Hope On The Rocks/Issue 124

This is Issue 124 of Hope On The Rocks, entitled "King of Hearts".

This issue is Lia-centric.

912, King of Hearts
“Would you rather have three legs or three arms?” I think about the question. Miles and I have been playing ‘would you rather’ a lot. We are right now, sitting by our fire. “Three legs, probably. I don’t know where the third arm should be.” I say in a giggle. “Good choice.” Miles says and gives me a kiss. “Alright.” I say and think about a questions. It’s sometimes difficult to find a good question. I have one, though, that I’ve wanted to ask for a few days now. But it just seems too, I don’t know... I don’t want to ask it, but then again, I want to know the answer. “Would you rather stay on the island or leave with the helicopter?” I ask, looking at Miles. Miles looks down, then at me. “I would rather leave with the helicopter.” He says in a more serious tone. “I want to go to that safe-zone they’re talking about.” I nod. I want to leave too, but I just wanted to make sure Miles did too. v “How about you?” He asks. I smile, give him a kiss and say “Same.”

The next day, I collect fruit. It’s a job I’m pretty good at. Some fruits, though, are hard to get, so sometimes it can take hours for me to fill my bag. Today it’s easy though. I’m walking in the ‘Avocado Forrest’ as I call it. Not because there’s that many avocado trees, but because the nearby lake looks like one. Usually, I will go and get green beans, peas, avocadoes and fruits. The green beans and the peas are the easiest to collect and usually takes me half an hour to fill my bag. The avocadoes are tricky as I have to climb the trees, and usually only get 10 pieces. It’s usually a good job to have. But today it’s not as usual. Today I see someone walking a few hundred meters in front of me. I can’t see who it is, but this person is carrying a rope. I decide to follow. I follow this person for, maybe five minutes. Then I loose the person. I look around, but can’t see anyone. “Hello?” I shout out, hoping for this person to reply. It’s beginning to freak me out that there’s somebody close, that I can’t see. “Don’t come closer!” I hear the voice of the pilot, Jim, saying. I turn and head for the voice. I know he said not to come closer, but I can’t just leave him. I’ve seen a man pee before if that’s that. But Jim isn’t peeing. He is trying to hang himself. Sitting on a branch of a tree, a rope around his neck, he is sitting with his hands folded, looking at the ground. “What... what are you doing?” I ask, looking worried at Jim. He can’t die. For one, he’s a nice person. Also, he’s our only pilot and only hope of getting off this rock. “I can’t live anymore. I’m better off dead.” Jim mutters, just looking at the ground. I go down under him so I look him in the eyes. “You are not better off dead.” I say, trying to carefully comfort him. “Nobody likes me, girl.” Jim mutters depressed. “Nobody needs me...” “We like you. We need you.” I say, being cincere. I’ve heard Timmy complain about Wesley and Holly about Daniel, but nobody has said anything bad about Jim. It seems as if we all like him. “You need me to get to Greenland, that’s it.” Jim mutters. “We want you in our group, Jim.” I say. “Don’t do this. Please.” Jim sighs, and moves further out on the branch. “Jim, please.” I say, now pleading. “Don’t do this.” “Tell Daniel that... I didn’t want any of this to happen, okay?” Jim mutters and closes his eyes. “If you do this, Jim, you kill people.” I say desperate. I don’t know what to do now. This seems to work though. He stops up, and slowly opens his eyes. “How so?” He asks. “We will never be able to leave. We’ll die within months, because of... various reasons.” I say, trying to just talk to him. “Right...” Jim mutters. “But... I don’t want to live anymore, don’t you see?” “I do, and I’ve had the same thought many, many times. But I am living a great life. I want to live, because that’s what my loved ones wanted. What my parents wanted, what Miles wants.” I say, and this makes Jim listen. “I had a wife and a kid...” He says, removing the rope. “They wouldn’t want this...” “Neither do we, Jim.” I say. “We like you too.” I help Jim down the tree and then we head back to the camp. Who’d thought I’d save a life today?

Deaths

 * None

Credits

 * Miles Vance
 * Lia Camper
 * Jim Iroas