Page 26 of MeK
Turningon my side,Ismile whenBriarpeeks her head up over the edge of the bed. “Well, good morning!Someoneis bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning, and hereIwas looking forward to yanking those blankets off you.”
“It’samazing what a good night’s sleep can do for a person.Ididn’t realize how badlyIneeded that.Yellat me when you get out of the bathroom.I’mgoing to see what names they all came up with whileIwas dreaming of nothing.”
Pickingup my holo pad,Iscroll to the section where everyone has submitted their name options, but one immediately stands out to me.Itseems that a girl namedAmanda, whoIhaven’t met yet, rearranged the letters inEarthand came up withEthra, andIthink that’s absolutely brilliant.I’min the process of adding my vote to that one whenBriarwalks out of the bathroom. “Hey, have you seen these options for the moon’s name?”
“NoLace, and honestly,Ihaven’t even opened mine inthe last few days.Isthere one you like better than the others?”
“Yeah, this one.”
Briargrabs her holo pad and quickly adds her vote toEthraas well.
“Youdidn’t even look at the other ones.”
“Ithas a nice ring to it, andIwon’t be the one who holds up the beach celebration even ifIwould have preferred to have a tan beforehand.Haveyou looked at the bathing suits on the clothing app yet?”
“No,Iwent straight to bed when we got back.Ididn’t even hear you come in last night.”
“Well, whileIstill have this thing in my hand and you’ve yet to go get dressed,I’lljust order you one like mine, but in a different color.”
“Soundsgood to me and allIask is that you just make sure my ass is covered up.”
Ourmorning proceeds the same as it has for the last few but today seems different somehow.Maybeit’s becauseIno longer feel like my mind is in a fog.Onceagain,Carlapats the seat she always saves for me on the dropship, andIbump her shoulder with mine playfully as we wait for everyone else to board.Afew minutes later, we’re back on the moon, andIturn in a circle, looking up at the sky, enjoying the light show it is once again giving us.Inthe back of my mind,IhopeIalways enjoy it just as much asIdo right now.Iwave atBriarwhenIsee her pink man is waiting for her to join him and head toward the fields,quickly catching up withJamesandTerence. “Goodmorning, guys.What’reour plans for today?”
“Morning,Lace.Weneed to put the last of the tomatoes and onions in the ground.Afterthat, for the most part, it will mostly be maintenance.Keepthe weeds out and ensure everything is watered well.SCOUTis working on a fertilizer that we can use on all the plants.Itshould arrive in a few days, but until then, you’d have a break.”
Lookingup,Irealize that there are some dark clouds in the distance. “James, do you think it’s going to rain?”
“Notsure what those clouds mean.Thefirst day we were here,Iheard thunder in the distance, but nothing since.However, the water in these creeks must be replenished somehow.Tarence, if you want to start refilling the empty crates,LaceandIwill finish the ones we didn’t get planted yesterday.”
Thetall, lanky kid walks off with a nod of his head. “He’ssuper quiet.”
“Justhandling all of this in his own way.He’llopen up when the time is right.Thekid’s a great worker even if he isn’t the best company right now.”
Weboth grab a tray and head toward the area where we stopped whenInoticeJamesis only a row over. “Hey, just how did you know how to do all of this?”
“You’regoing to think this is a little crazy now, butCarlaandIwere both doomsday preppers, ‘end-of-the-world’ survivalists, if that’s what you want to call it.Weboth spent years learning how to live off the land, what ways to prepare food, and survival techniques.Theonly problem is my skills … well, not many apply on an alien moon.Neitherof us could have dreamed ourpaths would put us here.Consideringit further though, it’s likely our contributions are more valuable here than they would be onEarth.Carlais a whiz in the kitchen.Thatwoman can make a meal out of nothing.Betweenher andKira, whoIwas shocked to find out is actually our age, they’ll teach all of you how to feed yourselves.Evenamidst all this,I’mgrateful thatCarlaandIhave been granted a little more time together.Hopefully, the skillsIpossess will help you kids build a life that you can thrive in.”
“We’reall standing here on shaky legs, scared to step forward without the means to go back, aren’t we,James.”
“Ido believe that’s an accurate assessment, youngin.”
Iget caught up in my own thoughts, and beforeIknow it, all my trays are empty.Standingup,Igather my tools and stretch my back after bending over crawling along the ground for so long.Jameshas already finished and is walking toward the larger crate that holds the plants until we can get them in the ground.Pushingmy little cart around the end of the row,Ihead his way to see what he needs me to do next.Stickingmy head in the small container,IfindTarenceandJamesboth stacking their empty trays together. “Ok, what now?”
“Actually,Lace,Ibelieve we’re done for today.TarenceandIcan finish gathering these up pretty quickly.Whenwe’re done,I’mgoing to go findCarlaand see if she’d like to take a walk or if they might need a hand with anything in the kitchen.So, both of you kids are free for the rest of the day.I’lllet you know later this eveningLace, ifIneed you tomorrow to help water.”
“Awesome,IthinkI’llgo see ifIcan findBriar.”Brushingoff my jumpsuit as bestIcan asIwalk back toward the main part of the compound,Ihear that awful pounding again.Withcuriosity getting the best of me,Iturn toward the noise only to begin noticing little metal pieces scattered everywhere along the cleared area.AsIbend down to pick up the onesIsee,Iend up walking right up toMeK’spowerful form.Heis so consumed with beating the hell out of whatever has caused his extreme dislike that he hasn’t noticed me yet, and this gives me a moment to appreciate the view.Approachinghim from behind but safely out of that damn hammer’s range,Itry to see what he’s doing, only to feel slightly confused.
“Ugh…MeK,Idon’t want to seem bossy here, but you’re doing that wrong.Youcan beat on those until you’re blue, and they will never come out like that.”
Witha snarl on his lips, he turns aggressively, andItrip over my own feet asItry to escape him moving backward.Astrong hand latches onto my wrist beforeIcan fall, but he pulls just a bit too hard, andIend up pressed right up against his damp, sweat-covered body.Myhands end up lying flat against his broad chest asIattempt to catch myself.Eventhough allIwant to do whenIrealize the predicamentI’min is trace the mesmerizing symbols that are pulsing under my fingertips.Ilook up instead, and his eyes are flashing so brightly thatIhave to glance away.
“Whatare you doing out here?”, he growls out in his normal ‘how dare you’ voice.
WhenItry to push away, he grips me tighter, andIswear it’s like a series of small shocks suddenly start buzzing along my skin where he’s touching me. “I’msorry,MeK.Ishouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.ButIthink a herd of elephants could have been approaching, and you wouldn’t have noticed.You’regiving that poor rivet hell.”
“Female, have you learned nothing in your stay here so far?Youneed to learn to announce yourself in a work zone.Youcould have been severely injured.”
“Yes, yes,Iget it … my knight in shining orange symbols, you’re always saving my ass.Now, let go of me, and let me help you for a change?”
