Welcome to Gaia! ::

The man waved them in again, and finally they complied, following him into what looked like one of the average homes - from the outside.

Once they turned the corner, they discovered that the house was a little (not a lot, just a little) nicer than they had expected. There were solid, stucco walls - not cobbled together, no stones or corrugated aluminum. There was paint, and furniture that looked at least IKEA-quality. There was, in fact, a line, right where visibility from outside ended, where the house suddenly became nice. The man pointed to a closet, paused, contemplated, and finally said "There is... pants, there, for you." Obviously English wasn't his first language, but he had managed to speak a few words.

This said, he departed into a back room, leaving the lights on for them.

"Only one way to find out," Elizabeth commented, seeking a pair of pants.

And a shirt.

And a bra of her size. She wasn't expecting to find any bras, though it was worth a shot.

Nothing fit precisely, but they were surprised to find (rather inexpensive) clothes that were clearly not native-made, nor were they for the man - there were operable undergarments. Much of the clothing seemed... militaristic. BDUs and camouflage clothing was standard, along with boots down along the bottom - although there were a few nicer looking items, as well as a few pairs of nicer shoes. They didn't look used - any of them.

"I have wife," the man explained as he re-entered the room, hanging up a cell phone. The Hosts reminded themselves that it was always easier to understand than to speak. "Men are coming, they will take us to my base," he explained, briefly. "We will see what to do with you. You are well?"

Elizabeth, now wearing some slightly-too-large camo pants and boots, was selecting a shirt when the man said something she found entirely disconcerting.

"Right, see I'm not liking the 'base' in that sentence," she agreed.

The man looked confused, his hand drifting to his knife. "You are... Americans, yes? You wish to go home? This is... fastest way. Is Ecuadorian military base, not far from here. We will arrange a plane to take you home. This is proper?" He looked no less uncomfortable than they did.

Exit strategies 1) run through door. 2) fling through window 3) break down a wall. Clarissa was lost in the thoughts of running away from the house when the man mentioned a base. Base?! What base?! Only base I know does not belong to us.

Then she discovered that they were in Ecuador. "Gracias por su amabilidad." She really was thankful for the man's kindness. "I don't know if I wanna return there...aren't we still being chased? Wouldn't going back mean being found and chased again?" She hated the idea of facing the Host-Agents again.

Since Clarissa wasn't sure how well the man understood English, she translated Helena's statement into Spanish. "Eh,perdoneme. Estamos de vacaciones. No queremos regresar. No ahora." I wish I had taken a class or something. She had an American accent (though it wasn't terrible).

So can we go now? "Podemos ir?"