Lucas shuddered. The scream-not a monkey, or a bizarre animal, but a human one-had just echoed throughout the forest.
He got off the plower. The forest was damp and dark. "Paul? Did I hurt you?" He shouted. He started to panic. What if I killed someone? I-this can't be happening. "Hey! Hello?" No response. This damn job. It always hurt him a bit whenever he saw a dead animal that had been killed by the plower. Or in a days work, when he saw entire acres of vibrant and lively land cleared. But he had to do it.
Lucas looked around the plower. What had he hit? But he saw it, right on the damp ground near a puddle. It was a body of a man.
Lucas staggered. "I-I-" He was tempted to check if the man had a heartrate, or if he was still breathing. The man was bleeding, with tracks covering his body. His chest didn't rise. Carefully, Lucas put his hand over the mans chest. No heartbeat.
It wouldn't matter what he did at this point. The man wouldn't survive. Suddenly, he heard a whimper. A human whimper. He turned around, and looked throughout the bushes and the lush forest cover. Behind a tree, he found two people.
It was a mother, no older than 35. She was hugging her son tight, a tear falling down her eye. The son looked at Lucas once, but then looked away. He was probably 8. This was a family. Both of them had long hair that was covered with knots and tangled. Their skin was darker than normal, and their eyes showed pure terror and sadness. They had just lost their family.
But then it hit him. These weren't farmers nor workers. He hadn't fully noticed it before, but they weren't wearing a jumpsuit, but a variety of furs, cloths, and leaves covering areas of their body. They were primitive, like cave men.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" He asked in a calm tone, hoping they would know it was an accident. The mother breathed harder, but she looked into Lucas's eyes. Lucas gave a heavy sigh. "It was by accident." He knew they couldn't understand, but it felt better for himself to say it.
"I-" He put his hand on his mouth. The family had lived there. It was their home, and they didn't know any of his language. They couldn't live together unless they spread disease or destroyed an ancient culture that had lived on for centuries, uncontacted. He couldn't just destroy the forest and give it to the farmers, but what would happen to them?
"I must go." He pointed to behind the plower. "I'll be back soon." He pointed back to the ground. The woman wiped a tear off her face, which was covered with a look of terror. He probably looked like an advanced alien race to her, even if they were both human. I shouldn't trust them to follow me, or even know what I'm trying to say. They're primitive, like the monkeys that also live here. 165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxG80hb8LLE
With that, Lucas ran back to the director of the forest-plowing. "I have an issue." Davi, the director, nodded. "What's that?"
"I've found humans living here. Not farmers, but cavemen." Davi frowned. "And?" Lucas didn't have any words to say. "I-I killed one of them." He sucked up the air. It still felt hard to say. "I saw two others who were alive, a mother and her child. I don't know if we can take down this forest if they're here. It's their home, after all." 165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAkTsX6GOA
Davi sighed. "You have a family, right? You need to keep food on the table with this job?" Lucas nodded, but deep down, he already knew where this talk was going. "It's either they lose their homes-and possibly lives-either way, or you lose your job thinking you helped them. They're primitive. They-they aren't really human. Now, let's see if they're even in the same spot anymore. If they're not, then you keep on plowing." Lucas gulped. I can only hope they've left, or that the man's body was buried. But they might not bury bodies.
They walked back to were Lucas had seen the family. On the way there, he heard rustling in the bushes, but decided not to bring it up. When he arrived, they were gone.
Davi cleared his throat. "Well, I guess we-" Suddenly, he fell to the ground, out cold. Behind him, was the mother. She had a long spear in her hands. Fortunately, she had only knocked Davi out and hit him with the butt end, not killed him.
Lucas immediately got to his knees, raising his hands as a sign of surrender. The mother pointed the sharp end at him. Lucas started to cry. "It's-I shouldn't have-" This is all my fault. I screwed up. I shouldn't have ever trusted Davi. I- Lucas cried profusely, thinking about his family and his life. Is this how it would end? Murdered by a strange group of savages?
Suddenly, the mother called to her son in a language Lucas couldn't understand. It didn't sound anything like his own. The son talked with his mother, but the spear was still pointed at Lucas. He made sure to stay quiet and not to move.
The son drew a drawing on the ground, and then started to make hand gestures. He pointed at the ground, and then started to hug himself. He drew a forest that had a bubble around it, which protected it against all spears that surrounded it. He then asked a question in his native tongue. Lucas guessed the question was associated with the hand gestures and drawings. Lucas nodded. He pointed at the ground, and then hugged himself. He would protect the forest. 165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmRuhVhTiD
The boy smiled, for the first time Lucas had seen him. His smile had missing teeth. He was a growing boy, one who would live a happy life, Lucas hoped. Lucas started to cry as the spear was put to the side. He was safe, and the forest would be as well.165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcjgVNBmdZ
The mother laughed, brushing a tear from her cheek. Lucas saw his own wife's smile in hers. These people-they weren't primitive, or monsters. They wanted what he wanted in his life: happiness and safety. They weren't different, no matter where they had been born. Whether it was in a hospital, or out in a jungle.
Lucas waved goodbye to them, and drove his plower out of the forest. It wouldn't be touched ever again, as long as he could do anything about it. 165Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKDRtQjZMj
He thought of the determination and strength in the mother's eyes. Now they both had something in common that they wanted to protect. Now, they were one in the same.
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