To Be Determined

Chapter Two: In the Woods Somewhere

Iliad and I managed to walk a further 12 miles before reaching the edge of the woods. Dawn was several hours from breaking, so we constructed a lean-to style shelter. I still feel drained from the mysterious water that accumulated in the cave and my lungs alike. I could have died today. Hell, before Iliad pulled me out I was convinced that I was already dead. I don't know why this bothers me. I could have died two or three times a day for the last 24 nights. This exposition was challenging and dangerous under the best circumstances. Now it is a miracle that we are alive.

Iliad is exhausted from the long walk and the lost hours from the day that he could have used to sleep and gather energy. Belladonna sits at the edge of the shelter, looking out over the featureless landscape. It may be wishful thinking, but I wholeheartedly believe she watches over us while we sleep. I cannot perceive what peril lies ahead, but the air feels 10 degrees cooler and I smell water in the humid, suffocating air. I lay down next to Iliad, who was nearly asleep the minute we set up camp. He reaches out and pulls my body close to his and lays his head on my chest. From his fingertips, a powerful feeling of safety and drowsiness fills my body. For my entire life, I believe this extreme empathy was a curse, but lately, it has been my only form of emotional stability. Just when I think Iliad has fallen asleep he speaks quietly into my ear.

"I'm so sorry that I left you, Lyvia. I feel like I let you down."

A shiver went down my spine, bitter emotions burned a small hole through my skin. Regret, despair, fear, whatever it is, I want him to stop sharing the feeling with me. I crack a smile, hoping that by some miracle he can feel it back. "Nothing would have happened to me, you know how hard it is to get rid of me. I'm like a cockroach in every way, shape, and form, baby."

"You can't downplay this one on me, Professor. You were drowning when I got there. If I would have been just one minute, maybe even thirty seconds later... I don't want to imagine what would have happened." He's on the verge of tears, I can feel it. His fatigue amplifies his emotional response. Tragic as it is, I hardly feel anything more at this moment. My body is on the brink of falling to sleep. I turned to face him and snaked my arms through his, holding him close. The night outside feels much colder now that we aren't moving.

"Thank you for saving me, Ily. Try to stop thinking about it, at least for tonight. I'm alive because of you, that's what matters." He holds onto me in the way that a child holds a teddy bear and his breathing steadies. Both of us are right at the brink of sleep. "You know this place is a bit unnerving, the forest I mean."

"Oh yeah, How so?"

"Are you kidding, it practically had a sign saying 'Abandon hope all ye whomst'd've'ly'yaint'nt'ed'ies's'y'es enter here.'"

"Dear God, how did you do that with your mouth?" Iliad asks, mildly terrified.

"Don't worry about it."

"Okay, I won't. Goodnight 'lyvia."

"Mmhm."

When I awaken, Belladonna is softly pinching my arm. She does not look concerned, quite the contrary. The sun is shining and she is tired from a long night of guarding us. I untangle myself from Iliad, careful not to wake him, and crawl out of the shelter. I want to look around at the surroundings in the daylight and as much as I know that the buddy system is the key to survival, I feel the need to stretch my achy muscles. I manufacture a small sling out of a spare t-shirt to put Belladonna in to rest. The light is easy and the breeze tickles the sunburned skin of my face and shoulders. There is a small lake within earshot of the lean-to. I grab my smaller pack with my essential tools in it and the machete, then make my way over to it. The scenery is immaculate. It is unlike the woods that I grew up with but has the same energy. The trees were full of lush foliage with large broad leaves that I had never seen in person, nor textbooks before. They're likely a new species of plant, evolved after the near societal collapse 100 years previous. In the center of the lake, several large crane-like birds are wading through the water in search of their breakfast. Something about the way that they move is haunting. It is as if every step is more painful than the last. The FTI weighs heavy in my bottom right pocket. I pulled it out and bent down close to the water, past the straw-like plants that cover its perimeter to retrieve a sample. The pH reads at 2.5, a pH comparable stomach acid, and these birds are fishing in it. This lake was likely a toxic waste site that nature has been unable to recover from, even a century later. The sediment underneath the water is likely full of heavy metals, possibly even nuclear waste that has long surpassed its half life's half-life.