The Genesis Saga

Jyn scowled when he saw Reya and Adrian return from their morning walk together, a recent habit between the two. He stabbed his spoon into his bowl and took a savage bite, anger flashing in his eyes. He crunched loudly on his cereal as he stewed in silence. Kell looked up from his data slate. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Jyn replied tersely. His mood soured further when he saw them laugh at something Adrian said. He’d tried eating a late breakfast in order to avoid Adrian, not be stuck watching him spend time with Reya. They’d gotten much closer in a short amount of time, and it unsettled him. He didn’t understand how she could stand spending any modicum of time with Adrian.

“You don’t look fine.” Kell traced Jyn’s stare and saw the source of his aggravation. “Did Adrian do something again?” He saw nothing wrong with the picture and couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Knowing Jyn, however, it had to be related to Adrian in some way.

“No,” Jyn snapped. “I said I was fine, now stop asking.” Kell raised his hands in surrender and went back to reading the news on his data slate. Even in such a remote portion of the planet, they still managed to get excellent coverage, allowing for Kell to keep up with the world’s state of affairs. While he finished reading an article about a new cryptocurrency, Beor bounded down the stairs.

“It’s a beautiful day,” he sang, throwing out his arms dramatically. Rann smiled at his antics from where she sat on the couch. “No bombs went off.” He glanced over towards Jyn. “No attacks happened.” His gaze remained trained on Jyn. “Nobody’s spying on us or trying to hurt us. We should totally go swimming again.”

Jyn tore his gaze away from the happy moment outside and looked at Beor. “This again? I’ve already told you, we’re supposed to be on guard at all times. Once was enough, but you want to shirk your duty again?”

“Time off is important.” Beor waggled his finger. “And we haven’t had any in a while. Nothing bad happened last time and nothing bad will happen this time. You can bring your weapons to the beach if that makes you feel better.”

Reya and Adrian chose that moment to come inside, a slight sheen of sweat covering both of them. “I feel alive again,” Reya said blissfully as she positioned herself in front of the air conditioner. Adrian followed her, relishing in the cool air.

“See?” Beor pointed, using Reya to highlight his point. “It’s hot outside. You can’t expect us to work properly in this heat.”

“What’s going on?” Adrian asked.

“Beor wants to go swimming again,” Jyn begrudgingly replied through gritted teeth.

A flash of concern passed through both Adrian and Reya at the thought, but it quickly disappeared. Rann, who didn’t notice, proceeded to defend Beor’s idea. “I think we could all use a break. Especially you, Jyn.”

Tassie came into the room munching on a ration bar. She’d decided to take the afternoon off from her side project with Adrian. While the physics behind an electric guitar fascinated her to no end, she needed a break. “You talking about going swimming? I’d be down.”

“Of course you’d be down,” Jyn said sarcastically. He expected nothing less than for Tassie to find a way to disobey his wishes.

Tassie narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jyn chose not to reply, prompting a scoff from Tassie. “Anyways,” she said, focusing her attention elsewhere, “are we going after lunch?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Beor said excitedly, happy to have a growing camp of followers for his idea. “We can get set up now and just walk on over when we’re ready.”

“I like that idea,” Rann chimed. Kell nodded along, interested as well.

Jyn realized that he was fighting yet another losing battle and gave in. “Fine, we can go swimming. But this is the last time,” he warned. The others cheered and made themselves scarce, preparing for their afternoon of fun and relaxation.

Reya and Adrian exchanged nervous glances.

Adrian eyed the swimsuit laid out on his bed. His conversations with Reya about their fear of displaying their scars resurfaced. The black piece of clothing was intimidating, as to wear it properly meant he had to fully expose himself. Sighing, he walked over to his closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. He stripped down and put the bathing suit on, followed by the pants.

He’d received more clothes since he’d last gone swimming. The others had realized that he didn’t have many spare sets after he fell into the lake. Now, he had enough to last him a full week provided he didn’t get them dirty. His trepidation at getting his clothes wet lessened now that he could get changed into a fresh set right away.

Adrian changed out of his white top, swapping it for a black one. Ensuring that all of his scars were properly hidden, he left his room to go join the others on the beach, where they were already waiting. Immediately, the sun bore down on him, his black clothes absorbing the intense heat. By the time he finished his short walk over, he was already sweating.

Reya was wearing the same motif as he was. Dressed in a long-sleeve black top and black leggings, the pair of them inadvertently matched. Clothes were removed and thrown into a pile as the group shed their outer layers and prepared to jump into the water.

Beor and Tassie ran to the water’s edge and dove in, splashing about carelessly. The others waited behind to avoid getting splashed. Eimir and Rann went in next, easing themselves into the cool water. Jyn and Kell sat down in the chairs, observing in case anything went wrong.

A dark look overcame Jyn as he watched Adrian and Reya swim together. Their intimacy bothered him as he watched Reya gently encourage Adrian to follow her into the water, taking his hand when he had trouble moving.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Reya said, encouraging Adrian to face his fears. Now that she knew more about what had happened, she was impressed that Adrian was even in the lake to begin with. All he needed was a little nudge in the right direction and she was sure he would overcome his fears.

“There’s so much blue,” Adrian said, beginning to panic. Reya stopped now that the water was up to his chest. His grip on her hand tightened and she moved closer, putting a hand on his shoulder to help calm him down.

“It’s just water. You can move around freely in it. There’s nothing keeping you trapped,” she cooed gently. Adrian’s eyes darted around wildly, taking in his surroundings. He missed the beach and the mountains, registering only the blue water in front of him.

His breaths came in short, shallow gasps as he tried to back up and run away back to where he knew it was safe. Reya held fast and stopped him from falling in again. Recognizing the onset of a panic attack, she snapped her fingers in front of his face and grabbed him, forcing him to look at her.

“Look at me, Adrian. Don’t look around. Just focus on me. Everything’s ok. I’m here for you.” His eyes flickered, focusing on hers. She kept a steady grip on him as he calmed down and his laboured breaths slowly returned to normal.

Panting, he continued to focus on her, trying desperately not to think about being surrounded by so much blue water. “Thank you,” he said earnestly.

Reya smiled. “Anytime.”

“I mean it.” Adrian’s crushing grip relaxed, but he didn’t let go of Reya. He looked around and forced himself to remain calm. When he felt another panic attack coming, he quickly switched his gaze to the comforting view of Reya until the feeling passed.

Reya waited patiently, watching him work through his fears. “I was going to suggest you try dunking your head, but we can do that another day.” Adrian flinched at the mention and she realized that his trauma ran far deeper than she first thought.

“I think I’ll pass on that today,” he said, smiling weakly. “Do you think we can go back closer to shore?”

“Of course.” Reya guided them back towards where the water was only waist high, never letting go of his hand.

Back on the beach, Jyn was speechless. “Now they’re holding hands?” he said, a sick feeling welling up in his chest. The sight unsettled him greatly.

“I don’t know, Jyn. Adrian seemed pretty terrified of the water earlier. She’s probably helping him get his bearings,” Kell said as he surveyed the situation through his sunglasses.

“Why would he be afraid of the water?”

“I’m not sure. You’d have to ask him.”

“You know he’s not going to answer any of my questions. The stubborn bastard refuses to cooperate with anything I ask of him.”

“Reya clearly knows, though, by the looks of it.” Kell watched Reya and Adrian finally let go of each other. Reya still hovered unnaturally close to him, making sure he was alright. She staunchly refused to let Adrian feel alone in the water. “You could try asking her.”

“Why would he tell her instead of me? No, they probably wouldn’t tell me anything even if I asked.” Kell stared at Jyn but decided to let the matter drop. It wasn’t worth poking the hornet’s nest to get his point across.

“Look, they’re finally getting out. Now’s your chance if you want to go talk to them,” Kell hinted. Jyn stood up to make his way over but paused as Rann swam closer towards the pair from where she was floating with Tassie and Eimir and got out of the water. “Chance missed,” Kell said. Jyn remained standing, watching from afar.

Rann walked along the beach and made her way over to Adrian and Reya, who had also gotten out. She eyed their waterlogged forms but didn’t say anything. Instead, she asked if they wanted to join her and the others. Reya glanced at Adrian before declining, but not before telling Rann that she might join later.

A pang of abandonment coursed through Rann when Reya chose Adrian over her. There was no reason that they couldn’t both come over. Adrian could stand on the beach alone if that’s what he wanted for all she cared. “So that’s how it is,” she lashed out.

Rann’s sudden hostility confused both Reya and Adrian. “What are you talking about, Rann?” Reya asked.

“It’s nothing,” Rann snapped, kicking at the sand. Some of it landed and clung to Reya’s wet pants, who eyed her new gritty accessory with furrowed brows.

“It’s not nothing. Talk to me. What’s going on?” Reya pleaded, raising her head to look at Rann.

“You want me to be the one to talk?” Rann scowled. “When was the last time we actually talked?”

“We talk every day!”

“No, we don’t!” Rann pointed an accusing finger towards Adrian. “All you do is talk to him. It’s always him. Why not me? Why do you choose him over me?”

“Is Adrian causing problems again?” Jyn interrupted as he sauntered up to the group, cutting off Reya’s reply. When nobody answered, he nodded to himself, pleased that he’d been right. He turned to face Adrian. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“I haven’t done anything!” Adrian protested. He looked between Jyn’s smug expression and Rann’s scowl, wondering what he’d done.

“Clearly, you have.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Reya interjected. “Why are you even here? Just leave us alone for a little bit. We’re kind of in the middle of something.”

“Something’s clearly Adrian’s fault. Again,” Jyn added. “I’m here to stop him from ruining things like he did last time with his obsession over his shirt.”

“Fuck off, not this again,” Reya said, coming to Adrian’s defense. The nonsensical conversation was wearing her patience thin. The topic had suddenly changed to their state of dress, and she didn’t understand why.

“Of course you take his side over it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she challenged.

“Look at you,” Jyn said. “You’re dressed the same. You’re practically joined at the hip.” Rann nodded in agreement. Reya was floored.

“This isn’t about the clothes!” Reya exclaimed, stomping her foot.

“It’s just an observation, Reya. You know I’m right.”

“You already know why we’re dressed like this, Jyn.”

“And you’re making a big deal out of it again.”

“No, I’m not. I’m not the one who brought it up!” Reya clenched her fists, ready to pull out her hair. She was getting nowhere. She looked over to Adrian in a silent plea for help. He seemed just as lost as she was. “Our clothes don’t have anything to do with the situation,” she insisted. “Why can’t you just let the matter drop? I wasn’t talking to Rann about the clothes.”

Rann hesitated. Personally, she had no issues with their choice to wear clothes while swimming.

“Because all you do is hide behind those clothes and make a big deal out of it,” Jyn continued. “Grow up and get over yourself. Same goes for you,” he said, jerking his head at Adrian. “Just take them off and be done with it. We don’t give a shit about whatever you’re hiding. It’s not like you’ll magically become ugly or anything.”

Reya flinched. Adrian’s eyes widened and he looked at her. “What if I did, Jyn? Did you ever think that maybe I don’t want you guys to see?” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“It’s not like we care.”

“Well I do!”

“You’re the only one that does!”

“And that doesn’t matter? Wow, Jyn. You’re an asshole. I didn’t realize that how I feel about something important means so little to you.” She turned to Rann. “Is that what this is about? My scars?”

“No,” Rann lied, not looking Reya in the eye. Her guilt shone through her expression as Reya gave her a searching look. It was twisted, Rann knew, to make an issue of something so personal. All she wanted was for Reya to open up to her about her problems so she could help, but for that, she needed to know what Reya was hiding. Including her scars.

“I can’t believe you guys,” Reya said, her tears spilling over and running down her cheeks. She turned around and stormed off towards the house. Her teardrops landed on the grass, unseen by the others.

“Reya, come back,” Jyn barked. His orders fell on deaf ears and Reya slammed the door behind her.

“I’ll go get her,” Rann said, worried about her friend. This wasn’t how she’d envisioned their conversation when she’d first walked over. She chastised herself for actions. She needed to make things right, not worse.

“No,” Adrian said coldly, cutting her off. “I’ll go. You guys have done enough damage for now.” He shot them a withering look and Rann shrank back. Adrian jogged over to the lawn chairs and grabbed two of the blue towels with white waves on them and made his way to the house. Rann stood, rooted to the ground, unable to bring herself to chase after him. His words stung and Rann hung her head down in shame.

Tassie moved over towards Rann, having gotten out of the water upon witnessing the commotion. “Everything’s going to be fine, you’ll see. Just give them a little bit of time and they’ll be back to normal.”

“That should be me in there,” Rann said quietly. “Why’s he the one that gets to go?”

“Because you’re the one that fucked up this time,” Tassie said, wincing at how the words came out. That was definitely not what Rann wanted to hear. “Just give her a chance to calm down and then go talk to her,” Tassie added. Rann gave her an uneasy nod and hoped she was right.