His statement was meant to console me, but his vow sobered my emotions. 'It will be fixed.' Rang in my brain. I needed to find Dredge before a pile of rocks and dirt covered the water cave coordinates, I was given.
HOW MUCH TO TELL
It's a simple choice. Tell the truth or lie. I didn't know what path I would choose yet, but I knew there would be questions.
I don't remember getting out of the transport. An unseen hand opened the transport door, and the next thing I knew, I was under the entryway solar shield. Jason grabbed me by the arm and the waist and pulled me towards him all at once. He was laughing, and underneath his loud exhaled breath, there was the sound of my brittle hair breaking between us. Baked and charred by the sun, sections of my long hair cracked and broke off like old solar film crumbling off a roof panel.
It was the first time I thought of how much radiation damage I suffered through the antiquated leather day suit.
Jason was thinner and felt taller and more muscular than I remembered. He wasn't the soft young man I last saw bleeding on the ground of the pavilion. He looked like more of a man to me now—the youthful, ageless type of man that you don't regard quite the same way as your teenaged friends.
It was sadness that gave me the strength to pull his arm off my shoulder so I could look at him more closely. “You look so different where's your day suit?” I asked. His eyes looked happy, but the skin underneath them was purple and red from a lack of sleep. His usual pristine haircut was shaggy and disheveled. His skin was pocked red by several blemishes that he would have normally scanned away with UV treatments.
My captors cared for me. I was well-fed and well-rested. Jason had obviously been neglected in my absence.
“What is going on, Ja?” I grabbed at his stomach and felt the exposed muscles through his shirt. There had been a thin but soft layer of bulk before I left. “Haven't you been eating?” I hissed, grabbing his arms and squeezing even harder than before.
His face was tanned, darker than the golden olive I was accustomed to seeing. I ran my dirt-stained fingers across his face. He cupped my hand and pressed it to his cheek. The pity that welled up in my heart for him poured over into the pit of my stomach, where all my rage had been stuffed for days.
“What is going on here. I'm gone so you decide to stop eating, stop protecting yourself from the sun?” I pushed him back and pounded on the hard body that stood in front of me. His expression changed from happy to surprise. I didn't have the mass to hurt him, but I tried all the same.
“Kar, I wasn't thinking about any of that stuff,” he admitted grabbing my hands.
“That's pretty damn clear.” I scanned his face and looked behind him at the growing crowd of staff gathering outside to greet me. “What were you thinking?” I demanded.
“Ways to get you back, ways to kill them all if I couldn't.” He was telling the truth, he looked too tired and single-minded to have made up any comfortable lies.
It was startling to hear him say the word kill, even though it was the same word I had been spouting to anyone who would listen to me for the past five days.
“So, I guess I only had two days left to get back home?” I asked.
“We both did,” he answered, sternly staring into my eyes. I could see him calculating the differences in my hair and my eyes. “What did they do to you, Kar? He slid his hand behind my neck and cradled my head in his hand. “I want you to tell me everything.”
There wasn't a good version of my story to tell. I wasn't beaten or severely abused by my captors. I was treated well, and at least a few of them wanted me to stay.
“Let's go inside, and I will tell you all about my time away,” I suggested. “I need to see Dredge. I have coordinates for a water cache.” Jason nodded in agreement, never taking his eyes off my face.
There was chatter from the house crew about heating a full bath and getting someone to trim my hair, fresh bandages for Jason's arm and clothes were to be found for both of us. Jason smiled at the flurry of activity and grabbed my hand tightly.
“I'm sure my parents expect me home tonight,” I explained, stomping the dirt out of my boot treads before entering the house.
“I go where you go, so I hope they expect me too. The media isn't going to leave you alone. You are welcome to have your parents come to our house. We have spare rooms,” Jason moved a flake of dirt off my face. “How big of a water cache?” he asked, leaning down to kiss my forehead.
“I was able to swim in it, but I don't know how much water in any real terms, a metric shit-ton is my best guess.” Jason nodded in agreement.
“So, the Reds tried to buy you with actual water?” he asked, grinning.
“No, but they tried everything else,” I commented. “I think it was an appreciation for leaving. Maybe the Red elders didn't want you to bomb the cave.” I pulled his hand to my chest. His nails were bitten to the quicks.
“They tried to make me want to stay, but I had to get back to you. There is nothing they have that’s worth more to me than having you for the rest of my life. No matter how long that is.” I was brave and told the truth. Jason kissed me and hugged me tightly to him for a long
