Jake tried the light switch on the wall several times, but it was to no avail, didn't work. It was pitch black and there were no windows or light sources other than that which came in through the doorway in which he stood. Jake remembered the flashlights that Billy had brought and grab one off the desk. Now he'd see what was going on in here. Immediately he could see a large table in the center of the room. It was covered in all kinds of junk: antique items, fishing rods and poles, an old rusted anchor, and various other tools that he couldn't name if his life depended on it.

As Jake shined his beam of light throughout the room, a glimmer or reflection caught his eye. He quickly shined the flashlight back in that direction. It looked like a small TV or a monitor. It was strange to find an item of modern technology in such a place. Jake went up to get a closer look. It was about 6 inches in width and length. Definitely had a screen but also had a handle as if it was designed for easy carrying and watching. Jake picked up the object and decided to bring it out into the daylight to get a better look. Also, he had to show Billy's and get his opinion.

Once back in the main room, Jake could read the markings on the object. It read: Thermal imaging. “Huh? This must be used for detecting infra-red images”, he though to himself. What would this old man be doing with such an object? Just then Billy came storming into the room. "Lets go, the old man is coming up the dock, he’ll have a fit if he finds out you were snooping around in here, lets wait for him outside. Hey, what's that?" Billy asked. Jake slipped the device under his shirt as the two quickly made their way outside, " I'll tell you later, just keep quiet about it." Jake said. "Oh boy, here we go, I knew I was going to regret his." Billy sighed as they waited at the entrance.

The old man hobbled his way up the dock, head down, mumbling to himself all the way. Billy and Jake stood at the doorway, one on each side of the entrance. The harbormaster just walked right between them without looking up or giving the slightest impression that he even noticed their presence. The two men looked at each other, both hoping that the other would awkwardly initiate a conversation they believed would have begun by now. Just then they heard a bark from inside the shack: "What do you want?"

Billy decided he'd better speak if they ever wanted to get off this dock. "Well sir, we'd like permission to take out a troller. My Dad's." The old man emerged from the doorway and slowly looked both men in the eyes. " Who's your old man?" He asked. Billy gave him his father's name and Jake could see that the Harbor Master recognized the name. "Why do you want to go out now? A little late in the day for fishing, don't you think?" Jake was waiting for this question and hand an answer prepared. "Well, sir, I'm studying Marine biology and have some sonar, fish finding equipment from the university, that I'd like to test out." Jake said.

The old man turned to Jake, as if to study his face. It was if, he was a human lie detector and he was waiting for the smallest change in vital stats that would reveal the falsehood. Jake couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence that seemed to go on forever. Then the harbormaster said to Billy, without taking his eyes off of Jake, "let me see your boating license. If it's in order you can go out." Jake finally could exhale as Billy followed the old man into the shack, they were going to pull this one off it seemed.

Jake and Billy loaded the equipment on to the troller and were off. They slowly made their way out of the harbor and into the open waters. It would take a while to get to the caves, with the tide coming in, it was slow going and would take a good twenty minutes. "Alight Jake, what did you swipe from the old man’s shack?" Billy asked as he stood at the helm. "Well, my guess it is a piece of ghost hunting equipment, probably Stephanie's. It's one of those infrared cameras with a screen. This is just too weird. Why would the old man find this and not hand it over to the police?" Jake said as he sat fiddling with the camera.

They could see the cliffs and caves below slowly approaching in the distance. The cold ocean breeze that was coming in from the northeast sent a chill down Jake's spine. He didn't think it was going to be this cold. In fact, he'd began to wish he had brought his heavy jacket. "There they are", said Billy has he maneuvered the Troller toward the southern most cave mouth. The sea was pretty rough here and Billy was having a hard time keeping the boat on a straight course. "I'm having a pretty tough time here buddy, you better chose a cave entrance quick, before the tide smashes us against the rocks." Billy said as he battled the torrid waves.

Jake stood up, struggling to keep his balance in the rocking troller, he attempted to study the shape and sizes of the entrance in hopes of settling on some factor that would help him make a decision. That's when it came to him; he remembers the tale of how Captain Longe's ghost ship would disappear. The caves must have been how that happened. He would take the captured ships into the caves and docket them, loot them, then return to anchor them in the bay over night. So it had to be the largest cave, one that would act like a mini port. "That one !”Jake, shouted to Billy, " The largest one." "Okay, you're the boss," Billy responded as he gave the vessel full throttle on course for the center entrance.

As they entered the mouth of the cave, Jake couldn't help but gaze in wonder on how large and magnificident this natural harbor was. The cave's ceiling seemed to keep it's height, about 50ft high, even as they progressed deeper inside. Jake could also begin to see a small sandy beach developing on his left. "Billy, lets see how far this goes, it doesn't look like it gets any smaller any time soon." Jake said. As the boat progressed, the light of the late afternoon that illuminated the entrance of the cave began to fade in the distance. Billy switched on the troller's running lights and Jake flicked on the spot light and began to shine it about the cave walls, looking for any sign or clue that indicate Stephanie had been here.

The deeper the troller went into the cavern, the more concerned Billy became about his ability to navigate a turn about and exit. By the now it was obvious that the cave was getting much smaller. The pair decided to dock the vessel on the sandy beach to the left shore of the cave. "Alright, lets get our gear together." said Jake, as Billy dropped the anchor and leaped ashore with a rope in hopes of finding a secure point to tie down the troller. The tide was coming in and depending on how long they stayed, they could risk losing their anchor footing as the water rose.

With the troller safely secured, the two men, with flashlight beams blazing the trail, began to make their way on foot deeper into the cave. "What..What...What are...are... we looking for?" Billy asked smiling at the obnoxious echo affect the caverns had on his rather loud voice. "Keep it down" Jake whispered. "We don't know who or what could be ahead of us, lets not tip them off." That comment wiped the smile right off of Billy's face. "That's not funny, Jake, what do you mean ‘who or what'?" "Shsssh" Jake responded as he switched on the infrared camera. " Lets see if this can be of any use, " he said. The monitor showed everything in color, red represented a heat source, blue was the absence of heat and the remaining colors of the spectrum represented various degrees of heat. The first images on the screen were all in different shades of blue. "Well, nothing yet." said Jake as he started to slowly move forward. Jake found that which each step they took Billy was getting closer to him. It was getting to the point where he was basically hanging on him like an appendage. "Relax Billy, and get off me, you're making me very jittery." Jake said. "You're jittery? I say we get the hell out of here before we find something." Billy said. Jake was determined to go on. " Look Billy if you too afraid, go back and wait in the troller, I won't be long."

Jake knew Billy wouldn’t leave him. That’s the type of friend he was, but at this point, he almost hoped he did. Billy’s nervousness was starting to rub off on him. The dark and damp nature of the cave was starting to get to him. He had always been a bit claustrophobic and the way the passage was narrowing ahead was starting to affect him. Suddenly, a red object appeared on the screen, it was dead center. Jake guess that it must have been a ways off due to its very small size. “Look, we got something. What could that be?” Jake said pointing out the screen to Billy. Just as Billy peeked over Jake’s shoulder to take a look, the object moved. “Holy sh*t” exclaimed Billy,” it looks like it went straight up!”. Before Jake could fully process what was happening, he found himself running toward the object, his flashlight’s beam bouncing off the walls of the cavern. He wasn’t going to miss this. It could be the break they were looking for.

Jake finally came to a stop where he thought the object might be and found that he was in circular room, carved out of the mountain. He scanned the room with his flashlight but couldn't find any object that would have given off a heat signature. A quick glance at the infrared monitor revealed nothing. Whatever it was had vanished, seemingly into thin air. However, he did see what appeared to be a makeshift campsite. There was a small pit dug surrounded by stones that was filled with ash and burnt wood. It obviously had been there for some time since there was no indication of heat, a fire at least a couple of days old. Scattered about the ground were various objects.

As Jake began to take a closer look around the room, Billy finally caught up to him and added another beam of light to the search. There were various articles of clothing, some torn, shirts pants, jackets and hats. A backpack appeared to be ripped open and its' contents dumped out. Under one of the piles of clothing, Jake found a digital camera. "Billy, what do you make of this?" Jake asked as he tried in vain to turn on a camera with a drained battery. "Well, there was a definitely a struggle here." Billy responded. Billy and his father had been long time hunters and had a lot practice tracking game. The result was that Billy had developed an eye for footprints, track and other signs left by animals and people in natural surroundings. "Look at the various sets of footprints in the gravel, they are distinct. There are 3 or 4 sets of sneakers or everyday footwear, but here are also a few pairs of heavy boots, 4 to be exact. If you look, you will see that the boots come in and converge on the campsite from various points, almost in unison."

As Billy knelt down to examine the footprints he also noticed dried up blood on some of the shirts. Now Jake was really worried. What could have happened here? And how could the police not have come out here to investigate? Something wasn’t adding up. “Billy, we need to take this stuff back to the police.” Jake said. Suddenly, a screech came from the passage opposite of the one they entered. A passage that obviously went deeper into the mountain. “Holy…” exclaimed Billy. “Quiet, listen to see if you can hear it again.” whispered Jake. Jake slowly began to creep toward the passageway, trying his best to listen for a repeat of the sound. Then, out of the darkness came the screech accompanied by a black form flying toward Jake’s head. He dropped his flashlight and fell to the floor in a panic. The form flew past his head and began to hover around the room. Billy quickly shined his light in an attempt to pinpoint the form, but fear had gripped him as well as his flashlight flew from his hands. The screeching was ear piercing and this thing was moving very fast and swooping down at both men now crouched on the ground crawling to reclaim their flashlights.

As Jake grabbed hold of his flashlight he realized that the screeching sound was very familiar. He had heard it before. He dragged himself up into a sitting position and calmly shined the light on the moving object. " Well whatta ya know," he said as this terrifying experience became very laughable. It was an owl. "Billy, it's an owl," Jake yelled as kept the light shined on the bird as it landed on a boulder in the corner of the room. Billy rose and dusted the sand and pebbles off his shirt and pants. " What the hell is an owl doing out here?" He asked as he too shined his flashlight on the bird. The owl stood motionless; that is with the exception of its head, which slowly turned toward Billy and Jake, taking a long glaring look at each man.

Jake slowly approached the owl in an effort to get a closer look at the animal without frightening it into flight. The bird was a snow-white barn owl. “Max?” Jake asked gently as he continued his approach. The bird seemed to recognize him as it began to softly coo and groom itself as if completely at ease. “Jake, why are you calling that bird Max?” Billy asked. “Billy, I know this bird. I met him at Sam’s house. This is bizarre. How did you get out here boy.” Jake said. “Sam? Sam who?” Billy asked. “Hauser.” Jake responded as he reached out to pet the bird. With that movement the Bird suddenly took flight, straight over Jake’s head and out to the front entrance toward the light of the open ocean. “Max, wait.” Jake cried as he ran after the bird. “I think you losing it Jake, there is no way an owl is going to listen like a dog. Let him go. Lets get back to the boat, and to the police,” Bill said.

"Wait Billy, how do we know that we won't find more if we continue on in the caves?" Jake said. Billy didn't respond but once again took a close look around the ground for footprints or tracks. "Jake, it would be a waste of time. The tracks don't continue deeper in the case. Whatever happened here, ended here. They must have made their way back out toward the water." Billy said. "But how can you be sure? " Jake asked. "Jake, you never doubted my hunting skills before. Why start now? I would not lie to you. The trail ends here. Lets take the sh*t we found and move on. "

Jake didn't want to leave. They had discovered some promising clues and his adrenaline was flowing. He hated the thought of going back to the drawing board and square one. But deep down he knew Billy was right. "Okay Billy, you win" Jake said as he gathered up the clothing, backpack and various other objects that littered the ground. The two men made their way back toward the beachhead where the troller was anchored. The tide had indeed come in and quicker than either of the two thought. Thankfully the troller was still anchored, but most of the beach was underwater. They were going to have to get wet to get to their vessel. Billy and Jake slowly made their way to the side of the boat in waste deep, ice-cold sea water.

Billy made it aboard first and began to pull the equipment on to the troller that Jake was hold high above his head in an effort to keep it dry. As he was doing so, loud interference could be heard over the Troller's short-wave radio. "That's funny, I don't remember leaving the radio on" Billy said. The interference and static began to give way to a voice. "Sounds like someone is trying to contact us, Billy." Jake said. Billy helped Jake on deck when the words could be heard through the static. "Those who seek, will surely find, death is waiting for all their kind.” The voice sounded old and worn, the voice of someone who was tired and beaten. It was akin to what you would expect of the last breath of a dying man. Both men entered the cabin and Billy grabbed the handset, brought it to his lips , pressed the bottom and began to respond. “Whoever is using this frequency for games is committing a federal offense, so cut the sh*t”. As Billy turned to Jake with a proud look of having set the record straight, he saw Jake staring wide-eyed with the look of man struck mute. “What? What now?” Billy asked, clearly frustrated. Jake slowly raised is hand and pointed his finger at the radio, “Billy, the radio’s not on!”

"Lets' just get the hell out of here." Bill said as he began to navigate his way out of the caverns and into the open waters. Jake did not respond but merely sat down and once again began to fiddle with his thermal camera. Both men remained silent for the trip back to the docks as an uneasy feeling seem to grip the boat. Neither of them had an explanation for what happened and at this point, neither had the energy or inclination to engage in speculation. The feeling was mutual that the best thing to do was put some distance between them and the caves, get home and think through things. There were so many questions to be answered at this point. What happen to Stephanie's party? Who or what left those tracks at the campsite? Why was Sam's owl way out in the caves? And did they actually have a paranormal experience?

The sun was setting over the cliffs and the customary canopy of shadows engulfed the docks. The absence of light began to trigger the various sensor lights throughout the bay area to click on one by one. As the troller slowly pulled into the bay, one couldn't help but get the impression that these lights were igniting like the train reaction of a wildfire, spreading across dried up brush. By the time Billy pulled the troller up to the dock and secured it, darkness has completed its takeover. Jake and Billy began unloading their gear as well as the various pieces of evidence they found in the caves. They decided to take everything to Jake's house, sort it out and then decide their next move.

As they made their way up the docks to the street and Billy's van, Jake couldn't help but feel as though they were being watched. Maybe it was just the culmination of the day’s events mingling with his notoriously over active imagination, but something told him this was very real. The feeling was very acute and akin to that of a hot sun lamp focused on his neck and back. He tried to remain inconspicuous as he glance from side to side in an effort to catch the pair of prying eyes that had sent his senses ablaze. Nothing. In fact, the docks were very desolate and lonely. Billy opened the doors to the van and the materials were placed inside. As Jake closed one of the van’s doors, he caught something in the corner of his eye. A shadow quickly darted from the front of the harbormaster’s hut disappearing around the deck that surrounded the structure to the ocean facing side of the shack, beyond their plane of sight. “Billy, did you see that?” Jake said as once again he found himself involuntarily moving toward the last spot this would be specter occupied.

"Just hold it right there." Billy shouted as he grabbed Jake by the arm. "Haven't you had enough of this for one day? Haven't we had the sh*t scared out of us as it is? No more Jake!. We're going. Or at least, I'm going. If you stay here, your on your own." It was clear that Billy was at his wits end. He was dead serious. This point was made abundantly clear by the violent way he jerked Jake’s arm and the uncommon grimace Billy was now wearing across his face.

Jake, didn't have it in him to respond or argue and was actually quite glad that Billy had the will power to stop him from chasing the next clue. It was beginning to scare him, how impulsive he was becoming. Jake took one last glance at the old shack as Billy started the van. Billy rolled down the passenger side window and said, "Well, last chance." Jake nodded , opened the door and hopped in. As Billy pulled out of the dock and headed down the road, Jake couldn’t help but glance into the passenger side rear view mirror. He remained quiet and pretended he didn't see that black shadow quickly make it way out to the center of the road, hovering in mid air as tough watching their departure.

As Jake sat in deep thought, he came to the conclusion that he'd leave Billy out of things going forward. It was obvious it was having a negative affect on him and who was he to subject his friend to this emotional harm. But he still needed help. He was going to get some and he knew just who to ask.

The next morning Jake woke from his sleep relatively early. Early, at least when compared to his recent sleeping habits. Surprisingly, he was able to sleep. It must have been the exhilarating events of the previous day that just wore him out emotionally and physically. Jake's body had put him into such a deep sleep that he almost forgot where he was. His thoughts had drifted back to his days of living in the dorms. He was in such a daze that he was looking for his old roommate Samuel and his bed that he slept across from for so many months. "Sam?” he said out loud. That's when things clicked. That name brought him back to reality and the memories of yesterday rushed into his head like the ocean engulfing a beach at high tide.

But the thought of “Sam” of college days fame was not what had jogged his memory. It was the Sam who was the local historian, the old man he met who had given him the background information that spawned his adventure in the caves. It was Sam, who Jake knew was the only person he could ask for help. This guy knew full well, what was going on, and in fact he had few pointed questions for Sam. For instance, why was his pet owl Max miles from his home in the caves?

Jake gathered up the evidence that he and Billy had collected into a sheet, swung it over his back and head out on his bike for Sam's house. Once again, it was a typical autumn day. The dawn brought cool and crisp air and mixed it with bright sunshine. As Jake began the coast down the long hill toward the center of town, the stories of Jacob Longe once again, began to fill his head. He remembered that awful account of the pirates hanging and draining the blood of that poor settler. The visual he created in his mind’s eye sent a staggering chill up his spine. His mind was starting to run wild, what if that same fate awaited Stephanie? What if it had already happened?

His mind was racing, taking his attention off the only subject his mind should be focused on, riding the bike. Suddenly his front tire hit a large rock, possibly part of the pavement that had broken apart from wear and tear. The jolt set him off to the left, shaking the bike out of his control. Jake’s bicycle hit the opposite curb with a surprising force, sending him soaring over the handlebars. The next thing Jake knew, he was laying on his back staring at blue sky, sprawled out on a front lawn. The sheet he held containing the various piece of evidence soared off like a mallet in an Olympic hammer throw competition, spewing the items in various directions. Amazingly enough, he seemed to have escaped the accident unscaved. Jake slowly rose, trying to gain his bearing and determine exactly where he was. In doing so; he realized he was but a block away from Sam’s house. In fact he could see the front porch quite well.

Jake began to collect his things and assess the damage to his means of transportation. In the midst of Jake gaining his composure, he couldn’t help but notice activity at Sam’s house. Two men in suits emerged from the front porch. They seemed in a hurry, leaving the front door slightly ajar. They quickly entered a black sedan parked in front of Sam’s house. The car sped off down the street out of sight.