Welcome to Lewd Island, a small island oasis just off the ordinary coast of Washington, a land which once harbored one of the largest economies left in a world where wealth is more legend than fact.
A population once nestled in a sleepy seaside town cherishing the good life, until the tides turned and the world's economy gave way. Now the streets are lined with haphazard buildings, the well kept estates now derelict and stained with the dirt of daymen and the haze of a thousand humid summer days. Once the steadiest of economies, now it's a market growing gingerly and carelessly. Travel to the capital will net you currency, or better yet, a root for the name of your sister's new husband whose name you never knew, although it will likely be in your best interest not to know.
Should the majesty of the ocean invigorate you and you wish to soak your bones, you may attend the beach resort. The owner's out of town at the moment, but she left you invoices for your stay and a sign declaring it open for business as you can see by the open doors. Be warned, you will be under the watchful eyes of a large man and he has a long finger that's useful for jabbing people.
The resort consists of a handful of rooms, and ten aisles of succulent produce. A long, wooden counter lined with aisles and filled with rows upon rows of vegetables awaits your visit. The mannequins are remarkably realistic and very lifelike, and some of the vegetables can be cooked, though the heads have fallen off and the blemishes have sunk into the soil, some of them rotting and others still attached to their stalks. You're considering the two dishes marked with a green dot in front of the mannequin by the door leading from the main mansion – the succulent plums and the succulent strawberries. Both can be cooked, and the plum is exceptionally sweet for its dryness, to your knowledge. Rather than cooking them yourself, you order a cook to prepare the sweets for you. The mannequin also has a dish marked Market Fresh Vegetables, a produce of the shore, marked with a green dot. Here you order a box of the market fresh vegetables.
After procuring your eateries, you check your room to find the door already open and the room empty – well, almost empty, at least. In the corner you found a box on the floor, with a note and a key taped to the top of the box. The note reads:
Dear Jonathan:
My new husband and I have taken to the country. We are in a small town named Rumsey and love to go fishing. We just don't get back, so enjoy this room since it's the smallest. Can't you come back to the big city one day?
Lacey
At least I finally have a name!
You leave the room and head to the main mansion. When you reach the doorman, he looks sheepish, perhaps remembering when you last walked out of this mansion. "Can I help you sir?" he asks, fumbling with the key that is in his hand. He seems like he really wants to help you in a way you do not understand. Perhaps he was instructed to make this sort of mistake as a country greeting.
As you approach the front door, you scan the flowerbeds and courtyard for your sister's pet. You find one of the buildings on the island, and then slowly creep around to the back corner where the garden is. As you peek through the bushes, you see something. You glimpse a bunch of shiny objects, growling and fluttering.
You jump through the bushes into the garden and race towards the animals. As you get closer to the animals, you feel a stirring of fear. This is a very odd feeling. Something about the smell of the animals disturbs you. And yet you are drawn to them. The animals try to hide, crouching down and trying to flee from you. It is unclear which of the two pets you were looking for, but you find yourself staring at a small cage containing two white cats.
Suddenly from the corner of your eye, you see a tall figure with a long finger walking through the family room. You can't take your eyes off the pet cats as the tall man steps passed you. He looks over at the animals, and then does not look away as he continues down the hallway and out of your sight. You are frozen rigid in fear, as though you are in a horror movie. You couldn't have possibly made such a mistake.
The tall man and the other man you saw checking out the flowers dart back into the main mansion, leaving you alone with your sister's hound dog. You find yourself backing away slowly until the canary on his leash is fully between you and the large beast. You have to stand your ground against such a beast. It is your sister's pet, after all, and you have to protect it. You can't turn your back to such a behemoth. You jump back at the last second, a claw scratching the front of your shirt.
You are shaken, but you remain on your feet. The line of your body is straight and your arms are as close to your own body as they can get. The canary is between you and the dog, and you are waiting for an opportunity to grab the bird. The large dog crouches back down into a defensive position, and then suddenly lunges at you again, faster than the first time. You somehow leap out of the way, and in that second of opportunity you dive for the canary, tossing it out of the way. The dog turns to the canary and tears it to shreds.
Just as suddenly, the dog turns back around and prepares to lunge at your face for the kill. When the hound lunges you are quick enough to dodge, but this time you trip over the bird mess on the floor. The beast is only inches from your face as you cower in fear on the floor, holding your hand over your face in a last ditch effort to protect yourself. Just as it seems the hound's teeth are going to sink into your face you are miraculously delivered from your nightmare and are sent into unbreakable sleep. You do not awaken until well into the night.
