Osprey Island

By Marco Bertamini

Ame, Celia, Felix, and Libbie sail their boat to a deserted island for a summer camping trip. They come from the city and this is a completely new environment for them, with strange encounters and some mysteries to solve. Meanwhile, a pirate called Captain Aliquis is fighting among the outer planets. Two interleaved stories, small and large challenges, and a developing friendship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marco Bertamini
• Release date: Mar 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301155743

Marco Bertamini

Marco lives in Liverpool, UK.

Book preview

Chapter One

The wind suddenly fills the sail and the boat glides on the water, leaning to the right.

It is not a large or expensive boat. In addition to the main sail there is a narrow forestay, which does not run to the top of the mast. Based on his experience with sailing boats, Ame told the others that this second sail is called a spinnaker, which is a really impressive word.

The shape and size of the boat is that of a typical pleasure boat, used by local people and by tourists on the lake. It is completely white except for a red line running along the length of the hull. It is meant to carry at most four people. It is, nevertheless, an exciting vessel in the hands of four children.

Ame is in charge of the operations. Last year he took a sailing course on another lake, in the north of the country, where the children come from. He is the proud owner of a certificate, which he keeps safely folded in his rucksack. The certificate says 'Certificate of Nautical Knowledge awarded to Amerigo Aquilani' in large letters, and below it also specifies: having documented sufficient sailing experience to reach the rank of Crew (level 1).

Ame is taller than Felix by almost a whole head, even though they are the same age. They look as different as two boys can be. Ame is darker of skin and hair, Felix is lighter in built and has finer features.

Along the side of the vessel, written in curly red letters on top of the red line, is the name of the boat: Audacia.

Felix is controlling the tiller at the moment. The boy is concentrating very hard to do something he has never done before in his life.

Ready out, shouts Ame.

All four children move to the other side of the boat in preparation for the tack. They have to duck under the boom, and watch out not to get their feet tangled in the lines. Celia releases the jib sheet that holds the jib in position, and prepares to pull in the jib sheet on the other side. She is thin and athletic, and at the moment, dressed for sailing in a wide green waterproof cagoule, looks more like a boy than a girl. She also likes to keep her hair short and spiky.

The other girl on the boat looks different. Libbie is smaller and her skin is lighter than Celia's. She has long hair, but at the moment it is platted in one long braid, which is a good idea while sailing on a windy lake. She has green eyes and freckles. Of the four children she is the one that seems the least comfortable in the boat.

Tack!

Felix pulls on the tiller with both hands. The boom and mainsail cross the midline and the sail fills up again on the other side. The four children are ready for the abrupt pull of the wind. The basic principle is simple, keep out of the way of the sail and keep the weight so that the boat does not lean too much. Then try to regain speed again as soon as possible at the new angle. There is a good wind today on the lake and the Audacia is gliding, leaving a white wake behind.

Felix is really excited and looks over the edge to get a feeling of how fast the vessel is sliding over the water.

Wow! We are flying.

Plop.

The bag! shouts Libbie.

The other three children turn their heads to look behind, where Libbie is pointing. A small red bag floats on the surface of the lake, but the vessel moves fast and the distance between bag and boat is quickly growing.

That was the bag with my phone, says Ame.

Only now is the problem fully realised by Felix.

My phone was in that bag too!

He is speaking much louder than Ame. He is jumping up and down and he has put both his hands in his hair.

And my phone, my phone is in there, says Celia.

Then they all turn to look at Libbie. The small red bag was used to store important items, like money and mobile phones.

Mine as well, says Libbie, sitting down again, It was the stupidest idea in the world, ever, to put all our phones in the same bag.

While Libbie and Felix seem paralysed by the disaster, Ame and Celia are turning the boat around, and trying to head back towards the bag that has fallen in the water. They have dropped the sail and are using the rudder to force the boat into making a large loop. The boat is now moving more slowly but the distance to the bag is getting smaller.

I can still see it, says Celia. She is also checking the wind direction to see if they can move faster. The wind, however, is also moving the bag, which bobs up and down.

Do bags float on the water?

I hope so, says Ame, but without conviction.

It depends on the content, you idiots, and this bag has some phones in it that are certainly not able to float on their own.. Libbie is still sitting down, with the air of someone who does not think it is worth trying, and the water is very deep here. It was the stupidest idea in the world, ever.

They are now getting close to the place where the bag is still just about visible. But the boat moves slowly, and getting to the exact spot is hard. They may pass it without being able to collect the bag if they are not near enough.

Ame and Celia lean from the side of the boat. Both of them are thinking of whether it would be possible to jump in and swim to get the bag. Just then they can see the bag sinking below the surface. Suddenly it picks up speed as if something is dragging it down and it disappears completely from sight.

Ame sounds disappointed, but in his voice there is also the calm of one with a clear conscience. He did try to get the bag back. He actually was managing ok with the sails.

Oh no, we were almost there.

Felix does not know what to say. He repeats, All our phones, and all our money. All of it.

Celia is quite upset too.

This is going to be a big problem, a really big problem.

The four children can see that their phones and most of their money are gone. Libbie is perhaps the one that has been most affected, although she had given up from the beginning. She is sitting with folded arms.

They need to decide what to do next. Celia is the one taking the decision to reach the island. That was their destination anyway from the beginning. It is not far. In fact from where they are they can see the stony beach, and just behind it the trees and the rocks of Osprey Island.

Chapter One

(Captain Aliquis)

The lower wings are being used to redirect the prow towards us. This is wrong.

You mean, this is not the behaviour of a cargo vessel.

Captain Aliquis turned towards his second in command, Paisanis, who was a whole head shorter than him. He nodded, then he returned to the screens in front of him.

Too late to retreat. Prepare to board.

When two spaceships come together and the pirate ship boards the other, all the extra-modern technology available makes little difference. It is a matter of slamming the side as hard as possible into the other vessel and join up with boarding tubes. The space pirates call these their friendly leeches. They have teeth that can perforate the hull of a ship and make instant passageways.

The cargo was bulkier than the pirate ship, and clearly not meant for speed. But it was a good place to hide an army ready to fight. Captain Aliquis vessel was a space sloop. It was completely black with just a red line along the length of the hull.

On top of the red line, written in curly red letters was the name of the boat: Audacia.

There was no audible sound with the collision, but a shockwave disturbed one of the asteroids of the nearest planet, causing it to alter its orbit. It escaped the gravitational force of the planet around which it had revolved for a few million years and started a new journey in space.

The battle was fierce. Captain Aliquis had guessed correctly, this had been a prepared ambush. This cargo ship pretended to have an engine failure. In reality it was full of soldiers. These were mercenaries paid by the Company of the outer planets.

Captain Aliquis was not one for standing at the back during a battle, he was at the front of his men and tried to reach the bridge of the enemy ship. The mercenaries were clearly experienced warriors, and had planned their ambush carefully. But even they had not expected a full attack from the pirates. They had hoped to surprise them as they came on board to inspect a cargo ship that appeared half abandoned with engine problems.

Captain Aliquis.

When he heard his name, he understood immediately. One of his men had betrayed him.

Chapter Two

They work in silence. First they walk along the shore and start to explore the island. They walk until the end of the stony beach and then back. They must make sure there is a safe place to set up the campsite. When the boat is secured, with two sets of lines, they start unloading. Felix, who is possibly the lightest of the four, has the heaviest backpack. It looks almost as if there are stones weighing down his bag.

There is a big decision to make.

Are we actually looking for a place to camp? asks Libbie.

Sure, why not? We have all the equipment. And that was the plan, replies Ame, almost as if getting on with the adventure is simply the only logical thing to do.

Libbie is right, intervenes Celia, we really have to discuss what to do now that we are isolated and without a way to get in touch with our parents.

Even though they are not sure on what to do, they have finished unloading the boat. In the midday sun the small island is beautiful. The background of the vegetation is bright green, and the water of the lake is clear blue. The shingle beach is long and deserted, and it curves gently like a crescent, but not enough to actually form a bay. It is a peaceful place and it looks a lot like a beach in a holiday ad. It is impossible to see any sign of human activity: no houses, no roads, no power lines, no car noises.

At the border between beach and woodland there are some distinctive bushes. They have short trunks, low widely forking branches, and broad rounded crown of green foliage. The children have learned the strange name of this bush: Tree-heliotrope.

Ame shrugs his shoulders. He does not seem too worried about the situation.

I think we should stay.

Well, I think we should stay as well, in fact I thought that even before you, but the point is that we need a decision with votes, says Celia.

I am not sure, says Felix, without phones we do not have any way to get in touch with our parents, or even with Mr Holmes.

My Holmes is the owner of the boat. He also runs the campsite, the hotel, and the supermarket, and many other things in the village of Cape Heureuse.

That's ok, says Celia, Mr Holmes knows that we are camping on the island, so there is no problem, we will just get back in a few days as planned, we have all the things we need with us. I mean, except for our phones.

Libbie is still not convinced My mother will probably try to phone. Your parents may try to phone as well. What then?

Well, fish do not speak so they can't answer the call from the bottom of the lake, says Ame.

All four children laugh, and then Celia points out that it is unlikely that their parents expect their mobile phones to be working out here on this island. It is not as if there are masts nearby, and the island is itself in the middle of a park. Even the village of Cape Heureuse, which is the nearest town, is in quite an isolated part of the country.

Cape Heureuse is the third largest towns in Peninsula, a region in the south that is known as a backwater, sleepy and peaceful. The main town in the region is Crannac, and it is located on the coast. It takes three hours of driving to go from Cape Heureuse to Crannac, mainly because the roads are narrow and twisty. There is no railway network in Peninsula.

The four children discuss the problem for a while, but despite the reservations they all say that it would be a disaster to go back to Cape Heureuse, and that even if they did, it would not change anything with respect to them finding their phones. They really would like to continue on their camping holiday as planned.

So it is decided, concludes Celia, eager to get on with the task at hand, we are staying. The next thing is to choose the place for our campsite.

And then cook some food, adds Ame.

Setting up a campsite to be used for several days or for a whole week is a task that involves planning and care. There is a nice place some fifty metres from the edge of the lake that seems flat and dry. Here they set the two tents, after removing the most obvious stones that would otherwise be underneath their sleeping bags. The tents are of good quality and are easy to put together, but Celia insists that they should also be secured to the ground in case of strong wind.

It is useful to have a few trees around. Inside the backpacks they have separate bags for different types of food, like meat, fruit, and vegetables. They hang the bags with a strong rope to the high branch of a tree. This should prevent any wild animal from getting to the provisions. Mr Holmes has told them that there are no large mammals on Osprey Island, no bears or dogs and not even mice, but the children want to do things properly.

Next they select a cooking area and a dining area. The main idea is to have a place for the fire not too close to the tents but not too far away. Ame and Felix dig a small fire pit, and make a stone circle around it, while Celia and Libbie start looking around to collect some dry