Trip to the Moon

“Three, two, one, take-off.” The giant shuttle began to lift aggressively off the ground at the end of the runway. For anyone inside, everything became tilted absurdly at a 45-degree angle, causing the passengers to feel like they were being pressed into their seats. Even the hosts and hostesses were sitting like everyone else, strapped securely into chairs. Things continued this way for the next 10 minutes, till at last, the interior straightened, as the shuttle began to climb at a gentler pace.

Daniel looked out the window, surveying with pleasure the wispy clouds that now rested beneath them. One of the hostesses, who was now out of her seat, brought him the drink he had ordered when purchasing his ticket. A chilled can of Apple cider. He cracked it open, took a sip, and felt a pleasant satisfaction at having allowed himself this. It had cost him an extra 10 dollars, but then again, everything was expensive these days.

The captains voice came through the speakers overhead.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finished our initial climb, and are now heading out of the Earths gravitational pull. We expect to reach the moon in 12 hours. Until then, please enjoy our in-flight entertainment.”

He reached into his small carry-on bag, and fished out a book he was reading; a collection of short stories by Sylvia Plath. The first story had been confusing, but the 2^nd and 3^rd were agreeable. Unfortunately, now he was finding that each story seemed to have common ground with the one before it. The male characters seemed to be forever acting out a sort of modest tyranny, which they were oblivious to. Their interactions with the understandably troubled female characters were frustrating. But when he started a book, he liked to stick it out through to the end.

-

After a long hour of reading, he slipped the crisp bookmark back into the book, then packed it into his bag. They had long since left the earth’s atmosphere, and the gravitational pull was no longer as strong. He looked around and saw complacent people sitting in their chairs, the hosts and hostesses occasionally stopping by to grant some prosaic request.

He was just about to turn the screen on in front of his chair, when the woman sitting next to him spoke to him.

“I hate these long flights. It drives me crazy. I saw you reading a while ago, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s the book?”

“It’s a volume of works by Sylvia Plath.” He replied. “Short stories, selected writings from her note books. I haven’t read Plath’s poetry, but I loved the Bell Jar, so I was curious to see what her other stories were like.”

“Sylvia Plath… I’ve heard of her. Isn’t she that famous writer who killed herself?”

“Yes, sadly. I can say from what I’ve read, that she was a very talented writer. She has a way with words, describing things in a unique and multifaceted way. But a lot of her subject matter is negative. She had struggles with depression. May I ask, do you read?”

The woman was about to reply when he spoke again.

“Sorry, before we go any further, I feel that we should introduce ourselves. I’m Daniel.”

“Well, my name is Sally. And as for your question, I do read, though lately I haven’t had much time for it. Or maybe it’s just that I’m not making time…”

He chuckled quietly. “I know what you mean. Last year I barely read anything. This year my goal is to read at least 10 books. This will be my third book this year.”

Sally smiled. “What a great idea. I never know what new years resolutions to make. Were only halfway through February so you’ve gotten yourself off to a good start.”

He was just about to reply, when he noticed something unusual. There was nobody in the passengers’ seats, and the aisles were empty. What had happened?

“Pardon me but do you see what I see? Look around.”

She turned her head and surveyed the empty cabin. “Yeah, what the hell… where did everybody go?”

All was eerily silent, save for the rumble of the engine.

“Hello?” He called in a nervous tone, and was met with the same silence.

“This is really creepy.” Said sally, her voice faltering. “Maybe we should check the other areas of the shuttle.”

“Yeah, something is very wrong. Let’s go.”

He unbuckled his harness and made to get up, but he was not prepared for the weightlessness of space. Floundering, he managed to steady himself. Sally seemed to have the same problem.

“Let’s move up to the 1^st class area. Follow me.” She murmured.

Together, they pushed themselves down the aisles using the chairs to go forward. He became very aware of his heart, now pushing against his ribcage, thumping loudly, and his stomach felt queasy.

Soon they were at the doorway to the 1^st class area. Sally tried the handle, and they were both relieved when it began to turn. The door slid open, revealing more rows of barren seats,

“What is going on? There were people here just 10 minutes ago. How can everyone just disappear like this?” Said Daniel shakily.

Sally pointed forward. “We may as well go to the pilots cabin.”

They floated forlornly down the aisle till they got to a sealed door. Daniel tried the handle, but the door would not open.

“Hello?” He called, knocking on the door.

But no response came. They tried this for another minute before giving up.

“Do you think there’s anyone in there?” He asked.

“No. I think they would have done something if they were in there.”

“Then we need to think of how to solve this situation.”

Just then, they heard a metallic clank from the other side of the shuttle.

“Did you hear that?” Asked Sally.

“I heard it. Let’s see what it is.”

They turned around and began to float, past the 1^st class section, back to economy. The cabins were lit starkly by LED lights, and the emptiness of the cabin only seemed to accentuate it. Outside the windows, earth could be seen in the distance. Silence pervaded the atmosphere. The door to economy slid open.

Down the other end of the corridor, a figure in a space suit was facing them. They could not see a face, as the visor was completely black. The figure pointed at them with a gloved hand, and a voice rang through the shuttle.

“YOU WERE NOT CHOSEN.”

Daniel was about to reply, when the lights flickered, and his vision began to twist and distort. He blacked out.

He found himself sitting in his chair, cider in hand, unopened, the book in the other. The seats of the shuttle were filled with other passengers. A smiling hostess walked past him. Turning, he looked at Sally who was just now waking up.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked her with some trepidation.

She looked at him, then around at the rest of the cabin, eyes open wide. “What the hell was that? Everyone’s back again?”

The hostess turned to face them.

“Is everything all right?”

Daniel cut in. “Everything is fine. She’s just experiencing a little nausea.”

“Oh? Are you feeling sick?” The hostess asked Sally gently.

Sally said nothing for a second, then looking at Daniel, responded to the hostess. “I’ll be okay, if I need anything I’ll let you know.”

The captain’s voice came over the speaker. “In an hour were going to start leaving the Earth’s gravitational pull. If you have any refreshments, please finish them in the next 20 minutes. Hosts and hostesses will be buckled in, in an hour. Thank you.”

Daniel whispered to Sally. “Nobody seems to have any idea what just happened. Least of all me.”

“I don’t want to be on this flight anymore.” She said, the terror coming through.

Daniel looked at her worriedly. “They’re not just going to be able to turn this around. No. Whatever that was that just happened, were just gonna have to deal with it.”

“Who was that guy in the space suit? And what did he mean, we weren’t chosen?”

Daniel was silent for a moment. He looked around at the rest of the passengers. There was nothing on their faces to indicate anything unusual had happened. The cabin was filled with the chatter of a multitude of voices, and the engine of the shuttle rumbled soothingly. Everything was completely normal.

“Chosen for what I wonder.” He said under his breath.

Looking at Sally, he saw her face had the color drained from it. One of them was going to have to be strong.

“Hey, Sally. Calm down. Whatever it was, we made it, were back here with everyone else, and everything is fine. Can I hold your hand?”

She looked at him, seeking reassurance. “Okay.”

He took her cold hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Just then, the captain’s voice came through the speakers again. “This is the captain speaking. We’ve identified a problem with the engines, and were going to have to turn around and land back in Los Angeles. Everyone please strap into your seatbelts.”

Sally spoke up shakily. “What is it now?”

Daniel tried to sound soothing. “Were turning around and going back to Earth. It looks like we won’t be stuck on this flight for ages after all.

In his head however, his mind was turning. So, the pilots had identified a problem with the engines. Could it be that it had been a near death experience? What would have happened if the shuttle had kept on travelling to the moon? Would there have been some accident? But why of all things had they seen an astronaut? And why was it that it had happened to them simultaneously?

Within an hour the shuttle began its landing descent. The engines roared and the wheels screeched as it skidded onto the landing strip, jolting the passengers slightly as it hit the ground. Eventually the shuttle taxied to the docks, and connected to the docks to unload the passengers.

He stayed next to Sally as they vacated the shuttle, wanting to make sure she was okay, but also because he had shared such an extraordinary experience with her.

“Hey Sally, could I get a drink with you at the bar after we’ve got our luggage?” He asked.

“I’d like that, thank you.”

Once the luggage was collected, they made their way to the airport bar and sat down together. The walls of the bar were covered in modern, sleek black tiles, while some understated jazz music contributed to the ambience.

He looked at Sally. “Would you be okay with a gin and tonic?”

She smiled wanly. “How did you know…”

Soon they were both sipping their drinks.

“That was terrifying. I thought we were never coming back. I actually thought, this is it, were dead…” She trailed off.

“Well, we made it. Were back on earth. What were you going to the moon for anyway?”

She looked down into her drink. “I had a weeks stay booked. Just a holiday. I guess that’s gone. It’s too late to cancel now. What about you?”

“Same. Except I was only going to be there for one night.”

“You’re lucky then.”

He nodded in slow motion.

“Could we exchange numbers, just in case anything else weird happens?” She asked.

“Yeah. Good idea.”

She got him to dial her number, then they both added it to their contacts. They finished their drinks and parted ways.

A month later, Daniel was browsing the internet, when he found information about an ill-fated moon mission that had happened some 15 years ago. The astronauts had stopped responding to the people back on earth, and their shuttle had gone missing. Could this have something to do with what had happened? He forwarded the information to Sally.

Sally called him up.

“Hi Daniel, how have you been?”

“I’ve been alright thanks, still not planning on going to the moon anytime soon.”

“Same here. You couldn’t drag me onto one of those flights. So anyway, I saw the information you sent me. It’s interesting. What do you think.”

“I don’t know. All I can think is maybe whatever happened to them nearly happened to us. I looked up some photos of the mission. The spacesuits they were wearing looked just like the one that astronaut was in.”

“What do you think he meant by, you were not chosen?”

“I don’t know, maybe something was going to happen to everyone in the shuttle, but whatever it was, we were not supposed to be part of it.”

Sally was silent for a moment before replying. “That’s probably about the closest we’ll ever get to an explanation. Did you find yourself acting differently after what happened?”

“Yeah. I guess I find that I value my life more. I ended up leaving my job and finding something closer to what I wanted. And I try and make more time to catch up with friends now. What about you?”

“I’m the same. Hey Daniel would you want to meet up some time?”

“Sure, does today work for you?”

Once he’d hung up, Daniel hurried over to his room and got changed into some clothes. Whatever had happened up there, he was grateful that Sally and him had survived it. Taking one last look in the mirror, he told himself he would never take life for granted again.