“The ghosts got Karl, Reuben,” Hawaiian Shirt says nervously. “And from the looks of things, they’re going to get Steve soon enough. We can’t put our lives on the line for a show—”

“It isn’t just a show!” Hemslock shouts. “It’s my goddamn show! This is my chance to prove all those worthless Hollywood suck-ups wrong! All those glorified shitheads who laughed at me, told me I was playing Ghostbusters! If this show hits, we’re all gonna be rich! More than that—if the so-called power that this deity can bestow is real, then we can be like gods ourselves! Or will you all be nothing more than cowards?”

The others look nervously at each other.

“Reuben,” Gries says firmly. “They have every right to want to go home. We’re all professionals here. The crew will do their jobs until help arrives. This is about more than you and your legacy. If you care about Steve or Karl, you know that everyone’s safety should be the priority. No one signed up to be attacked by these tree creatures, whatever they are.”

“No one?” Hemslock asks, with unconcealed venom. “You didn’t give a fuck about this show, Gries. You still don’t. All you cared about was solving the mystery of your wife’s death. Are you ready to leave this island without knowing how that plane wreckage came to be underneath the Godseye? Or what is that thing hoarding keepsakes of your wife in the caverns?”

“I said to leave my wife out of this.”

“But isn’t that the problem? You can’t leave her out of this, Leo. Not when she’s tied to what’s down here. You know they just found Dan Heussman’s body? I got an email from one of the producers before we lost the connection. Guy was stripped naked, huddled underneath some banyan tree in his garden that his gardener swears wasn’t there before. He never even set foot on the Godseye. What makes you think these spirits won’t follow us back to LA? We’ve got to deal with this here.”

Hemslock’s words hit home. I see the fear on the crew’s faces.

“Alon,” Gries says. “What do you suggest we do?”

I wet my lips, knowing that my words will not be popular with them. “The time to act has passed. We need to stay put until help comes, then we all need to leave.”

“That’s not an option,” Hemslock says. “The Diwata will pick us off, one by one, before the storm clears. You and I know that the secret to stopping our destruction is within the Godseye, kid. I suggest we all arm ourselves and stay in groups. I’ll arrange another search for Karl.”

He looks around at everyone. “You’re gonna have to trust me on this,” he says, in a gentler voice. “That’s what I’m asking. For all of you to trust me. You know I’m right. You know I’m the only one with enough experience with these monsters to get us all out.”

No one speaks for a few moments. “So what do we do now?” Hawaiian Shirt asks nervously.