Vehemence

Chapter 16

It felt a bit uncomfortable lying on the cold ground so I kept squirming inside my sleeping bag to try and get back to sleep. I sighed, opening my bag and getting out. I removed the towel that I wrapped around my hair last night, putting it in my bag.

"Good morning." I greeted, my voice was still a bit raspy. The smell of fresh air in the morning made me feel like home, the ground was almost dry which means it stopped raining hours ago. "Good morning, lieutenant." Commander Spock replied, he was just staring at the tall fields of grass, waiting for the sun to completely rise. "I didn't think you'd actually answer." I said, finger combing my hair, "Have you decided you'll be nice to me today?" I jokingly asked. He tilted his head a bit to me, "Your hair is down today." He commented, completely ignoring my last two statements, "Oh. You notice stuffs like that?" I sarcastically asked, "I thought you never even look at me." He didn't say anything, he was just back to staring nowhere.

"It's beautiful." He said, almost muttering. "I know, it's just like how the sun rises on Earth. I don't usually wake up this early but after being out in space for 2 months, you kinda miss sunrises even if you never experience them because you wake up at noon." I prattled, smiling at the blissful view. "No, I was talking about your hair." I felt my heart skip a bit and I felt nervous. I didn't want to give an embarrassing reaction so I just took it as a joke, "Did I just receive a compliment from the Commander?" I laughed, "Your hair doesn't look too bad, too, I guess.

"You want to go for a walk?" I asked, rocking forward. "That will not be a good idea, we are in an unknown planet, Lieutenant." He said, making me groan. "You're always too worried. Come on, we'll be safe." I said. I took his hand and it felt weird for a second but I continued dragging him anyway.

"Now, we just need to keep walking straight so we'll remember our way back." I said, still dragging him along. "Lieutenant, I do not think we are benefiting from this." He said again, I turned to him, "I'm having fun, that's a benefit." I shrugged. "I am not." He answered.

I let go of his hand and crossed my arms against my chest. "Fine then, go. I'll walk by myself." I said. I stomped away from him and continued looking for fun things to discover in here. I heard him following me still so I looked back with my arms still crossed, "Having a company can increase the probability of surviving." He said, his hands clasped behind him. I smiled and gave him a hug, "Thank goodness. I thought you were actually going to go. I didn't want to be alone out here." He was stunned for a second but he placed his hand on my back anyway.

"Now, come on." I excitedly invited. We continued walking silently, the sun was already up, it must be 0900 in Earth time. "Ah!" I shrieked when I suddenly slipped on a grass making me tumble my way down the grassy hill. "Lany!" I heard Commander Spock called. Lany? Since when did he call me by my nickname?

I stopped rolling when I reached the bottom, hitting my head on a tree. "Ouch." I groaned, getting up. I rubbed the back of my head, "Great, now how am I going to go up?" I whispered to myself. "Are you okay?" I heard Commander Spock ask. I looked up the hill and nodded, "I'm fine. I'll try to go up. You can go back to the tent." I said. I dusted myself off and looked around me. It was a forest. And it was eerie. I shivered but I tried to shrug it off.

There were a few cuts on my arm but it should be fine. Looks like I'm getting scolded today. I looked up and notice that the commander was gone. I felt a bit sad that he did go back to the tent and left me here. I looked around a bit for a hard stick so I can use it to help me go up. "There's nothing here, goddammit." I cursed, kicking the grass. "And I don't even have my phaser or my comm with me!" I groaned.

I sat down and leaned my head on my knee. "I'm such a bother. This is embarrassing when they find me here." I told myself. My cuts were stinging a bit but I just ignored it. Not long after, I heard someone walking closer. I hid behind a tree and waited for whoever it was. I felt relieved to see commander Spock.