[2-8] The Campground

[Hiro Protagonist]

The two companions journeyed through the misty woods at a respectable pace. As creepy as the lighthouse had been, sleep, food, and water had done it's job and refreshed them. It was with renewed vigor Hiro led them through the thick trees and overgrowth, pulling out his tanto to chop through bushes and branches. He felt like whistling, but thought better of it. They were making enough noise already, and those cannibals probably had people all over the island.

Nothing bothered the samurai and the bartender for a long while, although Barry pointed along the side of the trail they were blazing at a leopard, snoozing in the trees up above. They took a moment to study the creature, Hiro especially intrigued. Wildlife was scarce back home, most of it having been driven to extinction by the establishment of so many independent territories. He made sure to save the footage in it's own separate bookmark for later perusal.

"Hiro....hiro, you're closer now. Please, hurry."

The female voice came through his earbuds again, much clearer. Urged onwards, he quickened his pace, Barry huffing and puffing behind him. Soon enough, he held up a hand as they came to the edge of a clearing. It looked old, grass and shoots starting to grow up through the cleared dirt. In the middle of the clearing was a small concrete shack, almost like a bunker. 

Barry peered over Hiro's shoulder, watching the far side of the clearing and the surrounding treeline. "Looks like the coast is clear, buddy. Is she....is she in there?" The hacker nodded, the bartender's question answered by a whispered message in his earbuds. "I'm in here....please. Help me."

Keeping his sword low, he jogged across the clearing and up to the doorway of the shack. There was no door, but it had paneless windows carved in the walls, allowing natural light to illuminate the interior. Hiro stepped inside, confused at what lay before him, a tingling, pricking sensation on the back of his neck.

Inside was a rough, wooden table, made out of logs and branches. A matching chair was seated in front of it, pushed out like someone had just gotten up. And most perplexing of all, a laptop. Feeling very strange, the hacker sat down in the chair and put a hand up to his ear bud. "Hello? Where...where are you?"

Barry watched the hacker with a strange look on his face from the doorway, but kept glancing back outside in case someone started to creep up on them. "Open it, Hiro. Open it so we can talk." The voice came not from his goggles, but from the laptop itself. The hacker heard a high pitched ringing in his head, and a sudden thought crossed his mind. This is not the world you know.

Opening the laptop, he watched as the dark screen came to life, an image slowly brightening. He couldn't see too well in the glare from the sunlight, so he leaned closer and lifted up his goggles to get a better look. As soon as he did, the image brightened and the ringing in his head turned into a nasty, grinding roar. A snowfield of black and white static flickered across the laptop screen, like a television tuned to a dead channel.

"ASHERAH LIVES IN THE OMNIVERSE, DISCIPLE OF ENKI. SUBMIT."

The woman's voice came back again, thick and harsh, buzzing. Not from the computer. Not from his earbuds, either, he realized. From inside his head. He let out a frustrated yell and stabbed the laptop with his tanto, sparks and electrical dust flying from it as it died and the image disappeared. He stood up, panting, clutching his head with one hand. Looking up, he saw Barry staring at him, jaw open.

"Um. Hiro? You okay?" The hacker nodded slowly, bringing his hand down. He opened his mouth to reply, but Barry beat him to it. "Because I was wondering why you were staring and poking at it. Before you stabbed it, I mean." The bartender pointed at the desk. There was no laptop. Just a leaking coconut, with a knife embedded in the thick shell.

Hiro blinked, and slowly retrieved his knife from the fruit, rubbing his temples. This island was not his element. He was not a dashing crusader, or Robinson Crusoe. He was at home on asphalt, amid buildings and circuits. It was only by sheer luck he'd managed to make it as far as he did without getting seriously hurt. And it was starting to catch up to him.

He held out the knife to Barry and sighed, staring into the trees. "K-keep this for now, please....and maybe you should lead for a while." The bartender stared at Hiro, and took the knife after a long silence. He reached out a comforting hand and patted the addled hacker on the shoulder, maybe hesitating a fraction of a second too long. "Hey...listen. We'll....we'll get out of here soon, man. We just have to find somewhere to call for help."

For the first time since Hiro had rescued Barry Sanderson....there was fear in the Secondary's voice.