Carrie Jennings looked over at her best friend Stacey Allen, " You ready?" she asked.
Stacey looked over the side of the boat as the sapphire blue water slapping against the hull. " You sure there aren't any sharks down there?" she asked.
" Probably" said Carrie, shrugging, " I doubt they will eat us though."
Stacey looked over at Carrie, " You said there were no sharks" she protested.
" I'm just kidding" laughed Carrie, patting her best friend on the head, " you coming?"
" Let's go" said Stacey pulling her mask down.
The pair put their regulators in and rolled off the side of the boat into the sapphire blue sea. They gracefully slipped through the warm blue water towards the reef below. The pair had come to the St Lucian Islands to enjoy their Spring Break by exploring the underwater beauty which the islands were famous for. This was all Carrie's idea she wanted to go dive to all the shipwrecks that made these islands famous. The pair arrived yesterday and picked up the boat but nasty looking storm clouds kept them on land until this morning.
Stacey's reservations were immediately removed the moment the water embraced her. There was so much colour it was amazing, everything was so vivid, she was immediately entranced. They chased fish, played tag with each other, and generally had a wonderful time.
Stacey was chasing a particularly colourful fish when she crossed a ridge in the coral and saw a shipwreck. She motioned to get Carrie's attention and after a few minutes of flapping her arms like an underwater chicken, she finally got her attention.
Carrie casually swam over and saw what Stacey was pointing at. At the bottom of an underwater ravine was a shipwreck. It was nothing more than an old sail boat laying on its side but it was their first shipwreck. They looked at each other nodded with excitement. They swam for the wreck, slowly descending down to the bottom sand ocean floor. Stacey swam over the top to see if she could see anything through the port holes while Carrie bravely poked her head in through one of the large holes ripped in the hull of the boat, from the reef no doubt. Carrie poked her face inside and suddenly a hideous shape lurched out at her.
Stacey heard the terrified scream, it was more a rush of bubbles than a scream but she heard it. She turned around and saw Carrie swimming up as a large Grouper swam out of the boat. Stacey smiled around her regulator, big brave Carrie scared by an ugly fish. Stacey was the marine biologist major in college but Carrie was more into diving and she was physical therapy major. Stacey went back to poking around the side of the ship and was quickly joined by Carrie. The ship was stripped bare unfortunately, too many treasure seeking divers had been here already. The pair swam back to the boat, exciting to have seen their first shipwreck but disappointed it wasn't a fat pirate galleon loaded with gold and jewels.
Carrie hauled herself out the water, it was a lot harder than she expected weighed down by the lead weights around her stomach. Carrie quickly shed the weights and turned to help Stacey out. Stacey had a lot more trouble than Carrie did, she was much less athletic than Carrie. Stacey dropped the weights on the deck and plucked her regulator out. " That was fun" she said.
" And you didn't get eaten by a shark" said Carrie, poking Stacey in the ribs.
Carrie piloted the boat back to St Lucian Island where they were staying. The city was also called St Lucian filled the eastern side of the island, the marina was larger than the city itself owing to all the vacationers who kept their boats in the idyllic harbor. Carrie and Stacey were borrowing Stacey's uncle's boat which they had sailed down from Miami.
The pair took the local tour bus to the far side of the island where the beach house they had rented sat on stilts out in the water of a little cove. The rent for the three weeks they were down there cost more than their tuition in college but it was worth every penny. But they stayed there just long enough to change out of their wet bikinis and into dry clothes.

Hurricane Pete's was an old boat house and dock that had been converted into a bar with surprisingly good food. They entered the place and sat at the bar. Hanging above the bar were hundreds of thongs, it was a the owner's own little collection, every girl that came into this place sooner or later was conned out of her underwear so it could decorate above and behind the bar, including the stuffed Mako Shark that hung behind the bar. " Evening ladies" said Hurricane Pete, " how was the first day of diving?"
" Good" said Stacey, " got attacked by a Grouper but we survived."
Hurricane Pete was a weathered, leathery beach bum, he looked like he was in his late sixties but he was only 32. He'd come down to St Lucian at 18 on Spring Break from high school and never went back. " Here is your first round" he said, setting two Coronas on the bar.
One positive benefits of donating your underwear the Hurricane Pete's was you drank free so both Stacey and Carrie were more than willing to donate for free drinks. Carrie took the map of the area from her purse and set it on the bar. " Hey Pete" she said, " you know any good wrecks we can dive?"
" Yah" said Pete, " there is an old World War I submarine that sank east of here."
Pete's finger tapped an open spot of ocean, " There are a lot of shipwrecks out here" he said sweeping his finger up the map, " but the locals won't be much help."
" Why?" asked Stacey, " there treasure out there?"
Pete laughed, " No, it is a stupid local legend about this island."
Pete pointed to the island north of St Lucian, Hunters Island. The island was the second smallest island in the St Lucian Chain. Under the word Hunters Island was Private, " What is wrong with it? The owners pricks or something?" asked Carrie.
" No, I've lived here fourteen years now and I have never met anybody who actually lived there" said Pete, " the locals think the devil lives on the island, the old timers still call it the Devil's Lair, nobody goes close to it but there are some world class wrecks down there."
" Sounds cool" said Stacey, " we should try those."
" I'd stay away if I was you" came an old voice from the end of the bar.
All three looked over at the old man at the end of the bar, " Devil's Lair is no laughing matter" he said, " couple of my friends went out there after fish a few years ago. They never came back, and they aren't alone, I've known more than a few who have gone out there and never returned."
" Has anybody actually gone to the island?" asked Carrie.
" Nobody is that stupid" he laughed.
" I can't think of anybody" said Pete.
" Well we promise that if we see anybody with a forked tail and cloven hooves we will stay far away" said Stacey.
" We're going to watch the sun set" said Carrie, leaning over the bar to grab another beer, " you can bring dinner to us out there."
" What is on the menu tonight?" asked Stacey.
" Big surprise" said Pete, " burgers and fries."
" Works for us" said Carrie.
The pair walked out to the dock and sat down. The old salt moved over, " You better not let them find out you were telling them dive out there" he said.
" Those girls are harmless" said Pete, " no way they are stupid enough to actual go out there. Besides those two are pretty young American college girls. They disappear the world will come looking, they know that."
" I'm just warning ya" he said, " trouble doesn't come to those who don't look for it."
Pete put another full glass of beer in front of the old salt, " This will stop you're worrying" he said.
The old salt gratefully took the beer and drank it down.

Carrie and Stacey ate dinner while watching the sun slowly sink into the ocean turning the sapphire blue water bright orange. They enjoyed several more beers before deciding to leave Hurricane Pete's for home. They crashed early that evening, they wanted to get up as soon as possible so they could go out diving again.

They were on the boat at dawn, they ate a healthy breakfast of Hostess Cupcakes and coffee on the way out to the wreck site Pete had showed them. They dropped the anchor and both stopped to look at Hunter's Island. It wasn't that great looking of an island, but there was something about it that made it seductive. " Maybe we should go exploring?" suggested Carrie.
" Nah" said Stacey, " I want to dive, we're here for four more days we can go explore the forbidden island later."
" Yah, it isn't like the island isn't going anywhere, unless it is a cursed island that moves in the fog" giggled Carrie.
" No more late night horror movies for you" joked Stacey.
The pair pulled their tanks on and rolled off the side of the boat. They hit the water and saw a huge ridge in front of them. Stacey swam for the ridge where Carrie was already swimming over it.
Before them was a graveyard of ships strewn among jagged rocks. This was exactly what they wanted. They swam for the closest wreck, a fishing boat. As they neared the wreck they both saw it, and it filled them with glee.
Across from the fishing boat, past a wrecked freighter was an old wooden ship, an ancient wooden ship. The ship lay upright, the last remains of the old sails flapped as the current pulled them to and fro. The sails looked like ghosts of the ship's crew, trapped forever beneath the waves. It was half buried in the sand but enough of the deck was exposed to show the pair cannons, real cannons. The pair swam as fast as they could, it was a pirate ship, they knew it was a pirate ship, like Pirates of the Caribbean but this wasn't in a theme park.
It took a lot longer than they expected to swim the distance, it looked a lot shorter than it was. Once they reached the ship they began to look for the chests of treasure they expected to be laying around the ship. Stacey looked at a big hole in the side of the ship and picked up a rock. She rolled it through the opening and watched as a large ray slowly swam out of the hole, spooked by her rock. Stacey lost all interest in the ship and chased after the huge ray.
Carrie swam around the ship, looking for any signs of treasure or skeletons or something, she couldn't even see a name anywhere but it was still thrilling to be actually swimming over a pirate ship, or at least one of that era.
The pair had to cut their exploration short due to the distance they had to travel to get back to the boat so they set off, both definitely planning to return tomorrow and explore a lot more.

" That was amazing" said Stacey as she removed her oxygen tank.
" I know, a real actual pirate ship" said Carrie.
Stacey unzipped her wetsuit and something dropped on the deck. It was glittering bright red in the afternoon sunlight. The pair dove on it, Stacey scooping it up in her hand. She held it to the light, her body tense with excitement. In her hand was a ruby, precisely cut as if it came from a piece of jewelry. " Treasure!" they both exclaimed as they danced about the ship.
They returned to San Lucian in triumph, it may be only one little ruby but it was a start.

Stacey sat on Carrie's bed as she dried her hair, " You know, I'm having a really great time" said Stacey, " this was a great idea."
" I know" said Carrie, " we should do this every summer."
Carrie started to untie her bikini when she felt Stacey's soft hands massaging her shoulders, " Feels nice" said Carrie, letting her bikini top fall.
She turned and smiled at her best friend. Stacey knew it was now or never, she slowly leaned in and kissed Carrie's lips. The pair parted and smiled at each other, " Want to scrub my back?" she asked.
" Absolutely" said Stacey.
They left their clothes on the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower together. It was the best shower either had ever taken.

Carrie was drying Stacey's hair over an hour later, " I never knew" said Carrie, " I wish I did."
" I had some trouble admitting it" said Stacey, " you would make a wonderful partner."
" I agree" said Carrie, " let's go get something to eat, we will definitely need our energy for tonight."
The pair dressed and headed for Hurricane Pete's. To their surprise the little shack was full, a true surprise it being so far off the beaten path. Pete was smiling as he served beer after beer to the spring breakers that filled his place. " Hey ladies" he said.
" Busy night huh" said Carrie.
" Insane" said Pete, " but hey I am selling more beer than I do in a month, I won't complain. So how was the diving?"
" Great" said Stacey.
" Yah, we found this old ship, like a pirate ship" said Carrie.
" Really, you know I remember some old stories about a pirate that use to haunt these islands, Captain Robert Coffin. You should go to the library if you want more information about him."
" Hm, not a bad idea" said Stacey, " how bout dinner?"
" No problem, we're a little backed up, have a couple of drinks. Celebrate your first wreck dive."
Stacey leaned over the bar and grabbed two beers, " Not a bad idea."

Quentin Lewis heard his ears prick when he heard the word treasure. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw the two college girls in cutoffs and bikini tops sitting at the bar. He got up from the table and maneuvered close to the pair. They were both fairly cute, nothing really special. They were talking about diving someplace and looking for more treasure. Quentin smirked, Americans never learn to stay quiet. He hurried out of the bar and pulled his cell phone out. " Andre, its Quentin" he said, " I got a hot tip. I know but this hot so here me out."

It was after eleven when Stacey and Carrie left Hurricane Pete's. It had taken longer than usual to get dinner and the pair had drank more than usual. " That was fun" said Carrie, more drunk than Stacey, her arms wrapped around Stacey's waist.
" Nope you're not to drunk to fool around" said Stacey.
" Never" said Carrie, " I am always ready."
Carrie pulled Stacey's top off and ran into the surf with Stacey hot on her heels. Stacey tackled her, knocking her into the water. The pair wrestled in the rolling surf until Carrie stopped and looked towards the jungle beyond the beach. " What?" asked Stacey, tying her top back on.
" I don't know, I think I saw somebody watching us."
" Not really a big surprise, two topless girls wrestling in the water. Bet it was the thrill of his life."
" Let's go and wrestle in bed. I have sand in place I didn't know sand went."
" Good idea."
The pair climbed out of the surf and walked back to their house. They peeled their wet clothes off and left them in a pile in the entry way. After making sure the doors were all locked the pair climbed into Stacey's bed and pulled the sheet over them before they began to giggle and moan.

The pair didn't leave the house until late in the afternoon to go out to the wreck. They dropped anchor and were pulling their tanks on when Stacey saw another boat cutting through the water. " Look" she said.
Carrie looked up and saw the boat, " Crap you think somebody else knows about this ship?"
" No, I think the boat came from that forbidden island."
Carrie impulsively grabbed for the binoculars, " I want to see these devil people" she said.
Carrie put the glasses up to have a look but before she could focus on anything Stacey grabbed them away. " Forget them" she said, " let's go look for treasure."
Carrie nodded and the pair checked their equipment one last time before putting their regulators in and rolling off the side of the boat.

The sharks were out this time, both girls saw Hammerheads, Reef Sharks, and one big Tiger Shark swimming about the wrecks. It made both of them uneasy, neither had anything to defend themselves except diving knives strapped to their calves. Those knives would really deter sharks and stupidly they had left the spear gun in the locker on the boat. Thankfully the sharks didn't seem interested in the pair or the old wreck they just cruised around the jagged rocks like this was where they hung out.
The pair did as much investigating as they could, but three days of diving had taken its toll of their bodies and today everything was sore. Carrie managed to find a few more gems and Stacey found a gold Doubloon before exhaustion and a lack of air sent them back up to the surface.
" Wow" said Stacey as the pair sunning their naked bodies on the deck, " look at this thing."
Carrie and Stacey looked at their treasure with pride, it wasn't much but it would net the pair some good shopping money when they got back to the US. " I am going to the library tonight" said Stacey, " I want to do some research."
" Stace, we're on vacation" said Carrie, " besides I want to make love tonight."
" There will be plenty of time for that too. But I want to see whose ship this is."
" Okay, but don't stay too long."
" I won't" said Stacey giving Carrie a big kiss.

It took Stacey nearly an hour to make it across the island to the small library. It was about the size of the gas station across the street but was filled to the top with books. Stacey was lucky that the owner of the library was still there. It didn't take much convincing, Stacey using her freckled cleavage to its full effect, for the owner to let her in and show her the book he'd written about the pirates of San Lucian. Stacey sat at the tiny little table in the middle of the room and opened the small book. The very first chapter was about the infamous Captain Robert Coffin.
There is no evidence for the man calling himself Robert Coffin until he was charged in the Virginia with witchcraft and entering into a pact with the Devil in 1735. He stole a ship and disappeared into the vastness of the Caribbean. He began to raid French, Dutch, and Spanish shipping in 1737 with amazing results. While other pirates would be lucky to capture one ship loaded with valuable cargo let alone treasure Robert Coffin seemed to hit ship after ship. It is unsure of what was stolen or how much because Coffin routinely killed the entire crew and burned the ships but it was enough for the French to put a bounty of 2,000 gold coins on his head, a sum of 5 million today. For eight years Robert Coffin seemed unstoppable then in 1745 he disappears in the waters around his favorite haunt, the San Lucian Islands. It was believed his ship, the Gryphon, was lost during a violent storm with all hands aboard. To this day none of this treasure had ever been recovered or the ship precisely located.
Stacey closed the book with an ear to ear grin on her face. She couldn't believe she found the Gryphon. If they could find one tenth of that treasure she would never need to go to college ever again.

Carrie lit the last candle and sat at the desk to check her e-mail. She had a stack of them which took several minutes to sort through; the ones she would reply to, the ones she would keep, and the ones she would get rid of. She uploaded some of their vacation pictures, including the ones they took together in bed. Carrie knew her mother would have a fit but she knew Stacey's hippie mom would have no problem. Carrie giggled at the sight of herself naked in the pictures, she never thought Stacey was so wild. Too bad we didn't bring out video camera, Carrie thought, then we could have made our own Paris Hilton video. A low groan echoed through the house making Carrie turn, it came from the beach side door, not the front door. Stacey should have come in through the front door not the beach one. She got up intently curious about what was going on.
Carrie walked out of the bedroom and poked her head down the hall. " Stace? Is that you?" she called out.
No answer, Carrie knew this couldn't be a burglary it just didn't happen here. Carrie decided to see how it was and marched down the hall and into the living room. She saw the sliding door that led to the porch and the beach was open and a strong breeze was blowing in. Carrie laughed to herself, it was just the wind. She strode through the living room but only got half way.

Stacey unlocked the door and pushed it open. " Carrie, baby I'm home" she called out.
Stacey kicked her sandals off and walked down the hall towards the bedroom. She walked in and saw candles were lit and Carrie's clothes were on a pile on the floor but there was no Carrie. Stacey looked into the bathroom hoping she was in the tub but the tub was dry and there was no Carrie. Stacey bet she was mixing up a couple of drinks in the kitchen, like we haven't had enough tonight she thought. Stacey took her bikini and shorts off and ventured down the hall towards the living room. She barely made it to her bedroom door.

Quiet filled the beach house, the only sound the waves lapping against the beams supporting the house.