Creature Island

The hair on the back of Sydney's neck stood up as she watched the ship disappear into the horizon. Her back rested against a large palm tree, her head turned to the right as she continued gazing at the ocean. When the ship was completely out of sight, she laughed. Whether its source was fear or excitement, she was unsure.

What the hell have I gotten myself into? she wondered.

She would be completely alone on Creature Island for the next two months. The trip had been advertised as the perfect opportunity for self discovery, but Sydney pursued it for solitude. The organizers had been hesitant to allow her entry due to her age (eightteen) but conceded when they found out she would pay in cash.

Sydney was the youngest of seven daughters. Her parents, Chuck and Rachel Northrup, did not believe in birth control, television, or feminism. They wanted their daughters silent, agreeable, and ready to wed whomever they deemed appropriate. They were also wealthy, as Chuck and his father had been one of the first families to sell oil out of North Dakota.

Sydney had left their home in the dead of night, two weeks after her father had informed her of her upcoming nuptials. She was to wed a sixty year old man that had worked for his father. Sydney’s jaw clenched at the thought. There was no way that would ever happen.

Her stomach growled, bringing her back to the present. Sydney realized she was parched and starving. She grabbed her backpack and found the book What To Do If You're Stranded on a Desert Island.

First on the author’s list was drinkable water. Rummaging through her backpack, she realized what she wanted was at the bottom. Impulsively, she dumped out everything else (hair brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, various clothing items, a blanket, some protein bars, pens and notebooks). She then reached in and carefully removed the desalination device.

Sydney had marveled at this scientific advancement when she had purchased it, and found herself walking confidently toward the shoreline now that it was in hand. She had a silly grin on her face as she filled it, and greedily chugged the water once it was safe to do so. After refilling it, she walked back to her belongings beneath her tree.

As she approached, she saw movement in the forested area farther inland.

"What the hell was that?" She asked aloud, finding comfort in the sound of a voice even if it was her own.

She jogged back to her belongings and began to pack up. She soon discovered she was missing something essential.

"Ya shee noke-ee way, Tia?" A voice responded as her survival book was dangled out of the treeline.

"Hey! Give that back!" Sydney yelled as the muscles in her body began to tense. In this fight or flight scenario, she was going to have to fight. She needed that book. She finished packing and took a deep breath. No time to panic. Ya gotta be strong, Sydney, she told herself.

The book was pulled back into the shadows as the voice spoke again, "Ya shee mokaw somakee. Cosay!" The tone was playful, but the language was still unfamiliar.

Sydney flung her backpack on and sprinted toward the sound of the voice. "Hey! I need that!" she shouted.

Just as she reached the treeline she heard a pop! sound. What the? she wondered.

"Hey! Where'd you go?"

Pop! This time it came from deeper in the forest, and was followed by high-pitched giggling, almost like a child's laughter.

"Hey! Very funny, little one. Can I please have my book back now?"

Sydney glanced back and could still make out the beach behind her. A few more steps and that would change. Taking a deep breath, she walked deeper into the unknown. The trees were greater in size and quantity as she ventured farther into the forest.

"Hello? Where did you go?" She whispered, having remembered the name of the island and deciding she was not ready to meet the namesake.

Pop! This time a gust of air accompanied the sound. Instinctively, Sydney's eyes squeezed shut, her knees bent, and her hands flew up for protection.

"Ma see-ay, tia ku. Somakee loeshee." The voice said quickly from right in front of her.

Sydney released a shaking breath. Then slowly opened her right eye. She saw a flash of blue before another pop! Her eyelid slammed back down. In the instant her eye had been open she had seen nothing more than cerulean blue. Was it a talking blue macaw? she wondered. The left eyelid raised slowly this time.

Whatever it was was gone. She did a quick 180° and could find no signs of life except vegetation. Her eyes came back to their beginning position. She looked down and found her book, three bananas, and two small round packages wrapped in large leaves.

She let her eyes check around her once more. Her shoulder relaxed. She reached down and grabbed the items.

Sydney thought she heard a faint giggle as she walked quickly back to her tree, but she saw nothing.

Back beneath her tree, Sydney examined one of the bananas. It looked normal enough. After her stomach grumbled once more, she ate it quickly. She then turned back to the packages. The leaves were tied shut with a string of some sort. Inside one, she found berries. Inside the other, she found a beautiful necklace. It featured an oval stone, cerulean blue and shiny. In place of a chain, string had been braided and woven to hold the stone in place. She unwrapped it and held the stone on the bare skin of her palm. Once her skin met the stone, it seemed to vibrate. Her palm felt warm and the skin beneath the stone began to tingle.

Shivering despite the heat, Sydney quickly wrapped the necklace back up and placed it in her backpack's front pocket.

After documenting the day's occurrences in one of her notebooks, she was surprised to see the sun going down. She realized she was yet to make any form of shelter. Sydney hurriedly made a small hut to sleep in, thankful for the abundance of branches and leaves near the edge of the forest. She then ate a protein bar and laid down, falling asleep quickly after her first day on the island.

Pop!

Sydney opened her eyes and poked her head out. A being sat calmly before her in a meditative posture. It had cerulean blue skin, silver eyes, no hair, and a slender build. Its clothes were shockingly white. Sydney had never seen anything like it, and was grateful that it did not seem aggressive at all.

"Ya shee, noka see." It said, gesturing around its neck and chest.

Sydney furrowed her brows.

"Ya shee, noka see." It repeated, gesturing again around its neck and chest.

Understanding now, Sydney reached for her backpack and grabbed the necklace. "This?" she asked.

The being nodded. "Yo shee, moka say. Tia, un." The gesture was repeated a third time.

"Okay, but only because you gave me food." She clenched her jaw. She had a bad feeling about this stone, but put it on anyway. The stone felt warm through her shirt for a moment, but then she felt her whole body relax.

The being gave a small smile. "Eetay! Somakee kay Tia lu oakshmee." With that, it stood up. The being had hit its chest when it said Somakee and motioned to Sydney as it said Tia. That must be its name, she thought.

Sydney found herself very relaxed and agreeable after she put the necklace on. She really was not concerned about food or survival at all. She knew somehow, it was going to be taken care of.

Somakee skipped as it led her around the island, pointing at and naming different plants and birds. They ate berries, bananas, or other plants whenever Sydney's stomach growled. As Somakee led Sydney back to her hut that evening, she noticed that it had doubled in size and had been reinforced with more leaves and branches. Sydney's eyes were wide as she looked at Somakee.

"Tia ku lochay ma." Somakee smiled widely, revealing white human-like teeth.

Sydney nodded and went into her new hut, closing her makeshift palm leaf door behind her. She heard the pop! sound and knew that Somakee was gone, as it occurred whenever Somakee disappeared or appeared. Sleep again came easily for Sydney, although her upper body started to feel warmer than normal.

They followed this schedule for 8 days before Sydney realized her skin was turning blue.

As always, she had been awakened by the pop!

When Sydney opened her door, she gasped. The back of her hand was pale blue. She flipped her hand over and noticed the palm was blue as well. Her heart rate accelerated as her eyes continued up her arm, more blue. All visible skin was blue. She was shaking as she stepped fully out of the hut.

Somakee grinned and started dancing when she saw the change had begun to take hold.

"Tia ma sukee nay. Tia ma sukee nay." It sang.

"What? What do you mean 'ma sukee nay?'" She asked. Sydney had already deduced that Somakee called her Tia.

Somakee gestured to her chest. The necklace.

Sydney reached beneath her shirt to grab it. As her hands reached the stone, her eyes popped open as wide as they could.

The stone had somehow fused with her skin. She tried to pull it, or move it, but it was pointless. She noticed that It was smaller than she remembered as well, as though it was seeping into her body. Her fists clenched and her breathing was ragged.

"What have you done?!" She shouted at Somakee.

"Tia mika su. Le-ah sheemaka say. Sue-aaaani."

This time, she needed no gestures. Sydney understood the words. "You are one of us now, and you shall stay here. Forever."

Shocked, Sydney passed out.

Fifty-two days later, she sat high in a tree on the island. Her transformation was now complete. She was now one of the Creatures of Creature Island.

She had raged for weeks but Somakee knew of no way to reverse the process. Somakee had been lonely, as the rest of the Creatures had died over five years prior. Sydney was the first human to visit since their passing. It had not been personal. It had been the only solution Somakee could see to stop the loneliness.

Sydney, or Tia as she was now known, watched the crew search for her all over the island. It was no use as she could now dissipate as easily as Somakee, although her pop! was still a bit louder.

Her silver eyes returned to a handsome man to the north of her. He was alone and deeper in the forest than he should be. If she had to be a Creature, perhaps she would get herself a mate. One of her own choosing. Take that Mom and Dad, she thought with a grin.

She began to soundlessly leap from tree to tree. Once above him, she dropped a leaf-wrapped package.

As expected, he jumped and looked above him. “Who’s there?” he asked.

With the forest silent and no one in sight, he grabbed the package and opened it. Inside was a necklace with a beautiful Cerulean blue stone. He gazed at it for a few moments and then slipped it easily over his head.

She watched as his body relaxed. She waited three minutes, then dropped down before him. She reached for his hand and he followed her willingly.

The crew left three days later. They had never found the eighteen year old girl, and had lost two men from their crew. The five remaining men prepped and sailed away as quickly as possible once the search had been stopped.

One swore he saw 2 pairs of silver eyes watching from the treeline.