Chapter 5: The Last and Most Disturbing Tour
The man who was literally a spitting image of a pirate from a story book stood before the awed tourists and began to examine his crowd. There were two elderly people, meaning he should focus a bit on the historic facts of the island. There was one child, so he decided to focus less on the challenging jokes unless the crowd strongly reacted to them. Then there were the two fancy people who were taking pictures of everything except him. At one point it looked as if the woman was taking a picture of him but, she was actually focused on the headboard above him. He was going to figure out what they like as they went along
“Are we all excited for the tour?” He questioned in his pirate voice. A few unenthused yes’s were heard from his small crowd. “You can call me Captain White Beard. I’ve been touring this here island for forty years and me features haven’t changed a bit.” He let out an overly rehearsed pirate laugh that was quite obnoxious to those who were unfortunate enough to hear it.
He walked by swinging his peg leg out then planting it firmly into the soil then falling forward awkwardly on his real foot then repeating step one over again. The site was sickly but, quite unique. Where else would you see a pretentious pirate with a real peg leg give a two hour tour walking in a strange manner? The group began following him as did John, leaving Jimmy alone in the building with the kitchen staff.
“Aye, mates, to our left is the camping area. Underneath those wooden structures you could bring yer whole family over and have ye’ a real good time. To the right is the field and the fun house which can be rented for low costs if ye’ have a group over thirty.”
Ben looked back to see if he was captivating the tourists but, only the elderly, driving their scooters, seemed interested.
The group, now five minutes into their tour, was walking on a gravel path between a jagged cliff leading them to the rocky sandstone beach and the life supporting forest which appeared very dry. Ahead of the group was an Arbutus tree that seemed to be growing horizontally out of the cliff. Its peeling, red bark gave it away as the famous local species instantly. Its branches stretched out toward the sea as if the tree were trying to reach for the freedom and vastness of the ocean.
“Arbutus trees are only indigenous to British Columbia,” began John, giving Ben, who hadn’t stopped talking since the beginning of the tour a short break. “The bark is peeling to reveal younger bark that has grown underneath the old bark. This is a great spot to take family photos folks so, if you would like to stop-”
“Say it now or forever hold your peace!” Jimmy bounded over to the group with a giant smile on his face.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be with the sea taxi?” asked John in a happy manner.
“Nah, like I said before, Berta will call me when people come. Until then, I thought I might as well walk and talk with two good friends and some new acquaintances.” Jimmy bent down and gave a high five to Timothy who was anxiously waiting to climb the tree.
“Fine. Stay here but you’re not getting paid for this!” Ben began talking then realized he had lost his pirate voice; so he awkwardly yelled “Argh” which lucky for him made the whole group giggle.
Timothy gripped tightly onto the lopsided branches of the arbutus tree, cautiously making his way out above the rocks. Peelings fell like cherry blossoms as he shuffled his feet along the gnarled tree that seemed to glow in the northern sun. The exposed new light green bark glistened gracefully, reflecting light along the sides of the rough untouched rock. Pearly white teeth appeared upon the scene as Timothy posed cutely for a photo.
After a few pictures in front of the tree capturing all of them, they all began to move onto the lumpy, gray beach. The rocks nearest to the water were a darker shade and were intensely slippery.
Between these rocks were tide pools filled to the brim with sea life. There were brightly colored starfish that were smaller in size compared to the starfish clinging to the dock but, were equally as active and artistic looking. There were petite crabs scuttling playfully across the dangerous open pools only to disappear underneath rocks that would crush any other creature. The crabs were usually the same color as their surroundings; however, Timothy, the most observant of the group, found an albino crab hiding underneath a rock having a pleasant meal of fish tail.
The well assorted group moved for the most part graciously across the rocks while Ben and the grandparents stayed on the trail watching them. Angela snapped photos rapidly with her fluorescent pink phone at odd angles, since she could not find her balance in her high heels on the uneven slippery surface. John and Jimmy both thought it was very strange she was taking pictures of everything but nature; however, they didn’t say a word. Timothy, hopped carelessly rock to rock keeping record of every creature that was socializing in the pools until his feet sank into the gravely shore. He looked up to examine his progress when something caught his eye. On a little island of rocks about 30 meters off shore from where he was observing laid a blubbery mammal with finlike arms.
“A sea lion! Look there’s one over there! Quick someone take a picture with me in front of the sea lion!” He then stuck out his chest and did a Superman pose expressing his pride in his discovery. Thomas was hardly paying any attention to the boy but, after noticing the looks he was receiving from the others, he took the picture.
Everyone was very enthusiastic about the photo knowing how much the boy wanted to see a sea lion, but John felt obligated to break the news.
“I’m sorry kid. It’s a great picture of you, but that’s not a sea lion; it’s a seal…again.”
Timothy’s mood drastically dropped to disappointment and embarrassment. Hanging his head low, he started to walk back towards the trail, heartbroken.
“Hey, would you look at that!” Jimmy cried pointing towards the seal. “It’s got some pups, and ah man they are cute.”
From far away the baby seals look like little speckled growths festering on the mothers back but, as they slid down her belly their cute forms began to take shape. The soft pitter patter of their tiny flippers slapped the slimy rocks lightly as two of them, the bigger ones, began to play fight. A high pitch bark bounced across the waves as the runt of the seal litter flopped over its mother’s blubbery side only to stay attached there and not join the others in playing. Angela moved over and put her rose red lips next to Thomas’s ear and hissed.
“We are going to make a fortune.”
A squeal echoed across the ocean. The origin was unknown but, they found out where the ghostly sound came from soon enough. Soaring above the forest line, flying with its strong wings spread wide was a powerful Bald Eagle. Even from a distance the eagle looked humongous. Every flap of its wing made a sound like a drum beat as it moved majestically through the air. It dove down and gracefully placed itself on a rock in front of the mother seal. Their big brown eyes met and they stared at each other with such intensity, it was as if the world had slowed down to take a picture of the rare moment. The eagle looked away and let out a disturbing caw towards its original direction. Out of the forest came three more eagles, which weren’t as big as the original but, still were breathtakingly large. They followed the same path as the first and extended their yellow claws toward the innocent unsuspecting babies. The three eagles wrapped their sharp scaly feet around the pups and bolted into the air with the small whining seals hanging in their talons howling for their mother. The triad disappeared into the distance, going inland with their new prey held snuggly in their toes. During this whole episode of unlikely sad events the mother seal and the tallest eagle remained fixed on each other’s eyes. With one forceful flap of its wings, the eagle rose nine feet in the air and moved majestically towards the other island.
The group of humans were paralyzed, even after the event was over. As the mother seal lowered herself into the water another overwhelming squeal was heard and three more eagles appeared out of the forest and went after the first.
John’s head spun as he search
ed for a logical explanation but, there was only one idea that stuck in his mind more than all the others. Maybe the eagles are saving the pups from the treachery that will happen to this island in a matter of hours. John was about to say something methodical when, Ben’s pirate accented voice bellowed across the beach.
“Come on me hardies, there’s lots more to see today! Perhaps we’ll even see some indigenous albino raccoons up in that there forest, there.”
About fifteen minutes later they were surrounded by luscious bountiful plant life. Toppled over nursing logs overflowing with bug infestations were used as a bed for laying eggs for future insect generations. On the back of one of these logs was a plethora of orange fungus that held a shimmering pool of rain drops for the bugs and butterflies to drink from. The trees at some points blocked the sunlight completely, hiding whatever creatures may be watching them as the humans trespassed on their rightful home. Visible paw prints of Vancouver Island wolves lined the pathway in the crumbly brown soil, showing the strategies of how the wolves hunted the night before. The sight was truly beautiful, as a doe and her week old faun trotted pass them in a blinding beam of sunlight and climbed down the ridge to the beach.
“Captain White Beard! Are the deer going to go play on the beach?” Timothy asked, causing the adults to chuckle to themselves.
“No matey, they be going to Protection Island. Probably to meet up with the young bucks father.” Ben answered cheerfully.
“Does that mean there’s a boat that takes deer across the water?” Jimmy started to howl but, being so young, Timothy was actually being serious.
“Nope, deer can swim across the water when it’s calm. Sometimes the tide gets so low the deer just walk across the gap.” Ben finished then realized that wasn’t very pirate like so he awkwardly threw in a “ya’ll”.
Timothy found a good stump to stand on and watched the mother and her baby cross the aisle between the two islands, often looking both ways for boats coming through the channel. Suddenly, the mother deer stopped swimming and began circling around stressed in one spot. Her child didn’t stop paddling towards the dry land and didn’t really take notice that his mother wasn’t closely following behind him. She tossed and turned in the water, splashing frantically while making noises that sounded as if she was in distress.
In the distance, six black curves protruded out of the water then dived back down again. A second later, a spray of water blew into the air as the ocean waves were slapped by the black fin of an orca whale. Whales don’t usually come close to this area but, at this moment, six female whales were barreling straight towards the mother. The suspense was thickening as the pod of females began to circle around both deer very calmly, like a wild cat prowls around its prey. To the spectator’s surprise the mother deer had stopped crying for help and the petite baby deer had ceased moving forward. In the next strange moment, four of the females backed away from the scene only to spin around in a swooping motion and return in pairs charging towards the unmoving black tailed deer. In one awkward and unforgettable moment, the sea mammals had squished the puny land mammals between the pairs. Slapping their thick tales against the water, each pair continued to move forward without letting the orca encased deer’s heads go under water.
The sight was overwhelming. The sightseers gawked at the living sea craft as it mystically headed towards the main island. The computerized beeping of Angela’s phone interrupted the moment, for she had just shut off the video function indicating that the breath taken group should continue onwards in an extremely disturbed manner.
During the next ten minutes, they had passed an intimidating plateau that lived upstairs to elephant sized pointed rocks which had previously crumbled off the dangerous cliff. At that moment Ben continued spouting facts about the island again. Until then, it had been almost dead quiet, except for the sound of a single bird chirping a happy song deep within the forest. The group were all recollecting and analyzing the sights they had just witnessed.
The two previous events whirled around John’s head as he tried to find the logically correct explanation connecting the peculiar events. Why would a mother allow her children to be swept away? John puzzled upon this thought for only a couple seconds as there was no proper answer. What do eagles have to do with it? It was certainly an odd meeting. There wasn’t really a way that these animals would naturally meet since they hunt independently within their species. Why would a deer trust six water dwelling beasts with her fawn? John’s eyes then began to glisten in realization for his brain had finally made the connection. They’re trying to get as far away from here as possible.
After hiking up a curving hill then trekking down the other side, the tour had brought itself to the center of the island’s problem. Mallard Lake. Yellow caution tape stretched from tree to tree creating an abundance of X shaped borders around the whole area. Between the slits of the crossing tape the murky lake gleamed in the sunshine, reflecting many shades of green on nearby trees. Floating creepily on top of the water were millions of lily pads, all with different traits depicting the hardships they have gone through. Accompanying the pads were little lime green bunches of algae that had built up over time. With the combination of the two, it did not look like there was a lake there at all but more of a botanic garden.
Ben hobbled over to the twisted yellow tape and stroked its smoothness gently.
“This just happens in nature, mates,” He said solemnly. “Over plantation destroys the lake which once provided a life source for the islands’ wildlife. We used to have otters swim this here lake, but now I’m afraid they’ve been relocated to the Fraser River.” His pirate act was getting pretty old but, he still stayed in character. “Our beaver still swims around, gnawing at the trees but, he soon will be relocated somewhere else to escape the bacteria carried by the rain that has unfortunately grown in the lake. He gazed out at the lake, searching the green horizon for any sign of life but, other than the pesky mosquitoes, there was nothing there.
“So, how much is it exactly to clean the lake?” Thomas popped in, coming back from taking a pee.
“Too much.” replied John unwaveringly.
“Yes, but if one were to have ‘too much’ money how much would they have to fork up?”
Jimmy, John and Ben all turned and stared at the aristocrats with questioning looks upon their faces.
“Would you like to make a donation?” Jimmy asked excitedly, his eyes filled with hope. “If it’s big enough I’m sure we can get the lake named after you.”
Angela looked at Thomas for support but, he was just as stunned. Telling someone you want to take their beloved land and turn it into real estate while on an island that has animals behaving crazily probably wasn’t the best idea, so Angela just said, “We’ll have to check with our advisor.” and the conversation was dropped.