My eyes snap open at the sensation of something nudging my shoulder. I look around to see that it was Moon. On instant alert I look back to Liam, expecting something to be wrong but instead, he was sleeping soundly. Confused and a little irritated that I was woken up, I frown in her direction as my muscles naturally tense with the need to bolt if anyone made any sudden movements.

“Have something to eat,” she stares as the little girl from before places a chipped bowl with something like soup sloshing at the edges. I notice that it’s more liquid than anything else, most likely to extend their supplies. I wasn’t one to argue free food and immediately brought it to my lips.

I was right, it was basically heated up, watered down tomato juice with a few shreds of chicken and mushrooms floating in it. But it was probably the first hot meal I’ve had in months and this was fresh chicken meat. I didn’t hide my desperation and drank half of the bowl in one gulp. Looking up, I was unabashed towards the stares that I earned as I continued and finished the meal. Wiping my mouth, I set the bowl down beside me.

I then turned to looked back at Liam and began to check his leg and saw that it needed changing. Cleaning and reapplying the bandages, I placed the used materials with the rest of the accumulating rubbish and stood, heading towards the storage room once again. I was half hoping these idiots were uncaring enough to pick up a hazard waste bin where I could dump the used needles and bloodied rags. Sure enough I found the familiar yellow bin and I shoved it all in.

Feeling someone’s presence, my head whips behind me and I see the crazy mystic watching me like I was some sort of new animal. Meifeng gives me with a knowing smirk and it was slightly unnerving. Seeing that she wasn’t moving anywhere anytime soon, I try to walk passed her back to Moon. Walking back out into the open observation room, I see that Moon was darkly discussing something with River who soon turned on his heel and left the room, his shoulder just missing mine because I tipped mine back slightly to dodge it.

“You came back?” Moon half jokes as her eyes rested on me.

“What else would you expect? Despite what he says and thinks, he has quite the stubborn morality hidden underneath all those prickles.” Meifeng came up behind me.

I almost jump. Almost.

Moon actually grins.

“How is he?” Meifeng, looks over at Liam.

“He’s asleep…that’s all I know…” Moon then turns her stare back at me, half expecting me to continue it.

Begrudgingly I sighed, “I still don’t know.” How can I know? “As long as he sleeps and easts easy food for the next few weeks, who knows. It’ll take a good couple of months for the blood count to be back to normal if we’re speaking in terms of how things used to be, but with how it is here and now…” I shrug. I then chucked a bottle at Moon’s face, “Here.” The small white bottle rattles as she just manages to catch it. “Iron tablets. He’ll eventually need to take these. Quite sure you can manage that much on your own.”

Moon’s lips thin out, obviously not used to someone uncaring of her role in her clan. But she accepted it without complaint. Interesting.

Just who is this ‘Liam’ to be so important enough that she’s willing even listen to a stranger like me?

Meifeng’s voice calmly echoes beside me, “Liam is a reminder of someone so dear to our Moon. ‘All that remains’ perhaps is a more correct phrase.”

I look between them curiously. But no one here would be so obviously forthcoming to the big bad stranger with their dirty little secrets. But it doesn’t affect me so it didn’t annoy me...much.

“Just what were you doing with Horror?” Moon decided to change the subject.

“I wasn’t ‘with Horror’ for anything.” I mutter, sitting back on the ground in front of her. “I was walking through this area, trying to get to the harbour and ended up in the whole ‘Bass versus Blondie’ thing.”

“Why?”

I contemplate telling them for a few seconds but decided to spill, “There is supposed to be a research facility somewhere along there, if not, I was going to see if the university would have anything.”

“Why would you want to go there?”

“To see if there are any answers to a giant question that has been dogging me for the last few months.”

“What?”

“ ‘What the fuck is going on?’ ”

I was met with silence for a moment.

“…Where are you from? I’ve never seen you before.” Moon continued her Spanish inquisition…I’m beginning to suspect that she’s just filling the empty air -rather than actually quizzing me inside and out because of the need to make sure that the mutt that wandered in is not ‘dangerous’.

“Some no name country town that no one’s ever heard of or gives a shit about.”

“…Nothing like that should exist on Spero.”

“I never said I was from Spero, did I?” I put bluntly.

I see a spark in her eyes, “You’re from Earth?”

“Bingo.”

“You…-what’s it like?”

I shrug, “Pretty much like it is here. Well…was. What does it matter?” I can’t go back, even if I wanted to.

“What made the last Earthling come here?” Meifeng asks, her eyes on me like I was a unicorn.

“Because.” It has crossed my mind on several occurrences that I might be the last one who has been from Earth left alive. The last two shuttles between Earth to Spero in the last twenty years were all of adults with a ‘one-way’ ticket to this moon. For some reason there was a policy that on one would be allowed to return to Earth if they decided to relocate to Spero. I had a funny feeling that it might have something to do with the microbiology of both Earth and Spero…but then again, maybe they knew that the Bonedust phenomenon was happening and rather kept it up here, permanently quarantined.

I stop myself from clicking my tongue in annoyance. I haven’t found any proof for the reasoning of this policy yet and I was hoping to find the “official” holding place of “patient zero” for Bonedust that I have no idea where it even exists. I have tried to find things in trashed hospitals and universities, research institutes…anything but because technology has made it almost redundant to have a physical paper trail and not to mention that most places have been burned down, raided and destroyed…let’s just say that it has been very slow going.

“Which is?” Moon pushed.

I sigh, “My dad made an offer out of the blue,” I shrug, “and magically, here I am. Now, when is it my turn to poke you all with a stick? Hate to be the only one forced to share.”

They both stared at me silently.

I look coldly at Moon. “If not, I’m going to draw the line here. Don’t ask me anymore questions about myself. You aren’t exactly forthcoming yourself and you don’t seem to need to be buddy-buddy with me either. You don’t need to know any more from me than that so I suggest you back off.”

I let out a very deep breath, trying to rein in the frustration and the memories that were trying to pour out from where I locked them away. I do not want to think about anything. I’m too tried to deal with this shit.

“Poppy…why don’t you see Luke somewhere to sleep for a while?” Meifeng calls, her birdsong voice was gentle and held no judgement towards me…just pure acceptance…which just made me a little more irritated for whatever reason.

I realised that my helper with Liam’s leg from before was the same girl who came in before with the blankets and ran out like a bat out of hell. She was now staring at me with big bright brown eyes. Her hair, the colour of blood, tied back, away from her face.

I stretch as I stand, feeling my spine cracking almost made me melt on the spot but I still got to my feet. Turning back to Moon, she adds, “I’ll get you if something happens, right?”

I raise an eyebrow, “Trust me that much?”

“Not particularly,” she said off-handed.

I smirk while being led away by the girl who made sure she was far enough away from me so that she could sprint if I suddenly decided I was looking for a snack. I follow her to a flight of stairs that were hidden behind a door next to the storage room. It was a concrete stairwell with cold metals railing that went in a rigid square-spiral. So this must have been both the emergency and staff stairwell. Each floor has only a thick reinforced door that shut away from the outside world of comfort and holiday resorting on each floor.

As we get onto the first floor, it was a decorated hallway with pictures still hanging on the walls, even a few potted plants were still alive. The carpet that coated the hallway has also been well-maintained, same with the warm dark yellow and cream walls. So it seems that this level has never been breached. And curiously enough, Moon seems to be ok with me being in this deep in her lair.

Poppy walked to the very end of the hallway to the room on the left and opened the door, waiting outside of it with her eyes directing me to go it. As I come to the door, she back away from me and flies back down the hallway and down the stairs, closing the stairwell door with a loud thud.

I blink before going into the room.

Inside was simple enough and larger than I expected. It was a self-contained holiday apartment. I walk over to the lounge that faced a wall-mounted TV and took off my shoes before sitting down in a heap. As I do, I notice that there is dried blood stained into my socks. I blink in surprise and realise that the fabric of my pants must have abrasion my skin when Horror tripped me. I also started to feel the sting.

My muscles were sore, I was sweaty and dirty and tired. But sleep didn’t want to come, even as I stared blankly at the ceiling fan. My sight then caught hold of something on the desk that was beside the door and I shifted to see what it was. It was my empty bag and the few books and maps that I’ve had on me. Even my red pen…but my knife was still missing and I had a funny feeling that someone, probably River, had taken a liking to it. I grind my teeth, knowing that I was not going to be able to leave without getting it back first.

But for now, I had my books and maps so I quickly took them both back to the lounge. The books sat beside me, ready to read while I spread the maps out on the large square coffee table in front of me and I began to track where I was and these tribal boundaries I just happen to have stumbled upon. And with this I began to feel the comfort creeping back into me.