Moon Angel

Chapter 22: A Change of Scenery

Chapter 22: A Change of Scenery

I decided to go through with Mr Carter's plan and a few days later, I arrived outside the lodge. It was a pretty two-storied A-frame building with wooden panelling and a large veranda. A young woman came out the front door to meet me.

"So you must be Selene, then?" she said. She smiled. She had kind, sparkling eyes.

She took my suitcase from Mr Carter.

Mr Carter turned to me, "This is Jane." The woman bobbed her head in acknowledgement.

"She will look after you during your time here. I will be back in a few weeks to see how you're doing. I think you should enjoy yourself." He smiled at me and then at Jane before climbing back into the car.

I watched him drive away. Jane took my hand when the car was finally out of sight.

"I'll show you to your room."

She helped me up the stairs and into the lodge. Every step and bump and jolt sent pain through my body.

I was given one of the back rooms on the bottom floor, close to the kitchen and bathroom. Jane put my suitcase on the bed. I sat down, ignoring the pain as my body bounced on the soft surface. I suddenly felt exhausted but I hadn't done anything yet. Jane started unpacking my suitcase, putting my clothing in the wardrobe.

"You don't need to do that for me," I said.

"It's fine, I insist. You didn't bring very much," she said, smiling at me. "Anyway, you came here to rest and get better. Drake, I mean Mr Carter, told me what you've been through." Her eyes filled with sympathy. "Anything I can do to help is my pleasure. We don't get visitors very often out here."

"Who else lives here?" I asked.

"My husband stays here with me. He's gone into town today to get some more supplies. He'll be back later this evening," she replied.

"There's a town nearby?"

"Well, nearby isn't quite the right word for it," she responded. "They really haven't told you?" She paused, looking up at me from what she was putting away. I shook my head. Was I supposed to know?

She continued, seeing the blank look on my face. "The closest town is a two hour drive from here. We only go into town when we have to. But since we now have a visitor, we needed to get a few more supplies for the month."

She finished putting my belongings away and stowed the suitcase under the bed.

"Would you like a drink or some food?" she inquired, standing up. I shook my head, giving her a small smile.

"Right, well, if you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen." She paused for a second, as if getting her thoughts together, then left the room.

I laid back on the bed, sighing. I closed my eyes. I could really like it here. Mr Carter had been right. It was good to get out of Omega for a while. Here I didn't need to think about anything in particular. There was no mission to complete, no training sessions that I needed to attend. I was free to do whatever I wanted to do.

But first, I would sleep. I was too exhausted to do anything else.

***

I was hungry when I woke up. I noticed that it had grown dark outside while I had been asleep. I could hear murmurs coming from the kitchen. Jane's husband must have arrived back. I sat up and looked around the room. When I had arrived, a few hours earlier, I hadn't noticed how attractive the room was. A large window took up most of one wall, looking out at a clear grass area that bordered the forest- a forest that surrounded the whole lodge. I swung my feet out of bed and moved over to the window, placing my hands on the cool glass. I looked up, taking in the night sky, a sight I hadn't seen in a while. The moon was out, its white light drifting in the window, powerful, even though it was shining out from behind a passing cloud. I closed my eyes, soaking it in. I had missed the moon while I had been underground. I thought that it was weird that I should miss something that we were taught was an inanimate object, an item in space thousands of miles away. But for some reason it was more than that to me.

I opened my eyes, and walked over to the wardrobe.

I found my slippers at the bottom where Jane had put them earlier. As I bent down to put my slippers on, I noticed that the pain was gone.

I took a large breath in, and then another one, and pressed my fingers against my chest, where the swelling of my broken ribs showed.

No pain.

I didn't test my arm but for some reason I felt that I would have the same result. Where had the pain gone?

I looked over to the window and as I gazed upon the moon again, I was filled with a cooling sensation, like taking a drink of water after going through a desert. It was like a burst of energy, humming and vibrating with life and endless possibility. I knew that I belonged in the moonlight, beneath the wonder and mystery of the moon.

I took one last look at the moon and still smiling, padded out to the kitchen.

"Selene," Jane said when she saw me standing in the doorway. "I saved some dinner for you."

She stood up from where she had been sitting at the kitchen table and hurried to the stove, turning it on.

A man sat at the table in the seat next to her. He turned around when Jane stood up.

"Come, join us," he said, his voice warm and kind.

I padded across the tiled floor, taking a seat opposite him. Jane brought me a plate of steaming food, placing it in front of me. It smelt delicious.

She took her seat beside the man who I assumed was her husband.

He stretched out his hand in greeting. "The name's Matthew," he said, introducing himself.  

I smiled, "Are you Jane's husband?"

He nodded, a broad grin stretching across his face. "How'd you know?"

"Jane was talking about you earlier."

He looked at his wife.

"Only good things, I hope," he said playfully. Jane smiled back.

I started eating the food in front of me, aware of the fact that it would be getting cold. Mr Carter had been right about another thing. The food was incredible.

"So how old are you, Selene?" Matthew asked.

"16," I replied between mouthfuls.

"You've been at Omega quite a while, then."

I nodded, "Five years."

He raised his eyebrows a little, an impressed look on his face. "You like it down there?"

I nodded again. "It's challenging sometimes but I've made some amazing friends." I suddenly remembered Em and went quiet, taking a few more mouthfuls.

Jane must have noticed because she took over. "Now, Matthew, she came here to get away from all that. It's like talking about work during your holiday." She smiled at me. "What do you like to do with your time?"

I had finished my dinner by now and placed my fork on the edge of my plate.

"We don't get much free time between training and missions. I like to swim but I can't really with my injuries." I moved my bandaged arm that sat in a sling to make my point.

"What about hobbies?" She looked at my blank expression. "Like, for example, do you like music? Or baking? Or reading?" I shook my head.

"Things you do for fun?" she asked.

"I used to horse ride at Mr Carter's house before we moved to Omega but since then we've only really trained. Sometimes I play cards with the rest of the team."

Jane smiled, "That's a start, I guess." She looked at Matthew. "This girl's 16, and it doesn't sound like she ever has much fun."

She turned back to me. "I think that while you're staying with us we need to educate you." A beaming smile filled her face and this time, I couldn't help but smile back. Now I knew I'd definitely love it here.

 -A/N- Hey, thank you to everyone whose been following and reading my story. I really appreciate your support of my work. More chapters will be up soon so hang in there. :) Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks -Bubbly