Mystery Island

John Fosteri and Tom Cranston carefully paddled their kayak across the narrow section of Long Island Sound leading up to Hunsinger’s Island one quiet Saturday in mid-summer.

For years the locals on Montauk had whispered about the unexplained disappearances of those who attempted to explore the hidden reaches of the private stretch of land tucked away in one of the darkest corners of the sound. Rumors had persisted for decades about the swift and cruel punishments the Hunsinger family would exact on anyone even attempting to invade their private turf by peeling back the layers of secrecy surrounding the area.

The Hunsingers supposedly held a special disdain for those of the socioeconomic classes the Hunsingers did not consider worthy to set foot on their precious land.

Although the mainland gossip mills churned incessantly about those discovered seriously injured or dead throughout the island, concrete proof of the claims never surfaced. This, despite dozens of search parties conducted over decades by both law enforcement and private groups of concerned citizens.

Fear certainly held John and Tom back for many months as they pondered whether to take on an unauthorized extended weekend outing onto the quiet outpost. They finally decided to assume the risk to lock in their reputations as top amateur explorers and to discover why the island’s owners had insisted on keeping its secrets under wraps for so long.

The duo had built a reputation for risky adventures, and they thought the time was ripe to challenge both the Hunzingers' myths and the tight-fisted control the family had exerted for 400 years over the area.

“Time to pull back the curtain and shine light on this six-mile-long stretch of real estate kept out of the public eye for too long,” John said. “They have no right to prevent our friends and neighbors from taking full advantage of the fantastic natural beauty of the place and finding out why so many have gone there but never returned.”

“For decades rumors have circulated about the area’s true native inhabitants and the terrifying fates that supposedly await any who cross swords with them,” Tom added.

With all this in mind, the newest pair of discovery seekers carefully anchored their kayak on the island’s nearest shore and buried it with branches for easy access in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

They probed and hacked their way through the island’s dense, eerie forest. For the first half hour or so the woods remained creepily still. Suddenly, a loud sound echoed from deeper in the forest and the partners ran toward it. They searched every square inch of the area but could not find the source of the sound.

They did discover a cabin that looked like someone had abandoned it many years before. It had a chimney ready to fall down, windows apparently knocked out by the changing of the seasons and what remained of the front steps worn into the earth.

By the time they reached the cabin Tom and John had already hiked for several hours, and as darkness crept up on them, they decided to seek what little shelter they could find in the abandoned dwelling. They still wondered about the sound they had heard, but they figured sheltering inside the cabin gave them better odds of surviving any lurking danger than sleeping in the open air.

While Tom, an amateur chef, cooked some of the food they had brought with them over their portable hibachi grill, John explored the rest of the ramshackle cabin. In a dark corner he found a dusty book–apparently some type of diary.

After their meal, they began to page through the diary and, as they did so, the hairs on the back of their necks stood up. The diary outlined in vivid detail their own lives up to this point and, following each of their stories, they found scribbled notes saying “your end is near.”

As the two men finished reading the diary they heard several more loud noises in the forest. Then the cabin door swung open with a bang and three large, monstrous-looking men stepped inside.

“Don’t move. We have come to carry out your sentences for violating the privacy of Hunzinger’s Island.”

“How did you know about us when no one knew we planned to come here? We just arrived. And how did someone know about us to write about us in this diary?” John asked as fear crept deeper into his soul.

He added, “We mean no harm to anyone. We only wanted to explore this beautiful land.”

“We, the keepers of the island, know all,” the head monster replied. “The natural beauty of this island has always, and will remain, the sole possession of the Hunzinger family. Outsiders have no right to uncover the secrets our clan has guarded for four centuries.”

With that two more monsters leapt forward and bound Tom and John in chains.

The clan members then led Tom and John into the woods.

Just as the monsters and their captives stepped into the daylight, a brilliant flash blinded them and the chains fell from the hands of the captives. Several men then stepped forward and placed the chains on the monsters.

A man, who looked as large and strong as the monsters, said, “I am Steven Sampson, chief of the New York Forest Rangers for this sector of the state. We have had this island under surveillance for some time. While our troop has no control over privately-owned land, we do have jurisdiction over the illegal activities that have gone on here. We received an anonymous tip some time ago of the Hunzingers and their supporters among the native islanders storing counterfeit money in a nearby cave and passing it into the monetary stream on the mainland. Just before they broke into the cabin we saw them burying some of their counterfeit currency and their equipment. We were just waiting for the right moment to make our move.”

“But how did they predict we would land here and how did it get in their diary?” John asked incredulously.

“The Hunzingers have hundreds of contacts around Montauk and they record all the information of the movements of those they consider their enemies and other island visitors who have disappeared. Those writings will add to the evidence we already have to convict them. Even though it looks like you two stumbled upon the operation by mistake you will receive monetary awards and commendations for helping us wrap up this case.”