Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 45

Exhausted from a day of training and preparations, the group was crashed at the Vis house, lounging around the living room with all the blankets, pillows, and snacks they had scavenged from the house. It had become a normal occurrence for the group to disappear almost every night spending every moment they could together. They were used to never staying in a single place for too long, careful to avoid getting caught by the White Sand.

Lana didn't mind the kids crashing at her house at various times of the day, though Luna knew the fear for their safety was eating her up inside. The look of relief on her face each time the group walked in would send a shiver of guilt through her. The others' parents never noticed their absence, and they were all steadily becoming better at lying.

Luna had showered and changed, washing the past few hours off of her body and out of her head. They had been training every second they could, making plans and tracking the movement of the White Sand troops. They had been given all the special tasks, tasks the adults were simply incapable of doing. Luna doubted anyone else would be willing to go on the missions from the DoSD beside her team, and for a moment Luna just wanted to curl up and cry, but she knew better. They would all get through it, she reminded herself. They are there for one another.

A knock at the door made them all jump. They were hoping to get the weekend off, away from anything and everything, but the knock at the door shattered that dream, and they were once again terrified.

Lloyd stood up cautiously and pulled the door open as slowly as he could. "Trae? What are you doing here?" Lloyd's tone was curious, and not at all angry as it floated down the hall.

Luna stood up, her face brightening as she scampered out of the living room and to the front door. She ran a hand through her hair and straightened out her shirt.

Trae looked Lloyd in the eyes, a slight look of fear seizing his features as he saw the dull determined look in Lloyd's eyes. Lloyd tried to bury it, but after everything, he found it difficult. "I just wanted to talk to Luna," Trae said, his voice squeaking slightly.

"I'm here," Luna nudged Lloyd aside as she made it to the door. "What's up?" She was fighting the urge to look away from him. His eyes were innocent, so filled with light and hope, that they made her feel like she would melt through the floor.

"Um..." he let out a nervous laugh. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me tomorrow?" His face flushed a light pink. "Like, just the two of us? Maybe... I mean... kind of... like a date?" His voice progressively got quieter and he seemed to shrink down, his hands deep in his pockets and his eyes darting around.

Luna looked up at him, revealing her deep red blush and hopeful brown eyes. She smiled a real smile for the first time in a while. She looked up at Lloyd, begging for his approval. Lloyd smiled and nodded from behind the door where Trae couldn't see him.

Luna smiled wider. "Trae, I would love to," she said with a giddy smile.

"Awesome," he said, now messing with the drawstring on his sweatpants. "I'll be here to pick you up, early morning. I'll um, I'll text you."

"Okay," she responded with a nod as he started to retreat from the porch. "I'll see you then."

He waved, walking back down the sidewalk towards his house.

"Aw, that was really sweet," Sylvia called from the living room.

Luna snorted in response. Lloyd shut the door, locking it tightly before the two of them sat back down with the others.

"I wonder which one of us is going to get asked on a date next," Sylvia said, batting her eyelashes at Harper.

Harper laughed. "I'm so glad he finally came around. It took him long enough."

Razaia looked at Colin. "Maybe the two of us could slip away tomorrow too."

"Sure, we could catch a movie or something, anything you want," he responded quickly, a smile spreading across his face. "As long as we're careful."

Razaia smiled back at him, her grey eyes flashing with excitement. "That sounds great."

☆★☆

When Luna woke up the next morning, she was far away from her comfortable bed. The floor was damp against her skin, her face covered in dust and grime. She started to cough, and a sudden breeze caused her to shiver. There was hardly any light around her besides the faint glow of a single torch almost thirty meters ahead of her. Shattered shards of light pierced the dark as they fell scattered through the slitted window high above her head.

The chill in the air and the dank scent of the whole place gave away her location. She was in The Castle of The Eye. He had found her. She couldn't even have one night back home before he ruined it all.

Luna peeled herself off the floor, everything aching. She looked around, but saw nothing familiar about the cell. It was just a cell. The bars were thick and cold, the ground coated in disease. She had to do something.

Her com was around her wrist, she never took it off. She desperately tried to contact someone, anyone, but communications from inside the cells were impossible. She dragged her knees to her chest, trying to keep herself warm in her summer pajamas.

Another breeze blew through, causing her to shiver intensely. Someone started stomping on the floor above her, causing sand and dust to fall from the ceiling.

She ran every possible scenario through her head, then climbed up the wall to the window, using the bars and loose stones to get up to it. The window was barely large enough to look through, let alone escape from. She sighed and jumped back down, nothing around but trees and white rocks.

Luna looked around one more time and suddenly felt dizzy. Darkness seeped into her vision as she collapsed.

Luna's eyes snapped open, revealing that she had fallen asleep on the couch while a movie had been playing. The others were all snuggled against each other, Lily and Lloyd under a blanket on the floor, Razaia and Colin were sharing an armchair, and Harper had her arm around Sylvia at the other end of the couch.

Luna ran through each part of the dream, comparing it to each time she had received a vision. She was breathing heavily, but started to calm down after a moment. It was just a dream. Not a vision, but no less a sign.

She knew that they needed to go. Get away from society and anywhere they could be easily tracked until the war was won. She knew that Base Camp would be the safest option, but she knew that they needed to enhance security. After all, she had reason to believe that The Eye already knew its location.

After the movie had ended, they had all split up, convincing their parents to let them go on a "camping trip". They took the time to pack things they would need, including a week's worth of food. Lana helped them with everything they would need, promising to drive them as close as she could the next day.

Luna slept peacefully throughout the daylight, despite her nerves. She knew it would be a long time before she could sleep anywhere near as nice as her own bed. She felt bad for Harper in that moment, since her sleeping had been affected the most. She had virtually switched into living as a Night-Timer, spending all her time with Luna and the team and barely staying awake around her parents. Luna's stomach burned with guilt.