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( 03 一 NEW BEGINNINGS. )
Clara woke to the loud hum of tires on a road. Looking around she realised she was lying in the bed of a van. Specifically one of the vans Clara had seen moving bodies out of Thurmond. Then, as yesterday started to come back together, thoughts started to run wild through her head. Ruby. Where is she? Did she get out? Am I really out? Where am I? Who's driving the car? They all came to an abrupt stop as a woman called back to her.
"Ah and she wakes! I was starting to get a bit worried there, Sweetheart." Her voice had a sugary-sweet tone to it with a strong southern accent. "What happened?" Clara asked groggily, trying to wake herself up in case the situation turned sour.
"Well, after you took the sedative one of the undercover League agents started up the fake heart monitor causing it to look like you flatlined. From there we took you out in a body bag to one of the removal vans. We've been driving for a while now and we should be arriving to meet up with some contacts soon." She explained.
That was an awful lot of information to take in. "What's the league? And where's Ruby?" Clara questioned.
"The Children's League is an organisation dedicated to helping children affected by the government's new legislation. John Alban, who was an advisor to Gray, established it after he lost his daughter to IAAN. Once realising what the government was planning with the camps he left and founded the League." Clancy's father was still in power?
The woman looked back to see if Clara was still listening before continuing.
"Now your friend Ruby, along with a boy named Martin are in another car with Cate Conner, they're both Oranges, just like yourself. She was playing the part of Dr Begbie. They're the contacts I told you we'd be meeting. We're still a few hours out so you can get a bit more rest if you'd like."
Ruby was Orange? Despite her shock Clara ran the thought around in her head. How she shied away from touch, just like Clara did after her incident with Eli. The change in Sam. It slowly began to make sense.
"What's your name?" Clara asked, disregarding the end of her last sentence. "I'm Dolly, and I must say it's a pleasure to meet you," Dolly said with a sweet smile into the rearview mirror. With that, Clara turned around making herself comfortable on the cushioned seat. The last thing Clara saw before slipping back into sleep was a blue bird, flying high above the trees.
❊❊❊
Clara woke up about twenty minutes before they pulled into the old gas station, spending that time staring out the window thinking of all she must have missed while locked up. She wondered how her brother was, if he recovered from the damage she inflicted on his mind. She never intended to hurt him. One second she was passing him his toy fire truck, her hand brushing against his, and the next he was babbling nonsense.
Her mother took him to the doctor. This was a statement in itself considering Clara's mother usually couldn't care less about her kids but when her boy started spewing words that had no meaning she knew something was up. The doctor asked strange questions that weren't about Eli. Like how old Clara was, if she had been acting strange. Soon Eli was dropped off at home and Clara's mother was driving her daughter towards a tall building under the guise of a surprise visit to her Aunt Lisa. Clara hadn't seen her mother or her brother since that day, the day she was entered into Leda Corps testing program.
Dolly pulled the van into park in front of two other cars before coming to the side door and pulling it open, a loud rattling sound accompanying it. Ruby, the Orange, stood off to the side of Dr Begbie, or Cate, Clara supposed, and a man. Clara could see a boy next to Ruby who must have been Martin. Clara thought she might have recognised him from the cabin across from hers.
"Dolly, nice of you to join us," the man spoke with slight sarcasm. Clara got the impression that he wasn't Dolly's biggest fan. "Yes well we left a bit later didn't we," she snapped back.
Cate sent Clara a sweet smile before introducing her. "Clarissa, this is Rob and Martin," Cate introduced, sending a slight glare at the other two adults.
Clara nodded in greeting at the two before moving to stand next to Ruby, sneaking a look at her as if she would be able to find the Orange in her. Martin grinned at the girl and Clara resisted the urge to shudder. Something about him was just off. Making eye contact with Ruby, Clara could see she felt the same.
"Ok so here are some supplies, the basics; clothes, some toiletries and a few other necessities," Rob said while handing out the bags. Clara shouldered hers before moving to walk into the station behind them. As Ruby moved to follow her she tripped and would have fallen to the ground if Rob hadn't caught her. Ruby jumped back from his hold, a look of horror overcoming her features before quickly schooling them again. Clara first assumed it was from the physical touch but after what Dolly told her in the car she thought it may have been something else.
As soon as they entered the gas station Martin ran to the shower, slamming the door behind himself. Clara turned to Ruby, "Are you alright? I mean it's been a crazy twelve hours," Clara asked.
Ruby nodded mutely, her eyes still cast upon the three League agents as they checked over a map, guns in their hands.
"Ruby," Clara started hesitantly. The girl looked over, a confused look in her eyes. "Look, Dolly, she explained why you were rescued by Cate. I know you're an Orange."
A look of mounting horror passed over Ruby's face as she began to stumble backwards. "Clara- I-," she stuttered. Clara pushed away the shock of hearing the girl speak in favour of calming her down.
"No, I worded that wrong, okay? I know you're Orange and that's okay because I'm an Orange too," I told her in a rush, trying to prevent her from completely spiralling. Ruby froze, her eyes narrowing, scrutinising Clara, looking for the defining feature that would give away her status as an Orange, just as Clara had. But of course she found none because there was nothing to find.
"You- you're an Orange too?" Ruby asked her softly in disbelief. Clara nodded at the girl.
"I saw something," Ruby said suddenly. Clara looked at her confused. "When Rob grabbed me, I saw something. He got two kids out of a camp, led them to some kind of alleyway and shot them both. I don't know who these people are, but they're dangerous. I don't think we can stay with them Clara," Ruby explained.
Clara nodded slowly, digesting the information. "Okay, but we need food, we'll get nowhere starving." Clara trusted Ruby's judgement. If Ruby said they needed to leave, Clara would follow her.
They both split up to find different aisles to scavenge. Clara gazed at all the different junk foods. It had been years since she'd eaten anything other than mush and her mouth was already watering at the thought of eating something with actual flavour.
Just as Clara finished stuffing her bag with chip packets there was a clatter from Ruby's side of the store. It could have been nothing but just to be safe Clara called out for Ruby. When there was no response Clara sprinted over just in time to see Ruby run out a back door, shouting a quick "come on, Clara!" over her back.
