The Island

by Amy Cross

  As he starts tying his bag shut, I noticed another piece of flat rock nearby, with more berries placed neatly on the top along with some kind of yellowy-green fruit and a canopy bowl filled with water. I still don't know why he's leaving this stuff out, but once again I'll take it once there's no chance of him spotting me.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Asher

  “You seem quiet today,” Jude says with a smile as she pulls more logs over to the spot where I'm building the second wall. “Something wrong?”

  “I'm fine,” I tell her, threading vines around the wood. “Just working hard.”

  “Have you thought any more about a name?” she asks, a little out of breath.

  “For what?”

  “For this place. I mean, if it's actually going to be a our settlement, we should call it something. We should put up a sign, too, so people know where they are if they come closer. Maybe we should try to get a skull, too, to really scare everyone away!”

  “Call it what you want,” I reply, not really feeling in the mood for smalltalk.

  “We have to choose together,” she continues. “What about... Jude and Asher's town?” She pauses. “No, that's too much of a mouthful. We need something catchy, something memorable. Jasher's Town? Ashude's Town? Damn it, why don't our names fit together to make something that sounds cool?”

  “Does it really matter?” I ask. “The place won't stand or fall based on its name.”

  “I think Judetown sounds good,” she mutters, “but obviously we can't call it that. It should be a real collaboration. After all, it'd be nice to think the place might outlast us. I'm sure other settlements on the island really put some thought into their names. We could call the place Devil's Inferno, or Blood City, something that sounds terrifying.”

  “There aren't any other settlements on the island,” I point out.

  “You don't know that for sure.”

  I continue working for a moment, before turning to her. “Where are they, then?”

  “I don't know,” she replies with a shrug, “but it's possible. I mean, there are parts of the island we haven't been to yet, and there are also parts we haven't been to for a while. It's human nature to try to build something, it'd almost be odd if there isn't a settlement out there somewhere. You know, like-minded people who agree on a few things and figure they want to work together...”

  I stare at her, feeling as if she's got some ulterior motive for bringing this up.

  “Of course,” she continues, “you'd need a common belief, or a set of principles, something like that. Something to bind you all together and make you feel like a community, but once you had that, it might be really cool to set up some kind of alliance with like-minded individuals.”

  “Didn't we come to the island to get away from that kind of thing?” I ask.

  “We came to get away from that cast-in-steel government and its death-grip,” she replies. “There's nothing wrong with setting up something different here. Who knows? Maybe it could really last.” Making her way around me, she gives the wall a quick shove, as if to test that it won't fall over in a stiff breeze. “This is good for now, but we're going to have to continually improve the place. Don't you think we could use a few extra hands to help out?”

  “And where would we -”

  Stopping suddenly, I realize that she seems to be trying to sow the seeds of a new idea. It's as if she wants to bring someone else here to work with us, and I can't help thinking she's already worked out who. This subtle shift in her tone has to be connected to whoever she's been meeting out there beyond the clearing.

  “We can't exist in isolation,” she continues. “Sooner or later, someone's gonna come walking out of the forest, maybe a whole load of someones, and they might well be stronger than us. What's to stop them knocking down everything we've built and killing us?”

  “We can fight back,” I reply, although I immediately realize that my words sound hollow.

  “We need allies,” she tells me. “We need people who think like us, people we can work with. Mark my words, sooner or later we will have visitors and I don't fancy sitting around like two sitting ducks. If there's someone we can work with, I think we need to consider that possibility very carefully.” She glances at me, as if to check whether I'm biting, and then she turns back to her work.

  “Who do you have in mind?” I ask. “Don't tell me there's no-one, because I wouldn't believe you.”

  I keep working for a moment but, when she doesn't reply, I turn and see that now she's watching me intently.

  “What's going on?” I continue. “It's like you're trying to get me to agree to something.”

  She pauses, before sighing as she crouches next to me. “We're not alone.”

  “On the island? I know that, but -”

  “I mean here. In this area.” She glances over her shoulder, as if she's worried about being overheard, before turning back to me. “I was right the other night, we were being watched during the storm. We've attracted attention. Some concerned locals are wondering what we have in mind with this clearing, and they contacted me first because... Well, I don't know why, but they just did. They're not hostile, they're friendly, but they're very cautious people and they're worried about someone rocking up in their territory and trying to challenge them.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask. “This land doesn't belong to anyone!”

  “Haven't you seen their markers? I spotted them a while back. Little rocks, sticking up out the ground like crooked teeth, with blood painted on the sides. I've seen a few. I didn't mention it at first, because I figured they might be old, but luckily it turns out there are people inhabiting the area already. And the best part is, they're not automatically opposed to the idea of us being here. They're willing to let us do what we want -”

  “Let us?” I ask, turning to her.

  “Well, I mean... This is their land.”

  Staring at her, I realize she's serious.

  “I don't see any signs,” I point out. “I don't see any rules at all. This whole island is completely free, we can claim what we want.”

  “And so can they.”

  “So?”

  “So there's more of them.”

  I can't help sighing. “And if we don't do what they want, they'll come and stop us, is that it?”

  She pauses, but I can already see the answer in her eyes. “This could end badly,” she says cautiously, “or it could end well. It could end really well.”

  “And why are you the one they're talking to?” I ask.

  “You were out looking for food one day and a couple of them showed up. We got talking, and I said I'd handle things. I told them I could negotiate. I figured that'd be better, 'cause they're more like my kind of...” Her voice trails off for a moment, as if she's wary of saying too much. “I think they just want some kind of token, something to let them know we respect them. If we were to offer them some food, maybe once a month, something like that, I think they'd be happy to let us do what we want here. Within reason, anyway. Obviously they don't want us building anything too big, but just a little place for the two of us... I think that'd be fine.”

  Setting the log down, I look over at the flatter piece I've been working on for the past couple of days. I can tell Jude is watching me intently.

  “Asher -”

  “I came to the island to get away from this kind of thing,” I tell her, feeling a cold shiver pass through my chest. “Who are these people, anyway?”

  “Just people.”

  “How many?”

  “I've met two of them.”

  “But how many are there in total?”

  “I don't know. Maybe... I get the impression it's a few. Like, twenty or something.”

  “That's too many to fight,” I mutter, looking over at the fence as I realize that this whole plan might be over before it's even begun.”This was a dumb idea. We should just get moving, I'm not throwing my life away on some stupid fight.”


  “That's the whole point,” she continues, with a hint of desperation in her voice, “there doesn't need to be a fight. Why don't we both go and talk to them? They seem like reasonable people.”

  “So long as we offer up tributes?” I ask, unable to hide my disdain for the idea.

  “At least talk to them,” she says firmly. “They can help us. I mean, let's face it, look at what we've managed here so far, it's not exactly the engineering achievement of the century.” She pauses, before putting a hand on my arm. “I know where they're based. I promise, if you just listen to them, you'll see that we can all work together. And if you don't, then we'll move on and forget about it, and we'll find some land somewhere else. Please, Asher, at least give it a chance. I swear, everything'll be okay. You trust me, don't you?”

  Turning to her, I know I should tell her to start packing, but there's a part of me that was finally getting used to the idea of sticking around in one place.

  “We'll talk to them,” I tell her, against my better judgment. “I'm not a big fan of other people, but if you really care that much, we'll go talk to them.”

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Iris

  I'm starting to get used to this now, and braver too. As I keep track of the old man making his way through the forest, I dare to get a little closer, although I'm always ready to duck down in case he looks back.

  But he never turns. Not once in all the time I've been following him has he turned to look. I guess he genuinely has no clue that I'm here.

  I keep telling myself that I should stop all of this, of course, and that I should strike out on my own, but I rely too much on the scraps of food he keeps leaving out. He doesn't realize, but he's keeping me alive and I'm not sure I'd do very well if I was on my own. I've seen him catching rabbits, but I haven't managed to see one of the snares up close yet so I don't understand his method. We've been walking for days, mostly keeping away from the edge of the forest, and I'm starting to wonder if he's got any particular destination in mind. I'll have to part ways with him soon, but for now I need at least one more meal.

  I'll think about leaving him tomorrow.

  Suddenly he stops up ahead, and I duck down. It's only mid-morning, and he usually walks until the sun is right above us, so I have no idea what's wrong. Peering around the side of a bush, I see that he's dropping his bag from his shoulder and has set it on the ground, and a moment later he turns and looks back this way.

  “I'm tired!” he calls out. “I'm stopping early this morning!”

  I wait, not daring to move. Who's he talking to? There's no way he knows I'm here, but there's no-one else. Maybe he's insane.

  “Would you like to actually come and sit with me for once?” he continues. “I understand your reticence after everything that happened to you the other day, but I assure you I mean no harm.”

  As he opens his bag and starts sorting through the contents, I realize that even if he doesn't know that I'm here, it's possible he has a suspicion. I keep low, but while a part of me would like to talk to him, I'm too scared to go anywhere near another human. Besides, he's probably bluffing; maybe he suspects that someone's nearby, but if I stay quiet he'll just assume he was wrong and move on. I figure I'll just stay right here, hiding, and wait until he starts walking again.

  Glancing down, I spot a large stone poking out of the ground, with what looks like some kind of dark stain on the top.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Asher

  As soon as I see the crude wooden buildings up ahead, I stop, filled with an urge to turn back. The very idea of going anywhere near other people is enough to turn my stomach. This is the one thing I swore I'd never do again after I arrived on the island. Other people, especially in large groups, are always trouble.

  “It's okay,” Jude says with a smile, glancing back at me as she keeps walking. “I know how you feel, but trust me. They're friendly.”

  “Trust you?” I mutter, taking a deep breath. “It's not you I don't trust.”

  I start following her again, but every step feels heavy and wrong. No matter how much I tell myself that I should be open to this, that I should at least try talking to new people, I just want to turn around, grab our stuff and move on. Still, Jude is determined to give this a shot, and I know from experience that sometimes her approach can be worth trying, especially when she's tempering my natural introversion.

  The problem is, I've had enough experience around other people to know that I really don't like them. And I gained that experience long before I ever even heard of this island.

  As I get to the edge of the clearing, I see a long, tidy wooden fence running across our path. Beyond that, there are half a dozen wooden huts dotted about, and while they're not exactly the neatest buildings in the world, they're a damn sight better than anything I could hope to make. I have to admit, I'm impressed that even in the midst of all this savagery, some people have managed to create a facsimile of civilization and society, although I flinch and stop again as soon as I realize I can hear voices nearby.

  Lots of voices.

  I can't do this.

  Turning, I start making my way back, filled with a sense of panic. I should have known this was a bad idea, and that -”

  “Hey!”

  Feeling Jude's hand on my shoulder, I stop.

  “I can't do this,” I say firmly, not turning back to look at her.

  “Yes, you can.”

  I shake my head.

  “What's the problem?” she asks. “Why are you so determined to be alone? Why do you hate other people?”

  “I don't hate them,” I reply, feeling a tightening sense of fear in my chest, “I just want them to leave me alone. I don't trust strangers.”

  “I was a stranger once,” she points out. “Why are you trembling? I can feel your whole body shaking?”

  “You don't get it,” I whisper.

  “It'd help if you let me in some more,” she continues. “Asher, what happened to you before you came to the island?”

  Taking a deep breath, I realize there's no way she can ever understand. I'd have to explain everything, going back to the night in the abandoned house and even before, and that's something I swore I'd never do. That version of me died the day I decided to come here, and I don't even like thinking about it. Just as I'm about to tell her that I'm leaving, however, I realize I can hear another set of footsteps coming closer.

  “I'm glad you came,” says a male voice, with a strong English accent. “We've been waiting for you.”

  “It'll be okay,” Jude continues, leaning closer and kissing the side of my neck, just above my tattoo. “Trust me.”

  ***

  “There are twenty-three people here in total,” Goddard explains as he leads us across the clearing, with wooden huts on either side. “Everyone has a role to play, a job, everyone contributes something. If you can't contribute, you're out. We don't tolerate slackers.”

  “See?” Jude whispers, nudging my arm. “I told you it's great here.”

  Looking around, I can't share her enthusiasm. Sure, the people here seem to be working hard and in unison, but it's that sense of cooperation that makes me suspicious. How can twenty-three men and women all be working toward the same goal, without there being something to control them? As we walk past a set of wooden posts, I briefly make eye contact with a woman who's working to strip bark off some logs, and she smiles at me. I instantly flinch and look away. People who smile are the worst.

  “We prepared a little meal to welcome you,” Goddard says as we reach a table, where several pieces of glistening red meat have been laid out. Reaching across, he indicates a spot with a different kind of meat, something duller. “I understand, Asher, that you'd prefer rabbit.”

  I turn to him. “As opposed to...”

  “Don't get funny about this,” Jude whispers.

  “What do you -” Suddenly I realize what she means. “Human meat?” I ask, turning and looking back at the other people as they work all arou
nd us. “All these people are -”

  “Friendly,” she says firmly, stepping around me as she heads to the table. “They're offering us food, and they made special allowances for your preferences.”

  “I understand your feelings,” Goddard tells me with a faint, friendly smile. “You have to get into a certain mindset before you can bring yourself to eat your fellow man. It's just that, with the local rabbit population in decline, humans are by far the most plentiful food source on the island. We have strict rules regarding our captures, however. We're not savages.”

  “Great,” I whisper, as I take a seat next to Jude, “you brought us into a camp full of cannibals.”

  “No,” she hisses, “I brought you into a camp full of people. Focus on the hundreds of common points we have with them, rather than the one difference.”

  “Unfortunately,” Goddard continues, taking a seat opposite us, “our leader Vargas isn't here right now. She's out in the forest, contemplating matters. That's how she always deals with big decisions. She'll be back in a few days, though, and I'm sure she'll be pleased to know that we've reached out and made contact with a new group. She's always very open to the possibility of cooperation, that's how she ended up founding this humble little town in the first place.” He pushes a bowl of grass toward me. “It's natural for humans to try to organize themselves, it's what sets us apart from the other animals. Please, eat. We work together here, and we're lucky enough to be able to share some with visitors.”

  I want to decline the offer, but I've been hungry for days so I take a handful of grass and set it next to my rabbit meat.

  “I understand you're working on a settlement,” Goddard says with a smile. “I must say, we'd already noticed you a day or two back, but it wasn't until we spoke to your friend Jude that we realized you were serious. What made you choose that particular patch of land?”

  “I... It's just where we happened to be at the time,” I tell him.

  “It's a little low,” he continues, “which makes it hard to defend and also prone to flooding. Also, you don't really have a good line of sight on all sides, so you'll have trouble defending yourself. Then again, it's quite close to the beach, which I suppose could be a positive.” He pauses. “I don't want you to think that we're opposed to the idea of you being there. Quite the opposite, in fact. Vargas has always said that it would be good to have friendly neighbors in the area, we just need to make sure that you are friendly.”