The Arena - The Moon Trilogy - Book #2

Chapter twenty-eight:

Once her fury had calmed down to a simmering tempest in the pit of her stomach, Clarity shook herself out of her thoughts and rose haltingly to her feet. She had no idea how long she had been in the strange daze, but her legs had had enough time to fall asleep.

She snapped to attention when she saw that their friendly neighborhood mole was at the door. The only reason she knew that he wasn't hostile, and was, in fact, the same guard as before, was the sign language that he was using to get his message across to 77432.

A strong sense of déjà vu struck Clarity as she watched 77432 and the mysterious guard sign a conversation that lasted a few minutes, then the guard left, and 77432 walked back to her seat. It happened so close to the first time that she could have assumed they had been following a script taken from that same encounter.

"What did he say?" Clarity asked, the lump in her throat making her voice crack. She could still feel the sting of tears threatening the backs of her eyes, ready to flow at any moment.

"He said that the others are all aware of the change in plan. Everyone is prepared." 77432 said. "He also mentioned that he was sorry about your friend." She added as an afterthought, her voice lacking any of the emotions that Clarity felt boiling inside of her when she thought of Clara. It was understandable, considering the fact that 77432 probably hadn't even known of Clara's existence until very recently, but Clarity still felt a bud of irritation sparking in her chest. Her mouth opened a second longer than it should have been, but no more words came.

"Anything else?" Clarity wanted to know everything, and she had a feeling that 77432 was holding something back. That brief beat of a pause after she finished talking spoke volumes.

77432 sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "He let me know that he would try to keep them from incinerating her..." she spoke quietly, her tone subdued.

They were going to incinerate Clara. The news made Clarity sick. She closed her eyes to keep the still-present tears from spilling again.

It made a sickening amount of sense, really. Where else were they supposed to put a body? It wasn't like they could bury it.

"I knew you wouldn't like it." 77432 said, her voice back to the normal lack of emotion.

She had been very right, Clarity didn't like it, and she wished she could flush the information from her mind.

"When are we actually going to start the escape plan?" Sam snapped the depressing air that had settled over the room.

For a moment, she thought that he was like their newest member—cold and void of emotion at the thought of Clara dying. His voice sounded so... normal.

Then she noticed that his eyes bore the same signs of tears that she knew had to be present in her own eyes, as well. He cared about Clara as much as any of them did.

And just like that, the last niggling thorn of doubt she'd been harboring about the cat mutant was gone. She should have realized sooner that he was permanently on their side now. It didn't matter if he used to offer his skills to the highest bidder, especially after what they'd been through.

"I told him to tell the others that we're going to start five hours from now. That will give us time to prepare. Most of the people who agreed to help weren't counting on it being this soon." 77432 replied, drawing Clarity's attention back to the present.

Sam nodded but said nothing more. It made her feel silly to think that she'd once thought that he could flip on them as soon as someone waved some cash beneath his nose. He was clearly quite a few rungs higher on the ladder than your average soulless mercenary.

Clarity had to force herself to relax, the knowledge seared into her mind that they'd be breaking out in such a short time. Everything would depend on how things worked out in just five hours.

It was so, so close, yet unbearably far away.

She expected to fidget and squirm, her racing mind too much to get any real rest, but much to her relief, she actually got some sleep. The dark haze was welcome after the turmoil of emotions and thoughts that plagued her in the waking world.

*********

The sound of the coliseum doors opening startled her awake more effectively than any alarm she'd ever used. She immediately searched the room to see who had been taken, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone, including the eight-foot-tall spider, was present. However, the relief was overshadowed by the fact that there was another pair of mutants about to battle it out in the other room.

She heard a few grunts and groans coming from the arena, but she didn't really care. She didn't want anyone to be hurt, but she was still shaken from Clara's death. She needed time to recover before watching another fight. She refused to get up and watch if she didn't need to.

Soon enough, the sound of the doors opening once again drifted through the cell. The fight was over. She felt herself release a heavy breath that she didn't know she'd been holding.

"It won't be very long before we have to start." 77432 said quietly when the clanking of the door finally ceased. "Everyone should get prepared."

Several heads nodded, expressions turned grim. Butterflies that probably looked quite a bit more like moths squirmed and fluttered through her stomach. A sort of anxious excitement began to form in her throat.

"But nothing we do will be very effective with these collars on." Rachel suddenly spoke up, plucking at the tight, white collar with one finger.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." 77432 replied right away. Although her voice still lacking everything but the cold expressionlessness, Clarity was sure that she saw a glint of apprehension in the other teleporter's eyes.

There were no more objections after Rachel spoke up, and everyone fell silent, mentally preparing themselves for what they were about to do.

A few minutes later, an idea occurred to Clarity. She didn't want to keep calling 77432 by such a name. Not only was it more than inconvenient to say a string of five numbers instead of a name every time they wanted to address her, it almost made her seemed less like a person.

"I think we should give you a name." Clarity realized only after the words were in the air that it was kind of a strange and sudden thing to say.

"What?" 77432 must have figured out that there wasn't anyone else that Clarity could be talking about.

"You need a name. Calling you '77432' every time takes too long." Clarity explained her thought process.

"Oh. I've never had a name." a thoughtful look cross her features.

"Then we'll give you one. Does anyone have any ideas?" she looked around.

"How about a flower name, like Rose?" Rachel proposed.

77432 shook her head, screwing up her face. "I don't like that."

"What about Olivia?" Alex suggested. 77432 shook her head again.

"Zoe?" Sam piped up.

"No." 77432 objected once again. "It just doesn't sound right."

Johnny looked like he might have had something to say, but of course, he couldn't say it.

Clarity was thinking hard. She liked having a task to take her mind off of things, and she was glad that she'd suggested the renaming. She thought and thought, but she couldn't think of something that fit 77432.

Just when Clarity was about to give up, she came up with a suggestion. "How about Scarlett?" she asked, knowing that it somehow fit perfectly before the golden-haired woman even replied.

77432 brightened visibly, though Clarity had yet to see anything like a smile grace her lips. "Yes, I like that one."

"Then Scarlett it is."

A deafening boom shook the floor and blasted her eardrums just as the last word left her mouth as if the declarations had brought on some apocalypse.

The trembling beneath her feet, although faint, persisted for a worryingly long time.