The Curse of the Day Nester

So, as it turns out, staying up till two in the morning and waking up at six every day gets a person a little off in the head. Add to that six days of hiking and and spending all that time exclusively with the same person and you've got some genuinely crazy turtlers. To let off some of that nuttiness, we have field notebooks that we fill with the ramblings of our overtired and strange minds. People fill these with stories, questions, pictures, puzzles, rants... you name it. Of course, I needed to add in my two cents, so this week at 'Apua, I wrote the following story, which I now share with you.

The Curse of the Day Nester

As many of you may know, T108 is a crazy girl. Nests in the day, hides from well meaning turtlers and generally throws us all off. So in a valiant attempt to learn the secrets of T108, our great leader Lauren deployed a force rarely seen on this side of Hilo- seven intrepid turtlers.

The days were hot and the nights were long, but we steadfastly scoured the beach for the elusive turt. Then something happened- and the world may never be the same again...

It all began when Eric wandered off- perchance to do some yoga, or to explore. Four other turtlers sat calmly playing cards, expecting nothing out of the ordinary until Halley the noob glanced up to see Eric slowly stumbling back their way. Alarmed by his shambling gait, she alerted her companions- Greg, Meg and Erika- and the four of them watched his approach with growing concern. He was muttering something as he shuffled forward and as they strained to hear what it was, the began to make out just one word.

"Brains... braaaaiiiinsss... braaaaaiiiinsss"

"My Gawd," said Greg. The card playing turtlers lept from the table, their cards scattered to the winds. Greg, in a less than valiant attempt to save himself, kicked Erika in the knees and ran for it, shouting "Don't eat me! Werewolves don't taste good to zombies!"

Yet the others stood fast (not Erika, she was on the ground for she had been kicked in the knees), and Lauren and Malia joined their ranks. Bravely they faced the zombie formerly known as Eric with hiking poles raised high and when he lurched forward to feed on the unfortunate Erika, the four heroic turtlers beat him back.

"Aim for the head!" cried Meg, who had done some very unexpectedly helpful research on the zombie apocalypse before this trip.

They beat him until he moved no more and then took his purple bandanna to mourn his loss. The erstwhile Greg returned and feigned ignorance about Erika's injury. However, as he had recently saved Halley and Malia's lives, they forgave him his indiscretion.

The following day, Malia left, for she had work to do beyond the field. Their numbers now reduced to five, the remaining turtlers maintained their vigilance, still seeking the elusive T108. At times, they wondered how Eric had been zombified, but since they'd set his body out to naturally mummify on the lava field, they thought less and less about it as the day wore on. Meg noticed a scratch on her arm, but thought little of it. Another day and night went by with no sign of the day nester- perhaps she'd moved to a different beach?

The next day, it was time for Lauren, Erika and Meg to leave. Greg and Halley bid them adieu and slumbered peacefully on their cots for a few more hours. Suddenly, something woke them both- a shuffling noise, the sounds of naupaka breaking and sand being thrown. The turtle? But she was headed right towards their camp! How could this be? Halley and Greg scrambled to get the turtle bag and calipers, then stood, trembling with excitement, behind the nearest naupaka plant.

With a crash, the turtle burst from the cover and heaved its way towards them. Halley, being a noob, had only seen one turtle before and was very excited, but Greg sensed that something was not right.

"Something," he said, "is not right."

And it was true. The turtle smelled vaguely of decay and blood splatters covered its shell and beak. It snapped its bill at them, lunged forward and sighed in a way that sounded alarmingly like "Brainzzzz."

It was a zombie turtle! This was the secret of the day nester, and from the shred of purple bandanna in her mouth, it was clear that this was the turtle who had infected poor Eric. Of course she came out at day- all the better to see her prey, and she did not need to fear the sun or predators.

The terrified turtlers fell back, aghast. The turtle snapped at them and caught Greg's foot as he tried to kick Halley in the knees.

"My Gawd!" he shouted in pain.

Halley dragged him away from the turtle- she did not know the way out, even though she could have escaped while the turtle feasted, as a noob she would soon be lost.

They ran and the turtle followed, but soon she was left behind. On and on they ran, until they reached chain of craters road. There a car awaited them.

"That's odd," said Greg. "I thought the others took the car. Why is this here?"

They didn't have a chance to wonder, for just then, Meg, Lauren and Erika stumbled from behind the truck, covered in blood.

"Braaaaaaaiiiiins, braaaaiiiins," they chanted.

"Oh no!" cried Halley, "the cut on Meg's arm was from Eric zombie!"

The two unzombified turtlers dodged the outstretched arms of their former comrades and sprinted for the truck. They dove in and shut the doors. The zombies lurched back to the truck and began to pound on the doors.

"The keys!" shouted Halley. "Where are the keys?"

Greg was looking out the window and did not answer.

"Oh no," Halley realized, "They're in the gas cap! What do we do Greg?"

Slowly, Greg turned his head back towards Halley. He grinned.

"Brains."

Halley fell back against her door and it swung open. She fell to the ground below and the four zombies descended upon her and ate her whole.

Satisfied with their meal, they returned to 'Apua Point to await the orders of their zombie turtle master and to guard her zombie turtle eggs. And one day soon, that nest will hatch and one hundred zombie turtles will descend upon the world.