Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit by James Holler Read Free Book Online

as he could. "Hello, are you in there?"
he shouted. He waited for a response. He heard nothing but the usual sounds of
birds, and the ocean in the background. "I have water," he shouted,
after only a few seconds. Again he waited, hoping to hear the sound of a human
voice. It was apparent that the women were more afraid of him than they were of
the jungle.
    Fearing that he would drive them
farther away from the beach, he didn't want to pressure them. "I'll come
back tomorrow with water. If you want it, I'll be here then," he yelled
out, then walked fifty feet or so away. "See you tomorrow," he said,
not as loudly, so they could tell that he was walking away. He kept walking
until he reached a vantage point that allowed him to view the area where he had
seen them leave the beach, found a place to sit, and waited.
    He remembered his first day here, and
he knew how they must be feeling. He thought of how the noises of the night
were a little scary for him. He guessed that it would have the same effect on
these strangers, from who knows where. He stayed hidden, hoping his plan would
work, since daylight was running out.
    After what seemed like several hours,
he saw a woman's head peek out from behind some leaves. She was looking in his
direction, but he was confident that she couldn't see him. She disappeared back
into the bushes. A minute or two later, she appeared again, this time sticking
her head out all the way. She looked both ways, checking to see if John was
gone. She turned her head, and said something, then cautiously stepped out in
the open. John could see that she was very tan and athletic looking, with long,
dark brown hair. She was taller than the other woman, but not by much. Right
behind her was the second woman. She had attractive features, and was also very
fit looking. She was black, with very short hair, and was carrying her shoes in
her hand.
    Both women walked out away from the
trees, to get a better look down the beach. They each looked in both directions
several times. John was close enough to barely hear their voices, but he
couldn't understand what they were saying. Satisfied that he was gone, they
moved closer to the edge of the vegetation, and proceeded to walk away from
where John was hiding. John quietly rose to his feet. He knew that could make
better time on the solid floor of the jungle than they could in the sand. He
quickly walked deeper into the jungle, then began to run. With bare feet, he
made almost no noise.
    In no time he had passed them, and
was at least fifty yards ahead of them. Once he was confident that he was far
enough ahead, he stopped running. At a brisk pace, he then walked toward the
beach. Staying low, and moving as if he were
hunting prey, he eased his way closer to the edge of the tree line. That's
perfect, he thought, as he noticed a thick heavy bush near where the sand
began. Feeling the excitement building, he crawled on his hands and knees for
most of the last twenty feet, then inched along on his stomach for the last few
feet. Careful not to expose his position, he found a spot that allowed him to
see through small openings between the leaves of the bush.
    Just barely out on the sand, they
were coming his way, and would soon be coming right by him. Suddenly John
became aware of how he would look to these women. As he was lying there, he
could smell his own body odor, and knew how filthy he looked. He had smelled
bad for months and rarely even tried to wash up. He never saw much point in
cleaning up, since he was alone. Things were different now, soon another person
would see him and smell him. He was embarrassed and ashamed, but still very
excited. The feeling he had now reminded him of the first time he shot a deer.
He got buck fever so bad, that it was hard to hold his rifle still enough to
shoot. Now, as then, he was shaking. He didn't want to scare them, but he knew
he didn't have a choice.
    As the two women neared, he pulled
his head back out of sight. Pushing his