June 22nd, 2006

I hadn't noticed I fell asleep with my iPod still on me. By the time I had woken up the battery was dead, so I'd have to get Tara to let me use her re-charger on it. That morning seemed very dry and dreary. Everyone was outside looking like death had rolled over them without so much as a "oh I'm sorry" or "let me help you up". It wasn't a very pretty sight. Even I was still a bit drowsy from last night.

"So who's going to volunteer to get some food before I do it myself…?"

Nobody moved as I said this, "Brian please, everyone is too drained to get food. You seem like you're doing alright, you get it!"

I grunted to myself and grabbed my spear heading out for the water thinking to myself this is such bullshit, I know they're faking it…

Though as I looked back Jason, again, was looking like a ghost past right through him. I think he knew about that, but I figured I'd tell him when I got back. The water seemed unusually cold today. Usually it was up around ninety degrees but if felt around sixty. With Axel no longer around to get us food surely we would struggle for the next few weeks until we got it resolved. Suddenly, though, my mind flashed back to when Jason almost killed Axel's brother. The thought of Jack not saying a thing after Axel saved him seemed quite odd. Somehow in the back of my head I knew that Jack wouldn't do such a thing. Something was causing trouble on the island, and I had to find out soon.

Finally I made it into the water after that long though ran through my head. For the first few seconds the water shocked my feet from the temperature difference on the land. Soon it didn't affect me and I was looking around for something worth holding onto. I had thought about asking the Lord to come help me out.

He seemed to be doing alright; the weather didn't affect his body at all. I had told him to look after the others incase the time arrived for battle.

The one good quality of him that stuck out was that he NEVER argued. Even if you were to tell him to go and wrestle a shark he wouldn't object. His strength would come in handy.

However we never figured out if he was a human or robot. We never saw him take off the suit either. I just guessed he did it while we were sleeping. I finally got sick of all these thoughts and headed back towards the hut.

"Hey Lord, you want to do me a favor and take my place of getting food here?"

"Absolutely, it would be an honor oh mighty one! You shall not be disappointed with what I get."

I watched him run off to the water. Something I couldn't figure out was the way he ran. It wasn't like "long paces" or "quick and tiny steps". Instead it looked like his knees were touching his stomach each time he took a step.

When I did track I never ran like that, I was always calm and collected. As I thought about it laughed for a second and thought, "He and I should have a race later…that is if everyone is feeling better."

My attention switched over to Tara as she cried, "Brian, how come you're the only one out of us that's not sick?"

Jason and Cree tried looking up at me when I responded, "Your guess is as good as mine, and it would be a shame to have all of us feeling ill. That way no one would be able to take care of us. However, since bozo arrived he's seemed to be doing great so far."

I would've laughed if I hadn't seen what he was trying to do.

"What hell are you doing? Why aren't you getting us food!" I yelled.

He looked up at me clenching his fists, "These slimy blue and purple like creatures seem to possess the same powers as me!"

Around him was a pack of jellyfish making fun of his costume.

"Now you know how I feel!"

They seemed to be mocking him in a way. I wondered why he didn't just zap them back. Then I realized he was, but they were absorbing it.

"How about instead of you trying to kill them just ignore them and walk away."

"If I did that then everyone would think I was a coward instead of a Lord!" he whimpered back.

I sighed and got up for a second looking down at my group then back at him, "Everyone I need you to stay put while I go help him."

Cree said faintly, "Brian, there's something you need to know about…him."

I looked at her, "What is it Cree, what did you see?"

Before she could answer she had fallen onto her side, "Later Brian I will tell you what I saw."

I couldn't help but watch her lay there like a slug. I scratched my head instead and went back off to the Lord.

"Why don't you try getting something else instead of jelly fish, those really aren't edible anyways." I pointed to some baby tiger sharks swimming around after a helpless fish.

"Oh my good lord; look at that little creature! What is that thing on his back!"

"Well um, it's a fin. Fish use it to swim faster."

"Wow what amazing and exotic creatures you have on this planet of yours."

I thought about what Cree said back there and walked up to the Lord…well beside him at least. He was pretty tall for being clumsy a lot.

"Hey Lord, I don't know how to ask this, but I talked to Cree back there and she said there's something that I should know about you."

He looked at me confusingly, "What do you mean Brian? Do you think I'm an enemy?"

"Oh no it has anything to do with that! I tried asking her what she saw but she's still too weak to say anything. Would you like to tell me any secrets you have?"

I could tell he was getting frustrated from both the questions I was asking him and the jellyfish that kept stinging his legs.

"Alright Brian you really want to know why I'm acting like this?"

"Acting, it doesn't seem like you are, although you never really seem…down to this island like."

"Fine here's here the truth, I'm not really a guy. I thought it wouldn't have to come down to me telling you that. If you're wondering how my voice is so deep it's because I can enhance it with a speaker phone. My real name is Sophia. Though, I really am a lord, just not a very good one."

I shrugged, "That's all I wanted to know. Now you know your secret is safe with us."

She gave out a breath of relief, "I was always afraid that you wouldn't understand if you found out…I know that compared to you I'm relatively stupid. I just don't like people ordering me around."

I went back and got my spear for her, "Here use this, it'll help you become adapted to our island."

She took it and played around with it, "What do I do with it?"

"Here look, you see that shark out there?" I pointed about ten feet from us.

"Yes, do you want me to throw this at it?"

I nodded my head, "Don't be afraid, we must have food in order to stay alive."

"Really I thought you people here could stay alive as long as us. We can go years without eating anything or taking any pills. Compared to you we are somewhat more advanced in the way we live."

I tried paying attention but she went into another of her long speeches. I waved my hand in front of her face to see if she was still even looking at me.

Slowly I backed up but didn't see a jellyfish right there…"If you dare sting me I'm going to wrap your tentacles around that funny head of yours!"

"Aye man, I don't resort to violence like that!"

Suga Daddy came floating around me.

"Really well put those long things of your to your side! You could poke someone's eye out!"

"Sorry about your stupid friend over there, we detected a strong stupid force in the area and tracked it down to her."

"How did you know she was a girl before you started stinging her?"

He thought about for a moment, "Well it's kind of hard to explain, but to be short our tentacles change colors depending on what's around us. It's like a stop light. If we detect something dangerous they'll be red. If everything is ok then it'll be green, and so on. However, with your friend over there they changed…orange."

I looked over at the Lord, "Do you think he'll get out alive?"

"Oh yea man, don't give it another thought. Well I must be off, I'll catch you later man!"

I faintly waved and ran out of the water while the Lord still rambled on.

"Brian, can we PLEASE eat now!" Jason complained.

"It's not looking good; she seems to have trouble adjusting to our life style."

"Oh that's perfect, now we're going to starve!"

I realized that they were getting impatient with everything that's been going on today.

"Hey I have an idea, why don't you guys go get back into bed and I'll bring the food when it's ready."

Cree was the only who went, Jason and Tara didn't seem thrilled about the idea.

"Brian, quit trying to make things better!" Jason yelled.

"Jason, if you must raise your voice do it somewhere else, I'm trying my hardest to get you guys back to normal. Not unless you want to get your food then I'd suggest you shut up and go back to bed!"

He gave me his famous "Brian you're such a douche" look.

I just shrugged back and pointed towards the hut signaling him back to bed. At last he budged out of the sand where he had left an imprint and waddled back to his bed. I wish there was a way to knock him out sooner.

As he headed him he couldn't help but say, "When this is over Brian you and I am going to have a nice long talk."

Sophia could be heard still talking in the water.

"Hey Lord, you know you can start getting food now."

"No thanks, I was just telling Brian over here that…say…how did you get over there so quickly?"

I wanted to pounce on her because of her incompetence but that wouldn't be solving our problem. "Hey Sophia, I beg of you please get some food so your soldiers will be healthy again."

"Why what's wrong with them, they looked alright to me."

Again I sighed, "You must understand, we don't always stay in good health. Please kill a shark or something else edible."

"If you want Brian I you can have some food pills. I have one representing its own country. The Italian one has spaghetti and ravioli. The American one is cheeseburgers and hot dogs. The…"

"Damn it just do something!" I yelled impatiently.

"Alright, my you people of lower evolution sure can lose your tempers a lot easier then us."

I turned my back and muttered, "Yea try being stuck on this island for a month you bastard then we'll see whose laughing…"

"Don't worry Brian, like I said before you shall not be disappointed by what I get. And if you are I'll stay here and get food for you forever!"

I immediately turned around, "Oh really, shall we make a little deal then?"

"Why what do you have in mind? It's not like I'm going to be a slave or servant!"

"Oh no of course not, it's just that we could really use some help around here getting used to the island and all. And I know someone of your…intelligence would serve as such that!"

She tilted her head slightly, "You better not be bluffing when you say that. I've seen a lot of men go back on their word. If you're another one you might as well forget it, I'm not that stupid. Also by the way, when I say I had fifty IQ the equivalent to that in earth points would be nearly two hundred fifty. I just choose not to show that."

I could feel a laugh making its way up my stomach and through my throat. "Oh my god is you serious? You're going to make my gut burst! You want me to believe that you're the smartest person in the world? After everything I've seen you do since you got here have been nothing but stupidity!"

"I'm sorry to inconvenience you Brian, but I must say that on my behalf that I have handled it rather well since I arrived. I know that I haven't made the best impression with some of my…language. That doesn't mean you must think differently of me. I've heard you say words that would have you thrown in jail!"

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha, well you know what? Fuck you, if you think I'm going to crouch down to your level of civilization you have another thing coming at you!"

"Oh man you're going to hell for that one! If you say one more thing like that I'll have no choice but you use my powers on you!"

I took a step towards her, "I dare you! No wait I triple dog dare you! Let's just see how brave you really are! Everyone thinks I'm doing too good of a job on this heroic shit! You can take over for me now!"

She didn't intend on me continuing on so instead she took in a deep breath then blasted me to the other side of the island.

As I went flying I could hear Jason yelling, "Take that bitch! You got what you finally deserved!"

I landed with a back shattering crunch on the sand. "God damn it! My back, I think it's broken!"

No one else was around me so I had to lay there in pain waiting for someone to come.

Tara heard Jason yelling and hobbled over to him, "Jason what were you just laughing at?"

"Oh man you should've seen what the Lord just did to Brian! She blew him nearly off the Island!"

"She did what! Where is she?"

Jason pointed over in the water.

Tara tried walking over to her but fell short, "Hey you son of a bitch! Why did you do that? What did he ever do to you?"

"He took the name of my planet in vein. He deserved to be punished."

"That's no reason to use violence, if he was here right now I'd have him kick your funny ass back to whatever the hell that planet is that you're from!"

"I know it may have been harsh but you must realize that that is what we do to others who commit such a crime."

"Well you know what? We aren't on your planet! You are on our turf, and as punishment for you you'd better find him and bring him back here if you still want your precious army!"

Sophia took in a big gulp, "Fine, give me a couple of hours. I shall leave you food before I go. In the meantime Jason will be in charge while I'm gone."

Jason smirked to himself with an evil force inside of him.

"Don't worry…Lord! You can guarantee I'll hold down the place while you're gone!"

Tara looked at him then back at Sophia, "Why are you laughing like that Jason. I have a feeling there's something going on here that I should be informed of. One of you better say something soon or else I'll have no choice but to go out and look for Brian myself!"

Although they continued laughing that didn't stop Tara from going after her beloved boyfriend, Brian. Nothing seemed to stop her even though her health quite wasn't up to par yet. She had a few run-ins with the wildlife but she kept making her move, soon to be happy…and nearly destroyed. The question she asked herself now was what would become of Jason and Sophia.

When my eyes opened the moon was reflecting off of my white t-shirt. It had a little neon effect that made my shirt look all lime like. The only thing that made sense at the moment was that my back was in excruciating pain. I knew I had problems before with it when I went to bed. All it needed was a good crack and I wouldn't be as stiff. However this time that didn't seem to be real effective. I tried leaning over onto my stomach without too much movement. At first I felt nothing but a minor crick then I heard something rip. My back was arched to see if it was still alright. When I stood up nothing seemed to be out of place.

As I stood on my tip toes cracking my back I noticed a bag lying near the edge of the water. I made my way over to the water still limping a bit but when I looked in to see what was there I was both breath taken and surprised.

The note read, "This is my baby, Lucia, I can't afford to take care of her so I hope whoever receives this will look after her. I sent some food and money incase it becomes a problem. She was my beloved child, I beg of you to look after her. I'm sure her powers will come in handy." –Lucia's Mother

I picked up the child looking at her, her neon and black eyes looking at me in curiosity. She looked like a human, but her body was shaped differently, she had tentacle like arms and bent legs. I tried not looking at them too much but since she was little she wouldn't mind. As I looked at her I heard a voice ringing through the trees. I quickly took the bag and the baby and headed off behind a rock by the water.

Tara poked her head through one of the trees and looked around. "Brian where are you! If you're ok please come out, it's Tara!"

I poked my head up above the rock, "Tara is that really you?"

"Brian! You're alright, when Jason told me what happened I was ready to kill him!"

"Yes I may have to take some kind of similar action when we get back."

"We, is someone else here? You mean us right?"

I looked at her, "Tara…we have another person on our island now." I showed her the baby and she was breath taken as well.

"Brian, where did you find her?"

"After I woke up from the blow I took earlier I heard a noise coming from the water. And sure enough there she was, asleep in the bag. She hasn't made a noise since I started holding her."

We both looked at her wondering what we should do.

"Well Tara I think we should seriously talk about this when we get back. I think…" I didn't finish the sentence because I was afraid of what she would say. "Let's just make our way back then we'll talk."

She nodded her head but she kept looking at Lucia. I couldn't tell if Tara was happy or confused about the whole idea of looking after a baby, which made me get even more pressure when Cree and Jason would see her. The moon still glowed bright above us not showing any signs of morning yet.

"Brian, what do you think we should do with her?" Tara asked impatiently.

I knew she wanted an answer but I had to really give it consideration before making any hasty movements. I mean we were already defending for ourselves. The last thing we'd need was for a baby's life to be put in danger as well.

"Tara, I told you we'll talk about this when we get back. I have a lot on my mind as it is."

"Oh yeah, and what exactly would that be?" She looked at me with a look of frustration and anger. "What makes everything you do so important?"

"Please don't start that with me right now. I'm only doing what anyone else would do. I thought I'd never have to say this, but I'm letting you guys make your own decisions. You don't see me telling you what's good or bad to do. Don't put more pressure onto me, especially at this time!"

"I know Brian…I guess I'm sorry in a way. Being here has been rough for all of us. You however seem to be adapting quite well."

"Like I said let's not talk about it right now, let's just enjoy our company together…I don't know that this is the time to ask, but would you like to finish what we started doing the other day?"

She looked at me with an emotionless face, "Brian…I would really love to, but like you said let's concentrate on getting back and figuring out what to do with her then we'll worry about ourselves."