The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0630

Julian, Nicholas, Tiffany, Veronica, and I piled into a pair of inconspicuous looking cars and drove to small town. It took around 45 minutes, during which, Tiffany sat amazed at the many dials and knobs that made up the center console of this older-model sedan.

"No touchscreen," she said for the fourth time. She couldn't seem to believe it.

Nicholas followed Julian into the village and parked on main street, where a few shops and restaurants took up residence in a stretch of older brick buildings. There was a park at the end of the road, with a graveyard off to the side of it behind a tall gate.

After we had parked and reconvened on the sidewalk, Julian said, "We should split up so we don't seem so conspicuous, Nicholas, you and Piper head south. Veronica -*

"I will investigate the cemetery," Veronica said.

Julian considered this, then nodded. "Tiffany and I will go north."

We each were equipped with the most recent photo of the older couple that we could find. Then we parted ways.

Nicholas and I went into the grocery store first. After all, the couple would need their groceries. However, most of the employees there were too young to remember the couple. Disappointed but not deterred, we left that store and tried another.

We went to a barber shop, a pharmacy, a gas station, and finally a local shop with cards and knick-knacks. The woman at the counter at the knick-knack shop was older than most of the other people we had encountered.

Still, even in a small town, there was no certainty everyone would know everyone else.

Yet when I showed her the photo of the couple, her whole body went rigid. "They're long dead now. Whatever they did, you won't get the truth from them."

Hope soared in my heart. "You knew them? All we are looking for is information."

"I don't know what to tell you, sweetie," she said. Her nametag read Mary. "They moved into town suddenly, appearing in a house that had sat empty for years seemingly overnight. But they kept to themselves."

"You didn't speak with them?" I asked.

"Not any more than "hey, how are you.' Well... except for this one time..." Mary tapped her finger to her chin. "What happened?" Nicholas prompted.

to deem if we were trustworthy. She must have

or buy a newspaper. The husband, I saw him more than the wife. He was always going

makes you think

late at night. He needed held with an internet search. He didn't know much about how things worked. I was happy to help. He was trying to track down a pair of twins. They were in foster care, he said,

you know? That grief-guilt look. I figured the twins were

very important news! If the lost princesses weren't dead, then we had

but if we followed their trek from the border, we should be able to narrow down the places they would have had a chance to stop at and drop

some babies.

had a ton of work to do. But it was better than nothing, and certainly gave

Mary said. "What happened to it..." She scratched her head. "He gave it to me and asked me to keep searching. I did, for a while. Eventually I

still have the photo?"

never get

you mind looking for it?" Nicholas asked.

at him. "Your... search? Just what are you kids up to

as him," I said. "We're trying to find those

are surely out of foster care by now,"

best lead

then. Let me look in the back." She turned and disappeared into a back room. We could hear her shuffling around in there, searching through stacks of papers and

likely alive then," Nicholas

conclusion. "A picture would help. I hoped. Truthfully, all babies tended to look very similar. But

She came back out to the front of the store waving a

was grainy and slightly fuzzy, but in it were a pair of babies with identical features. Each were clad in an expensive-looking purple

passed the photo to Nicholas. He looked at it for a long time but didn't say a

cemetery, which had been our agreed upon meeting place. Veronica was

arrived at the same time

said, "was how quiet

the card shop thankfully never gets rid of anything." I conveyed Mary's story and