Chapter 8

The brown haired girl looked back at Zak with wide eyed amazement.

She wore a plain light blue sundress, its thin fabric clinging to her sweaty body. Her legs were bare, feet in battered blue sneakers but no socks. Her hair style was about the same as his, a short black curly afro, but her skin was the light tan of one outdoors rather than the brown of Africa. She wore glasses, lenses large and round on her oval face, resting on a small cute nose. In her hands, a walking stick almost as tall as her, and just as thin.

Zak could not decide if he should run towards her, or away, if this meeting was a sin or a blessing. It was his fault either way, of course. Zak was the one who decided to explore. The one who did not turn back when he felt himself leave the land given to them by the Lady. He was in the real world, now, and...

Fuck. He was naked.

He had his own walking stick, like hers just a dead branch with all the smaller stuff stripped off. It was only about shoulder height on his almost five foot tall frame. She looked to be about as tall as his staff, and maybe about his age. Putting his hands on top of the stick as he leaned forward, Zak smiled what he hoped was a non-threatening smile.

"Obviously, I did not expect to see anyone."

His voice seemed to startle her. She looked around quickly, eyes returning to him as if her life depended on knowing where he was. He tried again.

"My name's Zak. I won't hurt you. What's your name?"

He could see her bite her lower lip.

"Where are you from?" Her voice was a bit high pitched. Not what he was expecting, but then he really didn't know what people without a New York accent sounded like. He jerked his head towards the path behind him.

"I came from that way."

The girl had taken two steps back before Zak even noticed. Her staff was held up like a sword, the tip drooping as she tried to keep the heavy end up.

"There?" Her voice got even higher. "You came from there?!"

Her expression was ... fear.

Why was there fear? There was nothing to fear on their plot of land. Nobody could fear the Lady. Unconsciously, he took a step forward.

"What..."

She turned and ran.

Zak was not stupid enough to follow. Almost, but not quite. What first stopped him was not knowing what was ahead. The thought that she could be leading him into danger, or that he could easily get lost. Only after a moment's reflection did Zak realize what a naked black teen chasing a young white girl though the woods might look like. Hell, any racial combination would not be looked on well. Moving to a nearby rock, he sat.

What, exactly, had happened?

She had been...

Well, beautiful. Yes. Not the point, but perhaps the only real reason this encounter should mean something. A beautiful girl had been standing not ten feet away.

For the first time since entering the realm of The Lady, Zak felt a stirring between his legs.

Zak felt the return of Wisdom's presence as he crossed the invisible boundary between her land and reality. Peace filled him, pushing out all worry and doubt. The Lady was here. Nothing else mattered.

He paused, examining what, exactly, marked the border. On the surface there was nothing. The forest all looked the same. As he stared, though, Zak could detect a slight shimmer in the air. Not much. Only when the sun hit it just so, and only when you had reality to compare it to. Interesting.

Everything about this place was interesting, at least to him. One reason he had started exploring. The city, for all its vastness, had been confining. Oppressive. His own natural inclination to stay at his sister's side, and her loving protectiveness, kept him to areas well known and safe. Here ... here, he felt free. Free to wander. Free to, not take risks, but to not worry. He now had confidence in himself.

Thus, his rest day wanderings.

You could not truly have a day of rest, not with chores that must be done. Zak had no idea what the heck that whole Sabbath thing was about. No, every day, rain or shine, he had to get the eggs and milk the goats. Tom fished, sometimes with Zak joining him. Krissy cooked, turned the milk into cheese with Alice. Still, there was work that COULD be delayed. Tom had decided every Saturday would be a day of rest. No work on the cabin, no work in the field, apart from picking any food needed for the meals. Just the four of them resting, doing what they wanted. Having fun.

That fun, more and more, involved his sister and Alice playing with Tom. Zak watched, sometimes, mostly because of the unusual positions Krissy would get into. Her slightly swollen belly and floppy boobs would stick out this way and that, amusing him. She had just started to shed some of her excess weight when she began showing, also adding to his amusement. It was as if her baby was sucking her fat in to create itself. But, he knew his family needed time with just the three of them together. Zak was not unwelcome, certainly, but neither was that his place.

The forest, that was where he belonged.

The others were not fucking as Zak entered the cabin clearing.

The teen stopped, surprised, as he saw Tom pull back on the long rope. It traveled up to the top of a tripod of wooden poles, through some wooden pulleys, and down around a small log hanging in the air. The two girls were up on a wooden platform running next to the cabin wall, maneuvering the log into place. Zak frowned.

"I thought we weren't working today."

"We're not," Tom grunted. Zak ran over, putting his own hands on the rope just behind Tom's. Their bodies pressed together, muscles straining under sweaty skin.

"What the hell is this, then?"

"This," Tom said, the two males letting some slack go as Alice motioned with her hand, "is doing what the women are in the mood to do, so they don't get pissed."

"Damned straight," Krissy said. "I figured ... lower it a bit more ... that the three of us could do these smaller pieces. If you had been here, the four of us would be doing this."

That made him feel a bit better. They weren't excluding him.

"OK," Alice said, "slowly drop it."

Zak let the rope slip. The log, part of the pantry, lowered the last inch, dropping onto its appointed place. The design of the cabin had changed, once they began actually placing logs. It was now "T" shaped, limiting the length of any one side to something they could deal with. The rear, next to the rock face fourth wall, now had the pantry and root cellar jutting to the right side, while the left had the end bedroom extended outward from the body of the cabin. Once you factored in windows and doors, most of the logs were a very manageable size.

"Another one down!" Krissy raised her arms in victory. Debris from the wood lay on her bare front, giving the top of her breasts and the curve of her swelling belly an extra emphasis. "Another day or two, and we'll just have the roof to do!"

"Yup." Tom leaned back, the older man's spine cracking. His hand went to Zak's shoulder. "Thanks for the help. Your sister is trying to kill me."

"Revenge for knocking me up." The dark haired girl dropped to the ground, walking over to them. She pressed herself against Tom, her body molding to his. "Want to take a swim, get cleaned up?"

Zak sighed. He was glad the two were happy together. Glad his sister now had someone. But...

A soft yet callused hand rested itself on his shoulder. Alice, belly protruding a bit more on her thinner frame, turned him to face her, hugging the younger teen. Zak smiled. He had gained a sister. He had lost nothing.

"Find anything fun?" she asked. He shook his head, feeling content as their bodies pressed together.

"Naw ... I just walked."

It was raining the next time Zak ventured outside Eden.

Not much. A light drizzle, falling through the green canopy above. It felt good on his skin, cooling the warm summer day. Another difference between here and the city. There, rain was something to flee. Here, it was a joy to be experienced.

Sometimes. That thunderstorm of a couple days ago had been frightening.

Zak had left the three of them inside the almost finished cabin. The roof was up, maybe even water proof. Alice had said they were going to spend the afternoon "checking" for leaks. Right. He had left them with a laugh, one returned with no embarrassment. His sister's hand had been fondling Tom's dick as Zak went through the door-less doorway.

Consciously, there had been no destination in his mind. Zak had just grabbed his walking staff, picking a path at random. That it had been the same one he had taken the week before was chance. That the time of day was the same, roughly, was also pure coincidence. The boy walked through the rain with no thoughts beyond the moment.