Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 24

Luna opened her eyes, groaning as she peeled herself off of linoleum flooring. She shivered, pulling her hands into her hoodie sleeves and looking around the semi-dark room. Her head was pounding.

After living in the night for so many years, her eyes were adjusted to seeing in the dark, taking in more light than normal eyes, even when it seems there is none. After a few moments, her eyes had adjusted fully to her surroundings, allowing her to see everything in front of her in full color. In front of her Lloyd, Lily-Rose, Harper, Razaia, Colin, and Sylvia were all sprawled on the floor. Her heart beats began to quicken and her mind started to whirl. What was going on? How did they get there? How long had they been there?

Lloyd sat up, bringing a hand to his head and groaning. He looked around too, locking eyes with his sister. "Luna? What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," she responded in a small, shaking voice.

The others were all sitting up too, huddling together on the cold floor. Lloyd was hugging Lily, and Harper handed her jacket to Sylvia, who was shivering. She smiled gratefully as she slipped it on.

"Is everyone okay?" Luna asked.

Lloyd looked around. "Yeah, we're okay," he responded for the group.

"I'm alright too," Sylvia grumbled, her unhappy tone ever-present.

Luna let out a small nervous laugh.

They sat in the dark for a while, trying to have any semblance of a conversation, but they were all too scared. They were trying to figure out where they were, searching their pockets for their phones. None of them could seem to pinpoint the last moment in their memory.

A rush of ice pins ran down her spine as a few things set in. around her was her friend group, in a strange dark place, but where was Trae?

The door suddenly burst open, and in flooded bright light and a small group of people. Two were dressed in white, three of them were guards from the Department of Security and Defense, and two were dressed in regular clothing.

The group stood up one at a time, helping each other to their feet. Lloyd stepped out in front of everyone, keeping Lily and Luna directly behind him, an arm around each of them.

Luna's heart burned in fear, but she still tried to look past his broad shoulder at the group.

Lily grasped at the back of Lloyd's shirt, her breathing ragged and her eyes closed. Sylvia had ducked behind Harper, the taller girl standing almost half a foot taller than her, blocking her out fully from the others in the room.

A man dressed like a young teenager pushed past everyone, although he looked as though he was in his mid to late-twenties. He was wearing a band t-shirt and baggy golden pants, an outfit that stuck out among the soldiers in uniform and the white lab coats. "Hello kids." He said with a frown, slouching as he stood in front of the others with his hands shoved in his pockets. His hair was dark brown, sticking out of his baseball cap in tufts of curls. His eyes were the shade of blue that bore through a soul with a single look.

"What do you want with us?" Lloyd called out, still clutching Luna and Lily behind him.

"I assume you all know of the White Sand," The man said after a pause, shrugging Lloyd off.

The group rustled.

"And I assume you know what kind of threat they pose."

"We need you, you see." A girl said, stepping out from behind the soldiers. She looked like she was in her early twenties, with long dark hair and hooded amber eyes. "You seven have a gene, the Cyrensix gene. With training, you can be taught to use it to your advantage. We heard news that one of you has already used it to wreak havoc among her classmates."