Harold had already dropped Jane off at her lab before he came ripping around the corner to his own office. He looked up at the tower, free of bird’s nests, and saw no sign of Bruce. Harold had a small semblance of relief on his face knowing that Bruce had not gotten stranded on the tower. He didn’t want to hear about it, not now – there was work to be done. He could feel excitement vibrate down every limb at the thought of something new with his work that he could commit himself to.

Harold parked the bike in the motor pool and checked for an available truck. The one Bruce had used the previous day was gone, but there was another one that seemed to be in working order in another bay. Harold found the keys and started it up. He walked around it and gave it a general inspection as he listened for any fluctuation in engine noise. Satisfied; he filled it with gas and drove to the front of the building near the entrance to his office.

Harold entered and immediately noticed that the usually calm and dark environment was fraught with life. The overhead lights were on and gave the entire scene a sterile and foreign feeling all at once. Harold felt like he had never even been in this room before. The constant whirring of the machines and the static coming from all the headsets and speakers in unison was almost unbearable. His eyes jumped from one face of a lab tech to another until he found one that he thought could give him answers.

He went towards the tech and pulled one side of the headset to expose an ear.

“What is the meaning of this? What is going on?”

“Static.” Replied the tech.

“Tower five?” asked Harold, and just then the tech’s eyes shifted towards the opening door as Bruce rushed in.

“Harold! I saw the bike. I’m glad your back.”

“Back for what? Is all of this because of tower five? Why do you have a small army listening to static?”

“It’s worse than that. Towers, 5, 2, and 7. All static, all the time.”

Harold took a moment to take in the sight of Bruce and for first time noticed the straw poking out from every crevice. He looked like a scarecrow. He must have been working tirelessly to clean the towers in question.

“I see you’ve been busy.”

“There’s absolutely no interference on our end. All towers are clean and I’ve got a team checking the cables between them and us, but I think I already know what the report is going to be. It’s the mainland, it has got to be. They’ve either given up on us, or there’s no one left to work the stations.”

“Nonsense! They would just go on forever like they have been. They could all have been dead for ages. We would never know. The static is equipment failure on our end. It has nothing to do with the mainland. Mainland is automated, and you know it.”

“It is not us! If it was us we wouldn’t hear this kind of static. The towers are at full strength – reaching out and trying to pick up anything. All were getting is static!” With that Bruce slammed a headset down on the desk and the static went quiet. Everyone looked up at the speakers on the wall. The sound of a radio whirring pierced their ears and then gave way to the same repetitive message that has been bombarding their senses since they got here. Everyone groaned, they were sick of hearing the same repeated message from the mainland and here it was on full blast.

Harold was laughing in Bruce’s face as a team of techs came in. Bruce was red with anger and embarrassment. “So? What was it?”

“Rats as far as we can tell. Big rats. They made a nest in the junction box where all the towers come together. It must have shorted out at a coupling that brought a few of the towers in.”

Bruce pursed his lips and turned to look at Harold who couldn’t hide his grin. Harold broke the silence, “I could have saved you a lot of energy. I told you it was rats yesterday. I wish I hadn’t gone to the other side, you must have looked like a mad man with a personal vendetta against those poor birds in the towers!”

“The first break we’ve had in years and it’s rats!” Bruce began to shout as he walked out of the lab, “Everything on this island is conspiring to drive us mad!”

Harold looked around and laughed. Everyone was shutting down their stations and exiting the lab. Harold turn the lights off and basked in the comfortable glow coming from equipment. He knew he wouldn’t get too much important work done on the other side, but he would at least make the effort. He took a few notebooks, empty transmission logs, and an operator’s manual in case the equipment needed to get tweaked once he tried to start it up. With work concerns out of the way he began to focus on leisure. He would have to pass the time somehow. He packed a few of the books that he had already read and would make sure to grab a few more on his way out. He would also search the closets of the rec room for a few jig-saw puzzles or anything to pass the time. Jane would be feverishly applying herself to what she saw. He knew he would be spending a lot of time by himself and out of her way.

Harold was outside loading boxes into the truck when he saw Bruce approaching and spoke first, “I take it no rat on this island has a very long life-expectancy?”

“They’ll rue the day they ever stowed away on those first ships out of Mongolia. What’s all this? You’re actually taking my advice and having an extended honeymoon with the missus?”

“Less of a honeymoon and more of a work expedition. We’ve stared at the waves on this side of the island for so long that they’re making both Jane and I go cross-eyed. We’re gonna take up residence on the other side for a while. I’ll get that tower out there up and running …unless the rats got to it, too.” He finished with a half smirk.

A flash of anger appeared on Bruce’s face, but quickly faded. “If you see one, kill it. It always has to be work with you two. You can’t just go out there and enjoy life for a while. I wish you would, but I congratulate you on your change of scenery, anyway.”

“Some change of scenery. Beaches and waves. The only difference is the direction the wind comes from.”

“Yeah, well, try to enjoy it. When shall we expect your return?”

“Not sure. We’re setting up for an extended stay. I’ve adapted to being miserable on this island, but I can’t stand to see it in Jane. I’ll stay there as long as it takes to see her happy.”

“It will do you good, too. You don’t fool me with all this Jane talk. You know you need a break.”

Harold grew stiff; he never liked it when other people thought they had him figured out. “I’ll make contact as soon as possible. Have fun with your rats.”

“Oh, I will. Send me a signal that your alive if you ever get that station running. I don’t want to have to ride all the way out there just to find you to nose-deep in research logs. And bring me some fruit!”

“I will, I will.” Harold said with a smile. “Good bye, Bruce.”

* * * * *

Jane was packing when she heard the squealing brakes of the truck outside her window. She had everything she should think of; all sorts of beakers of varying size, a few wave-taps, any tool she could collect, and every text on translation she could find on this island.

Harold walked in, “How big did you think the truck was?”

“Quiet, you. This is the consolidated version. Help me get it all in. We’ll be set up for an indefinite length of stay, won’t we?”

“More like a lifetime with all of this.” Harold smiled as Jane unloaded a heavy box in his arms.

The two loaded up the truck and took a look back at the buildings that made up their home and offices. They each took a mental inventory of what was in the buildings and couldn’t think of anything else they might need. Satisfied with their work they each jumped in the truck and set out for the other side of the island.

As Jane and Harold were well on their way, Bruce sat at his station in the lab, exhausted from the days work of cleaning the towers and simultaneously angry with rodents. His mind was drifting with no real direction as he played with the dials next to a headset until his fingers froze and his body went rigid. He adjusted the head set and wore it properly as he rotated the dial with the precision of a surgeon. He shook his head and listened with a renewed confidence in himself and muttered the words “Static off tower five….”

Next installment: Trance & Purpose