March 15th, 2020
Ashgrove, Colorado

Everyone else was still sleeping when Jack pulled up to the Pleasant Family Cemetery and Funeral Home. The second he cut the engine, he heard Ash groan and he saw him sit up out of the corner of his eyes.

"Here already? Why didn't you wake me when we were getting close?"

"You're still trying to heal, man. You need as much sleep as you can get." Jack reached back and grabbed his pack before pushing the car door open and jumping out.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. Two days ago, a witch pulled you through poor Cheech's windshield. You're just as busted up as me." But they both knew how untrue that actually was. Jack had woken up the next day only really feeling sore, and his cuts had all started to heal at an alarmingly quick rate.

"Yeah, except I'm healing like some kind of X-Men, and you aren't. So, who needs rest again?"

Ash followed him out of the car, and left the door open. "Yeah, let's not go talking about that like it's normal, okay. We're just here to spend a day or two with Mom. Like a regular family. Got it?"

"Sure. I hear ya. Does she even know we're coming?" Jack went around to the back of the car to let Keala out. She barked, licked his face, and bolted into the trees.

"I think so. Will probably called her. Guys, we're here." He slammed the door shut and Jack thought he heard him chuckle a little when Will and Marley jumped.

As Jack was grabbing the rest of his gear from the back of the Blazer, the front door creaked open and Marcia Pleasant stepped out onto the porch.

"Do my eyes deceive me? You kids drove all the way out here without telling me? It's not my birthday..." There was a wide smile on her face, and her brown eyes sparkled as she brushed loose strands of dark hair behind her ears. She was covered in flour like she'd been in the kitchen cooking all night.

"Hey, Mom. How's everything?" Ash trudged up the porch steps and wrapped his right arm around her lightly, wincing when she hugged him back with fervor.

"Oh, sweetheart... Come inside and I'll make you some tea. You can lay on the couch in the living room." No matter what ailed them, their mom always had a different tea and home remedy at her fingertips to fix them up.

"Mama!" Marley ran up the stairs, her bags hanging off her shoulders and her long braids bouncing against her back. She jumped into Marcia's waiting arms and clung to her. They were nearly the same height, already.

"There's my baby girl. Oh, sweetheart, I've missed you so much!" Marcia kissed the top of her head before she finally released Marley.

"I missed you too, Mama. Hey, have you heard from Maizie? Ash said I'm not allowed to talk to any of my friends right now. Or maybe ever." Her face fell, and before that moment, Jack never really thought about how much she and Will were really giving up for their little road trip. Friends, family, connections...

Marcia smiled softly as she moved a few steps to give Will a hug. "I told the school and all your friends that your dad insisted on sending you to a boarding school out in Anchorage. The same one he went to in fact. Will helped on the electronic end. So, everyone thinks you're unreachable until this summer."

"Mama, you're the best!" Marley skipped into the house behind Ash and Will. Jack hung back, standing at the bottom of the porch steps with a thin smile playing on his lips.

"Jack, honey? What's wrong?" Marcia leaned her elbows on the railing that went all the way around the porch, which stretched around the entire old farmhouse.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Jack shot his mom an empty smile as he trudged up the steps to his childhood home.

"That's a giant stinking pile of bullshit. Sorry, honey, but it's true. I can tell something's up. What is it?"

He lifted his shoulders in a half-assed shrug, sinking down, until he was sitting on the top step. "I feel kinda weird, Mom." He chuckled humorlessly. "Ash and I talked to a psychic a few days ago. She said I'm gonna die soon."

Marcia was silent for a long time, until a timer started blaring from the kitchen. "Come on, let's go inside and talk about this. I've still gotta make Ash some tea." Jack got up and followed her into the house. "You know, if any of the other kids said something like that to me, I would probably just laugh it off. But you've always been... sensitive." Marcia moved around the kitchen easily, shutting the timer off and putting on a kettle of water. "Are you worried about what the psychic said?"

"No. I'm thinking it's probably par for the course."

Marcia froze where she stood, slowly turning around to look at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Jack lowered his voice so only his mom could hear him, "that I can feel something evil growing inside me. I need to be stopped before I do something awful."

"Jack..." Marcia crossed the kitchen and reached over the counter where he was sitting to lay a hand on his forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever..."

He snorted a little. "You think evil manifests itself like an infection or a virus?"

Marcia rolled her eyes. "Don't be a smartass. You're going to be just fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. I'm your mother. Don't tell me things like that."

"Yeah, Jacky, what the hell is wrong with you? Did you not hear what I said when we were outside?" Ash stumbled over and smacked Jack upside the head.

"Hey! She asked!"

"He's right, Ashton. I did ask. Don't get mad at him."

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. How's everything going here, Mom?"

Marcia sighed. "It's fine. My sister and her boys help out. Oh, and of course, I have Juliet. I swear, one of the best things you boys ever did was find that girl out of gas up on Connor Ridge."

"Ash was so pissed that night." Jack smirked over at his older brother. "Remember, on our way to that Metallica concert?"

"Oh, yeah, right. You insisted some girl needed our help. I don't know how you got me to go along with you instead of going to that show." Ash nodded his head, taking a seat at the breakfast nook. He winced and groaned in pain.

"If you hadn't done that, I probably would've lost the estate a long time ago."

"Yeah, but I would've had a lot less headaches whenever I came to visit." Ash leaned back against the cushioned bench. "Are you paying her a lot? I don't want anyone trying to take advantage of you."

Peeling laughter sounded from the open kitchen doorway. "Yeah, right. I mean, no offense, Marcia. But no. I'm not getting paid a lot." Juliet Archer practically skipped into the room, covered in dirt from head to toe and with obvious open blisters on her hands. She smiled brightly. "It's okay, though, 'cause the job comes with free room and board. It's good to see you boys again."

Jack grinned back at her, despite the heavy feeling still weighing him down. "Good to see you too. How's King doing?"

Her whole face lit up when he mentioned her cat. "He's as ornery as ever. Keala should probably look out, I'm sure he's out on the prowl looking for something to pounce on."

"She'll be fine. They spent a few hours stuck in the car together. King likes her." Jack walked over to sit across from Ash, while Marcia stood in the kitchen cooking something for all of them.

Juliet shook her head as she went to the sink and scrubbed all the dirt off her hands. "There's no way you could possibly know that. Yet I still believe you. So, who does that make weirder?"

Ash laughed. "Hard to say. Where'd Will and Marley go?"

Marcia shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably off to their rooms. Aren't you both really tired too?"

"I slept most of the way. Jack drove. Speaking of which, man, you should eat whatever mouthwatering creation Mom is concocting, then go straight to bed."

As he sat, waiting for his mom to finish cooking, while she chattered about all the things they'd missed around the estate over the past few months, his eyelids drooped and he started to fall asleep, right there at the table.

"Jacky, come on. Eat later." Ash hauled him up by his arm and practically shoved him toward his bedroom, which he hadn't even stepped foot inside since the night they'd started their whole adventure.

Jack managed to make it to his bed before his exhaustion took over and dragged him into his nightmares. He hadn't even dreamed anything since he was brought back from the dead, so it was almost a shock.

"I'm going to disembowel every member of your family, while you sit by and watch every agonizing moment." Death's voice echoed in his head.

"What? Why? I've done everything you've asked so far, I think." Jack stared up at Death on his giant chair overlooking the mostly empty room.

The scary man folded his hands over his lap and scrutinized Jack in a way that made his stomach knot and twist painfully. "Well, yes and no. You've improved remarkably since the last time we spoke. You've been honing your skills. It's been a pleasure to witness, truly. But it all means nothing if my daughter doesn't survive this fight. You are supposed to keep her safe!"

"I thought I was just supposed to take her place."

"You're supposed to do both," Death snarled. "As of ten minutes ago, she was kidnapped walking her dog, and is being taken to a small island off the coast of North Carolina. You need to get to her as fast as you can, before she ends up like one of those other half-breeds."

"North Carolina? That's on the other side of the country. It's gonna take us a few days to get there..."

Death's eyes glowed bright red. "No. This is something you have to do on your own. Your family will just get in the way."

Jack stared up at him for a long time. "Are you the reason I can't remember what happened after my friend died? You're worried I'd screw something up if I remembered."

Death smirked. "Yes. That's right. I did think that. But now it's time you know. My daughter was right, you're much stronger than I was giving you credit for. Now, I need you to rescue my girl and keep her from being made into a spectacle. This fight is not hers. And I don't want her to be anywhere near you when all that power running through your veins turns you into a stark-raving lunatic."

"I thought you said I could learn to control it."

Death laughed maniacally, sending disconcerting tingles up and down Jack's spine. The fiery look in the reaper's eyes had fear bubbling up inside him. It was the first time he could remember feeling genuinely scared since he was just a kid.

"I haven't allowed a ghost-talker like you see adulthood since the ages of the conquerors and pirates. I'll admit, you've been more difficult to get rid of than most of your ancestors. But we would've gotten you at some point, had it not been for this fiasco. You're only alive because I need you to be. When this is all over, if the power doesn't consume you first, I will be the one to come up and reap your soul. Humans aren't meant to see through the veil to the other side, or tap into its energy the way you seem to have no trouble doing."

Jack looked up at the reaper sitting regally in front of him, as he tried to process his words. "So, the psychics were right. I don't live to the end of the book."

Death stood up and stepped down from his seat. "I thought I made that crystal clear the first time we met. You, for my daughter. If there was even a chance at survival, I would've let the events play out, and I wouldn't have interfered."

Jack swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Can I at least say goodbye to my family before I head out to save Ari? I'm guessing it will be the last time I ever see them?" Death actually seemed to mull over his request.

"You have fifteen hours from the time you wake up before I expect you to be heading in her direction. If not, I'll start killing off family members one by one. Starting with those innocent little cousins of yours."

"I get it. I'll follow your instructions. Can I go back now?"

Death's eyes glowed as he closed the gap between them and laid his hands on Jack's shoulders. "Be still..."

When his eyes started to flutter open, Jack felt someone squeezing his hand gently. He expected to see his mom or maybe Marley sitting on the edge of his bed, but it was actually the one and only Sophia Knight. He instantly had a million questions running through his mind, but he didn't voice a single one. Instead, he slowly sat up and placed his hands gingerly on either side of her face, kissing her deeply.

"Whoa, put a sock on the door, man." Ash's voice startled them apart, as he leaned against the wooden doorframe. "Everything good in here? Mom's downstairs getting more icepacks."

"Icepacks..." Jack laid back, suddenly feeling weak and nauseas. He glanced over at Sophia and registered the worry manifesting throughout her body. In the way she bounced her knees up and down lightly; in the way her gaze hardly left him, even if it was just looking at their intertwined hands; and in the way her eyes glistened with unshed tears that would never see the light of day.

"You've had a fever of 105 degrees for almost twelve hours. Luckily, I was in the area when your brother called me." Sophia glanced over at Ash, and for once Jack didn't even see a hint of animosity in her face.

"Oh, huh. Well, I'm feeling fine now." He started to sit up again when the last wave of nausea finally passed.

"Ashton, please go help Juliet set up the chapel for the service later. She's wonderful at so many things, but setting up for a funeral is certainly not one of them. Thanks, honey." Ash rolled his eyes, but disappeared into the hallway as Marcia crossed his room, her arms filled with icepacks and warm towels. "Jack, how are you feeling?"

"Much better, I could run a marathon." He tried to stand up, but Sophia wouldn't let him.

"You're out of your mind if you think you're leaving this bed. You're sick." Her voice was sharp and steely, but concern glowed in her dark brown eyes.

"No. I'm fine," he denied, while his mom set everything on his bedside table, and laid a cold hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

"That's strange, your fever must've broke while I was downstairs. But you should still listen to your friend. You need to stay in bed."

Leaning back against his pillows, he closed his eyes, and let out a soft sigh. "Hey, Mom? Can you make breakfast for dinner?"

Marcia looked a little surprised by the request, but a slow, warm smile spread across her lips. "Yes, of course." Glancing over at Sophia, she explained, "On Jack's birthday every year, or on special occasions, when he could have anything he wanted, that was always what he asked for. He thought it was really special."

Sophia smirked. "Breakfast for dinner? That's what you consider exotic?"

"You haven't tasted my mom's homemade pancakes." Jack grinned back at her while Marcia slowly left the room to start dinner for all the guests staying at the house.

After she was gone and it was just the two of them, Sophia's eyes narrowed. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't-"

Her expression grew icy. "Don't you dare tell me you don't know. You do, and you better tell me."

Jack stayed silent for a long time. "Okay, fine. Death dragged me to purgatory. I've gotta go rescue someone important from an island on the other side of the country."

Her eyebrows lifted skeptically. "Death comes for a visit and you practically start dying? What the hell? Has this happened to you ever before?"

"A couple times. Pretty much whenever he calls. It's not exactly pleasant, but I'll be fine."

Sophia nudged him over so she could climb onto the bed beside him. "Okay, so you and Death talked about an assignment he wanted to give you? Anything else I should know about?" She laid her head on his shoulder, and he reveled in her warmth. "Jack? Seriously?"

"Yeah... One thing..."

"Spit it out. You know how I feel about beating around the bush."

"I'm going to die soon. I'm not really sure when, in the next week or so. I'm really sorry, Soph."

Her head snapped in his direction and she sat up rigidly. "You can't know that." But her voice wavered on the last word.

Jack sighed, pulling her back toward him and tucking her under his arm. She halfheartedly tried to struggle at first, before she gave up and melted into him. He planted a long kiss on the top of her head.

"It's true, Sophia. Deep down, I think you know it too. But it's okay. Everything will be fine."

"How can you possibly say that?" Jack could've sworn he heard her voice crack like she was about to cry, but he dismissed it, because it was Sophia Knight.

"The same way I always know. The ghosts told me. I'm serious, though, I know it won't seem like it for a while, but I promise." Jack knew what he said next would infuriate her, but he figured he'd just rip the band-aid off. "I also need to leave early tomorrow morning. Alone. Or people close to me will start dying too."

"Not a chance, freak."

"I'm not fucking around, Soph. I love you, truly. So, you're not coming anywhere near me or where I'm headed." He was about to say something else when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward them. Marley appeared in the doorway, a bright smile on her face.

"Jack! You're awake! I told Mama not to worry, but nobody listens to me."

"You were right." Sophia sat up and swung her legs over the side of his bed. "He's awake, and as Jack as ever. I'm gonna go help your mom." She stood up, but leaned over to peck his lips lightly before she left.

As soon as she was gone, Jack sat up and followed Sophia's lead, standing on his mildly shaky legs. "What's up, Mars? How are you doing?"

"Fine. But you're not. Something's going to happen soon, isn't it?" She was asking him the question, but the look in her eyes told him she already knew the answer. "Whatever you're planning, just don't."

"I have to. But don't worry about that. Go find Sophia and Mom and make sure nothing bad happens."

Marley giggled. "Mama doesn't really like her so far. But Sophia's always mean to everyone except you, so I get it. Hey, don't give me that look, I'm going, I'm going." A few seconds later, she too disappeared down the hall, leaving Jack to search out and find Will, hopefully alone.

He found his older brother up in the loft, which had been turned into his very own technology epicenter. He had headphones on, and he was monitoring at least three different computer screens. He didn't even notice Jack until he flicked the lights on and off.

"Oh, hey. Marley said you'd be up and walking around. She was right. How ya feeling?" Will only glanced back at him for a second before turning most of his attention back to his computer screens.

"Fine. I guess. What are you doing?" Jack took a seat in the empty folding chair with the cracking vinyl that had to have been about twenty-eight-years-old.

Will typed something quickly on the keyboard before he answered. "I'm helping Haru with something. He wanted to see an ongoing map of monster attacks, with detailed information like the breed of monsters and the nature of the attack. We've been tag-teaming our efforts to make it a reality, and now we've finally got it up and working. I just didn't realize how time consuming it would be to update the map. At this point, it's so difficult to keep track, I'm not sure we'll be able to for very much longer."

"Wow. This is a lot, man. It's really something..." He studied his brother's handiwork, his eyes glowing with admiration.

Will shrugged, tapping his feet without rhythm, the way he always did when he was uncomfortable. "It's whatever. I'm also working with Al Pierce and Ramsay Redding to coordinate other exterminators. Not like telling them what to do, but when Haru or I find a job or hear about one, we can text all the different exterminator companies in the area." He sat back and surveyed his work with a critical eye. "Now that I'm proud of. We're connecting good exterminators with paying jobs."

"Did you start all this in Sunnyside?" Jack couldn't wrap his mind around everything he was seeing, but he always appreciated that Will tried to explain it all in a way that he could understand without being patronizing.

"No. Before that. I've been working on it since January, maybe. I did get a lot of work done on it then, though." They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Will finished whatever he'd been working on when Jack walked in. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"What's wrong with you? No, don't give me that. You only ever tolerate my tech jargon when you're sick or really, really tired."

"Why do you all know me so damn well? Fine, alright. I'm still on the mend. But what's really buggin' me, I have to leave by tomorrow morning on a solo trip, and I kinda need your help."

Will's eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead. "You're leaving? You do notice you have a beautiful girl downstairs who not only loves you, but is only nice to you, right? Not to mention we've been here less than twenty-four hours."

"I know. But believe me, if I don't, people around us are gonna start dying slow and bloody."

Will spun around in his office chair until he was facing Jack. "What do you need from me?"

Jack's whole face lit up. "You're really gonna help? Thanks, man. I just need a reliable car to travel across the country for a few days. Oh, and you can't tell Ash, or anyone, really."

"Sounds easy enough, except that Ash notices the second you drop off the radar. He'll go after you." Will shrugged simply. "But whatever, man. It's your decision. He might actually shoot you this time. Your ghost boy shit is downright scary."

Jack chuckled humorlessly. "I know. But hopefully it won't be a big deal for much longer. How are you gonna get me a car?"

"Just let me worry about that. When do you have to leave?"

"I'm thinking around four. I wanna get out of here without too much hassle."

Will nodded. "I understand. If anyone gets it, it's me. Before recently, Ash and I never really saw eye to eye on anything. I know how he gets better than most people. I'll have the car ready by three." Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts, clicking the name he wanted and typing out a message.

"Really, thank you, man."

"Yeah, whatever. Go spend some time with your girl. Tell Mom I'll be right down. I know she needed me to help her in the morgue."

Jack got up and stretched. "Alright." For half a second, he thought about giving Will a hug, but dismissed it almost instantly. He didn't want to freak his brother out. Hugging was for very, very rare occasions.

Downstairs, he found his mom in the kitchen working on an elaborate dinner, consisting of all his favorite foods. Sophia was sitting at the counter on one of the stools, with Marley seated next to her. The moment he walked into the room he could feel the tension like a thick cloud of smoke.

Grinning, he cleared it all out and replaced it with tranquility. "My three favorite girls all in one room!"

Marcia gasped, interrupting the story Marley was in the middle of telling. "Jack Wesley Slayer! What are you doing out of bed?"

"It's okay-"

"No it's not. You need to go back to your room and-"

"All due respect, Ms. Pleasant, but I'm pretty sure Jack can take care of himself." Sophia was just as blunt as ever while Marcia placed her fists on her hips, and shot her a sour look. She opened her mouth to respond, when Ash burst through the door covered in dirt and with a teasing smirk on his face.

"She's just so fun to mess with. Gullible as hell too."

Juliet stomped in behind him, shoving Ash into the door. "Your son is a psycho."

Marcia laughed. "Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you all go wash up?"

Everyone started to leave the kitchen, while Jack stood by the doorway waiting for Sophia who was the last one out. She almost passed him but he caught her around the waist and swung her around so he was facing away from his mom when he kissed her. Sophia actually giggled. The sound was his favorite on earth, and he would've done whatever he could to hear it again.

"You're beautiful."

Sophia glanced down and her hair fell into her face. "You're ridiculous."

Linking their arms, Jack swung her back toward the doorway leading her to one of the many bathrooms in the estate to get washed up for his mother's dinner.

That night, he reveled in the company of his family. They talked and teased each other and laughed, until everyone was so exhausted they could barely keep their eyes open. Worry tickled at the back of his mind the entire time, but he refused to let it show. He wanted his last memory of his family to be the best that it possibly could be, and it was.

At three-thirty in the morning, while the entire house was as silent as it ever got, Jack slid out of the bed he shared with Sophia, slipping his feet into his shoes, shrugging on his jacket, and slinging his duffel over one shoulder.

"So, that's it? You're just gonna slink off into the night, and I'm never gonna see you again?" Her eyes filled with tears, but what really surprised him was when they actually started to fall. "I don't know if I can do that." She sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed, but before she could get up, Jack stood in front of her and held her in place.

"You have to." He tried to keep his voice gentle but stern. "I don't want to sound like a dick, but I hope this is the last we ever see of each other. Don't follow me. You have to live."

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she stared up at him with a look that made his chest tighten painfully. "Why?"

"Because. I will always protect you. I'm sorry, Sophia. We were supposed to have a life together..." He gently kissed the top of her head before he slowly moved toward the door. "I promise, everything will be okay, my beautiful Ice Princess." He left after that sneaking easily outside and whistling for Keala, who came running in just minutes. Together they trekked out to the spot where Will stowed the car for him. It was a beat up black Neon, with duct tape covering one of the back windows.

Packing all of his gear and Keala inside, Jack sat behind the wheel, starting the engine and his long journey across the country. It took well over twelve hours before he received his first phone call from Ash, which was easily ignored. It was the next twenty calls that weren't. When he finally answered, he sorta wished he hadn't.

"Ash, I can-"

"Save it. Tell me where you're headed. Whatever's going on, you're gonna need our help."

"No. I want you as far away from me as possible. I'm a nuclear reactor, and pretty soon, I'm gonna blow up and kill everything in my path. I'm already dead, there's no hope left for me. But that's not the case for the rest of you."

"Jacky, tell me where you're going and I'll only shoot you a little."

Jack laughed. It was totally inappropriate, but he couldn't help himself. "I'm not telling you. It's for your own safety. Tell everyone I love them, and not to worry, because everything's going to be fine."

"I'm not asking you. This is not a question. You're going to tell me where you're headed." Ash's fury had Jack's heart pounding up into his throat. It wasn't often that he defied his brother.

"Not this time. Sorry, Ash. I'll see ya later." He hung up and cringed a little when he thought about how angry and worried his family probably was.

For the next day and a half, Jack didn't hear anything else from his family. Sophia sent him a few texts, mostly just telling him she loved him, but he didn't respond. He couldn't. Around three in the morning, almost exactly two days after he'd left, he made it to the beach town closest to the little island that was so small it wasn't on any maps. He'd only stopped a few times to use the bathroom and crash for a couple hours both days.

Not really sure where to go, Jack stopped at a motel with its neon sign advertising vacant rooms. He didn't really think anyone would be manning the check-in desk when he walked in, but there was a girl about the same age as him with piercings covering the sides of both ears, in her nose, her lip, and her right eyebrow. Her hair was dyed jet black and she wore black from head to toe.

"Can I help you?" She glanced up from the magazine she was reading, a completely bored expression on her face as she wheeled over to the computer while he stepped up to the counter.

"One room, queen bed."

She typed something into the computer and glanced over at him. "Seventy-five a night. Add twenty-five for pets."

"Okay." Jack slapped a $100 bill on the counter and she handed him a key and gave him directions to the room.

He grabbed Keala and his gear from the car and found his room, managing to get almost five hours of sleep. Most of which were spent slowly dying in purgatory, which disconcertingly became a little clearer with every visit.

"Sleeping on the job, Jacky. Really?"

"I hope that's your attempt at making a joke." Jack tried not to glance around the room at artwork on the walls that he'd never noticed before. Death had warned him once about seeing too much. "I've been driving for almost two straight days. Can I please just get some sleep before I have to go jailbreak your daughter?"

"Don't you want to know the location, and how to get on the island? Or if you'd rather, I can let you fumble through it on your own for a while." Death looked down on him from his throne, a smug expression in the face he chose to wear like a mask. An old man with salt and pepper hair, dressed like a powerful businessman.

"I'd rather just hear it from you," Jack finally said, once he actually settled the silent debate going on in his head. He came up with pretty convincing pros and cons for both situations.

"Thought so." Death explained every detail of the plan he'd created at least three times, and made him repeat it back to him once, before he released Jack back to his dreams, in the real world.

When he finally woke up, he didn't expect to feel as rested as he did. He even ate a decent breakfast with a good cup of coffee before he paid for another night and headed for the docks to find a boatman willing to take him where he needed to go, or someone willing to lend him a boat.

He didn't have to look long before he found a guy to rent him a motorboat for the afternoon. He was an old man with a thick graying beard and a mostly toothless smile. His clothes were almost rags, but he seemed happy enough.

"Where're ya headed, kid?" he questioned conversationally as Jack counted out the money he'd quoted.

"Little island about a mile or two from here," Jack answered once he'd finished handing the money over for the other man to count.

The guy in front of him froze, his large, scarred hands stopped on the crumpled bills and his gaze snapped up. "You talking about Shutter Island, boy? Nobody goes there. Are you insane?"

"Yep. Thanks for the boat. I'll bring it back to you in one piece."

The old man raised his eyebrows, disbelief glowing in his eyes. "Yeah, sure, kid. You say so. What'll prob'ly happen is you won't come back for a few days and I'll go out and find my boat drifting alone out in the ocean. Happened before, it'll happen again. Good luck, kid."

"Yeah, okay. You want me to just leave it here tied up when I'm finished?"

The old man snorted. "That'd be great." He stood on the dock while Jack and Keala jumped into the boat and watched them leave, a farewell look in his eyes that made Jack uneasy.