Read Online Genesis by Kaitlyn O'Connor - Free Book Online Page B

free--not that that was going to help her if she couldn’t figure out how to climb the damned tree.
    She’d envisioned it as a defensive position where a club might actually do her some good. If she could climb, they probably could, too, but she thought if she could get high enough the thin branches might not support their weight and then, if she had a club, and they could only come at her one at the time, she could use the club to beat them loose.
    It wasn’t a wonderful thought, but she sure as hell didn’t have a chance of defending herself against them any other way that she could see.
    “ Ropa ,” she repeated, trying to roll her ‘r’ the way Consuelo had. “Gown- ropa , gown- ropa . It sounded like robe so she decided she must have the translation right. “Woman,” she said to Consuelo while she worked, then lifted her head and pointed to Consuelo. “Woman.”
    “ Madre ,” Consuelo came back.
    Bri looked at her doubtfully. “Woman is madre in Spanish?”
    Consuelo nodded vigorously, but Bri still felt doubtful. She pointed at Kole without looking at him. “Man--woman--woman. Man-- madre--madre ?”
    Consuelo looked surprised and then chuckled. “No, no.” She formed a cradle with her arms. “ Madre .”
    “Oh god!” Bri exclaimed covering her face. “At this rate I’m going to fucking die of old age before I ever manage a decent conversation! And a hell of a conversation its going to be at that if half the words I learn mean something completely different from what I’d trying to say, damn it!”
    A commiserating expression flickered across Consuelo’s face, but she didn’t look particularly distressed about the fact that they were the only damned humans on the fucking ship and couldn’t even talk to each other. Why hadn’t she learned Spanish in school?
    Because it hadn’t occurred to her that she might ever need it!
    If Consuelo had known even a little English, or she a little Spanish, they would’ve at least known when they were on the right track! As it was, they were only guessing they understood each other.
    “Shit!”
    “ Mierda !”
    Bri’s head snapped up from what she was doing, and she burst out laughing.
    Consuelo looked a little disconcerted and embarrassed, but she chuckled, too.
    The expression on Consuelo’s face was enough to set her off again just when she thought she’d mastered the urge to laugh. “I suppose it says something about the human race that there are probably more people that can curse in a half dozen different languages than there are who can carry on a conversation in those same languages,” she said wryly. “I’m not sure what--That we like being able to express our displeasure?”
    Shaking her head, she went back to the lessons, pointing to first one thing and then another and saying the word for it, and then listening and carefully repeating the translation. She wasn’t sure how helpful it was, besides passing the time and allowing her and Consuelo to stab at communication, but at least it made her feel as if she was making progress and there was less room for error in learning the words for nouns they could both look at and verify.
    When she’d finished knotting the length of material into something that looked useable, she settled it over one shoulder and under her other arm, tugged at it to make certain the knots would hold, and then picked Cory up and carefully arranged him in the sling she’d made.
    The minute she settled him, he flung both arms and legs out and went rigid, as if he felt like he was falling.
    Whether it would work or not was immaterial if Cory didn’t feel secure in it. She gathered him in her arms to soothe him when he let out a panicked wail.
    “Bri!”
    Frowning, Bri responded to Kole’s call before she could stop herself, her head swiveling toward the sound of his voice.

    Chapter Five

    Kole held out his hands. “Give de ting.”
    Bri glared at him distrustfully and held Cory tighter. “Hell no!”
    His lips