As I slowly opened my eyes, I recalled yesterdays happenings, and how I had ended up here, in a little house, in a little village, in a jungle, on a desert island, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean (well it couldn't be in any other Ocean surely, could it?).
I got up, showered, dressed, ate cereal (it still felt like a novelty eating food after being starved for so long), drank tea, and then wondered what to do with myself. Richard said we would talk tonight, and hopefully i would get some answers. That left the rest of today to get through. I decided to have a stroll outside and find someone to make small talk with. I didn't know how long I would be staying here so thought it would be wise to try and make some allies whenever I had the chance. In the centre of the village was a large stretch of lawn that had been neatly kept. There were benches dotted here and there so I sat myself down to do some people watching and enjoy the glorious weather. Various people of different ages strolled by, but none seemed willing to engage with me. Maybe I was trying too hard and it would come in time.
After a while I took a stroll over to the building Ethan had pointed out, where somebody called David looked after supplies. I didn't particularly need anything but thought I may as well see what there was anyway. The building was divided into a number of rooms, all of which were filled with food, camping equipment, clothing, cleaning stuff, furniture, and any other day to day items you may need. It was almost like walking into a second hand supermarket. A tall man who looked to be in his late 40s came out of one of the rooms and eyed me warily.
"Are you David?" I asked pleasantly.
"Yes, can I help you?" came his reply.
"Ethan told me to come and see you if I needed anything, so I hope you don't mind me popping in"
"Oh right, well what do you need?"
"Nothing really I have all the essentials thanks." I felt a little silly, as if I was there for no reason and I was wasting his time so thought quickly. "Unless….would you happen to have any books? It would be nice to have something to pass the time with." David obligingly led me into one of the rooms where stacks of books stood. I spent the next hour looking through them and eventually picked out three to borrow.
"Just bring them back when you're finished." David requested.
"So how long have you been on the island David" I thought I may as well keep the conversation going as long as possible. David, however, looked at me rather sheepishly and there was an awkward pause.
"Ben has told us not to talk to you." He admitted.
"Oh, well there you go then" I responded, feeling rather disappointed. This however did explain the reason for everyones aloofness.
I took the books back to my bench and spent the rest of the day reading while keeping my eye on people walking past. As I had learned to expect, nobody spoke to me, though some stared with interest, as if I was some sort of lab rat. I felt like the new girl at school. I hoped to see Richard walk past but there was no sign of him. Even Ethan would have been better than nothing. I felt in limbo. I didn't know what I was doing here, who they were, where we were, or how long i'd be here.
Eventually I went back home, ate another bowl of cereal, and sat out on the porch to wait for Richard. It was 18:00 by now, and the sun was beginning to get lower. I continued my reading to pass the time, looking at the clock every now and then. To my dismay, it got to 22:00 and there was still no sign of him, nor any signs of life from his inside his house. I gave it another half hour then went in to shower and change. It was at this point that all the happenings of the last few days must have got on top of me, as I was suddenly overcome with emotion, and collapsed, sobbing into my pillow. Today had been frustrating but I had kept going with the thought that tonight I would get some answers, but now it didn't look as if that was going to happen. It was a while before the tears finally stopped, and I was disturbed by a small knock at the door. I opened it to find Richard standing there. He looked tired and had obviously only just got back from where he had been all day. Hi smiled up at me, but then frowned when he saw my tear stained face.
"You ok?" he asked, with kindly concern,
"I'm ok, it's just, everything suddenly got on top of me, and i'm so confused and don't know which way to turn". Richard beckoned me out of the house and gestured towards the porch chairs.
"Do you like hot chocolate?" he asked, and I nodded, trying to smile and put on a brave face.
He went into his house and came back a few minutes later with two mugs and sat down next to me. I told him about my day and he listened with interest, asking what books I had been reading, as well as asking me questions about my life in general and what my interests were. After a while of small talk, I needed to progress the conversation though.
"So i'm still non the wiser about everything." I began. "I get that it's all clearly top secret here - with all the security around the place, and the fact that nobody is allowed to talk to me under Benjamin's instructions. So I expect you're not going to tell me anything either, in case you get in trouble?" I must have come across rather bitter.
"Actually I don't answer to Ben. So what do you want to know?" came Richard's response.
"But I thought Ben was in charge and that everyone answered to him". I queried.
"Ben is the leader and everyone answers to him….except me. I only answer to Jacob, as does Ben". Now it seemed I was getting somewhere.
"The same Jacob as the one that sent me here?" So it seemed I had been sent here by their boss.
"As far as i'm aware there is only one Jacob on the island" Richard replied.
"And thats why they couldn't kill me?"
"Correct" Richard confirmed.
"But why would they have killed me if it weren't for Jacob"
"We don't allow outsiders here. We're a close knit community, here to do a job, and we only bring people here with good reason. It's not a club anyone can join". Richard seemed to be opening up so I pushed him further.
"So why are you here? What job do you all do? Are you the Dharma Initiative?".
"No we're not the Dharma Initiative. They used to be based here but we took over the site when they left. This island has some unique qualities that we need to protect. We've been doing so for many years, and others did before us. Many people try to come to the island to manipulate the islands qualities for their own benefit, and it's our job to keep them away". Richard was being so patient with me answering all of my questions. I still had much I needed to know but I didn't want to push him too hard. One last question was really bugging me though, and I had to ask it.
"So what about me? Where do I fit into all of this? What will happen to me?"
"In all honesty, I don't know, and neither does Ben. I need to talk to Jacob and will follow whatever instructions he gives with regards to you. He lives on another part of the island, and i'm going to head up there tomorrow." Richard confirmed.
"But what if he tells you to kill me?" The unnerving thought suddenly occurred to me.
"If he wanted you dead why would he have bought you here?" Was Richards only reassurance. Though somehow, it was reassuring. I had only met him briefly, but there was something about Richard. Something that drew me in, and I felt myself trusting him. It was clear that he'd had enough of answering my questions and wanted to get himself to bed, so I didn't protest when he wrapped up the conversation.
"Can we talk again tomorrow?" I asked.
"I will be gone by the morning but I'll be back in a few days. I don't live here full time, and spend most of my time over on other parts of the island. Just try and get through the next few days and we'll talk again when i'm back." And with that, Richard disappeared into the the adjoining house.
Feeling slightly more informed and more hopeful about things (though only slightly), I went to bed, and slept late into the next morning.