Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit (7 page)

As soon as they got out of the trees,
they started across the clearing. Without having to worry about staying out of
the sun, their concern now was getting back as quickly as they could. In spite
of their thirst and fatigue, they walked at a fast clip through the thick, tall
grass, throwing it to the side with their hands as they went forward. They
walked at a fast clip, in spite of their thirst and fatigue. The grass they had
to walk through was thick and tall. Each of them checked the clouds from time
to time. Once across the clearing, they moved steadily, pausing only briefly to
holler out Katie's name and whistle for her.

In what seemed like a fourth of the
time the trip out took, they found the area they recognized as home. "I
hope Katie made it back while we were gone," said Hailey. "Yep, me
too," said John. However, Katie was nowhere to be seen around the fire pit
or the pool area. They both walked directly to their hut, hoping to see her.
They reached the doorway together, and found that Katie wasn't there. "Damn
it, I hope she doesn't get caught out in the rain," said John, remembering
that miserable night many months ago he had spent in the rain.

Hailey and John had one thing on
their minds now; they needed water. Without saying another word, they walked
straight to it. John picked up the container and Hailey picked up the cup,
which John filled for her. As she was drinking, John poured water directly from
the container into his mouth. He refilled Hailey's cup when
it was empty, and they continued to drink until half the water was gone.
"It might be a waste of time to start a fire now. We've got enough water
to last till tomorrow, and if it rains, we will have plenty more anyway,"
said John, looking up at the sky.

He was hoping that they would be back
in time to catch some fish for supper, but that would have to wait. Having
nothing better to do, and both being extremely tired, they walked to the hut.
Hailey walked to their pile of leaves on the floor, and quickly found a soft
spot to settle into. John followed her, and lay down right beside her as the
sky outside began to darken. They had spent so much energy today that neither
of them felt like talking.

In no time, Hailey's breathing told
John that she was asleep. Seeing her there beside him, he felt a contradiction
of emotions. He genuinely felt bad for her that she was stuck here with him,
but at the same time, he couldn't imagine life without her now. He wasn't sure
if what he felt was love, but he knew that the feeling grew stronger every day.
As John was looking at Hailey, his thoughts drifted to Katie, out there
somewhere alone. He wasn't completely convinced she was out there in the jungle
though. He hadn't discussed it with Hailey, but he thought there might be
another explanation, other than her wandering off and getting lost.

A loud clap of thunder nearby
startled him and woke Hailey. John put up the door and
secured it, and before he could get back in bed, the rain started. After he lay
down, John listened intently for leaks. He kept a supply of small sticks in one
corner of the hut, to mark any leaks for repair later. Fumbling around in the dim
light, he located them and placed them where he could easily find them.
Good,
no leaks yet,
he thought. Hailey quickly went back to sleep, and in minutes,
John was out too.

As Hailey woke up the next morning,
she could see the sunlight coming through the cracks around the door dimly lighting
the inside of the hut. The rain had stopped hours ago, and it was quiet outside.
It was the first time since she had been here that
it had rained so hard. The unusual silence this morning was a welcome relief
from the usual sounds she heard. The unfamiliar noises of the jungle was the
thing that was hardest for her to get used to. Another thing she
disliked, was having no modern conveniences.
I hope Katie is OK,
she
thought.

She looked at John as he slept, and
thought of how close they were becoming. When she looked at him now, she saw
past the scrubby appearance of a castaway. Now she saw a man who was slim, but muscular,
and had attractive facial features that were camouflaged by his shaggy beard,
and wild, uncombed hair. She reached out her hand and started to wake him, but
changed her mind.

Being as quiet as she could, Hailey
placed the door to one side, and stepped out on the wet grass. It was eerily calm,
and reminded her of a camping trip she and her parents went on when she was a
small girl. Her dad loved to fish, and camping was an extension of that love.
Her mom endured it, for the love of her husband and family, rather than the
love of the great outdoors. Thinking of her mom made her wish that she could
tell them that she was all right. It made her sad to think that they were
probably in pain because she was gone.

Hailey looked all around her, as
though she expected to see Katie waiting for her. She missed her, even though
Katie's depression hadn't allowed them to become real friends yet. They had a
bond that only sharing a bizarre life-changing experience can create. They woke
up together on the beach in this strange place afraid and confused. She thought
of how they had been walking along, when John jumped out and grabbed Katie, and
was proud of how they had fought.
I hope she found a dry spot to spend the
night,
she thought.

Realizing she was allowing herself to
think too much about things that made her sad, Hailey directed her thoughts to
daily chores. She decided to try to get the fire going while John slept a while
longer. She slipped back into the hut and gathered some fire starting material
that they kept there for such an occasion. Showering the ball of plant fibers
with sparks from the fire starter, Hailey soon had some heavy smoke. Holding
the fibers carefully with her fingers to the side, she blew on the hot spot. Drawing
a full breath, she blew again, slowly, but steadily, until the small area that
was producing heavy smoke, burst into flames.

She skillfully placed it in the fire
pit, and began adding some of the small dry sticks that she brought from the
hut. With the small fire going well, it was just a matter of adding gradually
larger sticks, until the fire was hot enough to burn wetter wood.

John's voice suddenly shattered the
early morning silence. "Morning," he said, as he stood right behind
her. "Don't do that," said Hailey, noticeably startled. "You
scared the crap out of me." "Well what's the plan for today?"
asked John. "Why don't we check down by the beach? We haven't checked
there yet," said Hailey. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe we can
take a dip and wash up while we are down there," said John.

The evening before, they had left the
pot, pan, and their cup out to catch rain. Hailey picked up the cooking pot,
which was half full, and drank about half the water in it. She then handed it
to John. Boiled water from the pool was safe to drink, but the taste was awful
compared to rain water. "Man, that's good," said John, after
finishing off what was left in the pot.

After completing their daily chores,
they set out for the beach. The day was warming up quickly, and with the added
humidity from the rain, they both were sweating before they were even half way
to the beach. "Judging by my smell, I'm about a day overdue for a dip in
the ocean," John joked. "Well, I wasn't going to say anything,"
said Hailey, playing off of his quip. "OK," said John, pretending to
be offended.

They finally reached the beach and
sat in the shade of a tree, before going on. "We could probably cover more
ground if we split up and go both directions at once," said John, pointing
with his fingers. "OK, but let's not get out of each other's sight.
Hopefully we can find some of Katie's footprints if she made it this far,"
said Hailey. After catching their breath, they headed down the edge of the
beach, in opposite directions, both inspecting the sand for any sign that Katie
had been there.

As they walked away from each other,
John and Hailey each checked over their shoulder often to make sure the other was
still in sight. John occasionally went out to the middle of the beach, just to
make sure he wasn't missing anything. As time slipped by, the distance between
them kept growing and they couldn't go much farther without going out of sight
from each other. John was thinking about turning back, when he looked back for
Hailey, and realized that he couldn't see her. He felt as much panic as he felt
on his first day here.

He turned and began to run as fast as
he could, and in less than a hundred yards, he was out of breath. His side was
hurting, but he continued to run, while focusing on the last area he had seen
her. His greatest fear now wasn't the fact that he was here, but it was being
here without Hailey. He thought of his high school years, when he could run for
miles and not rest. Now, he was in pain after a short run, but his fear was
stronger than the physical discomfort that he felt. He pressed on despite the
pain, and just when he thought his heart would burst, Hailey appeared. She
stepped into sight from out of the trees, looked up, and saw that John was
running, so she began walking in his direction.

John felt a similar feeling now that
he felt the day he sighted Hailey and Katie. He stopped in his tracks, put his
hands on his knees, and struggled to breathe. Not sure what was going on,
Hailey began to jog towards him. Seeing her running, he lifted one hand to
signal her not to run. They were a great distance apart still. As John began to
catch his breath, he started walking toward Hailey and couldn't take his eyes
off of her now. As they got close enough to hear each other, Hailey yelled,
"What's wrong?" "I couldn't see you. You scared the hell out of
me," said John.

"I had to pee," said
Hailey. When they finally reached each other, John walked directly up to her
and wrapped his arms around her. She was surprised at first, but then joined
him in the embrace. "I couldn't live without you now," said John. Not
saying anything, Hailey squeezed John a little tighter. "I'm serious. I
didn't realize it until I couldn't see you. I thought I was going to die,"
said John, not wanting to relax his hold.

"I think you're pretty much
stuck with me now. Let's wash up, and go home," said Hailey, gently
pushing away. As they walked toward the water, Hailey reached out and took
John's hand. It was just the kind of gesture that he was looking for. He wasn't
sure how Hailey felt, but now he knew she felt something more than just
friendship. This time, washing up was more of a chore than leisure, and they
quickly finished cleaning and washing their clothes. "We need to catch
some fish today. I'm starving for some protein," said John, after they had
a short rest in the shallows. "Sounds good to me," said Hailey, as
they both started toward home.

John had learned to appreciate the wide
variety of plant and animal in place. The walks he took with Hailey were
something that he looked forward to, since she too appreciated nature. As they
walked, they each liked to point out things that they thought were interesting,
sometimes stopping to take a closer look at an exceptional flower, a butterfly,
or any creature that caught their eye. There was no shortage of new things to
look at here, but on this walk they didn't talk much because they were both too
tired and hungry.

"Oh my gosh, there she is,"
Hailey shrieked as she looked back at John. Katie was seated by the fire.
Hearing Hailey, Katie looked up and smiled as they approached. Hailey was too
excited to notice the oddity of her smile, but John noticed it. Neither of them
had seen her smile since she had been here. "Where have you been? You
scared us to death," said Hailey, as she walked up and hugged Katie around
the neck.

"Oh, I guess I overslept today.
I know I've been a little lazy, so I thought I would fix some lunch," said
Katie, pointing to the fire. "Wow, you caught some fish. Man, those look
good," said John, looking at the two fish that were skewered on sticks and
cooking over hot coals. "Where did you spend the night last night, Katie?"
asked Hailey. "What do you mean?" Katie asked, looking confused by
the question.

Hailey looked up at John, to see what
his reaction to Katie's strange behavior was. Trying to make sure Katie didn't
notice, John shook his head slightly to signal Hailey not to continue with her
line of questioning. "Uh, the thunder and lightning woke John and me up
last night, but I guess you slept through it," said Hailey. "I guess
so. I didn't hear a thing," said Katie.

Katie reached out and turned the fish
over, so they could cook on the other side. "I hope you don't mind that I
used your fishing pole," said Katie, looking up at John. "It's OK, as
long as you don't lose a hook. We only have a couple of them, and there obviously
aren't any stores nearby," said John. As Katie moved the fish, and
adjusted their position over the fire, Hailey and John exchanged glances,
trying not to let Katie notice. John tilted his head toward the hut. "I'll
be right back," he said.

"I'm going to go see what John
is doing," said Hailey, after waiting a minute or two. "She doesn't
even have a clue that she was gone," said Hailey, in a loud whisper, as
soon as she set foot in the hut. "I don't think it would even do any good
to tell her. What do you think?" asked John. "Promise me one thing
though. If they ever take me like that, tell me. I want to know," said
Hailey. "OK, you do the same for me," said John.

"We better get back out there.
Besides, I'm really hungry," said Hailey, taking John by the arm. She
gently released her grip, and slid her finger tips down John's arm, and
squeezed his hand in hers. Placing her other hand on his chest, she leaned
toward him. John bent his head down to meet her, and they kissed, slowly at
first, then the passion built.

This moment was something they both
wanted, and it was safer for Hailey, since Katie was back. Katie's presence
would keep them from going too far, too fast. Placing his hand on the small of
Hailey's back, John pulled her close to him. She could feel that he was
excited. She wanted more too, but now wasn't the time. "Come on, we better
get back," said Hailey, breaking away. She slowly walked out of the hut.
John stayed behind, needing to calm down. Wearing just his boxers, it was impossible
to hide his desire for her. He couldn't walk out looking like he looked now.

"You look like you are feeling
pretty good today," said Hailey, as she walked up behind Katie. "Yes,
I do feel pretty good. The fish is just about ready," said Katie.
"John and I found a stream that has a bunch of fish in it," said
Hailey. "That's good, because we are going to catch all the fish in our
pool, sooner or later," said Katie, repeating what John had said several
times before. Katie turned one of the fish over, and then took it from the
fire.

"I think it's ready to
eat," said Katie, peeling back the skin from the fish, exposing the flaky
white flesh. Talking to Katie felt strange to Hailey, because they hadn't had a
real conversation, since they woke up on the beach together. Katie had been so sad,
that she never spoke more than a sentence or two each day. Now she acted like
her depression was a distant memory, if it was a memory at all.

As Katie took the second fish from
the fire, John stepped from the hut. "The fish is ready," Hailey
shouted at him. "Good," said John, "I'm starving." Katie
passed one of the fish to John, as he sat next to her and Hailey. He tore away
a large chunk and began to eat. He then handed the fish to Hailey, and she also
picked off a large piece of meat, and put it in her mouth.

While Hailey and John shared one
fish, Katie started on the other. Eating was a serious activity, since they
never seemed to have enough to eat, so none of them spoke. After consuming a
little more than half of hers, Katie handed what remained, to Hailey. By then,
she and John had finished their fish, and John was picking tiny bits of meat
from the bones.

After they finished what remained of
the second fish, John chewed away at the skin covering the head, then removed
one of the fins and crunched away at it. "I'm still hungry," said
John. He and Hailey had been spending so much time looking for Katie, that they
both had neglected eating. "I'm going to catch some more fish," said
John, as he stood to his feet. "Now that we have another place to fish,
I'm not going to worry about catching all the fish in the pool," he said,
as he walked toward the hut to get his fishing pole. After a nice meal, he had
a little more life in his step.

In no time, John had his pole and was
gathering insects to use for bait. He found that hunger was a great motivator.
Catching fish from the pool had always been easy and now that they had another
source for fish, he wouldn't have to ration them. Each time he fished, he
always checked his line for weak spots by slowly running the line between his
fingers, like his dad had taught him. This simple act was more important than
ever, because he couldn't afford to lose a hook.

Satisfied that the line was ok, he
baited the hook and dropped it in the water. He liked to keep the bait in sight
so he could pull it away from any large fish. Within seconds he had his first
fish and tossed it on the ground behind him. He watched it flop about on the
ground, working its gills and struggling to breathe.

As he looked at the tiny fish, he was
a little surprised that he was feeling sympathy
for this little creature. Putting his pole on the ground, he took the fish in
one hand, and using the back of his knife, he whacked it in the head. His need
for food required him to kill, but he felt differently about it than he once
did.

After catching four fish, John
quickly gutted them and rinsed the body cavities out at the edge of the pool.
Seeing him returning with his catch, Hailey got the two cooking sticks ready to
be used again. Handing a fish to Hailey, John watched as she skillfully ran the
stick through its mouth, and out the body, near the tail. He handed the second
fish to her. They worked well together.

Katie watched from her place beside
the fire, and realized that she was the odd person out right now. She wondered
how she would fit into this weird three-way relationship, which had been forced
upon them.
How could I feel so good today, after feeling so bad for so long?
Why were John and Hailey acting so strangely today when they got back in
camp,
Katie wondered. She knew something wasn't right, but as much as she
tried, she couldn't make sense of it.

John held a stick with two fish on
it, as Hailey positioned the first stick over the fire, then getting down on
one knee, he knelt beside her and positioned the second stick in place. As he
was getting it in place, Hailey got up using John's shoulder as an aid. As she
rose, she brushed her hand along the back of his neck. It wasn't something that
many people would have noticed, but Katie did. It wasn't exactly jealousy that
Katie felt, but more like envy.

"I just want you both to know
that I plan to be a better helper around here," said Katie. "Don't
worry about it. You've been through something that most people can't imagine in
their worst nightmares," said John. "We're just glad you're OK,"
said Hailey, as she reached for Katie, and gave her a big hug. As they hugged
each other, Hailey couldn't help but notice how fresh and clean Katie smelled,
and how her clothes even looked and smelled clean.

After a prolonged hug that was
comforting for both Katie and Hailey, they all settled into their spots around
the fire. Each of them had a large chunk of wood they could sit on, but much of
the time, they chose to sit on the ground. After watching the fish cook for
several minutes, Katie stood up, then walked over and picked up the cooking pot
and went to the pool and dipped some water to boil.

"I think we should tell
her," said Hailey, in a whisper. "Go ahead if you want to, but I'm
not sure she will believe you," said John. "Ok, let's sleep on it,
and talk about it again tomorrow," said Hailey. Katie positioned her pot
full of water over the fire. It was a scene that Hailey and John had never seen
before. Although it seemed odd at first, the unexpected help was a welcome
relief. After getting the pot situated, Katie settled into a spot on the
ground, near the fire. For several minutes the three sat in silence.

"Hey Katie, feel up to a little
expedition tomorrow?" asked John. "Sure," she said. "What
kind of expedition?" "I thought maybe we could go explore the stream
that Hailey and I found," said John. "What do you think?" he asked,
looking at Hailey. "Sounds good to me. If we are going to do that though,
we better get up early, so we can beat some of the heat," said Hailey.
"I can't wait to see it," said Katie.

Most evenings, they went to bed
pretty early. On this evening though, they stayed up and talked for a few hours
after the sun went down. Having Katie to talk to was almost like having a new
person around. John and Hailey were used to doing things together while Katie
stayed in the hut. They now found themselves having the same conversations with
Katie that they already had with each other. The new Katie was definitely a
vast improvement over the old Katie. Having a third person capable of helping
with chores would make life much easier.

John's mind wandered, as he watched Hailey and Katie talk. He thought about how close he
and Hailey had become, and wondered how Katie's sudden recovery would affect
that closeness. He also thought about the math involved: one man, and two
women. If he and Hailey got together and left Katie out, that wouldn't be fair
to her.

She might not even find me attractive
though,
John
thought.
I'm not going to even worry about it. Whatever happens, happens.
Just as John started to get lost in his thoughts of Hailey, Katie, and their
future life together, there it was....anger. He didn't feel it every day, but
it was always lurking in the shadows of his mind. He could never be totally
happy here, no matter how well his life with Hailey and Katie went. Even though
there were no bars, John still felt like he was in prison, just as surely as if
he were.

Wanting to break his thought pattern,
John stood up. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I'm going to hit the
sack," said John, as he stretched. "Yep, we better hit it too,"
said Hailey, also standing to her feet. Not saying anything, Katie also stood
up. As John threw more wood on the fire, Katie and Hailey went inside the hut,
with John soon joining them. After more social interaction than they had since being here, the three of them were
ready for sleep. As it got quiet, they were all thinking similar thoughts about
how life here was going to work with an odd number of people. Even though they had
lots of things to think about now, their full day made sleep impossible to
resist.