Eddie was the first to disappear. "I think there's something out there among the trees... some kind of animal," he'd said. "I feel like it's stalking me, although I haven't seen real evidence yet." Two days later, he left the compound at eight-thirty as usual... and that was the last we saw of him.
Just over two weeks later, Vera, the botanist, disappeared. She had gone to take more cuttings from local fruit trees, and check on some grafts she had done. The grafts were a personal project. She was hoping to develop a new hybrid fruit from two established varieties. She never came back from that trip.
A month after that, Bob, whose field was agriculture, had gone on a hike. He intended to be back before the end of the day because we had a campfire planned for that night. He loved to sit by the fire... strumming his guitar and singing old cowboy songs from long ago... songs he had learned from his great-grandfather. We had no more fire after that... it would have been too sad.
Then it was Shelia, just a few days later. She was an avid hiker who frequently hiked alone for many hours. It was the next day before we realized she was actually missing.
Five weeks after Shelia, we lost Phyllis, our botanist. She had gone out to start the day in what had become her usual routine, swimming in the ocean. Then, one morning, she never returned. Ben and I took the speedboat out but found no sign of her. We were too scared to get into the water.
Ben and I were the only two left now, and I was terrified every time he went outside the camp area for any reason whatsoever. I knew my fear was unreasonable... I could not prevent him from doing what he felt he must do. He was the technical expert... but I wish I had paid attention when he'd tried to tell me how to solve simple technical problems.
Now I am alone. I can think of no logical reason why I should do as the others had done... and just disappear from sight... but I didn't know why... or how they had done it either. Had there been accidents... had the isolation finally driven them over the edge... or was there some hostile presence on the island... some sentient being that had decided we had overstayed our welcome here?
In any case, I fear that I do not have much longer, so I must get this all recorded while I can. Maybe... some day... someone else will venture here... and they should know whatever I can tell them.
When it's all on the computer, I'll save it to a cd... and a dvd... and a flash drive... along with all the photos... hundreds of them... that each member of the team included with their reports. Perhaps I should print everything too and leave it in one of the desk drawers... just to cover all the bases. There's plenty of paper and ink cartridges.
After that, I don't know what to expect.
I have pretty much exhausted the berries growing near the bottom of the hill and I no longer have the strength or energy to climb the hill and look for more.
Other than berries, I have no idea which wild plants are safe to consume... I have no experience with fishing... to be blunt, I have no practical survival skills at all.
There is an endless supply of water, but that alone will not sustain me for long... and this is how it ends...
********************
"Lily-Ann! The boat's here! Get your butt in gear!"
A masterpiece, she thought as she shoved a flash drive into the pocket of her jeans and shut down the computer. Grabbing up her backpack, she grinned as she sauntered out the door. She could hardly wait until spring, when they would return here for Phase Two of the program and she could do it all over again... maybe a sequel to what she'd just finished...
