>> Override code accepted
>> Access restored to camera registered to ARET
>> ...
>> ERROR: No uncorrupted files currently available on harrier ARET
> Now playing Mission Log #14
The group on the lochsled has been traveling for some time, the battery on the camera dwindling bit by bit as they evade the last of the zombies on their tail and a tense silence settles over the Red.
The camera harnessed to Aret’s chest catches several hours of this deafening silence as the freighter dragons eventually slow to a steady walking pace. The groans of the zombie tied to the back of the sled get quieter and quieter until it seems content to just save its energy.
The sun trails slowly across the sky, and as the adrenaline and shock slowly seep out of their bones, distrust settles in its place.
The teenagers and their pet dragons spend most of the daylight hours tucked in one corner of the sled, watching Aret and the ranger like a pair of hawks and bickering between themselves. Whatever small item Charlie had when the sled picked them up, she’s stored it somewhere in her suit and isn’t holding it anymore. The ranger has meanwhile given himself the task of shifting the supplies in the sleds to balance the torn-out solar wing.
It’s past dusk when one of the teens’ arguments grows loud enough for the camera to catch.
“KIDNAPPED. KIDNAPPED, PATRICK —”
Aret turned over one shoulder, watching as Patrick swung his camera up in Charlie’s face. “I understand. Would you say you often have lapses in judgment?”
“My only LAPSE in JUDGMENT was FOLLOWING YOU out HERE!” Charlie raised a hand to smack the camera down, but Patrick yanked it out of the way just in time. She threw up her hands instead, huffing with exasperation. “GOD we weren’t even kidnapped, we — they opened the trunk and we zip-tied our own hands and climbed right in! I even JOKED about it!”
“In my defense, how could we have passed it up? It was the opportunity of a lifetime!”
“Patrick that’s not the point. Do you understand my parents are going to KILL me??”
“…Y’know, I was expecting raiders or maybe the zombie apocalypse to rank higher on the priority list—”
“Have you MET my FATHER???”
“I feel like you’re moving us a little fast, Charlie.”
“P A T R I C K.”
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