The Storm

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Ray woke with a splitting headache. All he could focus was the searing pain eminating from his skull. Then he opened his eyes.

Where was he?

He was face down in sand, the ocean lapping at his feet. He could hear seagulls chirping above, feeling the sun on his wet skin.

Where was he?

He turned his head to look up. All he could see was the beach and a line of trees obstructing him seeing any further.

Then it came crashing back.

A few weeks earlier, Ray had set out on his yacht, The Emily Rose, named after his late wife, on a round the world trip. So far, he made it down the east coast of North America and had just rounded Florida, when he ran into a huge storm. For two days, he battled through it. But on the third night, his mast snapped, rendering the yacht useless, a floating coffin. He put out his mayday call, then bailed into the resuce dinghy. He didn't know how long he had floated about, but the previous night he had got caught in the tail end of the storm. He had seen the land he was now lying on from the sinking dinghy, so he bailed and swam for his life. He had crawled onto the beach, collapsed and fainted.

Pulling himself to his feet, he looked around. The sounds were the birds in the air and the ocean behind him.

Where was he?

http://www.girlsector.com/gallery/Brenda_Schad/Brenda_Schad_003.jpg

A small lithe form watched the man from behind the shadows of the trees that bordered the beach, eyes a shade darker than the fertile earth beneath her naked feet. The small frame was covered by simple leather clothing that she had stitched herself from leftovers at the close by village, a place long abandoned. Tresses as dark as a raven flowed around her, further hiding her from his view.

He looked like one of them. The men as pale as the white hot circle in the sky, the ones that had first come in the big canoe. At first, they had seemed friendly, going as far as going to the village, introducing themselves to the chieftain, her father, and asking for help for repairs.

That was before the great battle. The sands had been stained red with blood, her people's blood. Many lay slain, the great blue licking at the bodies, including her father's. There had been no one to stop these men from bullying those who remained: women, children and the elderly, to board that big canoe bound to the 'mainland', as they had called it.

That was many seasons ago. She had long since discarded any hope of anyone returning, of having some semblance of the life she would've had had her village remained undetected. Six winters had passed and she was no longer the girl she had been. Many hard lessons had made sure of that.

Silently she waited, wondering what this man was doing here. Was he looking for the village? Perhaps he was looking for her? Still she waited. She would observe him first, then decide whether to show herself or not.

Ray slowly dragged himself to his feet. He looked all around him, the ocean behind, forest in front, beach left and right. Where to go? He limped down the beach, looking for an opening in the trees. The place look deserted. But where was he? Was it an island, or some unknown area of the States? He could be anywhere. The GPS on the yacht had been knocked out a few hours before the mast snapped.

He kept walking, hoping to find some sort of sign of life.

Watching the man come closer she noticed his appearance. He looked haggard, worn as if he had been wondering for days. His clothing looked thin and rumpled, and his lips were dry. She needed to lead him to a stream, the closest of which was right beside the abandoned village. Hesitating, she debated for a moment whether she should truly allow him to see it, but it mattered not now. Not much was left of what it once was, just the empty shells that were once homes, and she slept elsewhere.

Waiting until the last moment, she moved through the trees, making sure to go slow enough. He would see a glimpse of her in between the trees, hear the rustling of the leaves under her feet. Autumn would soon be upon them, the changing of the leaves coming soon after the time of storms.

Having led him to the beginnings of the village, she hid herself completely, waiting.

As he wandered up the beach, Ray caught something out of the side of his eyes. Something was in the trees! The curious side of him made him move towards it. But then it started moving away from him. He had to follow. It might lead him to people, or at least a food source. It kept moving slowly in front of him, but just fast enough to stay ahead of him in his crippled state. He could now hear something. It was water falling!

He gathered the last of his strength and moved towards the sounds. He round a clump of trees to find a clearing dominated by a large pool. A waterfall was at the far end. He waded in, cupping his hands and scooping water to his parched mouth. It was amazing.

The young woman watched him quietly for a few moments longer before she felt a slow growl beside her. Without looking down, she reached her hand and ran her fingers through dandy brown fur, feeling the muscle body beneath purr. If it hadn't been for Tosho, she would've been very lonely. As his name indicated, the mountain lion was always by her side, her silent companion.

Giving him a last pat, she took a deep breath and walked out of the shelter of the trees, feeling the cool wind play with her hair and clothing while she followed the water to the man. Stopping a few feet away from him, she watched him for a bit, trying to discern his reaction before kneeling to get a drink of water herself. Brushing her long hair to the side so it wouldn't get wet, she cupped the water in her hands and drank deeply, giving the man time to react.

Ray heard a rustle to his left, and to his astonishment, a girl, who could be no more than twenty, started walking towards him. He didn't know if he stay or run. She was dressed in what seemed like leather, but it was very basic and caveman-like. He finally got it together to study her a little bit.

Hispanic, with its accompanied dark hair and eyes. But it was her figure that was most alluring. Slim, petite, but also looked powerful.

Was she alone? Or were there others like her?

He finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Hi", not sure if she understood him.

Finishing her drink, she turned to him, allowing herself to examine him as well. Underneath the sand and the tiredness, the few scratches... he looked good. His body was lithe, not as powerful as the warriors from her village had been, but that didn't take away from him. She knew that if they stood he would tower over her small frame, some 5'0" if she had used such measurements. His hair was as dark as hers, but his eyes were the color of new leaves bathed in sunlight.

"Hello..." she replied slowly, her words colored by an accent. She hoped she had picked enough of this weird language from the first pale men that had come to the island to understand him. Pressing her hand to her chest, she said softly "Yoki. You?"

Ray could tell that English was not her first language. He pressed his hand against his chest.

"Ray."

He looked around, half expecting more like her to appear.

"You live here? Where is this?"

He had no idea if she understood, but he had so many questions and she was the only one here so far.

"Ray." she had repeated quietly, still watching him. It had been so long since she had seen another person, much less a man, that she found herself examining him once again. She wondered where the big canoe was that had brought him here, if he was alone. Had he come to hunt sea otters like the first pale men? If that was so, what had happened to his stick that spit fire, or his food or clothing? He didn't seem at all prepared.

Hearing his question, she took a moment to understand it before shaking her head "Pachua village. No one live here for six winters. Not since big canoe took away." she replied.

The raven haired young woman had a thought then. The nights were growing cold, he had no clothing to keep the chill, nor weapons to hunt for food , and the huts here had gone so long without use that they wouldn't really protect him. Sighing softly, she knew she would have to bring him to her home. If worse came to worst, she could stay at her cave and make another hut later.

"Come. Ray need clothes and food." she replied before she turned, starting to lead him back into the trees. Tosho appeared beside her, stopping to look at the new human before nuzzling her leg and following her.

Ray was hesitant to follow her, even more so when he saw the mountain lion at her side as she retreated back into the trees. But he had nothing else to do. She could have supplies.*

He slowly followed her through the trees. She led him down a path, the trees getting thicker the further they walked. Suddenly, a cave appeared. This must be where she lives. The remains of a fire were still smoldering. Pieces of cloth were scattered on the forest floor. He didn't see any food, but it was bound to be somewhere.

The walk wasn't long and, once she stood at the edge of her camp, she surveyed it. The cave was the most obvious formation, though she only used it to store the food and supplies safely from scavengers. The supplies was placed on nooks that were deep and high from the ground and, as an added precaution she could slide a small boulder to block the entrance. An offshoot of the river that passed through the abandoned village made its way through the eastern edge of her camp, one that she used to bathe, drink and wash clothing. The hut where she slept sat between the cave and river and there was a fence made of whale bones and dried sinew that kept any strong wind away from her campsite. All in all, it had taken her two seasons to complete.

First, she headed for the cave, taking out three big pieces of meat. One she tossed almost carelessly to Tosho, before spearing the other two and re awaking the fire on the pit. Once the meat was cooking, she washed her hands and brought out some pelts, a sowing needle, some thread and a short knife.

"Go bathe in stream. Yoki have pants by then." she replied before she bent over her work and started sowing the pelts together, her back to the stream to give him some semblance of privacy.

Ray watched her move about the camp, then nodded at her instruction. He waded into the stream, carefully checked that she wasn't looking, then shed his clothes. He gave himself a good, thorough wash. He hadn't done so for three days, or at least what he thought had been three days.

Once he was done, he made a makeshift cover for himself out of his old clothes, until Yoki was ready with his new pants.

He hungrily eyed the piece of meat on the fire. It was giving off the most amazing smell.

He was very lucky to have found Yoki, otherwise he could have died here.

Ray watched her move about the camp, then nodded at her instruction. He waded into the stream, carefully checked that she wasn't looking, then shed his clothes. He gave himself a good, thorough wash. He hadn't done so for three days, or at least what he thought had been three days.

Once he was done, he made a makeshift cover for himself out of his old clothes, until Yoki was ready with his new pants.

He hungrily eyed the piece of meat on the fire. It was giving off the most amazing smell.

He was very lucky to have found Yoki, otherwise he could have died here.

While her needle worked, the young woman could hear the man splashing around in the creek. There wasn't much she wouldn't hear, if it was close enough. Long gone were the days were she could only hear the birds sing, not notice the silence that befell the forest when a predator downed his prey. Hence it was no wonder that as soon as he was closed enough, she offered the finished pants.

"Put them on. After, you can cover yourself with big fur while we eat." she replied, placing a much bigger piece next to her for him to grab later. Turning her attention to the meat, she carefully took it out of the fire and placed it in a big flat boulder that she used as a table. Leaving him the biggest piece, she waited until he started eating his food before she started on her own.