Page 13

Chapter Seven

LACIE

Briar comes skipping into our room, all smiles. “ Hey frowny face, how was your first day?”

“ I should’ve stayed on the damn ship because it wasn’t my day.

” Displaying the black bruise on the back of my hand, I explain, “ I smashed my hand when I lost my balance standing on a rock in front of one of the crates holding the plates. Which made me drop the stack I had in my other hand, breaking them all over the ground when I slid off the side of the rock I shouldn’t have been standing on in the first place.

Got that mess cleaned up and noticed that one of the tables we were going to put the food on was leaning.

So , like an idiot, I crawled under it, trying to adjust the legs, only for it to collapse completely on top of me.

The food that was already on it spilled all over the ground, making us short on sandwiches because of my goof.

Since it was my fault I refused to eat, and then I started to get the shakes because I hadn’t eaten all day, only for Carla to notice.

She kinda went into overprotective momma-bear mode and made me go see our doctor.

Did you even know we had a doctor? Well , we do!

Her name is Vedece , and she was super sweet.

Apparently , she’s an herbalist; I’m not sure how that’s going to play out on an alien planet, but she seemed pretty confident.

She even has some sort of biochemical analysis machine with her to help with the new fauna. ”

Briar plops down on the arm of the chair I’m sulking in. “ Look at you using all those big words, but why do I have a feeling this wasn’t the worst part of your day?”

“ Nope , made an idiot out of myself and then got my ass ripped like I was a five-year-old child up to no good. Like I said, I should’ve stayed on the ship because it was just one thing after another.”

“ Who had the balls to rip your ass?”

“ MeK ! Oh , I deserved it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Enough about me, how was your first day? I hope you don’t have your own horror stories.”

“ Looks like I’ll be working with Owen , BuK …

you know, the hot pink guy, and Ethan . They’re apparently the muscle, and I’m the beauty among them.

We didn’t get a lot accomplished today since we spent most of it sorting through crates.

Whoever packed those things just threw some of it together.

Owen was called away to help Ricky with the outer perimeter, so I’m not sure if he’ll be back with us tomorrow or not.

BuK is so shy that it took me forever to get a word out of him.

Ethan is kinda cute but seems really sad. ”

“ Don’t leave me hanging here, I want to hear about the hottie.”

“ Let’s just say he’s distracting but easily confused.

Several times I’d simply space out, practically drooling when he’d lift one of those crates by himself that all three of us together couldn’t budge.

Buttttt , I did get tired of repeating myself …

or rewording a sentence ten times because he absolutely couldn’t figure out what I was asking or needed him to do.

Cute , but kind of slow, you know what I mean? ”

“ So , are you over him already?”

“ Nahh , he doesn’t have to say a word, he can just stand there and let me look at him. So far, I haven’t decided which I like best, those arms or the horns on his head.”

“ You’re so bad.”

“ Yeah , but you love me! Lace , I know you had a rough day, but it’ll get better.”

“ If you say so, but I’m not looking forward to tomorrow at all.”

“ At least things were getting sorted out, and we know where to report in the mornings and evenings since they put that big ass tent up. I stood next to the dropships for a good thirty minutes waiting to leave when someone yelled that we all had to gather there for a head count. Even though it’s juvenile, I understand the reasoning behind it. ”

“ Yeah , while I was held hostage in the makeshift medical ward for wandering idiots, I heard DaR tell Kira that the tent would be the centralized area used for all meals, meetings, and assignments. They’re going to put up a board with our jobs on it each day so that after we eat breakfast, we’ll know where to report.

I think that’s just temporary until they get the power grid up.

He also mentioned something about a comm unit being issued to each one of us, but I have no idea what that is. ”

“ Lace , if you were stuck inside all day, you probably didn’t get to see those robot things.

‘ Freaky ’ isn’t even the right description.

They had multiple arms and things going in ten directions at once.

I think they’re working on a perimeter fence or something.

Nobody was around to ask, but if there’re no predators on this world, I don’t know why we’d need something like that.

If I think about it, I’ll ask on the way down in the morning.

We better get showers and turn in for the evening.

I’m already dragging, and it’s only been one day. ”

“ Go ahead, I already jumped in. I’m just gonna sit here for a minute before turning in for the evening.”

“ No more pouty face, things will get better. Today was just your turn.”

I smile and nod my head yes because I know Briar is just trying to make me feel better.

Mentally and physically exhausted, I decide to go ahead and crawl into bed.

I turn on the small fan above my bunk and settle in, but of course, my mind won’t calm down.

Every time I close my eyes, all I see is that damn hammer and those angry eyes flashing as MeK sets me away from him.

Rolling over onto my side, I punch my pillow, trying to make it more comfortable, only to end up staring at the wall.

I hear more than see Briar settle in the bunk below me as the lights darken in the room.

I try everything from singing songs in my head to counting unicorns …

I mean, why count sheep? That makes no sense to me at all.

I must’ve dozed off at some point because I jerk straight up when Briar says my name.

“ Damn Lacie , I thought you were gonna pull an Exorcist on me there. I swear, if your head starts spinning on your shoulders, I’m jumping out of the closest airlock.

Is this look of terror normal for you in the mornings, or is it something else?

Did you sleep at all, or do we need to have you looked at? ”

“ I’m fine, and it’s too early for a hundred questions, Briar .

But if I don’t get any sleep tonight, I might try jumping out of the airlock myself.

I have no idea why I’m so jumpy.” Running my fingers through my hair, I lean forward, resting my head between my knees, trying to center myself.

I’ve never been someone to overreact or let things weigh me down; what’s wrong with me?

I wait until Briar comes out of our small bathroom before sliding down the ladder of my bunk to take her place. Just as I’m pulling my hair back into a ponytail, she knocks on the door. “ Come on in, I’m almost ready.”

“ Quick , Lacie , change into this. I even picked out the color I thought would look the best on you.”

“ What’s wrong with what I have on?”

“ How many sets of jeans do you have to spare? It’s not like we can run to the mall and grab another pair.

I heard one of the guys saying yesterday that we needed work clothes so we can save the ones we brought with us when he tore a hole in his, unloading a crate.

Looks like ANDI came to the rescue and made us some. ”

“ I hate jumpers, Briar . Every time you need to pee, you have to take everything off. I’ll wear my jeans, but thanks.”

“ No , look.” Briar turns, showing me a clasp in the back. “ See , there’s a cool closure right here that unhooks so you can pull them down without playing striptease in the jungle.”

“ Ok , you talked me into it.” Briar throws them to me, and I’ve just gotten them on when I hear the buzzer sound for all of us to head to the dropships.

Briar hands me a breakfast bar on the way out the door, and even though I seemed to like it yesterday, today it tastes like dirt. Still , I make myself eat it anyway.

Things are more organized this morning than they were yesterday as everyone heads straight to their teams. When I start walking toward the one I rode down to the planet yesterday, I see Carla waving for me to come to the one a few ships over.

“ Lacie , I was worried they were going to leave without you there for a minute. Apparently , DaR and Kira will be headed down in his personal shuttle, so they added us to this one from now on. Let me take a look at that hand.”

I hold it up for her, and she grimaces at its delightful shade of black.

“ Oww , that hurt the baby. We need to find you something to do today that won’t damage you any further.” I don’t have time to respond before James motions for us to get in our seats, as some of the other dropships are already repositioning themselves for their descent.

Sitting next to Carla , I smile when I see James reach over and take her hand in his. We all know how much she hates this part. Thankfully , she does much better this time, and poor James doesn’t have to console her for twenty minutes after we land.

We all make our way to the main tent, and I’m amazed at how much has changed overnight.

The crates and items that were scattered everywhere yesterday have been sorted and are now sitting in designated locations.

I can hear saws and other equipment clearing trees and underbrush in the distance, making me wonder who is working here?

I was especially surprised that the Commander and Kira were already here, so I rushed to help her pass out drinks and breakfast bars to the people who didn’t know to eat on ANDI before coming planetside.

The Commander has been walking around talking to several of the groups, but when he raised his voice suddenly, we all turned toward him.