Chapter Six
Big Brother

Maddy had not realized her behavior was changing. She didn't know she was acting any different than usual, and that it was apparently difficult not to notice the sudden shift in her mood. She had been humming to herself when she had to wash the dishes; content to just smile for no reason other than the boy on her mind. She had been dancing around in the bathroom.

It was just little things. She was happy, and it showed. Her happiness reflected in her every time she spoke, or danced, or hummed, or even when she was just sitting there doing nothing at all.

Today had been moving pretty quickly. It was another day of training, and everyone was progressing rather well. Lieutenant Washington had started off today's lesson with a quick review of what they had learned the day prior, before moving on to other procedures they all needed to be made aware of if they ever became separated from the settlement.

"If you were lost in the jungle, and you had to find your way out," the lieutenant said as she walked in front of them, turning to give them all a questioning look. "Which way is north?" She waited when no one answered right away.

Mark was doing it again.

Maddy felt his eyes on her the moment the question had been asked, and stubbornly kept her lips firmly shut. She saw him inhale briefly, a glint in his eye; he them looked forward to address the entire group, although she just knew his words were meant solely for her.

"Lieutenant Washington asked a question," he prompted evenly as his eyebrows rose slightly in anticipation for her inevitable answer.

Maddy tried very hard not to smile as his eyes came back to her expectantly. He was challenging her again. He was calling her out, and daring her to be herself after what she had revealed to him yesterday.

Rolling her eyes in amusement, Maddy lifted her arm into the air.

"Yeah," Lieutenant Washington gestured, waiting for the answer.

Maddy pointed to her right without even pausing to think about it; she had determined which direction north was the moment the question had been asked. "That way," she said.

As the day before, Lieutenant Washington made no move to confirm just yet. "And you know this how?" she asked instead.

This time Maddy did turn, and she pointed to a nearby tree. "The moss on that tree," she told her. "However sometimes using moss may not be entirely accurate; therefore I also used the position of the sun. East is that way, because it is where the sun rose. Following the trajectory determines that the opposite of it is west, which means that north is in between the two."

Lieutenant Washington nodded, giving her a questioning look. "What about at night? What would you do when there is no sun, and you cannot rely on tree moss due to the inaccuracy?"

"Navigate by the stars," Maddy said promptly, narrowing her eyes slightly at the satisfied grin on Mark's face. She wondered if he was the reason she was being asked this particular question. "The main constellations to locate would be Ursa Major and Cassiopeia, because directly in between them is Polaris—the Northern Star. None of the constellations set, and they are always visible even if their positions are a few degrees different here."

The older woman looked impressed, and a rare smile graced her features. "Gold star, Shannon," she said in praise, nodding her head.

Maddy smiled to herself. It was a good feeling to be praised for her knowledge instead of ridiculed, especially since even the teachers at her previous school had not liked her very much. She turned, and saw pride reflecting in Mark's eyes as one corner of his mouth lifted, as if he wanted to smile at her, but wasn't entirely sure it would be appropriate.

Lieutenant Washington eventually showed them how to construct an improvised compass using only a sewing needle from the survival kits they had all been given; stroking the needle through their own hair to polarize the metal. They could either suspend the needle from a thread or float it on a leaf in the water, and it aligned itself appropriately.

Once again the hours seemed to fly by far too quickly. Maddy wasn't sure if the pace was due to the useful curriculum, or the fact that Mark kept walking by her often to ensure she was not having any difficulty with her work. He sometimes distracted her, yes; however she found herself not particularly caring when he did.

When lunchtime came around, Mark had simply asked her what she was in the mood for. She could not dissuade him from paying for it despite her efforts. She decided that it would probably be best to stop bringing her own lunch entirely since he seemed to be determined to treat her out.

The two spend the whole hour sitting atop the observation deck near the field, simply enjoying each other's company as they spoke about random topics.

Maddy had never quite opened up so fully to anyone before. Their conversations ranged from the most ridiculous things, such as reconfigured lasers and how to create a star-find, to the more heart wrenching things she hated to talk about. She wished he would be a bit more revealing, and though he was beginning to open his inner most thoughts to her, he was still a bit reserved when speaking about himself.

No matter how much or how little he was willing to share, Maddy offered him no judgment. He never judged her so she would not judge him. She simply listened in quiet understanding, while memorizing every detail of his expressions as he spoke. She would probably never get tired of watching him.

Maddy loved the way he would just touch her so casually. She had become more accustomed to the random touches, no longer startled when he took her hand; the palm of his hand sliding against her own as they began to walk back to the gates.

Disappointed as she was to finally separate before they reached the congregating group, Maddy was still content because she knew he was still nearby. He moved to join his comrades as they awaited everyone else, while she moved to stand beside her siblings.

A serene smile was on her face. It was unintentional, though still there for all to see. Her eyes closed briefly as she committed their interaction to memory, wanting to savor the way she felt for days to come. It never occurred to her that this was not normal behavior, or that she was rousing suspicion because of it.

Or that it was a surefire way to grab her brother's attention.

"Who the hell is he?"

And just like that, the bubble of happiness surrounding her popped with an almost tangible sound in her mind. Her eyes flew open, shifting to the angry form of her brother standing just in front of her. His arms were crossed over his chest, and everything about the pose screamed that he was completely agitated.

Josh had been acting a bit odd ever since yesterday afternoon, though he had not approached her to talk about it like he normally would. Today she had noticed his eyes moved to observe Mark at random, a deep seated frown etched into his forehead. Maddy had not even considered what it might have meant, because Mark was always so close by and it was hard not to be drawn to him and forget about everything else.

"Maddy? He was holding your hand," Josh said through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes as she shifted nervously. Her gaze helplessly moved down to Zoe, who was watching with a mere curiosity, probably not understanding this any more than Maddy herself did. "Who is he? Why does he even think he can touch you? He looks older than you; he should not be doing that!"

Maddy was told between dismay and befuddled amusement at his angry tirade. She had never seen her brother act quite so annoyed before, not even when he had been angry with their father last week—lashing out, moody and an utter brat. He looked positively furious now.

Joshua Shannon was quite possibly the least threatening boy in the entire world. It made no difference whether he was surrounded by the hundreds of people within the settlement here, or the millions of billions polluting the world back through time; Josh made teddy bears look absolutely terrifying in comparison.

To see him appear as if he were five seconds away from marching over to where Mark Reynolds stood—several inches taller, probably quite a few pounds heavier from thick, muscular arms, and armed with a very heavy, very large gun—it was almost laughable.

It occurred to Maddy at that moment that this was probably the first time her brother had ever seen her in the company of a boy. Especially of a boy who could possibly be, hopefully was, interested in more than just friendship with her. And clearly, she was interested in him, if her eyes betrayed her anymore by straying to him every time they were near each other.

Josh had always been protective of her. He knew more about the bullying than anyone. She could even recall one day that he'd appeared home with a split lip, several cuts and bruised knuckles, looking grimly satisfied despite his own injuries. It was had discovered that one of her main tormentors had actually been a close friend of his.

Needless to say, that particular friend was never seen nor heard from again.

Perhaps he may not look threatening, but he would try. Josh would always be a teddy bear to her, even if he could apparently turn into a real grizzly when it came to her safety or happiness. Her brother would willfully take on a man twice his size, one that he probably had no chance of beating considering Mark was probably trained in combat, even if it brought him to his knees… and she loved him all the more for it.

Even if she was exasperated by the way he was glaring at the boy she was coming to love.

And to think, Maddy had almost gone to her brother for advice on how to recognize when a boy was flirting with her instead of Skye; the other girl had surprisingly offered her some great insight. It would have been a disaster if she had actually gone to Josh if his current behavior was anything to go by. He would have exploded at the word boy.

If he was this irritated just after seeing a boy innocently holding her hand, who knew what he would do if he also knew that said boy had been spending almost every afternoon with her for the past week. His head would probably explode if he learned that Mark had been sitting beneath the stars with her, or holding her hand while flirting, and making lemonade, yeah… Josh really didn't need to know about any of that.

"You know him," Maddy said calmly, hoping to assuage his newfound protective streak as the group began to migrate through the grasslands and toward the clearing in the forest. She wanted to avoid a confrontation between him and Mark at all costs, so she steered them into the center of the crowd to put some space between them.

Because if Josh somehow managed to scare Mark off now that she was finally beginning to understand how much he meant to her, Maddy would use her entire arsenal of blackmail material to make him regret it… she was not above threatening to show Skye the video archives she had of him using one of her dresses as a cape as he ran around in his underwear, singing ancient rock songs with an air guitar if it came to that.

"I do?" he frowned at her skeptically.

"Yes, you do. His name is Mark Reynolds," she told him gently. "And he was the soldier who showed us to our house the other day. Remember, he warned you that our house wasn't painted, because some of the newer housing units were unfinished…?"

Josh was frowning deeply; she could almost see the thoughts rapidly surging through his head as she tried to conjure up the memory. She knew the moment he had, because his eyes suddenly widened and he rounded on her. "That was him?" he demanded to know. "He was the one who was at the house last week, too, wasn't he? He—"

Maddy rolled her eyes and cut him off. "Yes, that was him. And yes, he was the one who came and stayed with me and Zoe. He kept us both calm and updated while we waited for you, mom and dad to come home."

"And that makes him think he can hold your hand?"

"I want to hold his hand."

In an instant, both Josh and Maddy froze on the spot. The words had not come from her, even though she had been thinking the exact same ones in her mind.

Instead, the comment had come from the five year old who was currently walking between them; a miniature version of their mother if there ever was one. Zoe was smiling happily to herself as she joined the conversation. "He's pretty," the little girl continued.

Maddy could not help but smile at her sister. A laugh escaped her when she caught sight of her brother's face. He seemed horrified to discover that Mark Reynolds apparently had some kind of superpower when it came to the Shannon women. It was an accurate assessment at least. She wondered what her brother would think if she told him that even their mother thought he was absolutely gorgeous.

"Kill me now," Josh groaned, shaking his head at them. He rolled his eyes, giving her one last frown before it faded into a disgruntled acceptance. "So…" he drawled slowly, and she knew without even looking at him that his lips were curled in disgust. "Mark Reynolds."

"Maddy pursed her lips, sharing a look of amusement with Zoe at the way he said it. "Are you really going to speak his name as if it were some vile disease? Because that is oh so mature, Joshua,"

"Might as well be a disease," he muttered childishly to himself. She gasped at the new levels of immaturity he was display, and slapped his shoulder lightly, giving him a wide eyed look.

"Josh!"

Josh crossed his arms. "It's my right as your big brother to hate him."

"You don't even know him," she sighed, exasperated.

"Doesn't matter," he maintained, scoffing at her. "I still hate him."

"And why is that?"

"Any man who thinks he can even look at my sister in that way," He scowled; his eyes ahead and she turned just in time to see Mark glance away from her. "Warrants automatic loathing. No arguing," he added. "You are my baby sister, and it is my responsibility to despise all boys who come within twenty feet of you."

Maddy could not even argue that she wasn't the baby of the family anymore. She was too busy watching as he glared at random boys nearby, as if to prove his point, to be irritated at him. She buried her face in her hands, stifling a laugh at his antics.

"You are impossible," she said, unable to hide her grin as Zoe began to giggle.

Josh raised his eyebrows, giving her a devilish smirk. "Just wait until you tell dad."

Maddy felt her eyes widen at event he suggestion of it. She honestly had no idea how her father would take to the news. She didn't even know where to begin to broach the subject. Would he be angry at first, as Josh had been? Or would he be accepting, like her mother?

Now that Maddy thought about it, her father was the only one in her family that had no idea she had even seen Mark more than the one time he stayed with them while Jos was in danger beyond the gates. She had never thought to mention him.

It made her feel a bit guilty. Her father cared about her so much, and yet she had not even thought to talk to him about a boy she liked. She used to go to him about a lot of things, but since his imprisonment, she had to rely on just Josh and her mother in situation she didn't know how to handle on her own.

Maddy knew her father deserved to know, her perhaps he could even help her. He was a man; he had to be able to determine if flirting constituted as more than just playful words… right? She could ask him. She would ask him, and sometime soon. He would probably be too tired to talk today, but Maddy knew he had tomorrow afternoon off.

The young woman decided she would talk him then.

"Alright people," Lieutenant Washington called, getting everyone's attention. She gathered them in front of a tree, moving behind the base of it herself so she could still look at everyone as she spoke. "Yesterday you learned about how to survive off of the vegetation. However the fruits and vegetables provided by the forest can only get you so far before you become malnourished."

The woman removed a large knife from its sheath down her leg, and gouged the blade into the low hanging branch in front of her. While she was doing so, Lieutenant Washington explained that the section of bark was a bit darker than the rest of it, with various holes eater through by some kind of bug. She jimmied the knife a bit, just until the piece of bark loosened so that she could pull it away.

Josh lifted Zoe into his arms so she could get a better look at what the woman was doing, and he immediately shared a look of disgust with the young girl. Maddy peeked forward herself and her stomach rolled, her nose wrinkling at the sight.

Beneath the hallowed branch, dozens of small little worms were squirming within, most likely eating the tree itself like termites. Everyone grimaced as they realized what must have been coming next, considering the speech before.

Lieutenant Washington pointed to the bugs, and began explaining. "These here are beetle grubs," she said calmly. "They are edible, and they are nutritious. Eating them will provide you with the protein you will be lacking from the vegetation alone,"

"Ew," Zoe said, her face scrunched up.

Lieutenant Washington lifted her eyebrows, looking at her. "Ew? You find yourself low on provisions and starving, you won't be saying 'ew," She selected a single beetle grub from the branch, and Maddy made a face herself, realizing her intent. "You'll be saying…"

Everyone watched in shocked horror as the beetle disappeared into the woman's mouth, and Lieutenant Washington just gave the bug a thoughtful chew. She was probably taking longer than necessary to eat t, just because they were all watching her with a disgusted anticipation.

"Mm-mm," she nodded in conclusion, as if the beetle were some delectable morsel. The lieutenant then looked at the collective group of green faces and smirked at them. "Your assignment for right now is to locate a tree on your own that is infested with beetle grubs. Get to it,"

Zoe buried her face into Josh's shoulder. "Gross…" she whimpered. "Do we have to eat them too?"

Josh grimaced. "God I hope not. That woman is not sane. Why would anyone want to eat bugs?"

"Actually, entomophagy was still a modern practice throughout cultures all around the world before most of the insects died out from lack of plant life to sustain them," Maddy told her siblings helpfully. "Before humans hunted or farmed, insects were quite important to our diet, because they are a good source of not only protein, but vitamins, fats and minerals."

"… There's an actual word for it?" Josh sounded horrified. "How do you even know that?"

Maddy bit her lip, and lowered her voice a bit. "I may have accidently, somehow, possibly… hacked into Commander Taylor's personal archives last night from my plex," she admitted, having the grace to look somewhat embarrassed as he gave her a bemused expression.

"Of course you did."

Maddy had not meant to hack the files; it wasn't on purpose. She had been perfectly content to just scan the public library on the cortex, reading up on what the rest of their survival training might entail, when she had found a book she could not access. She had only realized who the book belonged to once she was already reading it, and Commander Taylor really should invest in a proper firewall because it had only taken her five minutes to enter his system.

"He has hundreds of digital books on survival and world cultures that date all the way back to the fifteen hundreds," she added enthusiastically. "And did you know that unintentional ingestion of bugs actually occurs all of the time, especially here? Even from just something like the flour we used to make pancakes yesterday morning,"

Josh closed his eyes briefly, a shudder surging through his body. "We don't like you right now, so we're going to go find our own tree, right Zo?" he asked, and the young girl echoed his shudder, shooting her a look of revulsion as she clutched onto him.

Maddy watched them go, shaking her head with a smile. Ingesting insects would not be her ideal meal either, and even just thinking about eating one of the mealworms squirming around in the bark of a tree made her lunch churn within her stomach. But, she conceded, it was practical knowledge… just in case.

"Your brother should be grateful," Mark said as he approached, hopefully only having heard the tail end of their conversation only. She would hate to put him in a position where he had to report her for hacking, even if it had been unintentional. "If Lieutenant Guzman was teaching this course, all of you would have gone through this particular lesson yesterday,"

"What is so bad about that?"

Mark smirked at her. "Just think about it… it's a week after you all arrive; everyone probably had a really big breakfast, trying out as many foods as possible all day since they are finally allowed to eat real food," he told her, waiting a beat before finishing, "And he makes you all eat at least three of those beetles after finding them,"

Maddy made a face. "Seriously?" Now she was worried as much as Zoe had been. "We won't have to do that today, right?" she asked nervously.

"… No," Mark finally said after a long pause designed to make her squirm. She nudged him with her shoulder in reprimand, her eyes scanning the trees for the markers they had been taught for how to locate a beetle grub nest. "Alicia is much nicer than that."

Maddy frowned at him; the name was unfamiliar and she felt a momentary pang of panic. She had never heard him mention her before. Her heart skipped a beat within her chest, and she bit her lip, ducking her head slightly at yet more undeterminable feelings he managed to provoke.

"Alicia?" she questioned, hoping he could not hear the uncertain tone in her voice.

Mark paused slightly, and she cursed her inability to keep her emotions hidden from him. "Lieutenant Washington," he answered easily, gesturing toward the woman who was roaming the clearing to ensure everyone was doing what they were meant to be doing. "She was the reason…"

Maddy glanced at him when he trailed off. "What?" she asked, wondering what he was about to say, but he only shook his head. He lifted his weapon as he peered ahead of him, and she followed his line of sight; she saw movement, the bushes rustling as a creature peeked out.

A mighty full toothed jaw plucked at a tree; apparently humans were not the only beings to consume beetle grubs as part of their diet. A long wing curled forward, formed by a membrane of leathery skin over muscle and other tissue, the color an almost onyx mixed with gray speckles.

It looked a lot smaller than the pterodactyls that constantly flew overhead, above the settlement to reach the mountainside where their nests lied. If Maddy had to classify it as any dinosaur she knew of, she would say it was closer to a pterosaur, due to the highly dangerous looking claws it possessed.

Maddy held her breath when the head swiveled in her direction, her eyes wide as it stared at her. Abruptly the creature was in the air, swooping forward at her with startling speed. She felt a pressure against her waist and she was suddenly falling. She landed among the soft grass and moss with Mark looming above her as the beast flew off into the sky.

Something glinted in his starling gray eyes as Maddy stared up at him with belated fear. She had never once thought that the creature would attempt to attack her. For a moment in the confusion though, she had been sure it was aiming to maim her face.

Mark was breathing heavily, still supporting his muscular frame above her like a protective shield. She trembled slightly, and Mark did too a moment later, air rushing out of his mouth in rapid bursts. He studied her carefully, as if to determine whether or not she had been injured.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, and his voice was lower than normal.

It took her a moment to realize it was fear in his voice.

"No," she replied, her voice shaking even though she was fine; just startled. He released one breath that puffed against her cheek, and she could smell a hint of the fruit they had eaten for lunch on his breath before he pulled away, rising to his knees beside her. "What was that?" she asked as he helped her to her feet.

Mark shook his head. "Not sure."

Maddy looked around for any sign of it, and suddenly realized that they had somehow ventured a bit further into the jungle and farther away from the clearing than they had intended to. He placed his hand against the small of her back, everything about his posture screaming just how on alert he was.

"Just… stay close," he said, guiding her forward and back toward where everyone else was. He paused just before they arrived, locating her brother and sister with his eyes just as she did. His gaze then shifted over to the lieutenant. "Stay close to your brother and Zoe. I better go tell Alicia what happened."

Maddy nodded, reluctant to see him go.

Before leaving, Mark smiled at her. He leaned forward to press a gentle kiss upon her forehead, much like he had the day before. She found her eyes falling shut at the sensation, her stomach fluttering with butterflies.

Maddy may have hated to say goodbye to him, but she loved how he said it to her.