I had settled into life at the barracks better than I thought I would. I now had my hour and a half of freedom each day when I would do the trip to the farm, and my neighbours seemed to be starting to accept me. I can't say they were friendly and accommodating yet, but they were pleasant and civil. Richard had introduced me to a nice girl that had been on the island for 18 months. In fact she was the newest addition after me. Her name was Juliette. At 36 she was older than me, but we got on well and she was friendly and warm. She hadn't been bought to the island for the same reason as the others. She was a fertility doctor and was here to carry out research, as far as I understood. The only downside was that she spent much of her time on hydra island, where the main lab is located, which was a fair journey from the barracks, so was only back now and then, a bit like Richard in this respect I guess. Still, I enjoyed her company when she was here.
I was enjoying working with David. I can't say we were the best of friends, we had different personalities, and he was of the older generation. I respected him though and he would tell me about his travels and life experiences before he came to the island.
One afternoon I was helping David sort through the food supplies, deciding which foods needed using up first, when he dropped into the conversation that I would be on my own the following day, as he needed to deliver some supplies to a camp that were situated on the other side of the island. This wasn't usually necessary, as people from the camp would take supplies with them whenever they happened to visit the barracks, but nobody had been back recently, and they were running low. My ears pricked up. As I understood it, there was only really the one camp that toured the island, and anyone else based away from the barracks were at Dharma Stations.
"Is that the camp that Richard is at?" I asked casually. Trying to sound nonchalant.
"Yes. You know him?" David asked.
"Well his house is next door to mine so i see him when he comes to the barracks." I confirmed. "Can I come with you?" I would love to see more of the island. And it does get a bit boring being here every day."
"If you knew where you were going I'd send you on the errand to save me having to go. It's not the most relaxing journey. It involves a full days walking. I'll have to start out at 5:00am and won't get there till 19:00pm, and thats with only a couple of quick breaks. I'll have to stay overnight there and leave at the crack of dawn the next morning. Do you really want to put yourself through all that?" He obviously assumed any sane person would change their mind. But I was not to be deterred.
"Yes, i'd really like to come, please?" I was determined now. David paused to think about my request.
"Well i'd have to square it with Ben." He said. That was a blow. Ben would almost certainly say no. I still didn't feel he really trusted me, or even liked me. Though Ben didn't seem to like anyone and the feeling was generally mutual.
"But he won't even notice i'm gone, I hardly ever see him. And you didn't need to check with him when you took me to the farm." I pleaded. David sighed and seemed resigned.
"Ok you can come. But you need to listen to me and do what I tell you. I don't want you wondering off and getting yourself lost or hurt."
I promised to be as good as gold, and made my way home excitedly. With the early start and long hike I knew I must get an early night. After a bite to eat I packed an overnight bag with a change of clothes and nibbles and water for the journey. Eventually I made myself fall asleep, excited about what tomorrow would bring.