Climb the mountain

The packages of crackers and cookies recovered from the plane would only last so long and Samuel realized that he wasn't going to get much stronger than he presently was. With that in mind, he decided that today was the day to climb the barren and possibly volcanic mountain looming at the center of the island. From that point, he reasoned, he'd be able to map out his new home and find a more permanent way to make his stay more bearable. Turning his back to the ocean, he made his way across the hot sands and plunged into the tropical forest.

While Samuel wasn't a weakling, it quickly became clear that this hike was not going to be as easy as he'd thought. The dense underbrush of the forest left him scrambling and swearing as he was battered by wet ferns and looping vines. When he wasn't trying to pull foliage aside, he was beset by a swarm of gnats that had taken a fancy to him and were intent on following him wherever he went. The only thing that kept him from becoming confoundedly lost was the mountain peak looming over him that served as a steady landmark. After taking another draw from a complimentary can of apple juice, Samuel leveraged himself off a mossy tree and continued deeper.

Some time later, Samuel's weary step sent him slipping and tumbling down into a slight culvert overgrown with vegetation. Pulling a layer of mud from his face, Samuel noticed the darkening shadows around him and realized that, in his travels, he'd lost track of time and night was rapidly approaching. As he couldn't get back to camp before it was too dark to see, Samuel set about clearing some brush and making a fire. After a few cursed attempts, he had a gentle fire going and was savoring another meal of airline pretzels.

As the sun disappeared, his makeshift camp plunged into a thick darkness that made his small fire seem insufficient to the task. Samuel fed the fire steadily even though his limbs ached and he longed to shut his eyes. Was it his imagination or did he hear the snapping of branches? The darkness must be toying with his nerves. And yet, there was another snap, this one closer than the last. Were there predators on this island? Samuel rose to his feet, drawing a burning branch as a weapon to ward off whatever came through the brush. The rustling and snapping grew louder and Samuel braced for attack.

Whatever Samuel had expected, what came through the ring of plants wasn't it. Covered in grime and wild-eyed, out stumbled a woman of indeterminate age. Her blond hair would have looked quite lovely were it not full of vegetation and a thick mat of mud causing one side to stand out in tufts. Befitting her look of bewilderment was her attire. A beige long-sleeve shirt, ripped in a few spots, but tied and bound around her body that left Samuel thinking of a straitjacket. Indeed, he saw the sleeves were in fact fastened to her sides leaving her arms constricted. Aside from the binding shirt which did reveal her hourglass figure, she was barelegged, covered in mud and faint scratches of plants and sticks.

Both Samuel and this strange woman both let out a startled cry and fell back in fear. Try to catch his breath, Samuel rose, scrambling for the brand before it was snuffed in the moist ground. From the outset, the woman began speaking a language that Samuel couldn't understand, but she seemed hysterical, wild-eyed and babbling, all the while twisting at the confines of her attire. Samuel, in the hopes to avoid frightening her further, raised his hands in the universal sign of goodwill, he tried to speak slowly and calmly. "I am Samuel," pointing to himself. "you are?" he asked as he held the brand up between them to serve as light. Was it just the flickering of the fire or did her skin have a strange shimmer to it, like the sheen of an oil slick?

"Svetlanna," the woman said, her syllables garbled as she muttered incessantly. Twisting her body a bit, she inched her way closer. As her wide eyes rolled about from tree to brush, they finally locked onto Samuel's and she licked her lips as though to steady herself for a hard task. "Help?" she said furtively, "me?"

This woman seems to be in need of assistance and this is the first person Samuel's met on the island. Clearly the right thing to do would be to release her from her confining sleeves. However, her clothing and behavior suggests she might be mentally unstable. Does he dare risk releasing someone who might be dangerous?