Ruin and Revival

Chapter 27: The Return

ARIKA

I slosh around in the pig mud, still gagging despite plugging my nose. Almost done. I can still taste Axel's mango in my mouth. I guess he can be nice. I approach the front gates, where I was supposed to be five minutes ago.

"You're late. And you stink! Didn't you use vanilla body wash this morning," Axel's irritation doesn't reach his eyes. Always pretending like you don't care.

"Actually I used all of them. Though vanilla was definitely my favorite," I study my chipped fingernails nonchalantly.

"Never letting you shower here again," I hear him mutter under his breath.

"There's just one other flaw in your plan and that is I simply look to gorgeous to have been a captive," I flip my hair dramatically. No one was going to believe I was a prisoner if I looked like I had just bathed. 

"The gorgeous part is definitely not true though I do see your point," Axel replies, already calculating his next step.

"So could you give me a nice, hard punch to the face?" I say casually, twirling strands of my mud covered hair. Axel makes a choking sound.

"I'm not going to punch you!"

"Really? I thought you hated me and that all I am to you is a nuisance. Surely punching me shouldn't be that hard?" I pretend to look innocent, despite the words I heard him saying earlier stinging more than I want them to.

"You little eavesdropper. But you are right, that's all your are to me: a nuisance. However, I don't hit my guests. Will you please do that for me instead?" His words are a punch to the face, worse than the literal punch the guard gave me a few seconds later. I let the stinging and swelling sensation muffle the hurt I feel. I hate him, I hate him!

"That'll leave a nice bruise," Axel wipes the blood oozing out of my split lip. I recoil from his fingers.

"Don't touch me," I spit, poison in my mouth. I smile cruelly at the shocked look in his eye, caught off guard for once in his life. He doesn't follow me as I walk down to where they are preparing my black stallion. I feel the glove in my jacket pocket prodding into my side.

Axel and I ride in complete silence, neither of us willing to break the tension between us. I review the plan again my mind. Ride to Brazil, find Scarlett, return to camp where the meeting will be held tonight, and report back on Friday night, a week from now. I exhale, preparing for the long journey ahead.

We reach the entrance of the woods, shrouded in mist emitted from the forcefield of water. The river is still that startling blue as it rushes past our stallions' strong legs. I look back behind me, at the beautiful, mysterious kingdom. One day, I'll be back with Bri and Cole and Scarlett and we can finally live that life we dreamed of.

We approach the stable, the boy from yesterday ago nowhere in sight. I can't believe it has only been 2 days since I was still a spy for America. I jump off my horse, patting him lovingly on his mane. I stare into those intelligent, onyx orbs and I feel the tears in my eyes.

"You've been such a good boy," I murmur so only he can hear. The mighty stallion stomps the ground in response. I tear myself away, heading toward the train doors that await me, ignoring Axel's eyes drilling into my back. I feel a calloused hand clasp around mine.

"Wait," I finally turn to see Axel's radiant eyes, full of many unsaid words that were yet to be conveyed.

"Stay safe," is all he manages. I rip my hand out of his, attempting not to cringe at the mixture of guilt and hurt in his eyes.

"Worry about yourself," I don't even look back as the doors slide shut behind me. I have been hurt enough already. I'm done.

The swollen skin on my face pulses with pain as I watch the meadows turn into a run down city through the dirty windows. A few people board the train, silently acknowledging one another's presence. I lick the remaining blood off my now clotted lip, the unpleasant, metallic taste keeping my eyelids from drooping. Axel wasn't the only one who got no sleep. I finally arrive at the city of Brazil, Christ the Redeemer the only sign that I was here. I step out, the balmy air not helping the sweat building up on my face. How am I supposed to know where Scarlett is?! I scan the area, dreary citizens and worn down buildings the only things in sight. Think, think, think. Where do we always meet? 

The public restrooms!

The restrooms reek and are more crowded than I remember, the foul odor permeating the entire facility. Homeless people sit in the corners, waiting for it to clear out so they can drink whatever urine is left in the toilets. Usually, by the end of the week, a few dead bodies are left behind on these floors, which janitors will bag in a couple of days. I gag at the thought. I sure will miss Aquaria's bathrooms. Someone shoulders past me, a little too hard to be a common citizen. 

Scarlett.

I follow behind her, checking my surroundings to see if anyone suspicious is watching.

I breathe in relief as I feel fresh air hitting my face again, the suffocating stench of the bathrooms behind me.  Scarlett turns around and takes off her black mask, smiling broadly. We embrace tightly.

"Missed you, partner in crime," She whispers in my ear.

"Me too. You stink more than I do though,"

"Not all of us get to spend our days in captivity in a luxurious castle," Scarlett chuckles.
"We have to go now. The others are waiting for us at the airport," I put on a terrified face, pretending like I had just suffered a long, hard couple of days. We sprint through the cities dark alley ways, twisting and turning before finally arriving at the bustling airport. My head throbs from dehydration, my body not used to the lack of water after a day in Aquaria. I cough at the dryness in my throat, my voice a toad's croak.

We approach the search party, none of which wear familiar faces. My heart sinks at the absence of Bri and Cole. What did you expect, for them to magically pop up out of nowhere? They beckon us toward them. I hear screaming behind us.

Scarlett and I exchange knowing looks as we see the two men Axel had promised to send rushing toward us, deadly daggers in each hand.

"Run!" I scream, trying to act horrified.

"How come you didn't warn us you were being followed!" A man shouts behind me. Before I can respond, I hear a thud, knowing the aims of those two men were true. Two more dropped around Scarlett and I. One more to go. However, the girl beside us was more nimble than I had anticipated, dodging all the attacks. And the look she gives us is when I know she had confirmed her suspicions.

"You set this up, didn't you," She snarled. I swallow the guilt as Scarlett had no choice but to stab her in the chest. We couldn't risk leaving her alive. Scarlett and I round the corner. I try to ignore the horrified looks of the civilians. She hands me yet another disguise as I strip my tourist disguise from me, wiping any blood away with it. I discard them in the trashcan before pulling on an I Love Brazil shirt and some loose joggers. We stroll away as casually as we can before boarding our designated terminal.

"We're landing at the military headquarters, not the camp you remember. We've been promoted and asked to meet there with the officials. Just follow my lead," I nod, barely awake before dozing off to the constant whirring of the plane.

Scarlett and I are lead by two soldiers across the sandy plain, the buildings of the camp shimmering in the heat. As we approach, I see a young man laughing with a pretty girl as they head toward one of the larger complexes. I squint, attempting to get a better look.

"Cole?"