Two Moons of Sera (9 page)

As we walked through the camp, Elgon stayed by our side. Low
vibrations came from him whenever anyone approached, but his growls were loud
to my acute senses. I placed a hand on his back to ease his nerves. By the time
we reached our building, Living Module Seven, my anxiety had flared into mild
panic. Tor hadn’t spoken more than a few monosyllabic words, and Lock was
either a terrible threat or our best friend. I wasn’t sure.

The front door of LM7 led into a large empty space. Gray
benches and dim lights lined the perimeter. This was not a place to congregate.

Lock walked through the center of the room, toward a wall
with a thin black square hovering above the floor. It was similar to the
platform that had transported us to the camp but smaller and quieter. While
stepping up onto the square, Lock gestured for us to join him.

“Everyone is still out,” he said. “I’ll show you your room
and then go find Lace.”

“Why?” I rolled my eyes.

“Because she lives here, too, and giving her some notice
that you’re in our pod might make life a little easier.”

After we were all standing on the black square, Lock pressed
a corner with his foot, and bars—similar to those on the flying platform—came
up around us. Tor stepped to the center, Elgon pressed against his side. I
watched Lock punch in three and four on a console, which had also risen.

Walls slid down from the ceiling and netted us in. The bars
were the only thing separating us from the new enclosure. Above, a light glowed
and a low hum penetrated the air.

“Thhhhrrrrrr....,” Elgon rumbled as the square rose.

Our platform floated through the chamber as we sped higher
and higher. Tor grabbed Elgon as his grumble grew to a growl. He knelt around
the animal, pressing him close. His closeness looked so safe and warm. Longing
overcame me as I imagined how strong his arms would feel.

Soon the platform slowed, and Lock turned from the console
toward us.

“Welcome home,” he said.

The chamber walls lifted and disappeared into the ceiling as
if they’d never been there, while the railing vanished into the floor.

Pod Thirty-four wasn’t anything like the kind of pods I’d
seen before. It wasn’t spherical or enclosed the way I’d expected. I’m not sure
what I’d thought we would find. Erdlander words didn’t always mean what I
translated them to, making it hard to keep everything straight.

We stood in the corner of a large room. There were two long
tables on one side and a seating area on the other. Chairs, lamps, and small tables
were scattered about in a haphazard pattern. Everything was either brown or
gray except for a bright-colored blanket that lay across one of the chair
backs.

“Around this corner here,” Lock began, as he entered the
room along the left wall, “you’ll find the kitchen. You can eat in there. We
have a little table, but most of us eat together out here.”

Tor stood and released Elgon, who skulked through the room,
exploring it much more in depth than we had.

“We eat here? We sleep there?” Tor gestured to the couches.

“No, everyone has a room. I’m back here.” Lock pointed to a
green door next to the kitchen entrance. “Lace is next to me, here.”

Her orange door mocked me with its presence. I’d met only
three people in this whole camp so far, and of course I’d have to share a pod
with the one who already distrusted us.

“Your room is down here.” Lock guided us across the open
space, weaving between some papers scattered on the floor, until he reached a
blue door.

“Mine?” I asked, pulling my bag higher on my shoulder, ready
to sit down and stop moving for a while. My feet throbbed.

“Yep.”

“Thanks, Lock.” I walked toward my room, anxious for a few
moments alone. I smiled at Tor, who stood behind me. We’d find time to talk
later. I needed to think.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you up when dinner is ready. You’re
probably hungry.”

“Thank you. Really. I... I know you don’t want to know more
but, you may have saved our lives today.”

“At least I can do one thing right. Too bad no one will ever
know.” His voice had a tinge of sadness to it. It made me wonder about the kind
man who had brought us here and navigated us safely through an Erdlander
minefield without knowing anything about us.

“But we know,” I said. “So, thanks.”

Lock nodded and stepped toward Tor. I expected him to show
Tor his room, but instead he continued to the platform as if to leave.

“Lock?” Tor called, raising an eyebrow. “My room?”

“You’re a Matched Pair, right?” Lock gave an enormous smile.
“You share a room.”

The chamber walls dropped down to surround him, and the
platform whisked him away.

Tor didn’t move.

Elgon joined me next to the blue door and pressed his
forehead against my leg. I reached down, my fingers moving through his soft
hair and scratching his neck.

Tor’s gaze dropped to the floor as I examined him. There was
so much we needed to talk about, get straight, but all I wanted to do was be
alone. And now....

“You’re eighteen,” I blurted.

He raised his head, eyebrows knitted together.

“Ada asked me how old you were. I didn’t know, so I said
eighteen.”

“I’m seventeen.”

“You look older.”

“I’ve lived outside for a long time.”

Elgon sat and leaned his entire body against my side as I
scratched his ear. The bag on my shoulder grew heavy, and anxiety and fatigue
weighed me down.

“How old are you?” Tor asked, turning back to the ground.

“Sixteen.”

“I should have known that.”

“We haven’t had much time to talk.”

“No.” He glanced up at me again, his eyes covered by
shadows. “You’re tired. You should lie down.”

“So should you.”

“I’ll... I’ll rest out here,” Tor offered, turning his head
away from me.

“Tor.” I paused and took a deep breath. “If we’re supposed
to be whatever a Matched Pair is, and Matched Pairs share a room, then they’re
going to think it’s weird if you don’t sleep in our room.”

“It’s better if I sleep out here.”

“Like not sleeping in the cave?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s really not an option. We have to blend in, at
least for now. Come on.”

I opened the blue door, which was now our home, not waiting
for him to follow. Our room was small. Next to the door on one side was a wall
of shelves, on the other was a tall dresser. Other than a low bed, the rest of
the room was bare. Above it was a window with frosted glass. Light filtered in,
but I couldn’t see anything outside. I longed to see the sky. Everything was
white except for a blue blanket folded at the bottom of the bed.

Exhausted, I set my bag on the shelf to my right, kicked off
my slippers, and sat on the mattress. It was softer than I’d expected, for
being on the floor. The mattress conformed to my shape and molded around my
weight, inviting me to lie down. Exhaustion won, and my head dropped to the
thin pillow. I pulled the blanket over my legs.

I was clean, warm, and—for the moment—safe. The door was
still open, and Elgon wandered in, sniffed the corners, and rested on the floor
near me. With a whining sigh he allowed his head to sink to his paws.

“We’re all pretty tired,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

Elgon snorted and rolled to his side, settling in for sleep.
I wanted to go through my bag and discover what I had left of my life. I needed
time to grieve my mother. For now, though, my body could do little more than
lie still.

With a sigh I closed my eyes. I willed my mind to stop
churning over everything we had been through. Instead, I thought about the
glint in Tor’s eyes when he saw me in my clean clothes. The image of him
clean-shaven, wearing a tight-fitting shirt, and looking at me with the threat
of fire in his eyes was the last thing I saw before drifting into darkness.

Noise—loud, clanging, constant—from beyond the door woke me.
My ears rang from the onslaught of people moving about, and I buried myself
deeper into the mattress, hoping to reclaim the peace I’d found while
slumbering. It wasn’t possible, though. The sound mounted, and voices joined
the cacophony, bringing the din to a head.

Still half-asleep, I rolled to my side and peered through
groggy eyes. The door was shut, and Elgon snored away on the floor next to me.
Curled up in the corner of our room, as far from me as he could get, was Tor.
He looked so peaceful, even though he was lying on the hard floor. In sleep,
his features relaxed, and I could see the boy underneath all the scars.

Even freshly showered and in new clothes, he had something
wild about him, an underlying danger that both attracted and repelled me.

I reached down to wake Elgon, patting his side until he
raised his head. We were all exhausted, but the noise outside called me, and I
knew it would be better to get the introductions over with. Hiding in our room
only delayed the inevitable. I didn’t know how long we were going to be here or
what we could even hope to accomplish. For now, we were alive, and so far no
one asked any questions. The one person who suspected something had already sworn
to keep silent.

After climbing over the monstrous mountain hound, I slipped
my shoes back on and straightened my shirt. Elgon stood at the ready.

~
Maybe you should stay here with Tor
.~ I crouched
down and looked into the hound’s wise, green eyes. ~
I’ll be all right alone
.~

But when I opened the door, Elgon stuck close behind me.

Entering the great space overwhelmed my senses. Brutally
loud noise bombarded me, and so much movement made it difficult to keep my
vision from blurring. I pulled my awareness in, and with one hand on Elgon’s
back, I stepped away from the door.

It clicked shut behind me.

“The monster awakes,” someone said with a sneer.

My heart clamped down inside my chest. Blurry vision
returned with my panic, and I saw small shimmers of light in the corners of my
eyes. The adrenaline pushed me too far. Woozy, I took in the silent faces
around me.

“Shut up, Lace,” a familiar voice said. “Elgon is nice
enough. Like having a really big, really intense dog.” Lock appeared through
the crowd with a smile and approached me. “Sera, this is Pod Thirty-four.
Everyone, this is Serafay.”

The crowd before me moved like a ripple of water—some
chuckling, some annoyed, some smiling, some bored.

When my breathing returned to normal, I grinned and raised a
hand in greeting. Soon the noise returned, and everyone resumed their previous
tasks and conversations.

So many bodies closing in on me became difficult to handle.
They didn’t smell bad, but now I saw what Mother had meant. Each had a distinct
scent, and in this enclosed space, the odor was pungent.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” Lock said, leading me farther
into the room. “I told them all to leave Elgon alone. They’re more scared than
curious, so hopefully they’ll just stay away.”

“Thanks,” I told him. Elgon remained so close to my side
that I could feel the outline of his warmth against my leg. “Why does Lace do
that?” I turned to find her watching me, her blond hair pulled atop her head,
giving her the appearance of being stretched and tied off like a rag doll.

“She sucks,” a new voice said from one of the low chairs
nearby.

“What?” I turned to see a man stand up.

He was tall but thin for an Erdlander, and broad in the
shoulders. His light brown hair was cut short on the sides, but the bangs hung
over one of his eyes. Small brown flecks spread across his face. The affect was
quite charming.

“She sucks,” he repeated. “Anything she’s not in charge of
is dirt according to her, and generally we don’t let her be in charge of
anything.” His smile was wide and open. “I’m Ashrah. Ash.”

He extended his hand to me, and I took it. The contact
disquieted me, crowding me with touch. The moment extended as he watched me,
holding my hand in his.

“Nice to meet you, Sera,” he murmured at last, releasing me.

The air against my palm was a welcome relief.

“Um, hi, Ash.”

“Your eyes are amazing,” he blurted, bending down to study
them.

“Oh, thanks.”

“No, really, what color are they?” He peered into my face,
sending me into a fit of itchy discomfort.

As I was about to turn and run back to my room, Elgon’s low
rumble interrupted Ash’s study. With two steps, he pushed Ash away from me, his
dense bulk planted between us.

“I guess we know you’ll always be safe,” Ash joked, looking
down at Elgon’s flat expression. “Is he really nice?”

“As long as you don’t make him angry.”

“I see that.” He laughed. Such easy acceptance of Elgon was
a relief. A few of the others had gathered closer, no longer afraid now that
they had seen Lock and Ash near the animal.

“You must be hungry,” Lock said, pulling my attention back
to him. “Is Tor awake? Should we wait for him?”

“No, he was still fast asleep when I came out.”

“Oh, right. I heard you were Matched,” Ash commented, his
voice a touch cooler.

“Finally.” A girl with curly hair said from behind me. Her
dark blond tresses shone in the artificial light of the pod.

I stepped back, bumping into Elgon in the attempt to regain
some space.

“I’m so glad to have another Matched Pair in the pod.” The
girl only came up to my shoulders but filled plenty of space with her personality.
She grinned, and the whole room brightened, like the light had been turned down
and everyone waited for her to appear before turning it back on.

“Hi.”

“I’m Elle, and I’m Matched to Sal. Come on. Let’s go get you
some food. The boys will keep you talking all night if you don’t just push
through.”

Her hand inched forward, as if to take mine, so I stuffed
mine in the pockets of my skirt, protecting them from further contact.

“Sera?” Tor’s bark broke through the din.

Elgon pushed through the few people standing near him,
causing them to jump back. He yipped when he reached Tor and sat at his feet.
Both had their gazes trained on me.

Tor stood silent in the doorway and at his full height. He
rose at least a full head above Ash, by far the tallest person in the room.
That wasn’t what pulled everyone’s attention and demanded their silence. The
look in his eyes sparked, his hard features tight and angry. It amazed me that
he was the same man who had been sleeping near me just a few moments ago.

Even Lock, usually the peacekeeper, stood awed at the energy
Tor exuded. As if by sheer force of will, Tor could part the sea of bodies
between us and pull me back.

I curled my lips into a plastered grin, battling the waves
of agitation crashing against me. “Good morning.”

“Huh,” he grunted and gestured to the door behind him.

Elgon lowered his head and sulked back into our room.

Turning his glare back on me, Tor remained silent. Something
about how he looked at me was unsettling. What was wrong with him?

“So, food?” Elle broke the silence, leaning into me.

“Yes. Um, Tor, are you hungry? Elle was going to show me
where the food was.”

“No,” he said, his gaze still harsh.

I had hoped to ease him into the group at least a little. We
weren’t going to get by unnoticed if he kept acting like that.

As though reading my mind, Lock pulled away from me and went
to talk to Tor. The two retreated from the group and into the eating area.

“What’s with him?” Ash mumbled, his hair falling over one
eye as he plopped back down in his oversized chair.

“Nothing, he’s just... he’s not used to so many people,” I
explained, pulling my eyes away from Tor and back to the people around me.

“Right,
the man gone feral
,” Lace joked. She leaned
against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

I turned on her. “What’s your problem?” Exhaustion weighed
me down even though I’d just woken up. My mother was dead, and the people
responsible sat around me like nothing in the world mattered. Like no one had
just
died.
Tor remained the only friend I had in the world, and he was
upset about something I couldn’t understand.

Lace shrugged, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“Sera, come on.” Elle placed a hand on my shoulder, and I
rolled it to end the contact.

“I’m... I’m sorry.” I turned to the small woman who was only
trying to be kind. “I don’t really like to be touched.”

“It’s all right.” Elle’s eyes crinkled, and her lips parted
into a friendly smile. She led the way through the living room toward the
kitchen.

Ash stayed behind, but Lace rounded a far couch and cut us
off before we reached our destination.

“Since when does a Matched not like to be touched?” Her
eyebrow raised, suspicion seeping from her words.

“By other people, obviously,” Elle defended.

“Whatever,” Lace grunted before turning away from us.

“Hey!” I called after her retreating back. “What’s going on?
Why are you so... mean?”

The aggressive girl stopped and lowered her head, then
retreated to her orange door.

Elle rolled her eyes and entered the kitchen. “Ignore her.”

The white room had tall ceilings and windows wrapping around
two entire walls. The ruby moon would be up soon. Would she cry for the blood I’d
lost?

Elle gave me the layout of the room—the cooking ingredient
storage, the ordering panel for meals if you didn’t want to cook, and the medication
dispenser. What she neglected to tell me were things I didn’t dare ask about.
Things like, which object was the stove, and what was an ordering panel?

She moved her hand over small gray squares on one of the
white walls to open panels where the food was stored. I studied every motion
she made so I could copy it later. Between watching her and remembering
everything I’d read about Erdlanders, I hoped I’d be able to manage by myself..
She pulled out two bottles of liquid and some thin bread. Out of another panel
she retrieved a bowl filled with thick sauce and placed them all on the small
white table.

“Let’s sit here instead of going to the main room. Sometimes
it can get so loud out there.” Elle pulled out one of the hard, black chairs
and sat down.

I mimicked her movements, twisting off the top of the bottle
so I could drink from it and pulling off pieces of bread to dip in the bowl.
The sauce tasted like thick soup full of vegetables and cream.

Between bites I said, “This is really good.”

“It’s probably been a while since you had something that
wasn’t spitted over a fire.”

I liked Elle’s easy manner and the way she handled Lace, so
it felt easy to relax around her. “Feels like forever.”

“So, fill me in on your adventures in the wild!” she said,
her curly hair bouncing along with her excitement.

“It’s not really that interesting.”

“Sure it is. You had to hunt for your food and sleep in the
woods. I don’t know if I would have survived.”

“It’s not as difficult as you think.”

“I don’t know. I’m not really one for the outdoor
adventuring.” She laughed and then took a drink from her bottle. I did the same
and swallowed the strangely flavored liquid, hopefully without making a face.
It tasted like someone had squeezed strawberries into my water. Not bad but very
sweet.

“Where did you sleep?”

“Um, I slept in a hammock, in the cave.”

“At least you had that. Where was Tor? It’s hard to fit two
people in a hammock.”

“Oh, he usually slept outside.”

“You mean he didn’t sleep with you?” Elle’s eyes grew round,
and her eyebrows climbed her face, reaching toward her hair line.

“No.”

“But you’re Matched right?”

“Um, yeah,” I hedged, turning my attention to the table. The
white stone was smooth to the touch. There weren’t any ridges or bumps, nothing
like the furniture I was used to.

“Sera, you’re Matched but... are you not... you know...
official
?”

“I....”

“You were out there in the woods alone for over six months,
and you never slept together?” Elle shook her head while she reevaluated me
with whatever this new information meant.

“Tor likes sleeping outside, and Elgon slept with him. I
think he felt like he was protecting me.”

“Yeah but, you really never had sex with him in all that
time?”

What Elle didn’t know was “all that time” added up to only
about forty-eight hours now. That, and the fact that sex was a concept so alien
to me, it had never even crossed my mind. I didn’t even know for sure if I
could
mate with an Erdlander. I shook my head, my eyes trained on the table.

“Well, Ash will be thrilled to hear that, at least.”

“What?” My back straightened, and I whipped my gaze to her
with surprise.

“If you haven’t slept with Tor in that much time, maybe the
Match isn’t a good one. Most Matches get to it as soon as they are given the
okay.”

“Tor’s just very... shy.”

“He
is
male, right?” she joked.

“Yes, I... it’s just...,” I stammered. Heat was trapped
within me, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Sure, well, whatever the reason.... Matches who aren’t
official are allowed to reMatch, and I saw the way Ash was looking at you.” She
leaned forward and popped a piece of bread into her mouth.

“Oh, no. I don’t. I mean, I don’t want to be reMatched.”

“Sure, okay.” Elle shrugged and ripped off another piece of
bread, still eying me. “I hope they don’t separate you two, then. A Matched
Pair alone for that long with nothing to show for it? That’ll raise eyebrows.”

I wanted to ask what she meant by that. Who would separate
us, and why would anyone care?