Untouched

5. Sunday/ Finally get to escape-day

Climbing trees, I peer inside the different sized wooden boxes I nailed to the trunks. They look like deformed houses for gremlins rather than homes for animals which no longer exist. Climbing trees is my favourite part of coming to the woods. Not because I expect to find any animals living in these boxes but because I love being high up. Even after several falls I'm still not put off; the rush overrides any fear.

To avoid questions on who was accompanying me to the woods, I arrived slightly early to breakfast. My plan worked. I shovelled my food down so fast I was finished before my parents and Mattan had sat down. Saying goodbye, I managed to dodge any questions. The only problem is Zach hasn't turned up. He probably never planned on coming but I stupidly believed him.

Why would he want to meet up with me? He probably has loads more exciting Techie things to do.

'What exactly are they?' A voice interrupts my thoughts.

Startled, I slip but manage to find a groove in the trunk to wedge my foot in while grabbing a large branch above me.

I really don't want to fall on my butt in front of him.

Inhaling deeply, I steady my shaking hands and say breathlessly, 'This is a bat house.'

'If you fall, am I allowed to catch you?' Zach asks, half smiling as he stares up at me from the ground.

I quickly climb down and jump the last part. 'No. Even if both my legs are broken and I can't walk, I don't want you to ever touch me,' I say, making direct eye contact to enforce my point. 'Understand?'

'Ok, I get it. No touching.' He laughs.

He's wearing dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt, the clothes mould to his body. How does he put them on without ripping them? And how is he not suffocating in all that tightness? Strapped to his wrist is a little screen. Maybe a watch, possibly something else that does Techie stuff. Stuff I haven't got a clue about. He raises an eyebrow. I've been staring for too long, again. I need to stop doing that. His ego is already too big.

'I've also made bee, beetle and birdhouses,' I gesture at the other trees holding the deformed gremlin, I mean animal boxes which are positioned at different levels. Pointing to a wooden box with a small tunnel attached to it at the base of a tree, I say, 'That's for porcupines.'

'You do know there haven't been sightings of any of those animals in more than a decade.' Zach looks amused.

'We survived, so there's a chance some of them did.' I shrug.

He's right. My project is pointless. I'm fully aware of this as is everyone else. My main reason for coming to the woods is to escape my settlement. I crave a day which isn't spent with my parents in the cabin or sitting with my friends in The Rec having the same conversations and listening to Axel, Brielle and Suki perform their band's two songs which they've been playing for the last three years.

He bends down to inspect the porcupine box. 'Who made all of these?'

'Me. I read about them in a DIY animal habitat book and recreated them from the pictures.'

'That's impressive. They must have taken you ages.'

'Not long. I'm good with my hands...' My voice tapers off as his mouth curls in amusement.

'I bet you are.' He smirks.

What does that even mean? Probably something crude and disgusting.

'If you're going to help, you can start checking the boxes for signs of life,' I say over my shoulder as I climb a gnarled tree. Once I get to the top, I stop and look down to see Zach attempting to climb a tree, but his tight jeans make it difficult and his lack of technique means while I climb down from this tree and climb up my second, he's still not a metre off the ground on his first.