OGENUS EARTH 🌎 🌊 {Dystopian Sci-Fi Adventure}

Unsatisfied

Harrison flopped down on his bunk as the springs squealed in protest. He rolled over to grab the leather-bound book containing his most recent sketches and flipped through them for something to look at. How one woman could be so heart-stoppingly gorgeous and so incredibly annoying all at the same time, seemed to mock him.

Olivia had hemmed and hawed about her sleeping accommodations, moaning extensively when she got her first look at the bathroom. The solitary break they'd gotten was when she tried to actually use the bathroom, only to forget his all-important first rule on this ship. She'd painstakingly owned up for this malodorous lapse in judgment, and Harrison had let it slide, but he'd waited until she felt humbled enough to apologize to the rest of the group.

Usually, when he encountered a wild mare like Olivia, he took pleasure in breaking her in, knowing that the spoils from a good clashing-of-the-wills would be mind-blowing sexual gratification. However, this was no ordinary woman. Olivia's self-importance was so well ingrained in her personality, that he feared she was a lost cause.

The old man, Arturo, seemed to have a good hold on Olivia though, at least he was able to rein her in when she got too rough with the others. Harrison knew that if a man (or woman) were able to gain her respect, she probably wouldn't be such a terrific pain in the ass, but his chances at this were laughably low.

What a waste, he chuckled to himself as he got up to check out his half-assed attempt at shaving in the mirror. The amusing (and somewhat annoying) horde of people had distracted him from finishing the job earlier, and he noticed a few scruffier patches that needing smoothing.

He could hear Big Joe telling them a tall-tale of one of their colorful adventures outside the thin metal door that led to the rest of the sleeping bunks. The occasional gasp mixed with Olivia's arrogant scoffs brought a smile to his rugged face.

Machinery clanked away on autopilot as they drifted through the water in stealth mode to avoid detection. For now, they could coast along.

Harrison grabbed a pencil, distracted from the task of shaving and suddenly overtaken with the desire to capture what he'd seen today on paper. That girl, Omega, the snotty woman Olivia had derogatorily referred to her as was an anomaly as rare as the monsters he sketched.

Why didn't she have an implant so she could hear her surroundings? he pondered. He'd never seen that allowed on one of the Arcs before and the elusiveness of the answer provoked him almost as much as Olivia's attitude. He did envy her one thing though; those ornaments on the side of her head weren't able to hear Olivia's bellyaching.

The drawing flowed from his left hand in broad, pleasing strokes. He made sure to add color where necessary to illustrate the halting confusion of her splendor. He could picture Omega delivering the barb that provoked Olivia's wrath to such a fantastic state, setting her eyes on fire. It was arousing to behold, and remember. Her glossy hair and unyielding eyes only painted half the picture, leaving so much more for the abstract of his mind.

When the noise from outside his door had settled down, and he'd come to a satisfactory stopping point, Harrison poked his head out. There, tucked into the three bunks opposite his wall was a hilariously awkward arrangement.

Big Joe's hefting body tested the might of the titanium supporting his impressive weight in the top bunk, his snores making the platform quiver and creak with each rumbled breath. Midge had burrowed into her blankets on the mattress below him. And in the bottom bunk sat Arturo, ever watchful as his eyes met Harrison's.

Arturo brought his finger to his lips and pointed his other digit to avert Harrison's gaze.

Olivia had taken Big Joe's former bunk, the one that abutted Harrison's door, and despite her earlier protests to the contrary, she'd managed to fall into slumber as well.

"Where's the other girl?" He asked quietly as he climbed around his door.

Arturo pointed again, this time towards the kitchen a few steps down the cramped hallway. Harrison moved with the skills of a jungle cat as he crept in that direction.

A pair of dainty bare feet poked out from the bench that was built into the wall behind their table. Her body didn't even take up the entire cushion-like Big Joe's ass would whenever he squished back there. She was snuggled under a threadbare blanket, her body shivering against the cold and her eyes squeezed shut.

Meg's eyes shot open when she felt the insignificant press of another blanket fall over her body. She looked up to find Harrison hovering over her, his eyes avoiding hers. Meg bent upwards, hoping to catch his attention.

When Harrison met her gaze, neither spoke or moved, a silent moment passing between them like water.

Thank you, she mouthed, showing him the sign for her gratitude as she spoke.

The gesture shook the usually unflappable captain, and it took him a few seconds to nod his understanding. Harrison retreated to his console to check on things and clear his head, only to be joined by Arturo.

"Couldn't sleep either?" The old man started.

"Nope." Harrison didn't want some tedious conversation, but he couldn't help himself. "Hey, what's the deal with the deaf girl?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Arturo answered as he folded himself into the catbird seat beside Harrison. "She's an enigma to even me."

"And that doesn't strike you as a little weird?" Harrison pressed, keeping his voice low.

"It certainly may seem odd to others," Arturo commented with a smile. "But to her, I think Meg's situation makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, well, in my experience, you gotta watch for the quiet ones." Harrison snorted, keeping an eye on Arturo.

"Indeed." The old man replied, making absolutely no sense what so ever.

"So, what are we looking for on Arc City Two?" Harrison went on casually, this time acting distracted by the controls in front of him. "Did something happen?"

"We don't know," Arturo answered.

"You don't have to be obtuse, I'm sure my puny brain can handle it." Harrison felt a prick of anger at Arturo's crafted answers. "You have to tell me something so I know whether Big Joe and I are walking into a hornet's nest."

"Do you remember hornets?" Arturo asked steering the conversation in another direction, his eyes now alight with wonder. Harrison seemed too young to have seen animals or insects, but perhaps his travels had revealed secrets in the outside world that Arturo missed so much.

"No," Harrison confessed, his hands dallying over a projected keypad. "My dad used to say that when I was a kid. Guess it stuck."

"And what did your father do before he was recruited to the Arcs?" Arturo continued, though he already knew the answer.

"My dad was a sergeant, first-class in the American army, stationed in Washington State." He rattled off the response having memorized it so many years ago. "He headed up the Legionaries on Arc City Two, after he joined the Arc project."

"Is that the cause for your reticence in going back?"

Harrison sized the old man up. His question wasn't a challenge, and it didn't seem like some thinly veiled attempt to understand him better; the question seemed harmless enough.

"No," Harrison answered through gritted teeth, turning his back on Arturo to concentrate on the new screen he has brought up.