The Arena - The Moon Trilogy - Book #2

Chapter nine:

As Clarity got closer, the light under the door seemed to glow brighter, giving her a beacon of hope as well as a physical light to follow.

She stumbled a few more steps until she was directly in front of the thin beam. She reached out with her hands, groping around for a doorknob. It felt like it was made out of some sort of metal confirming that it was, in fact, a door.

A few moments later, her fingers caught on a handle. She gripped it tightly with both hands as she began to push with all her might on the cold, metal door. She stopped and tried pulling, but there was even less give than before, so she went back to shoving.

Several minutes later, she still didn't have the door open, so she decided to try ramming up against the door with her side.

With the minimum visibility, she was only able to shuffle back a few steps before she surged forward again, slamming into the door with her full weight. The impact jarred her ribs and her clenched jaw rattled harshly.

Although the door didn't open as she had hoped, it did budge ever so slightly. Hope welled up in her throat. She backed up to try again. She took a deep breath and charged at the door.

Upon impact, the door burst open with a loud thud, and she tumbled into a heap in the dimly-lit hallway beyond. She groaned.

That's gonna leave a mark, she thought for the second time that week. She forgot that, with this kind of excitement, there was usually pain. Maybe living a 'boring' life wasn't so bad after all.

She rubbed the sore spots that had been jammed against the door and carefully checked the scrapes on her wrist.

In the narrow hallway, there was only one bare lightbulb illuminating the space, and although the lighting was far better than that of the room she had just left, she still couldn't see more than a few feet down either way.

After a minute of standing there, relieved that she was out of the dark room, Alex came out into the hallway behind her, followed shortly by Clara and Sam.

"What now?" Clara whispered, her eyes stretched wide.

Alex was about to say something, but he only managed to get a single syllable out before a loud voice from somewhere down the hall cut him off. All four of their heads whipped around at the unfamiliar voice. Clarity strained to hear what was being said.

"I told you I heard something!" a man said loudly.

"And I said that it was probably nothing. All of the prisoners are out cold. There's no way you heard anything." Another man replied in a tone just below a shout. He had a New Yorker accent. She immediately imaged him as a cartoonish thug, which he probably wasn't.

"We should check anyway." The first man said though he'd brought his volume down a few notches.

"Forget it. We need to check in with the boss." The other man said.

Alex started walking down the hall in the direction of the voices. He beckoned for the others to follow.

Before he disappeared into the blackness on the outskirts of the bulb's light, Clarity saw that his wings and back were almost covered in dried blood. There was probably more on his front half, but she'd been too distracted to notice.

She crept after him as silently as she was able. She heard Sam and Clara follow.

Clarity slowed when her visibility left completely, her arms stretched out in front of her to prevent bumping into anything. And she was glad she was doing it, too. Her hands struck a gritty wall and she was forced to turn.

Then she realized that she could see again. It was the same as in the dark room. Up ahead was the thinnest sliver of light coming from what had to be the crack beneath a door. Two slices of darkness interrupted where Alex's legs blocked out the light.

Now that they were closer, Clarity could hear the distinct murmur of quiet conversation. The jumble of voices didn't get any clearer until she was pressed against the door with Alex beside her, straining to hear.

"I'm trying as hard as I can, but this darned radio doesn't work right down here." The non-Boston man said in frustration. His voice was faintly raspy. Maybe he had a cold, or he smoked.

"Well, hurry it up. The boss said that the prisoners were dangerous. I'd hate to have to move them when they're awake." The man with the accent replied. "The last thing we need is another accident."

After a second, there was the distinct sound of a radio squealing. A small noise of victory sounded behind the door.

"Yes, this is Underworld. Calling Atlantis. We have the Gladiators in our possession. We are awaiting further instruction. Out." it was the raspy voice again.

Underworld? Atlantis? Gladiators? What are these guys talking about?

The radio crackled with static for a brief moment.

"This is Atlantis. We read you loud and clear Underworld. Sending a team to retrieve Gladiators. Reminder; do not engage the Gladiators. They are dangerous. Out." someone said on the other side of the radio. It was a female voice, from what she could distinguish once the static was done with it.

"Copy that, Atlantis. Over and out." the men on the other side of the door said in unison.

Without warning, Alex swung the door open and rushed into the room. Clarity didn't even have a chance to stop him. Instead, she rushed in after him. No use letting him fight alone. She had no idea what she was doing, but then again, she didn't really have to.

When she gained her bearings after the sudden change in light, she saw that both men were attacking Alex with reckless abandon. Alex was almost caving beneath the blows, but he had so far managed to keep himself upright. And that was no small feat. Both men were enormous, with huge muscles. They were easily a head taller than Alex. They almost were the cartoonish thugs from her imagination, just grimier and lacking the tattoos.

She reached up and grabbed the nearest man by the shoulder. She spun him around and when he was still confused, she hit him square in the jaw. After the blow, her hand stung, but it was clear that she had at least given him a headache.

The big man raised his fist to hit her, but she was too quick. She dodged under his elbow and came up behind him. With all of her strength, she leaped up onto the giant's shoulders and used his own weight to bring him crashing to the concrete floor. She pushed away at the last moment so that her legs wouldn't be crushed.

He landed with a dull thud. She jumped up and was still ready for a fight, but to her surprise, he lay motionless where she had brought him down. She noticed with a faint wave of nausea that a tiny pool of blood had sprung up around his head.

She looked over at Alex. He too, had knocked his opponent out. He spun around in anticipation of handling her goon as well. His shock was quite apparent.

He was as surprised as she was at the fact that she'd managed to knock the guy out.

He didn't say anything, but it was clear that he was impressed.

A second later, Sam and Clara dashed into the room, both of them looking rather dumbfounded. They had obviously not fully awakened yet. Sam seemed especially out of it, and he blinked in the light for a solid minute.

"Okay. I have no idea what just happened, but I'm going to ask again: What now?" Clara asked. There was a large bruise on her forehead and a nasty gash leaking blood through the sleeve on her shoulder.

"We need to get out of here," Alex replied in a low tone.