Lunar Rising

Family. It is a strange feeling, a fantasy, to finally be a part of what seemed a fiction in my life.

The old man with the white eyes leads me down the hall, steering me gently out of the corridor in which Raven was still hiding.

“Charlotte,” he rumbled, his hand on my shoulder. “I must ask you…”

“Yes, Grandfather?” I reply, slowly and still unsure. He hears the wavering tension in my voice. Raising an eyebrow, he stops and stares into my face.

“Charlotte, do you still not trust me, even after what I’ve told you?”

I bring forth the memory of when he had sent Aiden to fetch me on the Teacup. It wasn’t the best way to bring me in, Aiden explained later, but he had known that people raised behind the government’s walls did not trust easily, so it was the quickest way to get me into a private place.

After being drugged with a sleeping dart, I was rushed out of the Teacup by Aiden through the other door, with my sleepy body heavy on his shoulders. Through the smoke, nobody could see us. Aiden ran until he reached an isolated hallway, and he kept going until he arrived at the room in which my grandfather was waiting. Grandfather opened the door, and that’s when I was placed in a chair and they waited an hour for me to wake.

When I do wake, I try to get away, but Grandfather holds me down and reveals his eyes to me. White eyes.

I am frozen in astonishment, and I stop struggling. He lets go of me, assured that my curiosity would not allow me to leave. He speaks, and I listen.

“Charlotte. We have finally found you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, trembling. “Who are you?”

“My eyes are the same as yours, aren’t they?” He points at his eyes. “You and I are kin. I am your grandfather. The young man who brought you here is your cousin, Aiden. He has the same eyes as you as well. As we waited in this room for you to wake, we have removed our contacts. Come, Aiden,” he says, motioning for the man in the corner to us. He kneels beside Grandfather and tugs his own mask off. His eyes are also white, but slightly grayer.

“You’re...my family?” I am awed, dumbstruck, confused. “That can’t be true,” I say, nearly in a whisper. “I have no family.”

Grandfather says nothing in reply to this. He simply nods with a small frown. Aiden speaks up. “You’ve been kept from this knowledge for years. It would have been too dangerous for you to know.”

“But why have I been living with the government? Why didn’t you come and get me? I thought I was alone!” The next question hesitates on the tip of my tongue: “What really happened to my parents?”

“Your parents were killed by the government, Charlotte,” says Grandfather, sadness glimmering in his eyes. “They were killed because of their white eyes, the meaning concealed behind them. There is a secret about our eyes, Charlotte, one that you have been carefully shielded from. Therefore, we retrieved you, after all this time, because you are the only one who can carry out a mission which recently surfaced.”

“Mission?” I’d been trained for years in martial arts and endurance, but I never imagined it would come to true use. I lean closer. “First, tell me what my eyes mean. Why do we have white eyes?”

“Aiden and I know that our white eyes are a key to something great.” His voice lowers. “We need you, Charlotte. The government didn’t want you to know this, but I will tell you this now. Your eyes, and ours, unlock a secret laboratory that could be of importance to us, and to the people. I have heard that machines and instruments have been stored there for the generations after our original ancestors. We need to find this laboratory and its entrance. Then our eyes can unlock it.”

“What kind of machines are in there? Do you know?”

“Aiden found an old note from his late father. It told him that he must find the lab, and that the machines have the power to restore the long-needed ozone layer, and so much more. It can clear pollution and create ozone. Earth needs it, because no matter what you’ve been hearing, and no matter what illusions the higher-ups are making, you must know this: if we continue to live the way we live, the world will come to end. All life will be lost. We need to transform Earth back into what it was hundreds of years ago.”

Grandfather pauses, studying my expression. “I know that this is a lot to take in. We are what remains of your family. We have to stay together. We need your help, Charlotte.”

I take a deep breath. “Alright… I get what needs to be done. I must find this lab’s entrance, and when I do, we open it and go inside and take the machines. Then what? The government banned the ideas of restoring the ozone layer long ago. There’s no way we can use the equipment without being caught, and then everything we worked for will be lost.”

Grandfather shakes his head. “We will come to that later, once we actually have the lab. If we have so many doubts, we will not be able to move forward.” He stood up and helped me up too. “Stay undercover for now and see if you can gain any information about this laboratory. As far as we know, it’s on this planet.”

“I will, Grandfather,” I say with deference. “Until today, I had no idea of the meaning behind my eyes. Thank you for bringing me here and telling me.”

Aiden clears his throat. “When you do find information, contact us through text. I have added us to your watch’s contact list.” He nods at the watch secure around my wrist. I tap it and scroll through, and the most recent contact is:

“Miffy?” I can’t help but smile. “What does it mean?”

“It was my sister’s name,” replies Aiden, with a faraway glimmer in his eye. “And now, our code name.”

“On another subject, Charlotte. Don’t you miss using your microchip?” Grandfather smiles at my surprise. “I’m only thinking that you might have turned it off because the government could track you on it. Well, Aiden has stolen a government briefcase laptop. He can hack into the system of microchip-tracing and cut off the connection between the government and your microchip. It should greatly assist you in finding information for us.”

Immediately, I agree. My spirits brighten at the prospect of the additional luxury. Microchips used these days are very useful, storing information and recordings where the human brain would not be able to remember. Under ordinary circumstances, licensed individuals were able to effectively multi-task with the help of their microchips.

Aiden slides out the briefcase from underneath a metal tile, and he turns it on and beckons me closer so that he can work. He asks for the ID number of my microchip; I answer, and he gets to hacking.

As Aiden works, Grandfather expounds on the history of Tylius and our family tree.

“Our family was a part of the White-Eyes cult. You probably haven’t heard about them because the last of the cult disappeared with your parents. The White-Eyes cult all had white eyes, of course, and all of their labs were only accessible through the eye scanners. Our ancestors worked on the planet of Tylius,” he says. “They hid the lab here when the planet was under their construction, so that later in the years, it would be hard for people to find them. We’re not sure how they hid it, but to today, it has been a success. Their intentions, of course, were to aid the people of the future. It’s quite an incredible history we have. Tylius, or back then known as Project Planet Immigration, was a project that met many obstacles. There was the problem of getting Tylius into orbit around Earth. After the final orbit plan misfired and the planet latched onto the moon’s gravitational pull, people were wondering how they would function on a new planet like this. Lots of the equipment and inventions in that lab are keys to paving mankind on this planet.”

Aiden finishes with severing the connection between the government and my microchip. I turn it on, feeling the refreshing rush of organized thought entering my brain.

“We’ve spent enough time in this room now, Charlotte.” Grandfather shows me to the door. “This hall is quite deserted, so I think you will have no trouble going about unseen. Aiden will show you back to the more occupied areas of the city.”

I stand back for a second, basking in the unfamiliarity of the prospect given to me. I have a family. For the first time in my life, I have a real family that I can relate to. They have the same eyes; no longer do I feel unreal and alone. Managing a smile as Aiden put his contacts back on in the corner, I bid farewell to the old man that is my grandfather.

He shakes my hand and smiles, his cheeks wrinkling with happiness. “It’s good to have finally met you again, Charlotte. I saw you last when you were very, very young. A blurry picture sent by your mother. Now I can see what a beautiful girl you’ve grown into.”

I hesitate for a split second at his words referring to my parents, but I cover it quickly with a warm smile. “I’ll see you again,” I assure him.

“Good-bye, Charlotte.”

“Until next time, Grandfather.”

Aiden clears his throat. “I have no intention of staying in this room forever, you know. Someone will come along soon, and we can’t be discovered. Grandfather, put on your contacts.”

“Yes, of course.” The old man digs around in his coat pocket to retrieve the small container for his contacts. “Go on, Aiden. I’ll put on my contacts and head back to my own apartment.”

“Alright.” Aiden opens the door tentatively and leads me out.

“Thanks.” I step out into the empty hallway, careful not to let my shoes make a sound on the hard, cold floors. The lights are bright and harsh, exposed on the low ceiling. I wince and wait as Aiden prepares himself to look less suspicious.

When he is ready, we head back to the awakening city through the elevator and melt right into the crowd. Aiden whispered to me that we would meet up at the lowest floor of the city, always. He told me to remember this part of the city and meet them here when they called. Then we parted ways, and not a single person knew.

Later, in my apartment, I received a text.

Tell no one. Keep an ear tuned to the world.

Lab is important. Remember.

And I would.

Grandfather and I walk down the hall as he makes small talk with me. He asks me about how I feel about Tylius and about the city, until he registers my detachment.

“Do you not trust me?” he asks yet again, since I had purposefully avoided answering his question.

I sigh. “You know as well as Aiden knows that it will be a while before I can trust you fully.”

“Well, yes, I understand. Someone brought up like you will know not to be naive with the concept of trust.” Grandfather looks at me with peculiar interest. “Well then, why did you want to meet here today? Have you found something about the lab?”

“Actually I... I just wanted your company,” I admit. “I’ve never experienced family before and I feel like... if we’re family, we should get to know each other better, right?” I don’t know what it is that families do together, but I’ve always been under the impression that families have each other’s backs and enjoy each other’s presence. It is a foolish thing, I know, to be so open and soft right now, but I’ve been living without true purpose for so long that I hardly know myself. With a newfound purpose and a family, things can change. I feel hope.

The small bit of that hope slips away as quickly as it appeared; the reply I get from Grandfather is colder than expected. “You have a job to do, and we, as a family, cannot be discovered. In the future, don’t call on us unnecessarily.” He removes his hand from my shoulder and stops before the elevator. “I will be returning to my hideout here. You must go back, and only meet us again once you’ve found something.”

“Yes, Grandfather.” This time I resolved to focus and stay on task. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“You are forgiven.” Grandfather reached past me and pushed the elevator button.

The elevator comes almost immediately, since we are on the less-used side of the city. “Grandfather,” I say, turning to him again. “Back on Earth, where did you live? Why didn’t you come and find me, if you knew I was in the government?”

“Child, don’t you know how exhausting it is to acquire access into the government buildings? Besides, the government would never have let you go willingly. And I’m sure you know that their identity scanners are seldom incorrect. If I tried to sneak you out, I would have been found out.”

He ushers me into the elevator. The doors close, and I’m speeding back up to the surface again.

Grandfather’s behavior bothers me in a way I can’t put to words.

The next day, I see Raven in yet another safety lesson. Tomorrow will be the last of the lessons, and personally, I can’t wait to have this over with. Even trying my best to pay attention and find the technology and procedures as fascinating as Raven does, I can’t help but want to focus my energies on something else.

Of course, I never let my guard down. Raven must not know anything of me. I have already told him my real name, which is something I can’t trust him to hold. It’s not because he seems loud and open, which he isn’t. It’s the fact that I don’t know him too well, and to trust him with something as big as this just isn’t who I normally am.

As I’m pondering this, I wonder with amazement: Has Raven changed me in involuntary ways that I have not noticed? Has he really influenced me that much?

Then a wave of resentment washes away my wonder. How can I be so foolishly influenced so easily? Being so easily changeable might make me more vulnerable than if I had just stayed unfeeling and emotionless.

When Raven speaks to me now, he still uses Alicia. I take this assurance that he will try his hardest to never use my real name in public.

During this class, the teacher hands us all slips of paper with our last class on it. I receive mine at the end of class and study the paper. My last class had something to do with simple astrology and the science of the planet. Not being able to comprehend why and how this is related to safety, I walk with Raven after class is dismissed, and ask him about it.

To my dismay, he knows very little about the connection between safety and the science of the planet. “We’ll find out tomorrow, anyhow.”

I intend to stop the conversation here, but Raven says something else to keep it going as we keep traveling. The Teacup is still down, so we have to walk all the way to the apartments, leaving plenty of time for talking.

“Alicia, I’ve been wondering about what you’ve told me about your past.”

The words are a poison to my ears. I cast a warning glance at him and reply in the most pleasant manner possible, “What have you come to, then?”

His cheeks deepen into a red hue that I’ve rarely seen on a person before. The only time I’ve seen red cheeks is when a person is finished from exercise and is short of breath. However, Raven hasn’t recently involved himself with physical exertion, so the cause of the reddened cheeks is a mystery to me.

“Even though you have told me what you have, I’d still like to get to know you better. I don’t mind the consequences it might bring,” he says, running a hand nervously through his hair. “So, that aside… Would you care for a meal at a restaurant for lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

Raven looks so relieved and happy, and yet I don’t understand why he should feel this way. What is so special about having lunch together?

Once again, I try going to sleep, but I can’t. I feel wide awake, lost in thoughts regarding my family, Raven, and the government. Most of all, I’m deep in the subject of the secret laboratory that can only be unlocked with genetically natural white eyes. Where would someone hide a lab? Could a lab hide in the caves of the mountains? On Tylius, were there even mountains? But the more I think about it, the less possible it seems. If the lab has stayed hidden for so long, then I don’t know how underground and airborne scanners were not able to detect it.

With a desperate urge to go out of the city again, I pull on my boots firmly and bring a coat. My hair, which had been let loose for the night, is pulled into a messy bun. I choose the green contacts that I have been using since I got here. I’m tired of contacts, but now that I know how important my white eyes are, I can’t risk changing my eye color permanently.

The time on the clock in the wall is only 11:00 PM, so when I walk out of the apartment door, it’s not surprising to see the city still functioning. Families are returning to their apartments after visiting parks and casinos. Since Tylius daytime and nighttime looks are similar, people aren’t sleeping as much as they should, and some people sleep in irregular patterns. I squeeze past a couple down the hallway and go to the staircase. At the top of the stairs, I take the moving platform to the All-Direction elevator. Most people are taking this elevator because not only is it fast to get around this side of the city, it’s a lot of fun to ride too. The elevator goes left and right as well as up and down.

As I’m waiting in the crowd of people for my turn on the elevator, I turn and see another, smaller elevator. This is the public one, but the smaller elevator must be the private one, accessible only by security cards. As I’m thinking about which places it had access to, and whether or not I should attempt to hack into the security card system and try it out later this month, I notice a man and a woman, both sharply dressed in formal clothing, approach the elevator and swipe their cards. As they wait for the elevator to come, they begin to talk in low, urgent voices. I move casually to the side of the crowd, listening in on their conversation. I pretend to brush a lock of stray hair behind my ear and use my index finger to activate Super-Ear, a device attached to me, barely visible, enabling me to hear five times better than before.

The man is speaking to the woman. Over the loud noise of the other people talking, I can distinguish a bit of what they are saying:

“How did you like your dinner, madam?”

“It was lovely, thank you. And you?”

“I enjoyed it. Those performers had such talent!” the man remarked. I listen on, hoping for something good. People who had access to special places always had something juicy to say.

The woman speaks again, lowering her voice drastically. Feeling that this would be the sentence to change my life, I listen harder and use the part of Super-Ear that allows my hearing to filter other voices out of my head. But what I get is disappointment.

“Actually, the musician slipped two notes. But other than that, I suppose it was okay. I’m looking forward to the follow-up party, though!” At this point already, I’m tempted to stop listening and turn off Super-Ear. I’m not always the most patient person.

“Yes,” replies the man. “But I’m afraid I will have to leave early. I have a son to attend to.”

“Oh!” The woman moves to the side in surprise and looks up at the man. “You never told me you had a son, Emios!”

Emios calmly reassures her that his son doesn’t get in the way of his work.

“Well,” she huffs, “I can’t imagine having children, especially with all of this work the government gives us. The most recent project is too tiring, isn’t it? If you have had a son all this time, I can’t comprehend how busy you must be. Does your wife stay home often?”

“My wife works as well, and in our same company.” Emios smiles. “I believe you misinterpret the age of my son. He is seventeen and can take care of himself.” I can’t describe how much this intrigues me. Raven is also seventeen.

The elevator for the two people arrive. Before the doors open, the woman starts to say something that makes my heart skip a beat.

“Do you think we’re ever going to find that lab?” she asked. The doors slide open and they step inside the clear, tubular elevator. “I’d hate to think all the machines we’re developing is going to come to no use. I just hope our seismic detectors are working at their best…”

“Veronica, I assure you, things will work out. When it’s functioning, we’ll be able to use the--”

The soundproof doors close. I scowl and quickly flip off Super-Ear.

So. The government is also trying to find the lab. Seismic detectors? They are focusing underground. I need to get the rest of that sentence, but how? That woman loves to talk and reveal things that shouldn’t be revealed. I need to get the voice recording of inside the elevator. I’ve already recorded the previous half of the conversation in my microchip.

As I’m fantasizing about pursuing them, I make note of the multiple security cameras in the scene and think better of the idea. However, I have no information of where the recordings inside the elevators would be stored.

Luckily, as my feelings surge through me, I am able to keep a blank face and a calm step. For now, I have to go back to my apartment. There is not much to be done about this situation, and with all the city alive tonight, I would surely be seen if I were to go outside. But this is a start.

I go back to my apartment and pause. Someone is standing in front of my door. At first, I feel alarm, but the boy standing in front of my apartment is dressed casually in a dark blue shirt and jeans, and he has a bag slung over his shoulders, stuffed with flyers. There is a flyer in his hands.

I have nothing to worry about, so I approach the boy with confidence.

The boy prepares to slip the flyer in the handle. Quickly, I speak up.

“I’m the owner of that apartment. Can I help you with something?”

He turns around. He’s older than me, tall, and carries himself with confidence. “Oh, yeah. I’m John.” We shake hands, and he has a grin on his face. “I’m part of a local band, and our deal is to spread music to the city. We would really appreciate it if you were to join us for our first concert in the city’s central park.” John hands me the flier with a picture of his band on the cover.

“Um, thanks.”

“I hope to see you there then!”

John walks away, whistling an unfamiliar tune that his band probably plays.

I examine the flyer without much interest and go back to my apartment. I’ve never been to a concert, but I’ve seen some of them perform on TV. And the TV I used back in the government building didn’t even have a simulator installed and attached, so it didn’t feel like the real thing, but I could tell that it couldn’t be that much to be excited about. Large crowds may provide good information, but these crowds at a concert are louder and more rambunctious. I’d be lucky to hear anything besides the music and useless screaming.

I go to bed and try to shrug off all my concerns. Tomorrow is the last day of classes. I have a grandfather and a cousin. A band is performing a concert, and maybe it’ll be the first concert I’ve ever been to. There are so many happy things to be grateful about. I’m out of the government’s control, and I am free to live my own life.

Yet as I struggle to fall asleep again, I can’t help but feel like something isn’t right.

It’s morning already. I must have gotten some sleep after all.

I’m more tired than usual today. Normally, no matter how early I wake up or how little sleep I get, I don’t let my lack of rest get to me. But today my thinking doesn’t feel right, and I keep wanting to go back to bed.

Deciding whether or not to skip class, I text Raven using the number he gave me several days ago. This is my first time texting him.

I’m tired. Do you think class is worth attending today?

His response was immediate, but off-topic. Good morning. I’d never expect you to text first, lol

Excuse me?

Sorry. Why do u wanna skip class?

I told you. I’m tired.

That’s no reason. Come on, it’s the last one. Just one more day!

…Ok, fine.

This last class is outdoors. We are first organized into a large group in the classroom. Mr. Kraken is our instructor today, the same man from the first day.

“Everybody, stop pushing!” He squirms out of the excited, chattering crowd of children, ages ranging from elementary to late teenage years.

“We’re going outside! I’ve never been…!” A girl with long golden hair laughs at the thought. I watch her as she jokes with her friends about everything that they would do.

Raven overhears her conversations too and nudges me gently. I look up at him and he winks. We’re probably the only people in class that have been outside of the city before today.

Mr. Kraken leads us out of the door and herds us down the hallway. Other classes with teachers are also heading outside. There’s a large door at the end of the long hallway. Everybody moves so slowly, and I long for more space and speed. After what seems like eternity, we reach the door and move outside.

For those who never knew how it felt to be in a wide expanse of clean air and soft, white, barren ground, it must’ve been truly shocking to be on the planet of Tylius. I relish the beautiful air and breathe it in. I’d wanted to come back outside again, but I couldn’t. Now, this feels much better than staying inside the domed city all the time.

I manage to follow Mr. Kraken to our own personal little space for the lesson. This is peculiar. Why is the lesson outside?

I find out soon enough.

Mr. Kraken clears his throat and speaks up over the murmuring class. “Hey guys, settle down, please.”

Somehow Raven and I manage to catch each other’s eye contact, and he sifts through the mingling people to get to my side. I feel comforted that he’s next to me, with a feeling I can’t classify, and I step closer to him.

“Okay, can we all please get quiet? This is a very interesting lesson, even to me. I was informed on the topic only a few days ago. It’s actually quite fascinating.

“You see, over there?” He raises his arm and points at the large, round moon. “As you all well know by now, Tylius rotates around the moon, and the moon travels around Earth. Earth goes around the sun.

“Years ago, scientists discovered something that they never really considered hazardous until now, because they hadn’t researched the full force of the impact of this phenomenon. Listen well, because when the time comes, you need to be prepared.”

I glance at Raven curiously and text him silently: You know what he’s saying?

Raven looks down at his watch and shakes his head slightly at me.

Everybody is quiet now. Other teachers are going through this same process with their students. From here, I can already tell that some teachers got straight to the point and explained. Students gasp and yelp. I am dying to know what they’ve heard!

Mr. Kraken continues.

“Occasionally, --as in several months or even years-- the moon, Earth, and Tylius all get into position, a rare position that creates a strange effect. The sun’s light hits the moon’s surface with full force, without the Earth to get in the way of it. During that time, our revolution around the moon will be at the point where Tylius is especially close to the moon. The moon appears to us, on that day, as a huge moon. It will be enormous.” Mr. Kraken moves his arms around, trying to paint the picture in the air. “And the moon’s reflection of the sunlight will go right through this thin atmosphere. Our atmosphere is quite weak. We have a thin layer of oxygen and some nitrogen and other gases closer to the ground, but, similar to Earth, our ozone layer doesn’t exist anymore. You all know the procedure. It’s also why we specifically chose today to teach this lesson outdoors. The sun is not visible today, because it’s blocked by Earth.

“To summarize all of this, let’s just say that due to rare circumstances, we’ll have a big moon that reflects a ton of the sun’s harmful rays. It is incredibly important that we know this and prepare in advance when possible. It would be very dangerous to come into contact with these rays.”

A hand rises into the air, timid and placid. Mr. Kraken nods at the student.

“How dangerous do you mean, Mr. Kraken?”

He hesitates and glances at us, determining if we can bear to understand. “If a human were to be exposed to the moon on that day, he or she would no longer exist in any form afterwards. Scientists have seen it happen to weak objects. They become nothing more than a wisp of steam.”

The class stands in stunned silence. We all know what Mr. Kraken implies. Dread creeps into me and unconsciously, I begin to tremble. My hands hang limp at my sides and clench and unclench themselves. Raven notices my discomfort at this horrible and scary news. I hold back a small gasp as he takes my hand into his and squeezes it in reassurance.

Maeve raises her hand. I’ve had many classes with her. She’s very popular, and has formed a large group of friends, and even flirts with boys. Mr. Kraken announces that he will now accept questions, and he nods to her. “Maeve?”

“Sir, what will we do when that day comes around?”

“A good question, because this is where the safety part of this lesson comes into play.” He gestures at the huge, domed city behind us. Like ants, we turned to look at the towering round cover of the city. “This city is protected by a barrier that has taken several years to reinforce and improve. As long as you stay inside the city that day, you will be fine. There is also another thing that can be done in case this city’s barrier is too weak… but I haven’t gotten any further information on that, so you should be fine.”

Still, there are murmurs of disapproval. I bet when people moved into here they’d thought that the planet would be like paradise, but it turns out to be far from that.

Mr. Kraken continues on, “This event is called a lunar rising. Scientists here on Tylius and on Earth are making reports on possible dates when the next rare lunar rising will occur. At least a week before the lunar rising actually happens, they will warn Tylius cities.”

Mr. Kraken goes on about safety procedures and rules for the lunar risings. Nobody says it, but it’s implied quite well in all the classes. I see Maeve whispering frantically to her group of friends. People now know that living on this new planet is a lot more dangerous than they thought.

Class goes on, and then it ends. We head back inside, class by class, and unlike day one, students don’t need their parents to pick them up anymore. They know their way around the city. They can find their own way, go have lunch with friends, and hang out until going home. It’s freedom.

But today, for a while after class, students spend their time loitering the hallway and talking instead of leaving.

“The lunar rising sounds cool.”

“It sounds scary.”

“They didn’t mention any of this at all before we moved here.”

Raven speaks up to me, jolting me from my thoughts about lunar risings. “Are you okay with lunch at a sandwich place?”

“Huh? Sandwiches?”

“Unless, of course, you don’t like sandwiches. We could go for something like pizza instead then.”

Instantly, I feel foolish for forgetting. “Ah, right. Lunch together.” I nod. “I’m fine with whatever. You can lead the way.”

As we walk, Raven tries to talk about lunch, but I can tell he’s just like the other kids—interested in the class we just had and deep in thought

Raven and I settle for the pizza parlor. Business is booming, and the owner himself is walking around tables, welcoming families and clearing dishes. I have some money, but Raven insists on paying for the meal. We order some Hawaiian pizza, something I’ve never tried before, and we talk before the food arrives.

“Hawaiian?” I say the word again, feeling the strangeness on my tongue. “What a strange name for a pizza.”

“Yeah, I know, right?” Raven leans back against his seat. “I can’t remember what it means, but I think it’s from a country or something from way back. It disappeared during the flooding.”

“You like the pizza though?”

“I love it. Whenever I felt sad back on Earth, my parents would take me out to pizza. I always ordered Hawaiian during those pizza dinners. It’s a very nice feeling, to taste the pineapples and ham after a long day.”

“You said it has pineapples on it. Those are expensive, so it has to be tasty, right?”

For some reason, this humors him. “You know that now, anything rare is expensive, no matter the quality. I can’t guarantee you’ll enjoy Hawaiian pizza, but I can only hope.”

“Speaking of expensive, you said your parents brought you here to Tylius because their job required it, right? After all, housing here is usually too expensive for most people to afford.”

“Yep.” Then Raven looks up and thanks the waitress as she brings two tall glasses of chilled water. He pushes a glass towards me.

As I take a drink, I remember the conversation I overheard with Emios. “Raven. Your parents. Do they work for the government?”

“Well, yeah.” He stirs the ice cubes in his glass and takes another drink. “Did I tell you before? How did you know?”

“Just a hunch. Most people who come here to work are affiliated with the government.”

“I see… well, I’ve continued to work on my invention,” he says to me. “I, um, thought if you still wanted to know about it, you can come with me tonight and we can visit it together.”

I sip the cold water. “Yeah, okay. I’m not busy tonight.” Unless, of course, good information comes through to me and I can finally get a good lead on the hidden lab.

Our pizza arrives. For the next few minutes, all we do is eat. I’ve never had pineapple before. The sweet taste is strange, blended in with ham and cheese and tomato sauce. Still, I find myself enjoying it.

“Did you get a flier from that boy named John?” Raven digs into his pocket and pulls out a wrinkled flier. A picture of the band, including John, is on the front.

“Yeah, I did.”

“We should go to his concert. Some people heard the young group back on Earth. They say the band’s pretty good.”

“When is the concert?”

“Saturday.”

“I’ll text you if I want to go,” I say in between bites of pizza.

When lunch is over, Raven and I part ways.

“You remember where the invention room is, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Meet me there at nine, tonight.”

It’s nine. The city is still active, so it takes me a while to get to the invention room. Raven is already there when I enter. The lights are on, and he’s using tools from a large box to work on Riaddne.

“Hey, Charlotte.”

I’m surprised that Raven noticed I entered. He seems so into his invention.

“Hello, Raven.” I put my hands on my hips. “And remember, the name is Alicia.” Even out here, secluded in this slice of the city, I can’t risk my name being used.

“Relax, Charlotte.” He looks up from his work, clearly amused. “You don’t have to be so uptight. I checked the corridors. We’re alone on this entire floor tonight.”

This shocks me. “Are you sure?” I recall that Grandfather and Aiden said that they lived on this floor, in hiding. “Did you check inside the rooms?”

“Pretty much, yeah. All the rooms on this lowest floor are workrooms. I peeked inside through the windows.” He shrugged, then laughed. “Did you think that people could live on this floor? It’s too dangerous. You shouldn’t be on this floor for more than two hours. That’s why people who work on this floor with the machines have such short shifts.”

“Raven, are you sure?”

“Positive. My parents showed me the blueprints and told me no one lives here.” He studies my face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I reply too quickly. Where were Grandfather and Aiden, then?

Raven continues with his invention and explains the purpose of it as he goes. “Neil and I loved to build stuff ever since we were small. Neil actually wanted to do something else instead of being a mechanic, but he’s good at what he’s born into, and you probably already know it costs way too much to switch jobs. Anyway, we wanted to make a machine that helps humans take a step closer to bringing back the ozone layer. We wanted to make something that uses a different source of energy so that we don’t have to use solar power.”

“But why bring back the ozone layer?” I don’t understand the logic behind this. I don’t see why the ozone layer is needed anyway. “Isn’t the ozone layer harmful? That’s what they taught in the school I used to go to.”

“They’re wrong.” He pauses in his work and wipes sweat from his forehead. “The ozone layer protects Earth from the harmful rays of sunlight. But since the harmful rays are being used in the solar panels, the ozone layer isn’t needed as much.” Raven shakes his head. “That’s what everybody thinks, anyway. Without the ozone layer, Earth will eventually fall. The ice caps have melted, and hundreds of species have gone extinct. Earth needs its ozone layer, Charlotte. So, we need a new power source.”

I crouch next to him and watch as he rearranges some wires. “What energy source does this run on, then? What activates it?”

“I haven’t found a name for it yet, but it is energy hidden in space, inside dark matter. This machine locates that dark energy and collects it and transforms the energy into electricity. When Neil and I first turned it on, it showed that there were many energy points in the solar system. None of them were that large, or significant, but there was a reasonably-sized point of energy on Tylius that becomes incredibly excited by extreme radiation.”

“But do you know how to tap into that energy source on Tylius?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think so. But with the lunar risings, I think there’s gonna be something involved there. When the moon comes that close to Tylius, the distance and the reflection of the sunlight on the surface of the moon is really going to heat things up. My machine needs to feel the dark matter that has been seared with the lunar rising’s radiation. Then I’ll turn on this machine,” says Raven, patting the sleek metal side of the invention, “and we can hope for the best.”

“But you can’t go outside during the lunar risings!” I say. “Mr. Kraken said that the radiation can vaporize a human if they stand outside!”

“Look over there.” He points to a corner of the room.

I follow his finger to the round window on the ceiling. Right now, pale moonlight spills into the room from that corner. I walk underneath the window and look up. My heart falls off a cliff.

“Whoa,” I breathe. “So, when the time is right, you’ll just move the invention under here?”

“Yep.” He grins. “It’s convenient that this room has this window. Neil chose this place for a reason.”

“I guess you can’t wait for that lunar rising, huh?”

“Actually, I can wait. This invention is far from ready. I don’t know how it can stand all the heat and light, and not get burned down from it.”

“What would happen if the government found your machine?”

Raven pauses and frowns. After a brief moment of pause, he says, “They’d destroy it, smash it into pieces. It’ll be nearly impossible to fix.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah.” Raven looks a little uncomfortable. “Anyways, what about you?”

“Huh?”

“Remember that discussion we had? If I tell you my secret, you tell me yours.” Raven looks so pleased that he remembered my words.

“I suppose it would be a relief to tell you…” I stop. Confessing to Raven that I had continued to lie to him would be terrible. At this stage, I can tell that he truly trusts me, even though I’d told him I came from the government. How would he react to the rest of my dishonesty?

Even so, I begin my story, and he listens.