Episode 4 (Serena Season 1)

The ground isn't any more comfortable than the night before,

but waking up to sunlight streaming through the trees and the soft chatter of birds could be worse.

I stretch carefully, happy to find that my shoulder and leg feel a lot better.

(Thanks, modern medicine.)

(Wait, if the sun's already up that high in the sky...)

MC: "What time is it?"

MC: "Ugh, I wish I had my phone."

I turn and see a few empty tins stacked up around the stifled fire, but no sign of anyone else.

Alarm makes my heart beat hard in my chest before Serena breaks through the tree line,

carrying a small stack of stcks in her arms.

Serena: "Good... afternoon."

MC: "Afternoon?"

MC: "Why did I sleep in so late? Where is everyone?"

Serena: "They had breakfast and went looking for a fresh source of water."

Serena: "Clyde was pretty gung-ho about it."

MC: "But we have a lot of bottled water from the ship."

Serena: "Which we need to drink."

Serena: "Spending it on cooking and bathing would be a waste if there's a lake or river to draw from."

Serena: "Tempting as it is to pour a few bottles over my head right now and pretend I'm having a shower."

MC: "I don't blame you."

MC: "A warm bath sounds like the best thing ever right now."

Serena sets her burden down next to Clyde's stack for firewood and sits down next to me,

taking an irritated look at her hands before plucking a splinter out of one palm and tossing it aside.

MC: "If they went looking for water, why are you here?"

Serena: "Well, I wasn't going to leave you alone and unconscious."

MC: "I could have gotten up earlier and gone with."

Serena: "Sleep is the best medicine, ."

Serena: "I told Clyde I'd watch over you, and he'll take care of everyone else."

(That's sweet of her.)

MC: "You and Clyde get along pretyt well, huh?"

Serena: "He and I understand each other, I think."

Serena: "Which I can't say about a lot of people."

(Maybe I should ask him for some tips.)

MC: "Thanks for sticking around, then."

Serena: "If I left you by yourself, who knows what might have happened?"

A. I'd have slept until sundown.

B. I'd probably write an article.

C. The worst case scenario.

---

C. The worst case scenario.

MC: "With my luck, the ruins would turn into a giant rock monster and attack me."

MC: "Or I'd fall to the center of the earth."

Serena: "Sounds like something out of a television show."

---

Serena: "At least you wouldn't be bored."

MC: "I'd rather have the company."

Serena: "I didn't know I qualified as company."

MC: "What else would you be?"

Serena: "Well, you know what they say about eating an apple a day and doctors..."

I laugh, giving her shoulder a playful nudge, and a wry smile crosses Serena's lips.

It's surprisingly warm, lighting up her entire face,

and I've just made it my mission to see that smile more often.

(I knew she had it in her.)

A. Get her to open up more.

B. Eat a tomato.

---

MC: "I'm all out of apples."

MC: "How about tomatoes?"

Serena: "No."

---

Serena: "I'll be hounding you until you're healed up."

Serena: "So have some food so we can get walking."

Serena: "Clyde told me what direction they would be searching in."

I close my eyes before picking out of the pile of cans,

hoping that surprising myself might make it taste better,

and add two tomatoes just for the sake of filling my stomach.

Serena has one herself, biting into it with clear disinterest, but it's better than nothing.

(Too bad we can't stay longer.)

(She seems to finally be opening up to me.)

After I finish eating, Serena leads me into the thick of the jungle,

muttering directions from Clyde under her breath.

All the trees and vines look the same to me,

but every so often I see a footprint in the dirt the confirms we're still on the right track.

Without fatigue and hunger hanging over my head, it's a lot easier to appreciate our lush surroundings,

so many flowers and plants that I've never seen before-- or only in those aesthetic photosets online.

Serena's silence doesn't feel so awkward either;

I know she'll speak up when there's something important to say.

(And I know she's focused on keeping us from getting lost.)

Serena: "Damn it."

MC: "What?"

Serena: "Clyde is a lot better at giving directions when he's on the water."

MC: "Does that mean we got turned around? I haven't seen footprints in a while."

Serena: "The floor here is covered in moss."

Serena: "There's not much to leave a mark in."

Serena: "But I'm surprised he'd go this far without leaving some other sign."

(Four guys tromping around should be a lot more obvious, shouldn't it?)

Serena sighs and continues trekking forward,

kicking over stones and breaking branches to track our own path,

although I can feel her frustration mounting as the hours burn away,

the sun starting to fall towards the horizon.

(And I'm parched.)

(We only brought one bottle of water for each of us.)

MC: "So where did you learn the trailblazing thing?"

Serena: "Honestly? Watching some survival documentaries."

Serena: "Most of it seemed silly until now, but I'd rather look like an idiot than not be able to get back to camp."

MC: "Maybe we should start doing that."

MC: "I don't think Clyde would have gone this far, and I don't see any signs of water."

Serena: "I suppose, but--"

The heavy rustling of leaves cuts Serena off and she visibly tenses.

I glance at all of the bushes and tress around us,

trying to find where the sound could have come from,

because there's nothing close that's tall enough to hide a human.

(Of course there's going to be wild animals.)

(We're in the middle of a jungle.)

(What lives in a jungle? Bears? Tigers?)

(Oh my god, I don't want to be eaten by a tiger!)

Something else crackles and snaps, coming from behind us,

and when I whirl around, I see a large rodent bound out of a nearby bush.

It takes a second for me to recognize the shape of its face,

and I let out a squeal of happy surprise.

MC: "Oh, it's a capybara! That's so cool!"

MC: "I thought they were only in Brazil."

Serena: "Don't approach it, ."

MC: They're totally gentle, Serena.

MC: "Capybaras eat plants, not people."

I take a slow step forward, not wanting to startle it, when the capybara lets out a loud bark.

It crouches low before lunging at me, huge square teeth bared,

and I yelp before stumbling backwards, hiding behind Serena.

Serena: "So much for gentle."

MC: "They're herbivores!"

Serena: "That doesn't mean it won't try to protect its territory."

Serena: "And animal bites are breeding grounds for infection."

Serena keeps her eyes on the snarling, barking capybara as she carefully leans down,

grabbing a stick from the jungle floor.

She backs up as the creature moves forward,

shepherding me along until my back hits one of the trees.

MC: "We're cornered!"

Serena: We'll be fine."

The tight edge to her voice isn't entirely convincing,

but Serena puts a protective arm across me,

wielding the stick like a makeshift sword as the capybara stalks toward us.

Her eyes narrow, fingers tightening like she's about to strike at it,

when I hear the crunch of footsteps and familiar voices caryring through the trees.

(Don't bite me, don't bite me, don't bite me...)

Serena: "Clyde? Is that you?"

Clyde: "Bloody hell, Serena."

Clyde: "There you are!"

Caught between us and the approaching group,

the capybara barks again before scampering off into the bushes and out of sight.

I wheeze in relief, resting back against the tree and willing my heart to stop beating so fast.

We get back to the ruins by nightfall,

and I never thought I'd be so happy to see crumbling stone in my life.

The guys had filled as many containers as they could with water,

but it's Clyde who seems proudest of the discovery.

Clyde: "There's a whole lake sitting in the middle there."

Clyde: "Real beauty."

Serena: "Are you sure it's potable water?"

Logan: "It tastes great, Serena."

Logan: "Have some."

She gives the bottle Logan hands her a sharp eye and a curious sniff before taking a small sip.

After a moment, Serena shrugs.

Serena: "No metallic taste, no residue..."

Serena: "It's probably as good as we're going to get in the middle of a jungle."

Logan: "See? And there's plenty more where that came from."

MC: "Where is that, exactly? We got kind of lost."

Clyde: "That's my fault, probably."

Clyde: "I told Serena I was going to stick north,"

Clyde: "but we had to loop around to actually find the water."

Serena: "At least you found us before we were jumped by a giant rat."

MC: "Capybaras aren't rats! That one was... mean, though."

I try not to sound so disappointed,

but I'd seen plenty of fun videos of them in the wild, and nothing about them attacking people.

Capybaras had made our Cutest Animals List at work at least three times.

Serena: "Apparently they're a pastime of Elsa's."

MC: "They're popular, okay? And they're not supposed to bite people."

Clyde: "They're really not."

Clyde: "Was the beast wounded or something?"

Serena: "Not that I know of."

Serena: "It came out of the bushes barking at us."

Clyde: "Strange."

Clyde: "That's certainly not normal."

Arthur: "Another mystery."

Arthur: "This island seems to be teeming with them."

Arthur: "Intriguing, don't you think?"

Serena rolls her eyes, but he doesn't seem to notice.

TK:"Just what I wanted to hear."

TK: "Crazy animals pouncing us in the dark."

TK: "What's next?"

Logan: "How about something to help you all relax?"

Logan: "Let's have a drink!"

MC: "A drink?"

Logan goes over to his drone and pulls out a pair of bottles from behind it,

proudly displaying the labels.

(It's champagne!)

(He must have taken it from the ship when no one was paying attention.)

Clyde: "Those still sealed, Logan?"

Logan: "Like they were just put on the shelf."

Logan: "Come on, help me pop 'em open."

There's not a lot of empty glasses to go around,

but Logan manages to split the champagne amongst all of us,

although Serena pulls a face as it's pushed into her hands.

Serena: "Considering the amount of sun exposure we're getting,"

Serena: "I'm not sure alcohol is the best idea."

Clyde: "Serena, I remember us getting plenty of grog in us before five o'clock back in Australia."

Clyde: "What's the harm? We're all adults here."

TK: "Even if  doesn't act like it sometimes."

MC: "Hey!"

A. Bottoms up.

B. Take it slow.

C. Wait for Serena to drink.

---

C. Wait for Serena to drink.

(I don't really want to get drunk if she's not having any of the champagne.)

<p style="text-align:center;">---

Maybe it's Clyde's convincing or Logan's puppy dog eyes,

but after a moment, Serena takes a sip from her cup,

letting out a faint hum of acceptance.

When I do the same,

I'm happily surprised at how the champagne dances across my tongue, light and bubbly.

Arthur: "How about we have a toast?"

(Whoops.)

(I jumped the gun a little.)

Serena: "To what?"

Arthur: "To survival."

Arthur: "To good company."

Arthur: "To discovery."

There's a little laughter and mumbling before everyone raises their glasses,

making a show of clinking them together.

By the time we've gotten through the first bottle, I've forgotten the scare from the capybara,

and I'm not the only one who's started to unwind.

Clyde: "I was going to take us to a port to relax on the way back, Serena."

Clyde: "I promise."

Serena: "This doesn't count."

Clyde: "Aye, it doesn't."

Clyde: "But we'll have earned another vacation by the time we're homebound again."

Both of them laugh, the sound easy and relaxed.

When I sneak over to sit down next to them,

Serena flashes me an open smile,

and I feel my heart thunk hard against the inside of my chest, right befre it skips a beat.

(Wow.)

<p style="text-align:center;">A. Toast Serena.

<p style="text-align:center;">B. Just stare at her.

<p style="text-align:center;">---

B. Just start at her.

I can't help but stare at her when she gives me a look like that.

Her smiles are so rare... It makes me feel special every time I get to see one.

<p style="text-align:center;">---

Serena: "Enjoying the champagne?"

MC: "Yeah, it's great."

MC: "You're gr--"

(Whoa, slow down there, tiger.)

Serena: "Mm?"

MC: "Nothing."

MC: "You just look like you're having a good time."

Serena: "...I am, actually."

Serena: "Let's not jinx it."

I cross my fingers ant hold it up for Serena to see,

glad when she chuckles and takes another sip of her champagne.

Sitting by the fireside, I let myself relax,

the sound of her voice carrying over the soft crackle of the flames.

(Maybe I'll get to see this side of her more often.)