Eden (22 page)

Max looks beyond them to where the fire burns pale yellow against a bold magenta sky. It smolders on a flat clearing the size of a football field, bookended by shallow patches of evergreen forests. He pans to the right, and that’s when he sees her.

His first human sighting — aside from his fellow survivors — in over a hundred years, or so it seems. Her hair is raven, long and kinky, as wild as the countryside itself and her skin is a dark caramel. She is dressed in a pair of faded jeans, red cowboy boots, and a white tank top, exposing long sculpted arms. He watches as she drags a scraggly tree trunk as long as she is toward the waning fire. When he turns his attention back to his companions, he realizes he has a unique view of the scene unfolding. Max watches with great anticipation, the encounter just seconds away.

As he finally catches sight of the young woman, Noah begins waving his arms, crossing them back and forth over and over. Through his binoculars, Max witnesses the shock of the girl as she catches sight of Noah and Mia. Her initial fright turns to enthusiasm, as she begins jumping up and down waving back at them. Then she turns back to the woods from which she had emerged and seems to yell something. Within moments, a man comes into view from the thickets.

“Of course,” Max sulks.

He’s a veritable mountain of a human, with arms and legs as thick as tree trunks and a barrel chest to go along with it. He zooms in for a closer look. The man is completely bald, dressed entirely in black from head to heel. His face along with both arms is covered in tattoos and his skin tone is similar to the woman’s. To Max, it appears that the two strangers share a common ethnicity and may even be related, but he can’t be sure.

What he is certain of, though, is that these people are as lost as they are; just like them, they are in need of rescue. He averts his gaze momentarily as he comes to grips with the fact that their struggle is far from over.

When the two parties meet, Max watches them shake hands and exchange greetings. At first, the conversation involves everyone with lots of back and forth, followed by a series of pointing in various directions, but soon it’s limited to Noah and the other man while the girls stare at one another. Then, rather than signaling the all-clear to Max, they begin to walk back to the fire.

“Come on,” Max groans.

When they reach the campfire, Mia continues to walk aimlessly, which immediately strikes Max as odd. He glances toward Noah, still deep in conversation with the two strangers, and apparently unaware that Mia is no longer near him.

“What is she doing?” Max asks aloud, again, to no one.

Suddenly, he sees the large man waving to someone else and, as Max pans to the right, he spots two more men. One appears to be closer to Max’s age; his long curly black hair is similar to the girl’s, although his coif may be even wilder. He wears a green nylon jacket with white sleeves and dark grey cargo pants. His companion is dressed all in black, similar to the giant, with slicked black hair ending in a series of thick curls. His face is hidden behind a thick black beard and a cigarette rests leisurely in his mouth. Both carry bundles of twigs for the fire, and when they see the new arrivals they begin to jog toward them.

Max pans back to where he last saw his sister and nearly loses it when he can’t find her. He anxiously lowers the binoculars to take in a wider view and eventually finds her near the edge of a cliff, staring out across the verdant valleys below. Max shakes his head in relief and continues his vigil. This time, he keeps his eyes glued to Mia, and he is dismayed when she takes a few steps forward, moving even closer to the edge. She peers over the cliff, standing precariously close, as if she’s preparing to take a flying leap.
What the fuck is she doing?

Growing anxious, and so far away from the scene, Max stands from his crouch, no longer trying to hide, as he observes Noah meeting the two new men and shaking their hands. He turns his attention back to Mia, still standing along the edge of the cliff, everyone else apparently oblivious to her theatrics. She seems preoccupied and unaware of the two new men. The young man with the wild hair has left the group and walks toward her, much to Max’s relief.

“Thank God,” he sighs.

As the man approaches Mia, he apparently says something, causing her to turn abruptly. At that very moment, a rumbling tremor rattles the ground and sends her falling backward, her arms flailing in the air.

Helpless, Max can do nothing but watch in horror and scream to the top of his lungs.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Chapter 16

The wind tosses her hair back and forth as the sky glows a deep red. Her hand flutters past before disappearing, as her back dips then arcs beyond her control. She plunges to a certain death — but before she falls out of reach she is grabbed around the waist and catapulted into the arms of a man she has never seen before, except in a recurring dream. Her silky black locks fall onto the man’s chest as they crash to earth together in a tumultuous thud. She gazes into his eyes, this man that she is on top of and entangled with, gazing into deep hazel pools that drown out the periphery.

“Am I dreaming?” she whispers.

The man lies frozen, like an angel in the snow, his face wreathed in a mane of jet-black hair. After a long silence, he asks, “Are you okay?” His eyes probe hers, searching, causing her to look away from him nervously.

At the sight of the others approaching, Mia looks back at the man she is straddled on top of and smiles radiantly. “Thank you Atua, for saving my life.”

“What…? Do we know each other?” He is caught off guard and his eyes grow wide.

Mia pulls herself up then and offers a hand to her newfound hero. He smiles warmly as his hand swallows hers and rises to his feet. “My name is Mia, and how could we know each other if we just met?” She dusts herself off, in a series of pats and swipes.

Noah is the first to reach them and before he can ask, Mia responds, “I’m fine, thank you,” and casually walks away.

Noah looks at her inquisitively before turning to Atua and extending his hand. “Well, that was heroic,” says Noah, as they shake on it.

Still puzzled by the mysterious girl, Atua watches her as she walks away. “Uh, thanks,” he says, finally turning to face Noah. They are of the same height and build, though Atua is younger by at least a decade, probably more.

“You must have terrific balance,” Noah says. “That little maneuver was pretty risky and I had your chances at less than fifty-fifty.”

Atua nods and points to his massive quads. “Sea legs… I’ve been on a boat my whole life.” He still carries the smile he’s had since meeting Mia

Noah beams at the striking fellow. “Outstanding!”

Mia is out of earshot of Noah and Atua when Kaewa touches her arm gently. “Are you alright?” she asks.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“That was a close call. I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”

“It’s Mia, you’re Kaewa right?”

Kaewa shakes her head. “That’s right, mate.” The rush of adrenaline causes her to bounce slightly as she walks. “Crikey Mia, you could have died! What were you doing over there anyway?” She peers into Mia’s eyes, but Mia avoids making any eye contact whatsoever.

Mia doesn’t answer her question and continues to walk, leaving the other girl behind. She can feel Kaewa’s stare like a dagger in her back. Her attention is focused on the two men smoking cigarettes down the hill from the fire. She has already met the larger of the two, but the other, a shadowy figure, causes her to pause in her steps. The stranger looks at her coolly as he continues to puff away. She is immediately put off by the man’s creepy leer, as he refuses to break eye contact with her.

The standoff comes to an end when, from out of nowhere, Max charges into the frame like a tornado, arms and legs swinging wildly. His violent entrance comes to a grinding halt when he is met by the towering Pango, who stops him in his tracks with one hand while casually flicking his cigarette with the other.

“Let him go!” Mia screams, running toward them. “He’s with us!”

Max, who stands over two meters and weighs over fourteen stones, is dwarfed by the giant who has him in his grasp. When the man finally loosens his death grip, Max pushes his arm off defiantly and gives him a frosty glare, before running to his sister. The two men snicker mockingly as the twins come together, holding each other tightly.

“Oh my God Mia, I thought I lost you,” Max says, practically in tears.

“I’m okay, and thankfully so are you.”

“But how? I saw you fall off the cliff.”

“Almost.” A husky voice from behind cuts like a hatchet in the wind.

The twins split apart as they turn to face the dark man walking toward them. He is shorter than Max, with a thick stocky build and eyes as cold and dark as the obsidian that litters the ground. He flips his cigarette, sending it flying in an amber trail until it disappears into a thick plume of tall grass.

“It’s a Maori custom that when someone saves your life, you repay your debt as their servant until they release you.” His lips curl into a wicked smile, revealing a silver tooth gleaming between a row of yellow and brown ones.

“What is he talking about?” Max asks Mia, puzzled.

“Don’t listen to my brother,” Atua interjects. “Maaka is just being true to his namesake, as usual.” During the exchange, Atua has approached them, followed by Noah and Kaewa. He throws a caustic look at his brother before turning to the twins. “He’s lying. We have no such custom.” He smiles and extends his hand to Max. “I’m Atua.”

Max shakes the man’s hand as Mia tells him, “This is the man who saved my life.” She turns to Atua. “This is my twin brother, Max.”

“Twins?” Atua is caught off guard again. “I see.”

Mia smiles as she watches Atua inspect her and Max, searching for similarities. “For twins, you don’t even look related.”

“You have
no
idea,” Max quips.

The remark causes Noah to smirk at Mia, and her eyes dance back at him. Introductions are made all over again as Max meets Kaewa, Pango, and Maaka. Noah explains that he had Max wait behind, as he wanted to err on the side of caution. When this is revealed, Mia notices Maaka and Pango exchange a look. It is only a momentary glance, but she senses something is meant by it, even if she can’t decipher what it is.

“Atua and his mates are local fishermen who had been at sea for several weeks,” Noah tells Max. “When they came to anchor a couple of days ago, their boat was crushed by the tsunami and half of their crew was killed. They had no contact with anyone for several days prior to the tsunami, and have had no contact with anyone since. Until today, of course.”

“Just like us,” Max points out.

“Just like us,” Noah agrees. “Let me have those binoculars. I want to show them something.” Noah pushes a button on the bridge of the binoculars and then hands them to Atua. “I took this snapshot about eighty klicks northwest of here.”

Atua takes a look. “Blow me!” He hands the binoculars to Maaka. “How long ago did you take that picture?”

“About seventy-two hours ago,” Noah replies.

“Mount Ahi’s revenge,” remarks Maaka, lowering the binoculars and passing them along to Pango.

“What’s Mount Ahi’s revenge?” questions Mia.

“It’s an old Maori legend,” answers Atua. “According to the story, Ahi hasn’t erupted in over 10,000 years —”

“Until now,” Kaewa interjects, the last to see the smoking volcano.

“That could explain why we haven’t been rescued,” Atua concludes. “I’ve shot six flares and we’ve seen neither hide nor hair since coming inland.”

“Speaking of that, we haven’t eaten for days. Do you have any food back at that camp of yours?” questions Maaka.

“We do actually,” says Noah. “How about this... I’ll gladly feed all of you tonight if you lead us tomorrow to the nearest point of civilization. Do we have a deal?”

Atua looks to his mates and then nods. “Yeah, we can do that.” He looks to the sky that has grown black as pitch. “Although I don’t know how were going to get there, now.”

“Leave that to me,” Noah says. “I’ll be back in a jiff.”

Noah breaks off from the group and disappears into the woods, leaving them to stand about while the fishermen shrug at each other and wonder what’s going on. Mia and Max aren’t entirely sure either, but they have grown used to Noah and his ways and expect there’s an answer coming. As they wait, Mia begins to shiver and stands closer to the fire, wrapping her arms tightly around her chest. Atua takes off his jacket and offers it to her.

“Please, take this. I don’t need it.”

“Oh, thank you. You are very kind,” Mia tells him, slipping on the jacket, which fits her like a blanket. She can see parts of his tattoos emerging just beyond his sleeves on his thick chiseled arms. The head of a fish is on his left bicep, while a tentacle of an octopus juts out from the underside of his right arm. She looks across the fire and studies the stark tattoo that covers most of Pango’s face; Kaewa has a small tattoo around her bottom lip that extends to her chin.

“Do all of you have tattoos?”

Atua doesn’t answer and when she looks back at him she notices he’s staring at her oddly and smiling to himself. “Hello? Did you hear my question?”