I would have liked to have rested for a while after the meal, but I knew that I should keep going; the only question was where.

  I was torn between going further in search of a real water source or going back to the beach for some rest. Actually, by now I thought I would’ve reached the other side of the island, considering the size of things from when I walked the length of the beach. I would have also thought that trees of this size would be visible from the beach as well.

  Which probably means that the island is just larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Or it's playing with my sense of direction. I’m inclined to believe the former more than the latter if only for the fact that it would be easier to deal with.

  At any rate, there’s not much to be done in either case. If the jungle is larger than it seems, then I can’t bank on cutting through to the other side. I’m also a few hours away from where I went in, and with my ankle in its current shape, so I doubt going back is much of an option either. And if the jungle is messing with my sense of direction, then I’ll probably end up walking in circles.

  Standing up, I decided that I’ll just have to make mental notes of the surroundings and go from there. Other than that, I decided to make some quick preparations. I took the smaller section of the fruit I had eaten earlier and began hollowing out the insides. It would serve as a solid bowl if I found more water, or if it ended up raining.

  After it was sufficiently cleared out, I stuck it on my head. It looked ridiculous, but I didn’t have anywhere else to put it. I also need to look for a new hiking stick. I know where the other one fell, but I can’t push my luck by trying to retrieve it. I’ll be able to lean on the stick instead of my ankle once I’ve got that figured out. It’s sort of fortunate that I ended up hurting my right instead of my left ankle earlier. I doubt my left hand would have been able to support the weight.

  I’ve also got to use the bathroom. It’s been a while; maybe the stress from everything has kept it in, but the meal seems to have been the final straw. I took a quick glance around before deciding that the tree I was at would suffice. I grabbed some leaves for toilet paper and did what had to be done. It’s disgusting, but I’ll just have to suck it up and get used to it.

  …

  I had set out around an hour ago, and while it didn’t look like I was running in circles, I couldn’t say that I’d found anything of particular note either.

  I had found a new hiking stick pretty quickly, but it was a bit of a disappointment compared to the first. Since then, I’d tried replacing it a few times, but each iteration was more disappointing than the last.

  My pace had noticeably slowed when compared to earlier, but I was still moving well enough, all things considered. I’ve also gotten a bit more used to the nature. It at least felt like the creatures weren’t going out of their way to kill me, although I still tried to keep my distance when possible.

  The food and water from the fruit should last me another day. Maybe that’s optimistic, but it felt extremely hydrating. All things considered, it hasn’t been so bad since the meal, but my injuries were a growing concern, and I could feel my legs and arms getting sore as I went. Not to mention that there were only a few hours until the sun set, judging by its current position, which means that I’d probably end up sleeping in the forest.

  Thinking about that made me consider what might have happened if I decided to follow the map from the lagoon instead of venturing aimlessly. I have stuck to the same general direction since coming in, traveling eastward for the past few hours. If I’m going to be stuck in the jungle anyway, then I might as well give the direction of the temple a shot.

  I deliberated a bit and decided to go on with it. It was a bit hard to get a sense of where exactly I should point myself, though, since I had been walking eastward for so long. I thought some more and settled on travelling south. If I didn’t run into anything for a while, then I would switch things up, but this would be good enough for now.

  …

  I traveled for a long time. The sun was nearly setting, and the damages of the day were leaving their mark on my journey. I had been considering settling down to get ready for the night when I saw a clearing in the trees.

  Walking into the clearing, I saw what seemed to be a replica of the lagoon by the beach. I walked around as I inspected it. Its size was the same. Same outline as well, and the depth–well, not that I know about the depth of the lagoon, but it looked similar.

  The surroundings also followed the same pattern. The dense collection of trees and foliage abruptly stopped, and the edge of the lagoon was just sand, which might have seemed normal for the lagoon, but was definitely an oddity for a pond in the middle of a jungle.

  I didn’t really know what to make of the situation, but I was glad to have a decent place to sleep. I’ll just have to be careful not to look too deeply into the water so that mental fuckery doesn’t happen again.

  Sitting down now a few paces from the edge, I took off my makeshift bowl and wondered if the water was drinkable. The lagoon was connected to the ocean, so I didn’t bother to try, but a pond in the middle of a jungle should be fine.

  I thought about it for a bit and decided to give it a try. I’d only take a bit of water with my bowl and walk to the edge of the jungle. The mental effects seemed to be proximity-based, so putting a distance between me and the water should hopefully mitigate the issues. After that, I’d take small sips and observe any effects. Not exactly safe considering what the water did to me before, but I can’t afford to be too picky.

  So I slowly moved to the edge, keeping my eyes down the whole way to avoid looking into the depths. I scooped a solid amount and carefully turned around. The plan went well, and I began walking to the edge again when I heard a voice come from behind me.

  “Are you going to drink that?”

  In a blink, I turned and threw the bowl in the direction of the sound. I watched as the bowl barely flew past a figure that carefully dodged while not averting its gaze from me.

  It was humanoid but not human. Its body was a deep and dark blue, reminiscent of the depths of the lagoon. Without realizing it, I found myself staring into the creature. I inspected it from its legs to its torso and face. At a glance, I could make out a few distinct features, but the deeper I looked, the less distinct everything was, with parts melding into each other and oscillating between one form and another.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I stared for quite a while, and the creature didn’t move at all until it broke the silence.

  “Will you answer me?”

  Its mouth moved as it spoke, but it did not match the words that it spoke.

  I didn’t know what I was feeling as I stared at the creature. There was certainly shock and fear, but there was another emotion welling within as well. A different sort of emotion than any I’d ever felt before. Perhaps these confusing emotions allowed me to muster a response.

  “Do you not want me to drink the water?”

  “I cannot say.”

  “You can’t say?”

  “I will be able to say if you go in the water.”

  I glanced towards the pond, and then back to the creature.

  “What are you?”

  “I will be able to say if you go in the water.”

  I contemplated for a moment. The creature had an androgenous, robotic voice, but didn’t have any technological feel to it. It felt like every response had no contemplation, as if there were no other response available. The creature felt more and more trustworthy as I stared into it; even its voice comforted me.

  “What will happen to me if I go into the water?”

  “I will answer your questions, and you will gain something more.”

  “That’s not a bad deal; I can almost agree to it.”

  I took a deep breath as I walked to the edge of the pond.

  “There is just one little problem.”

  “What is the problem?”

  “Well…you seem to be controlling my mind.”

  I was speaking pretty rudely, but the figure didn’t change its tone in the slightest.

  “I do not understand.”

  “Mmm. Well, how do I put it? When I look at you, I can feel my sense of reason slipping, overcome by a sort of desire to do these strange, nonsensical things. So, it stands to reason that there’s something about you that’s messing with my mind.”

  “You felt those things from staring at me for this short amount of time?”

  I looked at the creature closely. That was an amusing response. That retort seemed almost human.

  “Well, I suppose I’m conflating my experiences from the lagoon at the beach with you, but that should be fine, right? You’re the same sort of being anyhow.”

  I gave it a moment, but the creature didn’t respond.

  “What could the water provide me that would outweigh the risk of trusting you?”

  I’m sure that it’s the mind control effects, but despite all rational signs telling me to run away, I’m still inclined to listen to the creature.

  “You will need what you can only gain in the water.”

  I contemplated as I quietly repeated what the creature said.

  “What I can only gain in the water.”

  Is it a way back home? That’s the only thing I could think of. I had thought of it earlier at the lagoon, but what if there really is some sort of structure in the depths that can send me back home?

  Looking back to the jungle, I considered my options. I’m not sure if I can survive here. No, I’ll almost definitely die. If this creature can really save me, isn’t it the reasonable choice to trust them?

  I took a step away from the water. No, I can’t just trust this thing. That’s far too hasty. I should, at the very least, sleep on it and rethink the choice in the morning. That would be ideal, but I don’t know if the creature will allow that.

  A few minutes passed while I deliberated on the issue. The creature didn’t move at all in this span. Its appearance was threatening, but it's been cooperative. I should test the water a bit.

  “Do you always tell the truth?”

  “I can only tell the truth.”

  “You’re incapable of lying?”

  “I can only tell the truth.”

  “I see…”

  It was a response anyone could give, whether true or not, but it was consistent. I liked the consistency, but I wanted more assurance.

  “What would you do if I decided to leave right now and never return?”

  “I can do nothing outside of the water.”

  “So I wouldn’t suffer if I decided to leave now?”

  I wasn’t planning on leaving permanently anyway, but I felt I could learn a lot from what the creature would say next.

  “You will need what you can only gain in the water.”

  “You’ve said that before. I don’t suppose you could tell me what that means.”

  I wasn’t expecting much, but to my surprise, the creature lifted its left arm and stretched open its hand. It took me a moment to realize what it meant, but I quickly looked over to my left arm.

  “Can you heal me?”

  “I cannot say.”

  The ‘I cannot say’ responses were starting to grow tiring. Nonetheless, it is an intriguing offer. I wonder if there is some sort of healing property in the water. It would be a big help, but I’m not sure if I really need it. The wound was a bit rough, but there’s definitely worse out there. Hardly worth potentially throwing my life away to get it healed, when time will probably do the rest anyway.

  It definitely wasn’t enough, but even so, I thought about the offer more. In my contemplation, the creature’s past comments reverberated through my mind. Why does it think that only the water can heal my hand?

  I needed to know. I began unraveling my shirt. I had put off doing this both because I feared infecting it and because I just didn’t want to look at it, although looking back, the latter was certainly the superior motivation.

  As I removed the shirt, I saw a mess of dried-up blood and peeled skin beneath. It was just as disgusting as I had imagined, but upon closer inspection, it was even worse. The shirt had concealed what looked to be very tiny maggot-like creatures that were burrowed into the open wound. It was maybe a handful, but a sense of disgust overcame me.

  I immediately dropped to my knees and threw up. Countless thoughts flooded my mind. Since when? How did I not notice? How deep have the maggots gotten?

  In my panic, the creature moved next to me and said.

  “You will need what you can only gain in the water.”

  “You can fix this?”

  The creature didn’t respond, but I understood. I had no way of knowing how bad the wound was, and the thought of being eaten alive overpowered all previous reservations I had.

  “I will go into the water.”

  I had no other choice. I will trust the creature.

  I walked to the edge and stared into the depths.

  “Do I need to reach the bottom?”

  “Yes.”

  “How deep is it?”

  “Do not worry. Just swim to the middle. I will do the rest.”

  It seemed that the creature had gotten a bit more talkative, not that I really knew what to make of it. Despite the slight change in demeanor, I leaped in and swam to the middle. As I waited for the creature, I could only hope that what lay below was salvation.