Lunar Enchantment

A Plan in Motion

"Well, I guess that means mom and dad are definitely coming home," I said.

"Yes, I guess that does. I still wish you wouldn't have called them, Rory." Grams shook her head.

"No, Maggie, this is a good thing," Sophie said. "Yeah, having them here will be good. I mean who better than two people who know how to spot small details and clues? This is good."

"You think?" Grams asked.

"Sophie is right." Sarah nodded her head. "Even if they weren't ridiculously smart, having two more Lunari with us won't be a bad thing. Especially since we have no idea how many Lunae are out there now."

Grams nodded her head. "I just hate that they have to cut this work trip short. I know how important this kind of thing is to them."

"But it's you and Aurora. Obviously they think the two of your are more important."

"We need to get back on topic," Jake said. "The kids. What do we do to keep them safe?"

"I thought we decided that?" Amber asked. "We're all staying together. Here?"

"Is that the plan?" he questioned.

"It's the most logical," Aiden added. "I mean, this is the most centrally located location. Plenty of room. And there are a lot of ways out."

"And a lot of ways in." Jake sighed.

"Yes. The kids are staying here. Rory's parents are on their way home. And we're going to find out who the Lunae are and figure out what to do with them."

"Okay, that's settled. Lauren, we're going to run home to grab you a bag, okay?" Sam asked.

Lauren nodded her head, standing and hugging her parents. "Please be careful. I have zero faith in anything in this town now."

Sandy kissed the top of Lauren's head before making her way towards the door.

"That's not a bad idea. Amber, I'm doing the same thing. I'll be back too."

"Don't say that."

"What?" Sarah asked.

"That you'll be back. Every time someone says that in a horror movie they die. So, don't say I'll be back or anything like that. Okay?"

Sarah laughed and shook her head as she followed the Dade's out the front door.

"You know she laughs at me, but she doesn't watch scary movies."

"This is real life, Amber, not a scary movie," Sophie said. "She'll be okay."

Amber walked to the front window and pursed her lips into a tight, thin line and watched her mom walk away.

"Would it make you feel better if someone were with her?" Sophie asked.

Amber nodded her head, not looking at us. She was most likely trying to hide more tears.

"How about this. We'll go with your mom and then we'll all go to our house to pick up some things for Aiden?"

"Really? You would do that?"

Sophie and Jake both nodded their heads.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed excitedly, wrapping her arms around them both. "I worry about her."

"We know." 

They both kissed and hugged Aiden before hurrying to catch up to Sarah. 

"Now that that is all settled, you kids relax while I make up the guest rooms." Grams walked toward the stairs. "Do you girls want separate rooms or to share?"

"Could we all sleep in the same room?" Amber asked.

"All of you?" She stared at Aiden.

"Grams, what about the game room downstairs? We can pull out the air mattresses and set them up downstairs?"

"You know what, that actually is a really good idea. You kids get the mattresses and I'll get the blankets."

"Downstairs? But what if someone breaks in or something?" Lauren questioned.

"This house is really, really old there is a secret way out. We'll be okay if anything were to ever happen."

We all ran up the stairs behind Grams and to the far hall closet where she kept all of the random stuff she collected over the years. i never knew why she had so many air mattresses before, but I was kind of glad she did now. There were four queen sized mattresses that would cover just about the entire section of area in front of the couches downstairs. Perfect for watching movies and trying to forget that our lives were in literal danger.

It took all of us, but we were able to move the furniture around a bit to give some walking room and got the mattresses set up. Grams showed up with her arms full of blankets, sheets, and pillows.

"I have more to grab," she said, dumping everything on the couch nearest me. "Start making the best. You guys seem to have a cozy set up down here. I'll ignore the fact that there is a boy spending the night."

"Thanks, Grams." I smiled grabbing the fitted sheets to start making our beds.

"I'll also ignore that it's a weeknight and order pizza."

"That's great. Thank you, Mrs. Whitemore." Aiden smiled goofily at her.

"My pleasure."

"So this is what we're going to do then? Just sit down here and wait?" Lauren asked.

"Of course not. I told you there is a secret way out of here."

"Yeah?"

"So when Grams falls asleep we can leave."

"Leave?" Amber asked. "For what?"

"Help? Or something, I guess."

"That is the most absurd thing I've heard so far. What exactly are we going to help with, Rory? We don't even know where to start. Why don't we wait until your parents get here?"

"Because they won't be back for at least a day or two. They are coming from the other side of the world."

"We can wait." Amber shook her head.

"Amber, if you want to stay here, you can stay. Nobody is forcing you to leave with you. I just can't. I can't let everyone risk their lives while we're all cozy watching movies and playing games."

She pursed her lips again and rolled her eyes.

"And I know you can 't either," Lauren said.

"Maybe. But can we just stay in tonight? Eat the pizza? Watch the movies? Just one night of being safe?"

"Fine. We can do this for one night."

"Good. Good." She nodded her head and smiled. "We'll be safe for a little bit.

"You're really worried?" Aiden asked.

"Uh, yeah. Did you not see the dead person in the gym? So yeah, I'm worried."

Lauren leaned over and gave Amber a big hug. "It's going to be okay. I mean, look how many there are of us. There can't be that many Lunae, right?"