Otherworld

Part 4

Bridged was perched on a slimy rock sixty yards downstream from the gigantic waterfall that thundered behind her. Arnold had stayed on the bank since he didn't necessarily like water. A childhood friend had drowned and Arnold still hadn't gotten over that. He still had nightmares about it all these years later.

The rest of their contingent was farther downstream. Bridged had chosen this spot because of the retired general. He sure hadn't lost his commanding attitude or his superiority. It rankled Bridged's nerves, the way he acted towards them. Even this close to the waterfall, Matthew Bearns loud booming voice could be heard directing the others around.

Bridged rolled her eyes before she squatted down carefully to study the moss that clung to the rock she stood on. It resembled the mosses of Earth, but this one was turquoise colored instead of green. Crablike creatures clung to the rock below the waterline eating the blue moss. The moss had attracted Bridged's attention the night before because of its luminescence. As a side note, Bridged found it interesting that the crabs were iridescent.

"Come back Bridged! You've been out there long enough to make my heart falter!"

Bridged smiled over her shoulder at Arnold who stood anxiously peering at her from the safety of the bank. A look downriver showed that they were mostly alone. Bridged stuck her tongue out at Arnold just to be safe before she hollered back loud enough for the others to hear if they were within earshot.

"I'll come back when I'm ready to Arnold. I have to sketch these crablike creatures that I found. Don't be such a wet blanket."

Arnold crossed his arms and glared at her. Bridged blew him a kiss before she stood up and began to carefully remove her sketch pad and pencils from her bag. Twenty minutes later, Bridged was done. She stood and let out a groan as her cramped legs protested the sudden movement.

Bridged made her way slowly and warily over the slick stones till she was close enough to take Arnold's extended hand. Arnold surprised Bridged by hugging her hard as soon as she set foot on solid ground. His breath was hot against her ear as she felt the rapid pounding of his heart.

"Don't do that Bridged. I can't stand watching someone drown again. Not ever again. Do you understand me?" Arnold pulled back and looked down at Bridged with eyes wide with fear.

Bridged reached up and placed a hand against Arnold's cheek. "I promise that I won't go so far out again Arnold. I'm sorry. I just got caught up in looking at the rocks."

Arnold nodded and swallowed hard as he worked on calming himself down. "What did you discover?"

"Look at this Arnold!" Bridged exclaimed in excitement as she pulled out her sketch pad and showed Arnold. "These creatures feed on the moss."

Arnold studied the drawing and read the words Bridged had scrawled in runes. "I wonder if they have the same life cycle as crabs."

"I'd like to find out, but I doubt the general will want us to linger here to find out."

Brown eyes lifted from the sketch pad to rest briefly on Bridged's face before they flicked off in the direction where the others were. "The general is a pain in my ass."

Arnold shut the sketch pad and handed it back to Bridged letting his fingers linger over hers. "I fear that the longer our mission goes on the more the general will grow to hate us."

Bridged looked up at Arnold with intelligent eyes. "He already hates us Arnold."

"Yes, but soon that hate will grow stronger and we will be nothing but a liability to his mission. The Federation of Earth wants to find a new planet that will sustain them. Earth has almost nothing left. Soon Earth will fight back."

"She is fighting back Arnold," Bridged protested.

"Depending on who you ask," Arnold began.

Bridged stopped him with her fingers on his lips. "I know what it is that you're going to say. People have believed in the world ending for thousands of years. Earth will end because of humans. Not the Gods and not the second coming of Christ or the start of Ragnarök."

Arnold wrapped Bridged's wrist in his strong grip so that he could nibble on her fingers. "If we find intelligent beings on this planet, the Reverend as well as that damned Catholic priest will want to convert them all to Christianity."

"We can't let them do that Arnold." Bridged hair came loose from her braid as she shook her head. "It'll just be a repeat of what happened on Earth. We'll lose this world's unique culture."

"I know," Arnold stated as he moved away from Bridged.

A sneer curled Bridged's lip as she saw why Arnold had moved away from her. One of the scientists was hurrying towards them.

"The General says that we are ready to move on from this area and wants the two of you to not wander off."

Arnold snorted as he picked up his bag. "And where would we wander off too. No one gives us a damn bit of privacy around here anyway."

The scientist, Rubio Marcell, glanced between the two of them nervously. Bridged gave him a sweet smile as she took a step towards him. "How about you tell me about what you found of interest within the river."

Rubio's eyes glazed slightly as Bridged turned her charm on. Few people could resist Bridged when she wanted something. These men had yet to see Bridged all dressed up in a nice gown with makeup on and jewels dripping from her neck. Arnold shook his head as he followed Bridged and Rubio down river. Bridged's ass looked nice in her pants. Arnold reminded himself that he needed to tell Bridged how nice her ass looked later when they were alone.