Starcrossed

Chapter 27

 Luna

 Everyone turned to look at Indie in awe. The small girl just smiled up at everyone and shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Someone had to do it," she said simply, and Luna almost laughed at the ease of it all.

 "We've got to go," Luna said, breaking the stunned silence. Dresda nodded and held out her hand for her daughter to take. Luna took it graciously. God, she had missed this. She had missed her.

 In a moment everyone was on their feet and ready to get out. Dresda led them back out toward the receptionist desk, the others trailing behind her. "We've got to find Jett before we go," Ashton reminded the group, speaking up for the first time in a while.

 "Shouldn't be too hard," mumbled Kace, pointing to the door behind the desk, which Jett was slipping out of. He smiled at his sister, running towards her and hugging her tightly. "I'm so happy to see that you're safe."

 Jett pulled away from the hug with a small smile. "Aw, c'mon Kace, you know I can take care of myself." She poked a finger into his chest playfully. "Now let's get out of here while we've still got the time."

 "What about the guards?" asked Luna. She looked around nervously, but saw no trace of any of them. Where could they have gone?

 Jett smirked. "Taken care of. Don't worry about them, just trust me and let's get out of here."

 Luna still felt a bit skeptical, but Kace simply nodded at her. "If Jett says it's taken care of, it's taken care of," he assured her. "Come on, let's go."

 The large glass double doors to the quarantine facility were a mere fifteen feet away. Luna took a deep breath, pushed them open, and stepped out into the crisp fall air.

 She almost froze when she felt the breeze against her skin. The cool, fresh air. The sunlight. All of it real, none of it artificial or through a window. The corners of Luna's lips tugged up into a genuine smile, and she took another deep breath of the clean air that was all around her. It had been four long years, but finally, she was free.

 "We're not out of the woods yet," Carson reminded everyone, or maybe he was just reminding her. Either way, Luna was pulled from her trance. "We've still got to watch out for any kind of guard or official that may be patrolling around looking for us." The group nodded in sync with each other. 

 "We should head around the other side of the facility and keep on the back roads so we aren't so visible," suggested Dresda. "Sooner or later, they're going to be looking for us, and we should be well hidden when they do come."

 There were no objections, so everyone followed after Dresda. They crept along in complete silence. Even Laine and Indie, the youngest two, were careful not to make a sound. They had nearly cleared the perimeter of the quarantine facility when suddenly Carson stopped walking and leaned up against the building.

 "Can we stop? For just a minute?" he asked, his voice slightly strained. "I'm just...I'm just kind of tired."

 Dresda glared at him. "Listen, I'm sorry your legs are tired, but getting my daughter to safety is just a little bit more important than that, don't you think?

 "I know, I know, it's just...it's not..." Carson seemed to struggle to get the words out. "It's not my legs. It's my head." He slid slowly to the ground. "Just give me a minute to...to stop the spinning."

 Luna knelt down beside him, concerned. Everyone's attention had shifted to Carson now. "Are you okay?" Luna whispered, pushing a strand of hair away from his face. He was beginning to sweat, and Luna was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Carson, what's wrong?"