3 - Prisoner

The inside of the ship was still almost covered in complete darkness when Eureko regained consciousness. Only a red neon light from an exit sign flickered over a doorway, adding a dim surreal glow with an eerie touch. His head was pounding and something sticky was on his lips which proved to be blood when he ran his tongue over it. As soon as he moved, pain stabbed at this chest. He balled his fingers to fists and wiggled his toes, these parts of his body were functioning without any issues.

There was absolute silence. He laid still, trying to catch a sound of another live form - a breath, moan, anything - but nothing broke through the stillness. Only a cold breeze drifted through the ship, giving Eureko goosebumps. His breath turned to a fine mist and obscured temporarily his vision every time he exhaled.

"Captain, are you there?" His throat was raw and hurt when he called out. "Anyone? Can you hear me?"

His questions were not answered. Other than the low howling of the Antarctic winds, there was no sound. Eureko had never been a scared man but this was even too much for him. He didn't sign up for being stranded on an unknown island in the middle of the ocean far below the 60th parallel south. This was supposed to be a research expedition with soldiers assigned for his protection and not some lone ranger mission. For all he knew, the inhabitants of this island could be cannibals. They had been isolated for hundreds of years, totally oblivious to the global warfare that had left the planet in a total mess, and they could be capable of anything.

Somehow, he had to get himself to safety before he was detected. With much effort, he rolled onto his stomach, ignoring the sharp stabs to his chest. Slowly, he began crawling toward the flickering neon sign. The pain seared through his body, temporarily taking his breath away, and he halted in between to wipe the sweat from his forehead. A constant metallic taste was in his mouth and when he looked down, he realized a smeared trail of blood droplets were following him.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached the door and managed to push it open. Bright light blinded him and he squinted until his eyes adjusted. Sucking in a deep breath, he scanned his surroundings. Flat plains, totally covered by impeccable white snow stretched all the way to his left until being cut off by far away mountains, towering in the distant. To this right, there is nothing but the deep blue sea. In front of him, a dark pebbled beach with lava rocks cut between the plains and the water and ran on as far as he could see.

The screech of a large albatross startled him and he edged back until the pain whipped his last strength away. A small shout escaped his lips when his torso hit the ground. Fortunately, it was covered with a thick lawyer of snow, catching him like a soft blanket but it still hurt like hell. He allowed the cooling feeling to take over, temporarily easing the throbbing ache.

A cackling sound caused his head to snap sideways and he stared right into the piercing black eyes of a penguin. On a nest of rocks, he stretched upwards, his head pointed to the sky, and he waved his wings back and forth. The black upper side alternated with the lower white side of his flippers and Eureko closed his eyes, the flickering effect making him dizzy.

"Shu," he shouted. "Get away from me."

His firm command didn't rattle the penguin and he continued his display. Eureko buried his cheek into the snow, ready to give up. He had no strength left and would freeze to death in a matter of hours.

Suddenly, the penguin stopped and after a second of hesitation, waddled towards the water. Eureko soon realized that he felt threatened when the humming of several engines broke through the silence. The noise was getting closer and for a moment, he wanted to retreat into the ship but didn't even have enough strength left to get back on his hands and knees. Totally helpless, he waited for either friend or enemy to arrive. At that moment, he didn't have a preference, all he wanted was to go home which seemed an improbable possibility.

Four jeeps drove up, followed by a sputtering, beaten up VW Beetle. Those hadn't been around in over eight hundred years. What was this place - some freaky lost world frozen in time? It was an intriguing thought for a historian like Eureko.

Several men jumped out of the vehicles and approached slowly with drawn weapons. Their leader halted in front of Eureko, unlocking the safety of his semi-automatic gun. Eureko quickly scanned the images in his mind until he found a match - the weapon was a Heckler & Koch HK MP5 Submachine Gun - common in US warfare in the middle of the twenty first century.

The soldier glared at him. "What the hell are you?"

"My name is Dr. Eureko Daninski and I'm a research professor at the Interstella University, Earth Branch. I have no weapons and come in peace."

The man frowned. "Sounds Russian to me. You are probably some freaky spy to scout out the island."

The wind howled in response to his words, the penguin angrily cackling in the distance.

"Maybe we should just shoot him, Lieutenant," one of the other soldiers suggested. "Those were the orders."

The lieutenant shook his head. "Oh, no. THIS the colonel has to see. Check the plane to make sure there are no other survivors and take him to the car."

He turned on his heels and marched back to the VW Beetle, lighting a cigarette on the way. Eureko cringed - didn't he know how unhealthy those were. Even on Earth, cigarettes had been outlawed half a millennium ago and the mere fact they were still around on this island showed that something was seriously off.

Two soldiers grabbed Eureko by his arms and dragged him along, ignoring his small whimpers. When he is seated on the passenger seat of the VW Beetle, the lieutenant offered him a drag. "It's pretty heavy stuff and will take the edge off."

Eureko pursed his lips. "No, thank you. Cigarettes cause cancer and other diseases and are not beneficial to your health."

The lieutenant smirked. "Suit yourself, smartass."

He nailed down the gas and the car lunged forward. With high speed, they took off down the beach. Eureko stared out of the window, the memory function of his brain storing every detail like a computer chip and filing it away. Most of the island was just rock and snow but they also passed greenhouses. He caught a glance of fruit and vegetable plants, there was even a lemon tree. At least half the space was planted with small, green plants with leaves that reminded Eureko of chestnut trees and after accessing extinguished flora files in this mind, he learned that those were marijuana plants, a recreational drug really popular in the 1960s and 70s.

After a quick stop at a log cabin where a pretty brunette who wore nothing but her panties was ogling Eureko, the lieutenant was pulling up in front of a makeshift structure that looked like an old vintage bar. Several banners promised potential customers a really good time, yet the most notable one was a pink neon sign declaring that 'titties and beer' could be found within.

With awe, Eureko noted that this society did not only seem to enjoy the destructions of their lungs but also indulged in the consumption of alcohol which could result in liver failure. Considering this lifestyle, it was a miracle they had survived this long.

Several young men with long hair and colorful clothing loitered in front with cigarettes, their arms wrapped around equally young, long haired girls with similar outfits unless their lips were stuck together during pre-sexual exercises. Came to think of it, the human way of procreation was actually quite disgusting. The exchange of bodily fluids of any kind had never been Eureko's thing.

He was pulled from the car and the gun was rammed into his back. Stumbling forward, he cursed under his breath though the pain was manageable now and the bleeding had stopped. After being shoved through the door, he took in an eyeful of the interior. The whole place was with half naked, sweaty bodies, grooving to the music. An old Wurlitzer jukebox in the corner spat out the lyrics to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which the dancers seemed to like.

Two men with several women as entourage were involved in saliva exchange at the bar, moving freely from the lips of one girl to another without any reservation. They apparently never heard of STDs. A hot redhead stood behind the counter with her arms folded in front of her chest, supervising the whole setup with carefully hooded eyes. A few waitresses with beer glasses on trays hopped around in between the customers, their work uniform consisting of only tight shorts without any shirts.

The lieutenant and Eureko halted right in front of one of the bar patrons.

"Excuse me, Sir, we took a prisoner."

The man was busy with sucking on his companion's neck, making any vampire proud, and was not paying attention. He just paused long enough to mumble the word "why?" without looking up.

The lieutenant cleared his throat. "Well, sir, I thought you wanted to see him."

The man's hands were busy fumbling under the girl's skirt and he was still indulged in the moment. "And why would I be interested in that?" he grumbled, the impatience clearly audible.

Obviously, the man wanted to be left alone and the lieutenant should respect that and take a hike.

Yet, he didn't get the message. "Sir, this guy is blue."

That did it. The man's head snapped up and he stared at the prisoner with wide eyes. "I'll be darned."

Eureko had no clue if this was a good thing.