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

shirt and knife to one side, he got up
from his prone position, to his hands and knees. At the first glimpse of
clothing through the leaves, he jumped out and grabbed the nearest woman.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quickly, as he held onto the
frightened woman. He barely got the words out of his mouth, when she bit him
hard, causing him to yell out, in pain. He let her go, and at the same moment,
he felt a flurry of blows hitting him in the face and head. "Leave us
alone," the woman hitting him said, with a mixture of fear and anger in
her voice.
    "I don't want to hurt you,"
John said, as he jumped back. "My name is John, and I'm from Colorado.
I've been stuck here for months. Who are you, and where are you from?" He
could tell from the expressions on their faces that his appearance and odor
must be repulsive. "Just stay back," said the one he had grabbed. The
short but intense encounter had them all breathing hard.
    "I'm Hailey, from California.
Where are we?" the one who had hit him said, while taking a few more steps
back from John. "I don't know, let me guess. You both just woke up on the
beach here. Right?" said John. The two women looked at each other.
"Same thing happened to me," said John, hoping to gain their trust.
"What's your name?" asked John, looking at the one who had bitten
him. "Katie, I'm from Florida," she responded. John felt moisture
trickle from his nose. He rubbed it with the back of his hand, confirming that
his nose was bleeding, as he suspected.
    John already had an idea why the
women were here, and he didn't like what he was thinking. How much should I
tell them, and how soon, he wondered. One thing is for sure, I have to
break the news to them before the moon comes out tonight. John was feeling
genuine empathy for these women, because he had been in their shoes just months
before. This is going to be hard for them to hear, and it will be hard for
me to tell them, he thought.
    "Was that your signal fire, and
arrow in the sand, back where we came from?" Hailey asked. "Yes, I
set that up a while back," said John. "Do you know how we got
here?" asked Katie. "Nope, don't have a clue," said John.
"Look, if you two are half as thirsty as I am, then I know you could use
some water. Why don't we go to my camp and get some," he said, trying to
avoid more questions. "I guess we don't really have another option right
now," Hailey said, looking at Katie.
    "Let me get my shirt
first," said John, as he jogged over to where he left it. Not wanting to
worry his new guests, he kept his knife carefully wrapped, and out of sight.
"Listen, I've got a lot to tell you two, but I'd rather not get started in
a long question and answer session until we get something to drink. Then I'll
explain everything," said John, taking a few steps in the direction they
had just come from.
    Katie couldn't wait for answers.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" she asked John. "Not really,"
he answered. "I'll tell you what I know, and what I don't know, when we
get back to my camp." He intentionally didn't call it home, because he
didn't want them to know yet that this was now their home too. John felt
relieved and happy that he wasn't alone anymore. Any positive feelings he had
though, were dampened by the guilt he felt for having them.
    The end of his solitude came at the
cost of Katie's and Hailey's freedom. They didn't know yet that they would never
be going home, or that life as they once knew it ended today. Giving up on
getting any answers, Hailey and Katie kept silent, except to ask how much
farther it was. On the way back, John tried to go over in his mind how he would
break the bad news to them, but decided there wasn't a good way. With all the
added walking, the three had built up a serious thirst. "Let's get some
water," said John, as his hut came into sight.
    The water was still in his pot, just
as he had left it that morning. Picking up his drinking cup, he poured from the
pot till the cup was full. He handed the cup