Lunar One

Chapter 19: An Unexpected Reunion

     When Morgan opened his eyes, things seemed different right from the start. He was no longer in the hanger bay, and was lying down in what was a rather soft bed. As he started to sit up, he realized that the bed was at least a queen size, something he didn't see anywhere on the station. When he stated to look around the room, Morgan began to realize he was no longer on the station. The room he was in looked like a bedroom that someone might occupy, inside a house. That couldn't seem possible, Morgan thought to himself, before he lost consciousness he was on board Lunar One. He was on the moon! Not only would it be impossible for him to be back on earth, the Earth as he knew it didn't exist anymore, destroyed by an asteroid; an extinction level event with authority. He quickly hopped out of bed and slowly walked to the door.

     "I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice called out.

     Morgan recognized that voice and turned to the corner where it came from to make a confirmation. There sitting in the corner by a small desk was the very person he expected to see; Elizabeth from the international space station. Morgan could barely tell it was her, as her hair was down and she wasn't even in uniform. She was wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt and even sandals. All of this continued to confuse Morgan more than he already was.

     "Where the hell are we?" he quickly asked her.

     "I honestly don't know," Elizabeth replied, I got here about six hours before you arrived, it's a little uncanny."

     "What is?" Morgan asked.

     "Just look out the window," she told him.

     Morgan walked over to the window, and opened the drapes to a sight that was nothing short of astonishing. It was a small town. Something you'd expect to see in a town that had no more than twenty or so thousand people. The roads were busy, people were shopping. It looked out there like nothing had ever happened. Life was going on as if the world never ended.

     "How is this even possible?" Morgan asked, "Are we back on Earth?"

     "I'm not sure," Elizabeth answered, "I woke here just like you did, just a little earlier. I haven't had a chance to soak it all in yet. When I heard you were here, I passed up on an offer to tour the town to wait for you to wake up first."

     "This is unreal," Morgan said, still looking out the window. "This has to be fake, like a holodeck you see on Star Trek."

     "I thought of that too," she replied, "But the people seem real, act real. I didn't join the others on the tour, I was just too creepy."

     "The others," Morgan repeated, "Who else is here?"

     "Everyone," she replied, "Every single person from the station."

     "Everyone?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.

     "Yes," Elizabeth confirmed, "Gordon is here too. He got here even earlier than I did. He's a little freaked out about it too. No one from the station can explain where we are or what we're doing here."

     Without warning, Morgan walked out of the bedroom before Elizabeth could say or do anything to stop him. He quickly accessed the stairs and descended down them onto the first floor where a handful of people where sitting in the living room.

     "Who are you people?" he called out, "What are you doing here?"

     One of the old ladies looked up at him, "I'm having tea."

     Morgan looked around the room and it had appeared he was interrupting someone's afternoon tea with friends. While he was tempted to join them for a fresh cup, he was too distracted to do so. Instead he walked through the living room and out the door, going outside.