Lost At Sea

Stepping into the shadow of the first trees was like falling under a spell for Chris. He had, after all, spent years in the wasteland and had nearly forgotten how it felt to be anywhere else. And so, the hint of moisture in the ground beneath his feet was so exotic, the weak odors of the soil and vegetation were vitalizing. Large flowers of all colors grew here, some of them sending shiny puffs of glittering pollen into the air as Chris and Scarlett passed them. All these impressions as well as the chirping of birds in the distance were so novel and refreshing that Chris felt not like a man who had wandered approximately two miles from a beach to the brink of a forest, but like a man who had just crossed a galaxy to set his feet on a new planet. "Oh my God, even if I die today, maybe this was worth it", he mumbled. Here beneath the trees the air was more humid, the smells grew more intense with each step. Monkeys screamed at them from the branches of a nearby tree, butterflies sprayed colors in the rays of sunlight that still found a way through the thickening foliage. One of the beautiful, multi-colored insects sat on Scarlett's sweat-soaked shoulder like a colorful brooch.

She did not appreciate it at all, of course - she was so exhausted that she looked like she would break down any moment. And Chris, despite the upcoming euphoria, felt like a goner as well.

"It's not far. Come on, it's right there, I can see it through the branches already..."

Like a dying man in a fever dream he stumbled forward. He did not care about the Natives anymore, his stomach was a burning hole, consuming the last remnant of his life energy, tearing at the remains of his self-control. Had an arrow hit him now, Chris would probably not even have realized it any more.

With a shaking hand he brushed the last branches to the side and stepped to the brink of the water. He fell to his knees and drank for a minute, greedily gulping down as much as he could take. Only then did he realize that Scarlett was next to him, also on her knees and swinging weakly forwards and backwards, staring at him in humiliated despair.

"Shit, I'm sorry", he whispered. For a moment he hesitated, looked around to see if anyone was watching them, but could make out nobody. So he took the gag out of her mouth with trembling hands and let it just dangle at her chin. Then he grabbed Scarlett, one hand at the back of her harness and the collar and another hand at her shoulder, and helped her to bow forward so that she could drink as well. The sounds she produced were rough and wild and she swallowed the water even more greedy than Chris had. When he felt that she needed to stop he pulled her back from the water's surface despite all her efforts to keep quaffing. When he had her away from the brink of the water she just rolled to her side, catching her breath and staring up at the canopy. Then she produced a loud belching noise of the sort you'd never expect from such a small, pretty girl. That, thought Chris, was pretty funny. And then her eyelids began to flutter.

"Scarlett...? Are you okay...?"

She did not answer anymore - instead she went all limp. At least she was still breathing, but Scarlett seemed to have lost consciousness from the exhaustion. Chris decided to grant her some time for the rest she needed so direly. "As long as you're still breathing it can't be that bad, tough girl", he said smiling.

And that was the moment when she started to snore. He had to laugh, albeit under his breath. Instinctively he raised his hand and reached for her face. He was just about to brush a strand of her wet hair from her smooth forehead and maybe even kiss her again, but in that moment he noticed that something had moved at the very brink of his field of vision. The smile froze on his lips and very slowly, like a man who's blood had frozen in his veins, he turned his head to the left.

Chris saw two men, not more than sixty feet away from him, who were watching him through the brushwood. Both were Natives and both were muscular and dark-skinned. Both had trophies on their belts, some of which seemed to be the claws and teeth of animals, some of which appeared to be shrunken heads. Both of the men were holding weapons, one of them a spear and the other bow and arrow.

The one with the spear was older and only watching Chris with a neutral face, but the other man was not content with his role as a spectator: The tip of his arrow was already pointing at Chris and this Native was ready to shoot the projectile any second. There was something like disgust in his grimace. His glance going from Scarlett to Chris' hand - which was still hovering next to the girls' face - and then to Chris himself. His lips parted and he produced a barely audible, annoyed snort.

Chris returned the man's glance with what he hoped was a tough facial expression. Was this the moment of his death? Well, if that was what it was going to be like then he didn't want to give that bastard any sort of satisfaction. He didn't intend to die crying like a baby.

But if he still had a say here then he would prefer to not die at all. What would become of Scarlett if he got killed, would she spend the rest of her life as these guys 'cattle'? That wasn't a fate he wanted for the young woman, not if he could prevent it.

Time froze. Very slowly Chris reached for Scarlett's gag, without ever taking his eyes off the Natives, and put the gag back between her teeth. He fastened the straps as tightly as possible. The corners of the young woman's mouth were drawn back my the large rubber wedge and the laces pressed into her face again, just were there had already been visible imprints on her skin. Scarlett moaned, getting harnessed again and crueler than before, but did not wake up.

Chris clenched his teeth and waited. The men still watched him with the same kind of intensity - but was the younger one holding his weapon a little more relaxed now? Was the older one smiling, even if it was barely visible? Seconds felt like minutes, each heartbeat felt like a precious gift.

The older Native said something that Chris couldn't really hear and would not have understood anyways. The younger Native nodded and lowered the bow. Both men took a step backwards and were gone in an instant, disappeared into the forest.

Chris held his breath for another moment and then allowed himself to breathe again. He looked down at Scarlett and felt strong and empowered in a weird way and finally again in control of his own fate. She had made this possible, through her sacrifice! She had given him the opportunity to be here. Only with her help Chris had stared into the eye of the tiger and - at least for now - not been harmed.

He was still alive. The plan had, at least so far, worked! He decided to eat some of the fruit - actually eat a lot of the fruit, eat until he would burst! - while Scarlett was still unconscious. It seemed to be already around noon and they had no time to lose if they wanted back at the beach before sundown.

On the inside, Chris was cheering, dancing and giving a motherfucking parade for himself and the girl he loved. On the outside he played it cool. There was no time to lose.