It was far from comfortable to sleep in the tents the cultists had built, but even more uncomfortable would have been to lie down in the cold outside. For this reason, Ted saw it as best to fake being apologetic and sad about the shipwreck.
They had a memorial service to honor the ones lost to the sea, and all the time, Ted kept thinking about the poor salamander.
He had not treated it well enough.
Whenever he was asked to share his thoughts and feelings, he projected on the lost humans the emotions he had towards his own neglect of the salamander.
The ceremony ended, and Ted was free to attend to the practical matters of these beasts that apparently roamed the island, prowling, looking for prey.
The group went out, looking for tracks. Where the carcass had once been, only bones remained, and ravens were pecking off what little flesh remained. No longer such a gruesome sight, the dead animal was at least marking the spot where the last observation of the beasts had been.
