To The Moon And Back

Chapter Fourteen

"You're way too chilled to be real, you know that?"

John turned to face Selene, surprised by her words. "What do you mean?"

She waved her hand vaguely at the rocks around them. "This! All this! We're trapped inside a mine that's collapsed around us, I'm freaking out and you're sitting there like you're on the beach."

"I guess it's because I know there's no point worrying about something we can't do anything about. I trust my organisation, I know they will get us out of here, it's just a matter of waiting it out." John lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, not knowing what else to say. How did he explain to a civilian that they had all been in tighter spots than this without giving away details of their previous rescue operations?

Selene didn't look convinced. "How long have you known these guys you work with? I'm not doubting them, I'm just asking," she hurriedly tacked on, worried that she'd offend him.

"Feels like I've always known them," John answered carefully. He couldn't say they were related and if he said he'd known them all his life she could easily put two and two together. It was essential that they kept everything about their operation secret and that meant he had to watch every word he said. "I'd trust them with my life."

"And like, did you guys have to go through a lot of training for this, or is it like a superhero thing where you just dive right in and hope it all works out?" She edged closer, turning bodily to face him. Sitting as she was with her legs crossed she looked innocently childlike to him. Her face was pinched with tension, her worry obvious and he wanted nothing more than to make her feel better.

"Yes," he laughed, amused at the image of them going through some comic book-style metamorphosis to gain superpowers. "We have training, quite intensive training at that. Our equipment is amongst the most advanced in the world, they don't let just anyone operate it you know."

"Can you blame me for asking when I'm stuck here because they apparently do let just anyone hire a rocket and blast off into space?"

"I think this is a little different, we're preventing disasters not actively causing them."

She sighed and with her exhale relaxed a little, uncrossing her legs and drawing her knees up to her chest, hugging them with her arms. "I know you are. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so ungrateful. I'm just not used to situations like this. I know this is partly my fault, I should never have allowed myself to get swept up in this harebrained scheme."

"It's not your fault," he soothed, hating how despondent she sounded. "You trusted your friends, that's not a bad thing."

"But what about this?" she whispered, resting her cheek on her knee. "If I hadn't come down here you might have caught them and this wouldn't have happened."

So that was her worry? That she'd done something wrong. Sure, he would have preferred if she had listened to him and kept far away from the situation where she was safe, but he had to admit that he admired her bravery. She had thrown herself into a dangerous situation because she was trying to save her friends. It wasn't too dissimilar to his own job. Who was he to criticise her for doing what she had thought was best?

"This is not your fault either," he repeated. "Sel, listen to me, okay? You did what you thought was best, you were trying to help, and that's never a bad thing. They had the charges in place before you got in there, they were planning this from the start. We just happened to get caught in the middle. It's highly likely that I would have been in this position if you were here or not, but at least this way I have some company, which honestly makes a nice change."