The Wilder-ness

Chapter Twelve

We finally drag ourselves out of bed and get to the dining hall by 9:30 AM. Once again, I sit with the twins and Lucy. This time Charlie joins us as we eat our breakfast.

"So what's the plan for today?" Sam asks. I get the feeling that she does most of the talking and Samuel is a quiet person.

"Nothing much," Lucy answers. "I'm going to visit Lyra after this. She's got her new hand now so I'm just going to check and make sure she's all good."

"Oh," I say. "Can I come, too? I probably won't be able to do much to help, but I'd still like to make sure she's all right. After all, this wouldn't have happened to her if I hadn't tried to go up the stairs." I stare at the table, but I'm not really seeing it.

Lucy plants her hands on my shoulders and forces me to turn towards her. I look up nervously and she glares back at me. "Don't blame yourself," she scolds. "It wasn't your fault. There was no way you could have known there were guards. And besides, it's that dead guy's fault for firing the first shot. Everything would have been just fine and he just had to pull the trigger." She seethes.

I laugh a little and smile, shaking my head. Now it's my turn to drop my hands on her shoulders. "Okay, okay. Calm down."

That obviously doesn't make her calm, but at least she pauses to take a breath.

"Well, Samuel and I were going to go help out with the farming and agriculture stuff," Sam mentions.

I turn to Charlie. "I'm guessing you're going with Dave to run the maze again?"

He nods. "Yup. We're going to mark out more checkpoints."

"That sounds cool," says someone behind us.

Twisting our seats, we find Seraphina and Caleb standing with their trays.

"Hey!" I automatically scoot over closer to Lucy to make room. Seraphina sits between me and Charlie, and Caleb moves next to Charlie. It seems like our little group has grown.

We part ways once we finish and I follow Lucy as she leads me to the infirmary. I wait as she talks to the woman at the front desk. Finally, she comes back to me and grabs my hand. "Come on, this way. She's been moved to room 102."

Travelling through the halls, we eventually find the right room after accidentally taking a wrong turn and going around the building. Lucy gently knocks before sliding the door open.

We walk into a single room with a separate door that leads to a private bathroom. There's a small bed pushed against the wall next to a wide window. A dresser sits next to the bed and across is a small table with a few chairs. A girl sits on the bed, gazing out the window. There's a tiny garden outside with green sprouting up from the ground.

Lucy gently announces our presence. "Hey, Lyra."

The girl turns around, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Lulu!" she exclaims and claps her hands together. There is a gleam as the light reflects off the metal of her right hand.

Lyra slips off the bed and runs over to us before leaping into Lucy's already open arms. Both giggle as Lucy stumbles backwards slightly from the force of the impact. It's truly entertaining to watch. Makes me wish I had a sibling to hang out with.

Lucy places Lyra back on the ground and she jumps up onto the bed. Lucy just shakes her head and smiles. Then she grabs one of the chairs and brings it closer to the bed before sitting down. I do the same.

"How are you doing?" Lucy asks, concerned. "Everything okay?"

Lyra laughs. "I'm fine," she replies cheerfully. "Check out my new arm." She rolls her sleeve back up to her elbows to show us her new attachment. It's so cool to see it in person.