Chapter 5: Five Months
The following morning, 'Zona sighed as she awoke inside her bed. She rubbed her eyes, attempting to blink back stars as she sat up in bed. Everything was sore from the previous nights events, causing her to grunt as she swung her legs over the bed. Goddamn, I shouldn't have said he could go crazy. She chastised herself, regretting her poor choice of words to North.
The sheets around her were still wet with their juices, and 'Zona's face scrunched up in pure disgust as the memories attempted to flood back. Definitely shouldn't have said that. She confirmed, standing up and hobbling over to her closet. Once she had the armor on and operational, her movement became easier.
'Zona quickly left her room once her armor was on, her hunger driving her as she strode to the mess hall. Once she walked in, she glanced around, searching for Arkansas. Instead, she only saw North and South sitting together at a table, York, Carolina, and Wyoming sat at another table across from them. HE's usually here by now… 'Zona mused, grabbing her tray of food and grudgingly sitting with North and South, as to not arouse suspicion.
"Sleep well?" North asked with a small smirk on his face.
"No, actually, this small annoying thing kept bugging me all night. I couldn't get a wink." 'Zona replied coolly, smirking at North as his expression fell.
He didn't reply, looking down at his pancakes and began attempting to drown them in syrup. South chuckled, shaking her head and standing up to leave. As South left, 'Zona took the opportunity to glance around the mess hall nonchalantly, searching for any sign of the blue and purple Freelancer. Absolutely nothing… Where the fuck is he?
Upon taking the last bite of her pancakes, 'Zona stood up to go throw it away. On her way out of the room, she nudged York's shoulder at his table. "You see Arkansas around anywhere?" She whispered; quiet enough that only they heard.
York turned to face her, "Yeah he was here earlier. He said he had some thing or another to go do, so he left as soon as he finished." Rolling his eyes, he added, "Something's up with that man. No idea what, but something sure is. Why, is something up?"
'Zona nodded in response, exiting the mess hall quickly despite the odd look that both York and North shot at her back. I sure hope not. She prayed, stalking down the halls towards Ark's room. Recognizing a pissed off Freelancer when they saw one, the onboard crew of the Mother of Invention made an obvious effort to stay out of her way.
As soon as she reached his door, 'Zona raised her fist and banged on the door four times in quick succession. "Arkansas, I know you can hear me, now open the hell up!" She shouted, more out of frustration than anger.
After a few moments that seemed like a lifetime, Ark opened the door. His eyes were just the slightest tinge of red, and he looked as though he'd prefer to be anywhere but there. "What do you want 'Zona…" He groaned.
When he asked, 'Zona realized she had no idea what she had meant to say. Nor any idea why she was so upset at his lack of turning up at their unspoken regular breakfast table in the morning. Not like he really cares anyways, that bit is obvious. "…Nothing." She replied evenly, her silver visor staring up into Ark's brown eyes.
Ark raised an eyebrow at this, "So you charge down the hall's, scare the shit out of every crew member onboard, worry York enough that he felt the need to call me ahead of time, and then you say it's nothing?"
Pausing for a moment as she realized how bad it sounded, 'Zona simply chose to try and get out of the situation as fast as possible. "Yup. I'll see you around Arkansas." As she turned to leave, she heard Ark sigh and shut his door. Gee, thanks...
As she walked, 'Zona noticed that she had no idea where to really go from there, instead now standing alone in the empty hall. What the fuck am I doing?! She screamed internally, slamming her gauntleted fist into the wall. The metal screeched in protest, denting under her blow as she attempted to keep any other emotional outbursts in check. I don't even like Ark; I didn't want to be his fucking friend in the first place! Besides, he's the one who kept pushing it when I told him I don't wanna talk about it.
As she continued her rant inside her head, 'Zona began to walk about the waking ship. Eventually she noticed that she was walking past CT's room. Hearing the feint muffle of talking inside, 'Zona was unable to resist herself. She took off her helmet, placing her ear against the door to listen in. "No way, you're into Doctor Who?!" 'Zona heard CT cry out cheerfully, an unknown man's voice chuckling in response.
"Oh yes, and before you ask which Doctor I think is the best, I think that they're all equally amazing gentlemen." The unknown man spoke cheerfully, yet with an air of caution to avoid causing any arguments.
"I think David Tennant is the best Doctor." 'Zona resisted the urge to facepalm at her friend's celebrity crush on the Scottish actor from the 21st century. "He's just perfect!"
Rolling her eyes, 'Zona moved on down the hall. Wait... Could that be Florida? She mused, realizing she had never heard the dark blue Freelancer speak even once. Oh well, who gives a fuck. 'Zona shook her head, dark thoughts continuing to intrude into even her everyday thoughts, preventing her from focusing on anything else.
Get out of my head! 'Zona wanted to scream, as her mind continued to torture her with the memories of every horrible act North had committed towards her. Changing out of her calm stride, she began a frantic sprint randomly around the ship, pushing and shoving crew members and Freelancer's alike out of her way.
She continued on until her body physically couldn't take anymore, leaning against the wall with her head between her legs as 'Zona attempted to catch her breath. Upon looking up, she glanced out the largest viewport into space she had seen around the entire Mother of Invention. The stars swirled by, and the lone Freelancer simply wondered aloud, "What the hell can I do?"