Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 25

"So where are we?" Lloyd asked as the group was being shone around the building. The walls were metal panels, the floor was linoleum, and the ceilings were foam squares and fluorescent lights. The building was small, consisting of one hallway and five doors.

"This is Base Camp." Grant said. "The room we just left is the Conference Room. The two doors on the right lead into the Training Room, the last door on left leads to Storage, and that door at the end of the hall is the easy exit."

"That didn't answer my question," Lloyd grumbled. "You never told us where we are."

"You're in the mountains," Cleo said. "The ones that divide Waterfall Ridge and New City. Base Camp is hidden behind a smaller waterfall that flows from a crest and spills across Waterfall Ridge. Here, you are out of sight and protected."

Luna opened and closed her mouth, still attempting to process what was going on. The group had made it back into the Conference Room, and now with the lights on, Luna could get a good look at the space.

The walls and flooring matched the rest of the building, the grey paneling and slick look sending a shiver through her. At the far end of the room, there was a round metal table, with seven wooden chairs lined up around it. Each chair had a name carved into the back, but they were too worn to read. A large TV was mounted on the wall in front of it. Closer to where Luna was standing were two rectangular tables on either side of her, and each had a computer sitting on top of it. There was a black faux leather couch pushed up against the wall on the left side with a view of the TV screen. There was a large space by the door, where the group had first woken up.

"I noticed," Lloyd began. "That there is no place for us to stay. So either you don't plan on letting us eat or sleep, or we get to leave."

"Yes," Grant said. "You are free to come and go as you please. As you start to harness your powers, day and night will become irrelevant to you. You will be able to carry out missions at all hours, regardless of the modification made to keep most of you in the Night Population."

"And what about local law enforcement?" Lily asked.

"Stay away from them," Cleo said. "You'll have special ID's and eventually your coronas will be able to switch to match the time of day, but stay away."

"So we get to leave wherever we want," Colin said. "But how? You said we're on a mountain on the far side of town. How do we get home?"

Grant smirked. "You'll have to fly, of course."

"Fly, right, duh," Sylvia rolled her eyes. "So what? A helicopter will take us home? A plane? What?"

"You will each have to learn to fly."

"Learn to fly, sure sounds easy enough," Harper responded, her words soaked in sarcasm. "Now I know you're insane."

Grant's smirk widened. "Not insane, Miss Evans. The Cyrensix gene has a few side effects for those who possess it."

"Great, that clears up everything," Harper muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Wings," Cleo jumped in. "Forgive him for speaking in riddles. You seven have wings."

Luna's mouth dropped open. She struggled to find words, to connect thoughts together, but her mind was reeling. She shut her mouth again, suddenly feeling faint.

Sylvia patted her own shoulders, shrugging with an unamused glare towards the two adults. "Doesn't look like we have wings."

"You'll learn how to use them in time."

"Don't forget, Cleo," Grant said. "That those aren't the only things they should be aware of."

"And I'm sure you're just bursting at the seams to tell them," she snapped. "In due time, they will know. We don't want to overwhelm them."