Gaze (✔)

Chapter Seventeen: Schism

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Clara closed the car door gently after her, pleased when Joanna did the same. They didn’t need to attract any attention to themselves. If Sam was still here with Luke, which she hoped he was, he would be angry that she brought back-up.

After seeing that the first warehouse was heavily locked and seemingly untouched, they had headed for the second: a large, imposing building that she had learned the external layout of. While en route, Dylan had gleefully presented her with a few of the weapons they had managed to snag from the Faction building. She was relieved: going in defenceless would get her killed. She hadn’t even thought about it.

“Go ahead inside, check it out. I’ll walk around; make sure there’s nobody else out here.” Dylan suggested in a whisper, his earlier carefree expression gone.

Clara nodded in agreement. “Be quick.” She murmured, before turning towards the unlocked entrance with Joanna beside her. She was well aware of the fact that they were a day late, and her throat was caught with worry – but a desperate part of her insisted that Sam had to be there. He didn’t seem like the type to give up.

She raised the crossbow Dylan had provided her with, nodding at Joanna to also unsheathe the dagger she’d picked up. It was an impressive blade, she had to admit, but from past experiences she knew it wasn’t always handy.

Blinking through the darkness, Clara pushed open the large, heavy double doors, wincing at the screeching noise they made. Inside was not much better. The open doors provided some light from the city outside, but she could still barely make out the shapes in front of her.

Warily raising her loaded crossbow, she called out, “Sam!”

“Clara!” his voice boomed throughout the warehouse with a cheerful tone, although she couldn’t find the source. “So glad you could make it, sister. Turn on the lights, would you Rick? I’m afraid humans just don’t have the same eyesight as us.”

She held her ground, blinking fiercely against the sudden blinding light that filled the room. She quickly adjusted and searched the area. She stood in a large, open space framed by shipping containers which looked like they had been cleared solely for this meeting. Sam sat upon one of them, his legs dangling down as he watched his sister casually.

“You’re late.” He said, his voice dropping to an intimidating level. “And you brought a friend…” Sam stared at Joanna for a moment, jumping down from the large container and landing gracefully on his feet – a fall that would have surely broken Clara’s ankles.

“I recognise you,” he let a small grin slip as he walked towards them with slow, swaggering strides, sending Joanna a wink. “The last time I saw you, I left you screaming.”

“Where the hell is Luke?” Clara demanded quickly, tiring of her brother’s games. She still held the crossbow aimed at his chest, which he noted with a raised eyebrow.

“Dead, what did you think?” he said, followed by a raucous, booming laugh. “I’m joking, I’m joking – of course I’m joking! Did you really think that I would kill him without you here to watch?” Although I don’t appreciate being made to wait. Luke found out first hand just how angry it makes me.”

Clara scowled at his manic grin, stepping forward and pushing the crossbow out further. “Where is he?” she yelled.

“Careful, Clara, you might hurt yourself -”

Her patience lost, she released the bolt and watched with satisfaction as it flew towards his chest, perfectly aimed. He closed his fist around it with inhuman speed, catching it before it could pierce his skin.