Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Runaway

Chapter 2 - A Tense Meeting

The comments on my A/N and first chapter were so sweet, thank you y'all are the best! 🥹

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Two days.

For two days Calli has walked and so far, she's found nothing and would be lying if she said she wasn't getting a tad worried about what would happen if that continued to be the case. She had no food and only one small water bottle that was filled before her departure from Ord Mantel. There was only so long she could ration it and after that Calli wasn't sure what to do. So far in her trek she hasn't come across another water source or any sort of town/city. But she plowed on, holding on to the small hope that there would be civilization over the next hill or the next break in the trees.

To keep herself from going in circles, Calli would carve a line in every other tree she passed with a pocketknife. A useful survival skill she came up with on the fly and so far, has only run into an already carved tree twice. At least she thought of one good idea.

After walking for four hours on the second day, Calli decided to take a break. She stood with her back against a tree and took her water bottle out, unscrewing the cap and tilting her head back. All that was left was barely a gulp of water that left her mouth begging for more after it was gone. She hit the side of the canister to get every last drop though it wasn't much and after that Calli groaned and chucked the bottle to the ground in frustration. Now she was officially doomed.

As if that wasn't bad enough, her stomach grumbled, pleading to be fed something, anything. Calli had gone days without eating before, but that was when she was on an inhabited planet and there was always the assurance that she'd find something edible, whether it be in a dumpster, or she would swipe something in a market when no one was looking. Here, not so much. Her knowledge on different plants wasn't the best, and so far, nothing on this planet was recognizable and Calli was too smart to chance eating something only for it to be poisonous. Though honestly the idea of being put out of her misery was beginning to sound more and more appealing with each passing hour. Of all the ways she thought of how her life would end, dying from starvation and thirst was not one of them. Calli assumed she'd go out in a blaze of glory, maybe in an epic fight or a terrible accident like the one she just survived, which is less glorious and more embarrassing but still, it'd be quick. Dying slowly was NOT what Calli wanted, but you can't exactly control that aspect now could you? Not most of the time at least.

Just as Calli thought about giving up and wishing she'd died in the crash, her ears picked up the sound of what might have been an explosion. And it sounded very close, though that might have just been her hope for salvation talking. That, and her hearing had always been exceptional, yet sometimes it made things seem closer than they were from how clear the sound would be. Some people would think that was cool, but in all honesty Calli felt the exact opposite about her freakish hearing.

She quickly straightened up and listened intently as the sound echoed off the trees and some unidentifiable little flying creatures were startled and flew away from their perches in the foliage above. Then there was silence, yet somehow it too was loud, and her ears rang as she anxiously waited to see if something else would happen.

A few beats later, another explosion happened and Calli's head jerked to the left.

It definitely came from that direction; she was certain of it. Quick to gather her things, Calli mustered up what little energy and strength left in her body to start running in the direction the explosions came from.

As Calli tore through the forest, she didn't stop to wonder what caused the explosions - or if running towards them would be safe. All that ran through her head was that where there's explosions there has to be people. And people meant food and water and medical supplies. Calli didn't care if it was pirates or hell, Separatists. Even if it was the latter which wouldn't have need for food, water, etc, she could still sneak on board or if brave enough take out all the droids and commandeer the ship to get off world to head back to civilization.