Chapter 4

The first thing that happened was Peach started talking. She was asking how everyone slept, what was for breakfast, and what we were going to do that day. Her endless babble frustrated everyone to some extent, but no one really said anything. We didn't really know her, what right did we have to say?

I sighed, trying to answer Peach's questions. "Peach, I really don't know what we're going to do today," I said. "Maybe we could spend the day making the camp more efficient."

Link nodded in agreement, Zelda just shrugged, and Peach asked, "Well, how do we do that?"

"Shelter, water, food, fire," I explained. Peach looked at the smoldering ashes that was once our fire, and, before she could say anything, I said, "We need to get it into a place where it won't burn out so easily. Maybe in a ditch in the ground. And as for water, there was that river we followed. If we boil the water over the fire, it will be healthy to drink. Shelter...I'm not sure yet. It doesn't look like it's going to rain any time soon." I hesitated.

Link cut in. "As for food, I'm sure we'll find a way to manage. There's plenty of fruits and berries in the area. Not all of them are going to be healthy, but I'm willing to taste them."

I nodded. "So am I," I added.

Zelda remained silent, her eyes on the floor. What was she thinking, I wondered. Obviously, it was holding all of her attention, because she hadn't looked up the entire time we had been talking, except for the begging. What was going on in her head?

Peach smiled brightly. "I have food with me," she explained.

At the same time, Link and I asked, "You have what with you?" How did she have that, of all things? Her smile widened at our confusion.

Peach pulled an apple out of her pocket. I blinked. Where had she gotten that? Along with the apple, came an umbrella. She opened it, and held it above her head, blocking the sun. "How did you do that?!" I asked, shocked.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Peach answered, "It's in my pocket, silly." She said it in such a way that I felt kind of stupid, but, at the same time, didn't understand at all.

Shaking my head, I said, "But you pulled out an umbrella, not to mention a completely ripe apple. How did you have that in there without the apple getting squished? And how did you fit the umbrella in there generally?"

Link smiled. "I understand it," he explained. "I'm guessing it's a spell."

"A spell?" I asked, but no one heard me.

Peach explained it to me and Link. "It really is a big pocket. But, also, there is a spell on it."

"A spell?" I asked, again.

Peach and Link both stared at me. "Like, magic," Peach explained. "A magic spell. You know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Magic doesn't exist," I stated simply. "Where I come from, people used to believe in magic and spells. But I know better. Technology is the closest thing we have to magic. There is no such thing."

Zelda finally looked up, her eyes filled with anger. "No such thing as magic?" she demanded. "No such thing? How could you say that?!"

Her anger surprised me almost as much as the idea of magic itself. Had I done something wrong? I was just stating my opinion. "It's just what I think," I spluttered, trying avoid conflict. "You can think whatever you like, but I like my idea of the world the way it is. Even if it has been changed a lot in less than a day," I added under my breath.

Link's mouth hung open, and he stared at Zelda. He looked like he was in complete shock at the way Zelda was acting. Obviously, this wasn't normal behavior for her. Why was it always me that brought out the worst in people?

Zelda's hands clenched into fists at her side. Her eyes burned with anger, and I started backing up, holding both hands up in surrender. "I don't want to fight, Zelda," I explained, continuing to move away. "I don't want to cause a riff in the camp, that wouldn't be good." But was that really the reason? I would tell myself it was.

Fire erupted from her hands, appearing from nowhere. I jumped up, right over the ball of fire, and landed on the ground. "What the hell was that?!" I asked, shocked. "Where did that fire come from."

Link smirked. "Is appeared...almost as if by magic!" he said.

"Oh, fuck off," I snarled. Turning back to Zelda, I mumbled, "There's gotta be a logical explanation for that."

Peach interrupted. "Maybe you should stop putting so much stock on logic," Peach said, sounding wise for the first time. "I could tell you were that kind of person when I met you. Always thinking of the logical way first, and then the ways that don't make much sense. Think with your head, not with your heart."

I grumbled, and then said, "Well, my head has saved me on numerous occasions, so I think I'm going to stick with my head, thanks." I looked away, staring at the ring of trees. But then again, my head wasn't always the best place. But what of my heart? Did I even....I shook my head, trying to dispel the thoughts.

Peach sighed. "You need to lighten up. You're one of those types."

"Those types."

"The types who think that they're in the right because of something, even though they've never tried the other option. Lighten up, Sammy."

I rolled my eyes. "And yet another person who calls me that," I mumbled, staring at the ground. "Why does everyone call me 'Sammy'?" I remembered Gandrayda, when we were starting the generators on Norion. She had called me 'Sammy.' She had been my friend in the beginning. But I had to kill her. She's dead, and it was my fault.

Zelda still hadn't cooled off yet, in more than one way. The fire was still burning around her hands, somehow not hurting her. Even though I didn't believe in magic, I had to admit, this was quite a display. Fire appearing from nowhere. How that was possible, I would never understand. Maybe it was best that I didn't.

Her eyes still bore into my skull. The way she looked at me, I felt like I was being analyzed, like I was being scanned by my own visor. It felt like she was seeing into my very soul, or lack thereof. Her eyes sparkled from the light of the fire, I couldn't help but notice. She was really cute when she was angry....But what was I thinking?!

Link interjected. "You know, maybe we should get to work. It'll be noon before we know it, and that's the hottest point of the day, when it's the most difficult to work. We should start now, take a break at noon, and then continue on when the sun's a little lower."

We all agreed, even Zelda, who was refusing to look in my general direction. We started with out designated jobs. Link was getting water, Zelda and Peach were finding food other than what Peach had, and I was going to make the camp a little bit more comfortable. My first concern was the fire.

I started digging a hole for the fire, using only my hands. The dirt on the top was very hard, and I had to dig through the roots of grass and weeds, but once you got passed the thin top layer, it was easy to dig through.

The soil here was nice, good for growing things. I could see little rocks in it, along with various minerals. It reminded me of a planet I had visited one time. Only that planet was filled with pollution. They say that the planet, Earth, was the planet where human life originated. I found that hard to believe.

The hole was three feet wide, and two feet deep. Gathering up some more wood from around the camp site, and a little bit into the forest, I created a little fire pit. Again, the wood was set up like a tepee, but this time, it was inside the ground. I put the circle of stones we had for the original fire around the pit, as if trying to explain that you couldn't go in. That was good enough for the time being, so I lit the fire and thought about other things I could do.

I stared into the fire for a while, thinking of something. If I wanted to cut down some trees, I could built a little fence. But what good was that going to do us? People could easily get in. I only had a small, one or two person tent in my bag. It was made for one person, but it was really large enough to fit two, but that was it. There was four of us. I could make a rain catcher, in case it ever did rain. But that didn't look like it was going to work; it was cloudless in all directions. I started pacing, my brain racing to think of something to do.

I needed to move, needed to work. But there wasn't very much to do. I did have something I could do, but everyone had to be here for it to work. That was frustrating.

Link was walking back, carrying a pot that Peach had given him. I could see that it was full of water. He placed it next to the fire, and asked, "Is that all you did?" He looked a little frustrated at my lack of effort.

"Well, excuse me!" I said sarcastically, putting a hand over my heart. "I didn't know that wasn't enough. Maybe I should build huts for everyone. They'll be done in thirty minutes." I smiled icily. "I need everyone back before I get the next thing done, anyways, skirt-boy." He blushed, and played with the bottom of his tunic.

"Who's the one with the sword?" he asked haughtily.

"Who's the one with the gun?" I countered, holding up the paralyzer as he pulled out his sword. I noticed he was left handed...something we had in common.

"What is going on?" We both looked up to see Peach and Zelda walking back. Peach looked angry for the first time. Maybe it was the fact that we were showing more hostility towards each other than me and Zelda had shown earlier. Why did I keep doing this?

Zelda looked a little surprised, her mouth open slightly. Her eyes flashed from me, to Link, and then back, continuing on in this pattern before glaring at me and then looking straight at Link. Link's face softened when she looked at him, something I hadn't noticed before. He gave her a very loving look, sheathed his sword, and walked over.

He grabbed her hand, and I was surprised my eyes didn't turn green. She smiled at him, a little uncertainly, I noted, and gripped his hand tightly, squeezing it for a second before keeping her hand in his. She didn't look very happy, to my surprise.

Trying to avert my eyes, I walked over to my bag and rummaged around in it, looking for a specific little item. The metal ball was priceless in it's use, despite the months it had taken me to perfect it.

Throwing it up and catching it, I said, "Ok, I'm gonna need one strand of hair from everyone here." They complied, and handing it to me. I dropped it into the hole, and watched as the little ball beeped. I walked around the perimeter of the camp, allowing it to scan it with the red light that poured out from the little hole in it. I placed it in the center of the camp, and then stretched, yawning.

"There we go," I said, sitting by the fire. "I'm done. We're safe."

Zelda poked it with a stick, looking a little nervous. It was kind of cute. "What is it?" she asked, her voice quiet, as if she was afraid that talking too loud would upset some sort of balance.

"It's kind of like a scanner," I explained. "I had it scan the area, and have specific DNA for everyone here. If we leave, and come back, it won't do anything, but if something or someone that it doesn't recognize come it, it'll screech. It'll wake us up at night, and we no longer have to keep any watches."

"Oh, good," Peach said, pulling a watch out of her pocket, and putting it on the ground. "I was getting tired of checking that at night."

Zelda, Link, and I looked at each other, and then I said, "Well, no more watches, no more worries about attack. If there is any sort of animal," I looked at Zelda when I said this, "then this thing will detect it, and it will worn us, and we'll be able to get rid of it." I smiled.

Zelda looked uncertainly back at the little object. "It can do all that?" she asked.

"I made it myself,"I simply stated. I hoped that was enough, this thing was very reliable. I had used it in Phendrana when I had slept a night there; it had saved my life from a Sheegoth. But that didn't seem to be enough.

"How do we know that it's reliable?" Zelda asked, looking a bit nervous. "I mean, it's just a piece of metal."

I frowned. "It saved my life, isn't that enough?" My brow furrowed, and I looked at her.

Peach was shifting uncomfortably, probably from the tension and frustration in the area. This really wasn't what I had wanted, and I didn't understand why this was happening. I was just trying to help; Peach seemed to be the only one to realize that.

"You know, Zelda," she said, walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Samus only did this with your best interest in heart. She just wants to make sure that you're safe, and she's doing this the way she knows how."

Zelda frowned and stood up tall. The fading light reflected off her hair, and her eyes. It made her look gorgeous, and it made my heart flutter. For a second, I thought it had stopped. I couldn't help but stare into her eyes...those deep, beautiful blue eyes.

She stalked off into the distance, her hands balled into fists. Something was going on, something she didn't like. Link called after her, but she didn't move.

Turning around, Link faced me. "This is all your fault," he snarled. "You made her angry."

I held up my hands. "I didn't do anything," I said. "I didn't know it was going to make her upset. I don't even know what's happening."

Link frowned. "Maybe you should stop trying to be the hero here," Link snarled. "That's the man's job."

My eyes widened. "Sexist pig," I snarled, standing up. "Don't you dare ever say that again in front of me. I've seen much more than you, little man. And I did it without wearing a skirt."

His eyes widened and he stalked off, sitting just out of the light of the fire. It wasn't him that bothered me, but Zelda. Where did she go, and what was wrong with her?

For some reason, I didn't want her angry at me. I didn't want her to hate me, and I really wanted her to be my friend. But how did I really feel about Zelda? But she loved Link, or so it seemed.

I knew what I was going to do. I was going to see Zelda, and see what was wrong. Maybe that would help my friendship with her.

I looked at Peach and said, "I'll be back later. Don't wait up for me."

"Don't be gone long," she said, a concerned look on her face. Under her breath, she added, "I'm sure you'll get through to her."

Smiling, I nodded, saying, "I won't be gone too long, I hope." I thanked her and walked off, praying that maybe, just maybe, this would work out.