Ariel opened her eyes in the small patient room at the back of the Medical Department. She ached from the soreness in her arm and thigh. It looked like the micro-healing droids had been doing their job because now, the pain no longer stabbed. Then she was invaded by that same antiseptic air, pungent in her throat and nostrils.
Marissa was asleep. Her head rested on Cassandra’s lap as Cassandra stroked her hair.
Angel typed away in the corner and looked up at Ariel. “You’re awake.” She left the computer and tied her hair back as Marissa woke up. “Sit up for me,” said Angel, palpating Ariel’s throat and belly. “Any pain?” Ariel shook her head.
Ariel wondered what tomorrow would be like now that her brother was in these games. She sighed as Angel plugged earbuds into her ears and placed the tubeless stethoscope’s diaphragm on her chest. “Deep breaths.”
Marissa had dozed off again on Cassandra’s shoulder. And now, without anything to do, without Marissa’s hair to touch, Cassandra’s eyes began to close.
“What’s the time?” Ariel asked.
“Three in the morning,” said Angel.
“Really? What happened?”
“The micro-healing droids stopped working for about three hours, and we began wondering why. I’m sure it was just a lag in the process. Don’t be alarmed, there shouldn’t be any need for surgery. But I would like to observe you once in a while, and please, give the vox suit a rest for two days. By then, you will have excreted the micro-droids.”
Ariel nodded, feeling unusually alert. Then Angel left her for the computer in the corner of the room, just by the windows. Her coaches were fast asleep. Ariel hated being an inconvenience. They had stayed up for her. She observed Marissa for a second and felt a pang in her chest. Marissa slept as though a spell had been cast on her. It couldn’t have been her.
Angel left the computer and said, “Everything checks out. I think you’re good to go. I’ll check on you soon.”
“Thanks, Angel.” Ariel carefully stepped down from the bed. “Marissa, Cassandra, I’m ready to go.”
She limped toward them, with Angel’s help, and Marissa and Cassandra helped her out of the room and through the back door of the Medical Department.
By this time, the hallways were almost completely empty, except for a few SUs and caregivers whose job it was to keep the residence safe. They could see the exit down this hall, the night outside visible through the transparent doors.
“Hey, you guys are still up?” asked a caregiver with dark, bushy eyebrows.
“Yeah,” Marissa answered, “we’re just coming back from Medical, as you can see. But she should make a good recovery.”
“All right,” he said, stepping out of the way.
They made the next left—the hall leading to the entrance of the Arena—and stopped at one of the elevators. It came down fast, and they stepped in.
“What’s next?” asked Ariel.
“Your recovery,” answered Cassandra curtly.
“You heard the Doc,” Marissa cut in as the floor numbers scrolled by on the elevator screen. “Four days without Gladius.”
The elevator came to a stop at the fortieth floor, and Ariel thought, Four days. Might as well be a month. Now on one of the floors of the Residence, they took her to the space at the end of the hall, past several rooms and through two glass doors. Ariel struggled into her seat, quietly grunting as her arm touched the table.
“His advantage was the element of surprise,” said Marissa, bringing out Ariel’s phone and placing it on the table.
“Yeah,” Ariel said, pulling the phone closer to her. Cassandra sat down and placed a jug of water and some cups at the center of the table, then poured Ariel some. She was parched, hadn’t drunk anything since Demetrius happened. It was cool in her mouth. Ariel sighed.
“Well, we always knew the worst would happen eventually,” Marissa said. “This must be it.”
Ariel stared at her cup as Cassandra refilled it. She watched the limpid liquid rise, bubbling just slightly underneath. “I guess I didn’t completely fall apart, so that’s good.”
“Right now,” said Cassandra, “the best thing you can do for us is to rest.”
“I know,” replied Ariel, offering a smile to appease her coaches.
“I’ll give you a brief outline of the plan moving forward,” said Cassandra. “After your four days are up, we’ll request a training hologram and tweak it to match some of Demetrius’s last known stats.” Ariel nodded, and Cassandra continued. “We’ll spend quite some time training this way, and then we’ll request a challenge from him.”
“We’ll eventually need to discuss your compensation,” said Marissa, eyeing her phone briefly. “But as a heads up, we’re expecting you to earn 400 million cron.” She smiled.
“Why so much?” asked Ariel.
“Media traffic, increased betting,” said Marissa, “and an overall larger interest in Gladius because of you and Demetrius.”
Ariel’s phone hummed, to her surprise. “Kind of late, isn’t it?”
“Holy,” said Marissa. Her phone had lit up her face. “Ariel, do not check your phone.”
“Wait, why? What’s wrong?” Ariel had grabbed it and was already scanning the post.
<<< Arena News 3:13 a.m., 4.26.317 “Demetrius Spica … a force to be reckoned with. Might just be the next blademaster.” Edna Shemonee, Blademaster >>>
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