Spanners - The Fountain of Youth Read Online Free PDF Page A

then yelled at his fellow warriors, causing them to kneel in unison.
    “Stand up,” said Adam. “Please—”
    The warriors wouldn’t stand.
    “You are a god,” said the lead warrior, before kneeling himself.
    “ I’m not a god,” said Adam. “Stand up.”
    “ You are a god! ” shrieked the lead warrior.
    Adam looked at the kneeling warriors and knew he had to change his tone.
    “ I’m not a god! ” yelled Adam, making the warriors flinch. “I’m not a god, and neither is your leader, Diego. Now take me to him.”
    /***/
    Adam had to command the warriors to walk with him. They wanted to walk behind him, in front of him or even carry him, but they didn’t want to walk with him. They only began to treat him as a normal person after he yelled at them to do so at the top of his lungs. Still, they kept their distance and refused to look him in the eye. The young warrior who had first stuck him with his spear now patrolled the front, eager to give his life to anything or anyone that might attack Adam.
    Nothing’s going to take my life, thought Adam. Not here at least.
    He and the small retinue of the warriors traveled overland and then in canoes over the bays , and then through the small strips of ocean that connected the islands, often paddling through water shallow enough to walk across. They went on foot and through the ocean, from island to island, coming across no one and seeing nothing on the horizon. The warriors sang a slow song as they went forward; Adam could only understand a few of the words, but he gathered the song was about defending their island and keeping it from harm.
    The world needs more pockets like this, thought Adam. Humanity doesn’t need another city.
    They traversed the ocean a final time and headed to what seemed like the main island. The foliage was thicker , and the Sentinelese had even made a canal through the middle of it. Adam knew it was Diego’s handiwork and shook his head. Diego has brought enough of his knowledge to make himself comfortable, thought Adam, but not enough to make his people wonder if there’s a greater world beyond this small archipelago.
    As they traveled through the center of the island, women came up to see them and immediately knelt in reverence. They commanded their children to do the same, and all but the youngest did so. The young ones stared at Adam wide-eyed and cried in horror as their mothers put a hand over their children’s mouths before bowing their heads again.
    They traveled through the island, and Adam saw what appeared to be a rudimentary city lit by several campfires. The boat came to a stop at the shore and a hut was in front of him, only slightly larger than the rest. The warriors exited the boat in unison and then knelt on the shore for Adam.
    “ Please wait,” said the lead warrior.
    The lead warrior entered the hut and Adam heard an animated discussion inside. He heard the man inside yelling angrily, as if he had just woken up.
    “Parr-uh,” said the warrior from inside the hut. “DamPARR-uh.”
    “ DamPARR-uh?” said the other voice.
    “ Dam PARR-uh,” said the lead warrior. “Dam.”
    “ Adam PARR-uh,” said the other man’s voice as he started to laugh. “Adam PARR-uh! Adam Parr!”
    Diego burst out of the hut. He was disheveled, bearded, and at least 100 pounds overweight, but other t han that he hadn’t aged a day since Adam saw him last.
    “Adam Parr,” he said. “ What brings you around these parts?”
    “I need to talk to you about your brother,” said Adam. “Juan Ponce de León. He’s up to something , and I need to know what it is.”
    “Juan isn’t up to anything,” said Diego. “I made sure that he’d never harm anyone again.”
    “He’s back and fully recovered,” said Adam. “Five hundred years after you buried him alive.”
    /***/
    Two women brought in freshly caught fish and prepared them right in front of Adam. They cleaned their catch and put them in a basket and then basted the filets