Blue Moon

Chapter 9

Alona watched quietly behind Arlo as he stomped his foot on the ground. She didn't understand what he was doing. He seemed to be looking for something in between two boulders.

She was about to ask what he was doing when she heard a PANG. A metal sound that echoed in the open area. He leaned down and pulled open a round, metal trapdoor.

Without saying anything he slid down into the hole and disappeared into the dark opening.

She stood staring into the dark opening. She looked around. What could she do? She didn't have much of a choice, she had to press on. She needed to focus. She took out the Polaroid and snapped a few pictures. She would panic later, for now she had to worry about surviving.

To comfort herself she resorted to being a journalist, she snapped a picture of the open trapdoor.

She heard Arlo coming back up the ladder, "It's clear. Come on."

She took a deep breath and stepped up to the hole.

Arlo slid down the ladder and waited for her to descend. Softly, he heard the gentle taps of her boots on each rung.

Alona reached the bottom and waited for Arlo to move. She stared at the muddy walls; her thumping heart reminded her that she was alive.

They began walking into the dark tunnel. Alona tried to keep close to Arlo. Since it was so dark in the tunnel she resorted to holding onto the back of Arlo's shirt.

They took a left, then two rights down the muddy tunnel. They approached a large metal door, like that of a large safe. Alona could hardly make out the outline of the large door.

He took a necklace with a card key out from his jacket pocket and stuck the card key into a small slot. He twisted the card left then waited for a small CLICK.

He shoved open the door and held it open for Alona. She briskly moved inside the large door. The room was just as dark as the tunnel. Arlo moved inside the room and closed the door behind him. She heard Arlo moving behind her, then she heard him flip a switch. The lights slowly whirred to life.

They were standing in a living room that was also a kitchen. There was a torn patchwork couch shoved into a corner, next to the couch was a small wooden table with a broken leg that was propped up with a piece of rock. The ceiling was solid red mud with chunks of stone.  

"The bedroom is around that corner and there's a bathroom across the hall." He watched her for a moment, "You hungry?"

She nodded. She was starving. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until he mentioned food. Her stomach began to ache with hunger pains.

She walked down the hall to the bathroom and opened the door, then closed it behind her. She was entirely thankful for the door knob. 

She caught her reflection in the dirty, cracked mirror. She wasn't surprised by what she saw. Her hair was messy, tangled and slightly greasy, she had smudges on her face from the make up that she had been wearing when she had been abducted by Mr. Werner. She took a cloth from the small cabinet under the sink.

The sink was a metal bowl with a pipe sticking out of the wall. She turned lifted the knob on the sink to turn on the water. The water slowly trickled out then stopped. She turned off the water then turned it back on, this time the water rushed out of the pipe. She used the cloth to wash her face.

She used a small comb in the bathroom to fix her hair. She wished she was back in her dorm. She should be texting Devon, the head of the newspaper staff, about what happened to her. She should be telling Meg about how weird Mr. Werner had acted. 

Instead... she was here. She stared at her reflection again. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She had been forcibly thrown into this new world. She felt sick suddenly. Collapsing onto her knees, she opened the makeshift toilet and threw up. Her body rocked with pain with each retch. 

"Alona, are you okay?" Arlo asked as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah." She said, her voice weak. Her hands shook as she stood and washed her face. 

Arlo was silent for a few moments, "I only have cans of beans or peaches."

Alona scoffed, "Okay." Her head felt light, she needed to eat something. She rinsed her mouth out several times to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

She opened the door and walked into the small living room area. Arlo was opening two cans of peaches. He had already opened two cans of beans.

She sat on the old couch, which creaked under her. Arlo walked over to her with a can of peaches and a spoon, which was bent awkwardly. She took it and watched as he lit a flame on the small wood stove. He heated their cans of beans then gave Alona a can. 

They sat in silence as they ate. Arlo stood by the stove, avoiding contact with Alona or warming himself by the stove, Alona couldn't tell. 

Once they had eaten Arlo cleared his throat, "You can take the bedroom. I'll sleep in here." He gestured to the couch she was sitting on. 

"You sure? This thing is really lumpy..." Alona replied.

Arlo nodded in response, "Tomorrow we'll sort things out." 

Alona wanted to ask a millions questions, she wanted to know more, but she could tell that Arlo wasn't the type you should annoy.

She left the living room and found a small bed in the bedroom. Arlo retrieved a blanket from the closet for her and one for him, then left her to sleep.

She laid awake, listening and thinking. It was so quiet that it made her restless. She couldn't help but wondering what would happen to her; would she suddenly be jerked back to her time, or would she just disappear. She didn't know how long she had in this time, or if time was even limited for her. Her mind was too busy to fall asleep, even if she was tired.

She was finally able to fall asleep, purely from exhaustion. 

--

She woke up to the sound of someone's heavy boots trudging down the hallway.

She didn't recognize where she was at first, but she was getting used to that. Waking up in strange places was her new specialty.

She realized where she was when she heard Arlo outside her room, "Alona? Are you awake?" 

She crawled out of the bed, "Yeah." She slipped on her pants and opened the door.

Arlo was no longer at her door. Confused, she walked into the living room.

"Arlo?" She asked as he stood by the door, his gun tucked into right his shoulder. His stance reminded her of the guards at the Castle. She shivered at the memory.

"Someone is close by." He said without turning around.

"How do you know?" Alona asked.

He turned around, "I can smell them."

----
Sawyer :)