Luna sat tapping her old pen in frustration on the handle of the chair, she looked out to the horizon deep In thought "It doesn't make sense" She tipped her head to the side as she spoke to herself.

Eli watched her and couldn't help smiling "what doesn't" He couldn't help but sometimes smile when Luna pulled certain faces.

Luna raised her voice turning to Eli 

"All the food, water, electricity, computers and equipment, where did she get it from and how does she feed so many? it cant be coming from earth?"

El walked out of the cabin as she heard Luna's thoughts looking concerned " No, you're right, Luna, it makes no sense. She has everything. Could it be coming from another planet?"

"I have survived on this toxic dying planet barely getting by. Finding the last scraps of food in tins and hiding places. She has either got a massive store room or someone is helping her"

Eli had a thought "Luna, have you ever seen anything coming from the sky? a plane or a space shuttle?"

Luna stared out again thinking back to all the years she had survived on her own or with friends, had she ever seen anything or heard anything. The fog was always so thick in the city so there was no chance of seeing anything there. But maybe out where her bunker was. Thinking back to all those memories sent a wave of emotion across her body giving her goosebumps. She coughed as she remembered the burning feeling her lungs went through all these years.

"I don't know, maybe.... possibly, but in the fog, you can't see anything and it could be miles away so we couldn't know. The plan is to try and get back in there and pull the plug on her hive. We need to take the queen bee out" Luna made a fist and scrunched her face as she thought about the boss lady.

Eli smiled "Yes, she needs taking out and we can try and help all of the innocent hybrid humans that are left. They need our help"

Luna came a little closer to the both of them, her heart beating a little faster

"So the last thing we need to do is choose the decoy?" 

El giggled nervously "Rock, paper, scissors?" raising her brows nervously

"It should be me" Eli stood up and held his hands up. I will be the bait and you two can sneak back into the control room and we will blow it sky high. Then we take her out and we win" His voice was deep and he spoke with authority.

Luna swallowed nervously "Ok that's the plan, now we need some explosives to blow that control room and we need it pronto. She will be searching for us and won't stop"

"You, are right Luna. We need to leave right now and find the things we need in the city, that's our best chance" Luna nodded and walked slowly back into the cabin. She knew they couldn't stay here, no matter how safe it felt. They needed to finish this and free those other droids.

The smell of the cabin was like a time machine taking her back those few years to when she had Frank. His smile and the wrinkly lines on his forehead. His dusty oat pancakes he would make with the out-of-date oats, but tasted like heaven. Luna ran her fingers down the walls and into the bedroom as she said her goodbyes to the cabin.

********

The smog grew thicker as they slowly entered the outskirts of the city.  The concrete graveyard stood tall spreading out its obstacles at every path they wanted to take.

Luna stopped, holding her chest as she gasped. Her lungs may be able to fight this toxic air but it hurt like mad. She took shallow breaths as they scanned the area. It never seemed to get any easier for Luna as she walked through the city. The memories would flood back along with fear, this planet was dangerous. It was slowly killing her and if that wasn't bad enough another human could take her life a lot quicker if she wasn't careful. 

Eli walked behind the two of them listing to every footstep and scanning behind them for movement. He didn't care about the danger, those two bodies that tiptoed in front of him were the two most important people he had. He would die for them and doing this was the only choice they had. 

Luna stopped abruptly holding her hand up to signal to the others. She could see something coming towards them, just a shadow but it was slowly getting closer. She scanned around her to see where they could hide. An old grocery store stood to the left of them, the glass had been broken many years ago and shelves littered across the floor. 

Luna tiptoed over to the store hiding behind one of the shelves as the others followed her as quickly as they could. Dust erupted like a volcano as they crouched trying to hold their breath. The figure had reached the store and stopped right there in front of them, Luna couldn't make out if the figure was human or not.

He looked male and stood tall but his head was covered with a cloth that wrapped over his face. Luna waited anxiously to see his eyes, if they were bright blue she knew he wasn't human and they would be in trouble.

A husky voice echoed over the concrete rubble making its way to Luna like a song "Luna" His voice was broken and hoarse like he had been injured.

"Theo?" Luna edged out slowly in disbelief that it was really him, and how did he know it was her that was hiding there?

Theo lowered his face covering and Luna could clearly see it was him. He almost sunk to the floor as she walked toward him. "I found you" 

Luna knelt down next to him quietly "How did you escape Theo? why look for me? I thought I would be the last person you would want to see?" Theo sat backwards placing his bag behind him, his demeanour changed " They're all gone, Luna. Joe, all of them made into droids" Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks as his voice broke, Luna could see he was broken. "There is only you and me left we are the last of the humans here now, that's why I needed to find you"

Luna moved closer to Theo and smiled "They aren't gone Theo, we can get them back, We have a plan to go back and turn it all off, free them all"  Theo looked confused but could see the hope in Luna's eyes. He thought back to the first time he saw her laying there broken and vulnerable on the table. He didn't know why but he was drawn to her, he felt he could trust those eyes even though he didn't really know them. "I trust you, Luna, I can try and help" 

Luna smiled back at Theo, She also remembered the first time she had met his dark brown eyes from that table where she lay injured. He was such a tall man and muscular his skin was dark brown and his accent was not from this country. 

The four of them sat there on the road and told Theo their plan and what they needed to try and make it all work. Theo knew exactly where they could find some explosives. They walked closer to the droids next and stayed in a small building that Theo used to live in for a while before he moved to the museum. It still had emergency supplies and hidden food. 

Theo had drawn a little map for Eli and El to follow so they could collect the explosives as they could get there quicker in the smog. Luna watched him, potter, around the old broken building she noticed his gaping cut on his arm. "Can I clean your arm and bandage it up, Theo?"

He stopped for a moment and nodded "Ok"  Luna opened one of the old antiseptic wipes and very gently wiped it across his wound, then wrapped it with a bandage that was in the old first aid kit. He gave Luna a little smile and opened his bag to put his first aid kit back in, but his sketchbook fell out on to the floor.

 Luna remembered that day he was watching her and drawing "You drew me once, right?" Theo's cheeks blushed a little, as he nervously ran his hands across his book "I did"

" I would love to see it" Luna could see it made him very uncomfortable "It's ok if you don't want to" He flicked through and found her in his book opening it to that page and then passed it over to Luna holding his breath. 

Luna let out a little gasp as she quickly held her hand over her mouth "It's beautiful Theo. Wow, I have never seen art like this before" Luna studied the grey lines that seem to dance so effortlessly across the page, the detail and shading it was all a work of art. Luna loved art and music and words, anything that could connect her to the past, the days of old. She wanted so much to keep humanity alive and in those little creative ways, it was like a little light bursting through the thick smog.

Theo reached for Luna's hand and pulled her over to a table where he showed her some other drawings he had made. They were all so captivating and works of art. She loved them all and her eyes beamed with amazement. "I have my personal favourite to show you Luna" He stood up like a young child all giddy holding his hand out to her "Come"

Luna took his hand as he led her up to another room. Luna scanned the room but it was just plain and old, she couldn't see anything. He pulled her back onto an old dusty sofa "Look up" He leaned back and looked up to the roof.

Luna's eyes focused on the work of art and she couldn't believe it. It was swirls of sunshine, swirls of starlight all across the ceiling. "I know these swirls, I remember my Mum showing a painting when I was just a child"

Theo put his head right next to Lunas as they stared up at the ceiling "Van Gogh, he was the artist who painted the original. He was remarkable"

"That's it! Van Gogh. My mum loved him too. The swirls seem to dance across the ceiling as she lay there "It's amazing Theo" She smiled up to the night's sky and felt some peace, art seemed to help her feel at peace. She could lose herself in that painting and escape for a moment or two.