Andrea stood on the deck of the ferry, watching the island slowly rise up in the distance, trying to ignore the frat boys and party girls making noise around her. She wasn't the type that would normally come out to a place like this, especially not for her summer vacation. Quiet and bookish, she would much rather have spent her days back at home, lounging in a hammock and reading a good book, but fate had other ideas for her. Her brother Luke had supposedly come here over spring break with a few of his friends, and never came back. Luke hadn't told his and Andrea's parents where he was going, sure they would disapprove, but did did tell his little sister. He was never very good at keeping secrets from her. Her parents had become distraught when Luke never returned from his spring trip to "Mexico". Now Andrea found herself on this boat to this strange island, hoping to find something out about where her brother had disappeared to. Or, as she had heard some people decided, if he chose to never leave.
The ferry gave a small lurch as it nudged up against the dock, and Andrea found herself at the front of the mass waiting to spill off the boat and onto the island. She was practically shoved off once the ramp was lowered, people impatiently brushing past her as they ran towards the many attractions visible from the docks. Buildings reared in the distance, roller coasters, a giant Ferris wheel, even a castle. The whole place looked like a bizarre combination of Las Vegas and an amusement park. She could see the appeal, but she stood dumbfounded on the docks. Where would she start? She had her whole rescue planned out in her mind. Make it to the island, find her brother, and drag him home. But now that she was here, she didn't have the faintest clue where to start.
Suddenly, she felt a pricking on the back of her neck, like someone was watching her, and sure enough when she looked to her right, she saw a woman. An attractive woman, dressed like a gypsy in multi-hued skirts and scarves. She stood next to a door, blocked off by only a colorful beaded curtain. Everyone seemed to be ignoring her, like she wasn't even there, except for Andrea. And Andrea seemed to be the only one to hold any interest for the woman. She raised her hand and beckoned Andrea to follow before brushing past the beaded curtain and into her shop. Andrea found herself slowly approaching, looking the storefront over. It was simple, with the darkened curtained window decorated with the lined hand that usually meant a fortune teller or psychic. Figures.
Andrea thought of turning away and just getting her search going but something pulled her inside. As soon as she stepped through the curtain the smells of incense assaulted her nose. The woman sat at the table, shuffling a deck of cards. "Sit child, I can help you find what you seek."
Andrea eyed the chair skeptically but still found herself moving to take the seat. "No, I'm not seeking anything..." She had decided to keep her search for her brother secret from the island's residents and workers. If he was being kept here, they would be behind it, but all her planning was instantly dashed.
"You seek your brother. He is still here." The woman continued to shuffle the cards.
"How? How did you know?" Andrea stared long and hard at the woman, trying to see through her calm mask.
"It is my job. This island provides what the visitors want. You want to find your brother. So you will. You wanted something to point you in the right direction, here I am." The woman placed the cards on the table, motioning for Andrea to cut the deck.
Andrea's hands moved of their own accord, splitting the deck into three piles, "If it provides what I want, where is he?"
The woman restacked the deck. "The island will provide him, but you will need to make it believe it is what you truly desire. The island does not believe yet, when it does, it will set the price." She spread out the cards before her, motioning at them. "Pick. The card will show you the first steps you must take to reach your brother. But like I said, the island will set a price."
Andrea snatched at one of the cards, "Whatever it is, I'll pay. As long as I find my brother." As soon as she had spoken and pulled the card free the room around her disappeared and she found herself standing once more on the docks, where she had been when she first saw the gypsy. She wanted to dismiss it as an illusion, but she held the tarot card in her hand. She flipped it over and looked at it, it was the...