The Arena - The Moon Trilogy - Book #2

Chapter twenty:

"But what can we do? We're all stuck in this cell." Rachel protested immediately. "And there's no way we're getting out any time soon." She flicked her hand towards the thick metal bars that stood between them and freedom. They were firmly rooted in the floor and ceiling. There was no hope of ever breaking through them.

"There has to be a way. There's always a way." Clarity said, refusing to give up until she had exhausted every option. She started pacing while the others sat down. She couldn't sit still so soon after seeing the brutal fight. Her blood was boiling too hot for her to pretend that everything was fine.

Johnny's eyes tracked her from where he was lying on the floor near Rachel's feet. His head was resting on his front feet—front paws?

"Can you at least sit down? We can figure this out just as well without you wearing a hole in the floor." Clara sounded like she was trying to make a joke, but the attempt failed miserably.

Clarity let out a sigh before sitting down next to Sam.

"Does anyone have any ideas?" She asked, her anger deflating almost as soon as she was on the bench. She felt flimsy and cold in its absence.

"We could try and remove these collars," Alex said, plucking at the plain, white band around his neck with two fingers.

"Does anybody know what these things even do?" Sam asked while he rubbed his own collar. Johnny raised his head, as if in response to the question, but Clarity didn't think he would be doing any answering any time soon.

"I think Johnathan does." Rachel said, also noticing Johnny's sudden attention.

"Until we know what these collars do, we shouldn't mess with them," Sam said. "We should think of something else until we know enough about them to make a move."

"We could wait until they open the door again, and then take them by surprise," Clara suggested hesitantly.

"We're most likely in the middle of an ocean." Sam pointed out.

It looked like Clara was about to reply, but from somewhere outside of the cell, there was the echoing sound of many footsteps. The words died before they could be spoken as she focused on the sound.

They all waited in silence, their attention trained on the ever-nearing thudding.

It wasn't long before someone came into view. There were four people. Three of the metal guards. It was hardly a surprise to see August, though it sent a pang through her to see his blank stare. Her eyes were quickly drawn to the one person that she had never been expecting to see. Johnny rose to his feet with the beginnings of a low growl. She couldn't agree more with the sentiment.

With the guards on one side, and August on the other, stood Eric Lance. He framed by the metal doorway as if he was just a picture. He was nothing more than a memory that they could point at and reminisce about.

But then he chuckled, the sound mirthless and almost evil. The sound made her really, truly realize that he was much more than a memory. He was back from the dead.

"I was hoping to see you again." He stepped a bit closer to the door of the cell.

Clarity bit back the urge to gasp. The whole left side of his face was covered in scars. His left eye was completely white. No pupil. No iris. Just white. Chills spread across her body as she looked.

"It was quite a lot of trouble to get you here, but it was worth it. I want you all to pay for what you did." The small smile that had been forming quickly turned into an angry sneer as he spoke.

"We didn't do anything. You were the one that was torturing innocent people." Clarity rose to her feet in a flash of anger, her hands balled into fists.