by Ky Tyrand
She immediately moved to strip it off, only to discover that it didn’t have a zipper, or buttons, or any way that she could see to unfasten it.
What the crap? It was a one-piece suit. Lexi couldn’t even pull it over her head. She grabbed the collar and pulled, determined to fight it off of her. To her surprise, the front separated in a clean line – like a zipper with no zipper. Had she not been so desperate to get it off of her, Lexi might have thought that it was cool. Even fascinating. But the moment the silver fabric pulled apart, she stripped it off without a moment’s hesitation, kicking it off her feet like it was trying to bite her.
She let out a breath and smelled her arms to see if the scent was still on her. It was then that the girl realized she wasn’t wearing anything but her black bikini. “You have got to be kidding me,” Lexi heard herself say.
Skimpy. That was the only word that could possibly be used to describe it.
Her parents never would have let her bring it, if they had have known about it. Parma had convinced her to buy. She said it would be perfect for the Caribbean. But it was smaller than anything Lexi had ever even considered wearing. She didn’t even feel comfortable wearing it sunbathing. Thank God she had a nice cover-up to get her to and from the pool.
But she didn’t have one now. She didn’t have anything else to wear.
She didn’t even have shoes!
Lexi hadn’t even noticed that she ran all this way in bare feet! Through a jungle full of God knows what? Spiders, and snakes, and junkie needles, most likely.
She wanted to cry.
Damn you, Parma!
Maybe she could wash the spacesuit somehow. She broke a thin stick off the fallen log and used it to hook the fabric and lift a sleeve.
She didn’t even get it to within a foot of her face before pulling her head back and flinging the garment to the ground, “No,” she shook her head. Her eyes were already watering, “No way.” One whiff of the silver suit was enough to make her decide that she would rather be stuck out here naked than try to make that thing wearable.
It wasn’t like it was cold. Far from it. The air was quite warm, bordering on hot.
But Lexi was no exhibitionist. Maybe if she had Tonya Henderson’s body it would be no big deal. But she was far from comfortable in her own skin. Especially since her little pact with Parma.
She closed her eyes and cursed the situation.
Whoever found her would see her like this. Would see what Lexi Robinson looked like. But what choice did she have?
She crossed her arms around her torso and sat back down on the fallen log. It had been more comfortable when she was wearing Uncle Bernie’s spacesuit.
Her eyes fell on the box and rod that the stinky spaceman had been so adamant about her taking.
The box was small – about the size of a thick novel. It was a grayish metal, covered in intricate markings. They reminded her of the line of symbols around the spacecraft, but she couldn’t tell if they were the same. Oddly enough, Lexi did recognize the largest of the markings. On the center of the top, embossed in a way that projected it above the others. At first glance it looked like a triangle, perhaps because of the three corners. But they were in-fact a series of arcs, interwoven through a single ring.
A trinity knot.
The girl reached out to pick up the box, but her hand stopped before touching it. Instead, she cautiously edged her nose closer, giving it a single, short sniff.
Satisfied that it didn’t smell like the spacesuit, Lexi picked it up to get a better look. The box was light, definitely not solid. She dared to shake it, but couldn’t hear anything moving inside. The girl assumed that it must open somehow, but there was no noticeable lid. It reminded her of a Japanese puzzle box that she had been given one year for Christmas. It had taken her a week to figure out how to open that stupid box. Not what her brain needed right now. Lexi set the item down before it could frustrate her, choosing to take a look at the rod instead.
Taking her chances, she picked it up without smelling it first.
It had to be at least two feet long and looked to be made of the same gray metal as the box, covered in similar hieroglyphic-like markings. The symbols wrapped around every inch of it, intricately carved with laser-like precision. Lexi had no idea what any of them meant, but she could sense something unusual about the rod. A faint buzz or vibration. Like there was some kind of energy inside it, just waiting to be let out.
One thing was for certain, that little alien – Uncle Bernie – insisted that she take both items. ‘Imperative,’ he kept saying. Or thinking. Or whatever he was doing to her.
No matter how frightening the creature was, and how badly it smelled, Lexi had no doubt that it had saved her life. And had died, along with its friends, to do so. The though put a lump in her throat. Why did everyone have to die?
Lexi took a deep breath and forced herself to not cry. She found herself wondering if there were more aliens on that ship that she hadn’t seen. How many of them died for me? And … why?
Whatever the reason, if these two items were so important – so imperative – then she had to keep them save. At least until she knew what they were.
A rustle in the nearby bushes sent Lexi to her feet.
There was movement on the other side of the clearing. She listened intently, wishing she had her contacts. It was then that the girl noticed how quiet everything had gotten. The distant sounds had fallen silent. The only noise in the entire jungle was across the small clearing, shaking the foliage.
God she hoped it was a rescuer and not a serial killer.
Lexi took a chance and called out, wishing she had something to cover herself with. “…Hello?”
The rustling continued. Something was coming closer, but it did not answer.
She wished that it had answered.
Maybe it didn’t hear.
“Hello?” A little louder this time.
Still no answer.
Lexi stepped back, her fingers tensing on the small staff. Why aren’t they answering?
Her heart couldn’t take much more of this. It had just started to slow down after her alien encounter. But not anymore. Lexi knew that she didn’t have the strength to fight anyone. She only hoped that she’d be able to run. But her legs didn’t feel much stronger than well cooked spaghetti, and she didn’t have any shoes.
This was not good.
A streak of brown and white fur appeared from a different direction altogether, charging at her from out of the bushes.
Lexi screamed and backed away, tripping on the fallen log. The muddy ground came up out of nowhere, smacking into her side and hip. Without any clothes or padding, it hurt like hell.
The girl kicked her feet, trying to get them under her as the furry monster ran along the fallen log toward her.
It stopped where she had been sitting and looked down at her, showing her its long, yellow, surprisingly pointy, teeth. Was it a smile, or a threat? Lexi saw a glint of silver as the creature picked something up, shook it, hissed like a grumpy old house-cat, and then ran off the way it came.
Lexi was still scrambling to get to her feet when she realized that it was a monkey – a freaking MONKEY! – and it had just made off with Uncle Bernie’s Imperative Box!
3
Lexi pulled herself up. She didn’t know what to do. That box was important. Imperative, according to the creature that had rescued her.
But she had no clothes, no shoes, and no idea where she was.
If there was any hope of retrieving the box, Lexi didn’t have time to weigh her options.
So, with a deep breath, she charged after the monkey.
…Wait!
Lexi slammed on the brakes, turned around, picked the Imperative Rod out of the mud, and then charged after the monkey.
She pushed straight into the foliage where the little thief had escaped, while trying not to think about what she was traipsing through. The leaves were wet, some of them sharp. All of them probably full of l
eaches and bugs and jungley things that could bite her bare skin.
The ground was soft, for the most part, but she had no idea what she was stepping on; or squishing in. And with her poor vision, Lexi couldn’t get a good look where she was setting her feet. It was all green and brown – the color of snakes and lizards.
Don’t think about it. You just have to be faster than their bites!
But her legs were already too tired to move quickly. Between the fatigue, her lousy eyesight, and the terribly dense foliage, her movements became sloppy and labored. Sharp leaves and sticks and prickly things were beginning to cut her skin and feet. And the pain in her hip from falling was getting hard to ignore.
What exactly does ‘Imperative’ mean?
Lexi could hear the monkey ahead of her, already taking to the trees. There was no way she would be able to catch it.
She spotted it in a tangle of branches above – or at least what she assumed was the monkey – taunting her with its screeching calls. The girl couldn’t tell if it still had the box. All she could see was a blurry little figure jumping up and down on a branch, laughing at her in its cocky monkey language. But Lexi knew there was more than one of the little thieves.
There had to have been at least two of them, in cahoots with one another, duping her with the old ‘Hey, what’s that over there?’ ruse. One shakes a branch, the other steels a box. Lexi cursed her foolishness. Oldest trick in the book, and I fell for it!
Being outsmarted by monkeys did not make her feel any better about herself.
A hundred years ago, before the girl even knew she needed glasses, Lexi had discovered a trick to help her focus by making a fist and looking through it. Somehow a tiny gap between her fingers was enough to add some clarity to a tiny focal point. She hadn’t needed to do it in years, but it was something that came to her on the spot, and she found herself with her thumb against her nose, peering through her rolled up fingers in hopes of seeing the silver box.
It took a moment to find the sweet-spot, especially with the animal jumping up and down the way it was, but eventually Lexi could see that this was indeed the culprit. And he still had the metal box.
Lexi hoped the stupid monkey would lose its balance and fall out of the tree. Or at least drop the alien box. But what happened next, she was NOT expecting.
Something appeared out of nowhere – a giant shadow swooping from the sky. The monkey didn’t see it coming, or have any time to react. It was like the animal got hit by a bus going top speed. Except the bus was some kind of giant bird, or … what could it be? It was way too big to be a bird.
Her focusing fist wasn’t fast enough to make sense of what she was witnessing. But even with her bare eyes, Lexi could tell that it was gigantic. Nothing in the sky was that big. Well, other than planes. And, apparently, flying saucers.
But this was neither.
Once clear of the tree, massive wings shot out to the sides like a parachute, chasing a gust of wind that blew Lexi to the ground. The giant leathery wings began to flap, sending waves of air as the powerful strokes slowly pulled the monster upwards.
Though fuzzy, it had dropped close enough for Lexi to see that this was no bird. With the body of a lizard and the wings of a bat, there was only one word that could possibly describe what she was seeing…
Dragon.
What the hell?!?
Lexi couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. How could she? Dragons weren’t real. They were make belief. Fantasy, like time travel, and unicorns, and … UFOs.
The monkey’s taunting chirp had changed to a squeal, which was the only other thing Lexi could hear above the roar of air and drumming of wings. The monster was low enough for Lexi to see that it had massive feet – like a giant eagle’s – and long hooked talons with a piercing grip on both monkey and Imperative Box.
Unless the dragon adjusted its claws, the helpless monkey wouldn’t be able to let go of the metal box, even if it wanted to.
Lexi watched, frozen in terror, as the thundering wings elevated both beast and prey upward, until they disappeared out of the jungle canopy.
The girl didn’t move until long after the monster flew off. She didn’t register that she was lying on the ground in the jungle, and that things were beginning to crawl on her. Her mind was spinning, trying to process what was going on. First little alien people, now this? Nothing made sense to her anymore.
Lexi was alone and practically naked, lost God knows where in some sweaty jungle, and now there was a dragon – a freaking dragon? – flying around overhead.
And it had her Imperative Box.
Lexi Robinson had never felt so frightened and exposed in all her life.
And then it began to rain.
4
Parma screamed when the first lightning bolt crackled. It was too close for comfort. But, despite the fear, the girls couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. They’d been returning from a fun little market in St. Maarten when the rain started coming down in buckets.
There was no shelter between themselves and the ship, so there was nothing they could do but get soaked as they shuffled across the dock to the boat.
Next time, they would be sure to bring an umbrella.
It was completely pouring before Lexi picked herself up off the ground.
The pain in her hip made her cringe as she stood. But she wasn’t sure that it was any worse than the million stinging scrapes from the trees and bushes she’d pushed through during the monkey chase.
Before seeking shelter, Lexi let the rain wash the mud and debris from her skin, and tried to get the ick out of her hair. She untied her ponytail and tried to scrub it, watching the brown dye run down her arms. That would mean the weird colors would be back.
Lexi picked up the Imperative Rod, determined not to lose it as well, and took shelter near the gnarly base of a large but peculiar tree. It had a wide canopy with woody vines connecting the branches to a tangle of roots that twisted in and out of the ground. Despite tripping on the roots twice, they did make for somewhere to sit that wasn’t wet or covered in jungle bugs.
The girl wasn’t sure how long she sat there, trying to dry off while puzzling out where she was and why a dragon was flying around with a box that had been given to her by a smelly little alien. More importantly, Lexi was considering what she should do next. She was scared and confused, had no clothes or shoes, and no idea where she was.
She wished that Parma was there with her. Or her parents. Or anyone that could help her and protect her. Despite the warm air, the rain had been cool enough to chill her, and without any clothes, Lexi began to shiver. She huddled next to the tree with her knees to her chest, wondering if there was any way of washing the alien spacesuit. Surely it would be better than nothing.
No. She remembered the smell. No amount of cleaning on Earth could make that thing wearable.
To make matters worse, her stomach was beginning to hurt. Lexi had been hungry for two months now, but for some reason the prospect of not having the option of readily available food made her feel hungrier than ever.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and figure this out!
It was raining too hard to search for food, or go exploring in hopes of finding a way out of the jungle.
A fire. I need to start a fire. It would keep her warm, and scare off any critters. Maybe someone was looking for her, and would spot it. Maybe the dragon would spot it.
Ugh!
Lexi had to chance it. Besides, she had a sneaking suspicion that the dragon had just eaten. She shivered at the thought, and tried to figure out how on Earth to light a fire without any matches or a lighter. If cavemen could do it by banging rocks or rubbing sticks together, there had to be a way for her to make it work. Even though the jungle was saturated with water, the area around the base of tree was dry. There was some wood and branches that she was certain would burn, if she could just get them going.
The girl had watched enough episodes of Survivor to have a couple of ideas. She
could picture contestants using a curved branch with a string tied between the ends, like a little bow. The string would wrap around another stick that would be spun back and forth, creating friction against another piece of wood at the bottom. The only thing was – Lexi didn’t have any string.
But there was another method she remembered. It involved rubbing the end of a stick into a hollowed out piece of wood, like bamboo, which there seemed to be an abundant supply of in this area.
It’ll work, she told herself.
Lexi began gathering up anything she could find that was dry. But it was harder than she thought it would be. Even the stuff that looked dry was rubbery and difficult to break. And there was no way that she was going to be able to break the bamboo by hand.
Before getting frustrated, Lexi moved on and found a few rocks, which she put into a circle like her dad used to do when he took them camping. She wished that he was here now to show her how to do it right.
It occurred to her to see if banging the rocks together would create any sparks. Worth a try, but it didn’t work quite as Lexi had envisioned it. Her hands, arms, shoulders, and neck got sore in no time at all. And not once did she see any sparks. But an interesting thing did happen: Rather than making a spark, the hardest whack she could muster actually cracked one of the rocks in half.
Lexi was disappointed at first, but then realized that the shards of rock were actually quite sharp – sharp enough to chop down stalks of bamboo!
It wasn’t ideal, but with a bit of effort Lexi was able to hack down and split a small piece. After gathering the driest tinder she could find, which she placed loosely onto the upturned half-shoot, Lexi set herself up on a reasonably flat root and began rubbing the end of another stick into the cupped trough.
It was difficult keeping the bamboo from moving around as she leaned into it. At first, Lexi tried holding the bottom piece with her other hand, which didn’t allow for any leverage whatsoever. Then she attempted pinning it with her foot as well. The girl even tried sitting on one end. It didn’t seem to matter how she held it against the tree root; as soon as there was enough pressure against the wood to heat it up, the bamboo slid out of control and sent her tinder everywhere.