The Final Showdown - The Moon Trilogy - Book 3

Chapter thirty-three:

   Days passed. At least three.

   More? Maybe.

   It was just like the short time when Clarity had fallen into the coma. A blur, days only separated by whatever job they managed to scrape together out of the few crimes or accidents or what have you going on in the city.

   The news was constantly on in the living room, but Rachel tuned it out. Something about aliens and footage and massive panic that all probably tied in to what happened on the rooftop the day Clarity disappeared on her hopeless rescue mission.

   Was she dead, now? Maybe. It had certainly been too long for a simple rescue mission.

   More days, or were they just hours? Rachel didn't know, and she allowed Benny to take over in the kitchen. He knew enough about it to at least make something presentable while keeping the building fire-free.

   Why was Clarity always getting herself into things she couldn't get herself out of? And why was it never Rachel that was there to get her out?

   Another day. How long, now? A week, at least.

   It was overcast, today. The news was still on, almost directly in front of Rachel's face but going completely unwatched... by her eyes, anyway. Ellie, however, was offering the TV her full attention, sitting on the cushion right next to Rachel despite the fact that both of the other couches were completely empty.

   Through the apartment, the sound of the door opening was just a faint click. Rachel did a mental tally, checking off team members one by one to figure out who was entering.

   And that was when she realized... no one had left. Scarlett could have gone via teleportation, directly from her room, but then it stood to reason that she would return exactly the same way. So who was coming in?

   If she had hackles, they would definitely be raised. Someone had tracked them down... one of Eric's cronies, still loyal to him even after he'd died.

   She rose to her feet slowly, carefully, silently ordering Ellie to stay with a stern glance that she hoped got the message across well enough.

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   The sky was overcast with a thick fog.

   Clarity had really been hoping to leave the dreary weather behind on the tree planet, but it seemed to be following her around.

   She hadn't been expecting anyone on the roof, but she was still slightly disappointed to find that not a single person was there. Of course, they couldn't have been anticipating her return, especially after such a long time, but still...

   Clarity took one last look around, as a precaution, before heading over to the door and ducking down into the stairway. It was a challenge getting the apartment door open with such a heap of presents clutched against her chest, but she managed.

   It was the same as always. The doorway to the kitchen was just a few feet ahead and to the right. She wondered what time it was. Would they be eating lunch? Breakfast? Was it late enough for dinner yet? The hidden sun hadn't given anything away.

   She peered through the doorway, but the kitchen was empty. She walked over and allowed her arms to empty their load onto the kitchen counter. Johnny followed her lead.

   A rapid series of thumps: running footsteps. Clarity turned, but not quick enough to avert the attack.

   "Oh my, gosh. I thought you were dead!" Rachel exclaimed, throwing her arms around Clarity's shoulders. Was that a trace of teary emotion in her voice, or was that just Clarity's imagination?