Under Normal Circumstances

Out of the Woods

When I started working for Mr Clavers, I had to choose a physician on the companies list of health providers. I didn't know that when you get a new physician, they really want to get to know you. What I mean by that is they drew so much blood from me, much more than expected, and I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. I don't recall passing out at all. When I opened my eyes it felt like I was waking up for the first time that day. Everything felt fine until a nurse slapped me in the face.

I was just waking up now and it was nice. My face was against something warm and soft, must be my pillow. Something across my hips felt funny though, and now I was hearing voices from another room. My pillow smelled familiar, what was that? Something I couldn't put my finger on. Oh right, it smelled like Slivko.

And came the slap.

As I understood later, that funny feeling across my hips was the seat belt and I was dangling over the cockpit by it. The world came into sharp focus when Weaver, again as I later discovered, cut the seatbelt and I felt myself falling. With a hoarse scream I grabbed what ever or whoever was in front of me for dear life. Something caught my legs but I tore them away and wrapped them around whatever my arms had found. I clung there taking ragged breaths as strong arms wrapped around me tightly. My face was buried in a soft T-shirt and my nose was filled with Slivko's scent which actually was calming. A little. I was very not calm, my heart was beating like a hummingbird.

"Whoah, I got you. I got you. No more falling. No more falling," Slivko's voice was soft and comforting in my ear as he held me securely.

With me clinging to him like a koala, he hopped out of the helicopter.
"We're on solid ground now," he told me.

I opened my eyes and saw he was right. I took a few more breaths and slowly put my feet on the ground and let go of him.

"Are you hurt?" He asked me, holding my face and looking at me intently.

All I felt were his thumbs on my cheeks and all I saw were those eyes. I still couldn't tell if they were brown or green. Then I noticed a scratch on his cheek.

"You're hurt," I pointed out to him as I brushed my fingers on his jaw.

"I'm fine, I'm more worried about if you have a concussion or not," he shrugged my concern off.

"Ok, that depends. Did you see a giant ape too?" I asked, holding onto his wrists.

He nodded fervently.
"Yes, that happened, and everyone else is being way too cool about it," he complained loudly at Mason and Conrad.

The latter walked up just then, a pair of binoculars in his hand.
"They're all down," Conrad informed us. "But there's a river, half a click that way-"

He was still talking but I was confused.

"What's a click?" I asked at the same time Slivko had his outburst.

"Are we really not gonna talk about this? Stuff like that doesn't just happen!"

Conrad asked Mason if she was alright and I suddenly remembered Jack.

"Oh my god, Jack!" I cried as I grabbed Slivko.

His eyes widened and he rushed over and began digging through the wreckage. He returned to my side with a radio and began signaling a May Day and asking for a response. I held his arm tightly in anticipation but all we got was static.

"We're scattered over miles, save it for when we get in range of someone," Conrad advised.

"He's probably fine," Slivko assured me, holding my hand giving me a serious look.

We began picking up what we needed and what we could. Conrad insisted, and Slivko agreed, that I was only to carry my backpack and nothing more. They were still convinced I had a concussion.

Slivko carried an M16, the radio, and his portable record player. He wouldn't give up on trying to reach some one on the radio and could not forgive Mason and Conrad for being so blasé about our current predicament.

Conrad was telling him for the second time to save the battery for when we got closer when a motion to our left caught everyone's attention. It was a murky body of water and some white cranes had vacated their perches on some logs and branches. I noticed ripples in the waters surface were just reaching the bank near us. I had been walking behind Slivko this whole time, and I watched as his arm did that same motion as when we were on the boat. His hand found my waist again with out him having to look, and moved me right behind him before quickly taking up his gun. Something huge was emerging from the water. I almost believed it was some tree come to life but what I mistook for branches and logs were really antlers. Some sort of buffalo type creature the size of a building stared lazily at us.

Slivko was anxiously lining up a shot, his breathing uneven. I gently held the strap of his record player.

"Slivko," Conrad said softly.

"What?!" He replied in the exact opposite manner.

"Put down the gun," Conrad slowly reached over and tipped the barrel down.

The behemoth in front of us turned away and we watched him slip quietly back into the water. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and gave Slivko's back a reassuring pat.

"Ok, I know this is a horrible situation," I said when we got back to walking. "But that thing, the one that didn't try to kill us just now, was amazing!"

"It sure was," Mason agreed, holding her camera that now contained its photo reverently.

"Conrad!" A distant voice called.
We all froze and looked for the source. It sounded like Houston to me.

"There!" I pointed, catching sight of him and San in the tall grass they were trailed by one of the Landsat guys, the one who started the meeting.

They were running to us, each carrying a gun. San tossed hers aside and nearly tackled me in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" She told me, squeezing my neck.

"I'm glad you're ok too!" I told her.
"Have you seen Jack?" I asked, holding her at arms length.

She sadly shook her head and apologized.

"It's ok," I told her. "We'll find him."

Our expanded party started moving again once Conrad had explained our plan to them. Houston and San had been looking for Randa who we were sorry to have no report of.

Conrad turned and looked at me.
"Are you doing alright Maybelle?" He asked me.
"Do you need to rest?"

"No, I'm fine," I waved him off. "We don't have time."

"What's wrong?" San asked, her little brows knit in concern.

"She passed out during the crash, I'm afraid she has a concussion," Conrad said as he took a closer look at me.

Slivko eyed him and shifted next to me as well.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," I told them both.  "There are bigger things to worry about."