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( 54 一 FIRE. )
Clara was exhausted. All the activity that had been happening around the Ranch had given her little time to rest after returning and the nightmares she suffered from numerous times a night limited the amount of sleep she could get.
She'd had to move out of the bunk with her friends because she was waking them so much with her screams. She knew they'd never ask her to leave but the bags under their eyes left her feeling guilty. She'd taken up the agent's room she and Vida stayed in all those nights ago. Sometimes Vida would join her, wake her up when she was thrashing and wipe her tears away.
More often than not Clara would just walk around mindlessly to avoid thinking about what had been inflicted on her. It was hard to do when every time she saw her reflection in a passing window it all came back to her.
For once Clara had managed to get to sleep without much trouble. She tried to go to sleep early knowing she'd be awake for much of the night. She'd been startled awake when her door slammed open. She hadn't always been a light sleeper but old habits die hard.
Zu ran towards her and with the lights of the hallway streaming in Clara could see the tears running down her face. Zu started pulling on Clara's arm, trying to drag her out of bed. Clara sat up quickly, "Zu, are you alright? What's happened," she asked frantically.
Zu didn't indicate anything but Clara still scanned her for injuries, coming up empty. Zu continued to pull on her arm, trying to get her out of the door. Clara paused, sinking to the girl's level and holding her face in her hands, "Can you please write down what's happened?"
Zu shook her head, shaking sobs falling from her lips. Finally Clara relented, allowing the girl to tug her out of the door. Once they were out Zu didn't waste a second before sprinting down the winding hallways, dragging Clara by her hand behind her.
When they finally stopped they reached the computer room Clara was panting. Clearly, the effects of her capture had not yet worn off. There was a crowd of people all staring at a screen. When Clara walked into the room she didn't bother to wait for an explanation, "What happened?" She asked, her voice grave.
Something was wrong. Deeply wrong. Clara could feel it permeating throughout the room.
Nico turned around, his face covered in fresh tears. Chubs was staring at her, his mouth open in a look of horror, "Clara, they're—they're dead."
Clara took in a gasping heaving breath, the world rushing around her. "Who?" she asked.
"We—we can't tell. The photos they're just—" Chubs said frantically.
"Let me see," Clara insisted, pushing past the others. She made her way to the screen, pushing Chubs' hands off of her. When she finally made it there were a series of photos displayed. She sat down in the chair, afraid her legs would buckle under her.
