(This story contains foul language. Reader discresion is advised.)

Carrying their dinghy onto the misty, sandy shores of Aspido, Steve, Cole, Junior, and Arun, were careful not to scrape their tiny boat too much on the bleached corals off the beach. After setting it down under an outcropping rock, they gathered their equipment and covered the craft with a camouflaged tarp. Steve closed his eyes and inhaled the sea air deeply. It felt different from the first time he set foot on the island. Probably because it’s now nighttime, there are currently a lot less people, and the fact that the land was now a restricted area.

When he made his initial landing on the isle, it was hot and sunny, though the ocean breeze made things a bit more comfortable for everyone; everyone being all the people who flocked to the island. A bunch didn’t stay long due to the sharp dead corals hurting whoever didn’t wear proper footwear or touched a surface wrong, but most hung around. The atmosphere was festive, as many took selfies or pictures of their environment, while some even held barbecues and partied.

Not every visitor to Aspido was there for fun. A little before Steve arrived, a couple of groups attempted to separately claim the island as their own micronation. They almost came to blows over who staked their claim first, until someone interfered and made them aware that the land was not far enough from the coast to be considered as being outside of national waters. Steve didn’t want land, but he was there to find something; anything worthwhile to help him reclaim the livelihood he lost during the disaster. There were others combing Aspido’s shores with metal detectors and trowels, but he figured most are so used to scouring the beaches that they wouldn’t think about searching inland for treasures. The isle did rise from the sea after all.

It was when he made his way inland, he met Cole and Junior, as well as three others, searching a shipwrecked, two-mast schooner keeled on its side. Except for two out of the six of them, no one else knew each other prior. They all happened to be drawn to the same area via different circumstances, but with the same goal of finding treasure. Everyone got along surprisingly well considering the generally competitive nature of the situation. Steve and Cole even conversed with each other while exploring and examining the shipwreck.

“It’s not about the money for me necessarily.” Cole said to Steve. “I fancy myself as an amateur archeologist. Always wanted to explore a shipwreck, but I’ve been deathly afraid of scuba diving in deep water. When I heard the scuttlebutt online about ships being lifted out of the ocean by the island’s emergence, I grabbed what I could and headed for the coast to beat the crowds. Guess you could say this is like a dream come true for me. So where are you from?”

“Newport.” answered Steve.

Cole became flushed with embarrassment. “Ah jeez, hey man, I didn’t mean to sound like I was making light of the tragedy.”

“I understand. You live further inland, so you were affected little to none by the earthquake. I find people easily forget how to empathize with the unfamiliar. Loss is not currently at the forefront of your mind like mine, so our priorities are a little different. This ship is your main prize, while mine is whatever could be inside.”

“So, this trip is not strictly for pleasure?”

“Nope.”

“How about this…if we find something of value here, I’m willing to split, fifty-one-forty-nine.”

Steve stopped what he was doing to show his unamused look to Cole, who was now starting to sweat.

“Err, or we can discuss the details afterwards.” Cole said with a sheepish grin.

Right then, Junior emerged from the ship. “Hey everyone, come here and check this out! I found something!” he hollered holding something in his hands. All the fortune hunters congregated outside of the wreckage for better lighting. What Junior held was something green and glimmering in the sunlight.

“It appears to be a gemstone of sorts.” Cole claimed while examining it. “One side’s like emerald, but the other is like…I don’t know. Jade?”

“Is it valuable? How much is it worth?” Junior inquired with excitement filling his voice.

“It’s so pretty!” the only woman in the group interposed breathlessly.

Cole looked at Junior and asked, “Where did you find this?”

“I’ll show you.” Junior said as he turned back to the wreck, “It’s this way.”

Junior talked as he led everyone back into the schooner through a large crack in the deck of the ship, where it went directly down into the hold. He carefully walked down the slanted wooden floors leading into the space, then the others soon followed with some assistance. They finally made it to a dog-sized opening in the wood, which directly connected into the shallow stony hole. A smartphone light shined on more of the gemstones inside.

“See, what I’d tell you.” Junior proudly stated.

Cole knelt onto his hands and knees, reached in, and pulled on one, which didn’t budge. Junior handed him a rock pick saying, “Here, I got mine out with this.”

Taking the pick, Cole then chiseled away around the gem he selected, and tried pulling it out again. It dislodged and he held it up to his light, upon which he realized something. He reached out an open hand to Junior. “Can I see your stone for a moment?" Cole requested.

Once Junior handed over the gem, Cole aligned the two separate pieces, then placed them together where they neatly matched in most of their grooves and crevices. “They’re a perfect fit!” Cole declared.

“You mean, those two are one gemstone?” someone in the group asked, while the only woman there noticed something directly above them. Cole continued to explain, “No, these two are pieces of one larger one, made up of all off these in this hole.”

“What about those other two?” the lady asked as she pointed her own light above them.

“What other two?” Cole asked.

Being directed by her finger, everyone looked up and saw two more gem shards protruding out from the wood above.

“Now how did they get up there?” Cole pondered aloud to himself.

Just then, the roaring of rotary blades could be heard approaching, followed by a megaphone barking orders to all civilians on the island to evacuate or face arrest. The room became abuzz with questions of what to do about the gem shards still embedded as Steve ran over to some loose wood and pulled up a plank. “Quick, help me with this! We can hide what we found and come back to it when it’s safe!” he pled.

“Well, I ain’t leavin’ empty handed!” declared one of the other men, and before any caught on, he snatched a shard out of Cole’s hand and bolted for the exit.

Junior tried to stop him, but lost footing while trying to move up the slanted wooden floors. “You asshole!” Junior cried out to the thief.

“Come on, this is our best play here!” Steve assured the others as he carried his plank to the hole.

Everyone then picked up their own loose plank and helped conceal the hole, before leaving the shipwreck for the outside. Upon exiting the ship, a coast guard helicopter flew low overhead, still ordering evacuation. A voice shouted, “Hold it right there!”

The group’s attention was drawn to the approaching, armed coast guard personnel. “What were you all doing in there?” the leading officer interrogated.

“We were exploring the interior of this wreckage.” Steve answered in defense. “What’s all this about?”

“You’re all trespassing on government property.”

The group of treasure hunters were taken aback. “Government property?” one asked.

“Since when?” asked another.

“Since the government declared this island a restricted territory for safety and environmental concerns.” the lead officer replied, immediately followed by the group voicing their discontent before he continued, “That gentleman behind us was coming from the wreck, and he was found to have some sort of gem in his possession. Did any of you take anything from the wreckage?”

That was when Steve saw behind the leading officer two more coast guards at a short distance, restraining the thief from earlier as he insulted them. No one had a chance to answer when the officer commanded, “Alright everyone, turn out your pockets, spread your legs, and put your hands on your head.”

Everyone in the group followed the orders, and two of the coast guards moved in and began frisking. While the patting down proceeded, the officer noticed something was off. “Where’s the sixth?” he asked. “He also said there were six of you in total.”

The treasure hunters looked at each other. Cole wasn’t with them. The lead officer sent four of his subordinates into the shipwreck to search for Cole, just as the frisking concluded with finding nothing. After letting the group collect their belongings, they were ordered to be escorted off the isle.

Days after the closing of the island to the public, Steve was contacted by Junior, which was surprising despite exchanging phone numbers before parting ways. When they did it, it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision resulting from having a good talk to lessen the sting of losing what they found on Aspido. Prior to meeting with Steve, Junior also exchanged numbers with Cole, who joined in on the current conference call. It turned out Cole kicked open a weak section in another part of the schooner, slipped out and headed back to his boat, making it to the mainland with the gem shard in hand.

“I lent it to a jeweler friend of mine to examine it.” said Cole. “According to her, it’s some sort of organic gemstone, akin to ammolite or nacre.”

“So, it should be worth something! How much is its value?” asked Steve with anticipation.

“Hold on, I said it was akin to those materials. She said it’s nothing like anything she’s ever encountered before, so there’s no established marketable value. However, she did speak to a wealthy artist she personally knows, who’s looking for something unique for their newest art project. After seeing the shard, they’re willing to pay to get their hands on more.”

“Okay, so how much?”

“Well, if we fill a gallon bucket to the brim with those gem pieces, we’d get about five hundred dollars. Yet, if we find a gemstone fully intact, one can fetch us ten times what a single bucket would get us.”

Junior wolf whistled. “I was open for us returning to the island before, but now I’m…” he couldn’t finish his original thought before punctuating his excitement with, “Hot damn, I’m in!”

“You in, Steve?” Cole asked. “I figure we need four people for this job, and it wouldn’t be fair to not give you two a chance to say yes, since we were the first to find what we found after all. Besides, you both already know what to look for and we’re familiar enough with each other that I believe we all can keep mum about this.”

“Oh, I’m in,” said Steve with signs of hesitation in his voice, “but, how are we going to sneak back onto Aspido?”

“I’ve got that covered.” Junior chimed in. “I told Cole already that I know a guy who has experience in sneaking around secured places. He should be cool joining our team. We can meet up with him today.”

Loud, heavy-fisted banging on Steve’s restroom door interrupted the conversation.

“This is a shelter, not your home! Other people need to use the bathroom too!” announced a frustrated voice outside.

“I’ll be out in a moment! Calm your tits!” Steve yelled before turning his attention back to the phone conference. “Listen, text me where and when to meet and I’ll be there. I have to go.”

“We will,” said Cole, “see you again soon.”

On that note, the conversation ended.

Later that evening, all three met in a park before heading together to a house located in a suburb condemned after the disaster. Here, using the building as a hideout, was Arun. It was since revealed that he escaped prison during the earthquake, and the reason why he had the experience the group needed was because he was serving time for smuggling counterfeit merchandise. A life of crime was preferable to years of living on the street and breaking into dumpsters to survive. With this last score, Arun hoped to be done with making a living through illegal means and move away to a country without extradition laws to live the rest of his life in peace.

Junior and Cole were fine with splitting the profits with Arun, but not Steve. ‘Why should we split our rewards with a criminal?’ Steve thought. ‘We’re not equals! I know I’m better than him, so I certainly deserve more than him. He used to live on the streets, probably opting to rather leech off the system, lazy bum. Meanwhile, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, worked hard and honestly for the life I had before losing it all. I got help and I’m currently living in an emergency shelter, but I bet this lowlife felt he was too good for aid and chose to become a crook instead.

 I bet that sob story isn’t even true. From all the crime shows and programs about the justice system I’ve watched, I’ve learned that only the worst of society go to prison. Why else would the right to vote be taken from felons? He’s probably lying about serving time for phony merch. I bet he’s something worse, like a murderer, a terrorist, or a child predator.’

It didn’t matter if his assumptions were true or not, Steve wanted to believe the one responsible for his now smaller, imagined share didn’t deserve a cut. Even now, when sneaking across Aspido to the old schooner, Steve glared at Arun with animus while no one was looking.

The group came to a ledge and peered over to see that the site of the shipwreck was presently teaming with security and science personnel. As suspected, their initial plan was shot, so they resorted to a backup plan.

Before encountering the shipwreck when first landing, one of the more notable features on the isle were the holes scattered all around the land. They were of different sizes, many easily the size of a peach or melon, but there were some almost the size of an average person. Arriving at one, Arun clicked on his headlamp and shined it through the entry, before leading the way for the rest of the group to follow.