The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 3 - Chapter 42: Ari

"Hey, you dumb sleepy head," a familiar girl's voice commands. It's not Mathilde or Cithara. No, the tone is much lower with a slight accent. It sounds like Cleo. "Get up," she says again.

Cleo and Lucia surrounded me, both wearing their Neon City Valkyries team armor. However, their armor looks beaten and abused, as if they'd been in a war zone stuck on overtime. Also, one scope on Lucia's signature tri-scoped goggles appears cracked.

Cleo extends her hand.

I grab her hand and she lifts me up from the ground. Then she lets me go. I regain my footing and notice my immediate surroundings. Everything is on fire. Demolished buildings. Broken cars. Air raid sirens blaring. People screaming and crying in terror. Smells like smoke and burnt garbage. I say, grumbling, "Where the hell am I and why is everything so messed up?"

"Ari," Lucia says, "we need to find your sister, Mathilde."

"Hold up," I say, glancing around. "How the hell do you guys know Mathilde is my sister?"

Cleo shrugs. "She told us. I know it sounds kind of weird, and you're probably wondering: Wait a second? I thought you're a demon now or something."

That's my next question because I do not know what's going on. Still, something piques my curiosity and I ask the two, "How did you find we're related?"

Cleo answers, "When we were asleep in that containment chamber, a girl confronted us, looking for someone named Ah-ree-zona. At first, we didn't know what she was talking about. I thought she meant Eh-ruh-zona, like the state."

Lucia adds, "Then the girl gave a description down to the details of your eyes. After that, we realized she meant you. I didn't think the name Ari was short for that."

I let out a weak chuckle. "People kept mispronouncing my name, so I shortened it to Ari."

"Keep it simple," Cleo says with a grin. "Though if you're gonna call me Cleopatra, you better prefix that with the word Queen."

Lucia laughs. "If we're using titles, then I guess you call me a Saint since I see that title a lot before my name."

"Speaking of saints," I say, "I think we should do the saintly thing and find my sister."

Lucia and Cleo nods in agreement and we venture through this strange ruined city. As we venture through this strange land, I spot familiar landmarks like Caesars Palace, the Luxor Hotel, and the Welcome to the Fabulous Las Vegas sign. All these wonderful things in ruin.

Cleo points ahead. "I think the easiest way is to follow the noise and the lights. That's where Mathilde came from."

Lucia calibrates the scopes over her eyes. "I can detect her presence down this road."

Cleo places her hand behind her ear. "Can you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I ask, doing the same with my hand behind my ear. I hear a faint cry from a distance away.

"Arizona, where are you?" The voice cries. That has to be Mathilde, but where is she?

Cleo turns, facing an unkempt road exiting the demolished city. "The voice is coming from this direction. Let's hitch a ride and follow it."

Nearby are three familiar motorcycles. One of those is my BMW R9T Zillers. Cleo takes the Harley Davidson Road King while Lucia boards the Honda Gold Wing.

We proceed down this beaten path, hoping to reach an end, though that way seems longer and drawn out. Around me, the city fades and I'm now surrounded by the familiar setting of the hot Nevada desert — at least I think I'm in Nevada. All the green highway signs reference Las Vegas but defaced with graffiti. Sweat drips from my head. Yet, I still hear Mathilde's voice calling for me.