“They’re important.”
The old man grunted. “I’m Rubo.”
“I’m Sam. Sam Fargo.” Sam extended his hand, and Rubo stared at it like it was smeared with filth. Sam hesitated, wondering if he’d crossed some social line, and the old man grinned, exposing toothless gums.
“Don’t worry. Me don’t like shaking hands. Not taboo. Just don’t like.” Rubo asked, “You sit?” motioning to a log that ran along one of the thatched walls, thankfully in the shade.
“Thank you.”
They took seats, the old man’s watchful gaze roving from Sam’s shoes to his hair.
“What you want?” Rubo asked again, his voice quiet.
“I want to talk about the old days. Old stories. Orwen said you know more than anyone.”
Rubo nodded. “Could be. Lot of stories.”
“I’m interested in any about a curse. Or a lost city.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed. “Lost city? Curse?”
Sam nodded. “About a bay on the other side of the island that’s cursed. Bad luck.”
“Why you ask ’bout city?”
“I heard from someone who’s exploring the island that there are ruins underwater.”
Rubo looked off into the distance, watching the river’s brown water surge past. When he returned his attention to Sam, his face was stony.
“There is story. Old. King who tempt gods. No good, tempt gods. He build temples in bay. But big wave destroy. Curse bay. No good go there.”
“When did this happen?”
The old man shrugged his bony shoulders. “Long time back. Before white man come.”
Sam waited for him to continue, but for a storyteller Rubo was short on details. After a half minute of silence, Sam tried a smile. “That’s it?”
Rubo nodded, then held out a gnarled finger, pointing at the car. “Who that?”
“Oh, sorry. My wife.” Sam waved to Remi and motioned for her to come over. She stepped down from the vehicle and approached.
Rubo’s vision seemed to improve and his eyes stayed locked on Remi as she neared before looking away at the last second.
“Remi? This is Rubo. He was just telling me about a legend. A king who built temples in a bay that the sea then reclaimed. Angry gods.”
“Nice to meet you,” Remi said, beaming a smile at the old man. He stood unsteadily and took her proffered hand and shook it. Sam didn’t say anything. Apparently, there were exceptions to every rule.
“Sit,” Rubo invited, and she offered him another smile. She took a seat next to Sam and waited expectantly. Sam cleared his throat.
“Sounds like our ruins, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s amazing that Rubo knows the story.”
The corners of Rubo’s lips tugged upward. “I know many. Stories.”
“I’m sure you do. And your English is very good. How did you learn to speak so well?”
“Big war. I help Uncle Sam.”
“Did you really? Those must have been rough days,” Remi said.
Rubo nodded. “Bad days. Many die. Hate Japanese.”
“They were bad to the islanders?”
“Some. One very bad. Colonel.”
“What did he do?” Sam asked.
“Bad things. Kill many of us. And do tests. Secret.”
Remi edged closer. “What? What kind of tests?”
Rubo looked away. “Med.”
“Med? You mean ‘medical’?”
He nodded. “Yes. With white man. But not American.”
Sam stared at Remi. “Japanese experimenting on locals with white men. Want to take two guesses what nationality they were?”
They turned their attention back to Rubo. “Why haven’t we heard anything about this before?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe nobody care?”
“Japanese engaging in war crimes here? I can’t believe that would be swept under the rug.”
Rubo gave her a blank look. “Rug?”
“Sorry. An expression.”
“Back to the king and his temples. Can you tell us the whole story?” encouraged Sam.
Rubo shrugged. “Old. Not much to tell. King build temples and palace. Gods angry, destroy it. Place cursed. Everyone forget about him.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much.”
Sam sighed. “What about giants? What are the legends about them?”
Rubo’s eyes widened. “They real. Use to be lots. Now not same. But real.”
“How do you know? Have you seen them?”
“No. But many I know have.”
“Isn’t it a little strange to believe in something you’ve never seen? I mean, it’s like ghosts. Lots of people believe in them, but…” Sam stopped talking when he saw Rubo’s face.
“Ghosts real.”
Remi took over. “So you think there are really giants in the caves?”
“I don’t go there.” The old man shifted on the log. “Bad spirits in caves. Jap officer do things there. Many ghosts. Angry. And giants. No good in caves.”
Sam exchanged a glance with Remi. Rubo was clearly not a fan of the Japanese or the caves. And he seemed to have exhausted his limited repertoire of stories about the king.
Remi cocked her head and leaned toward Sam. “Did you hear that?”
“No. What?”
Rubo was lost in his thoughts, staring into space.
“I thought I heard an engine. Down the track.”
Sam shook his head. “Not me.” He returned his attention to Rubo. “How well known is the story about the king?”
The old islander shook his head. “Nobody talk about the old days. Just as well.”
A crack of branches sounded from the river, and Remi started. She and Sam peered into the brush but saw nothing. They listened, ears straining for any further sound, but the area was quiet other than the sound of the river rushing past and the occasional flutter of birds overhead. Rubo didn’t seem to notice, and after several minutes they relaxed.
Remi took the lead in asking more questions about the legend of the lost city, but the old man’s responses became even more terse. When Remi took Sam’s hand and stood, he didn’t resist.
“Rubo, thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about the island’s history. We really appreciate it,” she said, her smile lighting up her face.
Rubo studied his feet with a shy expression. “Good to see people. Talk. Long time.”
They retraced their steps to the Xterra and were greeted by a blast of cool air when they opened the doors. The little motor was still chugging along and the AC with it. Remi strapped in and turned to Sam. “What did you make of that?”
“It’s another piece of the puzzle. Makes sense, though. Sounds like a natural disaster destroyed the king’s work and that that was interpreted by the locals as angry gods swatting him like a fly. Also explains the curse. Even if the specifics have been forgotten, legends like that have a way of lingering.”
“Leonid will be pleased to have more to go on than a question mark.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Leonid’s hard to please. Ever.”
“Leonid is a grumpy guy.”
“It goes with being Russian. All the snow. Or the cold soup.”
Remi eyed the shack. “He really did look like he was a hundred.”
“He’d have to be close to that if he was around during the war and old enough to help the Allies.”
“The bit about the Japanese colonel conducting experiments was more than a little creepy. I can’t believe something like that could happen and wouldn’t be recorded by history.”
“It’s a small island. History tends to miss a lot of the minor events. We more than anyone should know that.”
“Kind of our edge, isn’t it?”
“That and your charm. Judging by Rubo’s reaction, that can’t be underestimated.” Sam smiled and slid the transmission into gear. “So? What next? Gold mine sightseeing or back to town?”