by Brinda Berry
I bolted upright. “Where am I again?” I sat on a pile of cardboard boxes stacked four feet high and the width of a twin bed.
I was fine, but dazed. Regulus put hands on both my shoulders. I wiggled back to remove myself from his grasp, which wasn’t difficult. His hands fell to his sides.
“Mia, it’s OK. You’re confused.” He stared with those eyes that made me want to look away before he emptied my mind of every secret thought I’d ever had. He wouldn’t break the stare and as much as I tried, I couldn’t either. We were trapped trying to read each other, scared to look away and lose the connection.
“Regulus.” Arizona placed a hand on the shoulder of the one seated by my side. “That knock to the head may be serious.”
I traced my fingertips over the back of my head. “My head has a bump,” I mumbled and recognized a fuzzy sensation.
Regulus turned to Arizona. “I cannot believe you brought her here. You’ve done this to her. I’m holding you responsible.” He stood then paced in a circle that made me dizzy.
“Hello?” My irritation grew with each second. “Is anyone going to answer me? I don’t know where we are, why you thought you could capture Bleeker by yourself, or…or…why my head hurts like I’ve been hit by Thor’s hammer.”
I watched Arizona give me an enormous grin. “Well, darlin’, we are here to save the day. To make sure Regulus makes it back home and doesn’t try anymore of these macho stunts again. To—”
A second later, Regulus slammed Arizona against the nearest wall. “That’s for disobeying the rules.”
“Stop it!” I yelled when they began scuffling in earnest. Arizona put his fist into Regulus’s side when he couldn’t get loose.
“And this is for bringing her to the Garden.” Regulus released Arizona’s jacket and landed a punch against his jaw. Arizona lunged and tackled him to the ground.
“Hey,” I yelled again, but no one listened. I could have been yelling into a black hole. I jumped up to stop them without regard for my actions or how stupid they might be.
They rolled twice and Regulus came out on top. I grabbed his coat and pulled until he paid attention to me.
Finally he stopped. He stood, brushed off his clothes then offered his hand to Arizona. Regulus pulled him halfway up, released his hand then let Arizona fall back to the concrete floor.
“And in Mia’s words, that was because you get on my last nerve.”
16
Down the Hole
“Are you finished?” I asked.
The sound of Arizona breathing like he’d run a 5k filled the alcove of what could have been a concrete parking garage or storage basement or underground bunker. I could only guess from its deserted appearance. Spooky, but clean. My relief disappeared a moment later when something scurried across the room, forcing me to pull my feet up from the floor and tuck them under my knees.
The lights indicated that the building had to be in use, and I was glad for that. I didn’t relish the thought of being locked in the dark.
“I might as well tell you this while you’re still mad.” Arizona wiped his arm dramatically across his nose.
Regulus nodded but didn’t answer.
“I lost my weapon above ground.” Arizona waited a beat. “And Mia’s bag. So…” he waited for Regulus to say something.
The buzzing lights hummed in a steady tone. Regulus still didn’t answer or look at either one of us.
“You haven’t answered my questions,” I muttered.
“You can hit me again,” Arizona whispered. “I know. I know. I thought this would be easy. I brought her in case we needed to get out fast and she could get us to a portal.”
“Mia, you don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of you,” Regulus said. “We’ll get you home.”
My face must have answered him.
“You’re not scared, right?” he continued in the calm way like trying to talk someone off a ledge.
“No. Maybe a little. Tell me where we are and how I can call my dad. I need my phone.” I hated the whine in my voice.
“Of course we’ll tell you that,” Regulus said.
Arizona stood peering around the corner and didn’t turn his head at the words he tossed over his shoulder. “We’re not alone.”
Regulus grabbed me by the waist and lifted me then deposited me on my feet. “We might be in trouble with some people who will hurt us. It’s important that you follow my lead. Understand?”
I nodded. His eyes held mine with that earnest kind of look I couldn’t help but trust. A look that spelled safety and strength. A look that I’d follow anywhere.
Regulus signaled the direction with a slight nod. He had to be crazy. Maybe I could trust him but not his judgment.
“On the count of three,” Regulus said. “One—”
“Three,” called Arizona.
I had one second to balance myself then pushed off with the ball of my back foot. Regulus grabbed my hand, jerked me roughly forward, then ran off with me. Rounding the corner, I gasped at the legion approaching us. It was a second of vision, no more, but enough to make me run hard. Thousands of tiny specks of light crawled toward us. The sight mesmerized me momentarily and then I was racing next to Regulus.
“Go,” I screamed. Without a doubt, Regulus was holding back, running slowly to keep me within his peripheral vision.
“You go,” he yelled and grabbed my hand. Arizona scaled a wall of metal scrap ahead of us. He made it look effortless.
I jumped, hit the wall and fell back when my feet didn’t find their target.
Regulus glanced back and stalled. Twisting his entire torso, he grabbed for my hand again.
My body banged against the barrier before he lifted me to him.
“Through here.” Arizona darted into a hole in the crumbling wall.
I crawled like a crab into the hold after him. Regulus followed then pulled something heavy to the entrance. Breathing roughly, I leaned my forehead against the brick.
“No time to rest,” he urged. “You don’t want the Rovers on us.”
“I—”
“Run,” Arizona yelled with a flushed, horrified look marring his face.
Crawling quickly was the best we could do. The tunnel we’d entered was filled with debris of the best unknown variety. Brown, black, and gray tones made for a dirt colored escape hole that made me feel like a rat scurrying down a maze.
My stomach roiled at smells that forced to me to hold my breath until no longer possible.
“How much farther?” I whispered to anyone who would listen.
Arizona stopped in front of me. His hand shot out and covered my mouth. “Rovers can’t hear us, but we don’t want any others looking either.”
Regulus had stopped close to me. His warm breaths tickled my neck and sent nervous chills up my spine. “We need to find a way out of here.”
“Who are you running from?” I said in a hoarse whisper.
“No, we. We are running,” Regulus corrected.
The grating sound of metal against metal pierced my ears. I put both hands over them and squeezed my eyes.
“Come on.” Arizona’s voice was strangled. He motioned with a hurried rolling of the fingers.
It occurred to me that I wasn’t sure why I was running or who might catch me or if that would be bad. I only sensed their urgency and fear. So, I followed.
My head grazed some low concrete and I ducked. Light shone ahead—Arizona had already exited through a small opening. I grunted and rolled out onto a drop of a few feet that felt like more.
Regulus’s hand on my waist meant he’d made it through. Glancing back, I wasn’t sure how his size had permitted his exit; he was much larger than I.
Arizona led the way and I followed through dark alleys until he stopped abruptly.
“What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?” I looked from one of my guides to the other.
“How do you know she’s still here?” Regulus said to Arizona. He’d ignored my question as if
I weren’t there.
“I don’t.” Arizona searched the ground. “I don’t know a thing more than you, but it’s our only chance.”
“Who are we looking for?” I scanned the ground that was probably paved at one time but now consisted of broken concrete with grass and mud holding it together.
“Stand back.” Regulus’s tone wasn’t unpleasant, but the order was definite.
“I demand an answer.” I refused to move from my spot and folded my arms across my chest.
“She’s back to her normal self,” Arizona said.
“That’s it. I’m going.” I suddenly wanted to cry but made no move to actually leave. It would be ludicrous to head off in a direction when I had no idea where I’d go.
“Hey, I was kidding.” Arizona put a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged and his hand fell away.
“Listen. I’m going home. Got it? Point me in the right direction.” I needed to stop my voice from quivering.
They exchanged looks. Then, Regulus nodded to me. “We have to hide until we can get to a portal.” His voice was gentle, persuasive.
I inhaled deeply, telling myself that I had more guts than the whimpering person I was a second ago.
“I’m OK,” I said.
Regulus grabbed my arm and jerked me against his chest.
“Holy sinkhole, Batman.” A huge, gaping hole appeared in the earth where I’d been standing seconds earlier.
“Down the hole.” Regulus gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. When I didn’t move, he added, “You won’t be going home if you’re captured.”
A ladder descended into the darkness to a point below.
“You first.” I nodded at him. My brave factor had dissolved in the last ten minutes; I didn’t want to drop into the depths of the unknown.
“You second. Arizona, last,” Regulus replied without looking my way. He climbed down and I had no choice but to follow. Arizona herded me to the hole. One foot on the ladder down and a gust of cool wind swirled around my legs.
At the bottom, I couldn’t see a thing. “You there?”
“Here,” he answered in my ear.
I stuck my hand out and found his body beside mine. He took my hand and I gladly clung to it.
The door above closed with an eerie silence.
“You guys making out? Because I’m feeling alone over here.”
I had to laugh. “Um, no. I can’t see you. I’m afraid to move.”
“You should be afraid,” a strange voice answered.
I jumped and bright lights burned my eyes.
“It’s me. Arizona,” the voice beside me said. “I’m friends with Cassie.”
“Friends?” a husky feminine voice questioned.
“Cassie?” Arizona said with a smile I could hear.
I shielded my eyes with one hand. Uneasiness tickled my spine. No one said a word. The 1000-watt light had to be pointed directly into my eyes. I wondered if they thought they were trying to light a baseball field with that lamp. I’d be seeing spots for a while.
An object pressed against the back of my head.
“Place your hands behind your back,” a male voice said. The object tapped my head.
“Hey,” I said before I could stop myself.
“Do what he says.” Regulus spoke in a calm, fearless way that I envied.
My belly fluttered in uneasiness and my breathing quickened.
“Cassie, you should be more careful of the company you keep,” Arizona said. I heard scuffling and knew he’d been restrained. My eyes were adjusting to the bright light and I could see a group surrounded us.
“Where did you find her?” A petite girl with sharp eyes assessed me from head to toe.
“She’s a nobody. We met her a day or two ago,” Regulus said.
“And that would be why you are watching her so closely, eh?” the smooth female voice behind me said.
“Good or evil? Good or evil?” chanted another girl.
“Cassie.” The teasing had disappeared from Arizona’s voice, now taut and urgent. “Come on, is this really necessary? We’re friends.”
The click of a cuff around Arizona’s wrists disagreed.
“You left in the middle of the night.” She led the way with her hand on Arizona’s elbow. “I’ve had enemies treat me with more respect.”
We proceeded in silence down a dark passage with a low ceiling. A woman behind Cassie held a bright sphere that lit our footpath.
We turned so many corners that I lost count and consequently realized we’d never find our way back to the entrance.
The destination appeared to be a series of cells. Glass doors allowed complete view of the insides. Solid side walls prevented the prisoners from speaking to each other.
Cassie pushed Arizona into one harder than necessary and he stumbled. A tall, slim man indicated that I should enter the same cell.
“No.” Cassie’s voice was razor sharp. “Not there.” When a woman attempted to guide Regulus to the same room as Arizona, Cassie shook her head. “Not those two together.”
“We don’t have enough room,” protested the man. Cassie opened the door to the neighboring cell. “Those two in here.” She nodded her head to the right and I obeyed.
Inside, I faced the back wall. The only furniture was a twin bunk with a thin mattress and blanket.
“This is inconvenient.” I turned to look at my cellmate. “No bathroom.”
His mouth teased upward at one corner. The cot looked clean enough, so I sat on the edge. “What do we do now?”
“Good question.” He tapped gently on the wall. An answering tap made Regulus smile.
“Why are they holding us? Was she an old girlfriend of his?” I jerked my head to indicate Arizona in the neighboring room.
“Not to my knowledge.” The answer shot out quickly.
“Yeah. They were a thing.”
His brows rose at my statement. “And how do you know this?”
“Believe me. They had to be something for She-ra to be so mad. She had that vengeance look in her eyes. The look that said she’d like to cover him with paper cuts before sprinkling him with salt.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he circled the room, studying all surfaces, picking with his fingernail at the seamless way the bed attached to the floor. Finally, he sighed with what might have been all the air in his lungs and sat propped against the wall.
“I thought you wanted us to work as I team. You left. Alone. You suck at teamwork.” I sat on the hard bunk with my knees drawn up under my chin.
“You haven’t been very interested in working with Arizona and me lately. I needed to get Bleeker while I could.”
I didn’t answer immediately, but chose my words carefully. “I never said I didn’t want to help get Bleeker. I’m not interested in working for the IIA. There’s a difference.”
“We have the same objectives. They want us to be an efficient team. It’s the reason why they have the rules they do. Does that help you understand?”
I shook my head. “Not so much. If they had wanted us to be a close team, they wouldn’t have messed with your head.”
Regulus opened his mouth but appeared to change his mind about speaking. He rubbed both hands down his face and left them over his mouth. “You don’t understand,” he said quietly.
“True.” I sat back, closed my eyes and listened for sounds that seemed nonexistent.
“Tired?”
“Yes,” I whispered. The tenderness in his voice made my throat tighten.
“May I ask you something?”
I peered sidelong without turning my head to see he’d inched closer. “What?”
“Tell me where we left our relationship.”
“Huh? I don’t know what you mean.” I began chewing on my thumbnail. It throbbed so I forced both hands between my knees.
“I think you do.”
“Can we talk about something else?” I put my head back on my knees. “I’m sorry I brought it up. Really sorry.” I banged my head
once on my knees and sat in a tight little ball.
“Um…”
I left my forehead on my knees and waited for him to finish. Finally, I looked up to meet his eyes. “What?”
“Your mother. You want to talk about her?”
“Not really.” I barely kept the tremor out of my answer.
“I know for fact that you had no relationship with her.”
“That’s right. I didn’t.”
“Did you want one?”
“No. And actually, it’s none of your business. The woman is dead. It wouldn’t matter if I did or didn’t.” Taking one boot off, I threw it against the opposite wall.
“Wait.” He rose from the floor. He bent to unlace and remove my remaining boot. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he sighed and let it drop to the floor.
“Sorry. Long day.” I rubbed my eyes. My eyelids felt like tiny pieces of sandpaper.
“You look as if you might pass out at any moment. I think you need to sleep. We’re not going anywhere tonight.”
I nodded, but attempted to keep my eyes open. Regulus moved to the concrete floor to stretch out. After a moment, he decided to prop himself in a seated position against the wall.
“Oh, no,” I stuttered. “You can’t do that.”
He raised one eyebrow. “I’ve slept in worse positions.”
I moved over on the twin sized bed. “You can sleep up here.” When he didn’t move, I added, “I need to get home and that’s not going to happen if you can’t help because you didn’t get any sleep.”
Call me practical with a touch of masochism.
In silence, he nodded once and rose. I turned to face the wall with my body balanced on the edge of the thin mattress.
Regulus positioned himself on the remaining mattress space before exhaling aloud. “Thank you.” His low voice rumbled close to my ear, tickling the hairs on the back of my neck.
“No problem.” I tugged the rough blanket around me and hoped I’d be able to sleep.
I needed to count sheep jumping hay bales or ninjas carrying throwing stars or zombies scuffling after me. I needed something disgusting, mind-boggling and stressful. Maybe calculus.
I needed to quit thinking about how close he was to me.