Page 45 of Tyton: The Spider and the Dragonfly (Tyton #1)

Callie crawled out of the tent, ready to catch fish. Talia followed.

“What are those for?” Callie pointed to Talia’s knife belt.

“I don’t think the fish are going to come willingly, do you?’

Callie laughed.

“What?” Talia waved her skinny arms. “Do I look like someone who’s ever gone fishing?”

“While you were looking up pictures of not tents , I looked up how to fish.” Callie held up a plastic box.

“You’re going to hit them with that? I’m pretty sure knives would work better.”

Callie sighed and shoved the box toward Talia. “Help me put this together. You’re good at that sort of thing.”

“Feeling bossy this morning. We’ll see about that.” Talia muttered, laying out all the pieces.

“Later.” Callie left to find a good spot to stand.

When she returned, the fishing rod was assembled. “How does it work?” Talia asked. “There were no instructions.”

“How did you put it together then?”

Talia shrugged. “Basic geometry. I just put the pieces where they fit.”

“Well, it looks right. You’re supposed to move like this.” Callie waved the fishing rod.

“It looks like an old-fashioned antenna, but I’m pretty sure fish don’t respond to radio frequencies.” Talia cocked her hip. “I’m new at this, but even I know that’s probably not right.”

“That’s where this comes in.” Callie pulled a spool of fishing line from the rucksack.

Talia watched her try to thread it through the cartridge for several minutes before she got frustrated and thrust it at Talia.

Talia obliged with a smirk. A few moments later, a length of line dangled from the hoop at the top.

“Thanks.” Callie took the rod back. “So, this line goes in the water, the fish eat it, and then when I turn this crank, it reels them in.”

“Why would they eat it?”

“There’s supposed to be a bug on it. Did it come with a bug?”

Talia shook her head.

“Well, there’s plenty of bugs around here.” Callie moved her arms in a circle.

“So, we have to catch a bug first.” Talia waved her hands, trying to catch a particularly large dragonfly before it flew off toward the river. She chased after it.

“Wait,” Callie yelled, “I have a better idea.” But it was too late, Talia had already run off. Callie caught up to her standing on the shore, crouched like a tiger about to pounce.

“Why are your knives out?” Callie yelled.

“It helps me balance,” Talia hissed. “Not so loud, it’ll hear you!”

“Dragonflies don’t have ears!” Callie hissed back. “You’d know that if you looked at…”

“I know, I know. No more pictures, got it,” Talia shooed Callie away.

The dragonfly perched on a rock in the middle of the river, drying its wings.

Talia tiptoed toward it, the river swirling around her feet.

The sensation was odd, but Talia would deal with that later.

She steadied herself and crouched lower.

She pounced.

The dragonfly flew off. Talia fell in the water and Callie shrieked.

Talia flailed her arms, gripping her knives, whirling like a drowning chainsaw. Callie ran to the shore, holding out the fishing rod for Talia to grab. She lunged for the rod, wrapping her body around it, hugging like a bear.

“What on earth were you thinking!” Callie screamed, pulling Talia ashore. She lay coughing, one arm underneath her, the other still holding onto her knife. Her mask bobbed lazily in the river. The other insects had momentarily scattered in the commotion.

“You’re lucky it wasn’t that deep! Sesi would kill me if I lost you!”

Talia looked up at her and grinned. “You wouldn’t go back to Sesi without a fish. It’s a good thing you brought me along.”

“What are you talking about? Did you hit your head?” Callie grabbed Talia’s face.

Talia rolled away, revealing a large fish with several stab wounds and a knife stuck through its head.

“How the...?” Callie sputtered.

“I told you I needed my knives.” Talia was still grinning. “I thought it was something attacking me so I stabbed it. Lots.”

“How are you so lucky?”

“I got you, didn’t I?”

Callie tore off her mask and kissed her. “Sesi is going to be so happy!”

“I think we need more than one. And I don’t think I’m lucky enough to do that again.” Talia wiped the river water from her face.

“The fish probably shouldn’t have that many holes in it either.” Callie tilted her head toward the mangled fish carcass.

“Do you think the fish will eat fish?” Talia suggested.

“We can try,” Callie said dubiously.

Talia crouched next to the driftwood fire, holding a fish on a stick.

“Are you sure that’s how it’s done?” Callie tilted her head to examine the underside of the fish. The scales had turned black and sooty.

“I’ve never cooked anything in my life, Cal,” Talia grimaced. She turned the fish to the other side.

Callie peeled off her suit and turned it inside out to dry by the fire. She huddled up next to Talia who was determined to do her best with the fish.

“I’ll bet Sesi would be laughing her arse off at us right now.”

“I think Siku did most of the cooking, but yeah, I’m sure she knows more about it than we do.” Talia rotated the fish again. “Did we get enough to fill the cryopak?”

Callie nodded against Talia’s arm. The flames danced lazily. Callie hugged Talia tighter. “This is nice.”

Talia took a deep breath and kissed the top of Callie’s head. “I think this is as cooked as it’s going to get before it catches fire.”

After they had peeled the unburnt pieces of fish from the skin, Talia stretched out against the rock. She had never been so exhausted in her life. Callie lay her head on her chest, slowly drifting off against the steady rise and fall of her breath. The sun, a comforting orange line on the horizon.

They felt like the only two people on the planet.

Talia’s low laugh rocked her head. She craned her neck to her staring up at the sky. “What’s so funny?”

Talia ran her fingers through Callie’s hair. It was getting longer now. She balled her fist and Callie leaned into it. “Just thinking about the irony of running away, only for my stupid genetics to be the ones passed down, while they’re all going to die out.”

“Are you worried?” Callie ran her fingers along Talia’s side. She felt her nod.

“This trip made it very obvious that I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“You caught the first fish,” Callie tried to console her.

Talia scoffed. “Through blind luck and panic.”

“Blind luck and panic is how you got away from them in the first place.” Callie hugged Talia tighter. “It’s how I ended up with you.” Callie tucked a strand of hair behind Talia’s ear. Her grey eyes reflected the undulating firelight and despite the vastness of the unknown, Talia found it calming.

“Sesi…”

“Sesi plans,” Callie cut her off. “For the rest of us, there’s blind luck and panic.”

“I love you,” Talia whispered. It was real this time, not an accidental revelation. Intentional.

“I love you too.” Callie kissed her under the midnight sun.