“What?”
“Maybe you ate the others to survive.” I began imagining the worst.
“That’s sick.”
“I’ve told you. I was at a wedding party nearby. I could’ve been home by now if you hadn't been pretending.”
“I wasn’t pretending. And is this about Chris? You want to get back to your Chris.”
“No. I see you listened about my boyfriend but ignored that I could lead us back to civilization.”
“How could I not listen, Jayne? He’s all you ever talk about.”
“You picked up my name but haven’t shared yours.”
Brute scrubbed his forehead yet again. “It sure as hell isn’t Brute, but I don’t….” The man became frustrated. He couldn’t remember his name.
While he struggled, I got out of the water. For a moment, I felt awful. The guy fell from the sky and probably had a head injury. I was being the asshole. That’s until he spoke.
“Brute…” He laughed. “I wasn’t the only one enjoying a fantasy.”
I huffed. “Fantasy?”
“Yeah, Brute kept your pussy wet.”
I blew out my nose like a bull. “If you know the spot you rescued me from, I can get us out of here. This can all be over.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes. Fantasy over. I need to get home. Not only to Chris, who will be worried sick. My mom. Margo. For God’s sake, I’m supposed to be back to work soon.”
“Then let’s go. Let’s find this camp you’ve been talking about.”
I insisted on going back to the cave first to dress. Brute didn’t have any clothes anymore.
He explained, “I used them for traps, I think, and for my bed… Hold on.” Under his bed of oversized leaves was a pair ofdirty, ripped khakis. The burn marks seemed consistent with a plane crash.
Checking the pockets, he found a wallet. “I don’t think this is me.” He handed it over.
The license read Bram Stevens, who was apparently six foot six and two hundred pounds of muscle, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. Their faces looked identical.
“It’s you, without the long hair.”
Taking it back, he felt his clean-shaven face. “Is that what I look like?” This strange man stared down at Bram in disbelief, and I realized I hadn’t checked out the address or anything else in the wallet.
“Yeah. And how do you shave?”
“My knife. I don’t like the feel of a beard.”
I knew he had a knife. That’s how he gutted the animals. “How did you get a knife on a plane?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I found it like the rope and the pot.”
“Are we ready?” I asked him, wanting to get back to the real world.
Bram tucked his wallet away in the pocket, before he stepped into his pants.
I lead the way. I remembered the direction we came from all this time. But it took the rest of the day to make it back to the clearing.
