Free Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit by James Holler

the feeling grew stronger every day.
As John was looking at Hailey, his thoughts drifted to Katie, out there
somewhere alone. He wasn't completely convinced she was out there in the jungle
though. He hadn't discussed it with Hailey, but he thought there might be
another explanation, other than her wandering off and getting lost.
    A loud clap of thunder nearby
startled him and woke Hailey. John put up the door and
secured it, and before he could get back in bed, the rain started. After he lay
down, John listened intently for leaks. He kept a supply of small sticks in one
corner of the hut, to mark any leaks for repair later. Fumbling around in the dim
light, he located them and placed them where he could easily find them. Good,
no leaks yet, he thought. Hailey quickly went back to sleep, and in minutes,
John was out too.
    As Hailey woke up the next morning,
she could see the sunlight coming through the cracks around the door dimly lighting
the inside of the hut. The rain had stopped hours ago, and it was quiet outside.
It was the first time since she had been here that
it had rained so hard. The unusual silence this morning was a welcome relief
from the usual sounds she heard. The unfamiliar noises of the jungle was the
thing that was hardest for her to get used to. Another thing she
disliked, was having no modern conveniences. I hope Katie is OK, she
thought.
    She looked at John as he slept, and
thought of how close they were becoming. When she looked at him now, she saw
past the scrubby appearance of a castaway. Now she saw a man who was slim, but muscular,
and had attractive facial features that were camouflaged by his shaggy beard,
and wild, uncombed hair. She reached out her hand and started to wake him, but
changed her mind.
    Being as quiet as she could, Hailey
placed the door to one side, and stepped out on the wet grass. It was eerily calm,
and reminded her of a camping trip she and her parents went on when she was a
small girl. Her dad loved to fish, and camping was an extension of that love.
Her mom endured it, for the love of her husband and family, rather than the
love of the great outdoors. Thinking of her mom made her wish that she could
tell them that she was all right. It made her sad to think that they were
probably in pain because she was gone.
    Hailey looked all around her, as
though she expected to see Katie waiting for her. She missed her, even though
Katie's depression hadn't allowed them to become real friends yet. They had a
bond that only sharing a bizarre life-changing experience can create. They woke
up together on the beach in this strange place afraid and confused. She thought
of how they had been walking along, when John jumped out and grabbed Katie, and
was proud of how they had fought. I hope she found a dry spot to spend the
night, she thought.
    Realizing she was allowing herself to
think too much about things that made her sad, Hailey directed her thoughts to
daily chores. She decided to try to get the fire going while John slept a while
longer. She slipped back into the hut and gathered some fire starting material
that they kept there for such an occasion. Showering the ball of plant fibers
with sparks from the fire starter, Hailey soon had some heavy smoke. Holding
the fibers carefully with her fingers to the side, she blew on the hot spot. Drawing
a full breath, she blew again, slowly, but steadily, until the small area that
was producing heavy smoke, burst into flames.
    She skillfully placed it in the fire
pit, and began adding some of the small dry sticks that she brought from the
hut. With the small fire going well, it was just a matter of adding gradually
larger sticks, until the fire was hot enough to burn wetter wood.
    John's voice suddenly shattered the
early morning silence. "Morning," he said, as he stood right behind
her. "Don't do that," said Hailey, noticeably startled. "You
scared the crap out of me." "Well what's the plan for today?"
asked John. "Why don't we check down by the