Isolation

Chapter 25

Mark wanted to cry. He felt totally alone. No one had spoken to him all day, and he was getting a little hungry. His thirst was only quenched for a few hours. He needed more water. Hell, he just needed someone to talk to. He was consistently worried about the rest of the crew. Was Aiden taking care of them properly? If he was goofing off and playing with their lives, Mark was going to clobber him. Great, now I'm thinking about peach cobbler.

A shadow covered the cloth door. Jamel walked inside. The smell of cooked food invaded Mark's nostrils. He held a bag of food and a leather pouch of water.

"We found your friend," he said. "You were telling the truth about that, to which I apologize for."

He opened the bag and held it out for Mark to see. It was some kind of meat, but Mark didn't care where. His mouth watered.

"But I will not give you any water unless you tell the full truth," he said. "How did you get into the valley?"

"I told you. We fell down the waterfall."

"See, I can't believe that. The Rise would have killed you if you were in the river."

"The what?"

"The Rise. The sickness in the water. It makes your skin turn pink and bubble. We call it the Rise."

"Look, I don't know what to tell you. We've been on the planet four, maybe five, days. Do you think I know the answer to that question?"

He squinted his eyes. He threw down the bags.

"No one has come out of that river unscathed. If what you're saying is true, then you would be the first. Abigail!"

She came rushing in, hair flying.

"Make sure he is fed, but do not give him any water. I will find out if he is speaking the truth."

He exited the scene with fervor. She got on her knees and picked up the spilled contents.

"He's fun," Mark said.

"I'm sorry for his behavior," she said. "We have had bad encounters with people before. He's just scared."

"Fear can get you killed."

She looked at him.

"It can also save your life if you listen to it."

She held out a piece of meat. He took it in his mouth and chewed.

"What is this? It's kind of spicy."

"It is meat from a buck. Our hunters found it yesterday. It will keep us fed for a while."

"I've never had deer before," he said. "I kind of like it."

"Are you really from space?" She asked.

"Yeah. Really far in space. You ever heard of Pluto?"

She shook her head.

"It's a dwarf planet on the outer edge of the solar system. It was just a small rock when we found it. Canis, our colony, was trying to hide from the Drax. I don't know how they found us, but they did. They destroyed my home. My father was... left behind. Dead."

"I'm sorry," she said. "My mother was killed by a cougar when I was four. I don't remember much, but Jamel went after it and killed it before it could hurt anyone again. He's not a bad person."

"I'm sure," he said. "After we escaped, we came back to Earth. Something happened to the ship, and we crashed. We've been stuck here ever since. I don't even know where we are. Satellite tracking doesn't work. Even the damn radio is busted. We can't contact other ships."