The Final Showdown - The Moon Trilogy - Book 3

Chapter Twenty-six:

   The person on the cot was Johnny, not at all the slumbering tree alien that Clarity had been expecting.

    He seemed a bit too pale, and his hair clung to his head with sweat. She reached forward to feel his forehead, fearing that he had a fever, and she was about to pull the blanket away, but when her hand brushed against his face, a shiver traveled up her spine.

    He was deathly cold.

   The tree behind her rumbled again, this time quieter than before. She didn't understand what was happening. How had they gotten from the airless moon, to wherever they were now? Her brain seemed unable to come up with a solution. A huge clog had formed in her tunnels of thought in the form of the realization that she was on an alien planet.

   For years, even when she was just a tiny kid, the almost-horror movies about aliens had terrified her, and the fear had stayed with her almost up until the very second she'd met Rachel and learned that the basically normal girl was descended from extraterrestrials.

   And what was wrong with Johnny?

   The question brought an air of dread to her already slightly panicked thoughts, and she dare not delve too deep into the possibilities. She glanced away from Johnny on the cot and sent a questioning look towards the tree creature, but there were no answers in the starry eyes of the alien.

   She looked back to Johnny, and she nearly jumped back when she saw that his eyes had opened when she'd been turned away.

   He let out a long string of hacking coughs, and then he rolled over.

   She wasn't in time to stop him, and he landed with a thump on the stony floor. He wriggled his way out of the thick covering of blankets, then he rose to his feet with a visible amount of difficulty. He had to lean against the wall so that he wouldn't fall. He swayed a bit as he stood there, blinking.

   "Are you alright?" Clarity asked worriedly. Her voice was barely hoarse, but she still cleared her throat to rid her words of the tickling rasp.

   For a second, confusion clouded Johnny's gaze, but he snapped out of it soon enough, and he opened his mouth as if to speak. No words came out, and he toppled backward, nearly hitting his head on the wall as he sank down. He sat there, dazed.

   Clarity rushed to his side and felt his forehead. It was still cold. Not just clammy, either. Freezing cold. His eyes were glassy and unmoving, as if he couldn't even see a couple of inches in front of his nose. She sent a desperate glance back towards the tree creature, but there was no one there.

   Panic was quickly starting to set in, especially now that the other alien was gone.

   She didn't know what to do, and everything she thought of seemed like a bad idea. A second later, Johnny coughed again, and this time a spray of dark blood trickled from his mouth. Clarity was getting more worried by the second.

    She got up and was about to run and get help, but she was stopped by an ice-cold grip on her arm.

   She looked back at Johnny, and she saw that he was holding onto her. His grip was stronger than she'd been expecting. His eyes looked brighter now, and he didn't look as pale as before.

   Clarity let out a breath that she wasn't aware that she'd been holding. He was getting better.

   "I'm fine," Johnny said quietly, the blood lingering in his throat creating a very soft gurgling in his voice.

   Clarity was obviously doubtful, but he did look a lot better. He sat up, and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as he drew in a deep breath.