Social Experiment

Riverstone Village (Yuri)

An axe swings, chopping into a tree the exact moment my hammer meets a nail. It's an odd phenomenon, like when two people say the same thing at the same time accidentally.

The design for each "house" (or in our case "hut" might be a more accurate term) is painfully simple. Working through the night, we've already built one, crude though it may be.

The shelters are 10 foot cubes, very compact. Each will have a bed frame, as we hope to go back up some night and take the mattresses from our rooms. We also made a door design, and it seems to work on the one hut we've finished. Of course, we had to make the hinges out of wood, just like everything else.

Mikayla doesn't seem her cheerful self. However, she's strong-spirited, helping us build even though everyone's told her she doesn't have to.

Mikayla and Rodney cut down trees, then cut and sand them into usable planks. Ozzie, Hailey, and I start the outside walls. Once we have enough planks to use for the house we're building, Mikayla and Rod begin creating the bed frame and door. Bella runs around, barking to give us support.

We have about half the walls done, and the entire door, when we decide to quit for the day and sleep. Hailey thinks that working at night will be easier because it won't be so hot.

It feels weird to see sunlight. That's what we're calling it, anyway. The stairs lead up to the underground maze of tunnels and chambers we used to call home. There's no sun down here.

I wondered at first if the grass was even real, the trees. They are. Hailey and Rodney went off to look for food the other day and saw a deer, eating off a bush. They didn't have any weapons to kill the deer, but they went up to the bush when it ran off and found berries!

It wasn't much, especially between the five of us, but we all helped out harvesting any ripe berries we could find. Mikayla informed us that they're running out of food and water above, especially food.

"Yuri." A voice whispers.

I roll over. "What's up, Doc?"

He grins. "Want to help me explore a bit? Maybe find a lake or something?"

"Sure."

I get up, noticing that Mikayla is already asleep and the other two look irritated that we're ruining their chance to rest. Even Bella stays behind.

Once we're out of earshot, Ozzie begins talking. "Sorry to bother you. I just think that we ought to have water down here. It won't be difficult for one or more of us to become dehydrated, particularly when we're working so hard to put up these houses."

That reminds me of a question I've been meaning to ask. "Are we just building five houses, or are we putting in more in case we let more people in on the secret?"

"I asked Hailey that same question. She said we'll construct five. If someone wants to join us, all they need is a mattress and a willingness to help build their own home."

"Surely there's a few exceptions to-"

Ozzie hushes me, whispering: "Listen, I think I hear moving water."

I freeze, listening intently. After a moment I nod. "Yeah! I think it's over there!"

I point diagonally to my right. We traipse through the trees toward the sound. When we reach it, we find a small, fast-moving stream. I cup some water in my hands and drink.

"Wait! It may not be..." Ozzie starts, then flips his sentence completely around, "How is it?"

"Best water I've ever had." I answer with a smile. This isn't an exaggeration, the warm bottled stuff They left for us in Chamber 2 is nothing compared to the brook's refreshing water.