The men nodded again.
“Now get!”
They scurried out the door and through the yard at lightning speed.
“Now, where is Bit?” Jack said as he scanned the room.
“Could she have gone outside?” Oden asked, looking pale in the dim light.
Jack didn’t respond but rushed out of the door and into the yard. “Bit!”
“Up here,” she called.
Jack and the rest of his crew followed the sound of her voice. Randal pulled a flashlight from his pack and lit their path. The light fell onto a pile of three dead bodies. Randal dragged it up the tree to the second branch, where Bit perched, looking just as tired and shaken as Jack felt.
“Now can we go home?”
Jack nodded, a smile playing on his lips. Bit carefully climbed out of the tree. Though he knew she was trying to hide it, Jack had a suspicion she was bruised from head to foot.
“Now what?” she asked, coming up to stand in front of him, her head bowed and her eyes on the ground.
Jack frowned at her, slowly realizing she expected to be punished. “Well, we have the address in Seattle. I say we go get your niece.”
Bit turned her face up to him, a beaming smile spreading across her features. Despite the deep bruises on her face, Jack doubted he had ever seen her look more beautiful.
Bit couldn’t help but feel a tide of elation at Jack’s words. He was going to take her to Seattle. They were going to get her niece. Everything would be okay!
Jack looked down at her, his expression changing in a way Bit did not recognize. Butterflies danced in her stomach, but she assumed it was from all the blows she had taken over the last few days. Or at least that’s what she told herself.
Oden stepped up to her, nearly placing his hand on her shoulder. He stopped at the last second, as though afraid to hurt her. She couldn’t blame him. She felt as though she had fought a war single-handedly—and in many ways she had. Bit smiled up at Oden, taking his outstretched hand in hers.
Before anyone could say or do anything else, they heard a strange crunching sound. The entire crew turned toward the sound.
“Get away from her!” a voice called as Blaine emerged from the darkness, his gun drawn.
Blaine looked as though he could be Bit’s twin. Dark, swollen bruises marred one side of his face. His clothing was torn in places, revealing more wounds. To Bit, he looked as though the slightest wind would topple him.
“She’s mine,” he announced, raising his gun in their general direction.
Bit heaved a sigh of exhaustion and frustration. She wasn’t doing this again. In a quick gesture, she raised her own gun and fired, hitting him in the shoulder with her last round.
“The next one goes in your head,” she announced, trying to bluff her way through the situation.
With the impact of the bullet, Blaine fell to one knee like a man proposing. “Bit?”
“I’m not yours, Blaine. And I never will be.” She turned to look at Jack.
“Blaine, you are officially fired from the crew of the Lenore. Come near us again and we’ll kill. Randal will ship your possessions to your address on Mars.”
“Randal?” Blaine begged.
“You made your bed, Blaine, now you must sleep in it,” Randal replied, his voice sounding as though he was burying his own son.
Bit felt a stab of guilt. Though she didn’t know their entire story, she knew they were close. She had no doubt Randal would miss his friend.
“But…”
“Stop, Blaine, before you embarrass yourself.”
Blaine slumped to the ground, looking as though his entire family had been killed. In many ways, it had. Blaine didn’t have anyone else in his life but his crew, and now he didn’t even have that.
Jack waved for them to file out of the destroyed yard. Bit put her arm around Oden’s neck, letting him hoist her up into his arms. It hurt her bruised back, but it was better than walking on her knee. The group filed past Blaine and out onto the street.
Bit let out a long sigh as she leaned her head against Oden’s shoulder. She had the address, she had the support of the crew. Now all she had to do was get her.
I’m coming for you.
Thank you for reading Bit’s epic journey.
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Continue reading for a sneak peek of Bit’s next story, as yet untitled.
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Works by Charissa Dufour
The Series that Just Plain Sucks
Life Sucks (Prequel short story)
Sucked In (Book 1)
Sucked Away (Book 2)
That Sucked (Book 3)
Or purchase in a box set:
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Series (Books 1-3)
Suck It Up (A little something extra. Can be read at any time in the series)
The Dothan Chronicles
Bought (Prequel short story)
Torn (Book 1)
Lost (Book 2)
Alone (Book 3)
Or purchase in a box set:
The Dothan Chronicles: The Complete Trilogy (Books 1-3)
The Void Series
Cornered Magic (Book 1)
Misguided Allies (Book 2)
Balanced Chaos (Book 3)
The Echoes of Sol Series
Trust and Treachery (Book 1)
Broken and Hunted (Book 2)
Profit and Peril (Book 3)
Mayhem and Mutiny (Book 4) Coming Early March 2017
Sneak Peek of Bit’s next story
(This is a rough draft, so please read with some grace)
Chapter One
Long before Bit woke, she was aware of sharp pains throughout her body as though they had invaded her very dreams. When her mind finally released her to reality, she opened her eyes to find herself in one of the Lenore’s officer cabins. At some point on the journey from Johannesburg up to the port orbiting Earth, Bit had fallen asleep. She had blurry memories of Jack’s angry face hovering over her while something sharp pricked her arm. After that, she had hovered over the world, feeling as though nothing touched her. It had been a nice feeling.
She missed it.
Now, even the pressure of the soft mattress hurt her bruised back. Bit craned her neck to see an empty I.V. bag hanging from the wall. The clear cording ran down the wall and under her blankets. Slowly, she lifted the warm covering to see the tubing disappear into her arm.
With the bag empty, she felt at liberty to pull it from her arm. She winced and quickly pressed her finger against the little drop of blood. Bit pushed the blankets off the rest of the way. She was dressed in her baggiest pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt three sizes too big. Pilled on her knee were at least three bags of cold water. It took her fuzzy brain a few minutes to realize the bags had once been filled with ice. A similar bag lay on her pillow next to her face.
Her cut wrist was freshly bandaged. She hadn’t tried to commit suicide. She had been tied to a post, and while she tried to cut her bindings, she had caught her wrist. Last time she had looked at it, the wound had been badly infected. Bit assumed they had tended to the infection.
As she lay on the bed, she realized the ship’s engines weren’t thrumming. Were they still docked with the landing platform?
With a grimace on her bruised and swollen face, she pulled herself into a sitting position as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her damaged knee wouldn’t bend, making her climb to her feet awkward. Finally, she stood, holding onto the shelving above the bunk to keep from toppling over.
Glancing around, she spotted a surprising amount
of her stuff in the strange cabin. Clothing was neatly folded on the shelves, her bathroom bag sat on the table, along with a few of her books. On the wall, she spotted fire damage and absently wondered what had happened behind the access panel.
Bit was just about to change out of her baggy clothing when she heard a noise from outside the cabin. She opened the door to find herself staring at her own bedroom’s door. It was Dirk’s cabin, but she doubted he had given it up willingly. She dreaded seeing the grouchy engineer.
She rounded the central staircase just as Reese emerged from the crew’s quarters looking just as curious as she felt. He smiled at her before turning to the empty space Bit had grown to consider as a sort of entryway to the ship. Bit came to halt as the airlock door came into view.
Though she noticed Jack, Oden, and Calen standing on the stairs leading up to the bridge, and Vance and Kat hovering on the other side, her focus was solely on the men standing just beyond the hatch. Randal stood with them, looking rather chagrined.
“What is this?” Jack asked.
“You said you wanted me to get new members for the security team.”
Jack’s mouth hung open a moment before he replied. “Yeah, but… uh…”
Bit understood Jack’s hesitation. Though one of the new members looked much like the rest of the crew—large and brawny—the other looked anything but. He was tall and slim, as though he’d just reached his full height while his weight hadn’t caught up with the last growth spurt. His face was young, almost childish, as though he had never seen the sun before. All these features were normal enough. What had everyone staring were the various add-ons. The top of the boy’s hair was died crimson red, while the sides were an eccentric yellow. His eyebrows were died bright aqua-blue. To go with his hair, blue paint lined his sultry eyes, with crimson brushed across his eyelids.
He wore black. A black shirt hung down past his privates and his legs were coated in what looked to be women’s tights. Over his black shirt, he wore a shiny black jacket with a strange hood that draped over the back of his head, much like the hood of a cloak.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” he asked.
Bit had expected his voice to be high and lispy, and she felt a little ashamed of her own assumption. Instead, he had a deep timber. Bit glanced up at Jack to see his expression.
Before Jack could think of something to say, Randal piped in. “I realize, Sying is a little…uh…”
“Colorful,” the strange man provided, giving a little playful flip of his hand.
“Yes, uh, colorful. Still, Sying is the best demolition man I know, and he’s finally agreed to work for me.”
“Randal, here.” He placed his hand on Randal’s thick arm, dwarfing his slender fingers. “Has been trying to get me to work for him since he was in the army.”
“Right,” agreed Jack. “Uh…Welcome to the Lenore?”
Bit clamped down on her tongue to keep from laughing at the sound of Jack’s statement. It sounded like a question, as though Jack himself didn’t know what to think.
“And this is Terrall. From his references, we’ve got ourselves a good fighter.”
Jack nodded. “Excellent. Oh, Bit, you shouldn’t be up.”
“Excellent. Oh, Bit, you shouldn’t be up,” Jack said as he caught sight of his battered indentured servant.
She really was all black and blue. An image of her lying on the infirmary table, barely a scrap of clothing on her and all her injuries on display, past his eyes. Jack had cursed himself for letting it all happen to her. It was his job as the owner of her debt to protect her, and he had failed. He ignored the little voice that, even now, reminded him that she had run away. Her injuries weren’t his fault.
“Where should I be?” she asked, sounding just as snarky as ever.
Jack suppressed a grin. She would be okay if she had the energy to sass him. “Randal, get them settled. Bit, come meet me in my cabin. Vance, bring the girl some food. She’s skinnier than she was when we first got her.”
Jack could see Bit’s glare, even through her bruised features. She followed him to his cabin as Randal led the newcomers to the crew quarters. Others loitered in the central space, eyeing the strange boy Randal had brought aboard their ship. Jack sighed. He trusted Randal, and forced himself to continue to trust him, despite their issues with Blaine.
Bit was still favoring her injured leg, but from what it had looked like when they arrived on the Lenore, he wasn’t surprised. Jack motioned for her to take a seat on his bunk. The room was the same size as the other officer’s cabins, leaving room for only one chair at his small desk. He took the chair and turned to look at her.
“Are we going to Seattle?” she asked, skipping all preamble.
“We are, but you need time to heal.”
“I’m fine. I can keep going. How long have we been here?”
“You’ve been unconscious for two days,” he replied, noting the shock on her face.
“Then I’ve rested plenty.”
“Bi-it.” He drew out her name in his exasperation. “You were badly injured. To be quite frank, I think you need to sit this one out. Stay on the Lenore with Vance and recuperate. I can leave Oden here too. After all, we’re just going down to pick up the girl and coming right back.”
“Captain, with all due respect, you leave me on the ship and I’ll just follow you down. I don’t much like the idea of repeating what happened in Johannesburg, but I will if forced. Besides, has anything we’ve ever done been ‘simple’?”
Jack gave her a ruthful grin, not wanting her to see the anger rushing through his body. “All the more reason for you to stay where it is safe.”
“We’ve also learned that it isn’t necessarily safe here either.”
Jack’s grin faded as his anger increased. “True, but I don’t want you on this mission. I want you here.”
Vance interrupted them, appearing with a plate piled high with food.
“Vance, Bit will be staying on the Lenore while we go to the surface.”
“No,” she snapped, nearly spilling the food.
“Bit,” snapped Jack, rising to his feet. “You’re hurt. You’ve runaway. You’re already in deep water. Now, I am doing more for you than most owners would. You will obey me in this.”
Bit shrunk in on herself, reminding him of the battered girl who had showed up on his ship a few months ago. She looked as though he had beaten her with his words. Jack suddenly felt like an ass but refused to change his mind. She was too injured to come along.
“Now go to your cabin. Forrest is letting you borrow it until you’re healed. And I want all that eaten.” Jack pointed at her large plate.
Bit glared at him before limping out of his cabin.
The next morning, Bit stood in the entryway, waiting for the rest of the crew. She knew Jack and the other uninjured parties would be leaving for the city of Seattle, and the idea of being left behind rankled her. It was her niece. She should be there. Her thoughts raged within her, blinding her to her surroundings.
“Hey there,” a voice said interrupted her enjoyable fantasies including Jack and a crowbar.
“Hi.”
“I didn’t get to really meet you yesterday. Sying.” He held out a manicured hand, the knuckles dusted with gold.
“Bit.”
“I hear that’s a nickname.”
“My given name is Larissa, but I haven’t been called that since I was a child.”
Sying nodded, a smile still plastered to his face. “Can I ask, what happened to you?”
“You can ask.” She was in no mood for small talk, much less retelling her adventures in Johannesburg.
“It’s related to what we’re going to the surface for today, isn’t it.”
“Yes.”
“How’d you get that wound?” He pointed at her wrist.
“Freeing myself from some bindings. Caught my wrist.”
“And that one?” He pointed to her face.
“Are you always this cur
ious?”
“Usually.” He shrugged, unaware of her annoyance.
“Fine, then it is my turn to ask you an annoying, personal question. What the get up?”
Sying glanced down at his clothing. He wore skin tight pants that looked like snake scales, a slick tank top, and a weird sort of shawl-sweater-thing.
“You don’t like my outfit?”
Compared to Bit’s torn trousers and over-sized t-shirt advertising Fiat hover cars, he was ready to go on a date rather than trapse through Seattle looking for an Indentured Servant.
“Just a heads up,” Bit said as a few other crewmembers emerged from their shared quarters. “A lot of time our work requires us to look ordinary.”
“This isn’t oridinary to you?”
Bit’s eyes went wide. She glanced around at the other people, all dressed more like her.
“See anyone else dressed or dyed like you?”
Sying glanced around and shrugged.
Before either of them could say anything more, the volume of the other crewmembers increased, and Bit chose not to try. She didn’t much feel like talking, knowing she was going to be left behind. Vance looked happy enough as he passed out packets of food to those going to the surface. Bit spotted Oden hovering at the switchback in the stairs leading up to the bridge. He looked just as pissed as her, despite his arm still hanging in a sling.
Sying joined the group preparing to leave, looking like a peacock at a penguin rally. Bit watched as the other men tried to make space for them. Even from her spot by the stairs, she could see the discomfort in the men’s stances, especially those in the security team. Bit couldn’t imagine what skills Sying had to make him worth the sudden division in the team.
Finally, Jack and Randal emerged, their own packs hanging from one shoulder. They took Vance’s offerings and stuffed them into their packs before slinging them over their shoulders.
“All right, men. Ready?”
A mumble of replies greeted him, and they began to slow process of shifting small groups through the airlock. Jack turned to look at Bit before entering the airlock with the last group.
Mayhem and Mutiny Page 20