Her head hurt and her eyes were incredibly heavy .Clay kept her eyes closed for a while longer hoping to reduce the pain that came from the heaviness .When she did eventually open her eyes , the first thing she saw was her backpack lying ahead of her .Shit !Clay rushed up and swayed , vertigo hitting her .She waited for the swoon to wear off and then stumbled to her bag , the contents had been strewn around .The protein bars , water and her book were gone , only the emergency regeneration kit and her flashlight were left .Her bow and arrows were gone too .Clay groaned loudly , nothing was going the right way .She needed to study the journal that her cousin had left for her instead of a good enough weapon .And all of the references her cousin had been making to her about her Dad did not go forgotten .Clay needed that book .She touched the back of her head and felt fluid , she brought her fingers from behind her to examine it , blood .She took her fingers back tracing wher
" Hey , Clay ? ", A voice called out .A tap on her shoulders ." Clay Honey ? ", The voice called out again , sounding impatient .Another tap , this one harder and leaving a sting ." Come on hun , do not dare die on me ! You need CPR? Mouth to mouth recuperation ? ", The voice yelled , sounding more and more familiar .This time she hit her so hard that Clay groaned aloud and pushed June off of her .She lost her footing and fell on her ass , groaning and turning to glare at Clay ." I am not dying , just sleepy .And it is called resuscitation not recuperation ", she corrected her ." Well , I am eighteen ", She argued .She said it like she ought to be pardoned because she was eighteen , if they were in another reality , Clay would be telling her that her sister had known words like that since she was four .Clay sat up , there was smoke from up ahead where the men had been camping out .Shit ! The journal .Clay scrambled to her feet and took off , she could hear June behind her
They finally stopped running when they were a safe distance away and out of the woods .They were all panting and looking around them to make sure they were in the clear and they had not been followed. They had not heard any whirring or humming , so it seemed like a good place to stop .Clay looked up at the building that they were standing in front of , they had stopped outside a small church .Clay and the others fell on the chapel stairs , a picture of exhausted sinners come for redemption , while Hairs stood , remaining on his feet as he kept looking around frantically , he was staring at the way that they had come .Clay had not even noticed him as they ran , she wondered what had become of the other guys , she hoped they had also been able to escape .June pushed something into her chest , pushing her further into the stairs .She looked down to see that it was the box of chloroform from earlier , she had totally forgotten about it ." Thanks ", she whispered to her .She opene
Clay sighed again , she could not refuse to let them go with her or rather , she did not know how to get away from them , a means that would prove to be effective .June was a Mistress at manipulation and would only toy with her till she finally agreed to let them come along .And , she thought it was better to nip it in the bud now than have them follow her and cause problems for her in the near future ." Okay , but we need a secluded place . I do not want to meet more Richie's and since we have these steel golems everywhere , it would be better for us to avoid them so I do not want a reason to have to come out , I have enough food to last me a while ", Clay explained to both of them , if they were expecting the three of them frolicking around , they would not be getting it .June shook her head , bringing her arms to rest on her waist , unable to believe this human or girl really who wanted to burrow a hole in the soil and run into it , hiding till the seven days were over .She ba
Clay was interrupted by Saul's loud sniggering that rose and fell as the man sniggered more .She turned around , exasperated by the unending noise to see what was making Saul so amused and saw June glaring at Saul , He was still laughing though ." We should split up and open the windows , get more light in and reduce the stuffiness ", Clay said , hoping to get the sniggering as far away from her as possible .June nodded and practically ran off with Saul chasing after her and snickering , like a couple of kindergarten children , Clay watched them , confused by the dynamics that governed their relationship .Of the two , June had seemed more capable of bullying anyone , at least way more than Saul who seemed to want to be everyone's friend and like he had succeeded at it before ,it was almost like he had no idea that he looked like the good looking bad guy from every main stream movie .Clay slowly walked down the church's aisle , opening windows and admiring the state of the church
" Your own room ? ", June iterated loudly like she had been the one to have found the room .June's hands were on her waist as she stared Clay down .Saul had also folded his huge arms in front of his chest ." Yes , that's right . Why does it got to be yours to pick ? Cause you found it ? ", Saul asked too .June nodded in agreement with Saul's line of questioning .Clay rolled her eyes at their childish antics ." Yes , precisely because I found it . So , you both find somewhere else to make into your own rooms ! ", She told them as she admired the beauty she had uncovered.June stepped forward , her eyes narrowing ." There is something deeply wrong with your ideology , honey . If we are keeping scores , then it should be noted that I was the one that deemed the church inhabitable . Hence , the whole church was found by me and I get to pick where to sleep while the both of you make do with whatever is left ", She reasoned with herself .Clay blinked , shocked.She had suddenly repl
" STOP! ".Clay stopped running as the stadium lights moved to focus solely on her , the crowd had stopped screaming .Since the light was now on Clay , she could not make out the faces of the crowd and had now become a piece of furniture to be scrutinized .Only the commentators voice filled the court ." HOLD UP , HOLD UP ! SAVIOR OF THE WEAK AND THE WOMEN . WE ARE AN ORGANIZED AND DISCIPLINED ESTABLISHMENT !! ".They were ?They did not exactly look so .Wait , where they going to end the fight ?Clay relaxed , grateful for their organization , she nodded at Truck whose features she could not make out as he was not in the light ." WE DO NOT LET PEOPLE JUST JUMP INTO GAUNTLETS THAT WERE NOT ORIGINALLY MADE FOR THEM OR DO WE ??! ".The crowd came back to life , screaming and cheering .Clay nodded in understanding , it made sense .It was what she expected from an organized establishment like them .She would have cheered too but there was already so much attention on her ." THE ON
" Shit , shit !!! ", Clay swore as she ran .Clay ran out of the Arena but could not find any trace of Saul , nobody had told her Saul was a professional sprinter .Clay ran all the same , she did not want to encounter three of Top dog's friends , especially when she was alone .She ran down the school's hallway that was now quiet and deserted , everyone must have gone to watch the fight between she and Truck and they had not returned to their spots to continue to linger around in the darkness , pretending to be in some grimy film .She was about to turn the corners when she looked back and caught sight of the three musketeers still coming after her .Clay groaned and took off towards the approaching corner .Clay increased her pace as she rounded the corners and began to run down the halls of the new hallway that was not only empty but dark .Half way into the hallway , she heard something and turned around and someone pulled her into a dark classroom , the hand was different from Sa