Luna on the Run (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #1)

Chapter 7

I wake to the uncomfortably loud buzzing sound of the morning alarm reverberating through the building. My whole body feels achy and groggy from all the physical exertion these past couple of days. Surely it can't be six o'clock already, right?

The noise of rustling in the room confirms my worry.

There goes my naïve hope that this was all some twisted nightmare. Night three without Freckles, and I'm in the denial stage. I need toand fast.

First, I need to make sure and see if he's even on the island, or figure out if he got carried away somewhere else.

"Good to see you are on time today, Luna," Mary says, holding two bowls in her hands. "I snagged us some breakfast before they closed shop this morning."

"You're the best, Mary." As unappetizing as plain oatmeal normally is, it's food, and right now, that's all I need.

Nothing interesting happened after lunch yesterday, other than a bit more patrolling and some yelling between quarries. Quarry three still never got their machinery running, which made me more than a little upset at the time, but I realized during dinner that I honestly don't care. I'm not gonna be Slaphand's pet Overseer for a literal slave operation that I am actively being forced to participate in.

I never saw him again yesterday, either. If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say he's been hiding away in the Administration building this whole time.

After dinner, I took a shower in a disgusting public bathroom and went to sleep on the hard linoleum floor. At least the bathrooms had privacy.

And, of course, I dreamt of Freckles. If I'd recognized how big of an impact that cat would have on me, I would've treated him so much better. Maybe I would've even listened to what he had to say. He was scarily good at keeping me in line and making sure we didn't get into trouble. Something tells me I'll need his wisdom here, too.

Mary and I hastily finish our oatmeal, put the bowls away, and get ready for a fun day of unpaid labor and authoritarian control over our lives. Strange how when I word it that way, it doesn't sound fun.

"What's on the agenda for you today, Mary?"

"A little of the same thing as always, I fear." She sighs dramatically.

"Well, I understand you're a busy girl, but I've got a different job for you, if you'd like."

"Oh? What are you offering?"

"How does helping me come up with an escape plan sound?"

"You still have those crazy ideas in your head, Luna? It is much too dangerous to be staging an escape, never mind the fact that I am an old woman who could not attempt it if she tried."

"Fifty-eight's not that old." I give her the same smile she gave me my first day. "Besides, you know you wanna. All I'm doing today is gathering some info. I have to find Freckles and figure out the best way off the island, as well as when to put things in motion. It'll be easy. I won't even make you fight anyone."

"That is not as reassuring as you might think it is. Is 'easy' really the right word for this situation?"

"Oh, come on, Mary. This could be our sole chance at leaving."

Mary tosses her head side to side, visually deciding whether or not my idea is worth the risks involved. Realistically, I could try to do it without her, and would probably do better that way, but I want to get her off the island, too. Did I get attached to her too quickly?

"Alright, Luna. You win. But only because of your enthusiasm. Tell me your plan."

"I knew I could count on you, Mary. So, as I've previously mentioned, one of the quarries has broken down machinery, and I had to grab a mechanic to repair it. Their workshop is built into the Administration building, and the hangar door stays open all day. We have easy access to the rest of the building through the shop, as well as any makeshift weapons we need, with wrenches and screwdrivers and other stuff readily available for anyone to snag, so long as they're not paying attention. The two of us will sneak inside the building, do some recon, see if Freckles is being held there, and gather as much intel as we can before tomorrow's escape."