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( 49 一 NOTHING'S GONNA HURT YOU BABY. )
When Clara woke she felt warm. Sure, her entire body felt like it had been hit with a hammer but the sun was shining down on her skin and she felt warm. God, she'd missed the sun. It was bright and beautiful and a sign that she was still alive. After so long of feeling nothing at all the sun was a reminder that she was still here.
From her place against a tree, Clara gazed up through the leaves and branches above her. A bird landed on a branch near her. Its wings were a shining sky blue and it only took Clara a moment to recognise it as a Blue jay.
She knew she had to get moving. Get back to Vida and the others. As she sat there in the sunlight she made a plan. She'd find out where she was, get a map and steal a car. She'd drive to Lodi through the night if she had to.
She knew she'd have to be stealthy, which would be hard considering it looked like she'd just escaped from hell. The scratchy uniform they'd given her was soaked in blood and she could feel the scars on her shaved head standing out against her skin. She'd probably scare any normal person half to death.
But she didn't have a choice. Clara had to get out of there before the guards from the facility found her again. With that in mind, Clara pushed herself up on shaky limbs and started walking.
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It took Clara eight hours to get to Lodi. She'd had to stop to syphon gas five times and she hadn't slept once. She was completely exhausted and felt like she would collapse the second she stood from the car but she couldn't stop.
When she finally pulled over she was roughly a forty minute walk from the Ranch. She didn't want to stop right in front of it in case her car was being monitored.
She began the trek with the map grasped in her hands. It felt like she was marching through sand rather than on concrete.
When the sun finally set Clara was cast into darkness. It was harder to spot her but it also meant she couldn't spot the gaps in the concrete. Her inability to pick up her legs left her stumbling every few metres.
The closer she got to the Ranch the more the nerves set in. It helped her push forwards until she finally reached Smiley's Pub. She rounded the back until she was faced with the door she'd entered through so long ago. She punched in the code Cole had told her before she left and pushed open the door.
The air in the small room was musky and clung to her lungs. It reminded her of the blackout facility. She located the door to the tunnel on the floor and opened it using all the strength she had left. It screeched loudly against the cement
