The Islander

She furrowed her eye brows at him. "Fine." She hoped he would leave her alone. "And by the way," she added. "You look pretty awful yourself." A smile played on her lips as she began to walk away.

David ran his hands through his hair, remembering the days when he used to be rich. Where had his looks gone? It used to bother him, but now it amused him. He shrugged it off, not knowing whether it was a joke or an insult. "Well, I'll continue looking awful if I don't get anything to eat!" He called after her, laughing.

She stopped and waited for him, feeling a little embarrassed and shelled. "I haven't really been in the woods in a while. You know where to get some food?" She asked.

David rolled his eyes, almost as if they had never had a fight. "Isabella-it's like you don't live here!" He chuckled again, grabbing her hand whether she liked it or not. "Sure-but, of course, it's only fruit." He steered her in the right direction. "But we can pretend it's steak if you prefer!"

Isabella smiled. "I prefer chicken." She looked up seeing how dark it was. "Let's hurry, I want to go back to our cave before it gets too dark."

David raised his eyebrows, surprised that she would suggest that. "Are you sure?" He asked quietly, afraid that the question would spark some unwanted animosity. "Are we ready for that again?" He looked up, realizing that they were at the overabundant fruit trees. Ready for picking.

She frowned at him. "I think so, yes." She started to climb the nearest tree. "I can go by myself if it worries you so much. She dropped a couple of mangoes.

David picked up as many as he could carry, grabbing a few other fruit that were on the ground as well. "Well, okay then..." He said, still a little unsure but not really ready to start another battle. "Let's get going then. I can barely see." David handed Isabella a random fruit to eat on the way over.

Isabella gladly ate the fruit as she started off. "Do you remember the way?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I think I do." David said, leading the way. He jumped over the patches of quicksand-like mud, shuddering at the memory of it. Making it to the cave, he sat down, letting out all the fruit in his arms. He made way to the pile of firewood in the back, bringing it to her and arranging it in a neat fashion. "Care to light the fire?" He asked.

"Nope," She said. "I think I got good at fire-building lately." She took a bite of fruit. "Well, better." After a few minutes she had a good fire going and sat close to it. "Have you been here recently?" She asked suddenly.

"No..." David said, gasping. He looked at the fruit, his eyes widening. In the dark light, he hadn't realized that some of the fruit was different. Not in a good way, either. He knocked the fruit Isabella was eating out of her hands. "Stop eating that!" He exclaimed. "Take a good look at it!"

Isabella looked at the fruit, nothing like she had seen before. She was suddenly afraid. "Do you think it is safe?" She asked quietly.

I don't know. His mouth was in a tense, fine line. He had seen enough of nature to know that anything out of the ordinary could make someone sick, and he had a feeling this fruit would do the same. "We will just have to wait a little and see."

Isabella sat back for a moment but got back up. She crawled to the watering hole and drank for a bit. "Where did that fruit come from? I only grabbed mangoes, right?" She moved back to him and sat against the cave wall.

David sighed, feeling like an idiot. "I couldn't see..." He mumbled, blaming himself. "They felt the same on the ground...I must have picked up those when I picked up the mangoes." He put his knees to his chest, angry at his stupidity.

Isabella controlled her breathing. "You never pick up fruit from the ground..." She trailed off. "I think I will be okay," She said, trying to put certainty in her tone. She looked around the cavern, remembering the short time they lived together here. Suddenly she straightened up. "Have you been to the cave lately?" Her voice was concerned.

David smiled, trying to hide the panic that was happening to him inside. "Not really." He paced back and forth, trying to relax. "I bet Addy might have stopped by, though. Why do you ask?"

"It's... different in here," She looked at David. "Not like I remember. It's like someone was in here." She looked around again. "Our mats are gone... Look there was a fire here. David, do you think Addy stayed here?" She felt sweat trickle down her neck, and tried to hide her queasy feeling.

David dropped his mouth open, not realizing it, but she was right. Someone was here. "No..." He said slowly, shaking his head. "I've been with Addy every night...it's not possible..." He looked at Isabella curiously. "Are you joking with me?"

Isabella shook her head, serious. "I haven't been here since the last time we came together." She was quiet for a moment. "Do you think they will come back?"

David goes over and touches the old fire. When he turns back around, horror is shown on his face. "It's...warm..." He says, backing up against a wall.

Isabella's eyes widen. "Maybe it's nothing to worry about," She said shakily. She looked at the fire they had going. "Maybe they will see our fire and not come around..." She didn't sound certain.

David stayed away from the entrance, continuing to panic. "Or maybe they will come because of the fire!"

"David, calm down," She pleaded, not wanting to scare herself more. "Maybe it was jus-" There was a crack outside. She looked at David. "Did you hear that?" she whispered