The Girl On the Moon [#Watty2015]

Chapter 16: Samuel Thomas

"Sorry, bro, I gotta go home now," I say to Monty, rushing out his door in the process of slinging my satchel over my shoulders. Clutching my phone in my hand tightly-a text from Marsha telling me to come NOW visible on the glowing screen-I wave goodbye to my friend and exit his house.

Now out of living quarters, I up my speed to a sprint, leaping alongside the houses until I reach Marsha's home. It resembles a cottage, a small, gleaming building that's architectural structure practically screams-actually, practically whispers soothingly-a comforting home. She told me that she, being a top scientist who minored in architecture in college, was allowed to add her input on the building.

I race inside, panting, and fling the door open to reveal a nervous-looking Marsha.

"Rowan's gone." She answers my unspoken question in a panicked tone. "Do you know where she might be? We need to find her. She's not in her right mind set right now. People used to call it depression, ten or twenty years ago, and I think that title fits for her at the moment."

I nod, Marsha's word brushing past my ears. I'm already back out the door and running to the labs. I can check there on my way to the Man on the Moon's house. Barreling through the streets, I get a few odd glances, but these I brush off as I continue onwards.

I plow through the door to the lab, my breathing already heavy, and my eyes fall on Rowan. Hunching over a small, leather book and loose sheets of worn paper, she clutches vials of something in her hand. Her gazed is fixed on the tubes and things in front of her, varying from substances I recognize to outlandish things that send a shiver down my spine.

I recover from my surprise, "Rowan? What are you doing?!"

"Crip crap," she muttered under her breath. Her gaze darts up to me nervously, eyes flickering around my face but not quite meeting my eyes. "Well, erm, you see before he died. . .back here in the village, he kind of told me that. . ." She cleared her throat, uncharacteristically nervous. Then her eyes brighten slightly, barely noticeable. "That I need to continue with his experiments. He was a scientist on the original Nova colony, you know. One of the best there. He even left me some notes."

"Uh huh," I say, crossing my arms and staring at Rowan pointedly. I don't want to be too hard on her, but I always don't want to be left in the dark. There is obviously something going on she doesn't want to tell me about. "Spill."

She starts speaking, her voice a throaty whisper. As she talks, her eyes water with tears, and when she blinks they roll down her cheeks. It's silent crying, and the tears drip onto her clothes, splattering against the fabric. In her quiet, shaky voice, she tells me everything. What wiped out the original Nova. What caused the Man on the Moon's death. And how, now, she carries the deadly virus in her veins. "It's going to be my fault, Sammy," She whispers hoarsely, breaking our eye contact and bowing her head. She studies her shoes intently. "I just insured the deaths of the entire village. How-how can I go out there and face them, realizing what I've done?" Her shoulders are caving inwards-she seems to be attempting to pull herself into a small huddle, protect everyone else from her.

I approach Rowan carefully, laying a hand on her shoulder. She doesn't look up, so I place myself behind her, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. "It's going to be okay," I soothe. "We can find a cure, we can find a way to fix this. With your brain, Rowan, and some help from Marsha, we can does this, okay?"

Now she lifts her head slightly, slowly. "I don't want Marsha to know-to know what've done," she whispers, voice cracking. "I don't want her to hate me. I couldn't bear it. Even if I can't remember it all, she's done too much for me."

"She won't hate you."

"Still. Promise you won't tell her." Her voice is firm and for a second I resist the urge to smile. Even if so much is different, she's still Rowan and always will be Rowan, bossing me around.

1. Do you think everyone is going to die?

2. What's your current OTP for this book? (Saman, Sonty, Mowan, basically any combination of the three teenage characters that are in here so far)

3. How does this sentence end? "The fear, the fear of_________"

QUID UP CANES IT'S ME CALLIE THE FANTABULOUS! SHEILA AND I HAVE WRITTEN SOME NEW CHAPTERS FOR THIS, AND WE JUST RECENTLY STARTED THE 20th WHICH IS A BIG MILESTONE SO YAAAAAAAAAAAY!