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( 36 一 IMPOSTERS AND RETURNED HUGS. )
An uncomfortable calm passed over the group as the day progressed. They ate, sat around the fire, took Ruby on a tour of the camp but it was all with a tense silence or small talk. Despite the tension, it did give them all a respite even if only for a short while. They could recuperate a little bit, recover from the past few days.
Chubs had tried to convince Ruby and Clara to go with him and Liam when they split. They had reassured him that they'd think about it but they both knew it wouldn't happen. They had to see the mission through and they couldn't just ditch Vida and Jude, Clara wouldn't do that to them, she couldn't.
Day had long since faded into night, and they were all seated around the now lit fire pit eating some of the rations from the warehouse. Liam had calmed down and was now chatting with Jude about some horror movie he was obsessed with as a kid. Jude hung off his every word. It was refreshing, seeing Liam treat Jude with such care. Clara knew he'd realised that at the end of the day Jude was still a kid.
They had been waiting to send a message to Cate on the chatter informing her that the mission was a success and they had the drive but they couldn't catch a signal. Clara knew Vida was anxious to hear from Cate and the burns on her back weren't helping with her patience.
"So a thought crossed my mind," Liam said suddenly.
"That must have been a lonely journey," Chubs said without looking up from the pages of his book. Liam rolled his eyes in response and Clara bit back a laugh.
"It's getting late, and I was thinking that we should take turns to watch. Set up shifts. That sound good?" Liam asked. Everyone either mumbled back a disinterested yes or nodded their heads. Clara was too tired to truly listen to what he was saying, leaning her head against Vida's shoulder.
"Young Jude here and I can take the first watch. Ruby and Chubs the second, and Vida and Clara taking up the rear." For a moment it looked like Ruby was going to argue the lineup but decided against it. A wise choice, Liam looked ready for a challenge.
Clara made herself comfortable in the tent, lying on the floor between Chubs and Vida. She passed out the second her head hit the pillow.
When she was woken up by a half-asleep Chubs hours later it felt like she had barely slept at all. There was a lot of shuffling as everyone got either in or out of the tent. Clara was making her way over to Vida when she heard a set of footsteps following her from the tent.
Clara turned around to see who it was. "Rubes, you're going the wrong way. The tent is over there," she said, pointing to the only structure near them. Ruby rolled her eyes at Clara's joke, "I'm not tired yet, you can go in and get a bit more sleep, I'll wake you up when I go in."
