Verita (13 page)

My confusion is replaced with fury. “Is that how you see it?” I think about mentioning how chauvinistic and just plain wrong he is, but decide that might be counterproductive. Instead I focus on the accusations. “First of all, it was your friends that kept hitting the ball at me, and I was in the first row. The back row’s job is to get whatever is beyond the first row’s reach. I’m sorry, but everything was in my reach. Second, you never bothered asking me how I felt about public displays of affection; if you had you would have known they make me uncomfortable. And finally, I was perfectly fine not jumping. It was your friends that started it, I just happened to finish it. And I’ll do it again the next time they imply I can’t do something because I’m a girl.”

I start to walk away.

“Wait,” he calls after me.

“What?” I snap.

“Sorry.” He sighs. There is a defeated expression on his face. “The guys were harassing me in the locker room, and I let it get the better of me.” He reaches over, pulls me to him and kisses me. The kiss is brief. “You smell like chlorine,” is all he says. Then he walks away, heading toward the gym. I watch him leave, baffled.

Boys. I just can’t figure them out
.

Time crawls extremely slowly over the next three days. On Friday, Ryan is once again overly polite towards me. He’s obviously still irritated about the grass. I just hope that his mood passes by the time of the field visit. I make no attempts to meet up with Brody over the weekend. I’m still irritated by his reaction at the pool and his abrupt departure.

So, I spend the majority the weekend with
Andi
. She keeps us constantly busy, so I don’t have time to mope. And when she thinks I look too somber, she makes me feel better by bashing both Ryan and Brody and criticizing men in general for being perpetual idiots.

She always knows just what to say.

Chapter 8

Finally, the day of the field visit arrives. Dr. Brant informs us that we’ll exit through the northernmost west gate. Our initial search grid abuts that gate. We add two soldiers to our team, Shane and Dean. Their only purpose is to provide protection. I just hope they’ll blend into the background well, and don’t get in our way. Already I have my doubts. Shane is short and stocky, with greasy hair that hangs into his eyes, and he’s constantly sniffling. He’s the complete opposite of what you’d expect a soldier to be. Dean, on the other hand, could be the poster boy for the ultimate soldier. He towers over all of us, has a broad chest, wide shoulders, and arms that are all muscle. With his dark chocolate complexion, fierce black eyes, and stern expression, I’m reminded of a grizzly bear. With Mr. Sniffles and a grizzly in tow, I have absolutely zero chance of seeing any wildlife today.

But then I’m given some hope. Molly trips and Dean quickly and agilely grabs and steadies her. A warm smile that gives his eyes a twinkle spreads across his face, and I realize there might be more teddy than grizzly to him. A nice, stealthy teddy bear, I hope – then Shane sniffles loudly.

After waiting for and grabbing a passing shuttle, we stop at the field lab. Dr. Brant gives us a tour. I like this lab even more than the base lab. This is fortunate, because I’ll be spending much more time here than at base. We can’t bring unknown specimens onto the base, so we’ll have to study them in the field lab.

The field lab is actually a multipurpose building. We’ll use it as a base camp for field visits within walking range, and we’ll spend our quarantine time here when we travel further than the initial one-mile radius.

The building’s east entrance is connected to the base’s fence and is the only entrance back into the base for us. There are actually two sets of glass double doors. Dr. Brant explains that once field visits past the one-mile radius begin, the outermost door is programmed to open only on the base side. It’s a step to ensure quarantine is maintained. We each must scan our palms to gain access to each door. It seems a bit like overkill to me.

The doors lead to a long hallway which divides the two sleeping/bathing areas. The kitchen and lounge are at the other end of the hallway. It isn’t much: small, but adequate for our team. On the other side is another set of glass double doors that lead to the lab. Again, we have to scan our palms to gain access. This one is three times the size of our base lab. There are windows lining the three remaining walls, giving an incredible view of the field we’ll be studying. In the center of the room, two tables run the room’s length. Our computer tables are on the south and west walls. Each desk contains several monitors; I assume the extra monitors are for monitoring the field cameras at the same time as completing data entry. I thought we had all the equipment needed in the base lab, but this puts all that to shame. On the west end of the north wall are two more sets of double glass doors; they create a mud room area to drop off dirty clothes and equipment before reentering the lab. Again I notice palm scans are needed for access and I wonder: just who do they think is going to break in or out?

Dr. Brant makes it clear that she is taking the lead for this field visit. I’m relieved. She reviews our search grids with us. Our initial area to research is one square mile. From there, the grids fan outward. Dr. Brant is clear that she expects us to concentrate our attention on the first area. We are to exhaust the information from this area before moving elsewhere. Our initial two days will be spent mostly touring the area to familiarize ourselves. I ask if it’s okay if we place cameras or collect samples. Dr. Brant nods her approval.

“Ryan, I was hoping you could start collecting some ground cover samples. I’d like to find a non-invasive specimen that we can use for landscaping on the base,” Dr. Brant asks casually. My mouth drops. “There are several bio-domes just north of your lab that you can use for testing the various specimens.” She gestures in the direction of the domes as the blood drains from my face.
What are the odds
?

“Sure, okay.” Ryan’s tone is calm, but I see his hands tighten into fists and his posture stiffen. When Dr. Brant turns away, he shoots me an angry glare.

Of all the things she could have asked, she picks that. My stomach tightens into a knot; I know what Ryan is thinking. I had gone a level above to force him to do what I wanted. I shake my head and try to mouth that I didn’t, but he had already turned his back to me.

Dr. Brant leads us out of the lab. I just hope Ryan’s anger doesn’t spoil the whole trip. I’ll try to talk to him as soon as I have a chance.

I get an eerie feeling as I walk through the wilderness. Everything is familiar and strange at the same time. I keep expecting to see something totally shocking, but the only things out of the ordinary are the tropical-looking plants everywhere. It looks like the majority of our initial square is made up of grassy fields. The trees are only present sporadically here. We pass a small grove that reminds me of cherry trees, but with the bark of a birch tree. Delicate pink and white flowers are interlaced with the small, light-green leaves of the trees. I have the impulse to pick one of the flowers, but out of the corner of my eye I notice Ryan glaring at me, just waiting for me to make the mistake.

As I expected, we don’t see any animals. Thanks to Shane, they know we are coming, and go into hiding well before we’re anywhere near them. So, instead, I focus on finding tracks, scat, and other evidence of their presence, and I place cameras where I find them. Jake, meanwhile, has no issue finding bugs. His biggest problem is deciding which ones to get samples of. The digital camera I suggested he take comes in handy. The bugs he doesn’t collect, he photographs from every possible angle. I enjoy watching him. He’s as happy as a kid in a candy store.

Molly is more conservative about her collecting. Once I’ve placed my cameras, I focus on helping her chisel samples off of the various rocks we encounter.

Throughout the day, I watch as Ryan dutifully collect samples of the different ground covers we encounter. He never complains, but I keep my distance, trying to give him some time to cool down.

We eat a late lunch in the field, carefully removing our food from our sealed storage containers and placing any remains back into the containers when we’re done. We don’t want to take any chance of attracting unwanted predators or pests too close to us. After I finish lunch, I try to get Ryan to talk to me, but he deliberately ignores my attempts to get his attention without Dr. Brant noticing.

After lunch, we head back toward the lab. Everyone is eager to work with the samples they’ve collected. Dr. Brant seems satisfied with what we’ve accomplished, and not disappointed that we have ended the tour early for the day. She spends the remainder of the day working with Ryan. She’s interested in making sure her pet project gets off to a good start. I sigh, knowing she has no idea of the grief she’s caused.

I busy myself with checking the reception of the cameras I had placed. Once I finish, I help Jake sort through and catalog the pictures he has taken. He willingly accepts my help. He’s anxious to get it all in the database before any of the other teams can beat him to it. He easily has several days’ worth of information to be cataloged, and he is grateful for the help. We work right up until dinner.

After dinner, I corner Ryan. I’m not giving him a chance to ignore me this time.

“We need to talk,” I state quietly, so no one else can hear.

“I have nothing to say.” He tries to turn from me, but I step back in front of him again.

I try to reason with him. “Look, either we can have a whispered argument right here and quickly gain everyone’s attention, or you can take a walk with me and we can discuss this like adults. It’s your choice.”

He sighs, giving in to my determination. “Fine, lead the way.”

I inform Jake we’ll be right outside, and I lead Ryan just far enough away to be out of anyone’s earshot.

“Well?” He stands with his arms crossed, staring down at me.

I resist the urge to cringe away from his accusing glare. “Ryan, you need to know I didn’t say anything to Dr. Brant.” I take a deep breath to steady myself. I’m not used to having to prove my truthfulness.

“Okay, sure.” There’s no missing the sarcasm in his voice. “I knew you wouldn’t leave it alone, but this… this is beneath you.” He huffs and glares at me disgustedly.

“It’s just a coincidence that she thought the same as me. I guess we’re both sick of seeing dirt everywhere.” My eyes are pleading. He has to see that I’m telling the truth.

“Uh huh.”

He’s still not buying it, and I’m starting to get angry. Who the heck is he not to believe me?

“Look, you don’t know me very well, but I would appreciate being given the benefit of the doubt. If I had an issue with you, I would approach you directly. If the grass had been that important to me, I would have worked to convince you of its importance – but frankly, I figured if you weren’t interested, another team would take care of it.” The pitch in my voice rises higher as my anger builds.

“But now I don’t have a choice. Dr. Brant has made it clear that she wants me to take care of it. Awfully convenient, if you ask me,” he snarls. His voice is bitter.

“Look, you can either choose to believe me and act like an adult, or continue to feel betrayed over something that I didn’t do and have it affect the way our whole team functions.” I throw my hands up in frustration.

Ryan begins to pace. “Don’t try to pin this on me. You’re the one who was so interested in the stupid grass samples.”

“Fine! Don’t believe me. Ask Dr. Brant if that’s what it takes.” I
fold
my arms against myself in a feeble attempt to contain the anger I feel.

“You know I can’t do that without looking like a fool,” he challenges.

“Too late; you already do.” I feel myself beginning to shake with anger. “You’re acting like a spoiled child.” I shake my head in disbelief and walk back to the lab. I may not be able to get Ryan to see reason, but I’m at least going to maintain my remaining composure.

“Hey, do you need me to talk to him?” Jake sounds apologetic. “Sorry. I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything. It was pretty easy to figure out what going on as soon as Dr. Brant mentioned the ground cover.” He looks at me sympathetically.

“No, I don’t need him to think I have everyone ganging up on him. He needs to figure out for himself that I’m telling the truth, and that I never said anything to Dr. Brant.”

“You didn’t?” Jake looks surprised.

“Not you too?” I drop my head into my hands. How many times tonight will I have to defend myself? “If I have a problem with anyone on our team, I’m going to go to them directly. The only way I would go to Dr. Brant is if I thought there was a safety issue, and the person I had a problem with would have fair warning before it got to that point, understand?”

Holding his hands up, Jake quickly says, “Hey, I don’t have an issue with you. Frankly, I would have brought the idea to Dr. Brant’s attention. It’s a great opportunity for our team to show what it can do. I’m sure Ryan will come around to see it that way, eventually. I think he’s just pissed it wasn’t his idea, and that he’s being told what to do by a girl. Two girls, for that matter.” He gestures his head in Dr. Brant’s direction.

“So that’s the real reason he’s had such an issue with me being team lead? Because I don’t have the right
body parts
?” I stare at him as the impact of his words hit me.