As she was getting comfortable, the two branches snapped upwards, humming from the speed of their departure. Ana, shocked, watched as they first flew up and then retreated to the other side of the river, leaving Jax no way to return. Ana was now trapped on this side of the river with Jax on the other. Even if her companion returned with food, there was no way to get it across the water. Jax simply wasn’t capable of an actual throw, just light tosses. Ana, cursing at the government, the island, and specifically the trees, dissolved into tears despite her previous vow to not allow her emotions to take control.
Ana cried until no more tears came, feeling somewhat better once they stopped. Nose dripping with snot, she pulled a pants leg over and wiped it, using the other side to wipe her face. Ana realized she would have to continue upstream, hoping Jax could keep pace as she moved, but she couldn’t leave until Jax came back.
At this point, Ana wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Her will had been sapped almost completely, she was cold and tired, and she just wanted to escape reality for a while. But Ana couldn’t go to sleep until Jax reappeared. Jax was silent and had no way to notify Ana of her return if Ana were slumbering. Facing the river, she continued idly drawing with the knife as she tried to think about Jan and a possible way to find him.
Jax eventually returned, a small branch with the black fruits Ana remembered clutched in one claw. The little animal stopped, stared at the trees, then across the river, a look of alarm on her furry face.
“Hey, furball,” Ana called softly, wanting Jax to remain calm and not try to seek help. “Everything is going to be okay. This is a minor setback, but not life threatening. We can continue walling, me here and you over there, until we find a place where one of us can safely cross.”
Jax pointed upstream, then at Ana, and finally at herself. Ana nodded and stood up, removing the still wet clothes and laying them over surrounding bushes. Turning back to face her companion, Ana sat down again, making sure the knife and pack were close at hand.
“You bet, furball,” Ana said, nodding in acknowledgement. “We’ll continue walking until it’s safe to cross. But I need to rest first, so I’m going to nap for a bit. Feel free to eat the fruit but please don’t leave. And whatever you do, do not seek help. If anyone or anything comes, climb the closest tree and hide yourself. If I wake and you aren’t around, I’ll whistle so neither of us loses the other. And Jax, I love you.”
Ana blew a kiss across to her companion and smiled at the little animal while trying to send waves of encouragement and confidence across the river. Jax nodded once more and squatted, worry causing the furry little brow to furrow and the eyes to shine. The small creature watched Ana intently, her eyes never leaving the girl as Ana lay down and curled in a ball, dropping into a sleep so deep it appeared to be a coma.
10
Chapter 10
Week 3
Day 4
The entire world had gone gray. A thick fog had descended while Ana slept, hiding everything more than a few feet away from her sight. She could no longer see any but the closest trees, and both the river and Jax had completely disappeared. Ana thought about calling to Jax to reassure the little animal but discarded the notion, worried her companion might try to cross back over. Leaving was out of the question as she had no idea which way to go. There was also the very real possibility of either falling into the river or heading the wrong way and ending up completely lost. Besides, even if the correct path could be determined, Jax couldn’t see her and would be unable to keep pace. Ana decided her best bet was to wait for the fog to lift before continuing with the search.
Drawing the knife from its sheath, Ana started making notes in the dirt. The decision to return to the island had a lot to do with the many questions that had started popping up after she returned home. Since being deposited back here, Ana found there were now even more. She hoped that writing them down would help organize them and possibly provide some answers that didn’t occur to her when she tried thinking them over in her head. In addition to the multitude of questions that plagued her, the new directives presented serious problems and Ana hoped to find some way around them.
After returning home, the readjustment to a normal life had proven difficult. The things she experienced and ordeals she had undergone plagued Ana constantly, interrupting her sleep and making it hard to focus. She often prowled the house in the wee hours, trying to distract herself enough so she could rest. It was during these nighttime excursions that Ana started to question what she had learned, from both the time in the jungle and the conversation with Jan. Ana knew the only way to find the answers to many of those questions was to have another talk with him, one that was longer and more in depth. Since Jan was on his third and final trip and would only be on the island for a few more months, Ana felt there were very few options available in how to go about trying to meet with him.
The first option that came to her, though, wasn’t really an option at all. Ana had no idea where Jan had lived before being sentenced, nor where he would be sent after returning to the mainland. She didn’t know anything other than his first name and therefore had no way of tracking him down. Even if she had more information, Ana was sure the government would not only relocate his family but force them to change their surname. That’s what had happened to her family, causing her to have to relearn how to identify herself while also creating a very difficult conversation when Ana asked her parents about the change. Her mother had hemmed and hawed, refusing to give a straight answer and instead mumbling something about top-secret classification. Her father had shot Ana a look that implied she was well aware what the reason was, and Ana had responded by plastering an innocent look on her face. Her father gave her another hard look, then answered cryptically that Ana didn’t need to know why, only that it was a done deed.
Ana had thought about what to do some more and reluctantly decided she could try and meet Jan in front of the building at the dock when he returned. But since she wasn’t sure of his exact arrival date, Ana would need to haunt the area, hoping to get lucky while making sure not to get caught. The government had told Ana she could not try to locate or contact any other survivors, so actually going to the departure/arrival point would be extremely risky, especially as there was no guarantee of success.
The final option Ana considered, and the only one that was both feasible and would serve her purpose, was a return to the island. From what Jan had told her, Ana would be able to stay in the camp after the mandatory two-week isolation, giving her another two weeks in which to talk with Jan at length. She could ask the questions that needed asking, pushing Jan to explain the inconsistencies that had occurred to her, as well as pumping him for more information, hopefully learning enough to help fulfill the quests she had vowed to accomplish.
Deep down, Ana wanted to see Jan again, even if she wouldn’t admit it was the real reason for returning. The feelings he evoked were like nothing she had ever experienced before. Ana felt safe and alive in his presence. He occupied her thoughts constantly, often causing her to dream of being with him again. She replayed the kiss over and over, wanting to hold onto the feel of him forever. So, while Ana told herself a return to the island was the only way to obtain answers to the questions that continued to plague her, it wasn’t the only reason. And even if she refused to acknowledge it, it wasn’t even the main one.
Now, though, Ana had a problem. One of the new directives directly addressed the camp and the people in it. She was not to seek assistance from the camp. She was not to enter the camp. She was not to talk to people in the camp. She was not to show herself to the camp. And she was not to help anyone from the camp, no matter what
Ana had been working on this problem since first reading the directives. She had gone over the sheet several times, hoping to find a loophole, but the effort had so far proven fruitless. Ana had worried over the list, turning it over and over as she struggled to find a way around the prohibitions but so far had not been able to come up with anythi
ng. Any possible beginning ended with another directive forbidding her from moving to the next step. Ana found this both incredibly frustrating and completely infuriating. If she were unable to talk to Jan and find at least a few answers, this entire trip was a waste, and Ana would end up in a new home in a new sector while having more questions than before she came. And she would never see Jan again, which was somehow worse than the failure to find the answers she sought.
Ana had been studying the list in the dirt for a while, sometimes crossing lines out and rewriting them. A few things occurred to her as she studied what had been written, but nothing helpful had been gained. Ana hoped that writing the questions and inconsistencies down would help her sort through the issues that now arose. The fog had not lifted and between the continuing gloom and her inability to resolve anything, Ana was starting to feel dejected. Sitting back, she wrapped her hands around her knees and stared into the mist.
In addition to the gloom, the jungle had been deathly silent. Since entering the day before, Ana had heard nothing. No leaves rustling, no slight sound of the river chortling, just her own breathing. Deep in thought, it took a while for Ana to realize the jungle was no longer quiet. Becoming more aware of her surroundings, Ana looked around, wondering what the sound was and where it was coming from. As it gradually became louder, she felt the hairs on her neck and arms start to rise. It sounded like people whispering, and Ana swung her head back and forth in an effort to locate the source. The whispering, however, was all around, sometimes louder and sometimes fading away. Her nervousness increasing, Ana scoured the ground in front of her, obliterating the list.
Unable to see anything other than the heavy mist, Ana slowly stood, fists clenched despite her arms trembling violently. Turning in a clockwise direction, she peered into the fog, hoping to glimpse whoever or whatever was out there. She called out a few times, but the words fell flat and the only reply she received was eerie laughter. The whispering grew, becoming more frantic in tone as the volume rose. Ana felt panic starting to rise in her chest, and she had to force herself to stand her ground.
Fighting the terror trying to overwhelm her, Ana kept telling herself this was just another test and that the government didn’t want her to die. Despite her heart racing and her nerves being strung tight enough to snap, Ana somehow managed to hold it together, taking deep breaths and using the Tai Chi training to maintain focus.
Until she felt something touch her. Feathery soft, Ana had the impression of a finger caressing her arm. Snapping her head to the side, she saw nothing but heard laughter next to her ear. When she felt another soft touch, this time on her back, Ana lost control and bolted, fleeing into the forest as maniacal laughter erupted, dogging her footsteps as she fled.
Ana ran, heedless of where she was going. Terror consumed her and finding an escape from the ghostly voices and light caresses dominated her thoughts. She swerved to avoid trees as they suddenly appeared out of the fog, swatting the mossy stringers that hung from the branches and ignoring the stinging sensation the action caused. The laughter stayed with her, sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, and every now and then directly in her ear. Periodically, a soft feathery touch slid down an arm or across a cheek, causing Ana to shriek in fear and jerk away. Heart pounding and breath coming in harsh gasps, she ran on.
Until she almost collided with a rock wall. Suddenly appearing out of the fog, Ana was barely able to stop before crashing into it. Crying in terror, she tried to scramble up the face as the laughter closed in around her and the caresses became numerous, covering her exposed skin like a soft blanket.
Unable to find any purchase, Ana only succeeded in tearing several nails off and ripping her fingers and toes to shreds. Turning around, she squatted and buried her face in her hands, waiting for what she was sure was certain death. Soft fingers slid over the bare skin as she huddled, causing Ana to cry out in terror with every velvet touch. Heart pounding hard enough to feel like it was bruising her ribs, Ana wrapped both hands over her head and screamed until her throat was raw. The voices now felt like they were inside her head, while the caresses covered every inch of her body. Ana moaned and began to rock back and forth, squeezing her eyes shut and placing her hands over her ears.
It took Ana a moment to realize the caresses had stopped and the voices no longer whispered inside her skull. Moving her hands away from her ears, Ana listened intently for any hint the ghostly presence was still out there but heard nothing. The jungle had gone silent again, not even the smallest sigh from the slight breeze reaching her ears. Rubbing her arms, Ana slowly looked up, terrified at what she might see. The fog was as thick as ever, making it impossible to see further than her outstretched arm, and the dread was even worse, making Ana feel small and defenseless. As the panic and terror started to recede, she moaned again, this time in despair. Ana realized she was totally lost, having absolutely no idea in which direction she had fled nor how far she had come. Dropping her forehead onto her knees, Ana let the tears fall, wondering if her assumptions about the government wanting her alive were wrong. She was unable to see a way out of the current situation and was too weak to undertake another sustained march through a jungle that provided neither food nor water. Crying silently, Ana mentally started wishing her family good-bye, certain she was not going to survive this latest ordeal.
The grunting instantly brought her out of her misery and back to the present. Ana immediately recognized the sound, and it scared her as much if not more than the crazy laughter and ghostly voices had. Trying to pierce the fog, she couldn’t to decide if she should make a stand or flee again. The grunting grew louder, and Ana could now hear the heavy footfalls, bringing her worst nightmare from the island back to reality.
Ana had experienced many things on her last trip. Some had bought much happiness, several had shattered the beliefs she held, and more than a few had scared her, leaving both physical and mental scars. But the one thing that terrified Ana the most was the dog-bear. It had been the cause of many sleepless nights, invading her dreams and sending her into the furthest corner of her closet. Buried under clothes or heavy blankets and shaking uncontrollably, Ana would often stay there for hours, telling herself the creature wasn’t real while working up the courage to head back to bed. She was always alone in whatever dream the dog-bear chose to make its appearance in, no spiders around to bind it in their thick webs. Sometimes, Ana could smell its foul breath as it pounced, slicing her open with its razor-sharp claws. Other times, it chased her as she fled along the beach, desperately trying to find the spiders so they could entrap it in the thick strands of silk they spun or crying for Jan to come kill it before it killed her. Ana never fully escaped the dog-bear, only waking before it actually rent her limb from limb, resulting in another several nights of hiding in the closet while again losing sleep.
Ana pushed the memory of her nightmares away and returned to the present, surprised to find she still gripped the knife tightly in one fist. She had fled the area near the riverbank in only her underwear, leaving everything else behind. Ana had been unaware of the knife until she lifted her hand as if to ward off the dog-bear and saw her fingers wrapped around the hilt. Ana frowned. She had not felt the knife when she wrapped her arms over her head nor when she buried her face in her hands. But she was now gripping it and the cramping in her fingers told Ana she had been holding tightly to it for a while. Shrugging, Ana assumed she must have instinctively grabbed it when she fled, terror causing her to forget doing so. Pushing the contradiction aside, Ana turned her concentration to the latest horror she now had to overcome.
Using the rock wall, Ana reluctantly pushed herself to her feet. While she might die here, she had no intention of going down without a fight. And crouching in fear was certainly not the way to prepare for the coming battle.
Ana thought furiously about what to do next. Her options were limited, and she was sure the government was responsible for sending the dog-bear, which meant fighting it was inevitable. Ana conclude
d that trying to run would probably end in her death later than sooner, and she would still have to fight the monster in the end. The dog-bear was almost certainly faster and if she ran, it had the advantage of following her and not worrying about possible obstructions that might pop up. In addition, if she chose to run, Ana would be exhausted when the battle ultimately occurred, severely lowering the chance of actually surviving it. Ana realized that if there were any chance of staying alive, or at least not dying a painful and violent death, she was going to have to fight this newest terror, whether she wished to or not. Closing her eyes and pushing any thoughts of death away, Ana bought the Tai Chi training forward, focusing inward as her breathing evened out and her muscles relaxed. Lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, Ana reopened her eyes and stepped away from the wall. Shaking her arms to loosen them, she waited on the attack that was sure to come.
Ana didn’t have to wait long. The dog-bear slowly stomped into view, green drool dripping from its bared fangs. She saw that this creature was much bigger than the one she had encountered last time. Its shoulders reached her chest and when it reared on its hind legs, it towered over her by several feet. Ana forced down the panic she felt rising again, chanting a sing-song refrain under her breath in order to maintain focus.
The dog-bear dropped back to all fours, snarling as it shook its head back and forth. Ana saw its muscles bunch as it prepared its assault and reacted accordingly. Still bouncing lightly, she held both arms out in front, knife gripped tightly in one hand, with elbows slightly bent. Ana let the dog-bear charge, timing her leap to the right perfectly. Somersaulting, she regained her feet and swiftly turned just as the dog-bear skidded to a stop. Focusing on its every move, Ana started bouncing on the balls of her feet again. The dog-bear had gathered itself as it turned, spinning more easily than Ana would have thought possible for a creature this size. Enraged, it pawed the ground, tensed, then charged again. Ana leapt left this time, acting on the belief the dog-bear would swerve to the right at the last minute. Her assumption correct, Ana was once more able to avoid the attack when the creature swerved at the last second. This gave Ana slightly more room to maneuver than after the last assault, and Ana used it find better footing. The dog-bear bellowed and raised itself up on its hind legs, raking the air with its claws as it roared in fury and frustration. Ana stood her ground, waiting for the next assault, focusing intently on the dog-bear and watching its every movement. What Ana planned to do next could very well mean her death if the timing were off by even a mere second, and she needed to make sure she did everything possible to avoid that fate.
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