Free Broken Episode One by Odette C. Bell

chin that really
tingled. Her stomach too.
    She couldn’t look him in the eye, and instead
concentrated way too keenly on the patch of wall over his left
shoulder.
    “Okay, all done,” he said as he stepped back and
pocketed the spray-on skin.
    “Thank you,” she managed, her voice way too high for
some reason.
    There was an awkward moment where they looked at
each other, then Josh snorted. “Purple really suits you.”
    “Wait, what?” She delicately felt her cheeks.
    “That’s a stand-out statement, that is.” He chuckled
meanly to himself. “Now hurry up; we need to find a way out of this
tin can so we can have a little chat to the Captain.”
    Mimi didn’t say anything as Josh led her forward
with a brief wave.
    He was about to turn mean again, wasn’t he? She
could feel it. Now the immediate threat was almost over, Josh Cook
was going to become the same cruel man she’d learned to loathe.

Chapter 10
    It took him ages to find a way out of the ship. If
he’d had his armor, he could have done it in seconds. The damn
stuff was back at the Academy though. He was meant to be under
cover for this mission, and there was no good excuse to take your
battle armor on a resort cruise.
    The longer they remained trapped in the belly of
that broken ship, the more irritated he got.
    Mimi thankfully was silent. In fact, she was doing a
pretty darn good job of staying out of his way.
    That wouldn’t last though, would it? As soon as they
got out of here, she’d go back to being the arrogant, maddening
brat he’d learned to loathe. In fact, it was a surprise she hadn’t
taken the opportunity to turn her recording orb on to document this
whole mess. It was also a surprise she hadn’t started asking him
more questions about his past.
    Finally, after what felt like hours, they made their
way into the cargo bay. He had to pry apart a door with his bare
hands to make it in, but once they were inside, they saw light.
    Josh swore and laughed.
    At the other end of the room, there was a massive
crack in the hull. It had let in a mountain of sand. Enough sand,
in fact, to climb up.
    He raced towards it. It was only when he was halfway
up that he realized Mimi wasn’t following. He turned around, his
boots skidding in the sand as he lost the purchase his momentum had
given him.
    She was searching through the cargo, biting her lip
as she concentrated.
    “What the heck are you doing?” He called to her.
    “Looking for my luggage.”
    “Are you serious? We need to get out of here.”
    “Hold on, I think I’ve found it. It’s just under
this enormous chunk of metal.”
    “Mimi, get your ass over here now,” he snapped at
her. “Don’t you jeopardize our lives just because you’re looking
for your precious stuff. Your dad can replace whatever you’ve
lost.”
    She
blinked at him, her surprise obvious. “I’m just —”
    “I said move,” he snarled.
    Still clearly shocked, she made her way up the sand
bank towards him. She kept her distance though.
    “It figures someone like you would prioritize
possessions over people,” he said meanly.
    “Why are you suddenly being so mean again?” She
asked quietly.
    “You just reminded me why I hate you; you’re a
spoilt brat.”
    “Don’t you think you’re overreacting? I just thought
having luggage would be kind of useful considering we’re stuck on a
desert planet a long way from home.”
    “Yeah, right. You’ve probably got your jewelry hoard
in there or something.”
    “Do I look like the kind of person to wear enough
jewelry to have a hoard of it, Josh?”
    “Shut up and keep walking,” he snapped.
    She fumed.
    It had
finally happened; Josh had turned mean again. And she was
right – it had happened right
when they’d reached safety. With the immediate threat over, he
could default to being a prick once more.
    She crossed her arms as she followed him up the sand
drift, until finally they made it out into the light. Though there
was a considerable lip of