A/N: OMG, I just woke up at 11:30am the other day and I was lying there and grabbed my laptop, so I immediately checked FanFiction, and I had my laptop on my chest and I saw that I had 23 reviews, and I literally did this commando roll, putting my laptop on my bed so I was on my stomach. I was so excited! TEN more reviews – TEN! In, like, 11 hours! So I read them, and I saw that I have a new reviewer who's in love with my story (!) – CheekyJohnnyBaby13! But even though I've been on school holidays for 3 weeks now, I haven't been updating as quicker as I would like to, but now I will. But I'm going away next and won't be back until next year! I won't be updating (probably) but I might be writing the chapters! Anyway, some questions that were asked:

That date didn't seem to go as well as planned, aye? (Asked by Ruby Smith) Not, it did not.

What the hell happened? (Asked by Ruby Smith) It's a mystery, isn't? This chapter will answer this question.

But What Happened to Sadie? (Asked by CheekyJohnnyBaby13) Again, this question should be answered in this chapter. But the real question is, did it happen just to Sadie?

It's Chapter 10 - TEN! Wow, Chapter 1 was published on then first of November, and now it's the nineteenth of December (well, probably the 18th for most of you) Anyway, ON WITH IT!

Chapter 10 – The Inner Light

"Max!" I called as I entered the dark and deserted shopping centre. Surprisingly, the doors weren't locked and they opened for me when I walked up to them. I heard faint coughing.
"Max, is that you?"
More coughs. I walked around the corner into the food court and started looking around. I could actually see surprisingly well in the dark. I then found my weak and terrified boyfriend crouched between two tables.
"Max!" I rushed over to him in relief and crouched down next to him, "Oh my God, are you okay?"
He did not look well at all.
"Sadie…" he croaked.
"What happened?"
"Don't you remember?" he seemed to be recovering from whatever happened to him, "Last night."
"Yeah, we went on our date."
"After that."
"I don't remember anything after that. I just remember waking up outside. What did happen last night?"
"The moon."
I was really confused.
"What?"
"The moon attacked us."
"Pft!" I made a hideous sound, "Why and how would the moon attack us?"
"It was a full moon. The moon beams shone down on us and they were really bright. The light flooded us and I tried to drag us inside but we let go of each other…"

Everything came back to me. The moon. The light. The incredible pain. Losing Max and then blacking out.
"Oh! Did you feel that pain too?"
"Yeah… but it wasn't too bad."
"Really? Mine was really bad!"
"You were exposed longer. I was already at the door when I heard your screams. I felt the pain too, though. I think most of it attacked you. I wonder what it did."
"I really have absolutely no idea. This is kind of scary…"
"Do you feel different? Because I've got a weird feeling."
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do too!"
"This is just too weird. And where is everyone else? Surely they wouldn't leave us here."
"Did you black out too?"
"No… I managed to get inside. I guess I wasn't exposed long enough like you were. But it did have a weakening effect on me."

He looked up into my face, his mop-top now messy and half in his face. He reached for my hand, but as soon as we touched an electric current ran through us! We quickly yanked away from each other. He continued to stare into my face with a look of bewilderment. Just then, his phone started ringing. He didn't seem to notice it. It continued ringing for a few rings without him answering it, so I reached into his jean pocket and pulled it out. It was his home number, but I missed the call. The screen said there were thirty-nine missed calls! The phone started ringing again as I held it and this time I answered it hurriedly.
"Hello?"

"Oh my God, Sadie? Is that you?" it was Bob and he sounded extremely worried, but relieved that I had answered.
"Yeah, hey Bob."
"Are you alright? Where's Max?"
"We're fine, we're just really confused. Max has gone into shock…" literally, I thought.
"What happened?"
"I don't really know. Something happened here last night and we are really confused."
"Where are you?"
"We're still at the shops, but there's no one here and it's really weird."
"It was on the news…"
"What was it?"
There was silence on the other end.
"Bob, what happened?"

He was very hesitant to tell me what had happened.
"There was a freak… attack there last night."
"What kind of attack?"
"Surviving witnesses claim there was a light…"
"Wait, when you say, surviving witnesses…"
"Most of the people within the radius of the light… died."
I inhaled a sharp breath. Wouldn't that mean…?
"They had to evacuate the place," Bob continued, "We didn't know what had happened to you. We thought since we hadn't been able to contact you that you had either been evacuated and denied contact or had…"
He didn't finish his sentence but I knew what he meant.
"What happened to everyone else?"
"Government officials… people from the space institution or something, astronomers – they evacuated everyone and had them placed in a high security place."
"How do we get out?"
"I'll have to let them know that you're th-."
"No!" I cut him off abruptly. Whatever had happened to us, I didn't want to become a test subject.
"No Bob, we don't want to be taken by them! Can't you just pick us up?"
"They asked for people to report if they knew someone that was there… but we didn't tell them. We were smarter than that and we knew that you could be taken from us."
"Oh, good, thank you!"
"So, the place is surrounded. I don't think you'll be getting out any time soon. Is there some place you can hide until they reopen the centre?"

I thought about it.
"There should be a shop open somewhere… we'll find a place."
"Okay, and when customers start flocking in you just get up and walk out as if nothing happened."
"Ugh… I don't know if Max can walk."
"What? You said he was fine a minute ago!"
"He is. He's just in deep shock…"
"Okay, can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Bye."
"Bye."
After I hung up Max was still staring at me in shock. He finally spoke.
"What's happening?" he asked me. I hesitated to answer him.
"It might freak you out."
"Just tell me."
I then proceeded to tell him what his father had told me.
"Wait, so everyone who touched the light died? Wouldn't that mean… that we…?"
It was so unbelievable that he couldn't even say it.
"Yes. We should be dead."

We let it sink in. What did this mean? We were supposed to die but we didn't? And since when does the moon go around attacking people with it's beams?
"Your Dad says that we need to hide in a shop somewhere until they reopen the centre and we can escape unnoticed," I told him.
"Seems like the most logical idea. Wow, I can't believe they're practically kidnapping people. Thank God they didn't report us missing."
"I know right. So where can we hide? We should have no trouble staying fed. I mean, a lot of the stores are food shops. And we can get more clothes as well."
"The centre's running on a weak emergency generator by the looks, so we should have no problems with alarms and cameras and stuff."
"We need to stock up before it gets lighter. For all we know, they could be sending people to check the place out."

We went around the shops guerrilla-style, collecting food and clothes and stuffing them in bags. We went into the furniture section of David Jones with the beds, where we 'lived'. It brought us closer, this living together thing did. Although it might seem wrong, it technically wasn't 'living together' in that way. There was still a small zap every time we touched, though it grew weaker every time it happened. I was right, some people came around to check the place out. They didn't look too closely though, for we were squashed up against the wall and they missed us.

Two days passed and Max and I became even closer.
"Do you think they'll ever open up again?" he asked me as we were having our 'lunch', which consisted of biscuits.
"They'd have to eventually," I replied, "This is one of the most popular shopping centres."
Just then, Max's phone rang and it was his parents.
"Hello?" Max said into the phone as he answered it, putting it on speaker phone so I could hear. Our phone calls had to be short as people could be tracking them.
"Max, are you and Sadie okay?" Joan asked.
"Yeah, we're fine, we've… got a place."
"Have they come looking yet?"
"Yes…"
"They didn't find you?"
"No, Mum."
"That's good. It was on the news again. They're reopening tomorrow. And all the people they evacuated have been released – nothing wrong with them, of course."
"That's excellent!" I practically screamed.
"Hello, Sadie."
"Hello! Anything else? Did they find out what that light was?"
"They think it's a rare moonlight attack… they think Sailor Moon played a trick on us."
"They said that? Of all times to be sarcastic!"
"I know, not very tasteful is it? So be prepared to make your grand escape. Eight o'clock. We'll be waiting in the Blue Carpark."
"Okay. Thanks Mum," Max said.
"Bye."
"Bye."
"Bye."

We would be going home tomorrow. Finally!
"Do you think we'll make it out?" I asked Max doubtfully.
"I don't know – tomorrow never knows."
Even in all the mess, we still managed to find time for the four boys. Nearly every conversation had a song title mention in it. The thing is, it usually wasn't even on purpose! It was naturally said most of the time. Finally. Tomorrow we would be free! I think…

It was 7:15am. An hour and forty-five minutes before the shops were due to open.
"Well, I can cross this off my list – living in a shopping centre and being on the run!" I said to Max.
"You have a list?" he asked, amused.
"No, I'm just saying. It's something that hardly anyone experiences, so it's a list of novelties I guess."
Suddenly we heard footsteps. A David Jones employee entered the store near where we were through some side door. She was only young, about our age, with dark hair. But then I realised – Anna worked here! My friend Anna! On closer inspection, it was, in fact, her. I got up to go over to her with Max hissing behind me to come back.
"Anna!" I whispered to her as I approached her. She turned around with her hand on her chest, obviously taken aback.
"Sadie! Oh my God, you're here!" she hugged me in relief.
"Oh my God Anna, you don't know how glad I am to see you here!"
"What are you doing here? Everyone at school has been wondering where you are!"
I realised then that it was Wednesday. We had missed school yesterday!
"Wait, why aren't you at school?"
"They needed heaps of staff here today, so I took the day off. I don't get paid to go to school!"
"Good point. So, uh, I need you to do a BIG favour for me."
She looked sceptical.

I pointed at Max.
"That's Max."
She waved hesitantly at him and he waved equally hesitantly back.
"I'm thinking you know exactly what's happened here. With the evacuation and all."
"Yeah…"
"Well, somehow they missed us and we've been living here since the 'attack', as they call it."
"You've been living here?"
"Yeah."
"Customers will be coming soon."
"I know, that's kinda why I need your help..."
"You need to escape with no one seeing you," she answered.
"You know it!" I pointed at her. She hesitated, contemplating her answer.
"Okay! I'll do it! But only because you're my best friend."
"Thank you so much!" I hugged her again and introduced her to Max. I think he was relieved that she was my best friend and not some random who could dob us in.

She sneaked us out the back door she came though, so we didn't have to do it riskily when there were shoppers around. But it was only about 7:30, and Max's parents weren't coming for another half an hour. We rang them and told them we were out. They came right over and picked us up in the staff carpark, the only place open. We hopped in the back of the car with our three bags, plus my handbag.
"Oh my God!" Joan went crazy as soon as we got in. She leaned between the two front seats to motherly cup Max's face, "My baby! You're alright!"
"Yeah, Mum," Max said, "It's so good to see you."
"Sadie!" Joan went to me next, "So, where did you live?"
"David Jones," Max answered.
"Oh, good choice! I noticed you collected quite a stash there," she said, referring to our backpacks and overnight bags we had acquired. I had also gotten some clothes that I had wanted for a while but could never afford. I didn't want to call it 'stealing'… every place we took something from, we would leave some form of money at the cash register out of guilt.
"Yeah…"
"Well your mum and dad have been worried sick about you, Sadie."
"I can't wait to see them!"
"You will, they're waiting at our house."

I had never been to Max's house before. I guess it was about time I went to my boyfriend's humble abode. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a frantic mother who smothered me with kisses.
"Oh, my baby! You're alright!"
We went through all of this for a while, until the six of us sat down and Max and I told them everything that had happened – well, not the part about us surviving this fatal moon attack. We were there all day and Max and I both had showers. That evening we all sat down to watch the 5:30 news. There was coverage about the reopening of the shopping centre, but also an update on the mysterious 'attack'. There was footage of the Special Forces, or whoever they were, searching the area outside the cinema. They found something near the spot where I woke up – a green scarf. But not just any old green scarf – MY green scarf!
"Oh my God, isn't that yours, Sadie?" Mum asked me.
"Yeah," I replied. I hadn't even noticed it was missing.
"Oh well, what are they supposed to do with it?" Joan was positive, "It has absolutely no leads to what happened. Of course they'll just assume it's one of the victims'."
I didn't like the way she said 'victims'. Max and I were victims – surviving victims.

The news was over and no one felt like moving. We all sat there in silence until Mum and Dad suggested we should go. Now I didn't want to leave Max. Living with him for two days had made us inseparable.
"He can come over tomorrow," Mum suggested, "I don't think either of you should go to school tomorrow."
"I agree," Joan agreed, "You're too shaken up."
We left the Edison household and went home.

I had gone to sleep practically as soon as we got in the door, which was about seven. I had just woken at six in the morning when there was a knock on the door. I answered it to find a frantic and scared looking Max. He was here very early – what was wrong?
"Max? What is it? Come in," I unlocked the door and let him in. He paced the entry hall anxiously.
"Max! What's going on?"
He stopped pacing and had his head tilted down, but still turned to face me. He looked quite scary, actually. His hands were clenched into fists as he looked at me. He then nodded to the lounge room behind me. I turned around to find my lounge room filled with snow! I was in so much shock, I just stood there with my mouth agape.
"Did you do this?" I asked softly and slowly. He came and stood next to me and wiped his hand in the direction of the snow and it disappeared. Then he turned to me and smiled.
"Your turn."

A/N: Hope you liked the twist! Okay, so I didn't exactly reveal what was wrong with Sadie, but what Max can do pretty much gives you an idea! I also noticed a few mistakes in previous chapters where I said the wrong person said something, as well as probably confusing you with Max's father's name. His name is Bob. Not Jeff like I said in 'I Don't Want To Spoil The Party.' Fixed. Review, my excitable reviewers!