Just Another Day In Paradise (1/1)
Title: Just Another Day In Paradise
Characters: Tasha, Mira, Skye
Pairing: Guzman/Mira
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13
Word Count: 2595
Summary: Tasha’s curiosity puts her in a precarious situation. Pre-series.
A/N: I wanted to expand on Tasha’s story in ‘Wounds Still Linger’ - Part Six. This is how it happened.
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“Can you get away for a couple of hours?” Tasha asked Skye as they walked in the direction of their shared housing unit bypassing the late afternoon rush to the market for lunch.
The sun was bright, the wind crisp, and the sky a clear serene blue. Perfect weather for a quick, covert trip OTG to check on the moonshine. Everyone in their group held the responsibility of checking on the status of their contraband and had, at one time or another ventured out on their own for the task. But Tasha had awoken to a strange feeling, a foreboding that prompted her to ask for the company of a friend.
“Sorry. I have my weekly chess game with Taylor in half an hour and if I bail he’s going to ask a lot of questions. I never miss it.” She gave her friend a sheepish smile, her eyes apologetic.
Tasha let out a dejected sigh. Skye had been her last hope. She considered leaving it for the next day or asking Hunter to go in her stead but she realized that it would be inconsiderate on her part.
“Fine,” she said dramatically, elongating the vowels as they stepped through the threshold of their home. “Have fun playing chess.”
She walked the short distance from the living room past the kitchen, sidestepping a pile of books and a football that laid strewn on the floor and down the hall to her room. As she opened the door and stepped inside Skye spoke.
“Just be careful, okay?”
Tasha turned and smiled at her friend. “Always,” she said shutting the door behind her.
She sat at the edge of her bed before letting herself fall back, her arms stretched above her, and stared at the ceiling deliberating her options. She quickly realized she didn’t have many. The select few people she could ask to go with her were at work or had other plans. Either she went or she didn’t. Simple as that. Pulling the thin blanket she kept at the foot of the bed to cover herself, she turned on her side and settled to take a quick nap.
The same apprehension she’d felt earlier followed her into unconsciousness.
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The path looked familiar enough but she was unsure if it was the correct one. Everything looked the same. She called forth memories of survival training, specifically the lesson on how to tell direction of travel. Lt. Washington’s face appeared in her mind’s eye and after briefly making note of this and that she concluded that she was on the right course. But it was not until she noted the blossoming orange flowers she had seen last time that she became absolutely sure. She paused briefly to smell them and was gifted with an incredibly sweet aroma.
Slipping out of the colony always proved to be the easiest part of it all. It amazed her how simple it was. She remembered the day Skye and Hunter had dared her to follow them outside the gates. She had been hesitant when they reached the breach in the fence. Her father was head of security after all and it would not bode well for his daughter to disregard colony protocol. But seeing as Skye Tate, Commander Taylor’s surrogate daughter, was willing to take the risk, she had thrown caution to the wind and gone along despite the possible repercussions.
Once again anxiety washed over her senses. It appeared almost out of nowhere. Like the sudden downpour of a summer thunderstorm on a bright and otherwise sunny day. She had been feeling fine. Tasha was suddenly glad she was heading in the vicinity of the waterfall. The cool waters would do her good. It would take no more than five minutes for them to work their magic and it had been a while since she had gone for a swim.
Arriving at the peculiar tree with the those two strange twisting limbs she brushed aside the pile of fronds hiding the container from view. She quickly checked on the alcohol and noted that everything looked fine and estimated that it would be ready in a couple of days. She journeyed to Snakehead Falls and after inhaling the scent of fresh water she removed her khaki shorts and blue tank top. The yellow bikini she had selected cost her two weeks wages. It contrasted beautifully against her warm skin but she spent only seconds admiring it before diving eagerly into the water.
After swimming a few meters she allowed herself to relax. She drifted, treading water, and eventually came to float on her back and allowed her eyes to close as she basked in the serenity of the azure depths. Her mind drifted in the peace of the waterfall. She lost track of time. Didn’t much care. But then a noise made its way to her ears and when she heard the click of small rocks rolling down the rock face her senses screamed at her to take cover. She grabbed her clothing before heading to the large rocks ten feet away and hid behind them.
She dressed hastily, pulling on her clothes and shoes in jerky motions, and searched the area for signs of danger before taking a cautionary step away from the rocks, ready to haul ass back to the colony. But a nagging curiosity got the best of her. If it had been a wild animal, there would have been more distinct noises and it would’ve caught her scent by now. And she knew that the waterfall was not a hunting zone for any carnivorous animals. She quietly made her way up the incline and carefully peered over the edge to see what had disturbed her swim.
Tasha was met with the sight of a man crouched over the rocks, studying the symbols drawn onto the stone. His clothes a khaki-brown color, the shirt sleeveless with leather bands wrapped around his biceps, his hair a messily spiked affair. Oddly familiar. It had to be a Sixer. He didn’t have any visible tribal tattoos or scarring that she could see like some of the others but she was sure of it. She was unable to see his face but she knew that if she could see him then he’d likely be able to see her so she thanked her lucky stars.
He stood up and when he turned his head to scan the area she ducked away quickly. She counted to five before slowly peeking over the edge. Is met with his retreating figure, walking in the opposite direction, disappearing into the jungle. She waited what felt like an eternity but was in reality only a minute before following him. She didn’t know why. Only knew that no one had been able to track the Sixers.
If she could just see what direction he headed in....
Tasha kept her distance but lost sight of him soon after and through it all her mind screamed for her to stop and go back but she ignored it. She didn’t know how many twist and turns it took for her to realize that she no longer had him in her sights, overwhelmed by the desire to be quiet and unnoticed she had foolishly taken her eyes off of him. Searching for shoe prints proved fruitless. It seemed the mystery man walked on air. She was miserably lost.
Damn it!
There were trees to the left. There were trees to the right. Trees and more trees. Everywhere she turned. Fallen branches and foliage, the canopy hiding the sky from her almost as if trapping her from above as the trees closed in around her. She guessed she’d been wandering aimlessly for more than an hour, maybe even two, when the sound of a hiss behind her (she’d heard it before but thought she’d been imagining things) made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Frozen to the spot her mind raced. What she could only assume to be the fight or flight response of her parasympathetic nervous system (she did pay attention in class, thank you) tells her brain to flee.
The trees pass by in a blur as she runs past them. Her lungs burning, her legs and feet straining on the uneven ground but she hardly felt the discomfort. She didn’t notice the large root protruding from the ground and collapsed when her right foot caught in it. The pain was immediate and adrenaline did nothing to hide the throbbing ache. Her knees and the hilt of her palms were scratched but she paid no attention to the negligible amount of blood spilling from the scrapes.
After a couple of seconds she picked herself up again and attempted to continue running but she could only manage to hobble. She made it a dismal thirty feet before she tripped again and became overridden with panic.
“HELP!”
The echo of her cry reverberates around her in all directions but disappeared into the crevices of the trees and cracks in the earth. She leaned against a tree trunk, its bark rough against her back, and reached down to feel her ankle. It was tender, warm and already swelling. Her heart was racing and she struggled to keep calm.
What had she been thinking? To follow some stranger into the freaking jungle of all places. No one would notice her absence until nightfall. She knew that once her friends realized she was missing they would contact her father and let him know. And the fallout would be catastrophic. If she survived that long. Could she survive that long? She felt like crying and the pressure of welling tears in her eyes almost undid her but she fought them back bravely. She let out another frustrated call for help. Maybe that man would come back to help her.
“That’s not very smart.”
Tasha hadn’t heard that particular voice in quite some time and thought her mind was playing a trick on her. But why would her auditory hallucinations materialize in the form of Mira of all people? She turned to her left just as the woman in question stepped in front of her as if out of thin air. Tall. Proud. A weapon in her hands. Her hair pulled away from her face, decorated with a single yellow feather. Tasha saw a teasing glint in her eyes and her blatant amusement at her starring.
“It had to be you,” she narrowed her eyes and spit out her words. She hated that she was perched at her feet, forced to look up.
“I could turn around and you can wait for someone else if you’d like. But I think that komodo would probably get to you before anyone else came around.”
“What?”
“A giant lizard has been on your trail. It waits for its prey to weaken before it strikes. It’s quite the coward of the animal kingdom.”
“Like some people I know,” she says. Couldn’t help it despite the shock of learning something had in fact been hunting her.
The woman remains quiet, her gaze locked to hers.
“Just telling it like it is.”
A corner of Mira’s mouth lifts in mirth. “If it makes you feel better. By all means. But I’m not the one in need of help, laid helpless in the middle of the wilderness. Manners go a long way.”
“I’m not helpless. And I don’t need your help,” Tasha says indignantly.
“I see it differently.”
She stays silent for a minute and it earns her one of Mira’s smirks. She’d like nothing more than to wipe it off her face but then she remembers the man from Snakehead Falls with the nice arms and wild hair.
“Was that one of your people at the waterfall?”
“Yes. Carter told me he saw someone there. Well, he said, and I quote, ‘some dumb kid is playing hooky’, end quote.”
Yes, she remembered Carter. Mira’s best friend. Kind of a jerk. Especially to her dad.
“He knew I was there?”
“You’re not the stealthiest person. You should work on that.”
Was she making fun of her?! The nerve!
“Why would he care?”
“He doesn’t. But he knows we’d probably be blamed for it somehow. He’s quite the cynic and thought it best I know.”
“I don’t need your help.”
I don’t!
“Yes, you’ve said that already.”
“Well, I don’t,” she repeated. She wanted to make her point clear.
“The daughter of one of Taylor’s prized lieutenant’s should know better,” Mira said.
And in an instant their already terse and hostile conversation turned for the worst.
“Don’t you dare talk about him you fucking bitch!”
Her face tightens for a split second before it voids of emotion. No expression in her eyes, face blank. It’s a mask, she knows. Something soldiers (people) use to hide from the world. And she starts to wonder what exactly Mira could be hiding. Was she sorry for hurting her dad? For betraying the colony? For everything that had happened since?
“I take it he didn’t handle it well?” is said with airy indifference.
No. Not Mira. She wasn’t sorry in the least. And it made her blood boil. It ran hot through her veins.
“How could he?! How could anyone?! How could you do that to him?!”
“There are reasons.”
“Nothing justifies what you did!”
She’d never felt such hatred for someone, never thought she could. She’s far from finished but as she opens her mouth to continue Mira cuts her off.
“Life isn’t black or white. You’ll learn that one day. It’s a painful lesson but one you’ll learn all the same,” and for the first time her voice holds a quality that confuses her. It’s pained, miserable even and nothing more is said.
After the silence stretches on, becomes unbearable, Mira takes a step forward and reaches down to take hold of her arm and pull her up but Tasha pulls away violently. She’s not ready yet. She’s not done saying her part. She doesn’t care if the Sixer woman is in pain. It’s nothing more than an act. All she cares about is that she’s the one responsible for hurting her father.
But she’s tired. And wants to get out of here.
Mira sighs and takes hold of her arm again, “don’t be difficult.” She pulls her up without resistance this time and slides her arm around her neck as she curled hers around her waist. “I’m sure you want to get back before your friends alert your father.”
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She limped her way back to the breach in the fence under the greying sky, twilight fast approaching. She hoped that her dad still remained unaware of her absence, that her friends hadn’t jumped to conclusions. It was only a little after sundown. Ten or fifteen minutes max. If she rushed perhaps she could find and stop them before they told him. She bent and maneuvered through the opening, officially returning to Terra Nova, and is crushed in a vice-like hug before she manages to take a single step.
“Tasha! I was worried about you. I was ten seconds away from telling your dad,” Skye’s voice is high, worried.
She turns back to the gate, looks past its pillars and columns and to the tree line where she parted company with Mira. At first she sees nothing, the descending darkness robing her of her ability to see clearly but she finally makes out the faint outline of a figure disappearing as swiftly as she had appeared to her out in the wilderness.
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