“Play it again,” Hemslock says eagerly. “Play it again.”

But the whisper does not repeat in subsequent viewings, even when they use their expensive headphones and when they use equipment designed to draw out the most inaudible of sounds. Again and again, the darkness fills the screen; again and again, it says nothing.

Five

Lore

I see Chase Gries again before dinner. He’s found an isolated spot on the beach some distance from the bustle of the crew, and he’s dancing.

It’s an odd dance. He’s bare chested and in a tight pair of shorts, and he’s letting his feet do most of the work—hard stomps on the sand with his heels and toes that somehow manage to look graceful. He’d set the camera against a large rock and it’s clear he’s filming himself.

In all the chaos of the sinkhole, I had little chance to assess the newcomer. He struck me as someone who was rather shallow, but now, watching him, his brows furrowed and his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrates on the complicated routine, I recognize that it wasn’t right of me to judge him so quickly.

Askal, as always, chooses trouble. He bounds gleefully toward Chase just as the dance ends. The boy sees him coming; with a laugh, he opens his arms and Askal jumps into them happily, sending both crashing into the sand. “Askal!” I call out, running toward them.

“It’s all right! It’s kinda sweet.” Grinning, Chase gets back on his feet, then jogs toward his phone to end the recording. “That was a great way to end the post. Couldn’t bring my horse head, but a pup’s always a bonus.”

“Is that all you think about?” I ask curiously. “About how you will look online?”

Chase cranes his neck to look back at me, but he doesn’t seem at all offended. “I get to chat with my friends all the time,” he says. “And all it takes is a scroll. And I can talk to people all over the world. Sure, there’ll be some haters, but it’s not like I don’t get haters in real life anyway, you know? Aren’t you interested? Aren’t Filipinos like, some of the most active users online in the world? I have a lot of Filipino fans. People recognized me here.”

“Being seen isn’t my style.”

“You’re kinda weird,” Chase says, smiling. “But in a good way. It’s kinda cute.” He checks his phone, gives a satisfied nod after he plays back the video. “Is that why you like staying here? Cause everything’s quiet and stuff? How do you earn money if you’re the tour guide of an island that no one’s allowed to visit? Sell rocks to the tourists?”

“I… I fish?” I reassess my opinion of him again. He’s nice and charming, but with two brain cells at most.

He grabs my hand unexpectedly. “Do you want to dance?” He asks earnestly, then realizes what he’s doing and drops it. “I mean, do you want me to teach you how to tap dance? Or if that’s not your thing, do you wanna hang out? Not like there’s a lot to do—”