The Moon Witch and Atonement Day

I am crouched in one of the many storage closets of NASA, shaking. The events of the last several days have given me little time to sleep or process. Well, now I am processing. And processing. And processing. I have been in here for several hours, going over what happened, again and again, and my legs stiff and cramping.

Five days ago, was Atonement Day, an annual event. I was standing in the living room with my older brother and mother. Father was gardening in the yard, his way of de-stressing. The TV was on national news, a reporter in a black suit standing in front of a large stage with a podium in the center.

"President Artrip will be coming on stage to speak in several minutes," the reporter was saying.

I was standing in front of the TV, biting my nails in anticipation, brother sitting in the rocking chair, wringing his hands, and mother on her knees, praying to the Lord.

We stayed that way until President Artrip came to the stage. He's dressed in a blue suit and pants, a white shirt, and a red tie. Everyone tries to show a little patriotism on Atonement Day.

He cleared his throat and began the annual speech. "Fellow Americans, today is the day of Atonement. This ceremony has been going on for hundreds of years to make up for our mistakes. In the year of 2027, a group of astronauts made up of the worlds nations went to the moon to colonize it. As you all know, they began to build their colony and stumbled upon an underground tunnel. They followed it and decided to use it as part of their colony. What they didn't realize, was that it was Moon Witch territory and now we suffer for our mistakes.

"The colonists began to build in the tunnel and as they did so, killed millions of life forms. The Moon Witch retaliated, killing all three hundred seventy two colonists. It was not enough compared to the millions of life forms that suffered.

"The Moon Witch said we would Atone by sending her one human every year and if not, she would use her power to destroy us all. The Earthen leaders of 2027 declared we would pay the sacrifice and put in place Atonement Day.

"On January 1st every year, we pick one human between the ages of sixteen and thirty two and send them to the Moon Witch.

"This is an important day. A day in which we remember, we mourn, we Atone, and we celebrate. We remember those colonists and their mistakes. We mourn those sent before and now. We Atone for our previous mistakes. And we celebrate the mercy of the Moon Witch.

With that horrible speech, he bowed his head. "Thank you. Happy Atonement Day!"

Lame cheers went up through the gathered crowd on screen. All world leaders were giving similar speeches. The president went to the side of the stage, camera following him, to a table where a screen was set up, a button next to it.

The president pressed the red button and a dinging sounded. My father walked in at this moment, garden gloves in hand, everyone holding their breath, as the president walked back to the podium with the small screen.

He cleared his throat and said, "The United States of America Atonement human is...Elena Anfeld."

My breath caught in my throat as visible sighs of relief echoed through the stadium on stage. Mother burst into tears, father threw his gloves across the room, and brother swore. I sat there, head spinning.

An odd push of strength spread through me. I stood to face my family. "There are a hundred ninety two other countries. I probably won't even get my name chosen from that batch. This was just round one."

I was wrong. Three days later, we did the same thing. Father in the garden, mother praying, brother wringing his hands, me biting my nails.

All one hundred ninety three nation leaders stood in several rows on a large stage in London, England. They each place a slip of paper with a name written on it in the glass bowl.

No one spoke as the blindfolded King of England went to the glass bowl. He reached his hand in, dug around for a few seconds and plucked a name. My heart was beating so hard in my chest I thought I might pass out from anticipation.

He took off the blindfold and without looking at the paper, walked to a podium on the left side of the stage. He inhaled, opened the slip of paper, and with a shaky voice announced the name.

"This year's human for Atonement is...Elena Anfeld from America."

Mother burst into more tears, father picked up a vase and threw it at the nearest wall, brother swore again.

I sat there even longer. In two hours time, people would come for me and there was no escape. I needed to be strong. A few tears escaped before I swiped them away and stood. My voice shook so hard as I said, "I should...well there's nothing for me to do. I'm going to...I'm gonna...eat something."

Shock was why I went to the pantry and stuffed myself with pretzels. No one spoke as I went to my room and packed...stuff. I didn't need any of it, except something to do with my hands. A book I was reading, some photos, clothes.

Then I sent texts to everyone in my contacts, saying 'goodbye,' then set the phone on my nightstand. It was blowing up with texts and emails but I didn't read any of them.

I was still in shock as I went back into the living room and hugged my family, stuffed the bag of pretzels in my backpack, and went to stand on the porch in slippers.

Fifteen minutes later, a black van rolled up into our driveway, two men led me away. I didn't look back, I didn't say anything. Just sat in the van, staring out into space as they drove away from the only home I had known in seventeen years.

I pulled out my book and read numbly for the two hour drive to the airport, where I was dumped on a plane by myself and flown to Washington D.C. I took my last few hours to eat anything I wanted and even tried wine, though I was underage the flight attendant did not object.

When the plane landed six hours later, another van picked me up. Driving for four more hours, we reached NASA. There were people bustling about and preparing for the rocket. In three hundred years of Atonement, only fourteen Americans had been sent, though each nation was required to have a rocket ready in case the chosen human was from their country.

I was ushered out the van, through the building, and dumped in a room with a bed, bathroom, desk, and TV. The news was on, my school picture plastered all over the screen. They interviewed my family and friends and practically everyone in my small town.

With a heavy sigh, I turned the TV off, threw my back pack on the bed and sat down at the desk. There was paper and pens on it. I supposed they were for writing letters because there were envelopes in the one drawer.

Why not? I wrote letters to those I loved. Then I wrote about the last week of my life. I wrote short stories. I wrote poems. I wrote anything and everything.

I wrote so much they had to replace the stack of paper several times. For three days, I forgot everything and wrote. Forty-two letters, seventeen diary entries, twenty-three short stories, fifty-seven poems.

On the end of the third day, after I finished a poem, there was a knock at the door. No one had come by except to drop off food, replace my stack of paper, and get me a cardboard box. I opened the door to find the director of NASA standing there in a blouse and pencil skirt with tall black heels.

"Ms. Anfeld, I'll take you to the control room. You'll wait there before boarding the rocket," she said.

I nodded and ran back inside to pile all the papers and letters neatly into a cardboard box. I sealed it and stuffed it into the director's hands. "Send this to my family."

The director nodded and turned away. I followed her down several halls and three staircases until we reached the control room, where I hid in a storage closet.

Now, here I am, still shaking and going over the events again in my head. There is a knock at the door and I rise shakily to open it. It's the director again.

"Ms. Anfeld, it is time. You will board the rocket as you are and the computer systems will take you to the moon." She doesn't mention what happens after that. Will I be eaten? Tortured? Left to starve?

I begin shaking again as she leads me to the launch pad where I climb a tower and step into the rocket. A staff member straps me in a seat and gives me a quick safety run down which I don't listen to. Then he says the trip is approximately seventy two hours long and gives me a drink that will make me sleep for a while. It tastes horrible and slides down my throat.

Everything is a blur in my fear and I barely comprehend anything. Before I know it, the rocket is taking off and I pass out from fear, exhaustion, or the drink. I don't know.

My sleep is deep and I dream about wild crazy things that don't make sense for what feels like ever. When I do wake, the moon is looming ahead. I want to puke, scream, laugh, and cry at the same time, but it happens in cycles. First I scream, then laugh, then cry, and finally I reach for a motion sickness bag in a pocket next to the seat and puke.

For the first time, I take in my surroundings. I sit in a large seat that's very comfortable with large straps that make me feel like sitting in a giant car seat. The floor is carpeted and I am in a room with an almost completely glass window in front of me. I have limited movement but I can see there is a wall behind me. Nothing like the movies I've seen, though I suppose I won't need to touch any of the buttons or controls or do anything but wait.

It's the waiting that nearly kills me. My stomach hurts and I throw up several more times. My head spins and I drink from the water bottle in the other pocket. Soon I have to go to the bathroom and realize what a bad idea the water was.

The moon gets closer and closer and I have to close my eyes and sing to stop the oncoming panic attack. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Maybe I can fight the witch and board the rocket to go back home. But then she would destroy all earth. One life versus billions. One life, it is. I force myself to make peace with the probability of my imminent death. I'll be in heaven soon and there is no sadness in heaven.

There's a jolt and my eyes fly open. The rocket has landed on the moon. Out the window there is nothing but rocky expanse. Gray and rocky. There are so many stars above and I can see the earth. It's huge and magnificent. My heart clenches and I silently cry as my large straps unbuckle. Probably programmed to do so.

I stand up, but it is too fast. My head spins and my legs wobble. I really have to go the bathroom. You can go to the bathroom when you're dead, I scold myself. What do I do now? I can't leave the rocket because I'll suffocate and I can't stay here.

Before I have time to make a choice, the rocket lurches forward and starts to move. I run to the large window to see what is happening. Something is moving the rocket toward the big mountain several yards away, but I can't see who or what is doing it.

As we draw closer, I realize we head to a giant cave within the mountain. I can't look away from the window as the rocket enters the cave and stops. It's too dark to see anything, but the light from outside is gone. This is it. The Moon Witch is going to eat me in her dark cave. I pray that it's fast.

All a sudden, the large window shatters and I stumble back. The Moon Witch must have pulled it off with her magic. I prepare myself to suffocate without oxygen but I breath fine. It must be the Moon Witch's magic.

Nothing happens and I continue to stare into the dark. My curiosity and want to get this over with takes control of me. Cautiously, I go to where the window was and slide down the nose of the rocket. I might not land, I might float in the abyss. But I do it anyways, fear gripping me the moment I leave the rocket.

I land hard on solid ground. Relief washes over me. The ground isn't rocky like one would expect in a cave. It is smooth and hard like concrete. Odd. I slowly stand, brushing myself off. There are a few whispers and sounds that make me jump and fear grips me again.

"Who's there?" I demand. "If you are going to eat me, do it already!"

My voice echoes off the walls of the cave and a warm, tinkling laugh echoes back. The hair on my arms and neck stands. "Why does everyone assume I am going to eat them?"

Words die in my throat as light floods the cavern and I'm taken aback. It's...it's a...town. Of sorts.

The floor is concrete and the walls also. The cave goes so far back I can't see to the end. Large lights hang from the ceiling, illuminating the space. There are doors and windows displaying food, trinkets, and other things in the rock. Signs hang out of the side with shop names on them. There are several stairs on each side, leading up to a mezzanine of sorts, with more windows and doors embedded in the rock. There are several layers like that but with what looks like living spaces.

What takes me back the most is hundreds of men and women and children gathered in a large group, smiles on their faces. In front of them, like a leader, is a woman with pale, blue-ish skin, black hair, blue eyes, a welcoming smile, a black dress that pools at the floor and a small crown on her head.

I don't know what else to do so I stand there. "You're...not going to eat me?" I say in a small voice.

The woman laughs again. "No, sweety." She takes several hesitant steps forward and puts a hand on her chest. "I am Queen Eryen Rove, or what Earth calls the Moon Witch." Her brows wrinkled in confusion.

But her words surprise me even more. "You...but that means you are..."

She smiles again. "Very old."

I shake my head. She has to be at least three hundred years old but she looks to be no older than forty. The people around her don't move or speak but as I look around I recognize some of them. "You are...last years human Atoner." I point at a tall man, Jacob, who was twenty two when he was sent to the moon. He nods and I point to another, unable to speak. "What?"

The Witch-er Queen laughs again. "I met the colonists a couple hundred years ago and told them they were better off to build their colony here." She motions around. "So I helped them, in exchange they made me their queen. Then every year, people showed up. One each year. They all said the same thing. That Earth sent them as a sacrifice. Not sure what else to do, I took them in and made them a citizen. And we built this."

But...but. I exhale and step forward to the queen. I'm not going to die. My family, my friends, Earth. "Earth doesn't know?"

The Queen shakes her head and everything catches up to me. I start crying. "I was taken from my home...because...because-idiots!" I cry hard and the queen wraps me in a warm embrace. When I calm down she steps back and I get the feeling something big is going to happen.

She smiles at me, but this time it is different. Fear overtakes me. But that's ridiculous. She has helped hundreds of people, taken them in. Why am I scared?

I get my answer soon. Everything flickers out. Not everything. The people and signs of life. I shriek. What is now if front of me is the same woman, but she has large sharp teeth and nails. The people and light are gone and I can only see by the light of the rocket behind me. The shops and houses are still there, but dust covers them, doors ripped off their hinges, windows shattered. And behind the Queen...is a big pile of bones and skulls.

All warmth is gone from the Queen-er, Witch. It was an illusion. "My, your brain is weak. So easy to manipulate," she croons. I try to run, but I can't move. Her teeth glint in the little light. "I am so hungry. I haven't eaten in a year."

She takes a step forward, but I still can't move. All I can do is scream.