Island Girls

by Rodzil LaBraun

  "Not even speeding?" Zach asked her with a ridiculous looking sideways glance. He was more fit to be a cartoon character at that moment than a cell mate.

  "No!" Lin replied. It looked like the guy had already gotten on her nerves. "I don't drive. I live in downtown Chicago."

  "Jaywalk?" stupid Zach followed it up.

  "I believe the point is," I interrupted. I found Lin to be a much more valuable asset than Zach. Any debates that they planned to have in my presence would likely have me taking her side. "None of us know why we are here. It's contained like a prison, but also resembles a resort. They obviously want something from us."

  "Yes!" Lin replied.

  "But what?" Nancy asked.

  Zach was frowning now. He didn't like the serious turn in the discussion, or that was his thinking face. Either way, I decided I probably ought to get on his good side as well. I might need his muscle one day.

  "But Zach is right," I said.

  "I am?" He was surprised by my statement.

  "We can't force them to reveal anything to us at this point. We might as well play nice and go along with whatever they have planned for us until we get a golden opportunity. Judging by the design of this facility, I'm betting that escape will take a significant amount of planning. Don't get me wrong. We should definitely learn as much as we can through observation. Be subtle, though. If we do get a perfect chance, I wouldn't want them to expect us to seize it."

  "I agree," Lin replied. "We should share our observations, too. Planning will be easier if we all work together."

  "I understand why you feel that way," Nancy said. "I do, too. But there isn't much to see. I was done searching after two hours."

  "Has anyone seen a bird?" I asked.

  "A bird? Sure, I've seen plenty of birds," Zach opened his mouth again without thinking.

  "He means on this island," Lin corrected him with obvious annoyance. "No, I haven't seen any birds. That's weird right? There should be seagulls or something."

  "How about an insect?" I added.

  All three of them instantly began searching our surroundings for bugs. They were easy to overlook when they were absent. We were at a table in the middle of a large section of sand. It was understandable that none could be seen in our vicinity. But I hadn't noticed any in the barracks either.

  Lin only looked around her for a couple seconds. "There are no bugs or animals of any kind!" she exclaimed.

  "I saw fish!" Zach announced as he pointed at me. He no doubt felt that he had just proven me wrong.

  "I saw them, too," I replied. I wasn't a hundred percent sure that they were real, though. I hadn't touched one. However, Zach may have done so during his swim. I found it best not to dispute the existence of fish at this time.

  "How could they remove all the bugs and animals?" Nancy asked, finally catching up mentally. "And birds. They couldn't force the birds away. Unless there was something wrong with this place."

  "Wrong like how?" Lin asked. "Is there a smell that keeps them away?"

  "There are no strong natural scents, from what I can tell." It was one of the first things that I had noticed that put me on alert about this prison. "The typical salty scent of the sea is missing, as well as the earthy smell of the trees."

  "I can smell Zach's sweaty body," Lin announced.

  Nancy pointed to Lin like she just came to a realization of something based on Lin's statement. "That just means that our noses work. Anything that can produce a scent we will be able to smell."

  "That's right, Nancy." I was finally proud of my cell mate. "Most of our world here is artificial."

  Everyone but Zach nodded as they weighed that information. The young man appeared to be insulted instead somehow.

  "So what?" he said, throwing his hands upward. "What difference does it make? It's still a nice place, and the food is fantastic. If I wanted to escape, I wouldn't enlist the help of bugs anyway. Geez. You people are focusing on the wrong things."

  Nancy stared at Zach trying to figure out if there was any wisdom in his words. There wasn't. I had no plan to point that out, though. Tolerance of his stupidity might be essential one day.

  Lin just gave him a brief sideways glance. It looked like she might be calling him an idiot under her breath. When the time is right, I'll have to encourage her to do her best to get along with the dumb ass.

  Looking at me, Lin said, "I wonder how deep this sand goes."

  "Me, too," I replied. "But we shouldn't be caught digging. I suggest that we follow Zach's example and be enthusiastic about sports and games. That will give us more of an opportunity to observe than just sitting here."

  Zach led us to the ring toss and hoop shot area first. He began bragging about his hand-eye coordination long before we even arrived. The games were self-explanatory. Which was good, since no one appeared to tell us anything.

  There were four pegs on the wall, about as big around as a broom stick, protruding out maybe fifteen inches. Two of the pegs were orange, while the other two were blue. What a coincidence. They matched our clothes and barracks colors. The top peg for each team was barely within my reach while standing flat footed. The girls would have to jump to reach it. The lower peg was about waist high. I made the deduction that the men should be tossing for the high one, as the women try to get a ring on the bottom one.

  There were twelve rings laying in the sand, six orange, six blue. They were about eight inches in diameter and surprisingly lightweight. A raised platform the team color stood maybe twenty feet from the wall. Two lines on the flat surface indicated that the women should stand three feet closer to the wall than the men. Neither woman complained about the inequality of the game.

  Zach lived up to his claims. In five rounds of tossing he landed more than Nancy and I combined. Lin had plenty of arm strength but lacked the aim that her partner exhibited. Total score, if anyone was keeping track, ended up eight to five. Blue team won.

  The ball hoop set up was almost identical as far as two teams, each with one player getting the female's allowance. This time Zach and I tied, each with six completions. Lin had four to Nancy's one. I could see that my teammate was getting frustrated with her performance. Based solely on physical appearance I would have assumed that she would be the least competitive. Lin's body was nearly that of an athlete. And a very sexy one at that. I couldn't help but watch the way she moved when it was her turn to shoot.

  Lin voted for the climbing wall next. Understandably so. She dominated, reaching the top while I was just over halfway up. Zach was close behind me, and Nancy was the lowest. Depression was seeping into her forced smile. When Lin suggested a rematch, I had to speak up.

  "Lin, you are obviously going to win every time. How about we move on to something else."

  Each contraption built into the game arena was of the same construction as the barracks and the pier. All one piece in most circumstances. That was not surprising or revealing.

  After jumping down from the rock wall I took the opportunity to dig into the sand in as playful of a manner as I could muster. I went over a foot deep and there was nothing but sand. I didn’t know what I was hoping to find. Even though there were no animals or insects, the sand and the sea water were real. We must just be on a special island too far away from the mainland. Perhaps everything was removed before they began construction on this very unusual prison island.

  Despite Nancy's hesitation we decided to play a game of two-on-two soccer. I played some for my high school team, so I figured that I would at least be competitive. My heavy discipline of weight training since then took a little off my speed and coordination. I was happy to see that Zach was not a dominant player in this sport. He did have some skill, though. Lin had very little soccer experience, but her agility and balance made her a natural. Nancy turned out to be downright awkward. I found myself constantly encouraging her to keep her spirits up.

  At one point in the game the blue team did a switch-a-roo, successfully swapping defenders. That put me guarding
Lin. I enjoyed the proximity, but she had no chance of getting around me with the ball, or even keeping possession for that matter. Zach, however, would have no trouble with Nancy. Sensing that was his plan, I left guarding Lin and headed between the other two players and the goal. If Zach did pass to his teammate, I wouldn't have any difficulty getting back into position.

  Zach then pulled off a triple move to get around Nancy. If it hadn't been done so slowly, it would have been impressive. It was totally unnecessary, though. Nancy bit hard on the first move, then recovered in time to fall down during the third one. Zach chuckled as he dribbled in my direction, heading toward the goal.

  I completely ignored the ball when he got close. Instead, I threw my shoulder into his chest, managing to knock him entirely off his feet. I stood above him with my blood boiling in my veins. As I was debating on whether to kick him in his face or stomp on his stomach, Lin came running up.

  "Stop it," she yelled.

  Zach looked like he wanted to get up and challenge me to a fist fight. That would have been a poor decision, of course. I would thoroughly kick his ass. But I understood his reaction. I had just embarrassed him in front of the others. It was only natural for him to want to fight. I was feeling the same way due to the way he humiliated my teammate.

  Lin jumped in to stand over Zach's legs, pressing both her petite hands against my massive chest. Breaking my killer stare at the man below me, I noticed Nancy just now getting up off the ground. She might have even been hurt.

  Lin stretched upward to place her face in my view, demanding my attention.

  "That's enough!" she yelled at me. She was defending her team mate the way I had done mine. Or maybe she was defending the peace. But physically she was not the least bit of a challenge for me. She was like a small twig on the hiking path. I guess that didn't matter, though. I would never hurt a woman. At least not one that didn't have a gun pointed at me. Or at a friend.

  "Do you understand?" Lin asked, staring into my eyes, forcing eye contact on me. She knew what was going on inside me. I could feel it by the way she broke things up. The light touch of her hands against my chest was just enough to let me know that she was there.

  The rage inside me began to dissipate. I returned her stare and eventually nodded. When I turned to walk away, she joined me, once again with physical contact. I could feel the feint touch of her tiny hand on my bicep.

  "I know that you were just taking up for Nancy. I understand that. But believe me, you do not want our captors to intercede." Lin adjusted her pressure on my arm to encourage me to stop. When I looked at her face again, she said quietly, "Zach pissed himself. The pain they gave him was so intense, his eyes went crazy. He shook like a seizure. You do not want that."

  Again, I nodded. Then I said, "Thanks. So, you interfered to protect me, not Zach."

  Lin gave me a chuckle, the kind that was not really laughter. "Don't flatter yourself, big boy. We need to stick together. We can't let stupid shit like a soccer game break us down. Am I right?"

  "Yes," I replied. "You are right. Thank you. Let me go apologize to Zach."

  "Well, don't get too carried away. Zach is an asshole. I'm not sure that an apology is in order."

  "But it is," I told her. "We need to work together. An apology will improve matters, will it not? It doesn't matter who was right and who was an asshole."

  "Well, that's a good way at looking at it," Lin replied as we turned to go back toward the other two. They were both standing and watching our conversation, though out of earshot range.

  "It also makes it more likely that he'll apologize to Nancy without me having to beat it out of him." This time, her chuckle was real.

  We did make peace. Zach did apologize. And, to my surprise, it appeared heartfelt. He had just gotten carried away in the sport. It happens to athletes all the time. That's why completely respectable celebrities are always doing stupid shit in public sports facilities. It's in the heat of the game.

  Despite Nancy being the weakest of us four, I liked her. She never once stopped trying. And she was my teammate. There is a bond there based solely on that. Our captors obviously wanted us to compete as a team. The whole arena was set up that way. Plus, she was the first one that I met here. She did not hesitate to help me when I woke up. Okay, maybe there was that thing about my exposed privates, but other than that, she has been very kind to me. I'm determined to protect her.

  Lin, however. I liked her for totally different reasons. She was smoking hot, intelligent, and appeared to also be a genuinely good person. I could see myself working closely with her to plan an escape.

  Shortly after our apologies a horn sounded twice, plenty loud enough to get our attention. "Return to your section of the compound now. We will be sealing off the recreational area."

  Zach nearly took off at a run, heading for his barracks. He didn't need to be told twice this time. It was almost laughable until you thought about the amount of pain he must have endured. The rest of us said a quick goodbye before following orders. I did not need to get zapped. I also did not want to appear rebellious. Hopefully, we would see each other again tomorrow and build a stronger friendship than we were able to today.

  "Thank you, Joah," Nancy said to me after we watched the section of wall go up behind us.

  "For what?" I asked. Of course, I knew for what. For some reason, guys always pretended like they didn't know what they were being thanked for. Or, we preferred to hear them say it.

  "For taking up for me. I do appreciate it. I'm sorry that I'm not a better competitor. You ended up with the weakest partner, I’m afraid."

  "Well, you are welcome. As far as the compete level goes, I would like to say don't worry about it. But that might not be the best advice. You saw how they had things set up for us to be a team. I don't think this is entirely for our own recreation."

  "Oh, no," she said.

  "Since each team has their own exercise area, I believe they expect us to improve our conditioning so we can be more competitive. I was a personal trainer for a little while back in Richmond. I can help you, if you want."

  Nancy took a deep breath that told me extreme workouts were definitely not her thing. Then she nodded, and said, "I'd like that. Thank you."

  CHAPTER FIVE:

  "Oh my," Nancy uttered when she entered her bedroom. I was already in mine while she was checking the refrigerator. I had taken off my sweaty shirt and pulled out the dresser drawer for a new one. That's when I saw a flip-down door in the back of the drawer labelled 'Laundry.'

  "What's wrong?" I asked as I shoved my soiled t-shirt into the slot.

  "I appear to have a new roommate," she said.

  I pulled the new shirt over my head as I walked from my room to hers. My skin was clammy since I hadn’t cleaned up before changing, causing the process to be more awkward than I anticipated. My head barely popped through the neck hole by the time I arrived.

  There in the second bed was another woman. She was sound asleep. I joined Nancy on the other side of her bed to have a look at the slumbering newcomer.

  The woman was petite, about the same size as Lin. She had dark olive skin like a person from the Middle East. Her straight pitch-black hair was thick and long, left in disarray across her pillow and sheet. Otherwise, she was tucked in nicely under the same type of thin blanket that was on my bed.

  I figured that she was likely naked under the cover. Nancy and I both were when we arrived. Seeing the contour of her body had me wondering about her physique. Not just out of sexual interest. If she was going to be competing in games alongside of us, I hoped that she was in good shape.

  The new girl was pretty, though it was hard to judge while she was sleeping. A typical Arabian face with pronounced features. Her personality and mannerisms will send her either way on the attractiveness meter once she wakes. I remembered a beautiful middle eastern girl that worked at the mall where I was a security guard. Her thick accent and snotty attitude made her practically unbearable for me to be ar
ound.

  "She probably won't wake up for a few hours," Nancy whispered. "Won't she be surprised by this place? Just like we were."

  "I guess they plan on filling each barracks. Maybe another guy will show up tomorrow."

  "Maybe," Nancy replied. Nothing seemed to surprise or bother her much. That was a good quality in a crisis. She would be less likely to panic. "Shall we eat lunch?"

  My meal was something like beef stew. The broth was watery dark brown. There were potatoes, carrots, celery and peas. The meat was black but did not have the same texture as beef. The cubes of probable protein were almost an inch thick this time.

  Though I was never much of a salad lover, Nancy's meal looked good as well. The lettuce was chopped up and mixed with other leafy vegetables. I also saw pieces of cucumber, squash, carrot and celery. Scattered on top were dozens of tiny meat cubes of varying shades. A salad dressing so thick that it resembled icing was dispensed into a spiral.