Chapter 5

“Young people look up, and strive to be able to answer such strange questions we can’t help but to ask.” The media caught my attention and I realized I fell asleep before I could take all the documents anywhere. “Why won’t the moon move away from the beautiful sun?”

“We’re still working at trying to find an answer to your question.” A professor from a rival institute was soon shown next to the news woman. He was in the astronomy department, I would know as I looked into their program and he was in charge of it, but doesn’t actually do anything himself, not like my professors when they’re actually around.

“I beat you to your information about why!” I shouted at the television, with no reply directed towards me.

“Have you come onto any leads?” The woman asked, for an unfortunate no to be the response.

“We’ve been trying our best, and looking at everything we think could possibly be the problem, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that we can point out as the cause.” The man spoke, “We’ve attempted to get in contact with colleagues at other institutions, but it seems no one else is searching for a reason.”

“No one’s tried to get in contact with this lab at all!” I yelled at the television, and then the telephone started to ring. I walked over and carefully answered, “Hello, Rogen Astronomy Laboratory.”

“Philos Astronomy Laboratory.” A young man on the other side stated, “I’m surprised there was an answer, it doesn’t seem anyone is in labs.”

“Schools have been closed because of the eclipse.” I stated, and wondered why I felt so nervous at hearing this young man speak.

“Are any of the professors around to discuss research?” The young man asked.

“I’m actually the only one here.” I started to twist the wire of the phone chord around my finger.

“Are you there for cleaning the lab?” The young man asked, “If you are, I’m sorry for wasting my time with you.”

“Hold on!” I cried out as I started hearing the air of the phone being moved away, and was glad as I didn’t hear the click, or the dial tone of the call ending. “I have all the data.”

“Should we meet to discuss?” The young man asked, and I started hearing a bit of a bicker on the other side.

“Stop talking with your girlfriend, we have important things to be doing.”

“I’m not talking with my girlfriend! Someone actually picked up at a different lab and they were actually able to gather information.”

“No one at any lab has been picking up. No one’s around! No one’s researching besides us because there isn’t anything to see!”

“Give me back that phone!” Then there was the click, and I wondered if I should call back the lab to arrange to discuss what information I found. I also ended wondering if I should get in contact with any of the professors to help me with research. I didn’t personally have any of their numbers, and they weren’t anywhere around the lab so I couldn’t. There was a list of other labs though, so I was eventually able to call back the lab.

“Philos Astronomy Laboratory.” Someone picked up, the person who disconnected the call before.

“Rogen Astronomy Laboratory.” I spoke, and the phone was dropped, before it was picked up again, “I was on the phone with someone else from your lab before I was disconnected.”

“I’m sorry about that, we sometimes have some trouble keeping a hold on a call.” The man spoke, “Could I speak to the head of the research?”

“You’re already speaking to said person.” I stated, and felt a bit proud of myself for saying that, as it was true for the moment, and puffed my chest up a little though no one would see it.

“What has been discovered?” They asked.

“I would rather meet in person as previously suggested in case lines are being tapped.” I stated, and the person currently on the phone complained, and soon the young man from earlier was back on, inquiring about meeting up to relay information. It was decided that I should make my way over to their school, and get to the lab, because it has been difficult for anyone working at their lab to even go home, none the less out of town anywhere. They were constantly being watched, because people wanted their questions answered, and knowing there were people in the labs trying to answer, they didn’t let them out without information. It was even a surprise that their head professor was able to talk on television about their lack of findings. I was notified to not rush, as rushing might look suspicious to someone. But nonetheless I should get there within the week.

Chapter 4

“…Enjoying its place in the sky?” There was the newscaster, trying to make a joke. Though who could take a joke as a few days past, all of the plants shriveling up, only some surviving in green houses that used artificial light. Prices on crops shot up, eating them became close to impossible. Feeding animals was also getting hard, expect for pigs that would eat anything. Walking around, people were crying, and some didn’t even know why they were crying. A few didn’t even realize that they were, and might have just been crying since it became real that the eclipse wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

Most of my dreams didn’t seem to do anything, gave no information except for that first one, before this began, with the creatures living on the moon. I had no proof of any of it except that I dreamt about it. Chad and Cheryl tried getting me to come back to town, as schools were closed as what was thought to be the end of the world was on us. My family also wanted me back. Everyone seemed to be going somewhere to fix loose ties, or to be with family and loved ones, wanting to do that one last thing before we all die.

Half the time I wasn’t even sure what day it was, but I would return home come the weekend, as that seemed the most reasonable thing. As soon as the sun was moving again school would resume, and I didn’t want to be away for that. Though no one else was around campus, and walking around ended being a scary thing, as it was mostly like a deserted town, I would expect balls of tumble weed to roll by, aside from that it was no where near the desert. I snuck into the astronomy lab often, as I technically had access, though no professors were around like there should be with any students in a lab.

I looked through the telescope, and thought it was going to be the same as it often is. I started recording the images as I talked about what was going on, and how it was the fifth day of no sun, and there doesn’t seem to be anything changing with the position of the eclipse. Someone set off fireworks in the distance, and they were high enough that there was a glimpse of visibility of millions of those little creatures, simply covering this side of the moon. And the light from the fireworks killed a few off who flew right off of the moon’s surface. A couple of fireworks wouldn’t be able to kill them all off, and their reproduction rates are out of this world. Where basically, almost immediately after they go through the act of reproduction, the child pops out, and in another moment that child is sexually ready. With the realization of this, I also went through notes that were taken at different points and commented on the fact that the size of the moon has slowly been increasing, probably as there’s no more surface area for these creatures to be on, that they have to now all be piled on one another.

The rest of my day consisted putting together all of my research, and developing the images I was able to catch with the microscope as much as possible, trying to be able to see the creatures on the moon to some extent. There was too much at stake for me to sleep on it, besides not really knowing what time it would be based on the sun.

“I thought I loved you moon.” I muttered as I looked up at the sky one last time before I submerged myself in my work.

Chapter 3

“Vex the sun to stay down longer!” There were cries all around, cries I never heard before, even in my dreams to the glowing orb in the middle of space. All around me were these creatures, close to half my height, a dull grey in color. There seemed to be some sort of riot going on, at least for what I could perceive. There was one standing on the top of a crater, the rest in the hole, chanting a repetition of something the one at a higher elevation said to some extent.

“Too many have we lost to the sun!”

“-Too many lost!”

“He sneaks up on us, and we lose thousands each night!”

“-Thousands!”

“We need our women to repopulate faster!”

“-Repopulate!” What seemed the deeper voices cried out, before higher voices cried out that they can’t just repopulate like that.

“You are commanded.”

“-Commanded.” And it looked as though all of them in the crater were soon against another, either being grabbed or doing grabbing, where they all started to have sex because of being commanded to repopulate. It didn’t seem that much longer until the crater overflowed with hundreds of new children.

“We will block out the sun.”

“-Block Sun”

“He will learn to stop this madness, his children will fall into death!”

“-Death!”

I woke up in a pool of sweat, terrified of these creatures that appeared to be on the moon, and were going to disrupt the sun, and kill the sun’s children. “Who are the sun’s children?” I pondered for a little while, “Being blocked wouldn’t hurt anyone on the sun, if they’re like the moon’s children. But if the sun was blocked, it’s sunlight wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, so who would be harmed?” I hit myself slightly as I realized the Earth would be doomed into at the least another ice age if the sun was to be blocked for an extended period of time.

“I hope that was only a dream.” I sighed, and looked out the window, still dark out. “I can get more sleep.” I stretched a bit and looked over to my alarm clock, the lights blinking at just past midnight, meaning only a few minutes ago the power went back on from being off. I got my phone and looked at the time, and changed my alarm clock to the correct time 8:13am. As I noted the time, I looked back outside again, at the darkness, and then moved my blinds and curtains around, to no difference.

“What happened?” I heard questioned all over the place as I ran outside, everyone looking up in the sky where the moon was covering the sun, just a hint of the sunlight being seen from around the moon, where it couldn’t quite block out all the son.

“An unexpected lunar eclipse occurred around 7am Eastern Standard Time. It should cease in a few hours. Be careful of the darkness.” The anchor man told us on the news, a specialist being phoned up to talk about what could have caused this lunar eclipse, especially when it wasn’t projected to occur yet.

“Idiots!” I yelled at the television, which did nothing productive whatsoever. It would be impossible for them to know about the little creatures living on the moon that decided to punish the sun, and by punishing the sun make us suffer the consequences.

At the very least, someone giving information to the news casters knew something, as there was soon discussion about how a prolonged eclipse like this would result in plants dying, as well as creatures soon after. And if it was to go on for a month we’ll probably enter another ice age. They joked saying it wouldn’t be possible for it to actually go on for that long, and that as in most cases, it wouldn’t last for more than a few hours.

People went outside to watch, or at least try to see what couldn’t actually be seen for the lack of natural light, and seeing anything in space with artificial light is just about impossible. I decided that it might be interesting to record how people act as this is going on, and made note of people watching the sky, some eating treats in the process, as they didn’t move much in hopes that something would change with the state of the sky in any immediate moment. 

Chapter 2

“Do you ever think it’s trying to talk to us? As though it’s talking in light waves?” I asked, looking over to my elder brother as we were watching the moon, since it was the only thing that I did that he was fine with doing with me.

“I think it’s talking to you.” He told me, and placed an arm around my shoulders, “It’s asking for your devotion, because it wants to take you there when your time is ready.” I leaned into him a little, wondering if there was any truth in that statement. He would always say things to either make you feel better or to make you look stupid, which sometimes often ended being both.

That conversation actually happened a number of times, the wording slightly different each time. I would be called stupid, or be told that the moon will make me grow wings, or that I’m actually a werewolf so I’m just talking to the moon all the time, especially when it’s a full moon. Sometimes it was almost as though I waited for the moon to be full, each month.

The moon was how the days had been told, its waning and waxing showing the difference from day to day, and the new month would be called as the moon was new again. It changed every day, but it was always much more beautiful than the sun, who’s rays were too bright that they would burn the pupils and iris at a mere glimpse. The moon you could gaze at forever, if it didn’t leave at the end of the night. The rare days when the moon came out early, showing it’s beauty compared to the sun, were days I couldn’t help myself but sit in the light, watching that funny moon.

“What if there are different moons, and we only see one of them at a time?” I asked my brother.

“There are different moons.” He stated, “Most planets have their own. I even have my own.”

“You have a moon?” I asked, for him to stand up in front of me, then pull his pants down enough for me to see his bare bosom in my face. “None of those moons!” I cried out, and slapped at his hip to get him to move away, and hopefully put his pants back in their rightful spot. He first brought his pants up, to hide the moon he had (thankfully) before he returned to his spot in the grass.

“Don’t ask such silly questions.” He sighed, and rubbed at my hair.

“They aren’t silly questions.” I complained, and swatted away his hand.

“Could have fooled me.” He laughed, and we continued looking at the sky, some of the stars playing around as one would sometimes twinkle a little brighter for a moment. “Maybe you need to become an astronaut, so you can find all the answers to your questions about the moon .”

“Maybe I should.” I sighed, “But I like studying astronomy.”

“What are you going to do with astronomy?” He asked.

“I’m going to find more moons.” I cried out, and he pushed me over.

We were eventually called in for dinner, before we had to go to bed soon after. “Maybe I can find some way to the moon.” I wondered by myself as I gazed out of the window, before I clenched my hand and decided that I will determine myself to find a way to the moon, with or without becoming an astronaut. Becoming an astronaut would probably be the most logical means of getting to the moon though. At the very least though, I could always visit in my dreams.

Chapter 1

“Has it ever occurred to you, how the moon glows?” I asked, laying on the side of a hill, watching the moonlit sky. I turned to look next to me, where Chad had been, though he wasn’t there anymore. “CHAD!” I cried out and jolted up, to attempt to try running to trip almost immediately. There was a laugh nearby as I grumbled a little, for me to crawl up the hill, to see Chad giggling on the other side. “Why did you move?

 “Don’t think about it.” He said, and then yawned a little bit, “It’s a bit chilly, do you think we could finally go inside?”

 “It’s so beautiful outside though.” I sighed, for him to get up, then pull me back to my feet, and walk us back to the home of our friend that was having a party that we both decided to ditch for a bit in order to gaze at the night sky. I had been surprised that no one else joined us.

 “How were the stars?” Cheryl asked as we came back in through the sliding door, no one seeming to even be on the porch anymore.

 “Cold.” Chad stated, “Lark was freezing, so she was rubbing against me the entire time.”

 “I was not. And I wasn’t even cold.” I huffed, and Cheryl grabbed my hand before complaining that it was freezing cold, and scolded me for trying to tough it out so long.

 “It’s going to snow tomorrow.” Chad mused, as he looked back outside, and we started to strip ourselves of our heavy coats.

 “I wonder if we’ll still be able to see the moon.” I muttered, looking back towards the moon, feeling it call towards me. Neither seemed to recognize me saying anything, and we went back to where the party was going on, at one point being passed a drink, and then another after that one was finished.

 We woke up the next morning, some people hung over, a bit of a mess, some bodily fluids outside of the body that would have to be cleaned up one way or another, and unfortunately no where near a bathroom.

 After everyone was fed breakfast, Cheryl and I were on check-up duty, making sure people who were leaving were in a good state of mind, and anyone driving was sober, with next to no alcohol left in their systems. We were left to take care of anyone not fit to leave, as well as to clean up the mess that was left.

 As the day ended, more individuals leaving, it was eventually just Chad, Cheryl and me left, lying on the now-clean floor, watching the fan blades swirl around above us. After a while, my eyelids grew heavy, and I found myself drifting into sleep, but was consciously awake enough to feel a warm hand envelope mine, and hear as Cheryl’s parents came home, and comment on how well we cleaned up, as it didn’t look like there was a party. Her father mentioned that you can’t see anything but the snow tonight, hearing that, I curled into myself and moved my hand away from the hand that held mine.

 “It’s going to be really clear in the morning.” He mentioned, as though that was supposed to help. I’m not sure how he thought it would be helpful. I cared about the moon.

 Morning came, and the sun was out as he said, the snow in just a little layer over everything outside, which Chad and I had to trek in different ways to get to our cars to leave in our separate directions.