had entered his mind, a giant, dark figure appearing to be some cross between a man and whale quickly made it’s way from the bottom of the mirky pit. David attempted a scream but before he could open his mouth, allowing the water to fill his lungs, he was gone; quickly devoured by the beast that was making it’s way back to the bottom of the pit.

The woman looked down at the watery pit below which surface seemed to be unchanged from the commotion that just took place underneath. A smile crossed her lips. She was content and happy knowing that she had done right. Once again, she had allowed her island and its inhabitants to be spared the wrath of her god by giving it such a worthy sacrifice.