Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

52 Moonlight (Part 1)

Ayla Ereni continued as any hallucination would: without a backward glance and bearing no concern for her surroundings. Maeyune and Reo were silent as they followed her through tunnel after tunnel.

Many of the base's inhabitants had settled down for the night. Maeyune and Reo passed caverns where families slept wall to wall. Soldiers and celestials had returned to the shared sleeping quarters, with only a few awake to oversee the night.

It was a quiet respite from the war. If Maeyune hadn't known any better, she would have assumed that these families were only homeless and not struggling to survive an extraterrestrial attack.

The cave tunnels became less populated the farther they went. By this point, Maeyune suspected they had travelled the length of the underground base and were now walking its border. When they reached the end of an empty passageway, Ayla disappeared into a narrow gap in the wall.

Darkness swam within its depths. It was only wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.

Reo stopped in front of it and held out an arm to keep Maeyune from entering.

"What is it?" she said when she saw the surprise on his face.

"I can feel something coming from inside there," he answered, dazed.

He didn't explain. He reached for an oil lamp that hung nearby and slipped it off its hook. Without a word, he led the way into the gap. Maeyune tread close behind. They had lost sight of her mother, and the lamp was all that provided them light.

Deeper and deeper they went, until voices and the sounds of faint laughter broke the silence. Maeyune listened closely to the echoes. The voices sounded like children.

Ahead, they caught the faint glow of light. They emerged from the gap and into a small cavern. It was an area separate from the base—natural and not carved like the man-made spaces they had left behind.

There was no sign of Ayla Ereni. Instead, they found a group of three children drawing into one of the walls. Their dark silhouettes were lit by a small oil lamp at their feet. Their heads spun round as Maeyune and Reo appeared from the narrow gap. Conversation and giggles ended.

Maeyune eyed them. They could not have been any older than eight. "What are you children doing here?" she said.

"Maeyune, look."

She followed Reo's finger to where he pointed. Above the childrens' heads were dozens of shapes and figures painted into the wall. Her breath caught as her eyes scanned the images.

Cave paintings.

One of the children bound to his feet, seizing his oil lamp. He dashed past Maeyune and Reo, and the others chased after him. Their laughter rang through the gap as they returned to the base.

Maeyune knelt where they had been and observed the childish scribbles they'd left behind on the wall. They were odd, disproportionate shapes of people and animals. A few feet above them, the cave paintings appeared far more ancient.