Arachna

Chapter 6: A Night to Remember

Sleep eluded Lance. He lay on the mattress, the smallest of pops or sounds of movement startling him.

He had nobody to blame for this but himself. He never should've joined this group to begin with.

A pile of blankets sat atop him, and a beefsteak MRE warmed his stomach, but he shivered like he was having withdrawals. He gritted his teeth at the memories that surfaced. A small part of him wished for it, for the sweet relief those substances brought; something that could calm him down and get him to sleep. He rubbed at his arm, tracing the faint marks left behind from years ago.

Lance didn't know how long it took for him to fall asleep. All he remembered was the darkness surrounding him, lingering over him like a predator.

Someone shook him awake.

"You going to sleep all day, oh leader, sir?" Kaela asked. The contempt in her voice was gone.

Lance waved her away as he rubbed his eyes and said with a yawn, "Only if I can get away with it." He sat up and looked around the room, ignoring the tightness in his chest. "Where's Derek?"

"He went out the back door a few minutes ago," Kaela said. "The building next to us has a fire escape, so he's going to get on the roof and see if he can spot anything out of the ordinary."

"What time is it?"

Kaela glanced at the computer. "About six."

"In the afternoon?"

"Nope."

"Then what was that about me sleeping all day?"

Kaela shrugged. "I was bored, wanted someone to talk to."

Lance rubbed his face as he imagined his real bed and his TV awaiting him at his store. The two best luxuries he could have ever asked for, and he'd only had one night with them. But he would give them up in a heartbeat if it meant he could get out of this miserable underground nightmare. "What have you been doing?"

Kaela sat in the computer chair. "I've been doing some research on Landreau Corp."

"And?"

Kaela gave a thumbs down and blew a raspberry. "Nothing important. These people are pretty good at making themselves scarce." She clicked her tongue. "Waste. Of. Time."

Lance rolled out of bed, stretching his stiff back. The cold floor sent a shock through his feet and up his spine. That Kaela could even act rested this early baffled him. "Any news on Eric?"

Kaela shook her head. "Derek hasn't heard from any of his agents, and I haven't heard from any of my escorts... I sent out an email to Amari, but I don't know when I'll hear back." She leaned her head on her hand and stared at the screen. "I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure they are."

Kaela hummed. "Well, I'll check on them once Derek gives the okay for us to leave. Then I can go get changed." She sighed. "A nice hot shower wouldn't be too bad, either."

The ladder creaked, and Derek walked in a moment later.

"How is it out there?" Lance asked.

"Pretty good. Everything looks normal. Once nightfall hits, we should be able to leave." Derek's eyes lit up, and he took a pack of cards out of his pocket. "But until then, I figured we could waste some time with a few games of poker?"

"Wait... wait, what do you mean nightfall?" Kaela asked. "I need to change, pick up a dress, check on my businesses. I'm not waiting until night to leave this dump. You said yourself everything looks normal."