As the rain poured down on her, she walked next to a tree and lifted a large rock from the earth. Bugs and worms crawled out from under it, and she nearly lost her nerve, but she refused to make another excuse. She squinched-up her face in disgust and kicked as many of the bugs away as she could, then used her bare hands to dig a hole. The sphere pulsed in her pocket, and she brought it out, relief and euphoria rushing into her at the contact. She pushed the sphere into the ground and covered it with dirt. Heaviness weighed down her body with each movement, but she endured, committed to carrying out this task.
Once she'd buried the sphere, she lifted the rock and prepared to drop it back into its spot, but a wave of agony racked her body. The rock fell from her hands, and she landed on her knees and cried out. The pulsing of the sphere no longer sent her energy; it now sucked the life out of her. Rain poured over her face and clouded her vision. She swiped at her eyes and stood again, refusing to give in.
Again, with rock heavy in hand, she leaned over the new grave, and again her body convulsed in pain. But she wouldn't cry out for Hunter, nor for Luke; this was her mess, and she had to clean it up alone.
Once again she picked up the rock, and fought through the pain as she dropped it over the sphere. As soon as the rock landed, the pain stopped. She collapsed in relief, but it was a brief respite. She wasn't done mending fences.
Back at the camp, Hunter sat alone in the rain.
She fought the compulsion not to speak to him, and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry. I never should have used that on you without your permission, and I should have told you about it a long time ago. I'm going to tell my brother the truth, after we get done talking."
Hunter looked at her, his face still hard and angry. "I'm glad to hear it."
"Also, I got rid of it. After you left, I buried it under a big rock. It nearly killed me, but I did it. It's gone now. Can you forgive me?" Tears stung her eyes.
He reached for her hand and held it in his. "I'm glad you did the right thing. I'm sorry I got so upset, but you scared the hell out of me. I don't want to lose you, Lucy, and I can't stand the thought of something like that hurting you."
They sat like that for several minutes, before Hunter stood. "I need to get some rest. I'll see you later, okay? We'll talk more."
Before he could walk away, Lucy grabbed him and kissed him with everything in her. He didn't respond at first, but then his body spoke for him. He pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss, until they were both left panting.
Lucy traced his lips with her fingers. "We aren't done yet, but there's one more person I have to apologize to."
Hunter kissed her nose and let her go. "We were never done, Lucy. I still love you. That never changed."
Soaking wet and feeling hungry and tired, Lucy went in search of Luke and found him sitting on a log. She sat next to him and noticed that the rain wasn't coming down quite so hard anymore. The sky cleared enough to show them a dazzling image of the sun reflected in the water, creating a magnificent rainbow—a symbol of new beginnings and second chances.
Luke scooted over on his log so Lucy could get more comfortable. "How you feeling, Luce?"
"I'm fine. Hunter's still hurt, but I think he'll be okay too. Listen, Luke, I'm sorry I blew you off earlier. You're right, you have been the one and only person who's always had my back, ever since we were kids. Even Sam hasn't been there for me the way you have. What Hunter and I have, it's special. I don't regret being with him last night, and I need you to accept that. He's saved me and protected me multiple times, putting his own life in danger in the process. What more proof do you need that he cares for me?"
Luke nodded. "Do you love him?"
"Yes."
"Does he feel the same?"
"Yes."
Luke turned to face her. "I just don't want to see you getting hurt. But you're right: he's been good to you. I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to trust him. Maybe it's just hard to trust anyone right now, considering all the things we've gone through, you know? There's a whole world out there we haven't even seen, not as free citizens. Just don't rush into anything."
"I'm not. I mean, I know my own heart, and I am an adult now. You don't need to keep protecting me."
He threw his arm around her shoulder. "That 'aint never going to change, Sis. You'll have to live with it."
She smiled and leaned against him, then sat up straight as she prepared to tell him one more thing. "Luke, there's something else you should know."
He listened as she explained how she found the sphere and what she'd used it for. "I don't know why I never told you. It wasn't deliberate—at least, I don't think it was—but it kind of grew and grew, and then I was scared you would want me to get rid of it. But—" She held up her hand before he could speak. "I already did. It's gone. I told Hunter too. I'm done with it."
"Thanks for telling me. I won't chew you out since it seems like you've had enough of that today."
She laughed. "Thanks."
They threw rocks at the pond and watched them skip away.
"Luke, there's one more thing I need to tell you. We need to leave the valley, and I think I know how we can do it."
Chapter 102 – Serena