\u201cIf you could be anywhere right now,\u201d said the red-haired girl, \u201cwhere would it be?\u201d<\/p>\n
Murmurs went up and down the rows. Holiday resorts. Families. Idyllic destinations. More than a few settled for their own beds.<\/p>\n
One big, brown-haired fellow just grunted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Matt,\u201d urged the redhead. \u201cThere’s got to be some<\/em> place you’d rather be than here, isn’t there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, sure there is, Jamie,\u201d the big guy drawled. \u201cBut what’s the point in thinking about it?\u201d He shrugged, lapsing into silence.<\/p>\n Some moments later, someone had the bravery to ask, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do I<\/em> mean? You really want to know?\u201d Matt glowered at the hesitant nods. \u201cDoesn’t look like it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSeriously, think about it.\u201d Matt gestured at the window, at the dull brown nothing rolling past. \u201cWhat good does it to to think of somewhere else? We’re here, every last one of us. And we’re going to stay<\/em> here for who knows how long.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJesus, Matt,\u201d someone whispered \u2013 not in censure, but in shock. \u201cYou’re really<\/em> taking that kinda rough. Is everything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d another chimed in. \u201cI don’t remember you ever being this<\/em> bitter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA few days ago I was somewhere I liked<\/em> being,\u201d Matt shot back. \u201cNow I’m here, just like all of you. And sure, nobody likes this place. The weather’s hot and nasty, there’s nothing to see, the bugs will eat you alive, and that’s not even starting<\/em> on what we’re here to do. But what’s it matter? We’re here now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody’s gotta have a dream,\u201d someone murmured.<\/p>\n Matt replied with a snort. \u201cYeah, yeah. I used to try that. I had the grandest hopes \u2013 a nice condo up in a high-rise, looking out over a city that was always hopping. A job I could work at during the day, then leave behind and go home to live it up. I even had a hot romance in that dream, too.\u201d Oblivious to eyes lighting up with curiosity all around him, he forged on, \u201cAbout five-nine, slim and sleek, a good handful downstairs, and would he ever<\/em> wail when we got going….\u201d He trailed off into a frustrated sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoa,\u201d Jamie breathed. \u201cI, uh, guess that explains why you’ve been immune to the ladies, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGuess it does,\u201d Matt breathed; then, with a bit of a growl, \u201cGot a problem with that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, hell<\/em> no,\u201d she assured him, grinning. \u201cHad a particular guy in mind, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYep,\u201d grumbled Matt. \u201cDon’t see him on my arm now, though, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, God,\u201d someone gasped, dismayed.<\/p>\n Matt snorted. \u201cNone of the rest of it, either. What did all those fine dreams get me? Just a whole load of hurt. That little fantasy isn’t gonna happen, and thinking about it doesn’t make the days any easier. Just brings back the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMatt…\u201d A hand came to light on his shoulder, giving a squeeze.<\/p>\n He didn’t shake it off; he just sighed, closing his eyes. \u201cLike it or not, we’re here now. We’d better get used to it; we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone lurched in their seats as they came to a halt. Matt was the first to rise, grabbing his bag from the rack and slinging it over one arm. With his rifle over his back, he stomped down the aisle and stepped out onto the dirt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A bit of collective daydreaming runs over old, half-healed wounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-one-shot","tag-flash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions\/301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}