by James Holler
"How's your hand?" she asked. "It isn't sore, so I guess that's good," said John. "Good," said Hailey. Katie soon came out of the hut, hearing the talking outside. "How's your hand doing today?" asked Katie, as she walked up. "Good," said John. "You better just take the day off, and let me and Hailey do the chores," said Katie. John shook his head, as if he was slightly annoyed.
The rest of the day, Katie and Hailey caught fish, gathered wood, and boiled water. Without telling John, they also took a dip in their pool. John noticed their wet clothes, when they returned home, and asked, "What's the deal? I don't get invited to go swimming?" "You can't get your hand wet," said Hailey. "Speaking of which, we should probably take a look at it and to see if it is getting infected," said Katie. "What could we do if it was?" asked John.
Hailey walked over to John and gently took his hand in hers, turning it over to start peeling the tape off. "Let's see," she said. Curious himself, John didn't resist as Hailey worked at the end of the tape with her fingernail. She peeled the first piece back, then repeated the process with the remaining pieces. Pulling the gauze back, she exposed the cut.
"Wow, that looks pretty good," said John. He poked at the cut with his other hand, then opened and closed his hand with more force. Next, he punched the palm of his hand with his clinched fist, and without any hesitation, began peeling back the tape strips that held the cut together. He tested it again. "Holy crap! It's completely healed," said John. Hailey stood there with her mouth open.
John remembered the time when they discovered that they had been gone for days, without being aware of it. He walked over to the fire pit, and held his hand just above the ashes. "It's still warm," he said. "This is just too weird," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Let me see," Katie said walking over to see for herself. She pushed on it with her thumb. "Wow," she said softly. "I guess you can help us catch some supper in a little while," said Hailey.
John continued to open and close his fist in amazement, not really listening. "We better save that gauze," said Katie. "Maybe we can reuse it." Carefully separating it from the tape, Katie gathered the gauze, and took it inside the hut and put it in one of the containers they had found at the cabin.
After catching the usual supper of fish, they sat around the fire eating. Food was much more plentiful here than where they used to live. John couldn't get his hand out of his mind, because he didn't like not being able to understand something. The quickness with which his hand had healed, had his head whirling. Either they did something to me last night, or they did something to me before, that caused me to heal fast, he thought.
While they were in camp, they were in a habit of keeping the knife on a flat rock. John sat eating fish and looking at the knife. Katie hadn't noticed, but Hailey could tell that John was thinking about something. "You OK?" asked Hailey. "Yep," he said. John got up, retrieved the knife, and returned to his seat.
He felt the edge of the blade, as if to test its sharpness, then looked at the palm of his hand. He turned his hand over and looked at the back, then turned it palm side up again. Placing the edge of the knife on the fat part of his index finger, he slowly pulled it across his flesh as Hailey watched him with wide eyes.
"Are you crazy! What are you doing?" she screamed out. "I have to find out how it healed so fast," said John, holding his hand out from his body, letting the blood drip from the end of his finger. "You're nuts," said Hailey, taking the knife from his hand.
Katie was already getting the first aid kit from the hut. As she came out, with the kit already opened in her hand, she stopped when she heard John say he wasn't going to tape it up this time. "Think about us," said Hailey, still angry. "We need you. We can't afford for you to get a bad infection," said Katie, trying to be a peace maker. "I'll be all right. I'm going to find out what is going on, one way or another," said John.
"Let us at least wash it off," said Katie. "Might as well, it looks like it already stopped bleeding," said John. He held his hand out, and let Katie pour water over the deep cut. "I'm staying up tonight," said John. "Go ahead. I'm going to get some sleep when it's time," said Hailey, still sounding upset. "I'm with Hailey," said Katie. Later that evening, they left John sitting by the fire, as they went to bed.
The quiet of morning, along with the increasing light, woke Hailey. Having slipped into bed some time during the night, John was next to her. She tried looking over him and even though he'd been up most of the night, her movement woke him. He rolled part way over, and lifted his left hand toward her face. "It's healed," he said. "It was like watching grass grow, but it finally healed up," said John, sounding pleased with himself. "It was pretty amazing to watch," he said.
This was new information for them. If small wounds could heal overnight, then what else could their bodies do that they didn't know about? This knowledge was interesting and useful, but there was still so much they didn't know.
Chapter 8
After several weeks, it became evident that what they had feared was true. Both Hailey and Katie were visibly pregnant, and were each fat enough that they couldn't button their shorts. Improvising, they each used vines around their waists to keep their shorts up.
It didn't take them long to realize that once they were pregnant, they didn't have to worry about getting pregnant. Love making sessions were an almost daily activity, but a threesome was too much to handle for Hailey and Katie. At first one or the other of them would make an excuse to leave, but they finally reached a comfort level that they could each spend time with John without the other having to leave the area.
Hailey was more accepting of the situation, but Katie still felt a twinge of jealousy when Hailey and John spent time in the hut alone. Nighttime was the most awkward because cuddling without having a touch lead to more was hard on all three of them. It didn't take them long to realize that having John in the middle at night wasn't going to work, so he slept on the outside, and Hailey and Katie took turns being in the middle.
Today was one of those lazy days when all of the chores caught up, so they could relax a little. They had plenty of wood, water, fruit, and full stomachs. After eating a fish, Hailey walked toward the fire to throw her stick in, but as she walked past John, he playfully swatted her on the butt. Hailey turned and grabbed him, then wrestled him to the ground, as they both laughed. The laughter increased when John tickled her. "Good grief, get a room," said Katie. "Want to?" John asked Hailey.
Hailey grinned, got up, and took John by the hand. Katie watched as they walked away. She still had a little bit of fish left on her stick and threw it into the fire, fish and all. It seemed like an eternity to Katie before Hailey came out of the hut alone and took her place by the fire. "I think I wore him out," said Hailey. Slightly miffed at what seemed like bragging, Katie realized that tonight was her night to sleep on the outside. Without saying a word, Katie went to the hut and stood in the doorway. She saw that John was still in bed.
Crawling in bed next to him, she began kissing his neck. "You will have to give me some time to recover," said John, smiling at the extra attention he was getting. "It's OK, I just want to spend some time with you," said Katie. Pulling her close, they snuggled for a while. After a few minutes, Katie began caressing him all over and it didn't take long for her to see that he was ready to focus on her now.
He started kissing her, slowly at first, then more passionately. Even though she hated how being second made her feel, Katie liked how it made John take his time. They spent the next forty-five minutes trying new things, and she could tell that he was really getting into it. Normally quiet, she let out some loud moans as she finished. John took that as his cue to feel free to join her. Totally spent, they held each other and were both asleep in minutes.
After a couple of hours, Katie woke John with a kiss on his cheek. She was dressed and kneeling next to him. "You can stay in here for a while if you want," she said. "No, wait, let me get dressed," John said, as he sat up, still dreary eyed. For John, getting dressed meant just putting
on his jean shorts.
Once he was dressed, he pulled Katie close to him. They embraced for a short while, then walked out of the hut. "Man, I thought you guys died in there," said Hailey. "I almost did," John said with a grin. "Want to take a dip?" asked Hailey. Katie and John both thought it sounded good, so they went to their familiar spot for a swim.
Once they reached the pool, Hailey and Katie got undressed, making their rounded tummies even more noticeable without their clothes. John couldn't help making a joke. "I know I've told you that I never would have thought I'd be alone with two bald ladies in the jungle, but being alone in the jungle with two bald fat ladies is even more unbelievable," he said with a chuckle.
"Do you want us to cut you off?" asked Hailey, only half joking. "OK, I withdraw my comment," said John, in retreat. "I know we've talked about this before, but I wonder if the babies are mine," John wondered. "We will just have to wait and see. If they come out of the womb cracking stupid jokes, we'll know they are yours for sure," said Hailey. Katie laughed out loud. "Ok, you are both cut off," said John. Hailey and Katie both laughed out loud this time. "I hate it when a bluff doesn't work," said John.
After cleaning up and rinsing their clothes out, it was time to catch some fish. They kept their fishing mat and pole next to the stream, leaning against a tree. They still used the pole sometimes, but they all enjoyed the excitement of using the fishing mat. By trial and error, they had learned that fish scraps made excellent bait.
With the skill that comes with repetition, they lowered the mat to the bottom and held it. Small bits of leaves were then thrown in to disturb the surface of the water. This usually attracted schools of small fish. As the small fish came in, they threw very small pieces of fish scraps, saved from the previous fishing attempt. Once the fish were actively feeding above the mat, someone would say "ready", then "now." More times than not, one attempt was sufficient to catch enough for a meal.
This time was no exception, as they raised the mat out of the water, there were more fish flopping on it than they needed. They carried the mat to shore, then threw back some of the smaller fish. Even though they had been fishing exclusively from this one spot, they hadn't noticed a drop off in numbers yet. Working as a team, they were becoming very efficient at their chores, and now had more hours of free time. Tomorrow they planned to do some exploring back at the cabin, since they hadn't been back since the burial. After eating their evening meal and taking care of routine chores, they went to bed, each with returning to the cabin on their minds.
They were all up early the next morning. This day would be different than most, and it was exciting to have a break in what had become a sometimes monotonous existence. They ate a quick breakfast of fruit, picked the day before. Any time they went exploring, they always took their blanket with them, because it was great for carrying things. Since it seemed to be indestructible, they used it a lot. Katie came out of the hut with the blanket in her hand and after they each drank their fill of water, they set out for the cabin.
Even though they had already searched through the cabin, they went straight inside looking over the same areas they had searched before. Katie went over to the bed, where the bones once were. She stood there for a brief moment, then knelt to the floor and looked underneath. "Hey, there's something under the bed," she said.
John and Hailey came over as Katie was reaching for something. John could tell she was having trouble getting it, so he grabbed the edge of the bed and flipped it over. Underneath were three containers; a square one, and two smaller round ones. The square one was about a foot across and the round ones were about six inches across and about six inches tall. Remembering how the other containers they found opened, Katie pushed down on the lid, which easily popped open.
The box was like a time capsule. Katie pulled out a Canadian coin, looked it over, then handed it to John. Next she reached in and retrieved a very small white object. "It's a tooth. A child's tooth," she said. "Here are two more," she said, reaching in again. The last item was a pocket knife. "Let me see that," said John. Taking it from Katie, he opened the main blade and tested its sharpness with his thumb. "Still in pretty good shape," he said.
Hailey had already opened one of the round containers. "Seeds," she said, holding it out for the other two to see. "They are all mixed up," said Katie. "Looks like corn and beans, and some other stuff too," said John. "I wonder if they would still come up," said Hailey.
John inspected the construction of the square box. The corners were rounded, both on the inside and on the outside. "This is a great find. More containers will come in handy," said Hailey. "I know. It's not like we can go out and buy these," said Katie admiring one of the containers in her hand. With each of them holding a container, they searched every nook and cranny inside the cabin. Once they were satisfied that there was nothing left to find, they went back outside. "I wonder what happened to the children," said Katie. "Who knows. It's one of the million things we don't know about this place," said John. "Now what?" asked Hailey. "Why don't we look in the back. We haven't searched there yet," said John.
As they made their way to the back of the cabin, they noticed some kind of structure off to one side. There wasn't much of it left, but they could tell that it was manmade. There were remnants of a pole type fence, most of which had fallen down. On the far side of the fence was a pile of wood, which might have been some sort of outbuilding at one time. John made his way to the pile and lifted up some of the wood. As a cavity opened up, he continued to work on it until he was able to squeeze inside. Just behind him, Hailey and Katie peered in.
"This looks a little like the egg laying boxes my grandparents had for their chickens. Maybe they had chickens," said John. "Wow, wouldn't that be great," said Hailey. Pulling on more of the wood, John made another great find. It was another container, but much larger than the others. It was about four feet long, by two feet wide, and was made of the same type of material as the other ones. John opened it and was a little disappointed to find that it was empty. It was filthy on the outside but spotless on the inside. "This will be great for keeping our fruit in," said John.
They continued to look around the area, hoping to find more. As they went a little farther behind the cabin, they could see more blue sky ahead. As they stepped into a clearing, they could see that it wasn't natural, because it was rectangular in shape. In the clearing were two neatly spaced rows of trees, which appeared to be fruit trees.
"It looks like an orchard," said John. As they moved forward, they discovered that they were citrus trees. There were oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits. Just beyond the trees was an area with pineapple plants. There was some vegetation growing between the trees, but it was almost as if someone was still taking care of the place. "This is amazing," said Hailey. "None of it is ready to pick, but just think about when it is. Wow!"
As they moved beyond the pineapple plants, they found a large mostly bare area. "This must be where they had their garden," said John. "They had a pretty good life here," said Katie. To Katie, this whole area represented an untold love story. She knew very little of the story, but was quickly filling in the blanks in her mind.
What a horrible end to a love story. Two lives ending, with not a single person around to care, Katie thought, as a tear formed in the corner of her eye. "I know Katie, it's so sad," said Hailey seeing the tear. "Being here reminds me of when we went to visit my grandparent's place, after my grandmother died. It was empty, and it was sad," said John. After they reached the end of the clearing, there wasn't anything left to see. None of them said much as they turned around and went back. Picking up their new containers, they returned home.
Chapter 9
Three months ago they prepared a small garden plot and weren't sure if the seeds they found in the cabin would even grow. They decided to plant some, and to their surprise many of them germinated. A crop of corn and beans started growing in their small garden plot, which is located a short walk from their hut, in a spot where p
lenty of sunshine comes through the trees.
Along with their other chores, they have to check on the garden and weed it on a regular basis. While rain provides most of the moisture it needs, they do have to carry water to it occasionally. In order to make carrying the water easier, they use gourds that hold about a half-gallon of liquid. By cutting holes in the tops, they were able to run a vine between two of them, then carried them by hanging the vine across their shoulders.
Also growing was the girth of Katie and Hailey, whose pregnancies were showing much more now. They had been discussing baby names, although they hadn't settled on any yet. Once the reality of their predicament sunk in, they realized just how unprepared they were for parenthood. They had no diapers, baby blankets, bottles, or anything else a baby needed, including a place to sleep. Hailey and Katie were still trim and fit in appearance, except for their enlarging stomachs. Even though things seemed unnatural at first, the slight tension that existed between Katie and Hailey had lessened and they were becoming a family unit.
They were a pretty happy group, and working as a team came easily to them. If one had an off day or didn't feel well, the others picked up the slack. Within each was a certain level of acceptance of their new life. Although it wasn't perfect, it was the one they had to live. They were even allowing themselves to be excited at the prospect of a bigger family.
To their surprise, the hair on their heads stopped growing at about an inch, and the hair on the rest of their bodies hadn't grown back at all, except for their eyelashes and eyebrows. They were used to their new appearance, and their enhanced physical abilities were an afterthought. Because they tired much less easily now, if a task needed hours of time, hours were given.