The Arena - The Moon Trilogy - Book #2

Chapter six:

When Clarity woke up, she remembered with a start what had happened the night before. The room was pitch black. She didn't know if it was day or night because the small building had no windows.

Through the darkness, she could just make out that Alex was no longer on the other couch. It didn't seem like there was anyone else awake. She blinked away the sleep in her eyes, yawning softly.

She groped around for her shoes. When she found them, she put them on, not knowing if she was putting them on the right feet, but not taking any time to make sure.

After she had her shoes on, she stumbled through the darkness to the door.

She found the doorknob and pushed her way into the outside air. Blazing sunlight greeted her when she did. She blinked a few times, the sudden light change temporarily blinding her.

The field looked even bigger in daylight. It seemed to stretch out for miles, nothing in sight but yellow grass and a few scrubby trees. It was strange not seeing buildings on the horizon. She didn't think she'd ever seen such a wide, open space before. There was just- nothing, everywhere.

She stepped out into the cool breeze. Although it was the middle of winter, it was actually quite warm. She wondered where they were. After a few seconds of standing in the warm sun, she heard something from behind her. Rachel walked up next to her.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?" Clarity asked, turning to Rachel.

"No. I was already awake." She said, shaking her head.

"Is anyone else awake?" Clarity asked.

"Alex went to find something to eat. Sam is still out looking for August. I don't know about the others." Rachel replied, closing her eyes.

"Do you know who that house belongs to?" Clarity jerked her thumb towards the white building. She realized afterward that Rachel couldn't see the gesture, so it was pointless.

"Not for sure. I think it's August's or maybe his family's, but, as I said, I'm not sure." She shrugged.

There was a thud from behind them, coming from somewhere past the house. Clarity whipped around. Alex stood there, a big, black bag slung over one shoulder.

"Did you find something good?" Rachel asked, also turning to look at Alex.

"Yup," Alex said, lifting the bag. He threw the heavy-looking bag at Rachel. She caught it without difficulty. After peering inside for a minute, she headed back into the small house. Alex and Clarity followed her in.

There was a small light on the ceiling that cast a warm glow over the whole room. Rachel was starting a fire. Clara was sitting on one of the armchairs, a groggy look on her freckled face. Johnny was still curled up in a sleeping bag in the corner of the room. He showed no signs of waking, or that he even noticed the commotion going on barely even a few feet away from him.

After Rachel started the fire, she began scrambling back and forth, grabbing various things from previously hidden storage spaces. Soon enough, there was a large pot of water hanging above a crackling fire. Rachel used the items that Alex had brought and started making soup.

Clarity wondered why Rachel was making soup for breakfast. The thought slipped from her mind as she sat in a chair.

Suddenly, the room started growing dim. Her surroundings disappeared and she could no longer hear Rachel cooking. It took her a second to realize that she was in the same black room from the previous night's dream. She frantically started searching for a door. She was definitely not asleep. It was definitely not a dream.

There was a noise from behind her. She spun on her heel, ready for a fight.

Instead of a hostile, August stood in the middle of the black room, his eyes closed.

"August?" she asked. He looked different than the last time she had seen him and different than in her dreams. Rather than being bald, he had black hair, slightly shorter on the sides than on top.

After a second, his eyes opened. "Clarity?" he sounded puzzled. His voice echoed strangely. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know." Clarity replied. Her voice sounded normal, with no echo whatsoever.

"Did you get my message?" he asked.

"What message?" she was thinking of her dreams. Was that the message he was referring to? Should she be worried? She thought they were nothing but pesky nightmares.

"The message about the Organization?" he took a step closer.

"What about the Organization?" she filled with ice-cold dread at the thought.

"I can't talk here." He said, casting suspicious glances at the corners of the empty room. "Where are you?"

"I think I'm still in the house on the grassland. The white one." She said, rather uncertain. Had she somehow teleported?

"You're at my house?" August's face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Yeah. At least I was last time I checked. The others are with me. Or they were..." She replied, shaking her head to clear it. She didn't understand what was going on.

"What others?" he was suddenly alert, alarm showing clearly on his face.

"Rachel, Clara, Alex, and Johnny. Sam is out looking for you." She was starting to get genuinely worried. This wasn't a dream and he was far from kidding.

"You have to leave. They'll find you if you stay there." He seemed to be getting more and more agitated by the second.

Clarity was just about to ask who "they" were, when August suddenly dropped to his knees, his face contorted in pain.

"What's wrong?" Clarity jumped forward.

August's mouth was moving, but no sound was escaping. It looked like he was yelling something. Then he stopped. His face went slack and his black eyes rolled back into his head. He slumped to the floor. A second later, he vanished.

Clarity was suddenly back in the white building. Alex and Clara were standing over her.

"Are you okay?" Clara asked.

  Clarity had somehow gotten on the floor.

"I think so." Clarity said, rising into a sitting position.

"What just happened?" Rachel asked, standing just behind Clara and Alex.

"I think I was just talking to August." She said.