“I know,” Faith said. “But—”
“But what?” Oscar demanded. “Arreglo’s got to be stopped, that’s all I’m saying here. Survival of the fittest, baby. Survival of the fittest. It’s what all you biology types believe in, right? And after the way Arreglo sold out, can you blame me for not thinking it’s such a bad idea to trade one guilty life for countless innocent ones?”
“Easy, brother,” Z-Man murmured. “It’s okay.”
Oscar waved him away. “No, it’s not okay,” he declared. He reached out and jabbed Faith sharply in the chest with one finger. “She claims to care about animals and the health of the planet. And hey, she’s a scientist—she should be able to do the basic math. Can she really not see what I’m trying to say? One life versus millions?”
“Um…” Trying to be fair, as well as buy herself a few seconds to gather her thoughts, Faith paused and considered what he was saying. It was true in a way. With his one decision, no matter how nuanced or strictly negotiated, Arreglo had sentenced innumerable individual creatures—snakes, birds, insects, tree frogs, mammals, and many more—to death, and probably quite a few of their species to almost certain extinction. Looked at in the hard, cold light of logic, Oscar’s solution seemed simple and almost elegant. Remove the one, and the millions could continue to prosper.
“Well?” Oscar demanded impatiently.
“I can sort of see your point,” she admitted softly.
Then an image of Dr. Arreglo flashed through her mind—the two of them sitting in his office, him smiling at her as they discussed biodiversity or gene mutation or just the results of the latest Bears game. She immediately realized how crazy and limited that kind of black-and-white thinking was.
“But that’s not the only solution,” she added quickly, even as Oscar’s expression began to soften. “There are better ways to handle things. Compromise doesn’t always mean selling out, you know. You heard what Dr. Arreglo said just now—he thought this would be the better solution overall. And—and I think I might trust him on that.”
“What?” Oscar’s face hardened again, and his voice sounded strangled.
Jutting out her chin slightly, Faith went on without pausing to think about what she was going to say. “I do, I believe him,” she said defiantly. “I know he’s a good man who cares about the world; I don’t really know why I doubted that in the first place.” She shrugged. “When we get back home, I hope he’ll agree to be my adviser again.”
For once, Oscar appeared speechless. He stared at her blankly, his protest sign hanging limply at his side.
“Listen, you two…” Rune began uncertainly, while Z-Man and Mo exchanged a worried glance and Junior stared at the ground.
“Fine,” Oscar spat out at last. “I guess you’re not the person I thought you were. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I’m out of here.”
“Oscar, wait!” Faith cried, shocked to the core by the loathing in his face as he glared at her.
But it was too late. He spun on his heel and stormed off, almost knocking over a couple of other picketers as he left.
Faith took a few steps after him, then stopped, blinded by tears. Behind her, she could hear the others buzzing quietly about the fight, but she ignored them. She was tired of trying to fit in with these people, when the truth was, she didn’t. She wasn’t even sure she fit in with Oscar anymore—or with anyone, for that matter…
She needed to be alone—she couldn’t stand to break down in front of these unsympathetic near-strangers. Mumbling some sort of excuse about finding a bathroom, Faith raced off around the corner of the building.
She spent the next few minutes sobbing behind a Dumpster. Her mind was such a whirlwind of emotion that it was hard to think straight. All she knew was that what Arreglo had said on the radio sounded rational and realistic—in other words, the exact opposite of everything Oscar had been saying lately. She just couldn’t deny that any longer.
But what did that mean for their romance? It was Oscar’s outspoken idealism that had brought them together. Was it now about to tear them apart? The very idea was like a knife in her heart. Being with Oscar was often challenging, but even after such a short time, she couldn’t imagine going back to life without him. When he was fully focused on her, he made her feel like the only person in the world who mattered, and that was a feeling she hadn’t had in a long, long time.
Finally, feeling cried out, she forced herself to leave her hiding place and head back to the others, hoping Oscar might have returned. He had a hot temper, but his fits of passion usually dissipated just as quickly as they began. They needed to talk this out as soon as possible, before it blew up into something bigger than it was. If they truly cared about each other, they would get through this. Now that she was feeling a little calmer, she was sure of it. She would forgive him for the mean names he’d called her, he would do his best to accept her change of heart about Arreglo, and they would take it from there.
As she approached the others, she saw that they were lined up on the curb with their backs to her. There was no sign of Oscar, though, and her heart sank.
The others were talking with one another, and as Faith got closer some of their words drifted toward her. “…and we’re going to have to change the plan, no matter what the bro told us to start,” Mo was saying with obvious dismay in his voice.
“I disagree,” Rune said, her loud voice carrying more easily. “It can still work. All we need is the in, right?”
“She’s right,” Z-Man said. “If we…”
The rest of his comment, as well as subsequent responses by Junior and Mo, were mostly lost in the noise of passing traffic and the other picketers, who had just started another chant. Faith caught only a few brief phrases here and there: “worth the risk,” “if he’s still willing to go in,” and “no matter how it ends up, the point is made.” And then Rune’s next comment: “Okay, but why not just use the whole snake?”
Faith blinked, momentarily intrigued by the odd remark. But she had more pressing things on her mind at the moment than worrying about whatever weird protesting plans those freaks were discussing now. Clearing her throat, she took another few steps toward them.
“Hey, guys,” she said softly.
They spun around, and the conversation stopped abruptly. “Hey, Faith,” Mo said, his voice dripping concern. “Are you okay? We were just going to come looking for you.”
“Yeah,” Rune added. “We called Tammy. She’s on her way to pick us up.”
“What about Oscar?” Faith asked uncertainly.
Z-Man shrugged. “Dude will turn up,” he murmured. “He won’t want to miss our ride.”
Faith had her doubts, but Z-Man’s prediction turned out to be right. Seconds after Tammy’s familiar white van pulled up to the curb, Oscar appeared. He wandered over to the group, though he refused to meet Faith’s eye.
“Are we going?” he asked sullenly.
Tammy traded a glance with Rune. “Okay, you two,” she said in her brisk, no-nonsense voice. “I heard our resident lovebirds had a bit of a tiff. Now, we don’t have time for that—we’re all on the same side here, remember? So I want you to kiss and make up.” She shot Oscar a meaningful look. “I’m sure if you think about it, Oscar, you’ll realize you still need Faith. Right?”
It seemed like an odd way of putting things, and Faith wondered if it was some kind of Aussie slang she hadn’t heard before. Regardless, it seemed to do the trick. Oscar stared at Tammy for a moment, then shrugged.
“You’re right, Tammy,” he said gruffly. He turned toward Faith and gave her a rather stiff smile. “Guess maybe I got a little excited or whatever. Forgive me, baby?”
“Sure, I guess,” Faith squeaked, too surprised to say anything more.
“Good.” Tammy clapped her hands. “All right, kids. All aboard.” As they all moved toward the van, she put a hand on Oscar’s arm to stop him. “A word, mate?”
The two of them traded a few whispers out on the sidewalk as Fa
ith and the others settled themselves into their usual seats in the van. Glancing out the open door, Faith couldn’t help wondering what Tammy, who seemed to be doing most of the talking, was saying. Was she chiding Oscar for being mean to her? What had the others told her on the phone, anyway? In any case, she was touched by the way the Australian woman was taking such an interest in her and their relationship.
After a moment Oscar climbed in and sat beside Faith as Tammy closed the door and walked up to the driver’s seat. His smile looked more sincere this time, and he immediately looped his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to nuzzle her neck.
“I mean it, babe,” he said huskily, his face so close to hers that she could smell the Italian dressing he’d had for lunch several hours earlier. “You’ll forgive what I said, right? Please say yes, or I’ll die—I mean it. You mean the world to me, babe. Honest. I don’t know why I called you those names; I was just being a jerk, I guess.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she whispered back, touched by his earnest tone. “We both said stupid stuff, I guess. It’s no big deal.”
“Great.” He smiled, then kissed her.
Doing her best to push everything else out of her mind, she kissed him back until the others started whooping playfully at them. Then they both burst out laughing and pulled apart. Faith leaned back against the seat, Oscar’s hand held tightly in her own, feeling tired and a little confused…but mostly happy.
Soon they were on the road making their way through Sydney’s busy rush-hour traffic. Faith assumed they were heading back to the hotel, but after a few minutes the van turned into an almost-empty parking lot. Glancing out the window, Faith realized they had arrived at the IAL lab.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
“Surprise.” Tammy turned and smiled at her. “I figured you guys would be starving after the long afternoon of picketing. So I had dinner brought in for all of us.”
The others erupted in cheers, and Faith smiled along. So far, the lab was the place she’d felt most comfortable in all of Sydney. While she’d been looking forward to talking things out in private with Oscar, she figured that could wait a while.
Soon they were all sitting around a big round table in the middle of the lab’s main room, stuffing themselves with take-out food and chatting about the day’s events. Faith still felt a bit uncomfortable with the group, especially whenever the talk turned to Arreglo. But she did her best to let it wash over her as she concentrated on her food.
At one point toward the end of the meal, she saw Rune get up from the table, a piece of a corn chip held between two fingers. “Here, snakey-snakey,” she cooed, wandering to the back of the room and holding the chip over one of the tanks.
“Hey!” Faith spoke up. “Don’t do that. Snakes are carnivorous—they don’t eat corn chips.”
Tammy glanced over. “You heard her,” she said sharply. “Don’t feed the snakes.” As Rune rolled her eyes and popped the chip into her own mouth, Tammy turned to Faith with a grateful smile. “Good eye, Faith,” she said. “It’s good to know we have someone in our group who’s so knowledgeable. Actually, that gives me a ripper idea—are you free this evening after dinner?”
Faith glanced at Oscar. “I don’t know,” she said. “Oscar and I talked earlier about going sightseeing or something…”
“Let’s reschedule that, babe.” Oscar yawned. “Too tired. Think I might just go check e-mail with the others, then hit the sack early.”
“Great!” Tammy said brightly. “Then, Faith, if you don’t mind, would you like to help me take care of the snakes tonight?” She waved a hand toward the tanks. “I only know the basics myself, and unfortunately the fellow who’s supposed to come in and do it got detained and won’t be able to make it tonight after all.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to help,” Faith said immediately. Even after putting in her picketing duty, she couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable about having accepted such an expensive trip to Australia. This could be her chance to pay Tammy back, at least a little. Once again it meant delaying her serious talk with Oscar, but maybe that wasn’t such a big deal. He already seemed to have forgotten about their fight. Maybe she should just try to do the same.
Oscar and the others left soon after that, leaving Faith and Tammy alone in the lab. The two of them worked companionably for a while, cleaning cages, misting the snakes that needed it, and doing other basic maintenance on the tanks and equipment. As they worked, Faith found herself telling the older woman a little more about her relationship with Oscar, as well as her latest thoughts about Arreglo.
Tammy listened sympathetically, nodding occasionally. “You need to follow your heart, Faith,” she said when she’d finished. “I’m no fan of Arreglo’s, as you know. But I think you should make things right with him if you want to, no matter what Oscar thinks about it.”
“Really?” Faith said, surprised at how relieved she felt to hear that. It wasn’t as if she needed anyone’s permission, exactly. But it was nice to have the approval of someone like Tammy.
“In fact, why wait until you get home?” Tammy went on. “I’m sure you could reach him at the conference if you want to. You could call his hotel first thing tomorrow.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Faith said, feeling shy at the very thought. “Now that I’ve worked it out in my mind, I don’t mind waiting until we get home. I don’t want to bother him when he’s so busy.”
“Hmm.” Tammy seemed as if she might comment further, but suddenly changed the subject instead. “Hey, Faith, I just remembered something else I wanted to ask you. By chance do you know how to milk a snake?”
Faith nodded, knowing that Tammy was referring to the method of extracting a snake’s venom. “Sure,” she said. “I’ve done it lots of times.”
“Well, remember that guy who was supposed to work here tonight? Guess what—he was also supposed to milk three of our snakes so the venom would be ready for our researchers tomorrow morning. And if we fall behind on the schedule…”
“Say no more. I’d be happy to help.” Faith smiled. “Just show me who you need done.”
Tammy pointed out the lab’s two Common Brown Snakes and a medium-sized taipan. Then she moved off to sweep the floor, and Faith got to work.
As she carefully held one of the snakes by the head, forcing its fangs through a piece of clear latex stretched over the top of a glass container, Faith thought with some amusement that most people probably wouldn’t think this was the greatest way to spend an evening while on vacation in Australia. But the truth was, she was having a better time than she’d had since arriving. It was nice to feel useful for a change.
13
“HEY, THERE! IT’S FAITH, right? Do you have a minute? We could use some help over there.”
Faith glanced up to see Boone walking toward her. She took one more step out of the jungle into the sun. “Um, sure,” she said. “What do you need me to do?”
Boone pointed down the beach. “We’re trying to clear away some of the wreckage. Is your friend George around? We could use some more muscle power.”
She didn’t bother to tell him that she and George didn’t exactly seem to be friends at the moment. “I—I haven’t seen him in a little while,” she said carefully. That was technically true; she hadn’t seen him since leaving him to his vindictive snake hunt back in the clearing some fifteen or twenty minutes earlier.
“Oh well.” Boone shrugged, squinting toward a small group of people wandering down by the water. “Why don’t you go help Locke move the small stuff? I’ll go try to drum up some more help.”
“Locke?”
“Bald guy. Cut around his eye.”
“Oh! Okay.” Faith knew exactly who he meant. It had to be the older guy she’d noticed staring out to sea, walking in the surf by himself, and generally standing a bit apart from the group much of the time. When she thought about it, she realized he did have a distinctive mark running vertically along the right side of his face, seem
ing to bisect his eye. Somehow it seemed to suit him, and she’d barely thought of it as a cut.
She found Locke sorting through some metal shards and other wreckage. When she introduced herself, he nodded and gazed at her silently for a moment. “This is quite a spot, isn’t it?” he said at last.
For a moment she thought he was referring to the wreckage-strewn piece of beach where they were standing. Then she saw his eyes flicker briefly past her toward the jungle. She was about to nod politely and leave it at that. But something about the man’s quiet intensity inspired her to answer more honestly.
“Yeah,” she said shyly. “I mean, it’s pretty scary to be here, with the crash and—you know, other stuff. But this place is gorgeous. So much natural beauty…”
“Indeed,” Locke replied, going back to his work. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The jungle is filled with life.”
Faith nodded. “I’ve seen tons of wildlife out there—lizards, spiders, snakes…” She smiled bashfully. “Snakes are kind of my thing. I’m a biologist—a herpetologist, actually.”
“A natural scientist?” Locke looked interested. “You could turn out to be a very useful person to have around if we find ourselves stranded here for a while.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Faith demurred quickly. “I’m sure we’ll be rescued soon. Besides, I probably wouldn’t be as useful as you think—I’m just an academic; I don’t know that much useful stuff.”
Locke smiled, making the gash around his eye crinkle. “Any kind of knowledge can be useful, Faith. The only trick is knowing how to apply it.”
Faith smiled back at him. “That sounds like something my sister might have said.”
“Your sister must be a wise person.”
“She—she was.” Faith swallowed hard. “She’s dead now. Cancer.”
Locke paused in what he was doing, shooting her an incomprehensible look. “Sorry,” he said at last. “I know how hard it is to lose one’s family.”
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