Super

Chapter 75: End Game

Lex had thought of a lot of possibilities following their actions back in the swamp, but she hadn't anticipated that they'd be packed back up on the bus and sent back to Richmond right away. They arrived in the city along with the sun, and Lex felt boggled by the light as she staggered out of the bus and watched as Lakshmi checked them all into an old hotel downtown.

When she'd wandered downstairs following a few hours of groggy half-sleep, Lex felt bemused to see older women in dresses and fancy hats having an elaborate tea in a room with walls painted in an Easter egg yellow a few doors from the lobby. Rolf, at her shoulder, had blinked several times, but offered no comment.

After scouting out the general neighborhood, they returned to find Casey and Lou awake as well, and joined them in their room, sitting at a large table by a floor to ceiling window showing the city spread out beneath them. "I don't think Lakshmi's here," Casey said, passing some coffee from the pot in their room to Lou and Rolf. "She had the room two doors down from ours. I woke up when I heard voices out in the hall, and when I looked out the peephole, she was leaving along with a couple of men in military uniform. She had her bag with her, so I don't know if she's coming back."

Lex sighed and looked at the bright day outside for a moment, wishing that the group had just come there on an ordinary tour and so would be free to explore that day and perform later on.

"What do you think we should do?" Rolf murmured, looking around the table.

"If they want to get in touch with us, they don't ever seem to have any trouble, so I don't think we should worry about that," Lou stated, to which Casey nodded.

"I guess we should just do whatever we feel like until they get back. The only thing I'm worried about at this point is the next show we have, in Nashville. It's five days from now, though, so I guess we have enough time to call and cancel if we need to," Casey concluded.

"I can't believe we're going there," Lex grumbled, to which Casey laughed.

"I was trying to get what shows I could across the country, and a couple of clubs there really wanted us to come. I'm sure it'll be fine."

After about a half-hour of conversation, however, Lex realized she kept zoning out and Rolf looked to be nodding off, so they cut their visit short and planned to meet that evening for dinner with the rest of the group. Settling down for a nap, Lex pulled the drapes together as much as she could, trying to keep out the bright sunlight before cuddling back for a couple more hours of sleep, smiling at Rolf, who already seemed to be out.

She couldn't move her head again, but saw lab tables and a door on the opposite side of the room from where she stood. Oddly, she felt something drip off of her right hand, but when she tried to raise her arm to see what it was, Lex clenched her teeth at the bolt of pain that followed, a twisting, nauseating pain that shot right through her. A moment later, as she panted, waiting for the wave to subside, Lex thought about it and realized she hadn't been able to move her lower arm at all.

Straining her neck, Lex pushed against whatever held her head in place, feeling as if she could move it out at least an inch or two. Gritting her teeth against the shock of pain, instead of trying to move her forearm, Lex moved the muscles in her shoulder and upper arm, moving the rest of her arm out and sending shocks of pain up and down her spine as she jarred her forearm, inching it forward.

After a moment, she could see part of her hand and arm, and Lex heard her own sharp intake of breath through her nose as she saw a patch of red on her arm, until part of it coalesced in a drop of blood, falling from her middle finger onto the floor below.