GOD of a man

“Truth stands firm irrespective of the way it is interpreted and implemented.”

Chapter Thirty: Falling forward and marching on
Dated: February 2427 onwards

Centuries ago when Charles Darwin first presented the concept of natural selection little must have he thought how for ages to come, his words will not only withstand the tests of time and questions of posterity, but will also be interpreted in far wider scope than what he had envisaged them in. Natural selection is not limited in its’ scope to the organic evolution but is prevalent in every walk of life. Be it sports or education, science and technology, medicine or geography, in personal life or in society, in every conceivable field the ones to survive and succeed are always the best in their abilities. Human history at best is a catalogue of the fittest to survive.

Rosalyn, Lisa, Alexia, Rajon and Omar survived their ordeal because they didn’t panic. They were intelligent enough to convert a lost cause into a new victory. GOD’s grace was immense all this time, but the question is when will they realize it?

“Rabbits are the new carnivores?” Omar’s words had barely ventured out of his lips when a growling sound from behind stunned him into silence and so did it to Rajon.

The moment Omar turned around a menacing beast lunged at him from behind. In an instinctive reaction Omar brought his arms in between his face and the creatures advancing paws but the size of the beast and the momentum of his thrust was enough to knock Omar down on his back. The beast viciously thrust his sharp teeth towards Omar’s neck. Omar was left speechless and his throat dried down in an instant.

The next moment a loud smack silenced all the growling. One hit from Rajon’s oar knocked all the adventure out of the beast’s face. The beast moaned in pain and looked at Rajon who took another pot shot at the beast’s face. The beast’s face was smeared all over in its’ own blood. It didn’t take long for the beast to turn around and escape towards the mainland shrieking in pain. It rushed past the raft secured by the sea waters as scared Alexia and Lisa clung on to each other while Rosalyn comforted the scared kids. They were all shouting at the duo to warn them of the approaching predator but the distance and the noise of the waves drowned their warnings.

“Are you all right?” Ranjon asked the panting Omar.

“What the hell was that? What the hell was that?” Omar gulped down a big lump of saliva to wet his throat and muttered a few words.

“Must have been the rabbit mentioned in this diary,” Ranjon replied as he turned pages around and found out the diary was blank for the rest of it.

“This place is dangerous! Let’s get the hell out of here,” Omar jumped on to his feet and tried to rush back to the raft. Ranjon grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Relax! The beast’s gone now,” Ranjon tried to calm him down.

“Who knows he might return with its’ friends,” Omar replied.

“That beast is not a human being to organise and assault,” Ranjon replied, “Besides if it hunted in packs, it wouldn’t have been alone in any case.”

“How do you know? Maybe it had wandered away from its’ kin and clan,” Omar replied.

“This is a small island!” Ranjon argued, “It cannot support a large number of carnivores as they will run out of food and perish.”

“But you agree there must be many more of its’ kind,” Omar asked.

“There definitely has to be at least one female for the continuity of the species, and there possibly might be a few more of them. Perhaps twenty or thirty more,” Ranjon replied, “As I said, its’ not a big island to support a big predator population. Remember, they feed on birds and birds don’t reproduce daily either.”

“Look! I don’t care how many of them are here, but if we have to survive over here, we need to kill them,” Omar was still scared of the thought of sharing his home with a creature that can eat him up. For the first time in his life he had met face to face with an adversary who can feed on him just like he feeds on others.

“Bad idea,” Ranjon replied, “We need to protect them from extinction. There are not many animal and plant species left in this world anyway. We need to save whatever we can.”

“Protect them? They will kill us all,” Omar argued.

“No,” Ranjon replied, “We will domesticate them, just like our ancestors did with dogs. Remember, rabbit ancestors were friendly to man. I am sure they can fill the gap left by the extinction of man’s best friend.”

Omar fell silent for a few seconds and then finally asked, “What do you want to do now?”

“Lets’ first find the basement mentioned in this diary and then try to retrieve what has been saved and preserved for someone like us to find,” Ranjon replied.

“We can do that any time now that we will be living on this island. Let’s get back to the raft first and calm down the ladies and make a plan to set ourselves up over here, “Omar commented.

“Nope, we won’t be staying here. As mentioned in this diary, there is navigational equipment including magnetic compass and maps preserved for us. There is a motor engine along with its accessories and tools to fix it up. Then there is fuel for use as well. We are going to get out of this place as soon as we can and head to where those cheats are heading,” and Ranjon knelt down and put the diary back in its’ original place the way it before as if it was never touched.

“What are you doing?” Omar asked.

“I am returning the diary to its’ original location,” Ranjon replied.

“But what for,” Omar asked.

“In case we don’t make it to the other side of the world, if someone else happens to land at this place, he or she will be able to retrieve whatever useful can be found on this island,” Ranjon replied, “Protecting what is preserved is our foremost duty now.”

“But what purpose will that solve? If we are going to take away all the stuff what will someone else find on this island?” Omar replied.

“No my friend, you are wrong. We are not going to take away all the stuff off this island. We are only going to take out the motor engine and fix it up. We will retrieve only a weapon or two in case they are still usable, and we will take only the tools we might need to fix the motor up. Rest we will put back where they were originally preserved,” Rajon replied.

“But what if we make it safely to the other side?” Omar asked.

“Then we can always return to retrieve the rest of the stuff,” Ranjon replied, “C’mon now, lets’ get to the women folk and detail them the situation.”

Soon the evening arrived and before the skies darkened some more food was hunted before everyone on the small raft retired for the night leaving Lisa on guard for the first half of the night, armed with an oar. Alexia was entrusted to take over after midnight as the men were expected to do the treasure hunt in the morning.

Far away from them sailed a group of ten vessels, one boat and nine rafts. Larry was at the wheel for the night and Robin and Daniel were outside on the deck, busy chatting in whispers.

“How long before we hit the beach?” Daniel asked.

“Another five or six days,” Robin replied.

“So have you thought about it?” Daniel asked.

“About what,” Robin wasn’t sure what Daniel meant.

“About Steve,” Daniel replied, “Have you thought anything about him?”

“What’s there to think about? He is going to get blamed for Clara’s kid who will hopefully be alive when we get there and rest will be easy,” Robin replied as if assured of an eminent victory.

“What about Andy?” Daniel asked.

“Don’t worry about him! Nobody takes him seriously anymore. Infact his insistence on GOD saving us and refusing to admit that there is no GOD has slowly and slowly decreased the number of people who support or believe him. He is the new crack in the town,” Robin replied with confidence but added distastefully, “Nobody except your girl Natalie!”

“I hate how she hangs around him all the time. I feel like killing him,” Daniel lamented, “Thanks to you I don’t even have a wife anymore.”

“Don’t fret over spilt milk,” Robin replied, “Better do something to win her admiration!”

“I don’t know what to do! She just won’t leave him and he won’t let her out of his sight,” Daniel’s anger seethed like a volcano ready to erupt, “I saw him holding her hand the other day and I felt like chopping it off!”

“Control your passions and don’t do anything stupid. Let me think about something,” Robin tried to calm him down, “I will figure out a way of nipping their budding relationship.”

“But what will you do if he told everyone about Nakata and his affair with Clara?” Daniel asked.

“Don’t worry! We will agree that Nakata and Clara had a fling but Nakata expired a day before we landed as we have already told,” Robin replied, “Thanks to his insistence that it was GOD’s wish that our wives and kids got lost in the sea, many people hate him already. If we stick to our guns and claims, let’s hope Steve will loose his mind and point his gun at us again. People will do the rest.”

“But why will he point a gun at us?” Daniel asked.

“You don’t know the frustrations of a lonely man stuck on a remote shore with a woman who doesn’t love him and another man’s child to take care of while his heart years to be with his own woman and lift his own child in his lap. His desperation to meet his wife and kid combined with the walls we will create between him and the society in general and the seeds of distrust we will sow in his wife’s heart in particular trust me, we may have to duck to save our lives.” Robin said with a hateful glint in his eyes.

Daniel nodded his head as if he could already visualize the entire setting unfolding in front of his eyes. The boat and its’ companions tugged along through the night.

The ages old sun rose again for another bright day. Rajon was the first one to get up and he woke up the rest as Alexia retired to catch some sleep. Lisa was intrusted the task of keeping the kids safe while Rosalyn was requested to accompany the men in their search for the basement and the stockpiles therein. They hunted to have their meal and then set out to find the buried, or rather submerged treasure.

They searched the entire site over and over again but no signs of a basement were found.

“Perhaps it got buried under the collapsed building,” Omar replied.

“That would be really unfortunate and will make our job way harder than what it should be,” Rajon replied.

“And why is that?” Rosalyn asked.

“Cause then we will have to clear the debris of each and every collapsed structure to find an opening into a hidden basement,” Rajon explained.

“That is indeed a scary prospect,” Omar quipped.

“Wait! What’s that?” Rosalyn noticed something and pointed it out to the others.

“What’s what?” Rajon asked.

“What’s this?” Rosalyn asked as she walked up to a small hump of sand covered, all covered with coarse long grass, and pointed out a metal piece sticking out from under it.

“Looks like a buried object,” Rajon said as he knelt down to pull the grass blades out of the sand and then used his hands to clear the sand mound above the metal object. As he pulled out more and more sand, the metal object became more and more visible but along with it became visible a heavy metal gate.

“This is it! This is the basement we are looking for,” Rajon exclaimed in delight.

Omar joined Rajon in digging with his hands as Rosalyn kept a watch to spot any predators.

After a few hours of feverish activity Rajon and Omar were finally able to clear the mount and reveal the entire metal gate of the basement. The door was rusted but still intact.

“Its’ heavy and jammed,” Rajon exclaimed as he tried hard to lift it. Omar and Rosalyn joined him and after a big effort were finally able to lift it open.

“Yes!” a delighted Omar jumped in the air, “Lets’ get inside!”

“Wait!” Rosalyn stopped them.

“Why? What happened?” Rajon asked.

“Look, I was a zoology student and I would suggest we wait for a few more minutes before we go inside,” Rosalyn answered, “There is every possibility that the place is full of air that is devoid of oxygen as I am sure we still have micro-organisms in this environment who could have used the entrapped oxygen inside long time ago. If we go inside without letting the air get refreshed we might be asphyxiated and die. And who knows the petrol and oil contained inside may have released some kind of poisonous gas inside.”

Rosalyn’s caution was well meaning and well explained, so well headed too.

After waiting for a few minutes to let the air inside the basement get refreshed Omar was the first one to venture inside. When everything felt safe he called Rajon in as well while Rosalyn stayed outside for a watch. It took them a while to get adjusted to the dimly lit dark interiors. The basement was huge and had stock piles of barrels lying all around and a huge concrete tank in the middle. The light coming from the open door was barely enough to make the things inside recognizable. Rajon and Omar walked up to the concrete tank and used all their might to try and push the heavy concrete slab that was covering it. But years of lying at the same spot had virtually sealed it to the container walls. Rajon used the handle end of the oar to hit it all around the edges trying to break the sealing. Then they finally tried again and this time the concrete slab was finally dislodged. The oil inside gave such a hateful stink the two immediately rushed outside.

“What happened?” Rosalyn asked but before they answered the stink reached her as well and she constricted her face muscles and grabbed her nose in her hand, “That’s disgusting!”

They all walked away from the basement and sat down on a side.

“Now what,” Omar asked.

“We still need to get the stuff out of there but we will have to do it quick,” Rajon asked, “I cannot stay in there long.”

“I don’t even want to go in there,” Omar replied.

“I know but we still need to do it if we are to survive,” Rajon replied.

“The anaerobic microbes must have worked on the penguin and seal fat they used along with other oils. You better wash your hands thoroughly after you get the stuff out and I’ll suggest don’t wear your clothes while pulling the stuff out as the stink might make them completely unwearable,” Rosalyn advised them.

“You mean as in naked?” Omar asked as if it was a sin she was asking him to commit, “No way! I can’t offend you or Lisa or Alexia!”

“Relax! I will be looking the other way all the time and the other two are too far off to see anything,” Rosalyn calmed him.

“She is right!” Rajon replied, “C’mon, lets’ do it!”

And the two quickly stripped away as Rosalyn turned her back towards them, still watching out for any predators. The two took deep breaths and lunged inside the basement once again and braving the stink pulled out one packed after the other from the container. Then they pulled out the motor, tool box, weapons case and other stuff. They carried all the stuff outside and rushed to the beach to have a quick shower. They returned and dressed up quickly and finally Rajon gave an all clear to Rosalyn, “Thanks for your patience and help Rosalyn, we are all dressed up now.”

They then took their time in inspecting the treasure they had pulled out. The weapons case was opened to reveal a cachet of arms. First they took out a pistol and a shotgun each and read the instructions manual to find the right calibre ammunition for them. The cutlery they were not interested in so was decided to be left back in the basement. The navigational packet was opened to reveal preserved magnetic compass, maps and instructional material. Being submerged in fat and oil in properly sealed containers and packets had made sure that weather factors didn’t cause any destruction to the material. The organic invaders that made the fat stink could neither get inside the sealed packets or containers nor could they have damaged the metallic tools or motor engine.

Next three days were spent in going through the instruction manual on how to fix the engine and make it working again. The stored seals and engine oil were used to fix the engine up and as soon as some petrol was put in the motor engine, the engine became fully operational. Their raft was now ready to be motor driven and they had all the navigational equipment needed along with simplified instructions as to how to get to mainland Australia. The only problem was how to transport the requisite amount of fuel for the trip along.

“Damn! The moment we work out one problem we are faced with another,” Omar complained.

“Don’t worry Omar! If we have made this far, we will make it all the way through too,” Lisa tried to comfort him.

“I sometimes feel something is helping us!” Alexia made a statement that surprised everyone.

“What do you mean?” Rajon asked.

“I mean, we were going to be on the raft with Ono and at the last moment we were told that we need to travel with Lisa and Rosalyn,” Alexia replied, “Then their husbands had to cheat on them and ditch us in the middle of nowhere to perish in peril. But see what happened!”

“What?” Rajon asked.

“I mean, rather than perishing without food and water on the sea we ended up on an island full of riches and life, with plenty of food and more variety than Hatsu. Infact, now we can even make an effort to join the rest,” Alexia added.

“What is your point?” Omar asked.

“Don’t you guys feel as if it was already pre-planned? Don’t you feel that something more powerful than us is helping us?” Alexia asked.

“I know what you are getting to love and I want you to stop right there. This is no time to loose our composure and senses,” Ranjon remarked and when nobody supported Alexia’s point of view she fell silent.

They scratched their head out but couldn’t find a way of transporting enough fuel along with them. Finally Omar got so frustrated that he picked up a half empty barrel of oil and threw it in the sea yelling, “All this is no use! All our efforts are a waste! We are still stuck on this island forever!”

“Relax Omar, we will find out a way, if not sooner than later,” Rajon tried to calm him down.

“Hey mom, look!” Jaden shouted in excitement as everybody turned around and looked at what Jaden was pointing at. And what everybody saw surprised them no end.

“That’s amazing!” Lisa exclaimed as they saw the half empty oil barrel tossed in the sea by Omar, floating freely.

“How did that happen?” Omar was excited and curious like a kid.

“Perhaps the air in the empty part of the sealed barrel makes it light enough to float in water,” Rosalyn tried to explain, “I mean we all know oil is lighter than water and so is air. Only thing that sinks is metal but I guess, not when it has air entrapped inside.”

“If that is true then our problem is solved too,” Rajon jumped in excitement.

“How is that?” Omar asked.

“Well, all we need to do is empty some oil out of the barrels to make them light enough to float in water, tie them up together with a rope and toe them behind our ship. We already have spare sails with us and we can get some wood from the trees over here to make the shafts for the sails. We can toe all the oil we need behind our raft.”

“But we can make a raft of the wood as well to carry the oil can’t we?” Omar asked.

“We don’t have nails to fix the wooden planks together otherwise I would have suggested that as the first thing a long time back,” Rajon replied.

“I see your point,” Omar replied.

So the next two days were spent cutting wood for the shafts for sails and organising half empty barrels into the sea and tying them up with the rope they had with them. Luckily for them, the barrels were already shallow because of the evaporation of oil over the time. So all they did was transfer some oil from one barrel they were taking along into another they were going to leave behind to preserve what was there, rather than spiling it. Everything else that they were not taking with them was once again dipped in the stinking oil container and the concrete slab covering it was restored to its’ original position. The door to the basement was closed once again.

On Rosalyn’s recommendation they searched the island for the sowed wheat and rice, and luckily for them and the human race, they found some of each growing along the edge of the lonely mountain at the top of the island. On Rosalyn’s further instruction some grass was taken along as well so as to make compost, and also taken along was a soil sample to transfer soil microbes into the new field that was going to be set up in Australia.

Once everything had been sorted out, they once again set on course for the Australian shores, their new found navigational equipment, maps and instructions being their guide and their newly fixed motor giving them speed. The night was clear and bright with half a moon above their heads and a calm sea below. They slept in peace once again as Rosalyn watched the sea ahead for the night.

The sun rose up once again breaking away the restraints of darkness that held everything in its’ bounds, releasing new waves of vibrant energy into the atmosphere. Steve woke up from his sleep and walked to the sea to wash his face. He looked up and something stuck his gaze. His jaw dropped and after a few moments of stunned silence a shriek escaped his mouth, “Clara!”