Page 78 of Wild Life

“Do you understand me? I’m looking for a woman with brown hair who goes by the name of Maris.”

I closed my eyes.My Maris. He had come for my Maris. To take her away from me. To rip my heart out of my chest.

Some would say that it was a stroke of luck that someone had arrived to rescue her right when she needed to find a cure for the bats.

I would say it was the biggest case of bad luck that I’d ever experienced.

“Please, if you understand anything I’m saying, can you respond? I’m desperate for help.”

I could hide her. Pretend not to understand English. Go back to denying I could speak. Never tell Maris that I had seen this Eli.

But my conscience wouldn’t let me. My love for Maris wouldn’t let me.

Defeated, I replied. “F-follow me.”

Chapter 34

The Past Always Catches Up with You

Maris

I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in bed, despite having been awake for more than twenty-four hours. The sheets were too cold even in the heat because the wall of muscle I had grown accustomed to curling up against was absent.

He had asked for space to clear his head. The same man who was so obsessed with me that he couldn’t go long without touching me before he was compelled to throw me down and bury himself inside of me. Now, he couldn’t get far enough away.

It all reminded me of how we were when I had first washed ashore, except we didn’t hate each other. We were still very much in love—so much that it was now the wedge that drove us apart.

I didn’t want to leave him, but I couldn’t sit idly by to watch a dwindling bat population suffer. The scientific community needed to know about the sheath-tails’ susceptibility to white-nose syndrome. If it was affecting non-hibernating bats here, it could most certainly affect them in other tropical locations, as well as other species, too. Many of the locations with sheath-tailed bats could suffer drastically if bat populations decreased. Food supply would dwindle and pests would overgrow. The consequences of this mysterious infection would be devastating to nations.

Just on this island, the fungus could affect all bat populations, and in about ten years, the ecosystem would be very different. Aleki’s access to fruits and vegetables would be limited since there wouldn’t be enough bats to pollinate the plants. Also, the surrounding wildlife who survived off those same foods would die off, and his hunting trips would become less successful. His life was in danger if I didn’t seek treatment, and I wished he’d understand that.

I had to leave—for him. He was the love of my life, and he had said that he could never go back to the modern world. He was afraid of the world seeing him as some circus sideshow.The boy who lived in the jungle. So the only option was to ensure his survival in his home.

I would be back. I had promised him I would be. Unfortunately, I couldn’t predict how long it would take for me to return, or what would happen after I returned to treat the bats. I might have to go back to Washington again for more medication if the first round didn’t work.

I rubbed my eyes, weary and stressed.Fuck sleep.I kicked off the blankets and padded out of the hut. Poaka scampered behind me, eager to empty his bladder and search for food.

Our sterilized tarps and booties from the night’s trip hung on low branches, airing out. I had made sure to at least bring back and clean everything we had worn inside of the cave. A few baskets of other random items I’d left needed fetching later.

Poaka squealed as he discovered a stash of mushrooms that Aleki had left for him near the empty fire pit. I patted his head and left him to his own devices.

While he was eating, I grabbed the towel next to the drying gear and stumbled to the shower.

The valve squeaked when I turned it, and cool water came dribbling down the spout, washing my body clean.

My mind flashed back to the colony. The masses of petite bodies clustered together, unaware that some of their friends could kill them. Then the image of a withdrawn Aleki, after I said I’d return to him, hogged my head.

He didn’t believe me. I couldn’t wholly believe myself, either. Our future was uncertain.

I was thinking too far ahead. First, I needed to be rescued, then I could worry about goodbyes. Aleki and I still had more time together, and I wasn’t going to let anxiety ruin it.

I turned off the water and toweled dry. I applied some of the oil he’d made for me from pressed jasmine flowers to the side of my neck. The floral scent instantly lifted my mood and transported me to a better time.

I dressed in my T-shirt and set to drying my hair before heading to the beach to find Aleki. He’d said he was going fishing to clear his mind. I was still in this relationship, whether he wanted me or not. I wasn’t going to shut him out for fear of rejection. No, I was going to prove to him that I was all in, despite the obstacles we faced.

Footsteps approached the camp. Not one set, but two. I recognized the heavy, unrefined ones. The other steps, I couldn’t place. They were lighter and more hurried than Aleki’s.

Poaka screeched uncontrollably, piercing my ears, and chills spread over the back of my neck, terrified that he was in danger. “Poaka!” I shouted.

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