The week was agonizing. For some the week passed like quicksand. For others, the daily repetition felt as slow as molasses. Gather berries and herbs. Catch a fish or a squirrel. Fetch some wood and dry leaves for the bonfire. Go back to get more berries and meat. Retrieve more sticks and dry matter to burn. All the while avoiding potentially dangerous animals. Tweak the shelters so they won't fall apart. Rinse and repeat. There was no sign of the outside world coming to their rescue either. Which obviously made the survivors all the more antsy.

Mariah's days were more or less the same. Get up at the crack of dawn. Record her dreams. Eat her ration of food. Go around with some members of the group and see what needed to be fixed or made for that day. Then get to work for maybe eight hours. This morning, Mariah brought some cold, sweet tea to Mr. Desjardins, Annie and herself. Afterwards she continued to write in her journal. Mr. Desjardins took notice and asked her what she was writing about. She explained the dream journal to him and the three of them had a conversation about dreams and the scientists who study them. She was in the middle of telling them about her dream last night; and right when she was about to get to the part where she was climbing some scaffolding on a skyscraper - someone apologetically interrupted to tell them that they needed repairs on their shelters.

The whole crafting group sat and crafted supplies for the other groups. With the exception of Annie, who was helping translate something for Desjardins. Mariah is sitting criss crossed on the ground carving a spike made from a tree branch she found. Laurelei was making some rope out of grass and Cass was winding it on a stick she had picked up. "Have you heard of any of the theories that have been popping up around here," inquires Cass.

Laurelei tilts her head slightly. "No, I haven't. What kind of theories are they," she asks back as she continues to braid the long grass together.

"The stupid kind of theories. I heard a theory this morning that made me want to bang my head against the wall it was so stupid," Cass declared. "Basically, the theory was that we were abducted by aliens. The bright flash of light was their transporter thing bringing us onto their mothership. While we were unconscious, we were plugged into some kind of simulation where we could be tested on our raw abilities."

Laurelei cracks a smile and chuckles. "That's pretty ridiculous!"

"I was with Elwin delivering supplies yesterday when we came across a guy who believed we may have time traveled. But he couldn't decide whether we jumped into the future or the past."

"Seriously?! How do people come up with these theories?"

Cass shrugs. "I wish I knew for sure. But, if I had to guess it's because they're scared and want an explanation for what's going on."

Mariah kept mindlessly carving. "I think that we might be in purgatory." Suddenly Mariah's ears perked up. "It would explain why we haven't been found yet- it's because we're on another plane of existence!" Mariah groaned at the absurdity. "I mean what are the chances that we survive a plane crash? Not very high." Some people shared Mariah's disdain for the foolish rantings of their fellow passenger. Some were even crying for him to shut up.

"Maybe purgatory is a test where you're judged on your character by sticking you in a situation where you have to cooperate to survive a situation." Most were tuning him out but Mariah noticed a few people beginning to come around to his way of thinking. She decides to approach. "A good way to tell what someone is really like is to put them in a situation outside their element and see how they react and cope. If you pass, you go to heaven." As he finishes his line of reason some people begin to show doubt in the face of the man's logic. They didn't believe him entirely but they had no counter argument. That took their confidence a little.

Mariah could not stand for this...

Mariah pipes up, "First of all, how can you be so certain that we are in purgatory and not just in the wilderness? Secondly and more importantly, we are absolutely not dead. We have a need to eat and we react to stimuli like heat and light," Mariah states firmly. "We also have a need to rest, which is another sign of life. Another way to tell if you're alive is to take your index and middle fingers and put them under your jaw. If you feel a thumping sensation, you are still alive as that's your pulse doing its thing. Oh, and thanks to modern safety regulations, you have a less than one percent chance of dying in a plane crash."

After a moment the guy retorted back, "Well how do you know that it's your actual pulse beating? You aren't a doctor or a pilot. Maybe it's a phantom muscle reaction going on. Maybe we get hungry and get tired because we haven't fully moved on to the next world."

"I may not be a pilot or a medical practitioner," Mariah stated confidently and defiantly. "But I know enough to know my own body's vital functions. So do all of you!"

As Mariah spoke out against the zealous survivor, the people who were beginning to believe in the zealous survivor's theory began to see reason. They quickly began reiterating Mariah's point to each other.

"What does a child like you know about this life or the next!?" he frustratedly screamed.

"More than you apparently!" Mariah began to say but was cut short by someone grabbing her arm. She spun around to see Laurelei.

"Don't feed the crazies," Laurelei mutters under her breath to Mariah.

Mariah considered turning back to yell at him more. But, she decided against it. Mariah looked back to the zealot with a scowl on her face. His face was twisted into a look of pure contempt, like he was about to lash out at any moment. Almost as if the very idea that Mariah had confronted him was unthinkable. She sighed and dropped the issue. Idiots were brilliant at being idiots and some people won't change their minds even if they were presented with credible evidence.

"You're stellar at making friends I see." Laurelei commented when they were out of earshot. "He's gonna remember that."

"Do you think so?" asked Mariah.

"Why'd you yell at him anyway?" Laurelei inquired. "He's just scared like all of us."

"I can't stand for blatant statements being made with nothing to back them up." Mariah stated. "Or logical fallacies. Just because he's scared does not make it right. This place feels too mundane for the after life. His fear won't make it any less true."

Laurelei considered Mariah's words carefully. After a while she suddenly asked, "What if they're right?" Mariah turned to her companion to see the honesty in her face. She tried to give a response but suddenly she found she couldn't say anything to assuage her worry. It wasn't just the zealot. There were wild ideas floating around the encampment. Even if none of it was true, the truth didn't stop people from being afraid. The truth did not get them any closer to home. They were all stuck, and no one had come for them yet. That was the truth.

"Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him so harshly." Mariah admitted. Laurelei patted her on the shoulder and went back to work.

Mariah was just about to go back to carving when she heard a distraught, "M!" Looking up she sees a mortified Annie a few feet away from her. She looked very pale, and she was jittery all over. "I need to talk to you…" she says as her feet twitch in place. Mariah stands up and Annie motions her to follow her. They wind up at the edge of the camp behind a tree. Concerned, Mariah asks Annie what was happening and if everything was okay. Annie's response shocked Mariah to her core.

"I saw Liam."

Mariah's eyes widened. "Are you absolutely sure?!"

Annie peers from behind the tree. "Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure it's him. I don't think I could ever forget his face, even if I wanted to."

Mariah decides to take a peek for herself, to see what her friend's ex was up to - whether or not he was watching them. Sure enough, she saw Liam having an animated conversation with someone. What the hell is that scumbag doing here?! She turns back to face her friend. And in a voice as quiet as a mouse, she says, "Maybe it's best if we bring this up with an authority figure, like Cole. They may have a better solution than just avoiding him outright."

Annie nods her head in silent agreement. They wait for Liam's gaze to move from their path before silently and swiftly moving toward Cole, the unofficial leader of the crafting party. They find Cole assembling some spears a few feet away from where Laurelei and Cass were braiding grass. Mariah speaks up, "Hey Cole." He glances up. "We need your help with something." He puts down the spear and walks over to them.

"What is it?"

Annie inhales deeply. She then explains to him in as much detail as possible her predicament, stopping every now and then to answer Cole's questions. "... I just don't want to deal with him. I don't want anything to do with him anymore! Is there anything you can do?"

"Alright. I understand your plight. Truly I do. However your job as an interpreter requires that you translate for anyone who needs it. That includes people who you may dislike. Our chances of surviving would dramatically decrease if you weren't here to interpret. That being said, there are safety precautions you can take so you can feel safer. When you go out translating for people, always go with someone. People aren't always trustworthy and they may be less likely to take advantage when you are with someone else. Keep your interactions brief with strangers you are doing work for - as well as a reasonably safe distance from them. That's the only advice I can offer at the moment. I can't do anything about Liam until he actually does something to you to warrant a direct intervention. And as far as we are aware, he doesn't know you are here. If he ever does harass or harm you, see me or the airplane staff. Also, if you need someone to act as an intermediary for you, you can ask one of us."

"Couldn't I do some translation work to ease the burden?" Mariah suggests.

"You could. But we need you most in the crafting group. If you were always out doing translation work, we would have a harder time making equipment and coming up with solutions. However, if you truly want to ease the burden, you can take up translation work in the evenings."

"Well then who's supposed to go with Annie?"

"How about that French guy?"

"Who? You mean Doctor Desjardins? He's a decent guy. But I'd rather M go with me. I trust her and I've known her since we were freshmen," Annie says in earnest.

"How about you have a different partner each day? One day Mariah can accompany you, then the next day Elwin can go with you and so forth. You can also choose someone else from another group to go with you. Just as long as you feel comfortable with them." Cole looks toward Mariah. "I would work out a plan with her before moving forward. Now, I need to get back to work. Come see me if you need any more help."

The two add more to their plan and agree on it. They make their way to the gathering group towards a man examining berries in a cup. Annie opens her bag to take out a pink, spiral bound notebook. She waves to the man. "Hi Mr. Roger! I finished translating Doctor Desjardins' notes." She hands the notebook to him while Mariah gazes over at Liam who was still talking with that guy. "I remembered you were asking me if I could make some diagrams to help make the information more digestible, so I asked Laurelei to sketch out some." Mariah turns her attention back to Annie and Roger.

"These look great, definitely help to make the information much more manageable. Thank you!" Roger skims through the notes again. "Would it be alright if I kept these?"

"Sure! I think you need it more than I do," Annie replies. Mariah refocuses on Liam. He still hasn't seen us, hopefully it stays that way, Mariah thinks to herself. She watches him for a few minutes before returning her focus to Annie's conversation.

"...can you ask Doctor Desjardins if there is a surefire way to know if a plant is poisonous?

"Absolutely! I don't know why that information isn't in there. I'll ask him and bring some notes back." Mariah turns her head back towards Liam's direction.

The moment she looks back to Annie and Roger, Liam glances in their direction. He squints and he cocks his head to the side. It couldn't be, could it?

He whispers, "Annie ..., is that you?


Edited by Fenrir013

I wanted this chapter to be a bit shorter than the others since the others felt a bit long. I also wanted to set up some conflict for later. And not to worry! I'll be sure to tie this in with the Hyrulean stuff.