The Final Showdown - The Moon Trilogy - Book 3

Chapter Twenty-three:

Back in her room, which still smelled of metallic medical equipment and sterilizer, Clarity sat down on her bed and heaved a sigh. She was almost glad she'd been in a coma, in a way. Sure, she'd missed out on a lot, but on the other side of the token... she'd missed out on a lot.

   She couldn't decide if she wanted everything to be constantly hectic and exciting or if she just wanted things to go back to how they had been before the whole mess had started. The memory of trudging her way through college, constantly bored and wishing for the adrenaline of the escapades kept her from wishing to go back... but she couldn't help but get tired of it.

   So much stress, and they still hadn't even captured Eric Lance. So much had happened, and the one thing they all wanted most was the one thing that happened to remain just out of their grasps.

   But that wasn't where she wanted her mind to go. She'd been all but forbidden from helping find him until she was a bit more steady on her feet, so the more she stressed about it, the worse it would become.

   So her mind wandered it's happy, oblivious little way on over to the only other topic she would rather not think about. It was nearly as pointless and entirely as frustrating:

   Johnny.

   She didn't know what to call what they were. They weren't dating, were they? They'd kissed how many times, now? Only twice?

   What she'd seen of other couples, always kissing or cuddling or even sleeping with each other, she didn't feel as if she felt anything similar.

   Did she really like him? She'd never been in love before, so she had no clue what it was supposed to feel like. What if she only liked Johnny as a friend, and forced herself to think she liked him as more because he made the first move?

   She felt none of the fire that was she was supposed to feel. Was she supposed to feel it? was that even a real thing?

   Her head almost spun with all the questions that led nowhere. She couldn't hope to answer them.

   She thought hard about Johnny... more deeply than she'd ever thought on the matter before.

   She certainly didn't understand their relationship, but she felt an inexplicable pull towards him; nothing like she'd been expecting when she thought about dating, and love and all that, but there was definitely something there.

   It was deep, too. Something far down in her very bones that drew her towards him. She hadn't realized it then, but she was sure now that she'd felt it from the moment she'd met him.

   He'd never said anything. He never talked about it. They had kissed, but that was it.

   Shouldn't there be more?

   But she still couldn't deny the way his eyes pulled her in and didn't let her go. It was something like gravity. She couldn't resist it if she tried.

   Was that what love felt like?

   There she went again, thinking circles around a hive of questions that she couldn't ever hope to answer on her own. Should she ask him about it? If he felt the same way?

   The thought sent butterflies swarming through her. What if he was just as clueless as she was? They could finally decide what exactly they were.

   Reluctance as thick as syrup suddenly engulfed her.

   If they finally figured it out, that might mean they would realize they didn't actually love each other, and she didn't exactly like that. So... maybe it was love.

   She sighed and flopped backward. This was ridiculous!

   Then she allowed herself to think about the future, her mind slowly shifting.

   Was she prepared to say yes if he asked her to marry him?

   She didn't know the answer to that question, but she did know that she at least thought she loved him, and that was enough for now. The thought of them together just seemed to click in her mind. It felt like two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together, her and him. Why it seemed like that, she wasn't sure, but it felt like they were meant to be together.

   Like all girls, she'd had her fair share of childhood crushes; sneaking glances at them as they crossed her path in the hallways at school, or making sure to be paired with them for projects, but Johnny was unlike anything she'd ever imagined as her first love.

   The thought went through her head almost without her having to think it.

   Love. So it was settled. She loved him.

   At least she had that out of the way.

   The mere thought of marrying him made her feel almost dizzy. She would save it for another day.

    Her thoughts were forcibly wrenched from her head, however, when a sound like jet engines roared directly overhead, loud enough to bring her out of her daydreams. And it only got louder.

   She ran out to the living room, which must have been the common train of thought among the team because she was met by an equally confused Sam, Alex, Rachel, and Xenia when she arrived.

   The others weren't very far behind, and they all shared questioning glances before taking off towards the roof. No one had any answers, clearly, and the roar had only grown louder.

   Clarity was the first to break into the startling sunlight. Tied up in the middle of the graveled space were the three aliens. It was Clarity's first look at them.

   One of them was bright green and seemed to be reptilian. One of them had three eyes, and skin the color of diluted Cool-aid. The last one was just a normal human with brown hair and brown eyes; at least, she seemed to be human.

   The noise was coming from above, and Clarity peeled her eyes from the aliens in front of her to look at whatever the source was.

   Her breath was all but knocked out of her, catching weakly in her throat.