Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit (6 page)

"Why don't we put this stuff
back in the hut," said John, picking up all the things the women had
taken. "Come on, you will need to get some rest." John knew there was
nothing he could do to make them feel better. After putting the things away, he
helped them get their bed of leaves straightened up and helped them get settled
back in.

"This can't be real," said
Hailey. "It can't be, but it is," said John. "At first I thought
I might be going insane, and this was all just a hallucination." "I
want to go home," Katie said, sounding like a lost child. "I know. Me
too," said John, trying to be as comforting as he knew how. Seeing and
hearing what his guests were going through, brought up the same feelings in
John. He'd tried to keep those feelings suppressed, but hearing the word home,
made him think of his old home. He missed his friends and his family, and it
was painful to think about them.

It had been almost two weeks since
the population of John's home went from one, to three. Hailey was still having
a hard time some days, but on other days seemed to be adjusting better to the
situation than John had at this point. Katie, on the other hand, was a wreck
and almost catatonic some days. Her depression was not showing any sign of
letting up, even though John and Hailey had both made attempts to cheer her up.

At first, John thought that having
more people here would create more work for him, but Hailey had been a
tremendous help. He showed her the location of all the fruit trees he knew of
so far, and showed her how to catch fish. Some days she took on the water
boiling chore, and some days John did. They had some long talks, and were both
starting to think of each other as friends.

"I know we shouldn't bathe in
the water we drink from, but I really need to wash up somewhere," said
Hailey. "I know, me too," said John. "I think I know of
somewhere. Do you want to go now?" "Sure," said Hailey.
"I'll tell Katie we are going." Hailey walked over to the hut where
Katie spent most of her time, and let her know that she and John would be gone
for a while. They headed in the direction of the beach.
This is a good idea,
thought John,
we are both getting a little rank.
John knew that he was
way overdue for a bath.

Once they arrived at the ocean, they
walked south, or what seemed like south in their old world. In the area which
formed a pool, there was one end that was separate from the main part of the
larger pool. It was only a couple feet deep, and had rocks and coral separating
it from the rest of the main pool of water. They both walked in and sat in the
sand, with water up to their chests.

John leaned back and began to soak,
running his fingers through his hair. It was matted and dirty, and it was hard
to get his fingers through it at first. He repeated the process with his beard
and could see the dirty water running down his chest. As he began to scrub at
his skin with his hands, he could see the dead skin, mixed with dirt, starting
to roll up and come off.

While John was bathing, Hailey was
having her own scrub fest. Like John, she only had the clothes she was wearing
when she got here. She got in the deepest water she could find, then turned her
back to John, and took off her shirt. She had stopped wearing her bra days ago.
She swished her shirt back and forth, then wrung the water out of it, repeating
the steps several times. She put her shirt back on, then took her jeans off and
washed them as well.

Sneaking a few quick looks, John
followed her lead. He took off his boxers, which were well-worn and grungy
looking, and rinsed them out repeatedly. "I'm glad you talked me into
this, Hailey. It feels pretty good," said John. "I know. We are going
to have to do this more often," said Hailey.

After they both got their clothes
washed, rinsed, and back on, they sat in the shallows enjoying the water.
"You look a lot better cleaned up," Hailey said. "You don't look
half bad yourself," John playfully shot back. "We probably should
make a fruit run, on the way back. Don't you think?" said John.
"Sounds like a plan. Let's enjoy this for a while though," said
Hailey.

As time went by, John could feel the
sun starting to burn his skin. "I'm starting to burn a little." said
John. "OK," said Hailey, waiting for John to get up first. When he stood
and looked down at his legs and arms, he noticed he was much darker than when
he first got here. "Another month or two here, and I'm going to be as dark
as you are," said John, smiling. "I kind of doubt that," said
Hailey, with a polite chuckle. As Hailey stood up, John couldn't help but
notice her breasts showing through her wet T-shirt. Even though he was trying
not to stare, Hailey couldn't help but catch the lingering glance.

When John wasn't watching, Hailey took
advantage of looking him over too. This was the first time she had seen him
when he wasn't grimy and stinky. She already liked his personality and enjoyed
their many conversations, but now she was starting to appreciate his appearance
in a way that surprised her. As they walked away from the beach, John held his
arm next to hers. "See, I don't have that much to go to catch you,"
he joked, comparing his skin color to hers. "Whatever," Hailey said,
smiling.

On the way back, they stopped by two
fruit trees, and collected as much as they could carry, mostly from the ground.
They usually had to go through a few bad ones before they found one worth
keeping. They were both feeling refreshed after their time in the water earlier
in the day. Their little dip in the ocean was as close to recreation as they
could get here.

"Why do you think they picked
us?" Hailey asked John, out of the blue. "Well, I think genetic
diversity has something to do with it. After all, we are all ethnically
different," said John, without hesitation, having thought about it
already. "So, you think they expect us to reproduce?" asked Hailey.
"I think we are some sort of science project, or zoo animals, or part of a
nature preserve, or something like that. I think they can track every move we
make, and are treating us like humans treat animals. Who knows, maybe they
think we are an endangered species," said John.

Hailey took a few moments to think
about what John had just said. Even though she had similar thoughts herself, she
didn't feel totally comfortable talking about them. "So, what should we
do?" Hailey finally asked. "I don't know, but I don't like feeling
like a monkey in a cage. It might be a planet sized cage, but it is still a
cage, as far as I'm concerned," said John, not holding back.

They had similar conversations
before, but until now John hadn't told Hailey exactly what he was thinking.
After a long pause, John continued, "So what do you think?" "I
think you are probably right," said Hailey. They didn't talk the rest of
the way back home. At first, it was the hut, or camp, but now it was home. Like
it or not, they didn't have a choice.

When they finally arrived back home,
they set their fruit down on the ground, next to the fire. "I'm going to
take Katie some water. She hasn't been drinking enough lately," said
Hailey, picking up the drinking cup. Hailey filled the cup and made her way to
the hut. She stepped in, then stepped right back out. "She's not
here," said Hailey, sounding concerned. "She's probably just using
the bathroom," said John. Not accepting that, Hailey called Katie's name
twice, then listened.

After several attempts with no reply,
John started to get a little concerned as well. "She usually heads over in
that direction when she goes," said John, pointing to a nearby tree. They
both walked in the direction John had pointed and he started yelling Katie's
name every ten to fifteen seconds. His throat finally started to hurt, so he
tried whistling.
That sound will probably carry farther anyway,
he
thought.

They walked about a hundred yards,
then stopped. "I don't think she would go this far. Let's try going
back," said John. "This doesn't make any sense. She hasn't been out
of the hut hardly at all, and today she decides to go on a hike," said
Hailey. "Surely she wouldn't do anything to hurt herself, would she?"
asked John. "I don't think so, but I don't know," Hailey responded,
concern lacing her words.

John already had his knife, but when
they got back home, he picked up the spear too. He and Hailey were both worried
now. Katie had been so depressed that she barely moved on most days, only
leaving the hut for short periods of time, to drink, eat, or use the bathroom.

They searched for hours, yelling and
whistling, with no luck. As it got closer to sunset, they stayed closer to
home, not wanting to get lost themselves. Finally they had to give up, before
it was too dark to find their way home. "I don't want to leave her out
here alone," said Hailey. "I know, but us being out here in the dark,
isn't going to help her any. We'll build the fire up bigger and call from
there. She'll be all right if it doesn't rain," said John.

Luckily, they had the firewood supply
built up. They both started adding wood, and in no time the fire was roaring
bigger than they ever had it before. They stayed up half the night yelling and
whistling, while keeping the fire going, causing them both to be exhausted.
"Maybe we should call it a night, and look for her in the morning,"
said John. "OK," said Hailey, in agreement, already lying on her side
on the ground. After they entered the hut, John secured the door. They hadn't
been using the door, but he thought they should tonight and got no argument
from Hailey.

"I'm afraid," said Hailey,
after several minutes of silence in the darkness. Without saying a word, John
rolled out of his bed, and crawled over to where Hailey and Katie slept on the
floor. He pulled her close, and they held each other. John had needed this kind
of closeness for a long time. For a few fleeting seconds, he thought of his
girlfriend back in Colorado, but he couldn't allow himself to have such
thoughts for long. It hurt too much to think of anything in his old life.
Hailey didn't fear John anymore, but she didn't totally trust him yet either.

They needed each other right now, but
there was nothing sexual about their embrace. They were more like scared
children comforting each other in the darkness, than the adults they were. With
her head on his chest, they both fell asleep.

Hailey gently shook John, until he was
awake. Except for being too short, it was the best night's sleep that John had
in months. "We need to go find Katie," said Hailey. "I
know," said John, closing his eyes, and letting out a sigh. "She
needs us. She's probably scared to death," said Hailey, growing a little
impatient. "OK," said John. He held Hailey's face in his hands and
kissed her on the forehead. "What was that?" she asked, standing to
her feet. "You better hope they aren't watching. With a move like that,
they might replace you as a breeder," she said, with a big grin on her
face. "Oh, man, that really hurt," John said, laughing.

Following their usual routine, they
got the fire going, and put some water on to boil. They would need to drink
plenty before they left. They knew they were probably in for a long day, even
though they were both already tired, hungry, and thirsty. They each started
drinking from the water container. They couldn't risk taking the container with
them, because it wasn't made to carry when full. A thorn from a tree, or accidental
drop would make life a whole lot harder.

"Well, I'm not sure which
direction we should go first. Any ideas?" asked John, while adding some
wood to the fire. "Not really, but we should probably take the shirt, in
case we find some fruit while we are out," said Hailey, walking away with
the pot to get more water.

After having all they wanted to
drink, and refilling the container, John and Hailey set out to look for Katie.
The sun was very warm before they even got started. It was a very calm day,
without a hint of breeze. The everyday tasks of survival, never left any time
for exploring, so today, they decided to do some looking on the far side of the
water pool. Once they got to it, they walked along the edge of the clearing, calling
out and whistling for Katie.

Occasionally they ventured into the
jungle, when they saw something they wanted to investigate further. Walking out
into the clearing, put them in the sun and the humidity. The physical exertion
was already making them thirsty, only a couple of hours into their search, so when
the clearing narrowed, they decided to cross to the other side, so they could
walk in the shade. The grass that they had to walk through was head high in
places, making the trek slow and tiring.

They were relieved when they got to
the other side, because walking in the shade was much easier. Neither of them
had said it out loud, but they were both starting to feel like they might be
wasting their time looking for Katie. In spite of how they felt, they both
trudged on.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, John
stopped and leaned on a tree to rest. After a few moments, he sat down and
Hailey joined him. They were both so tired that they didn't even talk as they
rested. Except for some birds in the background, it was very quiet. John sat
with his arms on his knees, with his head hanging slightly. He raised his head
up, and turned it from one direction, to the other.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.
"Do you hear Katie?" asked Hailey. "No, it sounds like
water," said John, standing to his feet. "Let's go," he said,
walking straight into the trees. Excited by what he heard, John was moving
quickly. "Slow down a little," pleaded Hailey. John heard her, but
didn't comply with her request. The terrain went from flat, to sloping
downward. John stopped and said, "Come on, come here," as he motioned
with his arm for Hailey to come.

When Hailey got to where John was
standing, she saw it too. In front of them was a clear stream of moving water,
with a rocky bottom. The water looked clean enough to drink, but they knew they
shouldn't. As they put their feet in, they were standing in shallow, swift
water. Looking just downstream, they could see it flowing into a deep pool
where just below, the water was faster and shallower again and had lots of fish.

There were small frogs all along the
edge of the water, in different shades of green and brown that reminded John of
the cricket frogs he used to catch when he spent the summers with his grandparents.
They started walking downstream, along the edge of the water. The persistent
sunshine that they had been trying to avoid all day was interrupted by some
unexpected clouds. They both looked to the sky behind them. "We better
head back, in case it rains," said John, turning toward where they came
from.