The Genesis Saga

Reya fanned herself in the scorching afternoon sun, regretting her decision to wear a long-sleeved sweater. A sheen of sweat coated her, leaving her feeling uncomfortable in her sticky clothes. Rann and Tassie were beginning to get concerned over her questionable fashion choices, but Reya simply told them not to mind. As long as she didn’t pass out, everything would be fine.

Retreating into the cool, air-conditioned house helped somewhat, but still couldn’t abate the heat completely. Now that she was inside, she poured herself a glass of ice-cold water and pressed it against the side of her neck. A tiny shiver ran through her as some of her body heat leeched into the water, warming it. She let out a blissful moan as her ingenious idea helped her cool off. Short of taking a cold shower, which she was sorely tempted to do at that point, that was the best alternative she could find to help combat the relentless heat.

Beor entered the house. Everybody had taken the night off last night, tired from constantly being on guard against empty threats. There had been a huge debate, mostly to convince Jyn that everything would be fine. Even Beor sided against him, leaving Jyn alone in his desire to maintain night patrols and safeguard the house while the others went to bed. After several hours of monotonous solitude, he found himself nodding off and was forced to admit that the others might have been right. Not that he’d ever say it out loud.

Reya was still tired from her lack of sleep, but that was a different story. The effect was worsened by the heat that continued to sap her energy as her body worked overtime to remain cool. Even Adrian had retreated indoors and now sat on the couch, looking just as miserable as she felt.

“We should all go swimming,” Beor announced as he looked over the collective puddle of people gathered on the first floor. Rann perked up at the thought while Jyn looked displeased from where he sat at the kitchen table.

“Good idea, babe. Do you want to go now?” Rann asked.

“Absolutely not,” Jyn said, cutting off Beor’s reply to Rann. “We’re supposed to be working.”

“Literally nobody’s working in this heat. Besides, we’ve got a perfectly good lake. What’s the point if we don’t use it?” Beor asked.

Adrian sat up straighter from where he sat and weighed in. “I’d like to go swimming,” he said.

“I don’t care what you think,” Jyn said, shooting Adrian a withering glare. Adrian frowned at the dismissal. “Our job is to defend this point. How are we supposed to do that if we’re all splashing around in a lake with no gear and no weapons?”

“I say we go for it,” came Tassie’s voice over one of the data slates. She was on the ship, conferring with Eimir who was in the kitchen, seated at the opposite end of the table from Jyn.

“Nobody asked you, Tassie,” Jyn said with a raised voice so that she would hear. An indignant squeak came from the data slate in protest but was silenced by Jyn when he spoke again. “I’m ordering everybody to remain on guard against threats.”

“What kind of threat is possibly going to show up in the next hour or so while we go cool off?” Rann challenged. “Face it, nothing’s going to happen before we all pass out from heatstroke. Cooling off is in our best interest.”

“You just want to show off your new bathing suit. I remember you talking about it before the whole mission started.”

“Maybe I do. But it doesn’t change the fact that we need to cool down and Beor offered a great suggestion. I’m going swimming,” she declared. “Come on guys, let’s go get wet.” She got up and went back to the ship, leaving Jyn offended. He looked over at Reya for support but found none.

“Don’t look at me,” she said. “I’m not on duty. I think swimming is an excellent idea. I don’t think I have a bathing suit, but I’ll just go in some clothes.”

“I’ve got spares,” Tassie voiced.

“You’ve got one that fits me?”

“I’ve got spares for everyone. I like being prepared.”

Adrian watched the conversation play out, unsure if he should weigh in. He then realized that, like Reya, it didn’t matter if he went swimming. “Would you happen to have a spare for me as well?”

Jyn cut off Tassie’s reply. “No, she most certainly does not. You’re not allowed to go swimming.”

“Piss off,” Adrian said, rolling his eyes. “I’m going swimming. Deal with it.”

“I’ve got one that should fit you,” Tassie said, conveniently interrupting Jyn right as he started speaking. Beor hid a muffled laugh at Tassie’s petty revenge while Adrian lit up at the thought of having a bathing suit to wear. “I’ll come bring it to you, hold on a minute. And yours, Reya.”

Reya was stunned. “How do you even have that?” She stared in disbelief at the thought.

“The General was very generous with her supplies.”

Adrian was mildly shocked. He’d been hesitant to get some of his only clothes wet. Now that he had a bathing suit, he wasn’t sure if he wanted the others to see his scars. He worried over how they would react if they saw the full extent of them. Already, they stared at the ones they could see when he passed by. They would see what had happened to him and want explanations he wasn’t ready to give. Panic swelled as the thoughts tumbled around in his mind. Perhaps he could keep his top on instead. It might provide some cover at least. Surely, that would be fine, he hoped.

While Adrian was lost in thought, Tassie came inside the house carrying a stack of clothes. She proceeded to hand out everyone’s bathing suits. He snapped back to reality when she got to him. He reached out and thanked her as he grabbed his swimsuit from her.

“Are you okay?” Tassie asked, having caught him zone out.

Adrian blinked. “I’m fine,” he said woodenly. “I’m going to go get changed in the bathroom real fast.” He scurried away before Tassie could say anything else.

“That was odd,” Tassie muttered to herself. Adrian’s hearing picked up her words and he sped up towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. Closing the door behind him, he slumped against its solid wooden frame for a moment. Picking himself back up, he forced his limbs to move forward and stumbled straight to the sink, feeling ill. His pallid reflection stared back at him. In an effort of will, he calmed himself down. Turning on the faucet, he splashed some cold water in his face and took a deep breath.

He proceeded to get changed and stopped short, staring at himself in the mirror. The scars on his legs were no longer hidden by his pants and he grimaced at the sight. While those ones weren’t as bad as the rest of his body, relatively speaking, the thought of displaying them openly filled Adrian with trepidation.

He stared at his black, patterned swimsuit. It had a white geometric design throughout the entire short, which ended just above his knee. His white long-sleeved shirt stared back at him when he lifted his gaze. He removed it and took in his body on full display.

His eyes roamed the multitude of ugly scars canvased all over him. There were so many. Tears welled as he beheld the remnants of the horrors inflicted upon him, the permanent reminders making it difficult for him to accept what had happened.

He wasn’t ready. He blinked away his tears and put his shirt back on. He didn’t want the others to see. To know. Adrian pulled his pants over his bathing suit, covering the garment along with the rest of his scars. His clothes could dry out later.

He adjusted his shirt and shrunk back into himself, knowing that he was simply delaying the inevitable. Somebody was going to find out at some point. He just needed to be ready for when they did. With false bravado, he left the bathroom, hoping the others wouldn’t comment on his choice of clothing.

He came out of the bathroom to an empty main floor. Wondering where everybody went, he heard Beor come down the stairs. “We’ll wait here for the others to be done changing,” Beor told Adrian. He was still wearing a t-shirt as well and didn’t pass any comments at Adrian’s state of dress, content with standing around in silence. Eimir and Kell came next, also wearing their tops. Adrian felt relieved when he saw Jyn also clothed. Tassie came out wearing a long, light dress adorned with floral patterns over her bathing suit. Reya quietly appeared dressed in a long sleeve top and leggings. Rann was the last to appear, ready to go.

Eimir, Beor and Kell grabbed some lawn chairs from the small shed behind the house, leaving the rest of the group to carry the towels. Adrian offered his help but was turned down. Meanwhile, Tassie prepared a cooler of cold drinks for them to bring and tasked Jyn with carrying it. They set up on the sandy beach and installed their loads. Once everything was ready, everyone except for Reya and Adrian pulled off their tops.

Rann noticed that they looked uncomfortable but had trouble figuring out why. She thought back to Reya constantly tugging at her sleeves to cover her arms and how she’d been reluctant to display her scars. Looking at Adrian, she guessed that he must feel the same. She felt bad about pressuring them to undress, so she kept silent on the matter.

Jyn spotted Adrian still wearing his clothes. “Why don’t you just take them off? You complained you were hot,” Jyn remarked offhandedly without much thought. Adrian tensed up at the suggestion.

“I’m comfortable as is,” he said.

“Fine, suit yourself,” Jyn said with a shrug, walking towards one of the chairs and sitting down. He had no intention of getting in the water just yet, preferring to watch. “You too, Reya?”

“Same,” she said.

“Alright. Have fun in the water then.”

“That’s it? You’re not mad that we forced you out here?” Rann asked, remembering his previous comments.

“It’s not like you guys have been listening to what I’ve been saying lately; what choice do I have?” he said bitterly. “Go have fun while we still can.”

The others looked at each other briefly before turning to go to towards the lake. Kell opted to stay behind, putting a towel on the ground to work on his tan. Adrian wondered if that meant his skin would turn a darker shade of purple. He’d have to pay attention and find out.

The sand squished beneath Adrian’s toes, and he marvelled at the simple feeling, slowly remembering it from better days. The imprints left behind as he walked were a delightful sight to his eyes.

His legs brought him to the water’s edge, and he stopped short. The water was a deep, rich blue that reminded him of the time he’d entered his pod. He shuddered at the memory of his lungs flooding, craving air but finding only the blue liquid instead. His vision failed him. He could no longer resist death’s call. Everything stilled. The frantic pounding of his chest filled his ears, the last thing he heard. His lungs burned, they – Adrian blinked, snapping out of it. He looked around. Nobody had noticed him zone out. He sighed a breath of relief.

With a reluctant step, he put his foot in. A shiver went through him at the refreshing temperature of the water. He carefully took another step further, the water coming past his ankle. He ventured forth until he came up to his waist.

He froze, the desire to go further vanishing completely. Continuing on his path meant risking going fully underwater. Back into the blue. He took a quick, fearful step backwards at the thought and lost his balance. Arms flailing, he fell backwards into the water. His short yelp was cut off and his world turned upside down.

He opened his eyes, expelling his breath as he sunk. The bubbles cleared and his world turned blue once again. His yelp turned into a scream of panic as he turned over himself trying to stand up. Water filled his mouth, choking him. Planting his feet into the sand beneath him, he stood, hacking up water when he surfaced. He coughed and stumbled towards the beach.

After sputtering out the last of the water, he looked down at his shirt. Some of his scars were visible through the wet fabric. His heart sank. They were going to see. Going to know. All because he’d fallen in.

Reya and Tassie made their way over to check on him as he got out of the water, having witnessed the entire affair. They had yet to get in and were still on the beach when Adrian fell. Tassie gasped when she saw through the material clinging to Adrian’s wet form. Adrian put his hands on his knees and panted, taking in deep lungfuls of air.

“Adrian, are those . . .” Tassie trailed off, staring at him. Mercifully, only some of the larger scars were visible but even they were enough to give anyone pause.

Adrian’s body posture closed off. He became hyper vigilant of their piercing gazes as they looked at him. “I didn’t want you to see,” he choked out in a small voice, ashamed. “To see what they did to me.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Jyn said as he made his way over to check on the situation. “It’s just some scars. Why not take your clothes off now like a normal person?”

“Maybe not everybody wants to show off their scars, Jyn,” Reya said, empathising with Adrian’s desire to keep them covered. She tried her best to avert her eyes but couldn’t help but flick her gaze back over to look at them.

“We can already see some of his scars,” Jyn pointed. “What makes the others so special?”

Adrian fought to keep himself from running away. His arms closed as he tried to hide the scars that were visible, only partially successful. “They’re worse.” His eyes darted around, looking for a way out, but found none. The others had arrived as well. He was surrounded.

“They can’t be that bad,” Jyn insisted. Adrian’s heart beat loudly in his chest as a mixture of panic and resignation knotted themselves deep within. Jyn continued, oblivious. “I’m just saying, I don’t know what the issue is. We can already see the scars through the shirt,” he pointed, motioning towards Adrian’s upper body.

“There are more,” Adrian said sadly, unable to keep his voice from shaking.

“You’re missing my point. We don’t care. We can already see them,” Jyn repeated.

“Adrian, you don’t have to take your shirt off if you don’t want to,” Reya said reassuringly.

“But you’re all going to wonder, aren’t you?” When he didn’t receive an answer from any of the people surrounding him, he knew it to be truth.

Jyn rolled his eyes at the melodramatics. “Nobody cares. Now just take the bloody shirt off and get over yourself.”

A beat of silence passed.

“I can’t,” Adrian said, looking away with a complicated expression.

“Jyn, just drop it,” Reya pleaded. “I understand what he’s talking about.”

“I’m not the one making a big deal out of it,” Jyn said.

“That’s enough,” Rann cut in. “Jyn, Adrian doesn’t have to take his shirt off if he doesn’t want to. Drop it.” Jyn put his arms up and let the matter go.

“I think I’m going to go get changed,” Adrian said.

“What about wanting to swim?” Jyn asked. “You’re already here, might as well enjoy yourself.”

“I’m good for now,” he said before fleeing the scene and escaping back into the house. In his haste, he forgot to bring a towel with him. Reya noticed and wondered if he’d come back for one. Otherwise he’d just get his fresh clothes wet and be faced with the same problem.

“Good job, Jyn. You scared him off. Why couldn’t you let it be?” Rann chastised.

“I’m not the problem here,” Jyn defended himself. “He’s the one who made a big deal out of it.” He refused to be blamed for Adrian’s excessive behaviour regarding his choice of clothing.

“It’s clearly a sore point. Why’d you have to insist on him taking it off? That was insensitive.”

“It’s just a shirt, Rann. He didn’t take it off, so what? You’re all making this a bigger deal than it is.”

Reya remained silent throughout the exchange, her mind still stuck on Adrian. Tassie poked her lightly on her arm. “Is everything alright?” She grew worried when she saw Reya zone out like Adrian had earlier.

“I’m fine,” Reya replied while Jyn and Rann continued to argue. “He didn’t bring a towel to dry off with. I think I’ll bring him one and check on him.” She extricated herself from the devolving argument and went over to where the chairs were set up. She grabbed the closest towel she saw and set it under her arm.

She walked towards the house and entered. Looking around, she wondered where Adrian might be. A trail of wet glistened on the floor, making its way up the stairs. Reya followed it until she arrived at the bathroom on the second floor. She called out and was surprised when the door opened.

Adrian looked at her with red-rimmed, puffy eyes. It was obvious that he’d been crying. Reya hesitated, doubting herself for having come. “I brought you a towel,” she said awkwardly, thrusting it towards him. Wordlessly, Adrian took it from her outstretched arms and continued to stare at her, wondering if that was the only reason that she was there.

“Thank you,” Adrian said, his eyes searching Reya’s for any ulterior motives. “I’m sorry for making a scene. It was uncalled for.”

“I totally get it,” Reya said. “Are you alright?” she asked hesitantly, unsure of whether it was her place to do so. A gamut of emotions played out on Adrian’s face as he contemplated his answer.

“No,” he said, deciding to be honest. “But that’s not your problem. I’ll be fine in a little bit. I don’t think I’ll be swimming again anytime soon.”

“Is it because of your scars?” Reya couldn’t help but ask. She understood perfectly well any reluctance he might have about displaying himself. She was the same, after all.

“It’s more than that, but mostly. I don’t want others to see.”

“That’s ok,” she said softly. “I understand.”

“How could you possibly understand?”

Reya hesitated, torn at how she should answer. “Because I’m the same,” she finally admitted, returning his earlier honesty. “I’ve also got scars I don’t want the others to see.” She felt like a weight lifted off of her chest. While she feared what he might respond, it felt good to finally tell someone who would understand her struggles.

Adrian thought for a moment, putting the new piece of information together with what he knew. “They hurt you when they captured you, didn’t they?” His heart sank. He was sure that this was the case. He hoped it was nothing like what they did to him.

Tears welled up in Reya’s eyes at the memory. “Yeah,” she said in a small voice, forcing herself to admit it. For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to be anything other than honest with Adrian. Perhaps it was because she felt him a kindred soul, aware of what it was like to be abused by the gru’ul. She was under no illusions that their traumas were directly comparable, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie to the only person she could relate to. At least in that regard.

Adrian’s expression switched to one of concern. “Is that why you’re dressed like that?”

Reya nodded, finding it too difficult to speak. She tugged at her sleeve, a habit Adrian had noticed before. He chose not to comment on the behaviour, knowing that it wasn’t his place to ask. He looked her in the eye. “I’m so sorry you had to suffer as well. It was hard, wasn’t it?”

Reya blinked away her tears, not saying anything as they spilled down her face. Her silence told Adrian everything he needed to know. If her time in captivity was anything like his, then he knew that she’d suffered.

He guessed that it had something to do with why she was at the safe house, since she didn’t appear to be actively on guard duty like the others and had arrived after him. Her trembling form struck a chord deep within him and he collected her into the hug they both so desperately needed, moving before he was aware of it. She didn’t resist as his arms wrapped around her.

“It was,” she whispered, leaning into the hug further.

“Everything’s ok now. They’re gone.” Adrian wasn’t sure which one of them his words were for, but nonetheless, he felt Reya nod. They remained like that for several seconds until they came apart naturally.

“Thank you for the towel,” he said. “And thank you for checking up on me. It’s more than I deserve.” Reya’s heart ached at the way he couched his words. Like he didn’t deserve basic empathy or having someone concerned about him. “I think I’m going to get changed now. I’ll meet you back outside when I’m ready.”

He gently closed the door, leaving both of them feeling slightly less alone.