The Moon Dwellers

The one thing we have going for us is that even during the daytime, so little electricity is provided to our subchapter that the overhead lights don’t provide enough light for someone to recognize us unless they are practically right next to us.

Still, we stick to the shadows, pausing to look all around us before moving across open spaces. Block by block we make our way out of Tawni’s neighborhood. When the houses change from solid stone blocks to crumbling bricks, we know we’ve reached the slums. I think we all feel safer now.

The slums are exactly as you’d expect. All the houses, if you can call them that (they are more like tiny sheds), are in major disrepair and in desperate need of some TLC. Kids run barefoot in the street, playing knights and barbarians with rocks and cardboard swords. Dead, staring faces sit at windows, as if waiting for someone to come save them. No one is coming. Except us, and we aren’t there to save them.

Unfortunately, the orphanage is in the dead center of the slums. Because there is so much more activity in the slums than in most neighborhoods—none of the people seem to work and none of the kids seem to go to school—we are especially careful. Despite only covering about ten blocks, it takes us nearly two hours to reach the orphanage. I am ready to scream when we finally arrive.

The orphanage is probably the best-maintained structure in the slums, but it still isn’t fit to live in. Certainly not for children. I feel my hands squeeze into fists so tight that my knuckles start to ache. Things were bad for me, but they might be worse for Elsey.

The dilapidated door hangs precariously by a single hinge, unable to fully close. At least half the windows are broken, either by old age or a few well-aimed rocks from the neighborhood monsters. There are holes in the roof and cracks in the steps.

We can’t see any activity through the windows in the front. The orphanage is ringed by a crumbling stone wall, high enough to block our view of the rear yard.

When it appears the coast is clear, we take turns climbing the wall while the others cover us—not with guns but with eyes, ready to whisper a warning if someone is coming. We all make it into the side yard safely. We creep toward the back.

As we approach the corner of the building, we can hear voices. Children laughing, children shouting, nursery rhymes: that sort of thing.

I’m leading and am about to peek around the corner when I feel something whiz past my head. I duck and throw myself flat on the ground, suddenly believing that we’ve been discovered and that someone is shooting at us.

Cole chuckles, somewhat loudly. A cloth ball rolls away from us into the side alley—the cause of the whizzing. Just as I regain my feet, a young girl, no more than seven, rounds the corner, nearly colliding with me. She stops like she hit a wall, and prepares to scream, opening her mouth wide and leaning her head back.

Cole grabs her, covering her mouth with his big hand just in time. Her muffled scream sounds no louder than the distant echolocation squeal made by a hunting bat. She starts kicking, so I run to her and start talking in a low, soothing voice, trying to comfort her.

“It’s okay, little one. We’re not going to hurt you,” I promise her. “We’re just looking for someone—my sister.” She still looks scared, her eyes wide and her breathing strained and ragged through her nose, but she is calmer, no longer struggling so much. “Do you promise not to scream or run away if my friend lets you go?” I ask.

She thinks about it for a minute and then nods slowly. I hope she isn’t lying.

“Let her go, Cole,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow, but complies, releasing the girl and stepping back. She doesn’t run, doesn’t scream, just stands there staring at us. Then she says, “They’re going to wonder where I’ve gone,” she says in a tiny voice, more fit for a butterfly princess than a little girl.

“Okay,” I say. “You can go back. But first, do you know a girl named Elsey?”

The girl’s eyes light up at my sister’s name, and I know we’ve gotten lucky. Not only does this girl know Elsey, but she likes her and will want to help her. It always amazes me how much you can discern from just the look on someone’s face.

“Oh, yes!” she says, twirling her brown curls with one of her fingers. “Elsey and I are the greatest of friends. She’s older than me, but she says I’m old for my age anyways.”

It sounds like something Elsey would say. She’s always liked playing with younger kids, making them feel grown up, special. I used to think she might become a schoolteacher. But that was before my parents were abducted.

“Can you tell her Adele is here to see her?” I say. “And help her find an excuse to come around this corner?”

The girl is even more excited now, flapping her arms as if she is ready to fly off to find my sister. “You’re her sister! You’re her sister!” she exclaims.

“Yes, now please go tell her.”

The girl starts to race off, but then stops, whirling around to retrieve the ball before scampering back behind the orphanage. Smart girl.

We wait against the wall, expecting an Enforcer to appear at any second, having been ratted on by the sweet little clever girl.

Instead, like a mirage, my sister appears, ru

Elsey slams into me with such force that she nearly topples me over. Although we’ve only been apart for six months, a mere blip in our lives, it feels like we haven’t seen each other in years. She seems to have grown, both physically and in maturity. Only ten, her pale face looks wizened, young but worn.

“Oh Elsey,” I sigh, holding her tight against my chest, her legs wrapped around my hips. She is still a child, above all. Forced to endure far more than a child should have to endure. Far more than anyone should.

I want to hold onto her forever, but time is short.

“Let me have a look at you,” I say, gently lowering her to the stone slab alley. My breath catches as I gaze on her face. She is breathtaking, has always been, with doll-like features that are so perfect they must have been carved by a master sculptor. She’s always been more beautiful than me, but I don’t mind, for she is a pure spirit. I can tell by the way her jaw sticks out now that six months in this place has hardened her, but in her violet eyes I can see the same pure energy she’s always had.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Elsey,” I say, tearing up slightly.

“I’ve missed you so much, Adele,” Elsey says earnestly. “I couldn’t believe it when Ra

I nod. “Yeah, but we’re not exactly allowed, so we’re going to have to do it sneakily.”

“I knew you would come!” Elsey exclaims. “Big John kept telling me I was crazy, that you were stuck in the Pen forever, but I always said he was wrong, even when he called me names. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Of course, but there’ll be time to talk about all that later. We’ve got to go.”

“But I’ve got to say bye to Ra

“There’s not time, El, I’m sor—”

I am cut off when Ra

Elsey seems to understand the urgency of the situation. With a conviction that has been her trademark for all ten years of her short life, she hugs Ra