"So, this is it, eh?" Jayne walked down the ramp. He slipped his arm through the shoulder strap of a large shiny gun and hoisted two shovels. "It ain't nuthin' special."
"I think it's pretty" Kaylee smiled. She stood next to the merc looking out at the vast land and silhouette of tall trees against the dusky sky. The sun was setting quickly in the far horizon, night would be on soon enough.
"It's peaceful at least." Simon observed. "And good for...uh, farming. I guess."
"What else would it be used for?" Zoe asked. She checked the safety lock on her gun and slid it into the leather holster at her waist. "It's on the edge of the 'verse, not many venture out this far in The Black."
"What we all standin' round for?" Mal demanded. He entered a thick cover of trees that lined the clearing they'd landed in. He walked in the direction of the loot knowing that the others would soon fall into step behind him. "Let's get the job done and let's get off this rock." He yelled back to them.
"Have fun" Kaylee sighed. She waved as Zoe grabbed another shovel. River glided past her silently joining the others. Big black boots adorned her small dainty feet. "Me an' Simon'll be here," Kaylee continued. Her voice was tinged with sadness. "While ya'll are out havin' all the fun an' adventure."
"Oh, I'm so jealous." Simon said vacantly, his voice lifeless and dull. "Life just isn't fair. I wish I was the one going to dig up a deceased corpse and carry it all the way back to the ship."
River could faintly hear Kaylee scolding her brother as she took eager strides to easily catch up with Zoe, Mal, and Jayne.
They made good time with finding the graveyard. It was a large bare spot of land marked with the scattered headstones just a little more than half a mile from the ship and was on the far end of a farmer's tall cornfield. Each headstone was small, gray and weather stained. It was hard to see the names thanks to the early onslaught of night and the eroded letters carved into the surfaces.
"First to find Jolene gets'ta start the diggin'." Mal playfully challenged.
He and the others took out their flashlights and turned them on. Four beams of light danced buoyantly on the face of stone memorials searching for the beloved Jolene. Time passed slowly as they inspected every etched name that was dulled over the years.
Mal looked out of the corner of his eye at the reader. River was gently touching the slightly curved stonework of each marker as she walked past them. Her fingers lingering just a little while after she already passed the name and was on to the next one. Mal watched secretly as she walked gracefully among the dead, the hem of her dress, caught on a soft current of wind, fluttered about her thin knees. She stopped and knelt next to a moss covered headstone. Scrapping the velvety green layer away, she laid her ear to the rough texture of the surface.
"Wuo de ma!" Jayne exclaimed. He stood only a few feet away from the girl and was looking at her like she had grown another head. "Fong luh, what the hell ya' doin'?"
"Shh," River scolded the merc. "They're speaking to me."
"I'm sure they are." Zoe added as she continued to read the names.
"What's it sayin'?" Jayne asked with a grin of disbelief. He decided to play along with the little freakish girl's game.
"Zhu tamin ya min zhu yi." River replied. Her eyes were sharp and instead of a softened expression, her features were cold and alert. The moon's light cast dark shadows across her skin, her shoulders tensed as if she were ready to fight.
"Alright, girl." Jayne scoffed. "'Nuffa that creepy talk."
River lifted her head as her round, brown, eyes locked with Mal's. He made sure to keep his back to her. She gave him the slightest hint of a reassuring grin.
"You said I could help, so I will." She reminded him.
Instantly his mind was brought back to their time alone on the bridge. She had reached across him, their skin brushing, tingling. They had stared into each others eyes. His thoughts had spoken louder than his actions that evening and she had read every one of them and recited them,word from word, as if they were a script: "I wish I could just once kiss them lips." He was reminded of how he had grabbed her wrist, her blood pumping hot and fast under her pale skin, or was it his blood that was reeling from the contact, and of how he had agreed to let her help with the job.
Mal dragged his eyes away from the scene and cleared his throat.
"How's 'bout we find that name, eh?" He, himself, turned back to the task at hand. "I don't know 'bout ya'll but I'm not wantin' to stay here longer than I have to."
"Me neither, sir." Zoe agreed.
They continued in silence. Each moving swiftly, stepping lightly while circling the markers, as if they were in a dance.
"Found 'er." Jayne called out. He struck the hard earth with his shovel, the sharp sound of metal against the tightfisted terrain resonated in the dark. Mal and Zoe were at his side in an instant.
"Let's get at her." Zoe suggested.
They set their flashlights on the ground with the light illuminating their digging site. At first the earth was unyielding and put up a grand fight against the effort of the three, but soon enough they got past the surface and it was smooth sailing from there.
Jayne stopped to rest for a minute, sweat dripped down his face and neck in little glistening beads. He looked up at the lip of the hole they'd created.
"Where's the gorram girl?" He asked looking about frantically for her.
Mal looked up expecting to see River sitting above them looking back at him with that sly grin of hers. She was nowhere to be found.
'Where'd you run off to now little one?'
Mal debated whether or not he should just drop everything and go after her.
'She could get hurt, it's dark. What if she can't find her way back to the ship? What if - '
"Well," Jayne cut through his thoughts with his deep, gruff voice. "We might as well dig us some graves too, the Doc's gonna kill us."
Mal decided that it would be useless to chase a crazy girl in the forest at night. Even though he tried to keep his face free of any telltale signs and continued his shoveling diligently, the captain couldn't help but to wonder and worry about River.
Zoe stuck her shovel into the ground for another load of dirt, a clear thud came from the soil. The metal had hit something other than more earth.
"Jackpot." Mal smiled. His hands rushed to the ground and dusted the loose dirt from the surface of the casket.
They made quick work of dislodging the metal box from the earth. Zoe climbed from the hole and pulled one end of the casket as Jayne and Mal pushed it up to her. Once that was accomplished, they climbed out and joined her above ground.
The three of them paused to enjoy the moment. They had found the goods and it was in their possession. Jayne and Zoe looked at the metal box apprehensively as if the body inside would come alive at any moment. Mal tried not to appear anxious as he looked towards the tree line to see if he could, somehow, discover any signs of the girl. He didn't expect her to, but he hoped she would call out to them; to him. He hoped to at least heard her rustling around somewhere nearby. The only thing he did hear was the loading of a shotgun barrel and an unfamiliar woman's voice.
"Hwoon dahn." She spoke with a subtle twang in her words; a result of country life on the edge of The Black. "What the hell is going on here?"
Chinese Translations:
Wuo de ma: Mother of Jesus
Fong luh: Crazy
Zhu tamin ya min zhu yi: Watch your back
Hwoon dahn: Son of a bitch.