June 23rd, 2006

Since we didn't arrive back at the hut by morning we had to sleep in the sand. Lucia didn't seem to mind at all since she was still asleep. I can't imagine though what she'll be like when she wakes up.

I woke up with sand on the side of my face where I had been drooling.

"Brian please learns to control that! I suggest you try sleeping with your mouth shut!"

"If you haven't noticed Tara it's a habit, and those are hard to break!"

"If you dare do that on me I'll kill you and never forgive you!"

I rolled my eyes and continued on. We had got in rid of the bag that Lucia was in and had to hold her until we got back. Then I planned for Jason and me to build her a crib of some sort in Tara's room. She agreed to have her there.

"Brian how come each time I hold her she seems upset even though she's still asleep?"

"I'm not sure, for some people it's easy to hold a baby without disturbing them. For others it takes a little more."

"Do you have a lot of experience? Did you ever baby-sit or watch kids for a period of time?"

I shrugged and continued walking not answering her question. I knew I didn't have a good understanding of babies, or children for that matter. You have to speak their language to get through to them. It's one of those things that a lot of people don't realize until the kids are screaming and shouting for something that they want.

As we continued on I looked at Lucia then at Tara. Even though there was a three year gap between us I would eventually have to ask her if she ever wanted kids. Right now though wasn't the time. However like I was saying, ever since she got here there's been that strong connection of both love and concern, the formula seen in a lot of marriages. Plus she looked like she could get you to talk in any kind of situation.

When we got back Jason was sitting out by the fire, "Hey Brian it looks like we're back to normal now. Cree's inside getting some…what is that you have there?"

I walked up to him, "Jason, I need your help building a crib. It seems as though she's homeless according to this note I found by her."

I handed him Lucia, "Hey come now Brian you know I'm not good with kids!"

"Well neither am I but I've made it this far haven't I?"

He looked at me and gave a long sigh holding her in his arms. "She's not sleeping in our room you do know that…right?"

"What oh hell no, she would keep us up all night! The girls will have her in their room since they know a lot more about kids then we do."

Cree came out and stopped in her track, "So Brian it looks like we have some work to do with her, now don't we?"

"What are you talking about by we, you and Tara are taking care of her. Don't be pointing figures at me when I have no idea what to do other than hold her."

Cree just made a face at me and continued down towards the water.

"Brian, how big do we want this crib to be?" Jason asked still holding her.

"I'm not sure; I'm not exactly into dimensions and math. We'll just have to take a stab at how long it should be then going from there."
"May I at least put her down then? My arms are starting to feel the pressure."

"Here I'll take her; you just get in there and start getting some pieces of wood for us to work with."

He handed me Lucia and headed inside into the girls room while I sat there on the stairs holding her. I tended to talk to her when no one else was around because it seemed like she was the only one that I could talk to without making fun of me.

"Hey Brian what exactly will she eat? I'm surprised she's made it this far and hasn't complained yet of being hungry."

I thought about it for a second and murmured, "Well I'm sure she can have the same stuff we eat even though it's not really a main course meal. We don't really have a choice though."

Jason came out looking like we had no wood left, "Brian, please tell me there's some more wood around this island."

"Dude remembers we found a whole shit load the other day on the other side of the island. Hey Tara look after her while we go back and get something for her to sleep in."

"Wait Brian what do you expect me to do with her?"

"Tara this isn't that complicated, do motherly things to her. Play with her and make funny faces. I don't know what else she likes to do."

"Oh yes sure leave me with the "mother" stuff!"

"Fine, Jason you stay here with the baby and Cree. Tara and I will be back later."

He looked at me and complained, "Brian if she knows what she's doing with the baby then I'm lost as hell! Why don't I go to, then you'll have more wood to carry back!"

While the two of them argued out over who should stay I went inside and asked Cree politely to watch over Lucia.

"Gee Brian since when have I become a part of your plan?" She laughed and replied, "Alright anything for you, but you owe me big times!"

"Alright anything you want, just save it for later."

"Hold on, what happened to Sophia?" She asked.

"Hmmm, I'm not sure. She's probably off training. If we see her we'll tell her of what's going on."

If I had known where Sophia really was then I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of making a crib. We found her off on the edge of the water on a rock.

"Hey Lord, are you coming with us?"

"What's the big adventure of the day?" She said with sarcasm.

"Well since that baby arrived on the island we're going off to collect some wood and make into a crib for her."

Sophia immediately raised her head, "Did you happen to find this baby on the other side of the island in a bag?"

"Yes how did you know that?"

She hesitated for a second and replied, "Oh…nothing, let's go get that wood."

"Wait…seriously how did you where I found her?"

"It was just a guess, no big deal right? Now come on we don't have all day you know."

As the day dragged on Sophia was afraid to let her secret out that she was the one who left Lucia on the island unknowingly that she would end up here. Even after they got the fire and came back she never mentioned her daughter's name again. Brian kept his word to Cree in returning the favor, but it may have been too much for just being friends.

After dinner, there wasn't much conversation taking place between anyone. Even Jason and Cree weren't chatting like they normally did. I can't imagine what they could talk about in such a short period of time. I know it seems far for us since they've been here only for a couple of weeks. Tara and I however are a different story. Little did I know what mischief I'd be getting myself into the next time we were alone.

Sophia was off sitting by the edge of the water pretending like nothing was wrong. She still gave her same answer from before about it just being a guess. I wasn't going to keep asking her but I wanted to know the truth.

"Lord, you have to be honest with me. Ever since I mentioned the name Lucia you've been ignoring my questions regarding her."

"What are you talking about? I've never heard of her before!"

"Must I remind you that there's quite a resemblance between you and her."

She couldn't help but laugh a little, "It's funny, and I thought I was ready for a child. Instead I ran from my fears and did the wrong thing. Brian promise me you won't make the same decision, I do love her. I'm just not ready right now."

"Well what are you going to do while she's here with us? You have to talk to her like she still is your daughter. Otherwise she'll get the wrong impression and mistake Cree or Tara for her real mother."

"I know, but it's hard enough for me. And what about this battle that we're all preparing for?"

"Don't you worry about that, there are bigger things to take care of. I'll let you think it over for a while. I'll be getting some sleep now."

As I went back towards the hut Tara was sitting by the fire so I joined her.

"Did you get what you wanted this time?"

"I did, but she's not ready to accept the responsibility of it. She needs our help, you and I."

"Brian please doesn't assume that we're going to take her in as our own."

I looked at her with an obvious look, "We must have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. For one thing Sophia could get fed up and leave us. Also Lucia will think you're her mother. What will you do after that? We're not going to just give her up."

"Do you realize what that would do to us? Just having that baby around could tear us apart; I don't know what I would do without you Brian. We must find a way to join back Lucia and Sophia!"

"Alright, give me the night to think about it. I'll have a plan by morning."

"And if you don't Brian? Then what will we do?"

"If I don't then I don't, that's all there is to it!"

She rolled her eyes and headed in giving me a kiss on the way back. As she got inside the door she said to me, "You know, maybe it isn't a hard thing for you to realize right now, but we're putting ourselves in danger by battling out here. You should've just told her to leave before anyone else knows we're here."

"Yea…we'll see…" I leaned my head in the sand and closed my eyes, the stars reflecting through them slowly. I was hoping the night sky would have a quick answer for me.

For once Brian found himself in a jam. As the night went on he didn't go to sleep and he was running out of time. Would he end up having to sacrifice his friend for a baby? The morning sky could be felt…just around the bend…waiting for Brian to make his move.

"Brian gets up! We need your help for a moment."

Again having slept in the sand I felt some all dry on the side of my mouth.

"Aw man, clean that off before I point it out again! We have some serious shit to take care of today!"

Nothing seemed ordinary about today. Everyone was actually working before me! I looked around for Lucia but didn't see her at first. "Hey Tara where's Lucia?"

"She's over there by the bushes getting away from the sun, now get over here and help us!"

"What exactly is it that I'm helping out with?"

"Just get on the other side of us and hold up this board!"

I shrugged and pulled my shorts up a ways and went over to the board and held it up. "Is this thing going in the water?"

"Damn right! We're going to self test this baby today!"

The water seemed a bit choppy for any water activities.

"Maybe we could just continue our baseball game and worry about that for another day. Honestly we don't know the first thing about building. We were fortunate enough to get the hut up. This is far apart from building any hut!"

The wind picked up a ways and nearly blew me off balance. "Why do I have a feeling that something big is making its way towards us? Let's forget about the raft and go inside before anything else goes wrong!"

Just then rain started pouring on us like we were in the rain forest. It wasn't the same, but was very close. However the temperature never seemed to drop even after a rain storm. I had noticed some dark clouds not too far off shore when I woke up. I figured it was the sun reflecting off the water and up to the clouds. Soon the sun was no longer visible and that's when I knew something was coming.

"We can't quit now Brian we have too much to do today!"

"Oh yea like what? Haven't you noticed the wind and the rain falling down?"
Everyone looked at me then up at the sky. I couldn't believe they didn't notice the wind, or for that matter the rain. It was as if they were talking to me, but they couldn't hear what I was saying back. Soon the wind picked up again and we had to stop what we were doing and go inside the hut.

"No we can't hide in the hut! We'll be more vulnerable to getting hurt! Quickly let's make for it to the forest!" I had to shout against the wind to even be heard at all. "I'll grab Lucia, you guys head towards the forest!"

They didn't waste another second after that; I didn't even bother getting my iPod since I knew there was a slim chance of it not being slightly damaged. Since Lucia was right by where we were going it was even for me to scoop her up and make my way into the forest. The top of the trees seemed to cover up what was inside from getting even touched.

"So what now Brian, how long do we wait until this thing blow over?" Cree looked at me.

"I don't know all we can do now is waiting. The rest is up to god himself."

Right then was when I realized that Sophia wasn't with us.

"Hey where's Sophia?"

"Last I saw of her she was down near the rocks thinking to herself."

I gave it a quick thought and handed Lucia to Tara, "I'm going after her, and all of you stay here!"

"Brian are you kidding, don't you even talk about going out into that!"

"Now isn't the time for arguing, I'll explain to you guys later!"

I poked my head out to be met with a gust of wind. This was going to be hell busting out! However I didn't let that bother me and started heading towards the rocks.

"Sophia! Sophia where are you?" I cried out.

I heard or saw nothing at the moment so I headed on. Soon I saw a body lying not too far from the forest.

"Sophia can you hear me? Look up at me if you can hear me!"

"Brian is that you?" She asked with a dry voice. "You shouldn't be out here, it'll get you!"

"What will…listen you have to cooperate with me. I'm going to get you inside the forest before this thing picks up even worse!"

She didn't want to seem to move at all. It was as if she had given up on her life and wanted to die right there. Each time I put my arms under her she yelled. I knew she had either been blown against one of the trees or had something sticking into her. Either way that wasn't stopping me from getting her out alive. Finally I made up my mind and picked her up regardless of the pain and headed back.

About halfway I saw a huge water spout coming onto land. I tried getting into the forest right where I was standing but the vines were too thick to cut into. The twisting water creature wasted no time in getting its job done. The noise it gave off indicated that it wasn't a natural occurrence. Instead it looked like someone or something had created it. Then it hit me, when I was on the airplane and the wind "reached" out for me and carried me here. Now I knew what it was after, Sophia.

"Hold on Sophia, we're going to be experiencing some turbulence!" And as I said that we were picked up off the ground, but right when it almost had us I gripped onto a palm tree with her against the tree and I.

"Come on big boy, is that all you got! Give us your worse!"

It roared even louder and started pulling us harder from the tree. I knew if it wouldn't let up soon my arm would be torn right out of the socket. I tried adjusting my grip on the tree without letting of it or Sophia.

Finally it gave out a final roar and let go of us in which I had to tighten my grip even harder to keep from falling down. The creature headed back into the ocean roaring in a very deep voice, "This is only the beginning, and you will pay dearly next time!"

I held onto the tree with one hand praying that I wouldn't let go of her. Her back was turned to me so that I could see what was sticking into her back. It was a thorn stick of some kind and it was in pretty deep. As I tried getting it out the tree began to bend and sway.

"What the hell is going on? Don't tell me this island is alive!"

The tree soon started spiraling in circles trying to throw us off like a raging bull. I knew at this point that it wouldn't matter If I let go or not. Either way I would end up hurting. I made up my mind and came up with a plan to get off when it bent towards the sand so it would be a comfortable landing. However each time it went back it rubbed against the other trees scratching me up as well as leaving burns on my legs. After a while of hesitating I let go dropping onto the sand. Sophia was barely breathing at this point so I had to make her last as much longer as I could. The rain had died down quite a bit since the spout left so It was easier for me to run; the ground was quite hard thanks to it.

"Sophia we have to meet up with the others in the forest."

Nothing else seemed to stop us after we got into it. I ran to the group and laid Sophia down hoping they would know what to do. "Don't let Lucia see this! I'm going back to see exactly what is going on.

"Jason will you take Lucia and go somewhere where you can be alone?"

He didn't argue and picked her up and walked on for a ways.

As soon as I poked my head out again I heard a loud ripping noise and saw the tree rip out of the ground. The emotion on its face said absolutely nothing. I closed the vines in time for it not to notice me.

"Ok guys we have a bigger problem. Oh man I hate these situations. We need something sharp and thick! Cree go see if you can find Sophia's belt near the rocks. You remember where that is right?"

"Sure Brian, give me two seconds and I'll have it back for you."

I nodded my head and watched her run off, "Cree wait, if you happen to see it heading towards you get back to us right away!"

She didn't respond though I knew she heard me. I took in a breath and headed back towards the clearing. For some reason when I looked out at tree; it was…sitting on the ground now. I saw bud sleeping on the ground and picked him up, "Sorry to do this man, I'll make it up to you later!" I kissed him and chucked it against the bark of the tree sitting there.

The tree didn't seem to budge when that happened. It just rubbed its back and sat there.

My face turned to total dismay. In a small weak voice I spoke out, "Ex.…excuses me Mr. Tree, if you can hear me turn around."

It acted like I was a mouse compared to it, which I mostly was.

In a raspy and clogged up voice It replied, "Who's there, I say come out wherever you are."

I was breathing hard at the moment but slowly crept out into the clearing towards it.

"Behind you sir, please don't hurt me." Everything in my mind was spinning.

It turned around and looked at me with two lines as its eyes and muttered, "Hey don't be afraid of me. I've just been in hibernation for the past three hundred years…say you're not like the other creatures I've seen when I was alive before. Are you from around here?"

I shook my head quickly, "Oh no sir though I've been here for about a month now. You see my friends and I are stranded here."

The tree bent down towards me and examined my body, "Well now like I said I mean no harm. Back there, that was my entire fault. I knew something was on me but I was still half asleep when I was stretching out my leaves."

It was at that time that Cree returned with some sharp items and the tree got up immediately and backed up. "Hello young lady I was just telling your friend here that I mean no harm. If you would kindly put those away I would appreciate it."

"Cree don't be afraid; he really doesn't want to hurt us."

"Brian I don't know what to believe from you anymore! Everything that seems to be bad turns out to be some kind of friendly neighbor to you! I really don't know what else to tell you."

She looked up at the tree and glared at it, "I've got my eyes on you pal! If you make one false move we'll be using your skin as fire wood!" And she stormed off into the forest.

"Please don't misunderstand me. Even though I've been asleep this whole time you were here I've seen you walking around on occasions. My eyes are closed, but I have a scanner inside my head that tells me what is going on around me."

"No really it's ok; I guess we still aren't used to these kinds of things happening. You do know why we're here, right?"

"I wish I could tell you for myself, but since I arrived here too it hasn't been a smooth ride. I think that the same thing that got you here was the cause of me arriving here as well. Does that make sense to you?"

I didn't reply for a moment and thought about why I was here.

"If I may ask you, since you may know about what I'm going through. Has this been happening since you arrived? Like the water spout and the…well Sophia, is this what always happens?"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure. It may be, but my best guess is that it happens in a different way each time new people arrive. I mean after you guys leave, if you do that is, and a new group arrives then we'll know if this is just a glimpse."

"Is that what you think, this is possibly all a glimpse?"

"That's right…someone or something is out there causing panic and chaos. You must get to the bottom of it right away! Well let's talk about something else, my name is Deku."

"It's nice to meet you, my name is Brian. I guess you know everything else on this island that can talk?"

"Certainly I hear them everyday, maybe not what you see. The last time I was alive the person I talked to the most was Axel."

I looked up at him with a tear in my eye after he had said that.

"I'm sorry, have I said something wrong?"

"No, I too once knew him. Though recently we had a tragic encounter…and he's no longer with us."

"I see…well when I knew him we was still learning to swim. I guess his time was almost up when you arrived."

I thought about why one of Axel's eyes was bigger then the other.

"If you're wondering why his right eye was bigger then the left I can tell you the reason."

"Really do you know? Please tell me, I don't think it matters anymore now that he is gone."

"Well it was right when I came out of sleeping about three hundred years ago…" And that's when Tara and Jason came out with Cree.

"Brian would you please telling us why you are talking to a tree?"

"Didn't Cree tell you, he has no intention of hurting us? He wants us as his friends."

"I guess I have to side with Cree this time Brian, how can we expect to believe you of all these crazy happenings?"

Deku looked at them and said, "If you have a problem with Brian then talk to me about it. I've seen a lot of people like him coming here, and each time they save you people you have to be…well you know what I'm talking about. If I were you I'd suggest getting off his back. Just because he's done everything to his power to keep all of you alive doesn't mean you can keep switching on him like that."

"Well then, Deku, how do we know we can trust you? The last thing we trusted on this island other than ourselves was an alligator, and now he's gone!" Tara cried out.

"I know what you mean, and trust me. I knew him long before you did, he was the best of friend you could have in this situation that you're in. Well…now that I'm out and about if you need any help whatsoever please feel free to ask me. The one thing I will do without asking is getting you guys' food. Believe it or not there is food on top of these huge trees which would last you an eternity. And believe me I know you're sick of eating fish, isn't that right…Cree?"

She couldn't help but laugh a bit, "I know, I'm just really…"

"Picky? Yes I know, just tell me what you want and I'll do the best of my powers to help you out." He said with a fond face.

I could tell she was starting to feel comfortable with him. Tara and Jason would have to find out for themselves though the hard way, especially Jason.

"Well it's getting late, let me get started on getting some food then we'll discuss your situation over dinner. How does that sound?"

I looked over at Jason and Tara replying for them, "Yes please do join us, and…thank you. We've really had our share of luck and misery here."

"I can tell. Brian by the way, you had someone else with you when you were on my branches, where is that person?"

Tara didn't respond and looked over at Jason.

"It...Was…too late. I'm afraid we couldn't save her."

I looked at Deku, "She had a daughter that she didn't want to accept. Her daughter is still very young and I don't want her to know about this. What do you think we should do?"

"Well bring the child to me and left me look at her. Maybe it would be best for you and Tara to take her in as your own. Help her realize what her place in society is."

Tara didn't seem too thrilled about the idea as wasn't I. "Do you realize that we are too young to just suddenly make a decision like that?"

"Indeed I can tell, but that's no reason not to reject her. She needs someone to look up to. I knew that when Sophia put her on this island she knew Lucia would be just fine. That's why nothing has happened to her yet, Lucia I mean. Well enough of me talking for right now, let's eat."

I agreed and started getting some wood that was found where Jason had taken Lucia during the storm.

"Brian how do you want the formation of wood to be this time?" Jason asked jokingly?

"Um it doesn't bother me, however you feel is best."

"Aye-aye captain are! You wont' be disappointed!"

"What are you talking about; you were the captain in soccer!"

"That doesn't count! This is more important then any games!"

I laughed and grabbed a coconut, "Maybe we should just see about that Mr. Captain! Besides you scored a shit load of goals your senior year! I'm quite jealous, well actually it's more of a pissed off feeling then jealousy. But enough with that, let's eat!"

Deku hadn't said anything since I mentioned that Lucia was here, though I knew it had nothing to do with that.

However he kept to his word on getting us food, which he did. I was quite impressed with what he got even though it was a challenge to get it. When I saw that he had pineapples I started jumping up and down making a fool out of myself but I didn't care. I knew that no one would keep me from having my beloved fruit.

"Hey Brian, do you want some juice squeezed from that?" Tara asked in a sexual fashion.

"Ha-ha, maybe later when we're alone!" I said with a smirk.

She winked at me and continued squeezing the juice out into a cup we had made out of wood.

"Ok, let's all gather around the fire. I'd like to make a toast to Deku for all his hard work on getting us good food for once." I tried making a joke when I said that, "For if he hadn't got us it we possibly would be swimming with the fish right now!"

Everyone looked at me and didn't even crack a smile. "Eh Brian maybe you should stick with being a hero and let someone else handle the comedy."

Deku however was on his stomach and laughing hard, "Did you hear what he said! He said swim…then fish! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh man my gut hurts!"

"Ha-ha yes thank you Deku, but seriously folks. I want to dedicate this dinner to him."

Again no one laughed.

"Well ok enough with the jokes…let's eat!"

I didn't know if it was my joke or the fact that Deku kept laughing that kept everyone else from eating.

"Hey Deku you can stop laughing now, no one else found it funny." Cree said.

"Are you kidding? That's the best joke I've heard in years!"

"Well then it looks like everyone else that's been here before us must've really had no…sense of humor?" I said with a twist.

"Oh man you're going to make me burst my bark! I can't stop, oh man someone make it stop!"
"Nice going Brian, what did we just tell you?"

"Eh sorry about that, he'll shut up sooner or later."

"You know he doesn't really look all that smart for behaving like a kid."

"Oh please Tara, just because at least Brian has one and you don't makes him at least funny." Jason said. "I've heard him say things that would qualify him to be a stand up long before you'd even think about it."

"He's right Tara." Deku said trying to recover, "Don't knock people down just because they may not be good at it. It's always a good idea to give people some time before making any conclusions."

Tara only grunted and continued eating.

"Ok enough with this; we should be enjoying each other's company. We don't know what each new day will bring out. Remember that we should live each day like it's our last!" I said cheerfully.

No one bothered listening to my pep talk; they never did listen to begin with.

"If you aren't going to listen to me then I guess we won't be able to play any games tomorrow!"

Only Jason looked up, "Brian isn't it time that we thought about getting off this place?"

"Jason…have I given you a reason for keeping you here? I'm only trying to make time go by faster so that we won't have to talk about this."

"Eh I guess you're right." He looked over at Cree and Tara, "What say you guys? We could do boys against girls or couples. It doesn't matter to me which we do."

Tara looked over to me, "Well if Brian is as good as he says he is then I'll be with him then."

"Good choice Tara, this will be very interesting. We shall start playing around noon."

"Hey Jason, is our sun dial still in tact?"

"Oh shit no I haven't gone to check on it since the storm; we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see about that."

"Right, ok after we're done eating I suggest that we get some sleep so that we'll be ready for tomorrow."

No one objected to that and finished eating what was left and gave the rest to Deku who still was laughing a little. I couldn't tell if Tara still wanted to finish what we had started a while ago.

"Tara is we going to finish our little secret?"

"Well that depends Brian, with that game we have tomorrow I think you could make up heavily for it. If we win I think you'll know what my decision is." She put her arms around my neck and pulled me back onto her. "If it means that much to you; we can do it tonight."

"No I want to earn it, and besides I like waiting for this kind of stuff. Makes it seem more real!"

"Indeed you are right Brian, now what say we get some sleep."

I agreed and followed her in.

"Where are you going Brian? Didn't Cree tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I talked to her last night about the sleeping arrangements along with Jason and we feel that we should start trying something new."

"You mean sleeping together? Is that what you really want?" I asked honestly.

"Of course that's what I want; we might as well try anything if we're still stuck here. I think that'll make us feel more comfortable on whatever decision we make if we do end up off here."

I agreed and followed her back into the room and got into bed. The beds weren't together, but Tara and I slid them next to each other so it'd feel more real.

I hadn't told her of my habit that I have when I sleep so I'd let her figure it out on her own.

Soon I was asleep before she could make any moves on me. I could feel my teeth clench and start grinding against each other.

Deku slept outside the hut and didn't seem to mind it. Though as I slept I wondered if he knew about our situation when Sophia had first arrived…