Long Days by EdenAdvance
DISCLAIMER: Earth 2 doesn't belong to me. I have no money left, if you're suing, take a number and wait in line.
Voice of Devon Adair:
"The days are getting warmer and warmer. At least we can still find plenty of water. The last few days have been very much the same: we get up, we move, we take a break and we move on. At night, almost no one sleeps, because it is too hot and in the morning almost everybody is very touchy, because they couldn't sleep. It is a miracle that we're not yelling at each-other, but I've a feeling that it will happen soon."
Uly and True ran after each other in a circle around the Transrover. The group was taking a break, because now was the hottest point of the day, and now the children where running around. Danziger, Baines and Walman where sitting in the cool shadow of some trees.
" How can they do that, running around in this heat?" Walman asked looking at the children
"Please, don't ask those kind of questions, it is giving me a headache," Danziger groaned while he lay down in the grass.
Baines, who was looking at the vehicles, said: "Hey guys, trouble is coming!"
"Who is it, Morgan?" Danziger said from his spot in the grass.
"Nope this is worse, It's Adair" Walman said, staring at the direction Devon was coming from.
Devon walked over to the group that was sitting under the trees.
"Danziger, when do you think we can move on?" she asked when she reached the tree where Walman was sitting.
"Come on Adair, give me a break" Danziger said, his voice sounding irritated.
"We've been sitting here doing nothing for 20 minutes..." "So what Adair, it is so warm today, nobody wants to walk in this heat and Alonzo and Julia aren't back yet" Danziger interrupted her as he got up from his spot in the grass.
"What? Where are they? How long have they been gone?" Devon looked around but couldn't see them.
"Don't worry they are just getting water, well it was 'Lonzo's turn to get water and Julia wanted to talk to him. " He said. Devon looked at the three men. They where all trying to stifle their laughs. "Really?" Devon asked, not believing that they where 'just getting water'.
10 MINUTES LATER
Danziger, Walman and Baines were still lying under the trees and Devon had left to check up with the rest. They were now enjoying the silence.
"But Alonzo, you could at least think about it?"
"Julia will you please shut up for a while, you're giving me a headache!"
"I'm giving you a headache?"
"Yes!"
"Fine if I'm giving you a headache then you shouldn't sleep in the same tent with me!"
The three men looked up to see Julia storming to the Med-tent and Alonzo dumping the watercans near the trees and sitting down against a tree.
"Could you please stop yelling, both of you?" Danziger asked.
"Women, they only yell at ya" Walman said "Hey Lonz give me some water, will ya?"
Alonzo pushed the can with water to Walman.
"So what is wrong with her?" He asked when he was done drinking water.
"Nothing." Alonzo replied and stood up to walk to camp.
Devon saw Julia storming to Med-tent. She had heard Julia and Alonzo yelling at each other and was wondering if everybody would start yelling at each other today. Well, she and John hadn't really yelled at each other and it wouldn't be strange if they were yelling at each other, because they did it a lot, but if Julia and Alonzo started yelling, then there was something going on. She lifted the flap of the Med-tent and walked in.
"Julia, is there something wrong?" she asked.
"No everything is perfectly fine!" Julia turned around angrily and before Devon could say something, she started telling Devon what was wrong.
"You just ask a simple question and he says that you're giving him a headache and if you could please shut up. He could answer the stupid question, but oh no I'm giving him a headache, so he doesn't have to answer it now, he's got to think about it. Like he is ever going to do that."
Devon really didn't get what was the question he couldn't answer, because Julia had told everything so fast and Devon couldn't follow it. And she was starting to get crazy of Julia pacing the tent.
"Julia, could you please sit down and start all over? Slowly this time?" Devon asked, leading Julia to the cot. They sat down and Julia began at the beginning.
"Ok, I wanted to talk to 'Loons about if he was gonna stay when we got to New Pacifica. Well we started good, but he never answered the question, telling me that he would think about it and that sort of things. And the rest you know..." Julia finished, looking at the ground.
Nobody spoke for a few moments and Devon got up to leave. She turned around to look at Julia.
"Talk to him about it, quietly please, don't go yelling at each other, it won't help you." With that Devon left the tent.
As it got later and darker, the group sat down around the three campfires. Around one fire sat the people who avoided those on the other fire, the men and around the second where those who were angry with those around the first fire, the women and around the third campfire where those who really didn't wanted to have anything to do with it, like True and Uly.
"Yale why are they doing so strange?" Uly asked Yale who was sitting between the children.
"I don't know Uly, it could be because it was so warm today."
Devon walked over to Yale and the children, the only one around the third fire.
"Yale could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.
Yale stood up and followed Devon to the tent.
"Yale this can't go on like this, it's, it's ... I don't know what it is, it's sick! How are we going to travel when one half of the camp won't talk to the other half." Devon sighed and sat down on a cot.
"I suggest that we stay here for a day or two. Devon, they're tired and it was very warm today." Devon had her head in her hands, but looked up at Yale after a few minutes.
"Yeah I think you're right, I'll give them a few days. There is enough food and water and the tents are in the shade of the trees." She stood up and walked out to tell the others.
When everybody was going to their tents to sleep, Julia and Alonzo still hadn't talked to each other normally. The only thing they had done was yelling and ignoring each other. Which was a problem, because Alonzo was sleeping in Julia's tent and she didn't want to see him, which was also a problem, because the group was so small.
Julia opened the flap of the tent and walked in. She turned around to see Alonzo standing in the opening of the tent.
"What do you want, Solace? I'm sure it can wait, I'm tired and I'm going to bed now, alone!"
Alonzo moved closer to her, pulling the flap down behind him and closing the tent.
"Come on Julia, I told you I would think about it, it's not like I'm going anywhere." He tried to pull her in his arms, but she stepped away.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't mean it." He took a few steps in her direction. Danziger had told him tonight when they where sitting at the fire, that he needed to apologize to her, because she wasn't going to do it and she would stay mad at him for the rest of his life. "Of course it wouldn't last long if you don't do it" Danziger had said to him. He had spent the rest of the evening thinking of what happened today and about his answer to her.
"Right now, all I want is you," he said. "And I want to sleep" he said under his breath. Julia turned around to face him. "And what do you want when we get to New Pacifica?"
OK Solace this is going good, she hasn't started yelling at you yet he thought. "I want to..." He had to think about it for a minute. When he looked at her, he saw that she was getting angry again. " I want to build a house with a big bed in it, so that I won't be sleeping on the floor when you're dreaming again."
Julia hadn't expected this answer.
"Does that mean you're staying?" she asked, looking at Alonzo with wide eyes. She had expected that he would leave on the Colony Ship.
"If you'll let me." He moved closer to hug Julia and this time she didn't move away.
"I won't leave you Julia, I'll be where you are." He whispered to her.
"Alonzo" she looked up at him "did I really pushed you out of bed when I had a dream?"
They both started to laugh. "Yes... you did a few times"
(Part 2)
The next morning, Devon and Danziger where discussing which way they had to go, but they weren't getting close with finding a good way, 'cause Danziger wanted to go around the forest and Devon wanted to go through the forest.
"Danziger, it's faster through the forest."
"The vehicles can't go through the forest and I don't think it is faster if we have to repair them in the forest!"
"But if we go around it'll takes us an extra day, Danziger!"
The entire camp was awake and if they weren't, now they were.
"Great" Magus said "yesterday, it where Julia and Alonzo, today it's Devon and John."
"I wonder who it is tomorrow" Walman muttered.
Bess, who was standing next to Walman and Magus, pointed at the Med-tent where Alonzo came out, followed by Julia. " I guess they made up last night." she said.
Alonzo looked at the Communications tent and moved over to stand next to Walman.
"What's their problem?" he asked, looking at Devon and Danziger arguing.
"Which way to go" Walman said. Julia looked puzzled and Walman explained. "See we can go through the forest, or we can go around the forest. If we go through, Danziger thinks the vehicles will brake down and if we go around, Devon thinks it will cost us a day longer."
"Oh, I get it" Julia looked at the Communications tent where Devon and Danziger were looking at the map. "Why don't we vote for it, I mean, it's just a day right?" Julia said.
"You go and try to tell them that." Magus said pointing at the tent where they had started arguing again.
"Ok, come on flyboy, you're going to tell them that they are waking the entire camp up" Julia said as she pushed Alonzo in the direction of the communications tent.
"Devon, what happened to the advice you gave me yesterday?" Julia said as she moved into the tent. When Devon gave her a puzzled look, she explained, "Remember, don't yell at each other, it won't help you?"
"Why don't we vote for it, listen to what the rest wants?" Alonzo said when he stood next to Julia.
Danziger sighed. "Fine, fine, we'll vote. Should we vote whether we vote or not too?" he asked, mockingly.
"What, are you afraid we hurt your precious vehicles?" Devon said, starting a new discussion.
"Well where would you be without them, huh?"
Before it could become worse, Julia and Alonzo silently left, to get the rest of the group together.
Devon looked as the Transrover slowly crept over path made by the small group of colonists. She walked over to Danziger, who had been waiting for her, and together they followed the rest of the group.
"Are you still angry that we have to walk a day longer?" he asked, starting the discussion all over again.
"Could you just drop it?" she said agitated.
"Can stand it you lost, Adair? Just admit it." he retorted.
As the group could hear their leaders starting to argue again, they knew that the day would be a long one...
The End.