“Solomon, wake up.” Rose pushed on Solomon’s shoulder. He snorted and rolled away from her, burying his face in his folded up lab jacket that served as his pillow. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling of their hut. Early morning sunlight was shining through the cracks in the wood, but no light shone through the roof. Whoever had made the thatched roof had done a good job. Even with the middle-of-the-night rainstorm, no water had leaked through.
She sat up in the bed. It wasn’t much of a bed, just a big pile of furs, but it was better than the ground, she supposed. Her body ached, and she rubbed at her back before gingerly touching the bump on her head. It was still tender, but the bump seemed a little smaller.
She put on her shoes before standing and heading toward the doorway. There was no door, just another fur hung across it. Unlike Solomon, she hadn’t slept at all last night. She’d been too afraid, felt too guilty to sleep. It was her fault they were in this mess, and she wished to God she could go back and change it.
So, you would have let Vida die? You would have let Solomon torture a living being in the name of science and research?
She pulled the fur back, blinking in the light before stepping out of the hut. She felt guilty about what had happened, but she didn’t regret trying to rescue Vida. He hadn’t deserved to die that way.
John and Leslie didn’t deserve to die either.
She winced and rubbed at her forehead. No, they didn’t, and she would carry the burden of their deaths for the rest of her life.
She walked quickly to the wooden structure behind the huts. It was an outhouse and, surprisingly, not that terrible to use. She peed and used one of the broad, smooth leaves piled next to her as toilet paper.
When she emerged from the outhouse, there was a man sitting by the fire. He was sharpening a long sword against a stone. He stood, placing the sword on the log beside him when she approached.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met yet. I went to bed before you were, uh, finished your watch. I’m Rose.”
“I’m Duncan.” She didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered on her small breasts and hips.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine, Rose. Please, sit with me.”
She sat down next to him. “Everyone else is still asleep?”
“Yes, other than Davis. He’s on watch.”
She glanced up into the tree. Davis was sitting in the tree and he nodded to her before studying the jungle around them.
“Were you on watch all night?” She asked.
“No. Only until about midnight. Brian took over for me for a few hours and now it’s Davis.”
“Oh.”
“I’ve always been an early riser, even on little sleep.” Duncan stared into the fire and Rose took a closer look at him. Unlike the military men, his dark hair was long and pulled into a low ponytail at the back of his skull. He had surprisingly pretty green eyes with long dark lashes.
“I’m not usually,” Rose said. “I just – I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“No, I imagine you did not.”
“I don’t want to be afraid, but I am. There isn’t even a door on the hut, you know? What if those pink things attacked the camp at night, or another animal.”
“We always have a guard at night. The yellow plants keep the pink creatures away and some of the more dangerous animals on the island have only wandered through the camp a few times. We killed them when they did.” He studied her mouth. “If you wish, I would be more than happy to offer my services to keep you safe at night.”
“Oh, um, that’s kind of you, but I have a boyfriend. A fiancé actually – Solomon, the taller guy with the dark hair?”
Duncan’s gaze slipped to her throat and he shifted away until there was more space between them. “My apologies, Rose. I did not know you were with someone. In my world, the women wear collars to show their attachment to a man.”
“Are you serious? You make your women wear collars?”
“They wear it as a symbol of the man’s love for them. When a man and a woman are sleeping together, he gifts her with his collar so that others will know she belongs to him.”
“It sounds kind of barbaric and slavish to me. What if a woman doesn’t want to wear one? Do you force her to?”
“Some men do, but that is uncommon. Most women gladly wear their man’s collar. Although, the Lord Traven’s beloved was one who did not wish to wear one.”
“Lord Traven?” Rose asked.
Duncan smiled a little. “Traven was the lord of my home and my best friend. He fell in love with one of his employees in his household when we returned from the war. She refused to wear his collar at first.”
“She changed her mind?”
“Eventually, but it took some persuading on Traven’s part.”
He stared into the fire as sorrow flickered across his face. She patted his arm tentatively. “I’m sorry, Duncan. You must miss your friend.”
“I do. I miss Traven and my world very much.”
“Did you have a – a woman in your world?”
“I did not.”
“Oh.”
“Considering that I was sucked into a ball of light, it is probably for the best that I did not have a woman to miss me.” Duncan gave her a wry smile. “Truthfully, I was very discontent with my life and yearned for a change. This, however, was perhaps a bit more than I wanted.”
She smiled at him. “I bet it was.”
“Tell me about your world, Rose. Was it a place much like the others’ world? One filled with such magic like electricity and steel machines instead of horses?”
Her grin widened. The way Duncan said electricity was adorable. “It was. The steel machines are called cars.”
“Cars, right. That’s what Wallace called them. They go very fast and run on a liquid that burns.”
“Gasoline. We used to use gasoline but most of our cars are electric now, even the air cars.”
“Air cars?”
“They’re cars that can fly like an airplane. Did the others tell you what an airplane is?”
Duncan nodded. “They tried to explain. I confess, I find it very difficult to imagine such things.”
“I bet you -”
“Duncan, you bastard, you didn’t fill up the water bucket yet.”
Rose looked behind her to see Wallace standing at the stone table. He grinned cheerfully at her. “Morning.”
“I’m on water duty this week.” Teagan came out of his hut and took both water buckets when Wallace held them out to him.
“We need some more leaves too.” Wallace scratched the stubble on his throat. “I’m about to take an epic shit, pretty sure I’m gonna clean out the leaves supply.”
Teagan picked up a leather bag with a long strap and slung it over his shoulder. “Thanks for the warning.”
“I got your back, brother.” Wallace clapped Teagan on the back before ambling toward the outhouse.
“Now that we have more people, it may be prudent to build another outhouse,” Duncan said.
“Probably. You seen Davis?”
“He’s on watch. I will go with you to get the water.” Duncan stood, and Rose watched as he picked up the sword and sheathed it in a leather scabbard around his waist.
“Can I come?” Rose stood, and Teagan studied her for a moment before nodding.
“Sure. Duncan, grab the flowers.”
She watched as Duncan walked to one of the empty huts. He returned carrying some of the yellow flowers. They grew on long vines and the vines were twisted into circles. He placed one around her throat. He handed a circle of plants to Teagan who pushed it over his head and around his throat. Duncan put on his own necklace of yellow flowers before staring at the smaller circle in his hand. With a small grin, he plopped it on top of Rose’s head like a crown.
“A little extra protection for you.”
She gave him a shaky smile. The idea that the crown and necklace of yellow flowers would protect her from the horrifying pink men seemed absurd, but she had no reason to believe they would lie to her about it. She touched the soft petals of the flowers around her throat. They gave off a vaguely minty smell.
“Are these edible?”
“Don’t know,” Teagan said. “We haven’t seen any of the animals eating them, so we assume no. Besides, we don’t want to waste them by eating them.”
“Right. Sorry, that was a stupid thing to ask.”
Teagan shook his head. “It wasn’t. But, yeah, don’t eat anything until you ask one of us about it.”
“I won’t.”
She followed Teagan and Duncan toward the edge of the trees. As they passed the clothesline, Teagan stopped abruptly. “What the hell?”
Duncan’s hand dropped to the handle of his sword. “What is it?”
“Where the hell are my pants?”
“What?”
Teagan pointed to the clothesline. “My other pants were hanging here last night. They’re gone.”
“Are you certain?” Duncan studied the trees around them.
“Yes, I’m certain. When you only have two fucking pairs of pants, you keep track of them.”
“Maybe Wallace or Brian took them by mistake last night in the dark.”
Teagan scowled. “Maybe. C’mon, let’s get the water.”
* * *
“Holy crap.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty.” Teagan was already kneeling at the edge of the water and filling up the first bucket.
Rose stared at the large waterfall as Teagan filled the second bucket before dipping his hand into the water and splashing some onto his face. She knelt next to him and dipped her fingers into the water. It was freezing cold and she cupped some water in both hands and drank.
“God, it’s so cold,” she said.
“The waterfall keeps it cold.” Teagan had already moved away and was picking off the broad leaves from some bushes near the water. Duncan was staring into the jungle around them, his sword out and held loosely at his side. She hurried over and began to pick some of the leaves, stuffing them into the bag around Teagan’s waist.
“How deep is the pool?”
Teagan shrugged. “Not sure. There’s a drop off about ten feet from the shore, but no way to tell how deep it is.”
“Are there any of the sharkgators in the pool?” She looked behind her shoulder at the water, shuddering a little.
“No. The pool isn’t big enough for them and besides, I think they like the salt water. Most of the year they’re living out in the ocean. They only come close to the island when they’re looking to breed, from what we can tell.”
He stopped picking leaves and pointed to the waterfall. “That right there is the closest thing we have to a shower. It’s fucking freezing though so don’t stand under it too long or you’ll get hypothermia. Or you can bathe in the pool. It’s just as cold though.”
“Sounds great,” Rose said.
A smile crossed Teagan’s face. “There’s a metal tub in one of the empty huts. You can use it if you want a warm bath, but you have to haul the water, heat it and empty the tub yourself. Most of us prefer the quick, cold shower method.”
“Okay.” She picked more leaves and handed them to Teagan who stuffed them into the bag.
“Soap is on limited supply though, so you’re only given a certain amount per week.” He eyed her long hair. “You might want to think about cutting your hair short so you don’t use up your soap ration on it.”
“What about Talla? She has really long hair.”
“Talla gets extra soap.”
“Why, because she’s sleeping with Patrick?”
“Yes.” Teagan’s voice was unapologetic. “Sleeping with Patrick gives you certain perks.”
“Is Patrick dangerous?”
Teagan stared silently at her and Rose picked another leaf before handing it to him. “I only ask because he seems… unstable.”
“He has a quick temper. Do what he says, and there won’t be a problem.”
“So it’s a dictatorship, not a democracy?”
Teagan sighed and turned to face her. “Patrick won’t hurt you, but the smart thing to do is keep your head down and your mouth shut. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We’ve got enough leaves, let’s get back.”
Teagan handed her the leather bag of leaves and she slung it over her shoulder. He carried the water buckets while Duncan led the way, his sword flashing in the light flickering down through the trees.
When they walked into the camp, Rose almost dropped the bag of leaves. She stared at the man sitting next to Wallace. He was short and stout with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes. He was naked from the waist up, his hairy belly protruding in front of him. He scratched at his bellybutton then sniffed at his finger before casually flicking away the debris stuck under his nail. He was giving her a disgruntled look, but she barely noticed. Her gaze kept returning to the large blue gossamer-like wings that sprouted from his back. They quivered lightly, despite the lack of breeze.
“What’s your problem, lady?”
The voice was deep and as rough as sand paper scraping across vocal cords. She stared in silent shock at the short man and he scowled angrily her.
“What’s your problem?” He repeated. “You never seen a fucking fairy before?”
“I-I’m sorry,” Rose said.
Wallace stood and took the bucket of water from Teagan. He set it on the table, dipped a mug into it, and pulled a toothbrush from the pocket of his pants. “Rose, meet Arden. Arden, this is Rose. Be nice.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you,” Arden grunted.
Wallace dunked his toothbrush into the water and brushed his teeth vigorously. Rose sat down next to Duncan and tried not to stare at Arden’s wings.
“Morning.” Brody climbed over the log and sat next to her. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before resting his head on her shoulder. “How did you sleep?”
“Not well.” Rose patted his leg. “You?”
“Not that great. Turns out that being sucked into an alternate reality plays hell on your sleeping pattern. Not to mention that jungle sounds aren’t exactly the most soothing noise to fall asleep…”
Brody had caught a glimpse of Arden. The fairy curled his lip at him as Brody’s mouth dropped open. “Is that a…”
“Fairy,” Rose said.
“Holy shit,” Brody breathed. “So, when they said fairy, they meant an actual…”
“Fairy,” Rose repeated.
“You know I can hear you, right?” Arden glared at him.
“Sorry.” Brody studied Arden’s wings. “I’ve never met a fairy before.”
“Yeah, well, I never met a redheaded moron before, but here we are.”
Brody flushed as Wallace grinned around his toothbrush.
“Be nice, Arden.” Teagan set the bucket of water next to the second one. “Who’s on trap duty today?”
“Brian and me.” Wallace finished brushing his teeth and stuck his toothbrush back in his pocket.
“Good. Don’t forget to check the one by the falls.”
“I won’t.”
“Holy shit. Does that guy have wings?”
Daryl’s voice echoed across the clearing. Arden scowled and jumped up before stomping into a hut.
“Keep your voice down,” Wallace snarled.
“Sorry, but seriously did that guy have wings?” Daryl stared at them and despite how tired and afraid she was, Rose started to giggle.
After a moment, Brody started to laugh too. Before long, Wallace and Duncan had joined in, and even Teagan had a smile on the face.
“You guys are assholes.” Daryl turned and stalked back into his hut.
“He ain’t wrong,” Wallace said with a grin. He stood and clapped Brody on the back. “Come on, Red, I’ll wake up Brian and we’ll show you how to check the traps.”
* * *
“Tell me more about this Vida creature.” Patrick stared at Solomon.
It was late afternoon and everyone was sitting around the fire. It hadn’t escaped Rose’s notice that Doc was sitting next to Brody. Their thighs were brushing, and Brody looked both pleased and nervous.
Solomon shrugged. “There isn’t much more to tell. He’s big, blue, strong and needs water to live.”
“How strong?”
“Patrick, it doesn’t matter.” Teagan leaned forward. “You know he’s dead by now.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Patrick ran a lazy hand down Talla’s thigh.
“Why are you so interested in him?” Marissa asked.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.” Patrick gave her a condescending look that set Rose’s teeth on edge. “How did he escape again?”
“That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it, Rose?” Daryl said. “You want to answer that?”
“What are you talking about?” Brody asked.
“I’m saying that Rose set that blue idiot free,” Daryl said
“No, she didn’t,” Brody glanced at Rose, “she wouldn’t do something like that. Would you?”
Rose gave him a nervous look. “I didn’t know…”
“What the fuck did you do, Rose?” Solomon was sitting beside her, and he gave her a hard poke in the leg.
She flinched, and Duncan immediately stood with his hand on the handle of his sword. “You would be wise to keep your hands to yourself, Solomon.”
Solomon gave him a wide-eyed look of fright and Patrick made a sit down gesture at Duncan. “Enough, Duncan.”
Rose turned to Solomon. “You were torturing him. He would have died if I hadn’t helped him. His organs were shutting down.”
“So, what, you just decided to untie him and lead him straight to the orb?”
“No! No, I didn’t know he would try and go back to the orb. I was going to get him out of the lab and then…”
“Then what?” Solomon asked. “What were you going to do with him? Do you really think you could have hidden a giant blue alien in our apartment? Christ, you are so fucking stupid! We’re on this stupid fucking world because of you, Rose!”
He stood and stormed off to their hut. Rose started to stand, and Brody grabbed her arm. “I think he needs a minute.”
She studied Brody. His face was pale, and he was giving her a sick look. “Brody, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“I know.”
“You’re sorry?” Marissa stood up and glared at Rose. “You’re sorry? All of this is your fault and all you can say is you’re sorry? John and Leslie are dead because of you.”
Rose winced. Her face was burning, her hands were ice cold despite the warm and humid air and she felt sick to her stomach. “I know, and I feel horrible about it. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. If I had known that Vida would lock all of us in with the orb, I would have…”
Daryl glared at her. “You would have what? Not tried to rescue the big blue fucking ape?”
“No,” Rose replied. “I would have helped him escape, just not when the portal was opening up.”
“You’re such a bitch,” Marissa spat. “I’m glad Daryl left you to die in the ocean. I just wish you had been torn apart like -”
“Marissa, shut up,” Brody said.
“Fuck you, Brody,” Marissa said. “And fuck you too, Rose. I hope you die a fucking horrible death on this stupid island.”
She turned and stormed away to her own hut. Rose stared at the ground as Daryl stood. “She’s right. You’re a bitch and you’re gonna get what’s coming to you for trapping us all here.”
He left, and Rose forced her gaze to Peter. He was staring at her and the disgust on his face made her want to vomit. “Peter, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” He stood and walked away.
Brody put his arm around her and she leaned into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head, avoiding the goose egg, and squeezed her hard. “It’s okay, Rose. They’ll get over it.”
“They won’t, and they shouldn’t,” she said. “Everything they said is true. This is my fault, and Leslie and John are dead because of me.”
“It’ll be okay,” Brody repeated.
“Well,” Patrick grinned at her and she swallowed down the trickle of fear she felt at the hard sheen in his eyes, “that was a fun show. Who’s hungry?”