To The Moon And Back

Chapter Four

"Is everything okay out there? Are we slowing down?" Meadow asked as Selene unlocked and slid open the door to the passenger bay. "Cosmo said he thought we were slowing, but that it could mean anything, like we could be running out of fuel or the engines could be failing."

"No, no, don't panic," Selene rushed to reassure them. "One of the guys from International Rescue showed up and he's at the controls now. He seems to know what he's doing so I left him to it."

"International Rescue," Sage murmured dreamily. "Those guys are so heroic, better than a fireman any day. Is he hot?"

"I didn't notice, I was too busy caring if we were going to die," Selene answered quickly as something that felt suspiciously like a spurt of jealousy shot through her, a little voice in her head yelling out 'Oi, I saw him first'. Oh, she knew it was crazy to be thinking such things, he could be married with kids or gay for gods sake, besides the fact they were in a literal life-or-death situation. But that didn't seem to matter to her inner hussy, all it registered was the need to dismiss Sage's question as quickly as possible, logic be damned.

"So, we're not gonna die?" Rain asked, squinting at Selene through red, puffy eyes. She was still quietly weeping and her nose was so snotty she sounded like she had a cold.

"No of course not," Selene said, silently praying that she wasn't inadvertently lying.

"Is he going to report us?" Cosmo asked, making it clear where his priorities lay.

"All he said is that he's going to land us and then he and his buddy -who's in the big rocket following alongside us- are taking us back to earth because we're not as," she paused here to make air quotes as she continued, "legal as the thieving idiots mining her innards."

"The Thunderbird is following us?" Atlas asked, sitting up straighter in his chair, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"I guess so," Selene answered slowly, not really wanting to converse with him directly. For some reason even talking to him made her feel dirty, like she could feel his negative, nasty energy sliming all over her own aura in a choking, icky, sticky way that made her feel so uncomfortable. When he turned his attention on her she felt like she was being examined, scrutinised, almost like he was sizing her up to eat her. Every instinct she possessed screamed at her to sit up, take notice, and keep as far away from him as possible, and she was never one to ignore her instincts.

"Who cares as long as we survive this," Sage said, still holding Rain's hand which she was patting soothingly. "We can't fight for our rights if we're dead."

Rain nodded her agreement.

Selene threw her hands up in mock celebration, clapping sarcastically. "Thank you! Finally, someone says something sensible." She stopped clapping and turned serious. "How's the pilot doing?"

"He's sleeping, he woke briefly, just long enough to tell us that he had a funny turn," Sage answered. "He remembered feeling dizzy and passing out, then the next thing he knew we were waking him up in here."

Selene followed Sage's gaze to the back of the room where the pilot lay sleeping in a chair that had been folded back as far as it could go and covered with a blanket.

"He's still really tired and kept drifting back off to sleep again, so he would have been in no fit state to fly us anywhere," Meadow added.

Selene nodded, storing the information away to pass on later. "Okay, I'm sure we can get him some help when we land, they must have a doctor or someone there, it's a mining base after all..." she trailed off as movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. "Where do you think you're going?"

Atlas paused his slow shuffle towards the door. "I just thought to see if our friend from International Rescue required assistance."

Selene shivered as if someone had just walked over her grave. Something about the way he said 'our friend' made her toes curl and not in a pleasant way. Without stopping to debate the wiseness of her decision, she moved, planting herself firmly in the doorway, blocking his exit.

"Oh no," she told him firmly, hands on hips. "No way."

"I beg your pardon," he drawled, his accent seeming to get heavier all of a sudden. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You're the reason we're in this mess," Selene accused, self-preservation be damned. "You brought us on this deathtrap. No way am I letting you wander around disturbing the one guy who is risking his own life to try to get us off in one piece."

"Trying?" Rain echoed. "You said he had it under control!"

"He has," Selene snapped, not meaning to, but growing rather frustrated by their actions, "but only if we let the poor guy do his job!"

"And just who put you in charge?" Atlas asked, his voice deepening threateningly as he stepped towards her again.

He's trying to intimidate me, she thought, but her need to do the right thing gave her a boost of confidence she didn't really feel. "Me and my ability to see through your crap," she said evenly, praying her voice wouldn't shake. "Now stay in your seat."

The look on his face told her that he wished they were alone so he could teach her a lesson, but she wasn't one to let someone like him bully her that easily. She lifted one eyebrow, challenging him to keep going. His eyes locked on to hers but with none of the amusement or concern that the guy from International Rescue's had held. The others shifted uncomfortably in their seats, knowing that they might have to jump in at any moment if Atlas chose to take their standoff too far. Fortunately for them, he dropped his head first and, with a dismissive tch noise, sat back down.

"The only reason I'm here is because Cosmo and Meadow talked me into it," Selene continued, determined to hammer her point home. "They promised me that it was safe and I was stupid enough to believe them. So I'll be damned if I'll trust anyone in this tin can other than the guy that ventured through space to come and rescue us. Now you guys do your part, stay put, stay out of trouble and freaking behave!"

Not in the mood to hear any more arguments, blame slinging or doom-mongering, she left the cabin, slamming the door shut behind her.