Ready to Go

January 12, 2100

Their footsteps thundered past me as I cowered under the bushes, trembling in fear.

Not me… not me… please not me.

It’s not like I had anything to live for; I am a young man in my 30s living alone at home with no family and not very many friends. But I was comfortable with my life. We had global warming destroying people with floods and sunburns as well as people dying of all sorts of weird diseases. Basically you could tell there were not many people left on Earth. The Coalition which consisted of World Leaders who had come together to lead the remaining population decided that it was time to start populating the Moon as scientists predicted the human race didn’t have much longer to enjoy this planet.

However, here’s the thing. Not enough research or resources had gone into this idea. So the trip to the Moon was pretty much a one way ticket. No one knew what happened to the people who ended up there. Satellite communication had been messed up real bad what with Earth’s magnetic fields going crazy. There was no communication with the population living on the Moon. Most of us felt it was safer and better to just live out our days here, on Earth.

Unfortunately, we had no say in the matter. The Coalition controlled all the resources and assumed a very powerful and strict dictatorship on the community. So they hunted down the chosen candidate every year, threw the screaming and crying person into a rocket and blasted them off into outer space. Sounds like a tonne of fun!

Well, one of the main criteria to get tossed to the Moon was that you had to be single, without a family and young enough to start your OWN family. This obviously made me perfect for the task. Three days ago, they announced the “lucky” guy who was going to be sent to the Moon.

Yes, it was yours truly.

I have been on the run ever since. Luckily, I had been stocking up for the past year as I had had a feeling I would be shortlisted very soon.

Three years ago, I had discovered a cabin in the woods a good 200 kilometers away from where I lived. That is where I was headed. I hitched rides where I could, making sure to shield my face. Wearing a mask was compulsory due to the corrosive gases in the air so people were not easy to identify which was a blessing as everyone would be on the lookout for the “Lucky Moon Candidate of the Year”.

As I reached the cabin after a 3-hour trek through the woods, I approached it cautiously from the back. I had come here twice before so there was always a chance they would check here at some point. Sure enough, I ducked under some bushes just as a group of soldiers in Hazmat suits ran by. I was terrified. They had apparently just finished searching the cabin. I thanked my lucky stars that I had arrived later than expected.

When I was sure they were gone I crept slowly to the back door of the cabin, checking around me every few minutes and ducking under bushes to be safe. There was silence in this part of the woods save for the occasional bird tweeting or squirrel running through the bushes.

Retrieving the key from my pocket, I turned the knob and entered the tiny kitchen. It smelled musty and there was dust everywhere but all seemed quiet. Placing my backpack near the table I peered carefully around the corner which led to the main hallway. Dead silence. I carefully tiptoed into the living room looking around cautiously.

“Fancy seeing you here, mate”. A deep voice boomed from behind me and I jumped in fear. Whirling I came face to face with a pistol. The wielder was one of my closest friends; with emphasis on “was”. My heart sank. All this effort and running. It took them only THREE days. That was so pathetic.

“Will you come quietly?” he asked. I nodded sadly. It really was over. I was headed for my doom.

January 30, 2100

They suited me up with supplies and I was being marched out towards the rocket. The main room had a huge viewing area where crowds of people were cheering for the next person to bring hope for the future. The panic and fear began to build up in me. I had had a lot of time in my holding cell to get used to the idea. But now that the moment had come, I was terrified.

I spied a large group of scientists in their Hazmat suits pressing away at buttons, charting the course for the rocket. Well, to be honest I had no idea what they were doing.

A wild thought suddenly occurred to me. What if I damaged the rocket?

They’d have to wait another whole year for new supplies and to rebuild it. I’d give it 6 months at least. I might have a chance to escape. It was now or never. I broke free from the guard who was holding my arm and made a beeline for the control panel. This surprised everyone as most people ran for the door. I knocked a scientist aside and began clicking random buttons.

To my horror I had started the rocket and the measurements previously calculated had been completely altered by something I had pressed. The rocket was very much ready to go but on a very different course. I knew the People-Up-Top would do nothing about this. I was a trouble-maker. Sure enough, four guards launched themselves at me and pinned me down. Being small in stature I didn’t stand a chance. Picking me up easily, they carried me to the rocket that had begun to rumble. Smoke was billowing out at the base of the rocket. Shoving me in, they strapped me to the chair and attached the bags and supplies.

“Goodbye and good riddance,” one of them yelled as they slammed the door shut on me and the rumbling got louder. The panic was in full force now. I began to scream and pound at the tiny window near my head. People were waving madly. And then the rocket took off.

I have a tiny confession to make. I blacked out. I was so frightened, I fainted.

Many days later, probably a week into February 2100.

I awoke in the cabin of the rocket. It had dropped most of its load and was headed to… wherever I had doomed myself to. What a fool I had been. Suddenly, the rocket began to pick up pace. I had entered the atmosphere of a planet. Well, that was what I hoped was happening. The cabin holding me hit something with a crash and I was tumbled about for a good few minutes. Then, silence. For a long time. I did not know how long I was alone.

Many hours (or what seemed like hours) later, I heard the cabin door being opened. My helmet had fogged up a little so it was not very easy to see. But it was a person! Someone in a yellow suit reached inside and unbuckled me as well the supplies. When he did, the items started floating. Taking my hand and pulling me out, I realized that I was slightly floating too.

As I exited the tiny space I was in, my jaw dropped. I was on a planet. In all honesty it looked very much like the moon but I was not a very bright student in school. I never really paid attention. My mind whirred with questions. There was a building not too far away which I found rather odd. They must have found some way to build it despite the lack of gravitational force.

Sure enough when I entered, I fell to the ground. This place had gravity. I was in a huge white room with multiple doors on the walls probably leading to other parts of the building. The person beside me removed his helmet to reveal a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a weathered, wrinkled face. He was grinning brightly at me. Then he clicked a button at the side of my helmet and removed it.

“Hello there! Boy am I glad to finally meet a new human! They’ve been saying that they would send someone for the past 15 years but no one has arrived! Congratulations my boy! Welcome to the Moon!” he said. He was so excited and immediately turned to chatter with more people who had filed into the room through the other doors.

I froze in horror. 15 years?! Maybe they calculated the years wrongly. But no one else had reached? How could it be?

When the truth dawned on me, it sent a chill down my spine. The original course had been wrong the whole time. But there was no way of sending word back home to Earth. We would just have to wait another year to see what would happen.