The Arena

A Visitor From All Over (Part 2)

"But who is she?" said Acadia exasperatedly, hands held up to the sky.

Elliot shrugged. They strolled just left of the edge of the road, the sun barely above the horizon.

"Who knows. There's all sorts of travelers that come through here..." he scrunched up his nose. "'Heading to Valhalla'. That's what everyone says."

Acadia shook her head. Usually, she agreed with him... Just fools heading for their own demise. But something about that girl... She closed her eyes, picturing her in her mind. No. She hadn't been imagining it. Acadia opened her eyes and turned to Elliot. He stopped.

"What is it?"

"Didn't you see her hair? She had red hair, Elliot! Red!"

"What? Why does her hair matter?"

She folded her arms. "Who else have you met with hair like that?"

His eyes moved to the top of Acadia's head.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

He paused for a long moment, glancing over his shoulder.

"Well, your hair's blue. She's probably from a different tribe than you." Elliot turned and kept walking.

"That doesn't mean she hasn't heard anything," she hurried to catch up. "Who knows... she could have a relative that's friends of someone who knows my family!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, it's not impossible. Didn't you see how she responded when I asked her where she's from? People from the tribes tend not to be welcomed in cities, I know that much. And Valhalla's the biggest city around..."

She left the sentence hanging in the air as both of them stopped in their tracks on the edge of the schoolhouse courtyard. There, sitting on a worn wooden bench, was the girl they'd met in the square. Acadia elbowed Elliot in the side.

"I know, I know!" he whispered.

She wore the same clothes from the night before and read from a tattered grey book to a group of young kids. Ms. Elaine emerged from the brick building, holding a tray, and walked over to the bench.

"Snack time!" she said in a sing-song voice.

The kids jumped up and rushed for the food. She set the tray down and turned to the girl.

"Thank you for watching them, Karina."

"No trouble, Ms. Elaine, none at all," she smiled.

"Ms. Elaine!" Elliot called out, waving one arm as he walked over.

Acadia followed behind him.

"Good morning, Elliot! Thank you so much for offering to help with the leak."

"No trouble, Ms. Elaine," he looked at Karina from the corner of his eye. "None at all."

"I know you two!" Karina said, standing up. "Thank you for giving me directions yesterday."

"No problem," Acadia mumbled.

Ms. Elaine started. "You know each other?"

They nodded. Ms. Elaine tilted her head to the side, then straightened back up.

"Well, then, all the better. Karina's agreed to help you repair the leak."

Elliot's eyebrows rose and he forced a smile. Acadia stared at Karina's hair. They followed Ms. Elaine into the rundown school house. The floorboards creaked with every step. Acadia glanced into a room on her right to see ancient school desks, covered with years of student graffiti. At the end of the hall, they climbed onto an equally decrepit staircase and walked up to the dormitories.