Episode 5 (Serena Season 1)

When my eyes crack open, I feel a throbbing in my temples and groan.

The sun is a little too bright as I sit up,

although for soe reason my back doesn't hurt as much.

(I was pretty relaxed when we finally crashed out.)

(There wasn't a drop of champagne left.)

Logan: "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty."

MC: "Ugh."

MC: "How are you so chipper?"

Logan: "Because I downed two bottles of water before passing out."

Logan: "Never let alcohol be the last thing on your stomach."

MC: "I could have used that advice last night."

TK: "You're not the only one with a headache, okay? Let's keep things down."

Clyde: "We've got some lightweights here, Serena."

Serena: "I can see that."

I turn to see Serena in the middle of her breakfast, sitting next to Clyde on a log,

and when our eyes meet, I'm surprised to see her smile.

It's small, a little more reserved than last night,

but the good mood seems to have carried over.

Serena: "I'm afraid there's no hangover cures in the first aid kit."

Clyde: "Hair of the dog's the way to go."

Arthur: "Which would work if we had any of it left to drink."

Serena: ", come eat."

TK: "More tomatoes again?"

Logan: "You just gotta get creative with it, TK."

Logan: "I used one of the can lids to chop mine up and it's a lot better mixed togeter."

TK: "...I'll take your word for it."

I squeeze into the space between Serena and Logan,

washing down breakfast with one of the bottles of water from the ship.

It's room temperature, but at least the seal on the cap survived the crash.

(We've got so much stuff sitting out in the open now, though.)

(What if an animal comes to get it in the middle of the night?)

(There's no way to store things in ther uins if everything's just going to crumble apart.)

MC: "What's on the agenda today, Clyde?"

Clyde: "Well, these cans won't last forever."

Clyde: "And tomatoes can't be the only thing in our bellies."

Clyde: "Honestly, I was thinking we might go hunting."

MC: "Shouldn't we find better shelter first?"

MC: "If we keep bringing supplies back to the ruins,"

MC: "we're going to have too much to carry somewhere else."

MC: "And if it rains..."

Clyde: "Everything could get washed out."

Logan: "We'll be fine."

Logan: "There hasn't been any kind of storm actually on the island."

TK: "It's only been a couple days."

TK: "There's rain in the tropics, dude."

Arthur: "And I'd rather not risk any more destruction to the architecture here."

Serena: "Seems like 's made the best suggestion we've had all day."

There's no sarcastic bite to her voice,

and I feel my face heat up when Serena's smile widens.

(Score one for me and a compliment.)

(Just stop turning red, self.)

TK: "What are you so happy about?"

(Um.)

A. It's another beautiful day.

B. We're making progress.

C. None of your business.

---

A. It's another beautiful day.

MC: "It's a beauitful day full of sunshine and we're all still alive."

MC: "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

---

TK: "Right."

TK: "So that's why Serena talking cured your hangover."

TK gets distracted  by Logan revving up his drone, sending Hope high up into the sky.

Logan: "We'll have an extra set of eyes looking for somewhere new."

Logan: "She can fly on ahead."

Clyde: "I'd rather trust my own eyes."

Clyde: "That toy can't tell us if a place is liveable."

Arthur: "I think we should use all the resoruces at our disposal, captain."

Arthur: "Besides, otherwise the drone is just another weight to carry."

Clyde lets out a grunt of protest but refrains from making any other comment about the drone.

Clyde: Let's start getting things packed up, then."

Clyde: "We're burning daylight."

By Clyde's direction, we start hiking two by two through the jungle,

keeping close to each other and an eye out for any wild animals.

Serena walks in step with me, holding a tight grim on the first aid kit.

MC: "It's nice to be on our feet, don't you think?"

MC: "Without champagne involved,"

MC: "just sitting around the fire all day was going to get pretty boring."

Serena: "True."

Serena: "I was about to start shadow-boxing at trees."

MC: "Wait, you box?"

Serena: "Kickboxing."

Serena: "It helped me blow off steam back home."

MC: "That's awesome."

MC: "Maybe you could show me a few moves."

(Wait, that sounded bad.)

(...But I did kind of mean it.)

Serena raises an eyebrow, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Serena: "Is there someone you're interested in punching?"

MC: "Well, no, but it's a handy skill to have, right?"

MC: "Maybe I wouldn't have been so scared of that capybara."

Serena: "I can't recommend hitting one, but it's good to know how to defend yourself."

Serena: "And it's a good way to burn off energy."

Serena: "I hate feleing like I'm wasting time."

MC: "Me too."

(It's nice to know we have some things in common.)

After a brief break for lunch and some water, we're back on our mission,

even if Clyde is having to haphazardly trailblaze through a constant web of roots and vines.

There's no one good path, but all we can do is keep pushing forward.

(I know it was my idea, but I'm not even sure what we're looking for.)

(Caves? Somewhere we can make a bunch of huts out of sticks?)

Logan: "Wait a minute."

Logan: "Tell me I'm not the only one seeing that."

TK: "What?"

Clyde: "Look ahead."

Clyde: "In the clearing there."

The line of trees break into a more open area,

covered with wild grass but easy enough to wakl through.

I follow the direction where Clyde is pointing,

and wonder for a moment if the heat is making me hallucinate.

MC: "Is that... a resort?"

(The building's huge!)

Clyde: "That's certainly what it looks like."

Logan: "Are you kidding me?"

Logan: "We've been sleeping on the ground for days when we could have been shacking up in a place like that?"

Serena: "Don't be so hasty."

Serena: "Everything looks overgrown."

Serena: "I don't think anyone's lived there in decades."

TK: "Decades is better than however old those ruins are."

TK: "At least this place seems to have an actual roof."

(And it could have beds.)

(Real human beds.)

(I'd take a single pillow at this point, but what's wrong with shooting for the stars?)

Logan: "I got to admit, I'm curious why this is here in the first place."

Logan: "I thought we were stranded in the middle of nowhere."

Clyde: "There wasn't anywhere named on my charts in this part of the ocean."

Clyde: "Maybe it was privately owned, off the radar."

TK: "Sounds like something a guy with too much money would do."

Arthur: "If that's a jab at me, TK, you'll have to try a bit harder to be a thorn in my side."

TK: "..."

MC: "We've got to check it out either way, right?"

MC: "Even if stuff is broken down, there could be all kinds of supplies inside."

Clyde: "She's right, but let's all keep an eye out."

Clyde: "Caution is the key."

Serena nods, but even seeing their obvious hesitaiton, excitement swells up in my chest.

A few holes in the walls will still be a hundred times better than sleeping on the dirt,

or falling down into underground caverns.

(And fingers crossed for the bed.)

(It doesn't even need to have sheets.)

Logan knocks his knuckles against the doorway before we all pile in,

making sure it's not about to wobble apart and collapse,

but the only thing he does is stir up dust.

The lobby is sprawling,

large enough for dozens of people and still chock-full of furniture.

Most of the furniture has plants growing underneath it,

but despite that, it all somehow seems to be intact.

MC: "Wow."

MC: "It looks like everyone just stood up and left this place one day."

MC: "It's in pretty good shape."

Logan: "I'll have to scout around to make sure that's really the case,"

Logan: "but there's a lot less damage inside than I was expecting."

Clyde: "I was expecting more mold."

Clyde: "The humidity here is no joke."

Logan: "I guess stuff could be hiding in the walls, but let's check everything out."

Arthur: "I'll be doing the same."

Without another word, Arthur heads right up the stairs,

not looking the least bit concerned when they creak and groan under his feet.

TK shrugs and wanders up another staircase,

Logan following suit a moment later.

Serena: "I thought we were going to make sure everything was stable before wandering off."

Serena: "Those stairs could have shattered to pieces."

Clyde: "I'll keep an ear out for anyone shouting."

Clyde: "Want to split up and look through the first floor or two, Serena?"

Serena: "Sounds like a plan."

Clyde: "Do you want to go with one of us or find your own way around, ?"

MC: "Um."

I steal a glance at Serena, not sure if she'll approve me tagging along,

but the only thing I can read from her expression is curiosity.

MC: I'll stay with Serena, if that's okay.

Clyde: "No skin off my nose."

Clyde: "I can handle myself."

Serena and I head off in the opposite direction of Clyde,

carefully poking at the floor with each step to make sure it doesn't give way.

There's enough daylight to pour in through the windows,

but a lot of the halls we go through are still thick with shadows and cobwebs.

(Creepy.)

I see soething skitter into a far room and jump, reaching out to grab Serena's arm.

She reflexively clutches at my hand, squeezing tight,

only to frown and go still after a second.

Serena: "Wait, we're not falling."

Serena: "What was that for?"

MC: "I saw something dash into the other room and it freaked me out a little?"

Serena: "What kind of something? Capybara-sized?"

MC: "No, it was small."

MC: "Probably a lizard or something."

MC: "Sorry."

Serena: "It's fine."

Serena: "I'd rather have you aware of risks than tromping around blind."

A series of loud thunks passes over our head, radiating from the ceiling, and I try not to squeak.

Serena: "Like Logan up there."

MC: "You can tell that's him?"

Serena: "He has a very long, heavy stride."

Serena: "Thankfully the floor's strong enough to take it."

Serena's fingers finally slip away from mine and I hold in a sigh,

not sure if my heart is beating so fast from the scare of her close proximity.

(Pretty and unshakeable is a really attractive combination.)

Serena: "Let's see if we can find anything more interesting than lizards."

I nod, following her through another long hallway.

Everything's in desperate need of being scrubbed or cleaned up,

but the resort itself seems pretty slid, and a framed painting on the wall catches my eye.

MC: "Huh."

MC: "I didn't think there would be any fine art on an abandoned island."

Serena: "It's not bad."

Serena: "You don't usually see watercolors used that way."

She says it so casually it takes me a second to catch on.

MC: "You're a painter?"

Serena: "Well, I paint and draw."

Serena: "But it's just a hobby."

MC: "Do you have a favorite subject?"

Serena: "I usually do still lifes."

Serena: "It's... calming, meditative."

A. Ever think about being an artist?

B. I wish I could see some of them.

C. It's hard to picture.

---

B. I wish I could see some of them.

MC: "I wish I could see some of them."

MC: "That's really cool."

Serena: "Thankfully I didn't bring any of them on the ship."

---

(Everything I find out about Serena just makes her more interesting.)

MC: "Does that mean you can paint people too?"

Serena gives me a long look that sends my heart racing all over again,

dark eyes piercing me through.

The tension only breaks when she shrugs, offering me a faint smile.

Serena: "If I find them intriguing enough."

MC: "Oh. Neat."

(I wonder if she'd ever find me that intriguing.)

(...And I guess I should keep an eye out for some paint.)