Empty Closets

Serenity slid through the enormity of interstellar space with the ease of a shark. Yet within her hull there was extreme tenseness and anxiety. Jayne had not come out of his room in two days. No one had seen Inara at the dinner table and their resolute captain was quiet and withdrawn. Book seemed gloomy and seemed to stay to his room reading his bible and only smiled when anyone invited him to the dinner table. Kaylee could feel the tenseness like an alkali taste in her mouth. Soon even her unflappable optimism began to wane.

Simon had begun to worry that they were too long in space. This was the longest that Serenity had been out in space since he had been on board. All the other trips were one to two weeks at most. Counting the trip from Kalen, they had not made planet-fall in over 94 days. This crew was not the most psychologically compatible for long space trips and they still had two weeks until they docked at Acre Station. Coupled with the loss of a crew member and the actions of Jayne, the situation aboard Serenity was very much less than ideal. Simon noticed that River was the only one who seemed more happy than usual. This in itself made him wonder if he should be concerned about her.

River Tam wandered through the ship late at night as she often did. Her travels would sooner or later lead her to the cargo bay and to the refrigeration units. Strawberries were her vice. River noticed only one plat left in the refrigerator. She lifted the tender fruit out as if they were delicate gold jewelry. The fresh smell brought a smile to her face when she lifted the fist one to her mouth. Sweet flavors coursed over her tongue when she bit. Two of the red treasures went into her pocket and the rest were sealed and placed back in the refrigerator. River shut the door and turned to see Jayne gingerly walking down the stairs with two bags over his shoulder. He looked down towards Inara’s shuttle then eased down the stairwell.

River watched him while eating her straw