Bolt

9

He returned a few minutes later, giving them all a thumbs up. Kara moved to the front of the line, attempting to reassert her dominance within the group.

“What’s going on?” Kara asked.

Bolt looked down at her in a far too condescending way for Kara to accept.

“I found a cave,” Bolt said. “I think it’ll be good for us to stay there for the night. Get some rest.”

Kara nodded. He wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t going to let him know how tired she felt. She turned back to the team and reiterated what he had just told her.

“We’re going to camp out for the night,” Kara said, projecting her voice. “We will get going again in the morning.”

Elle and her team nodded then followed her toward the cave. Bolt was already making his way to the mountain entrance.

Kara didn’t care how he was feeling. If he was going to be stubborn and not give her any info, she was going to be stubborn back.

At the cave entrance, Kara lingered. She took out a flashlight and turned it on. She hoped that Bolt had cleared it of threats, or they would be utterly f****d.

Bolt appeared from the darkness and stood next to her with his arms crossed.

“I’m going to get some materials for a fire,” he said sternly. “I’ll be back.”

He turned away and walked along the side of the mountain before Kara could respond. She sighed to herself and kicked snow in his direction.

She went inside the dark cave with trepidation, followed by her team. It was narrow, but there was enough space for all of them to move around. Bolt might have to scrunch up his body a bit, but Kara didn’t care.

Kara waited for Bolt to return with the firewood. In the meantime, she helped everyone lay out their sleeping bags. She made a central area where the fire could roar most of the night.

Bolt returned with a handful of twigs and thicker pieces of wood. He placed them down carefully and built a fire. Kara stood nearby, wishing she had learned such a practical skill. He lit it with matches from his pack, which made it blaze in a thick halo instantly.

Bolt stood and wiped his hands together.

“That should do us for a while,” he said. “I’m going to find some food for the morning.”

Bolt left once again without another word. Kara could sense his annoyance, but that was something else she didn’t give a s**t about.

She laid her sleeping bag by the fire next to Elle. Kara was at the center, making sure that she was the first point of contact should their enemies come upon them in the night.

Everyone closed their eyes, attempting to get some rest for the night. But Kara couldn’t.

She tossed and turned, too filled with confusion and frustration. She started thinking about her family, her parents, and the obscene expectations they placed on her.

For most of her life, her parents had underestimated her. Their intelligence and achievements made them look down upon their daughter, who chose a life of ancient knowledge and curiosity rather than one of prestige.

Her parents set up blind dates for her with men who she knew would spend their entire lives using her as the physical representation of their insecurities — the less intelligent wife that would continuously place them on a pedestal for their intellectual endowments.

That wasn’t something Kara was up for, and she voiced it quite clearly. But despite her assertions, they constantly invited her over during times when a coworker, or the son or daughter of a coworker, would conveniently be visiting.

She recalled one specific time she was set up with a lawyer her supreme court mother had met on multiple occasions. He was sweet and attractive enough but entirely myopic in his sense of entitlement.

They started talking about homelessness issues, and he was quick to degrade the people and their “inherent laziness.”

“Well, it's been statistically proven that begging on the street is the last resort for most people experiencing homelessness,” Kara had remarked.

She bit onto her fork hard, sliding the metal off the bottom of her teeth with intention. The man scrunched his nose and looked over his glasses at her with some resentment.

The dinner did not go well. But her parents continued, despite all of her objections and affirmations, that a man wasn’t going to give her meaning in life.

As she lay by the fire, an amusing image settled in her dozing mind — that of Bolt wearing a well-fitted suit and similar horn-rimmed glasses. She thought about how good his arms would look, straining in those finely sewn fabrics.

Kara giggled to herself at the thought. She felt Elle look at her, apparently not asleep after all.

“Are you okay?” Elle asked.

Her eyes looked weary and tired. Kara wasn’t going to get into it now with her.

“Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry,” Kara whispered. “Just can’t sleep. I’ll be quieter.”

Elle smiled, then turned back over. Kara closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep. She knew she needed it, which was not going to make her sleep, all the same.

The fire crackled in front of her, and she tried to let it lull her to sleep. When she was finally about to doze, she heard movement. She sat up, startled, then realized it was Bolt.

He was holding a basket of berries that he placed next to her. He raised his brows at her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Kara frowned. He was good at irritating her, but she didn’t want to say that.

“I heard something. I have to keep everyone safe,” Kara said.

Bolt wiped his hands on his pants, then turned away from her, snagging his sleeping bag.

“I’m going to sleep near the front,” he said. “In case anything happens.”

He gave her a wink before he walked away. Kara didn’t get a chance to respond, and she could feel her face getting hot with anger.

“f*****g asshole,” she whispered to herself.

She laid herself down roughly, trying to think about anything but the attractive man who was leading her around this unknown place. She fell into darkness when she let herself think of his hands on her body.