The Island of Screams

8 Arrested !

The young man with the long hair stopped and turned to face them. He leaned on his staff, and as he stood there like a shadow against the light, Tom thought of a biblical prophet coming down from the mountain. They were now moving up the steeper slope, where their progress was slow. The man with the shepherd's staff awaited them:

"You sang beautifully. I'm Andreas from Toronto. Nice to meet you. Are you going to Acrocorinth?"

Randy replied:

"No, we're on our way to Mount Sinai, you clown."

Laughing, he reached out Andreas and shook his hand. In fast forward he introduced the others.

"Let's go up together," suggested Andreas.

Hiking up the mountain they had to keep a little to the right in order not to miss the entrance - after all they couldn't climb the fortress walls although Dave felt a little tempted to do so. But he was sweating enough as it was.

Andreas was actually an American. He had avoided conscription to the US Army by "moving" to Toronto right in time. There he studied forestry, got his degree and decided to check out his grandparents' country of origin before getting a job. The little boy who had escorted him was his grandnephew whose family lived in Corinth and was eager to show him the way to the fortress.

"So you're a deserter? Isn't that dangerous?" Georgios asked. He remembered Muhammad Ali's story, who had lost everything because of his conscientious objection. Andreas, who called himself Andrew in Toronto, agreed with him.

"How did you manage to enter Greece with your long hair?" Tom asked a little jealously. He had visited the Hohenberg hairdresser for the first time after several months and had his hair trimmed to Greek standards.

"I came by ship from Italy. In Patras, nobody was interested in my hairstyle. They're probably stricter at the airport."

The Nuremberg couples had just reached the high plateau of the fortress when the young people reached the entrance. They had assumed their children, who hadn't really been interested in their parents' lectures at Delphi, had made off to the beach with their new friends, and now they were actually scrambling up that mountain voluntarily! Somewhat meekly, Heike's father suggested staying as far away from the children as possible because Tom's outburst was still in his limbs.

Nikos took the lead after entering the fortress. Of course, the senses were expanded with the help of herbs, although the huge complex and the fantastic panoramic view had already an almost intoxicating effect. They organized their picnic on the southern fortress wall and started a discussion about politics, war and dictatorship.

Andreas was an anarchist, and he proposed this concept as an alternative to dictatorship. He was almost alone in that, only Monika hanging onto his every word. Sometimes the persuasiveness of an idea requires the persuasiveness of its bearer, and she found this bearer of this political vision very convincing. Monika fell head over heels in love with a 24-year-old anarchist from Canada.

Sandy suggested making some music. He found the place ideal. They performed "In the summertime" and "Let it be," then sang their latest piece, "House of the rising sun", which was already a few years old, but it was in a new, rockier version in the charts. So in the heat of the afternoon, young people from four continents danced: Europe, Australia, America and England.

At 5 p.m. they started their way back. As the entrance came into view, Tom felt uneasy. Two plainclothes men stood next to the ticket seller, behind whom a white Ford was parked. On the men's foreheads glowed the green writing POLICE.

He tugged at Nikos' arm. They stopped. The others caught up with them. Tom held Sophia, Georgios and Dave back and pointed out the awaiting the men. They briefly considered what to do. A bus was rumbling up the dirt road to the fortress. In a few minutes it would be there.