Trip to the Dark Side of the Moon

Anna-lee had been begging to go to the dark side of the moon for years. Her mother had denied her each and every time. This time was no different.

“Please, Momma.” Anna-lee begged using the biggest and saddest eyes she could muster and pushing her bright red curls out of her face to show them off.

“Anna-lee, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, no one goes to the dark side of the moon. It’s dangerous.”

Earthens had colonized the moon one hundred and fifty years ago, when Earth became almost completely uninhabitable after the amount of pollution outweighed the amount of breathable air. Earth was almost completely carbon dioxide and other gases now. Yet in the one hundred and fifty years that people had been living on the moon, no one had gone more than ten feet past where the light of the sun could reach. Not only did you need an oxygen suit because you had to leave the oxidized domes, you also needed a way to keep warm, which hadn’t been figured out yet.

Anna-lee left her mother with a huff. She had tried to convince her that she could stuff an over-sized oxygen suit with blankets and heat packs, but her mother was firm in her decision. She was never going to let Anna-lee go. Anna-lee wished she had a dad to plead to. All her friends told her that when one parent says no to something they just ask the other parent, who usually says yes. Unfortunately, Anna-lee's father had gone missing shortly after she had been born. She’d heard that he was just as curious as she was.

Over the next few months, Anna-lee stole any heat pack she could find. She had already stolen an oxygen tank and suit and had hidden them in an old abandoned tree house she had found a few years ago. Each time she found something to add to the horde she snuck it over to the tree house.

After only three months, she had enough supplies to attempt her dangerous plan. She put on her oxygen suit, stuffed to bursting with heat packs, and hid in a trash bin that was to be shipped to Earth. As it was about to be loaded into the shuttle, she snuck out of it as quickly and quietly as her bulky suit would allow. She made her way toward the edge of the dome where the shuttle would exit from. There was a double layer here so that the operators would still be in the oxidized air when the shuttle entered the moon's atmosphere. Anna-lee's hope was that this would keep them from stopping her even if she was spotted.

She had to wait for almost thirty minutes, but finally, the seal hissed as the large door of the dome opened to allow the shuttle out. When it was open enough, she slipped out and onto the moon’s surface, turning on her oxygen tank and plugging in the hose.

When she calmed her racing heart, she looked around. It was so dark. She realized she probably should’ve brought a better light. She held out the cheap flashlight she had brought and began to head toward the dark side of the moon. As she walked, she began to understand what people had talked about all her life. It was so cold her mask was frosting over. Anna-lee pulled one arm into her suit and slipped a heat pack into the helmet, which wasn’t easy. Finally, she began moving again.

Anna-lee kept a close eye on her oxygen gauge. When she reached half, she’d have to head back. She looked around. She was probably twenty feet into the darkness when she heard something to her right. She turned sharply as she gasped, but there was nothing there. She took a steadying breath and continued. After another ten feet, she heard it again. This time she closed her eyes and counted to three. She didn’t hear anything else, so she took another step. She heard a crunch that differed from the sound of her boots on the moon rock. She stepped back and looked down. It was an unnatural looking object. Anna-lee bent down carefully to pick it up. As she grabbed it, something jumped out of the darkness and bit her. She felt the searing pain in her leg for a moment before she felt the burn of the freezing air. She grasped her leg and began to run back. She felt faint, but she had plenty of air. She tried to keep a level head and focus on getting back to the dome. She kept as much pressure on her leg as she could while trying to seal her suit. When she reached the dome she realized there was a significant part of her trip she had forgotten to plan. How was she going to get back in? She used her hand that was still clutching the object to bang on the dome as hard as she could. She could see the people bustling about inside the second dome. She hoped desperately that they could hear her. She continued to bang though she didn’t bother wasting her breath yelling. She knew they wouldn’t hear that. The air was beginning to numb her leg. She wondered if they would have to cut it off if she didn’t get inside soon. She banged louder and she saw someone notice her. They began pushing some buttons, but Anna-lee's strength was quickly fading. She looked up at the inner dome. The blurry figures were scrambling about as the black spots slowly began to overtake Anna-lee's vision. She fought to push on her leg, but as her eyelids grew heavy and her chest grew tight, she couldn’t remember why she needed to put pressure on it. She heard a loud hiss as she let the darkness overcome her.

Bright light flooded Anna-lee's vision and caused a searing pain behind her eyes as she slowly opened them. Her left arm shot up to shield her eyes from the light. There was a bracelet on her wrist. She allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the light before she tried to read the words on the new accessory. A moment later, she read Lunar Emergency Center. She looked down at her leg, suddenly remembering the bite. It was completely wrapped up, but it was still attached. She sighed with relief.

“I’m glad you are so relieved!” Her mother came in. “What were you thinking!” Tears began to flow down her mother’s face as she knelt by Anna-lee's side. “You could’ve died.” She murmured as she began to weep openly.

“I’m fine mom. I’m sorry.” Anna-lee said, rubbing her mom’s hair. “I just wanted to know what was out there.”

“You… Are… Grounded!” her mother choked out between sobs.

Anna-lee wanted to argue, but this time, she agreed with her mother. What she had done was very foolish. Suddenly, Anna-lee had a thought. Where was the thing she had found?

“Mom. This is probably a bad time, but I found something out there. Did anyone grab it?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but if you think for one second that I am going to let you go back out there…”

Her mother’s voice trailed off as Anna-lee quit listening. She had risked her life and not even brought back the proof.

As Anna-lee laid there in silence an hour later, she stared at the ceiling wondering what the thing had been.

“Knock, Knock.” Someone at the door said.

“Come in.” Anna-lee looked toward the door. A small blonde woman stood there shyly.

“Hello. My name is Julie. I’m the one who pulled you into the dome. You were gripping this, but I thought they would take it, so I kept it for you. I cleaned it as well. I hope you don’t mind.” Julie handed Anna-lee a small heart shaped locket. “I didn’t open it.”

Anna-lee thanked her four times before Julie chuckled and left. Slowly, she opened the locket. She gasped and almost dropped it. Inside were two small pictures. One of a young red haired boy and one of Anna-lee.