Cat N' Mau5

Chapter 12: Reunited

My eyes snapped open at the sound of another loud crash. I shifted my weight nervously, careful not to hurt my leg. Either the mass amounts of metal above my head wasn’t stable and could come crashing down on me at any moment, or something was pushing it. I desperately hoped for the first option, although it wasn’t any more reassuring.

Slowly I began to drag myself over to the hollowed out path I had been working on. It took a lot of effort, but I had managed to pull away at the scrap. Underneath a piece I had found an unopened bottle of energy drink, which is what has been keeping me going since Gerard and I were separated. I had been too scared of what else I’d uncover to continue, so I sipped slowly at the drink while waiting for Gerard. How far away could he be?

***

“MAU5!” My throat was coarse from calling his name repeatedly for the last few hours. “MAU5!” I dug at yet another pile of rubble, throwing it to the side with a crash. I knew I was close, and I crawled through the new opening, dragging a bin bag behind me. I had come across the food and drink booths, and taken one of their bags and stuffed it. The whole time I couldn’t contain my smile, because I knew that they were on the edge of the arena. It could be our way out!

“MAU5!” The sound of metal on metal drowned out my voice as I plummeted through the wall. “MAU5! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” I was pushing more bits aside when I uncovered another one. Even if I hadn’t seen the familiar finger, I would’ve smelt it a mile away. The stench of rotting flesh is hard to miss. One hand over my nose, I began to push away at the wall on top of the person. It crumbled easily, completely burying the person. Thankfully I didn’t have to uncover the squished man.

“MAU5! Where are you?” My hoarse throat closed up, pain swelling tears to my eyes. “Mau5?” I dropped the bag and flopped down on the uncomfortable metal, lowering my head to my hands.

A shuffling sound drew my attention, and I raised my head. “Mau5?”

“GEE!” I watched in wonderment as he got up on one foot, hunching over and coming toward me quite fast. I was nearly pushed backward as his strong, tanned arms embraced me in a needy hug. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I’m here,” I chuckled, accepting his hug. “Oh!” I exclaimed after a long silence of hugging. “I found this!” Mau5 let go, shifting backward into sitting position. He watched intently as I pulled out packaged chocolate, chips, soft drink and water. I handed him a Mars bar and he shredded it open, shoving in the entire thing in one mouthful.

“Where did you find these?” He breathed, mouth still full.

“There was a snacks shop in that direction,” I pointed out the hole I came in from. “It’s near the edge of the arena; I think it’s our way out!”

The words ‘way out’ rang through the air. Mau5 stopped chewing, and the only thing you could hear were the faint puffs exuberating from my nose. A shiver ran down my spine, and I reached into the bag and took out a packet of skittles. I smiled, as they were Frank’s absolute favourite. “Gerard?” Mau5 brought me out of my memories and into the present. “How close are we to the exit?”

I chewed a handful of the tasty lollies thoughtfully. “Well, if we take the path I just came from, it would only take about,” I paused, looking down at his leg. “Hmm, maybe an hour at most? But that would only be in we kept going without stopping.”

He nodded, thinking of how his leg will completely slow the process down. “I’ll be fast. Never mind my leg.”

“Well we still have the debris to move out of the way before we can get out. As far as I know, it ends right behind the shops, so we can sleep under cover with loads of food and drinks.” Although my news was exciting, the seriousness of our situation kept the mood solemn.

“So this is it. Maybe another day and we’ll be safe. Out of this grave, probably living completely separate lives,” Mau5 stated. He was right, after this we may never even see each other again.

“What about your head? Any memories come back yet?” I inquired.

“No,” he shook his head. “But I hope they do soon, otherwise I might have a bit of trouble when we escape.”

“Escape?”

“Yeah…” he looked over his shoulder, as if checking for something. “Listen,” he lowered his voice. “I get this feeling, that there’s something out there. I mean, how could one robot manage to completely demolish this place? The dome wouldn’t have been built if it collapses that easily, it was supposed to protect the competitors from the robots.”

“Robot remnants,” I pointed out. What he was suggesting was sickening. “Not the entire thing.” He nodded, seemingly forgetting about his conspiracy theory and going back to his food. But what he said nagged at the back of my mind, and I began to doubt myself. How could an accident cause all of this?

My eyes snapped open at the sound of another loud crash. I shifted my weight nervously, careful not to hurt my leg. Either the mass amounts of metal above my head wasn’t stable and could come crashing down on me at any moment, or something was pushing it. I desperately hoped for the first option, although it wasn’t any more reassuring.