As with my awakening from stasis, I realize the fact I'm alive moments before the lights switch on in my head. Sound and touch are my primary interface with the world around me. Compressed air jets from invisible nozzle cones. Powerful and direct. Focused but not ear-blasting. A voice murmurs, set above and superimposed over the escaping air. Sobs alternate between the pressure of something soft against my mouth.

Sobs again. Then pressure on my mouth and breath forced into my lungs.

I retch upwards and expel water from my throat and out of my mouth.

My eyes shoot open as Eve backs away, her face twisted into a grimace and her wet hair hanging in tangled sheets, almost touching my stomach. Realization sets in as I look around to see it's still dark outside. It's nighttime, with the full moon overhead. Then I realize Eve was giving me mouth to mouth. Her lips were touching mine. I don't have time to consider the implications of this because my head whips over to see a mechanical orb hovering with cones of air keeping it aloft, and a video screen back-lit, pulsating with blue light like gentle ocean waves.

My gaze stares at the floating object, the size of a boulder big enough to crush me under its weight, but this orb might not weigh as much as a rock from the surrounding mountains. Especially since it can hover with the force of compressed air.

I turn to Eve, a warmness flooding my face at the sight of her flushed cheeks and hazel eyes—pale green with splotches of earthen brown. The warm blue light from the orb casts a glow on her from above and behind.

Her grimace changes to a frown as her hand reaches under my head to raise me up to a sitting position. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." On my rear-end, I pat my stomach and chest, my legs, and then my face, feeling for pain or injuries of any kind. Nothing. I run my hands over my head and wince when my fingers reach the top and back of my crown where I impacted the water. "I think the river knocked me unconscious."

"You were," a voice says from the floating orb. It was the same electronic-tinged male voice of none other than Jinx. "Fortunately for you and Eve, Abraham allowed a search and rescue mission. I found you just in time."

"After you fell, Jinx hauled you out of the river with his retractable arms," Eve says. "He showed me how to perform CPR."

"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation," Jinx replies. "But if it wasn't the river, eventually, the creatures of Yellowstone would have gotten both of you. Those vile bears are a nasty lot."

"The rhino-bears," Eve says. "Here, let me help you stand up. Do you think you can?"

I nod. "I think so."

As she lends me her hand, I can't help but feel glad I'm alive, and that her mouth touched my mouth. I still feel the impression of her full and soft lips against mine, something I'd like to try again. In a more relaxed situation, of course.

Standing, I wobble a bit, dizziness coming and going.

Now it's gone. I'm good, I think.

"Are you alright?" Eve asks once more.

I swallow my anxiety when I think about her lips touching mine. "Yes. I'll make it."

"Good." Jinx shifts sideways in the air and stops. "We can now proceed to the north, to return to the habitat."

I glance at Eve. "Are you okay with this?"

"Considering the circumstances, I'd say yes... for now. We lost our bags of supplies when we hit the river in the log, but I found one of them on the shore before I found you. So our rations are dwindling."

"Abraham has changed his mind," Jinx says. "He no longer forbids you from leaving the habitat, but he warns against it."

"Why did he change his mind?" I ask.

"Because you've experienced the dangers of Yellowstone and survived, with my help, of course. But if you decide to leave in the future, I must accompany you. I have a map of the entire North American continent stored in my memory. I have radar and sensors of various sorts. Infrared vision and other capabilities. I can scan ahead of us and provide a warning in case of an emergency."

"Why didn't you follow us sooner with your... mechanical orb?"

"It's a drone," Eve says. "A reconnaissance probe."

"Initially, I didn't have permission from Abraham." The screen in the center of the hovering drone pulsates blue with every word from Jinx. "Once you escaped, I alerted him and then he allowed the mission, but you had already fled and got lost in the forest."

"The vile bears chased us to the river." Eve purses her lips to one side. Her eyes widen with a flick of her brows. "That put us further away from the habitat."

"Then the river washed us downstream," I say. "So on and so on..."

"That's correct," Jinx says. "But now we can return to the hab's safety. Abraham has given you full access to its computer systems. He has granted you overriding authorization on all security measures and other information he deems necessary for your survival. He has also sent the memory transmitters down in a pod. You can retrieve them on the way back. My retractable arms are not the best for handling fragile equipment. Human hands are better suited. Once you secure them and we are safe in the habitat, we can restore your memories from your past lives."

I'm still not sure about anymore memory downloads, and by the look on Eve's face, I'm not sure she is either.

"Let's go then," I say tentatively. "As long as Eve is okay with returning, I'm fine with it."

"I'm good with most of what he said. I'm just glad we're alive, and I'd like to keep it that way."

I blow out a puff of air, and then we begin our trek back to the habitat.

As we walk along the riverbank, on the opposite side from where the juvenile vile bear, as Jinx referred to it, had pursued us, I ponder the path ahead of us. We had hiked, ran, swam, and plummeted our way this far into the Yellowstone Forest, River, and Mountains for more than half a day's time. Over twelve hours. This understanding makes me turn to Jinx.

"We won't make it back without finding a place to sleep," I say.

"I have reserved a shallow cave for us to set-up camp," Jinx replies. "I will stand guard while you and Eve get the amount of sleep you need to make the rest of the journey."

"What about the vile bears that chased us earlier on this side of the river?" Eve asks. "The first ones we encountered?"

"My scans show nothing within a square mile of our current location. There are several sightings outside of that range. We are safe for now. The cave is a few hundred feet up this hillside, further away from the river, in a ravine. It provides the perfect hiding spot for the night."

"Good." I glance at Eve as we continue to move to the north, into the heart of the forest. With a warm smile, I raise my hand and apply the slightest touch to her shoulder. "Thank you."

She doesn't have to reply with words. The simple bow of her head and gentle smile are enough to show me she understands what I'm talking about. If she hadn't been there for me, I would have died.

The farther we walk, the more our clothes and hair dry out. We reach the ravine where the cave is located and discover it's secluded and ideal for a campsite. There are two ways in, which means we can escape if a rhino-bear finds us. It's also shielded on two sides, with hills and trees rising high. The other two sides elevate into ramps, providing some blockage of view from the surrounding forest, so we can build a fire for warmth, which will help us dry out fully.

Jinx uses his retractable arms to gather dead limbs for a fire, and then he lights the wood with a spark from the end of his appendage. Soon, the flames alight our faces and bring a much needed warmth to our chilled bodies. After eating another ration of our freeze-dried meals and downing pouches of water, Eve and I lean against the slanted inner wall of the cave and shut our weary eyes. In close proximity to each other, Eve's shoulder grazes mine as she repositions herself to get comfortable. I don't move away. In fact, I raise my arm and with a sudden boldness I'm not used to; I make a silent offer for her to draw close to me. Her eyes linger on mine and her cheeks flush. Mine feel red too.

"To help us get warm," I say. "That's all."

Eve's mouth curls up at the corners and her eyes soften, and then she snuggles against me, into the nook of my arm as I wrap it around her shoulder. Naturally, and because it doesn't have anywhere else to go, her other arm falls on my stomach and bends up, her hand resting on my chest. This is a nice place to be. A safe place with a warm fire. With Eve nestled against me, with Jinx hovering at the mouth of the cave, keeping a night watch.

At the moment, I can't think of anything better. Except...

The memory resurfaces of Eve's lips against mine, making me squeeze her shoulder a little tighter, if possible, drawing her closer.

Once I fall asleep, that memory with all its sensations, plus some I conjure up on my own, fills my dreams, giving me a glimpse of a future with Eve as my wife. It makes me dare to envision what our past lives were like, to rediscover what we lost. Those memories, hidden in the transmitters inside the pod Abraham sent, might be the key to answer all the questions of who we are and how we came to be here.