“So this is where you have been living for nearly a year now?” I looked at Nate, he barely looked like himself anymore. I wanted to suspect late puberty or something but that seemed as unlikely as anything else. He was taller, better looking, and looked like he had been working out ever since he left. Which with all the work that had gone into the camp was probably true.
“Yeah, after some stuff happened with Matthew and his buddies. Me and Cat decided to stay here, it is kinda hard to explain but, long story short yeah.” He continued throwing in food and herbs and spices into the pot. It was some kind of stew or something, it smelled amazing. It seemed all the herbs were fresh from a small garden behind the little building they were cooking in.
“I just, I don’t know. Why did you stay though, I mean the tribe was willing to let you stay there, you never finished high school. Plus Matthew and his friends are gone, they must have done something and left town because they haven’t been back.” As I was saying it, the thought of Nate and Cat being out here after whatever actually happened, made me have thoughts that would better be left alone.
“Look, as I said it is hard to explain. I ended up here and we are staying. So if you wanna check it out and consider staying, be my guest. Otherwise, I am fine and safe, so is Cat, I don’t want to leave, we are happy here.” He said it as Scarlette leaned over his shoulder closer than she needed to, looking into the pot to see how it was cooking. I suppose that answered my question more than Nate’s vague answer of why he was living in the woods with a bunch of strangers.
“Fine. I only really came to make sure that you were doing alright. I mean I am probably going to head back to the tribe soon, so if you are Cat are having some second thoughts.”
“We are not having second thoughts! Seriously, Chas stop asking me.”
“Easy Nate, he is just worried. He hasn’t been here long enough to understand us well enough.” Scarlette gave Nate a look of worry, and me an understanding gaze. She held his shoulders from behind as he stopped to take a few deep breaths.
“Look I don’t know what is going on here, in this weird as free-love community or whatever the hell is going on. But are you seriously just going to live out in the woods for the rest of your life, just because you found some tail?” He picked up the strange looking knife he had been using to cut with and pointed it at me.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“SHUT THE FUCK UP! What the hell is your fucking problem Chas, you haven’t even been here for a day and you already got the balls to criticize this place. I mean who the fuck are you to judge me, we barely know each other. You are just some….”
Scarlette took the knife from Nate and laid it on the floor, and forced Nate’s head down onto hers. They stood there, eyes locked for a moment, before Nate took another breath and let his shoulders drop.
“Come on, we need to talk outside.” Nate took off the apron he was wearing and threw it on the counter, walking out from the kitchen portion of the building and heading to the door. I turned to look at Scarlette who was staring at me with a look of recognition and a hint of sadness.
Walking out the door to follow Nate, he was standing over the little herb garden checking over all the little plants. The little garden was so full of plants it was kind of surprising anything could grow at all. There was mint, sage, basil, and over a dozen other herbs and spices growing right next to each other, no spaces or separate pots. He sighed as he stood up to look at me with guilt covering his face.
“Look I’m sorry, I should have said something but I didn’t want to bring it up because we were friends. But I am not attracted to you, we are friends and that is it. If you want to stay and see what this place is about, you can but I’m not going back to the tribe. What we are building here is so much more than just a little camp in the middle of the woods.”
I turned from looking at him, truthfully I was a little reluctant to admit it myself. I never had a girlfriend, and I thought I was just being protective about Nate when he started dating that sleaze Kayla. It was hard to be accepted in a place like Arkansas, most of the people were assholes and racists. But when Nate had left, I was pretty torn up about the whole thing. I mean going into the woods with a bunch of strangers just to see if some guy I was friends with in high school was okay. That may have been going a little overboard, so maybe I was gay or bi or whatever.
“This place is just the beginning, and I know that sounds crazy, it sounds like some crazy cult. Trust me I know, when me and Cat joined there was only John here so trust me when I say it is not just a cult. This place is like a paradise compared to everything else out there. The only time I have a bad day, is when something from the outside tries to fuck with us. Otherwise it is just pure bliss out here.”
That seemed unlikely, truthfully I questioned if this place wasn’t on a gas leak or something making everyone hallucinate. It seemed like it was too good to be true, even if I hadn’t been here that long. Even if there weren’t a dozen people here, even if there wasn’t any electricity. It still seemed a little too good to be true.
“Alright, alright. I will stay for a little while to see what is going on in this place. I, umm, well I’m sorry about what I said. I was just mad, I guess.”
“It’s fine, Scarlette is understanding. You guys should talk sometime, you might like her. Plus me and her are just friends.” He turned after grabbing a few pieces from the garden, and walked back into the kitchen where Scarlette was smiling from behind the counter.
I decided to let any remaining rage simmer before talking to them again. Leaving to head to the bunkhouses, figuring if I was going to be staying for a while I wouldn’t need to be caring all my crap.