Midwinterblood Part 1, Chapter 5 Summary

  • It's noon, so Eric goes out for a little stroll around the island. People wave as they tend their gardens and Eric walks past lovely, idyllic sights on his way to the coast.
  • Suddenly, Eric just feels the need to take a swim, so he finds a little cove along the sea and strips naked and dives into the cold salty water.
  • Wait a second, Eric thinks. What am I doing? He jumps out of the sea and rushes back to his clothes, which he finds in a different position than when he left them—again, though, he finds that no one is around. Could this place get any weirder?
  • Eric's mind feels fuzzy, but he remembers he's supposed to be working. He heads back to the house and goes over everything he knows about Blessed Island.
  • It's obscure and self-governed, and it's so far north that the sun doesn't set this time of year. He has no clue how big the population is or how they support themselves, though. It's not tourism, that's for sure.
  • He checks his device and sees some notes he made about a rare orchid—the blessed dragon orchid—which people believe only survives on Blessed Island. Rumors say that the flower has healing powers or can make you live forever, and the folks on the island may be selling it untested to people around the world, which is dangerous and illegal.
  • Ah, finally Eric remembers why he came here: to investigate.
  • He's saved a map of the island on his device, but the battery gives out before he can find it. Then, he can't find his charger. Anywhere.
  • Then something terrible occurs to him, something really frightening: Someone has come into his bedroom and stolen his charger. Dun dun dun…