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“Don’t you do it,” Lenore warned, knowing what conclusion he reached.
“I’m sorry,” he said, and let her go.
“You dick!” Lenore shouted, even as the wind ripped the words out of her mouth. She flew backward into the void, into darkness.
She hated the outdoors. It was so itchy. And hot. And humid. Bugs kept biting her, and there was mud everywhere. Washing seemed pointless. Why bother cleaning her feet when the rain would start again, never allowing this place to dry out? Wherever this place was. Not Earth. She knew that much.
How did she know that? Good question. So glad you asked.
The big ass giant red planet hanging over her head clued her in.
Yeah. It was a lot. She’d need a minute to unpack the how and why of how she got lost in a jungle on an alien planet, but survival took up all her energy.
At least the giant red planet hanging overhead was pretty. Breathtaking even, but it was not home, and she desperately wanted to go home. Seeing as how she didn’t know where she was, hadn’t seen another living soul in two days, and was hungry, she’d settle for being dry and fed. Not that home was so great. Home was a mountain of student loans, a crummy apartment, and an ex who enjoyed flaunting his new younger wife and their puppies.
“You’re never here, Lenore. What was I supposed to do?”
Sticking his dick in a nurse was his only option, clearly.
Wow. Lenore didn’t think her mood could get any worse, and Brad somehow managed to do that on an entirely different planet.
She took a break in the middle of medical school to work while Brad did his residency with the understanding that he would do the same for her once he finished. That was the plan: to delay her education to support him because they were a team. She never questioned it or Brad. Only the support went one way. Once Brad set up his practice and Lenore started her residency, the plan wasn’t good enough. He was lonely.
He didn’t want to wash his underwear, more like.
Yeah, well, fuck Brad for screwing around on her, fuck him for being shocked that Lenore wasn’t going to work more than sixty hours a week and come home to do the cooking and cleaning, and fuck this hot, humid planet that was always raining. Mostly fuck Brad for shoving his phone in her face, which is how she got sucked into a portal.
That wasn’t entirely true. Brad grabbed her and tried to pull her in. When it became apparent the portal was strong enough to take them both, he let her go to save himself. That wasn’t a surprise. She already knew that about him. Still, fuck him for being a selfish jerk.
Thankfully, she didn’t remember the trip through the portal. She woke up with a killer headache, bruises in interesting places, and bug bites that she kept scratching, so that was an infection waiting to happen. Amazingly, all the contents in the pockets of her lab pocket made the trip: her phone with an empty battery, one pen, half a tube of lip balm, and her stethoscope. So useful.
Thunder clapped overhead, jerking Lenore’s hand away from stretching her neck and her thoughts away from her misery. The sky through the canopy of leaves was unusually dark.
Rain poured down, soaking her instantly. Hair plastered against her forehead, and water ran into her eyes. The rain was warm enough, but the air felt chilly compared to the sweltering heat of earlier.
Wonderful.
She had a lot of complicated feelings about home and her ex, but at least home had a roof, and she could order sushi.
Lenore pressed against a tree trunk, using the branches to shield herself from rain. Her work clothes were far from ideal for tromping through the rainforest. Staying comfortable in a cold hospital required layers. Those layers were now a source of sweaty misery.
She needed to find shelter, a proper shelter, or she wasn’t going to last long. On her first night on the planet, she tried to sleep in a tree. Being off the ground seemed sensible. Who knew what kind of bugs or critters were on the prowl and would consider her a tasty snack?
Well, two words: tree snakes.
Lenore had a massive bruise on her backside from falling out of the tree.
Oh, and the vines she used to climb up the tree? Gave her a rash.
She had no idea where she was going to sleep that night. Maybe she could curl up at the base of a tree? No. No. Tree snakes would slither down in the night and strangle her.
Lenore glanced warily up at the branches overhead.
About the only positive thing she could say about this planet was nothing was trying to eat her, other than alien mosquitoes.
Lenore closed her eyes and took a moment to focus. This couldn’t go on, not if she wanted to live. She needed food. Water was ridiculously easy to find. Thirsty? Open mouth, tilt head back, and wait for the rain. Earlier that day, she noticed a deer-like creature nibbling on a berry bush. She tried a berry. While the taste left a lot to be desired, it didn’t kill her. So the berries were safe to eat, but she’d need something more substantial than berries.
All of this was Brad’s fault.
