Bridger: a Dystopian Serial

I'm improvising

"You're walking," Seth said before the door slid shut behind him.

Char looked down at her feet, which were in some kind of boots that were soft as slippers. "Yeah. They have magic bone-healing things, it seems."

"Magic. Fun." Leander dropped onto Char's bed. "Nice digs."

Char sighed and swung her gaze around the little apartment. It was as Spartan as her quarters in Fort Situk. She had a narrow bed made of the same material as the ones in the healer's room. It looked like stone and then molded to her body. There was a smaller room off to the side where Char had found a toilet—she knew the hole in the floor with the lid was a toilet because Jezeen had told her—and a what was essentially a shower. She pulled the lever and suddenly rain fell from the ceiling. Warm rain.

"Apparently since I'm 'Leader Char,' I get special treatment," Char sighed. "Listen, I told Taig—that's the female that's in charge—that we wanted to make a trade agreement."

Leander's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Char said. "I know I'm above my pay grade here, but we need to get home safely and we need to be allowed back into Kaa."

Leander nodded tightly.

"So, here is what I figure. We say we want to set up a meeting, bring in our superiors. We'll gather as much information as we can. Seth, you and the scientists can keep gathering data. We'll go back to Greta and give her the goods and hope to heck she cooperates."

Seth folded his arms across his chest. "I don't like this at all."

"Well, Erwell wouldn't put it in the protocol," Char snapped. "I'm improvising."

"No," he said wearily. "Splitting up Kaa like it's Czechoslovakia."

Char paced away from them. "I'm just trying to get us home."

"Yeah," he said softly. "I know, Char."

She told them that Taig would be contacting her superiors in Eskalon.

"We've got six days," Leander said. "How long will that take?"

"They can regrow bones. You'd think they'd be able to send instant messages back and forth." Char ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know, Leander. I'm making things up as I go."

"You'll work it out," Leander said. "I guess I'll go back and tell everyone else." She grinned. "I have semi free run of the place now, and I'm going to use the heck out of it."

"You do?" Char glanced over at Seth.

He gave her a half-smile. "We're both second in command, apparently." He turned to follow Leander out the door.

"Wait," Char said softly. "Seth, can you stay for a moment?"

He turned, and so did Leander.

Leander met her eyes and gave her a dirty look before backing out and shutting the door.

Char rolled her eyes. Seth stood rigidly.

"You okay?" Char took a step toward him. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.

He met her gaze. "I didn't sleep much. I was just... wondering where you were."

"Seth," she breathed.

He closed the distance. Their bodies collided, and he wrapped her tightly in his arms. His lips pressed into her neck and then against her mouth.

"You scared me," he muttered against her mouth. "When you were deployed, I knew you were in danger, but I never got to see it. I..."