Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit by James Holler

two women joined John by the fire.
"Mostly fruit and fish, but I did get one tiny deer," said John.
"I was going out for fruit today, when I found your footprints in the
sand, so I haven't had anything to eat yet. I still have three pieces of fruit
left, so we can each have one."
    Going into his hut, he brought back
the fruit, and handed one to each of the women. John took a big bite out of
his, and the women followed his lead, although showing a little caution, by
nibbling first. After they had finished their meager meal, John broke the
awkward silence. "I still might have enough time to catch a fish or two
today, but by the time I got it cooked, I know it would be dark. Once you see
the moon, I'm pretty sure you won't feel like eating." Trying not to make
it obvious, Hailey and Katie snuck another look at each other.
    "It will be dark soon
enough," said John. "I better fix a place for you two to sleep."
He walked into the jungle, and came back a few minutes later with an arm load
of large leaves. "Take my word for it. It's better than sleeping in the
dirt," said John, as he walked toward the hut. After placing the leaves
inside, he came out and motioned for the women to come over.
    "I might as well give you two a
tour of my home," said John. Katie and Hailey reluctantly went over to the
hut. "This is where I've been living," said John, standing by the
doorway. Each of the two women took a short look inside, without entering,
trying not to get too close to John. "I need to get more leaves. You
ladies look around if you want," said John, as he walked off. After he got
a ways off, they both went inside.
    Spotting John's bug out bag, Hailey
unzipped the top, to see what was inside. "We'll take this when we leave
tonight," said Hailey. Saying nothing, Katie checked to make sure John
wasn't coming, as Hailey looked around for anything else they might need. In
less time than it took for the first load, John had more leaves, and was coming
back. "Here he comes," said Katie.
    Hailey quickly zipped up the bag, and
tried her best to place it just as she had found it. Katie walked out before
John entered and Hailey met John in the door, as she tried to get out.
"Oops, excuse me, I'm not used to company," said John. Smiling, he
stepped to the side, to allow Hailey to exit. After two more trips, John had
what he thought were enough leaves to make the night more comfortable for his
new roommates. The rest of the evening was spent boiling water, and refilling
the container.
    As daylight slipped away, the two
newcomers mostly sat quietly looking at the fire. They didn't trust John, and
were mostly focused on the plan they had come up with earlier. Of the two
women, Hailey was much less comfortable in this jungle setting. As the noises
of the night began to increase, she started to look a little scared. The darker
it got, the closer she got to the fire, as she stayed close to Katie the entire
evening. Katie could see that Hailey was getting uneasy about the circumstances.
    After a long period when none of them
spoke, Katie said, "We've had a long day Hailey, why don't we go to bed
and get some sleep." "Good idea," said Hailey, as they both
stood up. "I'll be there, in a little while. I have to get the fire built
up a little," said John. As the two women walked to the hut, John began
placing larger chunks of wood on the fire. After adding plenty of wood, John
grabbed the pot, the water container, and his knife and went to the hut. As he
entered the doorway, he placed the pot and the water container just inside the
door. "I'm going to put the water over here by the door, in case you get
thirsty in the night," he said, not knowing that they planned to steal
them later.
    As John lay in the pitch blackness of
the night, he had a lot on his mind. How will I feed three people, when I
can't find enough to eat for myself? How will they handle finding out that they
are never going home , he wondered. Those and other questions were going
through his