We had arrived in the camp that looked like some cult had actually found a real goal to follow. I probably should have been more cautious than I was, but truthfully I had kind of given up on finding happiness. This was just an early midlife crisis rearing its ugly head, the few people that I had seen walking through the camp were young. I mean none of them could have been older than their thirties at best.
However, as I explored the little camps, looking around the sturdy buildings that seemed more up to code than most residential houses did. Walking past the cafeteria smelt like I was walking through the kitchen where mom used to cook. This place just seemed so peaceful and quiet, even compared to the little town they picked us up in.
I peeked inside one of the cabins, it seemed like it was empty of any personal belongings. So looking inside I saw massive amounts of sheets covering the floor, a rug covered most of the wooden floor. Stacked sheets made a large bed and pillow, the walls even had colored sheets instead of paint or wallpaper. A small clear piece of glass with a strange design held what looked like glowing moss. The lamp looked like it was made from a massive dragonfly wing, scales covering the otherwise pristine glass. I stepped forward to get a closer look at the light source, and for a second I thought I saw the strange fungus looking bulb move.
“Excuse me, what are you doing here? New recruits get beds in the bunkhouses, you get a cabin when you are a full member.” I turned quickly to see a woman standing in the doorway, she was average height and looked to be Asian in descent. She was standing in the doorway holding the two halves of a broken tool in each hand.
“Sorry I was just looking through, I didn’t realize this one belonged to anyone.” I moved away from the lamp, and squeezed past her as she continued staring daggers at me. She looked me up and down, then gave me one last look in the eye before she spoke again.
“Alright. It’s fine I don’t really sleep here that much anyway. I am Liz, the newest of the few people here so if you need to know anything just ask.” Her expression softened and she tossed the broken tool onto the bed. She turned and left the cabin, closing the curtain that made the door behind her.
“Uhh, yeah actually what is it that you guys do here? I mean I get that you need to tend to the farms, erect even more buildings, and cook and clean and stuff. But like what else do you do here, you must have a lot of free time.”
“We usually do, other than planting and harvesting. You find things that interest you, Cat has her painting, Rein and Nate have their little obstacle course, Scarlette likes to cook. We have sports and stuff, but this is supposed to be a better society. You aren’t supposed to work 16 hour days to barely survive, you do what needs to be done and enjoy the rest of the time.”
She said it with a smile, it seemed like a nice idea but I doubted how true it was. I knew that hunter gatherers used to work maybe 20 hours a week, so it was realistic. Society was ruled by the rich while the rest of us lied to ourselves thinking we could make it one day.
“You don’t believe me.” My eyes went a little wide, I had thought that I had kept that to myself. Or perhaps my face just gave away more than I meant to. “It is alright, good things always seem like they are fake, usually because they are. But here, we are doing something more, you’ll see, just give it time to sink in.”
She turned to leave and continue whatever she originally planned on doing with the broken shovel she tossed away. But before she got too far, she turned and looked at me with the same teal eyes as John and Niki had. “When the time comes, you may think that becoming a full member isn’t worth it. I just want you to know, it was probably the best decision of my life.”
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She turned and walked away again. I questioned what that was supposed to mean, it sounded like both a threat and a promise. “Okay then.”
I turned and walked away from the cabin, deciding to check out how they worked the massive fields they had. With seemingly no equipment and few people, I couldn’t imagine how they were able to plant and harvest so much. Walking over there and seeing the huge sections of field that were separated into twelve sections. They all had different crops in different states of growth.
There was no clear sprinkler system they used, it seemed impossible to water this much by hand. The river was nearby, but it still shouldn’t have been able to provide enough water to every field.
“It is pretty impressive.”
“Thanks, it was a lot of work.” I turned to see an extremely tall man approaching me from behind.
“Yeah, I was just wondering how you water it all.” The guy was easily over 6’ 6”, he was pretty skinny but not underweight. It seemed that everyone in this place was good looking, I mean it seemed like the minimum was like an 8/10. It made me self conscious, I pulled my shirt down trying to better cover up my gut. Stress and most of my jobs I had to drive for, so eating healthy was never a feasible option.
“There are some underground paths that let water be absorbed by the dirt and roots from the river. We used to have above ground gates but this way is a lot easier so we switched it over after the last harvest.” He looked at the field with a pride that came from accomplishing something yourself. “I am Rein, by the way.”
“Hey Rein, I’m Alexander, you can call me Alex.” I shook the large man’s hand, as we walked to look at the small river that ran into the large lake. We mostly just walked in silence, until Rein said he had to finish up a few things. I took my leave from the farm and headed back to the central building to look at the map.
I saw the multitude of buildings that had been built or were still in construction. Although most of them were just houses, a few stood out, there was an area that was being cleared for a sports field, some type of communal bath area, storage area for painting supplies, other storage areas for musical instruments. There was even a gym on the outer side of the compound, I looked down at my hanging gut. “Uhh, just do it. Stop making excuses for yourself.”
I stopped myself from any more excuses and headed over to the ‘gym’, although looking at it made it seem more like a dojo. There were thick mats that seemed to be used for wrestling, a small track around the outside of the building, even a big tank of water. “What is that for?”
“It is for running under water.” I turned to see John, walking into the building. The guy was even bigger up close, he looked like he could be in the world strongest man competitions. The guy was huge but not like a weightlifter big, his stomach was just as wide as his chest. I knew that was to strengthen muscles in the back to stop injury when you were doing heavy lifting. His arms were huge but not defined with muscle, he headed over and grabbed one of the large logs from the corner.
He lifted it revealing that the muscles on his arms were like steel wires, he dropped the log that thudded into the floor with a sound that made it seem far heavier than I imagined.
“We could use the lake, but it would disturb the fish. Do you want to come in?” He looked at me, I could almost feel the judgment in his eyes. I wanted to leave and not have to be criticized for my weight, it happened at regular gyms I didn’t want it here. I turned to walk away, when I felt his hand grab my shoulder with a light grip.
“Come on, I will show you around, see what kinda workout you are looking for.” It didn’t sound insistent, but when I thought about declining his grip on my shoulder tightened ever so much.
“Alright, I mean I guess there isn’t a lot you have here though.” He brought me over to the back, showing me the wooden staves they used to knock against the large logs. Small blocks of wood carved like dumbbells' and even the large bags filled with sand to use as a punching bag.
John was actually a pretty nice guy, maybe a little forceful when it came to some things. However, he showed me all the equipment, taught me how to use it all. Even explained the different ways to lose fat, build different muscles, and slowly build cardio. I wanted to be skeptical and believe that his place was a little too good to be true.
However, I was reluctant to try to see any bad things this place may have had. I wanted it to be as good as it seemed, so focusing on the sandbag in front of me and diving wholly into denial. I continued listening to John’s advice to better my stance, letting my insecurities shrivel up and die in the back of my mind.