AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At that she turns to me, wiping her hazel eyes, and does her best to smile. “You’re right. No sad stories.” I sit up, grab the tray of waffles off the desk and bring them over for us to share.
“Now tell me everything.” I instruct, giving her a fork. She smiles at me, and we dig in.
Chapter 30 - Emerson Clarke
We spend the rest of the day sitting on my bed, telling each other everything that has happened over the past seven years. She tells me about Hugo’s relentless dedication to the CSO, and about her father’s everlasting attempts to form a connection with him. She tells me about her mother, still in the medical ward after all these years.
During the Great War, Luna’s mother, Holly, survived a terrible fire that burnt down her city. She was trapped under rubble for days before she was found. All the pressure of the rubble she was stuck under, as well as the smoke inhalation, caused problems with her breathing. She’s had to have multiple trips in and out of the medical ward since then. From what Luna’s telling me, her lungs seem to be getting weaker with age.
As she tells me this, she begins to tear up, and I draw a protective arm around her. All these years, she’s had no one to be with. Her dad would constantly be working, and Hugo would probably be off worshipping some idol of Albert or something crazy like that. All of that, plus her mum being in and out of the med ward, would have driven anyone crazy with loneliness.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you here. I should have helped you, been there for you. I should have-” I curse my memory loss for not knowing exactly what I should have done. I should remember the state I left her in. I should remember how I left her and didn’t come back. Instead, I’m caught in a hole. I have no way of knowing if what I’m saying is true, but I know it’s what I should say, so I do.
“Emerson,” she stops me and grabs my face so that I’m looking right into her deep hazel eyes. “I’m not blaming you for anything that happened. None of this is your fault.”
“Yes, but I should have done something. I should have remembered how much you hated it here. I should have remembered you,” my voice clogs up and I push down the tears. No. I am strong. I do not cry.
“You know I would have never let you do that. I would never let you endanger your own life for my sake.”
“No, Luna. I-” I stand up too quickly, and all the blood rushes to my head. Before I even realise what is going on, I am blacking out and my head falls limply to the ground.
* * *
‘“Em? Em?” A much younger version of Luna is standing over the unconscious body of a much younger Emerson. Luna is poking at her face, her usually serene hazel eyes filled with anguish. “Em, I need you to wake up or they’re going to find us.”
The younger Emerson groans and slowly lifts her head. “Lu?” she asks.
“Quickly, we need to go.” Emerson nods and follows Luna through a maze of overgrown tunnels and paths. I have never seen this place, but there is a natural beauty about it that astounds me. It seems to be an old tunnel system, but there are cracks in the walls where trees have broken in and taken over the landscape. Patches of grass litter the cement like cracks. I wonder what this possibly could have been before it was abandoned, and how the younger Luna and myself ended up here.
The girls turn into a small room and stop, heaving massive breaths as they lean against the moss-covered wall to stop themselves from stumbling. “What happened? Did I-” The young me asks during staggered breaths.
“Yes, it happened again. Are you alright?” Luna asks, placing a hand on Emerson’s shoulder. She looks so young and yet her features indicate her wisdom. There is something about her manner that makes her seem older than her age, more trustworthy. And I can tell by the look on the young Emerson’s face that she would trust this girl with her life.
“I’m fine, I guess. I just wish it would stop happening. I’m sick of my life being interrupted by these stupid flashbacks and visions.” She says, collapsing onto a nearby rock.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks cautiously, and Emerson shakes her head. Instead of being offended, Luna doesn’t say anything, but walks over to the rock and sits next to Emerson, enveloping her in a massive hug. She doesn’t know what I was going through, but somehow Luna understands.
“At least we found our escape route.” She says with a smirk and that seems to cheer Emerson up significantly.
She lets out a small laugh. “Who would’ve thought to go through the plumbing, hey?”
“Only someone crazy, Em.”
“Only you, you mean. You’re the crazy one here, Lu. There’s no point in denying it.” Emerson lets out a sly smile.
“You got me there, Em.” The girls go silent for a minute.
“What about your dad? Have you told anyone about our plans?”
“There’s no way I’d be able to tell him without Hugo finding out. And Hugo would never forgive me if he knew what we were planning.” Luna says sadly.
Emerson stands up, “Luna Jones, that’s one dangerous secret to keep from them.” She wags her finger at Luna in mock disapproval.
“I want to tell Hugo. But I’m scared that he will-” She starts to speak before Emerson interrupts her.
“No. You can’t. No one must know about this.”
“But he’s, my brother. He’s family. I can’t just give up on my family.” Luna protests half-heartedly, like she knows that it’s a losing battle.
