Page 65 of Lunar Bound
She sat cross-legged on the rocky ground beside the makeshift recovery area Eclipse had created for Lunar in the entrance of an old mine shaft. It wasn’t perfect, but it was darker than the ranger cabin and quiet. There was just enough daylight for her to move around without hurting herself.
She watched the star patterns slowly strengthen within Lunar's body. Each tiny point of light was a victory, a sign that he was recovering after his journey through the void. A shadow crossed over the entrance, drawing her attention away from the hypnotic display.
"You should rest," Rowan said, quietly coming inside. "Eclipse says he's stable now. You can’t keep sleeping on this hard ground. Go back to the cabin. I’ll stay with him."
"I'm not leaving him," Poppy replied, her voice hoarse from exhaustion. "Not when he crossed galaxies to come back to me. Not until I know he’s all right."
Rowan didn't argue, just set down a mug of tea. “I’ll come back in an hour to see if you want to wash up and stretch your legs.”
“How’s Dani?” Poppy asked.
“Better,” Rowan answered. “Getting a little stir crazy. We’re going to have to figure something out when everyone is well enough to travel. This cabin was not meant to hold six people indefinitely. Pete came by with more supplies. I hope you like canned peaches and warm beer. He said he had a lead on the next stop on the alien railroad. I think he meant camping in a literal abandoned train car in the mountains. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.”
Rowan squeezed Poppy's shoulder before leaving the mine.
Poppy's fingers skidded over the dirty ground, feeling the subtle vibration of Lunar’s growing energy.
"I know you can hear me," she whispered, pressing her palm against his chest. "I can feel you getting stronger. Just keep fighting."
The moment Lunar fell through the dimensional bridge was the most terrifying experience of Poppy's life. She sensed him before she saw him, that familiar cool resonance that had haunted her since his departure. She instinctively reached out, but what returned wasn’t entirely Lunar. It was a fragment of his scattered body, or at least, that’s the only way she could describe it. She couldn’t help but fear that part of him would forever remain out there, drifting in space for eternity.
"Dani didn’t have much time left. He channeled most of his energy into the beacon to save her," Solar had explained. "And he was already weak. By all calculations, he should not have survived the dimensional transit. The only sense I can make of it is your connection saved him."
A subtle shift in the star patterns caught her attention. Poppy leaned closer, her breath fogging the chamber's surface as she watched a cluster of lights strengthen and multiply within Lunar's essence.
"That's it," she encouraged. "Come back to me."
The light shifted at the entrance, and Eclipse's twilight form flowed into the mine.
"There is improvement," he observed, his essence extending to scan Lunar's condition. "His core patterns have stabilized, and peripheral reconsolidation is progressing at an increased rate."
He kept talking, going into detail about the process. Poppy rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"You know, you all talk like science professors,” Poppy mumbled, too tired to decipher Eclipse's technical assessment. “That was not my best subject in school.”
"He is healing," Eclipse clarified, his twilight essence pulsing with what she'd learned to recognize as gentle encouragement. "The resonance between you appears to be accelerating the process. Your presence helps."
"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him.
Eclipse lingered, his form shifting slightly in what she'd come to recognize as hesitation. "There is a matter of some urgency we must discuss. Regarding Milano."
Poppy glanced up, momentarily distracted from Lunar's recovery. "What now?"
"Solar has been monitoring their communications through equipment Galaxy Brides salvaged from their moon crash. Milano has detected the dimensional bridge activation. They are mobilizing search teams."
A chill ran through Poppy despite the warm day. "How close are they?"
"Not immediate, but concerning," Eclipse answered. "We should prepare contingency plans."
Poppy's gaze returned to Lunar's recovering form. "We can't move him. Not like this. Not while it’s light out.”
"I am aware," Eclipse said.
“We can take him deeper into the mine." Poppy started to stand. “Where it’s darker.”
“I regret the choice of this location, but it was the place that was close enough to hide him,” Eclipse said. “It is as I said before. You cannot go deeper into the mine. It is not safe for your biology.”
“Then what?” Her legs were stiff from sitting for so long.
