How did Elia find out? 

And I swear it wasn't easy to tell. I wasn't one to succumb to my urges, and barely anyone on Xylia even knew people like me existed. My identity was one akin to a rare disease, 

I was just under thirteen rotations when I started to experience the symptoms of a floraweaver bloom. I had just returned from the Harvest, fresh-faced and dewy-eyed, when my fingers began to turn. It followed the seasons, my fingers withering with the passing of the Dying. 

I tried to hide it as best I could, wearing gloves that stretched up to my elbows. I skipped meals and classes, feigning illness to hide my deteriorating state. 

I was young. I was lost. I didn't know who to trust. 

After a week, the plan of skipping meals had caught up to me, taking a physical toll on my body. The withering, ugly, greyish-black marks scaling my arms had passed my elbows, and I could no longer leave my room without people noticing them. I was trapped, a product of my own refusal to ask for help. 

I guess I was a late bloomer. 

And yeah, I kind of needed that apple. 

The only way to stop my body from withering is to absorb energy from live or recently picked flora. Fruit and vegetables are the best, as they contain the most energy. Otherwise, I'd have to absorb a whole grass field, which would take me days. Also, like, grass is just gross. Have you ever eaten grass? Yeah, no, I'm not absorbing that stuff either.

I had waited too long. I had the apple in my grasp and plenty of time to absorb it, but I was too wrapped up in the situation to take precautions. Now, my arms are withering, noticeable enough for even Elia to see. 

I looked at her, guilt shining in my eyes. Yes it was my mistake, and yes I'll own up to it eventually, but I wasn't ready to do it now. 

Elia just gave me a worried glance and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the darkness of the tunnel. It was no use dwelling on it. We still had loads of ground to cover if we were to successfully hide from the intruders. 

We rushed through the dark tunnels, the mildewy air stinging my nostrils. I was out of breath and out of shape, heaving with every step. 

The further and further we got from the house, the more the walls seemed to appear... moist. From the small glimpses I got, they seemed to be covered in a dark green, slimy moss, and it was moving. It was sliding up and down the walls, almost as if the slime had a life of its own. 

And it was following us, creeping towards the light. 

With every step, the mossy slime was growing closer and closer to us. 

"Elia..." I shouted, growing louder and louder each time I repeated her name. "Elia, Elia, ELIA."

She finally turned around, her face twisted in an exhausted grimace.

"What?" Elia demanded. 

I pointed to the walls. I was still trying to keep moving, but it was hard to both do that and communicate with her at the same time. 

"The-" I stuttered, attempting to catch my breath and failing miserably. "The moss!"

Elia took one glance at the wall and broke out into a sprint, dropping the lightstick. It clattered against the gravel floor, its sound echoing through the tunnel.

"Juniper," Elia screamed over her shoulder. "Juniper! We have to get out of here! That moss could kill us!"

Oh. 

OH. 

Girl, I was not ready to die. When I got captured by Elia, I kind of always knew I was going to die by execution at some point, but the whole dying thing didn't really hit me until this moment. Suddenly, when it's shoved right in front of you, the whole thing feels so much more real. 

I dug my heels into the gravelly dirt floor and hit the gas, sprinting like my life depended on it. It did. 

I swear, at this moment, even the fastest Xylian sprinter couldn't beat me. But I was still too slow, and the moss was picking up speed. Who knew moss could move so fast?

"Elia," I shouted. "We're not going to make it!"

I heard Elia mumble a stream of expletives as she scooped me up bridal-style, nestling me in her arms in one fell swoop and shielding me with her body, all while still sprinting. I swear, I don't know what they did to her, but she was not just Gamman. Something was off. She was too strong. 

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. Whatever happened, it was all Elia's fault now. 

At least I'd die in the arms of a hot woman. I couldn't think of a better way to go. 

I didn't notice how fast we were going until I felt a light begin to shine brighter and brighter through my closed eyelids. I blinked my eyes open and turned to peek over Elia's shoulder. The moss was nowhere in sight. 

I wasn't going to die, or at least not today. 

Just how freakishly fast was she?

"Juniper," Elia's husky voice murmured. "Can I set you down now?"

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't realized we had reached the exit. Elia had even moved her arms, giving me space to jump out of them, but of course, my arms were still wrapped around her neck like I was holding on for dear life, my face buried in the crook of her neck. 

I awkwardly separated from her, my face flushed crimson. 

Great job, Juniper, I thought. Way to screw up your relationship. 

We were standing in front of an aged iron door. The paint on the door was chipped and fading away, exposing a rusty, metal underbelly. 

Elia shot me a brief glance and opened the door. We were free. 

"Juniper of X-Theta, you are under arrest by orders of the X-Theta International Embassy. Drop your weapon and step away from the IX operative."

Pearson had found us.