Pam Withers Like what Caitlin is winding through the corridors of the old place She pokes her head into rooms where pieces of ceiling have fallen onto rusty bedsprings The real name of the island is Thorn Island But the locals started calling it Hospital Island when the hospital was (cid:69)(cid:88)(cid:76)(cid:79)(cid:87)(cid:17)(cid:180)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:78)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:86)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:85)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:192)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:15)(cid:3) which sends up plumes of dust This place only ran for ten years I knew that Caitlin sniffs and runs her hand through a giant cobweb One doctor and one nurse worked here What happened to the nurse Caitlin asks Disappeared after the doctor jumped Where did the kids go then To some other leper hospital in California 6
Bungee Jump What else Caitlin asks moving into a different wing The story about the cash box is baloney Made up Caitlin shrugs Makes a good story Might be true Evil doctor rips off all the money meant to feed the children and buy medicine and buries it somewhere on the (cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:81)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:92)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:15)(cid:180)(cid:3)(cid:44)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:81)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:17)(cid:3) Made up False If you believe old Dubin says Caitlin Why would she lie about that I ask I don’t know says Caitlin She’s a crank You know she hates our bungee jump idea Yeah She doesn’t want history disturbed I say And I kind of get that I don’t know why I’m defending the old librarian 7
Pam Withers Nah it’s cause she’s too old to bounce on a bungee-jump rope She’s jealous of us Caitlin and I both laugh at that Shhh I hold up my hand Hear something We go dead silent I hear lapping water and two faint voices I shudder Phantoms of the doctor and leper kids We move out of the hospital ruins and stand onshore Caitlin leans into me I don’t like that she’s scared too Smack (cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:191)(cid:74)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:3) noose leaps from the water and knocks me down Then starts howling I scream and flee into the frigid channel ready to swim home But the cold instantly gives me corpse legs As I back up there’s deep laughter A strange man leans down and pulls me aboard a barge That was just Dad Caitlin calls out giggling He was landing with the rope to tie up the boat silly 8
Bungee Jump Chris says Dad from shore sorry to knock you over But why’d you head into the water This here’s Gord Plant our engineer by the way Gord a skinny man with a mop of red hair has hold of my jacket He’s laughing a belly laugh I thought you were going to do a polar-bear swim there for a second Sure soaked your jeans and shoes eh Did you think we were ghosts What’re you doing on the island anyway Dad asks looking from Caitlin to me You’d better not have come by the pipe or you’re both grounded Aww give em a break Buzz Gord says Good to meet you Chris and Caitlin Chris I’ll fetch a towel for you from the trailer That’s when I see that the barge I’m on is hooked up to a towboat Dad was driving Tied securely on the barge is a 9
