Reminder:

Remember that info dump in chapter 2? No? Well, here's a bit of a reminder:

Cosmas: Militarized government of the commonwealth. Deals with things such as maintaining peace and isolation. UC does not have one direct ruler, but is generally led by its military.

***

"Soon shall thy arm, unconquered steam, afar

Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car;

Or on wide waving wings expanded bear

The flying chariot through the fields of air." -Erasmus Darwin

Just as I'm about to ask Liv what exactly Project Luna is, our conversation is cut short by the arrival of my very own welcoming committee.

"I see you've adapted nicely," Nes comments, glancing momentarily toward my friends.

Yes, no thanks to you. "Yes, I guess I have." I bite my tongue from lashing out at her for leaving me. It wouldn't have killed her to allow me to adjust before throwing me into what I've learned to be a potentially savage group of geniuses. I shiver at the thought of what could have happened to me if I picked a fight with the boy from before, Ather. Liv would probably have to gravitationally maneuver my head back onto my shoulders.

"Well, we don't have any time to waste." Nes motions for me to stand up, to which I reluctantly wave goodbye to my friends. I feel slightly less tense as I watch Dox making faces behind Nes's back.

"I have a lot of questions," I say after turning away from the table. I can't help but feel relieved that I have an excuse from eating the mystery meat that I picked up from earlier.

"As your welcoming party, its my job to answer your questions." Nes continues to guide me across the room, eventually passing through the hallway we walked through when I first arrived. Even though I'm almost as tall as her, the fluid movements of her legs quickly outpaces me. I try not to gasp for breath as I jog after her.

"Can you tell me where my brother is?" I ask, making an effort not to sound as pitifully out of shape as I am.

"He's working right now." That's it. That's all the information my "welcoming party" gives me. I glare at her infuriatingly fast legs as we continue down the hall.

"What exactly is he working on? As soon as we came here, he started acting strange, like he knows exactly what we're doing here. He knew about the wall. He even knew about the sensors. How?"

Nes immediately halts in the middle of the dimly lit hallway, causing me to collide into her back. She barely flinches at the impact.

"I suppose he was ordered not to tell you until you got here," Nes says to herself.

"Right. Ordered." I laugh to myself as I slowly back away from her. "I must be dreaming. My brother hasn't been ordered to do anything. He's not some sort of soldier. Besides, even if he was one, he has horrible manners."

"Oh?" Nes raises an eyebrow. Her lips quirk up into a smirk.

"Yes," I say, scrambling to find some footing in this conversation. From what this woman has seen of me, I must appear to be a lunatic. I wouldn't put it past her. "Unless you think otherwise?"

"Everybody in this facility has a purpose, Ophelia. Your brother, for instance, serves as a valuable member of the Guard. You, too, shall have a significant role, soon enough." Nes nods toward the end of the hall, signalling for me to follow her. I do, begrudgingly. Irritating as she is, this woman is holding information about what exactly we're doing here. And I intend to find that out. Immediately.

"Any hints on what this 'significant role' might be?" I ask. How large is this building? I feel as though we've been walking through this hall for hours.

"Please, come inside." Nes lightly places her hand on my shoulder, guiding me inside a tightly packed room. Once inside, I realize that it's not quite a room, but an elevator. From the light filtering around us, I assume that the panels surrounding us are made from some sort of reflective material.

"Where are we going?" I ask as Nes presses her palm against one of the panels. The room immediately brightens, its walls appearing to shift so we can see our surroundings. As my eyes adjust to the sudden change in lighting, I realize that the panels have turned to glass, allowing me to see the expanse of the halls spread out around us.

"Sector 2C," Nes replies. "From now on, all of your work will be limited to that floor." The elevator starts to plummet as Nes retracts her hand from the panel. Even with the large surface area the dome takes above the ground, there are floors underground. The breadth of the program seems to be expanding with every moment that I'm here.

"Work?" I ask, my head spinning at both the jolting movement of the elevator and the information dump I'm receiving.

"The Lunar Project, as you will soon understand, has a wide variety of members." After what feels like ages, the elevator finally comes to a halt. Looking through the panels, I notice a complete change in our environment. Unlike the ground floor, the halls spread before us are lit brightly, the walls painted white. While this floor does seem more inviting than the dimly lit on-level sector, I can't help but feel as though it's more eerie.

Concrete walls are known to be strong and sturdy. They're easily marked by pressure, and for that reason, less noticeable when touched.

White walls, however, are much trickier. They're obvious, bright, easily noticeable. They can easily be tainted, just as sin taints innocence. Looking at the dust and dirt hanging to my clothes, I feel as though I'm intruding on some sort of pure space, as if I'm not meant to be here.

My mother's hospital room was surrounded by white walls. If that is any indication of how this facility is run, I'd like to leave as soon as possible.

"Sector 2C," Nes announces, shortly after the elevator doors slide open. I'm almost afraid to place my dirty sneakers on the white tiles, though the sound of Nes's heels clicking against the floor has me running after her.

"It's so..." I pause, searching for the appropriate word. "Clean."

Nes gives me a look, as if I've said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "It has to be. You may consider this a sanctuary for right now, as it's several miles away from the nearest outbreak, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take our own precautions. All personnel working on this project are required to have daily checkups. We can't afford to have a strain of nigrum sanguis spreading through the program when we're so close to implementing our plans."

"Nigrum sanguis?" I question out loud. I'd never heard of the scientific name for the disease strain. Even during my daily visits to the hospital, the doctors never mentioned it beyond referring to it as a "sickness." For some reason, I feel like they purposefully stepped around naming it, as if actually calling it by a name would finalize the fatalities it will cause.

"It's Latin for black blood. You've never hear of the scientific name for the strain?" Nes looks at me with the utmost curiosity, as if I'm talking about a foreign country that she's keenly interested in visiting.

"No, I guess not." As we continue down the hallway, I notice that several of the doors we pass have identical rooms inside. By glancing through each circular window placed on the doors, I realize that Sector 2C is most likely a housing floor. Assuming that what Nes was saying is correct, I'm assuming that where I'll be "working" is somewhere farther down the hall. The thought of being any help to this project has me nervous. What qualities do I have that are appealing to these people? How am I supposed to even work here if I have no idea what here is?

"You're concerned," Nes says flatly, guiding me through a hallway branching to the right.

"Yes, I am." I stop walking, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "I don't know where we are."

"We're in the outskirts of Schismin, right against the northern border." Nes gives me a funny look, as if I've disappointed her for the umpteenth time.

Right. Maybe that wasn't the best way to start off.

"What is the goal of this organization?" I finally ask. It's not necessarily something I'm dying to find out, but I'd rather test the waters to see if Nes is really willing to answer me.

"Project Luna was implemented for several reasons. Originally, it was enacted as an escape route for individuals that are deemed valuable to the government."

"You mean, Cosmas is choosing who to save?" The thought of having our lives dictated by our militarized government is less than pleasing. "Under that idea, wouldn't the most valuable cargo be weaponry?" How exactly would the teenagers under Sector 2C be of any help? Yes, they're presumably brilliant, but it's not like they're soldier material. Then again, I never pegged my brother as a military brat, and now he's off marching to this organization's drum.

"Implementing the project will save millions of lives. It's imperative toward combating against the nigrum sanguis antigen," Nes replies, looking almost upset that I've asked her these questions. "This is the second goal of the program. Defeating the strain that has taken the lives of so many citizens has now become the main goal of Project Luna. This is why we've created this sanctuary. For people who can help."

After a second of hesitation, Nes leans toward me, making sure to look at me directly in the eyes.

"For people like you."

Just as Nes says these words, a glaring realization comes upon me.

Keeping calm is not my forte.

Neither is maintaining consciousness after hearing life-altering news.

I'm barely able to soften the fall before my face becomes parallel with Nes's shoes.

***

A/N: I feel like this is a super short chapter, even though it's almost longer than usual. I apologize if it is, but there was an extra part that I'm super excited to share that wouldn't have fit well with this chapter. When I say I'm excited, I mean I'm really, really excited. Trust me, it's not anything bad, but a few characters that I want to add in are going to make the story infinitely more interesting. ;)

TLP is over 200 views, whaaaat??? I haven't really shared my writing beyond close friends and family, and getting such a positive reaction makes me so, so happy.

Because I cut a big chunk of this chapter and anticipate it to be in the next one, I'm already far enough to say that it will be out soon. WOOP!

Please comment/rate/etc.! Tell me how you feel about the story! Tell me how you feel, in general! How are you today? How is school, if you're attending one? How is the state of the environment? Give me an essay. Or not.

Okay, I need to get back to procrastinating my homework through Netflix.

Peace out,

Liliana