Lunam Natis: Chapter One

Chapter One:

“Can you tell me what happened, Miss Ollens?” a real officer, Officer Lex, asks.

“Yes. So, we heard a knock on the door, and when we answered, a man wearing a police uniform introduced himself as a police officer. He said he had a search warrant to look at our shop, which was closed at the time. Fake Carolls said that there had been stolen items in our shop, and Jasper denied it.  He didn’t end up searching the shop. He said that he would leave, but then we saw him poking around the grounds of our building.”

“What tipped you off that he was a phony?”

“Well, he didn’t read us our rights when Jasper opened the door, he said he had a warrant to search the shop, then didn’t, and then was poking around on our property without a warrant or our consent,” I explain.

“Did you recognize him immediately?”

“No, not until I actually saw his face outside.”

“Who was he?”

“An unsatisfied customer.”

---

“Hey, Kasia, we’re going to Cornerstore. Want me to get you anything?” Hayden asks.

“Umm... sure. Get me some candy, here’s a few bucks,” I hand him the money. “Don’t steal the candy, pay for it!!” I call as he runs out of the door. I sigh, not knowing if he heard me. I go upstairs to my room to change. For some reason, lately, it has been getting warmer and warmer. As if the sun is getting closer. Or, as if we’re getting closer to the sun. I laugh at the absurd notion and hurry downstairs, hearing the ring of the bell on the door as a customer comes in.

“Can I help you?” I ask politely. It is a woman, short and pale, with brown hair and brightly colored clothes.

“Yes, I would like to see my daughter,” she says warmly. Coming from anyone else, that sentence would’ve sounded pissed off.

“Oh, you must be Miranda,” I say. “Joy talks about you all the time.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes. I’ll go get her for you.”

I run upstairs and to Joy’s room and knock on the door.

“Joy, your mom’s here to see you,” I tell her. She opens the door, draco wings folded on her back.

“Greaaaaat,” she says sarcastically. Years ago, her father was part of our gang, but then he died during a mission. Since then, my father has made it his personal duty to raise her as well as he can in memory of his best friend. Her mom wanted to take her, but Joy wanted to stay with us. She was already well-integrated with us, didn’t want to be constantly on the move, and doesn’t like confined spaces. Miranda wants to help the world by healing it, but Joy wants to help the world by protecting and saving it. Everyone once in awhile, when she’s in the neighborhood, Miranda stops by to say hi to her daughter, and to try to convince Joy to leave us and live with her. I stay upstairs to give them some privacy, but can hear the conversation through the floor. Or ceiling, depending on how you look at it. I hear Miranda’s voice at first.

“Come on, I know that you don’t really like hanging around these violent, doctor-loving, trash-eating barbarians,” doctors and healers are always at odds, “Come, live with me, and we can live a wonderful, peaceful life.”

“Yah, no thanks, mom. I’m good. You live a boring life, while mine is full of excitement. I don’t want to give that up.”

“Did you know that excitement induces stress, which is bad for the body, mind, and soul?”

“So I’ll do some yoga and sleep more. I don’t need to completely uproot my life on your say-so. Plus, I have all of my classes at the U.”

“Bah. School Schmool. I didn’t finish eighth grade, and look where that’s gotten me? A wonder career, with lots of loyal patients, a beautiful home, and a daughter that is the joy of my life.”

“The joy of your life is your job. Sorry, Mom, not happening,” they’re interrupted by a customer coming in. “How can I help you?”

“I’m warning you, Joy. I will have custody of you someday,” all of the warmth is gone from her voice. It’s actually pretty unsettling.

“That’s gonna be hard, as my best friend and sister-in-spirit is a lawyer. Goodbye, Mom.”

Miranda leaves the shop, slamming the door shut behind her. Joy helps the customer, then comes up to my room.

“How much did you hear?” she asks.

“Enough,” I tell her. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe.”

“Yah. Well, you know how moms are,” an uncomfortable silence hangs over us as she realizes her mistake. My mom disappeared when I was six, a few months after my twin brothers were weaned. That left my dad, who was struggling to keep the shop open, take care of his six-year-old daughter, and keep the gang together, with two babies. No one knows what happened to her, whether she ran off, or if she was captured, or killed, or what. There’s a lot of crime on these streets. We try to clean it up, but we can’t do everything. The police are a joke, the government up here is even worse.

When the first settlers came up from Terra, they thought that they had everything planned out. They were wrong. Most of the plants and animals died immediately, and oxygen leaks were commonplace. There wasn’t enough workout equipment, so many people’s muscles began to atrophy. Additional supplies were sent, but by then, the leadership system was already corrupt. If they didn’t go into office crooked, they came out of office crooked. The principles were simple. Eligible voters cast votes, then the people working in city hall counted them. The current mayor looked over everything just before it was sent to the public, just in case of a mistake. The whole thing reeked of potential sabotage. Once we had one bad mayor in office, he chose fraudulent secretaries and other workers. He’d tweak the next election so that his best friend would get elected, and so on.

“I-I’m sorry- I didn’t mean-” Joy stutters.

“It’s ok,” I tell her. “C’mon. Let’s go see what the two knuckleheads are up to.”