"Well that wasn't freaky at all," Hunter said.
Lucy pushed down his arm. "Don't cut anything. This place... it's alive."
Reluctantly, Hunter put away his knife and continued walking. "Can I step on anything then?"
Lucy ignored him.
"Anyway," he continued, "where are you leading us, my—"
Lucy shushed him and pushed aside a curtain of weeping willow branches, though some of them appeared to move by themselves, and revealed the biggest weeping willow Lucy had ever seen. It sat in the center of a meadow that was surrounded by clear water and covered in flowers. A patch of dirt created a path to the tree.
Something landed on Lucy's hand. A large, beautiful firefly glowed bright yellow, like a mini sun. More of them floated in the sky, illuminating the mist that shrouded this place in mystery and magic.
Hunter took Lucy's hand, and the firefly flew off, leaving a smudge of glowing light on her skin. He ran his thumb over the spot, as mesmerized by it all as she was.
Through the darkening leaves, the bugs flew and mist gathered, creating the effect of floating lights in a magical garden.
In a whisper that only Hunter could hear, Lucy said, "Are we dreaming? This place is amazing."
"Lucy... Lucy...." The voice in her head returned, familiar and deep. "Hunter, do you hear that? Someone calling my name?"
He shook his head, his brow wrinkled in concern.
She led him down the trail, and Luke followed. The voice seemed to come from the tree.
Lucy crept slowly along the dirt path, fireflies still hovering around her. Beside her, large, colorful fish in greens and reds jumped in the water and splashed her as if playing.
Luke lagged behind, and not because of his ankle.
He's been lagging behind ever since we came to this island.
His voice startled the fireflies around her. "You sure about this, Luce?"
Hunter squeezed her hand, a silent sign that he believed in her, even if her brother didn't.
She continued forward without replying. As she reached the long branches of the weeping willow, the fireflies surrounded the tree. She pushed through the branches, though once again most of them moved by themselves.
Lucy felt like she'd entered a secret world. A few stones sat by the trunk, and massive roots pushed through the earth in places. Beautiful flowers grew from the branches and swayed as if to silent music.
She walked closer, needing to see the trunk. The bark formed some kind of pattern, something she should recognize. Then the pattern moved and she realized it wasn't carved into the tree, it was growing out of the tree—the same color as the bark. She traced the contours of it with her mind, playing connect the dots as she did as a child. A head... arms... a body... and....
Oh my God. Lucy and Hunter gasped at the same time.
"Lucy," the voice whispered, this time out loud. "You have found me."
The face in the bark moved, and opened its eyes.
Chapter 86 – Lucy
Hunter pointed his sub-machine gun at the tree, but Lucy stopped him. "Wait."
The tree's mouth moved as it talked. "It's been a long time. When I first felt you on the island, I couldn't believe it. But it's you. You're here."
Lucy studied the face. The hawk nose and twitch above the left eyebrow—harder to see when carved into bark, but still there. The face, the voice... and he knew Lucy.
It all came together in a flash. "Mr. Krevner?"
"Yes, it's me and," Mr. K looked up at the tree he was attached to, "a little more."
Lucy could barely process this. "What happened?"
Mr. K hesitated. "After Sam went on assignment, Rent-A-Kid reassigned me to a new facility. I refused to go, so they bagged me during the night, dragged me out to a helicopter and brought me here. Or near here. I became one of their—"
Luke, who had just now caught up, pushed through the branches and stopped. "What is that?"
"Look at him, Luke. Look closely."
Luke studied the tree as carefully as she had, and his eyes popped open. "Mr. K?"
"It's good to see you, Luke."
Luke stepped forward and stood next to Lucy. "What happened?"
Mr. K sighed, an exaggerated movement for a tree. "It's a long story."
Luke pushed for more information. "I bet, but how—"
"No," Lucy interrupted. Talk of the past—a past rather forgotten—made for a solemn reunion. "Not right now." She turned back to Mr. K. "It's good to see you."
Mr. K nodded and smiled.
Hunter kept his gun lowered, but ready. "So, anyone want to fill me in here?"
Lucy faced Hunter. "Mr. K was a teacher at our old school, and our best friend's mentor, actually. While Sam was away on assignment, someone burned down the art studio, destroying all her art, and Mr. K disappeared. Our headmaster said he quit, but I could tell he was lying."