The GOD Box

by Melissa Horan

While his thoughts were in a continuous, spiraling flow, his words were brief, and informative, but not decorative, nor inspiring, nor did they tell them much about him at all. For the next few hours, they talked. Politics ended up being the main part of the conversation. The tradition of democracy and of soliciting self and ideas were far too ingrained to have been unlearned yet. But they explained that until recently, the idea of soliciting ideas was more for the literary public and not the politics.

  Gabe roamed about fastidiously in his memories as they spoke. Foolishly, he and Jonathan had imagined a successful, unbiased society was going to be accomplished more quickly – that survival needs would have determined a de-evolution of sorts. They had hoped they wouldn’t have had to restart twice, let alone five times. Yet here they were.

  Facial expressions were utterly blank after the few hours of talking. Jonathan had said very little in the end, participating in both his mental, private conversation and once and a while throwing in an abrasive verbal comment. No matter. Gabe preferred Jonathan’s silence. Seeing their blankness and hearing the growl of stomachs, Gabe knew that now was probably a better time to suggest heading to open air. Funny how exhaustion and starvation will make you forget that your enemy may be next to you.

  However, as they began walking out of the cave they separated – Gabe and Jonathan leading the way and the other two lagging behind intentionally. He saw the way Dane had signaled to May by grabbing her elbow lightly and pulling back to talk more privately. It wasn’t a big deal. Jonathan was ready to get out of the cave and Gabe was more concerned letting Jonathan too far out of his sight, then their new friends.

  As they were walking, Gabe tried to imagine what things they had observed about he and Jonathan. It was clear they were astute and aware, and details about Gabe and Jonathan weren’t getting away unnoticed. First he considered his own appearance. Without much background or collegiate study, they really didn’t have much to go on except appearance. So, an honest look at himself was about like this – balding – and maybe that was first because it was the one he was most bitter about. Old would be the next descriptor, as anticipated. He wore the baggy, cargo pants to the top of his sturdy, black, no-slip grip work shoes. The pockets of those pants were filled with all sorts of things preparatory for the end of the world.

  Though Dane and May couldn’t see what was in the pockets, eventually they might ask and so he went over them in his head. He went back about a month before he died – the day they realized what was truly going to transpire. At his city high-rise apartment, he gathered the necessities. Crisp images of a well-furnished, one-bedroom flat eased his mind momentarily. The black furnishings and the organization of it all reminded him what life used to be; comfortable. Most everything he really needed was in the two drawers next to his bed that was topped with a silver lamp. The first thing he pulled from the bottom drawer, and the most obvious to him now, was a pair of small handguns – one of which was the heavy thing attached to his leg under the cargo pants. The other, was regrettably left behind in their haste last time. Avoiding sharing the gun, or the information about last time, with them was ideal. Grabbing it was a desperate – a really desperate measure.

  Besides that were your typical needs: a flashlight, beef jerky (and lots of it), wool socks, steel wool… if you’re trying to start a civilization over, there’s a lot of things it’s just not pertinent to bring, or else you give the new people you meet too many ideas. Cards was next on the list, he didn’t mind sharing with them that menial entertainment.

  At his bedside table, he had considered risking a camera to document… but then he thought… document for what? And he remembered how uncomfortably he stared at himself and almost laughed in the reflection of the lamp as he left it in his night stand.

  He was wearing a white V-neck t-shirt that fit close enough to realize how thin and frail his aged body was. Hopefully, the wrinkles in his face showed that at least some kind of happiness had existed once upon a time in his life. Complete with square frames on the bend of his nose he was certainly not much of a spectacle. Ha. A regular old retired college professor and grumpy, failed, researcher. Being friendly for him was for a purpose, not for a joy. Not for a meaningful, heartfelt experience, not for anything meeting new people should be for, not even for attention, but for learning, and most importantly for the personal success of knowing what had to be done to help the human race.

  Gabe hardly had to look at Jonathan, who by his looks was a bit more appealing. Young(er), and a full head of hair with clever gray streaks making him look rather more sophisticated than Gabe did. They were about the same height now that Gabe was shrunken. Jonathan had a wider, more natural-looking frame and some fat like a cupcake around his waist, but it was that unfortunate cross brow that turned everyone to liking Gabe first instead. The same type of pants were filled with many of the same types of things, but also more of the things Gabe had his personal opinion should never be shown to a new civilization, like medication, and phones, and matches (all of which they had brought extras) . Lastly, Gabe considered Jonathan’s dress: a typical black t-shirt with a forest green sleek jacket over top. And voila!

  Dane and May must have gleaned a lot from those available observations… Gabe thought sarcastically. Oh well.

  May spoke tranquilly, “You never really explained what you do, or what you are planning to do to help us. We’ve been patient.”

  Light was more available in the cave now so Gabe turned his head and stole a better peek at the two. How long had they known each other? Because of their similar behaviors, he guessed for a while, or, a shorter time but with daily contact and emotional attachment of some kind. Not siblings he concluded, not lovers necessarily, but loyal friends. He thought how to answer her. Maybe he could distract them again with another interesting topic. Maybe they could just be honest…?

  “It’s a pretty intense subject to be quite honest with you. Can you give us some time to digest what is happening and what we know about you to determine what kind of information to give you?”

  Jonathan rolled his eyes and fumed privately in front of the group.

  Gabe, however, sympathized, realizing that in all fairness they had been pretty patient, and even now, heated at their intruders lack of cooperation were level headed. Unfortunately, for them, their response to him gave away how threatened they actually felt. Protests came from behind, beginning one and then the other, “This isn’t your game.” “This isn’t some kind of politics that you can just come into.” “Of all we know about you, you existed four hours ago.” “This isn’t your world.”

  “Actually” Jonathan, having a momentary change of heart, looking back, smirked, “It kind of is.”

  Out of that damn hole with two children. This wasn’t going to go anywhere. What kind of government was so good it could require nothing of its participants, nor limited them in any way? Freedom wasn’t magic. There was a formula for everything. Unless they held a blind eye to every other living breathing human, there were problems, guaranteed. The couple was naive. Doctrines of men and the world were too complex for them to comprehend, or to even express with their diluted vocabulary. In all their searching, somehow they would finally learn to define and articulate their perspective of the world and be teased a little with the verbalizations and labels others try to use to describe it. The amount of variables was too vast to come to any reasonable definition that suited all parties. Being like he and Gabe was the precise definition of stupidity as they continually tried to do exactly that.

  Chapter 2

  Gabe turned and with one identifiable though apologetic look, confirmed that he felt the same. Immediately he assumed what they were thinking, which was something along the lines of, “What in Hell?” What he wanted, then, to say in return was, “exactly”. Instead of responding, they just started whispering behind Gabe and drifted farther back. He heard the boy mutter, “Just like Tanner”.

  After that Gabe decided to stop listening. They needed to have thei
r time to talk, and then again, Gabe didn’t care what they were going to talk about in private. He would get all the other information he needed without them. Very much apparent to both Gabe and Jonathan, their new friends were not unintelligent, but the situation was… unintelligible. What were they supposed to do? So many unknowns. How do you determine anything when two rude scientists show up inside a cave telling you they’re from the past with understanding of the potential future and they’re going to help even though they failed five previous times… which, when they think about boils their insides and makes them intolerable? Thus… in all decency, he let them talk.

  Now Gabe’s mind was off thinking about all the previous times and what went wrong and how bizarre it all was and fuming and running over plans and the people and how fussy some of them were and how it didn’t matter how hard they tried and the wars and all of his deaths and how can this one be different and is there an answer? Gabe went spiraling in his thoughts and into dark places and when the light at the edge of the cave stabbed his eyes, he came-to forcefully. With a dumb-struck face, he paused, and thought one of the sanest thoughts of the day. I never used to be this crazy.

  A soft, salty breeze came around and bright blue water glistened with some unearthly shimmer. Gabe took in a deep breath. You just didn’t see places like that much anymore. What kind of place can make it so your senses almost tingled and felt enlightened? After losing himself in the scene for who knows how long, his senses felt refreshed. Gabe peered down below him, deciding how he wanted to cross to land. The water near him was murky, where he looked down past his feet. The water probably was once as bright as the more distant ocean, but little animal floaters and failing plant life made it look more like a marsh. As he recalled, this little cove was not deep, but the floaters made wading through the water incredibly unappealing. Gabe sighed. He was crazy. That’s all there was to it. In a way, it was as if he knew too much, and because of it had too little hope, and so was no longer qualified for his job.

  More irritated than anything at his realization of insanity, he took a chance following Jonathan in the rock climb to land. What excellent and surprising success that was. Reaching the other side, he saw the way Jonathan examined the trees for fruit or coconuts. He looked at them longingly. He looked at Gabe. Gabe looked back with the expression; don’t ask me for help. Jonathan was such a lazy son of a gun. And didn’t he just eat?

  Sunrise. Damn. An entire day of psychoanalyzing awaited. Jonathan grunted and huffed, sitting down next to him. Sleep would be so nice. Clearly this was not a dream, but everything looked better after a good night’s rest. Jonathan pulled out his pill bottle into which he had dumped every pill he needed haphazardly and picked out five more of them, threw them in his mouth and swallowed them with water from his canteen. Then Gabe watched Jonathan as he looked over to see his two new favorite people sitting at the edge of the cave talking as if they didn’t care who was waiting for them. He rolled his eyes. Working with other people was not Jonathan’s strong suit. He was rude, outdated, socially uninformed, but a thorough man. Work was his love. But now, Gabe could see what the look meant that Jonathan’s angry gaze was radiating.

  He didn’t want to work with them. They were kids. There was nothing more distracting than people who couldn’t catch up, who couldn’t give the time, and who expected more of him than he was willing to give. It’s like he dared them to prove themselves; to be even half of the intelligence he needed. Gabe resisted the urge to feel the same.

  Quickly, Jonathan had become uninterested in their new friends and was now anxiously fretting with his cellular device while they couldn’t see. Goodness knows what he did on that thing. That was another thing that made Gabe wonder if he had been totally in the loop with planning. On the other hand, Jonathan may have been doing nothing and it was a habit of boredom. Gabe tried to sneak a peek. Some stupid, colorful, pointless game was on screen. Disappointedly, he turned back to the couple at the mouth of the cave.

  Unlike Jonathan, Gabe was finding more and more interest in these two. They were having a long conversation, sitting at the edge of the cave, frequently sighing and drooping their heads trying to figure the world out and simply, not succeeding.

  Pausing his thought process for a few minutes and sifting through the blissful sounds of the water, Gabe eventually realized that no plotting was voiced unless he already missed it. Now it seemed they were getting to business, no more sighing and drooping of heads, but eyes forward or on the other person, something philosophical that required a lot of sitting and thinking because the rate of speech was calmer, less frequent, and less discernible. May seemed a very reasonable human being. And Dane, well, he was probably well-liked among the general population, but his smartness was in their detriment at the moment and Gabe wasn’t amused by it.

  May was a brunette, with bluish eyes and was indescribably dirty. She was lean, but more broadly built. Slightly different than the women he would yet see, she was quite muscular. A welcoming sort of person, with no notable air. Her features were stoic in her conversations with Dane, but Gabe would later discover a lightheartedness about her. In an almost timed pattern she ran her hands down her face in stress. This happened about once every ten minutes.

  She had the gaunt look of someone who hadn’t eaten properly in a few days. This bothered Gabe, although he didn’t know why. The best way he could describe her was that she looked like an extra-thin, white Amazonian woman, but with more humility in the way she conducted herself. While her typical carriage would suggest she was at ease, her face and hands betrayed her.

  With physically apparent self-conflict, they eventually hopped off of the cave’s edge and gathered seaweed in between their toes and water up to their knees, wading their way to the shore.

  Gabe peered at his surroundings, vaguely remembering a heavy canopy overhead, but now the sun was not just peeking, but streaming through, lighting the earth below. Thin trees shot up out of where the canopy once enveloped them like a blanket. They towered high with very few leaves waving, or winking down at them against the sun. Already he felt very sticky. His hands felt dirty and moist – the combination of which made his OCD squirm.

  Gabe wondered if he had been on this side of the cliff. If his memory served him correctly, every other time they’d been dragged to the other side involuntarily. Perhaps that side was closer to settlements, or easier to walk through, and for some odd reason this couple braved the other side.

  The cliff was an imposing feature, shooting almost fifty feet high at it’s peak and on either side it was such a sheer drop off, it was like someone was slicing a cake with a dull knife. On this side of it, it looked like someone ripped the slice away before the knife reached the bottom because it had slightly more of a rocky angle.

  The mouth of the cave was slightly above sea level and took in a lot of the tide most days. It was directly facing the wide open waters and was just west of the rising sun. Beach came up almost equally in line on the right, and the left - the side they just trudged to, was back a few feet making a little bit of a cove that caught a lot of plant life and floaters before it opened up in a straight line to the east. May and Dane didn’t even quite look at Jonathan and Gabe once they were on land again. That was awkward in this initiation of acquaintances; maybe the most awkward so far. But to give his memories the benefit of the doubt Gabe decided not to label this moment just yet.

  Dane and May seemed to know where they were going and began walking. They were much quieter now, though, than they were in the cave.

  It was doubtful that they would ever be totally comfortable around he and Jonathan. They did pose a threat, so the resistance was understandable. Equally as important, is that Gabe would never be comfortable around them. And Jonathan; he was never comfortable. As long as they knew each other they would be breaking down barriers. Speaking of Jonathan…

  Gabe looked over at his stooge to see that he hadn’t moved.

  Jonathan was lost up and down in this world, l
ooking around at the jungle, looking stressed; not noticing their friends had moved on. Gabe did the same trying to discover what it was that Jonathan was discovering.

  Oh… it was dying… that was new…

  While that bode ill, and must be thought about, they were currently getting left behind. Both scientists determined that Gabe would have to force the progress of this new relationship. So, Gabe decided to follow them, having to rush a little through the terrain. Now that Gabe noticed it, he was amazed it took him as long as it did. This “jungle” looked thinner than ever. They followed along the edge of the cliff which was gradually sloping into a less imposing feature. May and Dane walked very naturally through the foliage, and over the protruding roots, while Gabe was tripping repeatedly. Jonathan was approaching from behind like a lumbering and exhausted bear, crashing through the terrain with no finesse at all.

  Gabe stepped over a decaying vine that was the same circumference as his thigh, then looked to his right again, surprised how far he could see through the jungle. He wasn’t sure if it was more or less frightening than way. To see the bony tree structures bent this way and that; contorted and bare and burning with the heat of the sun was more of a nightmare than the dark – but the lack of sounds was easier on his paranoia.

  He touched the rock absent mindedly as he steadied himself against uneven rockiness which he was too caught up in the nakedness of the jungle to even glance down at.

  Balancing with equal footing on fallen leaves and weak vines made him finally turn to look at his feet, which were sinking so deep into the dead foliage, they were finding mud.

  Now and again, the pair spoke to each other about their direction, and a few other things; dropping names of people Gabe had yet to meet and wondered if he ever would. As they all moved forward, this time the doleful young pair in the lead, May spoke, a bit more purposefully friendly,