“So did you sleep with her?”

Sarah asks the question as you clean up the plates and cookware and pack them away. If you have to leave quickly, you’re going to want to be prepared and packed. You’re not even sure if you’ll bother with the sleeping bag, as there’s a decent chance Nina and Grisham will find you before you get to sleep. Even with Sarah’s impressive burst of speed, they were only a matter of minutes behind you at the outset. Maybe you’ve extended your lead, or maybe they’re just outside that stone barricade, waiting for you to come out like a pair of rats in a hole…

“Hey, did you hear me?”

“Huh?” You look at Sarah. “Sorry, what?”

“Grisham,” she snorts. “You were mostly naked when I found you in her room.”

“No,” you say. “I didn’t sleep with her. She wasn’t trying to sleep with me anyway.”

“Uh huh, she was just getting you naked, because why, procedure? There’s no military procedure that puts a soldier in panties,” Sarah arches her brows. “She was trying to sleep with you, Cadet.”

“She specifically said she wasn’t.”

“Right. Because that’s how it works. She could be two knuckles deep inside you and you’d think she wasn’t fucking you,” Sarah snorts. “You’re so damn innocent.”

“We didn’t have sex,” you say. “Just like I didn’t have sex with Terra. I haven’t had sex with anybody. Why do you care so much?”

“Because every time I see you, there’s someone twice your age drooling over you,” Sarah says, her brow furrowing. She seems annoyed by that fact. Suddenly it hits you. Sarah is gorgeous and capable beyond imagination, but she doesn’t get a lot of positive attention from any of her superiors.

“Are you jealous?” You ask the question without much tact.

“Why would I be jealous of you?”

You don’t have to think about that for very long to come up with an answer.

“Maybe because I get all the attention. Even though you run around escaping, being a super soldier, being better than me in every way, and yet your DNA donor and an early version of you, basically, keep paying attention to me.”

“DNA donor,” Sarah snorts. “Yeah, that’s about what she is.”

“One who got you out of prison and ran after you when you ran away,” you point out. “Terra obviously cares about you.”

“What would you know?” A flash of irritation zips across Sarah’s face.

“Well I am the one everyone’s apparently trying to fuck,” you say, pulling out your sleeping bag after all. If you’re going to get caught, you may as well get caught in comfort – and with a bit of padding in the way. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Good,” Sarah says. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“I bet you want to sleep with Grisham too,” you say as you push your legs into the envelope of fabric and fluff. “You went all quivery with her.”

“We’re on the run. We don’t have time to do girly chat,” Sarah decides abruptly. “Get some sleep.”

You smirk to yourself as you close your eyes. Sarah really doesn’t like her questions being turned around on her. You’ll have to keep that in mind over the coming days.

“Grisham would probably spank you, if you asked nicely,” you say, opening one eyelid.

GRRROOUNNNNNNNNNNCCHHHHH…. there is a rumbling as one of the stones outside your little den is pushed away. Grisham’s face appears through the hole and your stomach performs a series of flips which make you clap a hand over your own mouth. You knew it! You could feel how damn close they were. Why didn’t Sarah listen? You curl up in your sleeping bag, hoping you’ll avoid the worst of her ire by merit of being quiet.

“You won’t have to ask nicely,” she growls sternly. “Neither of you have to ask at all. I’m going to have both your butts for breakfast.”

Sarah reacts calmly, reaching for a small energy weapon. “Move another one of those rocks and I’ll turn your face into a pancake,” she threatens.

Grisham disappears. You stare at Sarah. Holy hell, did that actually work? Did she just back down from a threat?

BOOM!

The earth shudders and the large rocks covering the entrance of your little hideout disintegrate into thousands of pebbles. You see Sarah’s finger starting to squeeze the trigger.

“No!”

You throw your awkward, sleeping bag clad body toward her and knock her off balance. It’s not the most elegant of attempts and she barely flinches, but the momentum of your balled up body does the trick. The bolt of energy zips harmlessly up through the aperture of the cave, missing Grisham’s head by less than an inch.

There’s a lot of yelling in the next few minutes, a general tangle of arms and legs and anger. When the dust settles, you’re pushed back against the far wall, still inside your sleeping bag. Terra and Grisham have Sarah neutralized. Terra has the weapon Sarah fired at Grisham in her hand, and Grisham has Sarah prone on the floor, both hands pinned behind her back. Her face is covered in dust and dirt, and she looks furious.

“Let me go goddamit!”

“You just tried to kill me, girl,” Grisham growls. “I’m not letting you go for a second.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you, idiot,” Sarah snaps back. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. I was trying to knock the roof of the cavern down and give us some more cover.”

“I don’t care if you were trying to solve universal hunger,” Grisham says. “You fire a weapon in my direction, you pay the price.”

She doesn’t elaborate on what the price is, exactly, but you know very well Sarah isn’t going to like it. You tear your eyes away from Grisham and Sarah and lift them toward Terra. The expression on her beautiful features makes you gulp. You’re not going to like what comes next either.