Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy Read online

  I took a shower and was on the freeway twenty minutes later. I parked in front of the theater, located next to a mall, and walked up the large steps to the entrance. I saw Estevan standing at a ticket kiosk, scratching his head.

  “Can’t figure out the machine?” I asked.

  “I gave it a try. I’m gonna stick with the human ticket sellers. How would you feel if a machine took your job?”

  I debated telling him I had the same job his grandfather died trying to get. I just couldn’t do it, though.

  After the movie, which was great in my opinion, we went to Great Price and bought a couple of cheap CDs and then grabbed a bite at a Chinese restaurant. I returned home and took a quick nap before heading to work.

  Of course, I had trouble sleeping. I was nervous about my first solo shift. As it turned out, I had good reason to be.

  Chapter 8: First Night

  Since I showered earlier, I got to leave the house later than I usually would. I tossed on my uniform and drove to Dallas. I was the only one on the rail, but since the trip was only “five minutes,” it wasn’t a big deal.

  Helen was waiting for me, though her shift ended ten minutes before. She said she waited because she wanted to see me again. She was pretty, a few years older than me, and nice. I wasn’t looking to date at the moment, though.

  She dropped me off at the gatehouse and returned to the station. Virgil told me the day was quiet, and that there was nothing to pass on.

  He then wished me luck before leaving. I was alone.

  I sat at the desk, checking the monitors. The sun was down, but the gatehouse had perimeter lights. The Village had streetlamps, but the land in front of me had only the moon to light it. I could see the silhouette of the mountain and hill, but that was it. If someone tried to sneak up on me, I wouldn’t know it until the last minute.

  There was amazingly little to do. We had cable, so I watched shows and movies. I heard strange noises inside the gatehouse every now and then but every time I investigated, I found nothing.

  After four hours, I grew more comfortable. And tired. I wasn’t used to being up this late. I may or may not have dozed off a few times, so I got up and walked around. Of course, I made the mistake of sitting down again. I drank a lot of water, which made me have to go to the bathroom often.

  It was around two in the morning when I saw her.

  I jumped from my chair when I caught her on the monitor. She was coming up the street, from the Village, and though I’d never met her before I immediately knew who she was.

  I opened the door and poked my head out. “Ms. Albright?”

  She stopped in place and stared at me. Astrid Albright is indeed around my age, with short red hair and green eyes. She was wearing a blue dress, which seemed a little tight on her curvy body. She was eye-catching.

  She looked startled, like she hadn’t expected to be caught.

  “Where’s Mark?” she asked.

  I guessed Mark was the guy I replaced. “I don’t know. No one told me. I’m new; tonight’s my first shift.”

  She nodded. “I used to come up here to talk with Mark, keep him company.”

  “Oh. That’s nice of you.” I didn’t know what else to say. “I think I’m his permanent replacement.”

  She didn’t seem to like that news, but she accepted it. “Is Mark all right?”

  I shrugged, remembering that Rockne told me he “vanished.” “Was he okay when you last saw him?”

  “He did seem a little weird when we hung out last. I think he was thinking of quitting, but he didn’t say anything.” She grinned suddenly, the right side of her lip tilting up. “What’s your name?”

  “Sorry. I’m Josh Debelko.”

  “Nice to meet you.” We shook hands. “As you already know, I’m Astrid Albright. Can I come in?”

  I backed up to let her in. She slid the door closed behind her. “How are you liking it so far?” she asked.

  “It’s cool. I’m really tired, though.”

  “Mark was, too, when he first started. He got used to it.”

  “You really like him, don’t you?” I didn’t know why I asked; it just slipped out.

  “As a friend, or more?”

  “You tell me.” I raised my eyebrows comically, and she laughed.

  “You never met Mark; he’s in his fifties.”

  “Oh,” I said. And then I grinned; I was surprisingly happy to hear that, though I didn’t know why.

  Not that anything was wrong with her. She just wasn’t my type, or so I thought at the time. She had a grunge thing going on. I hadn’t noticed when I first saw her, but she was wearing calf-high black boots to go along with the blue dress, and a lot of studs in her ears.

  “Your outfit is interesting,” I said.

  She looked down at herself, and then back at me, rolling her eyes. “This dress, with these boots? I don’t think so. I usually wear matching things, but Mark dared me to do something different. And now he’s not even here. I have to waste this fabulous outfit on a stranger.”

  “Are you a troublemaker?” I found myself asking.

  “That’s a weird question,” she said after a moment. “Do I look like a troublemaker?”

  I decided to be honest. “I was told to keep you inside the Village at all times, but I wasn’t told why.”

  “Oh.” She didn’t seem surprised. “I’m kind of a precious girl, so to speak. It’s a dangerous world, or so my mom keeps telling me.”

  “Mine too. I was attacked by a tornado the other day.”

  Astrid gasped. “Really? A tornado?”

  “Yep. I even died for a little while.”

  “Oh, my. That’s awful. We never get tornadoes on the island.”

  “My neighbor saved me; she’s a doctor.”

  “That’s great. My mom’s a doctor, too.”

  “She must make a lot of money to afford a place on an island.”

  Astrid chuckled. “None of us pay to live here. My mom lives off-island. She visits every now and then, though.”

  “Oh. I’m still getting used to guarding...”

  “Freaks?” she guessed.

  “I wasn’t going to say that.”

  “I know.”

  “It’s just.... I’ve never experienced anything like this. I feel like I’m dreaming or...”

  “Dead?”

  “Stop finishing my sentences,” I joked. “I’m pausing dramatically for a reason.”

  We laughed. I looked out through one of the front windows and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a large figure approach from the mountain. “What is that?” I asked.

  Astrid looked, and then jumped from her chair. “That’s Cormac, a friend of mine. He’s on my list.”

  “He’s huge!” I said as I checked the one name on her list. It was Cormac, all right.

  “Yeah, he...comes from a big family.”

  I watched Cormac come down the hill. He looked to be more than nine feet tall, and was very skinny, with long arms. His yellow T-shirt barely fit him, exposing his stomach to the world.

  He had better abs than me.

  “Is he your boyfriend?” I asked Astrid.

  “No. We’re just friends.”

  Cormac approached the gate and looked at us as we met him outside. Astrid introduced us. I shook his large hand. Despite his size, he was very gentle.

  “Cormac doesn’t talk,” Astrid continued. “Since you know about the weirdness of this island, I can tell you he is a giant. A real giant.”

  Cormac nodded, his shaggy brown hair bouncing. His nose was large, but other than that and his size, he looked like a regular boy.

  “Well, we should go,” Astrid said as she led her friend into the Village. “We’ll talk later.”

  I waved at them.

  Chapter 9: Rockne’s Party

  Guarding a gated community full of supernatural creatures is not something many people can admit to, and it bothered me not being able to talk about it with anyone. I definitely couldn
’t talk to Estevan, despite the fact he is my best friend. I’m not sure if he would’ve believed me, but I didn’t think he should know I had the job that killed his grandfather.

  On the other hand, there was Astrid Albright. I could talk to her, even though she is one of the supernatural creatures. I didn’t know what she was at the time, and hoped it wasn’t some kind of vampire or goblin. She looked so normal....

  And she was friends with a giant.

  After she and Cormac left me that night, I spent the rest of the shift doing nothing. I kept my eye open for more giants but none came down the mountain.

  Rockne called me around three in the morning to ask how I was doing. I hadn’t seen him in days, but he invited me to check out his house whenever I wanted. I value my time away from any job and couldn’t quite bring myself to go in early to check out his place before starting my shift, so I told him I would on my day off.

  Despite the fact my job was unique, I still treated it like any other. I think it was because it was the only way I could deal with the situation. But my job wasn’t ordinary.

  It had been only a few days since the tornado, and I hadn’t seen Shae since she got me the job. Her house looked empty. I hoped nothing bad happened to her, but I had no way of finding out. I worried for my own safety, despite Rockne’s assurance I would be fine. I didn’t know how he could be so sure, but it made me feel better.

  I didn’t dream of Nalke that morning, so that was a good sign. I hoped it was true that the demon needed a lot of time to recharge after his vicious attack. What would stop him from attacking me again, once he was back at full strength? There was no reason to. I’m just some random guy, after all; why spend his strength coming after a random guy?

  I just hoped Nalke never found out I worked on Dargo.

  The rest of the week went by without a hitch. Cormac visited Astrid a few more times, and after a while I got used to seeing the giant emerge from the darkness. I finally met Champagne DuBois, who is much older than me, with a very obvious tan. Her hair is snow white, and she dresses like she’s in her teens. I think she hit on me when she drove up to the gate, but I’m still not sure.

  Victor, the macho man, came through as well. He is shorter than my five feet nine, and extremely buff. He wore a tank top, his round shoulders bigger than my head. I didn’t know how old he was, but he looked like the dwarves I saw in movies.

  On my first day off, I traveled to Dargo for a party at Rockne’s. Ernie let Helen and me through the gate and she dropped me off at the house. It was after seven in the evening, and the sun was already setting. There were quite a few people there, but I didn’t see Astrid.

  Not that I came to the party just to see her, of course.

  Most of the partygoers were natives of the island. They ranged in age, from late teens to early nineties. Rockne was very popular, which didn’t surprise me.

  And wouldn’t you know it—Champagne was there. I was grabbing a soda from the fridge when she approached me.

  “Hey, Sugar Bell,” she greeted. She always calls me sugar-something: The day we met, she called me Sugar Cat.

  “Hello, Mrs. DuBois.”

  “It’s Ms. DuBois...and call me Champagne.”

  I nodded. “May I ask you a question...Champagne?”

  She leaned against the fridge. “Sure thing, Sugar Monkey.”

  “What are you? I mean, I know everyone in the Village is supernatural....”

  “I don’t mind you asking. I can read and affect emotions.”

  “That’s a neat power,” I said, slightly impressed.

  “Not very useful, though. I was born this way, however, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “I hear ya.”

  She winked. “You’re a doll.”

  “A Sugar Doll?”

  She burst into laughter. “That was a good one.”

  “Does everyone here have powers?” I indicated the other partygoers.

  “No. Most are the natives. They allowed us to live here, decades ago. Has anyone told you the island’s history?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Perhaps I’ll tell you later.” She winked and joined a group near a pool table.

  I looked around for Astrid again. I saw Rockne outside, talking with an older woman by a tree house in the backyard. Since I was just standing in the kitchen, by myself, I decided to go out and join the host.

  “Dr. Debelko,” he greeted me. He looked back and forth between his friend and me. “This is my sister Florence.”

  I shook her hand. Her hair was sky blue and puffy. She was very pretty, and her smile made her green eyes twinkle. Something about her struck me as familiar.

  “How are you adjusting to life on the island, Doctor?” she asked me.

  “It’s interesting. I met a giant on my first night.”

  “Cormac? He’s quite a character,” Rockne said as he looked at his sister. “He and Astrid are practically dating.”

  “They are not,” Florence scoffed. “They’re just friends.”

  “Where is Astrid?” I asked Rockne.

  He looked up at the sky. “Oh, she’ll be here shortly.” He grinned. “You like her, don’t you?”

  “She’s okay,” I said.

  “Only okay?” Florence asked, raising an eyebrow.

  I looked at her again. I suddenly realized why she seemed familiar, but decided not to say anything just yet.

  “Well, I should be getting to bed,” she said. “I’m an old woman, after all.”

  “You’re younger than me,” Rockne said.

  “Goodnight, Rockne.” She kissed his cheek. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Debelko.”

  “Call me Josh.”

  “Josh.” She went inside the house.

  Rockne introduced me to a few of the natives. The young ones had black hair, the older gray. His and her skin were covered in blue and yellow paint, just like Helen, and their smiles were bright.

  After a few hours, the party died down until there were only half a dozen people left. We sat at the dining table and enjoyed a feast of chips, salsa, and peanuts. Rockne then invited us to take advantage of the hot tub.

  “It’s enchanted,” he told us, though I had a feeling everyone already knew that.

  “Enchanted how?” I asked him.

  “Hop in and find out.”

  I didn’t bring my swim suit, but the shorts I was wearing had doubled for swimwear once before.

  “Sorry I’m late,” a female voice said behind me. I knew it was Astrid before I saw her.

  “Take a seat, dear,” Rockne said. Astrid sat next to me.

  “Rockne,” Champagne said, “you must tell Joshua about the Dargons.”

  “Fabulous idea!” He wiped his hands with a napkin and then linked his fingers together, placing his elbows on the table. The four remaining Dargons around the table smiled.

  Chapter 10: A Whole Lot of Exposition

  “The Dargons are a wonderful, exotic culture. They’re very much human, even though they live on an island the known world has never discovered. I just happened to stumble upon Dargo while fleeing Nalke. Our last fight was devastating to both of us.

  “The Dargons were wary toward me when I first arrived. I am the first outsider to ever discover their home, or so I’ve been told. I promised them I meant no harm, that I am a wizard who needed to cast a spell to mask the island from my pursuer. Luck was with me that day, for the Dargons were able to communicate to me that the island was already masked, and that they’d lived in seclusion for many generations.

  “I apologized for my intrusion. They asked me how I found the island in the first place. I told them I just fell upon the island, that I couldn’t see it until I was already here.”

  The Dargons applauded.

  “So you see, Josh, no matter what, Nalke will not find this island. He can prod your dreams all he wants, but he’ll never discover us. Especially with my protections reinforcing those already in place.”

  “Well, that’
s great,” I said, “but the nightmares are annoying. It would be great if they would stop.”

  “Do you still have the key chain Shae gave you?”

  I held it up for him.

  “You might want to wear that as a necklace or something. It helps to repel him.”

  “Great,” I said, much relieved. “I think it worked earlier. I woke up and the chain was hot and glowing. I must’ve grabbed it while I was asleep. Will I have to wear it forever, though? I don’t want to be on Nalke’s radar for the rest of my life.”

  “I understand your trepidation. I’m working on a way to get rid of Nalke once and for all.”

  “Is that possible?” I asked. “I mean, he’s a nature demon. Isn’t he important?”

  “Somewhat. But he can be replaced.”

  I nodded. That sounded like a good idea.

  “Sorry I’m late, everyone,” a female voice said from the foyer. We turned to see a petite woman walk toward us. She was smiling. “Hello, Josh.”

  I smiled back. “Hello, Shae.”

  * * *

  I wasn’t surprised to see my elusive neighbor. Nothing shocked me at that time. Shae took a seat across from Astrid and me, staring at us warily. I didn’t understand why. “Where have you been?” I asked her.

  “Oh, I’ve been laying low. I take it you’ve heard of Nalke by now?”

  “Yes.”

  Shae nodded. “I managed to hide from him for a while, but after the tornado, I knew it wasn’t safe for me there.”

  “What about me? I still have the key chain, but if he already knows where I live, he can find me anyway.”

  “True. But he won’t hurt you.”

  “Why not?”

  “He has to reserve his energy for fighting us,” she said as she looked at Rockne. “We have a plan.”

  I nodded. “Okay, so who are you all to each other? Astrid told me her mom is a doctor who lives on the mainland, so I’m guessing that’s you.” I pointed to Shae, who looked shocked. “And Florence is Rockne’s sister, but we all know Astrid is Florence.”