SUNGLASSES AND ROCKETS Part 1 : New Moon

I SEE A BIRD

What's more, once he was on his feet, he began to limp. However, we quickly reached the other side of the bridge, which led to the tower of the shuttle. There was an elevator, but we opted for the stairs, since there still wasn't enough electricity.

In a matter of seconds we descended the tower's 195 feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cable inserted into one of the rocket's tanks. Darwin and the doctor had already left.

We arrived at the command center at 7:31 p.m. There were hardly 26 minutes left until lift–off! But as I entered the room, I knew that the mission would be successful. Victory was in the air. Darwin and the doctor were laying out the space suits.

"Gordo!" the doctor exclaimed when he saw me, "Inspect the camera system!"

I automatically obeyed. I ran towards the row of silo security monitors. In my peripheral vision I could see Vanessa sitting in front of a console with several computers. She typed non-stop. Soon, I murmured to myself.

I knew that my dreams would become true in a matter of minutes. More than anxious, I was thrilled. But I wouldn't be distracted by it. I directed all of my attention towards the screens on front of me. Particularly on those on which there appeared images, in green tones, of the mountain's exterior: the waves rushing against the sides of the cliff, the huge silo hatch covered by muddy, exotic vegetation, and the small launch pad belonging to the mini rocket, made of twigs. The color resolution was acceptable.

Everything appeared to be in order. I looked at my watch: in 21 minutes we had to launch the small rocket to produce the electric discharge.

I looked around for Felix. He was 6 feet behind me. He was inserting the fine wires of the projectile's ignition system into some kind of choke. Good, I thought, and I immediately turned back to the monitors. My eye fell on a bird of some sort, a toucan by the look of its beak, fluttering around in the vicinity of our improvised shuttle.

"Get away from there!" I whispered. "Get lost!"

The feathered animal did the opposite; it lay down about an inch away from the rocket's switch. Not satisfied, it started to peck at the twigs. Near the wires.

"Felix!" I cried, "There's a problem!"

"What's going on?" the doctor was heard asking.

I heard the unmistakable footsteps coming from the leather boots. Felix approached.

"Felix!" the doctor exclaimed again. "Why are you limping?"

"It's just a scratch," Felix responded.

You could perceive an affected indifference in his usually inexpressive voice.

"What's going on?" he asked, coming up on my right hand side.

"Look."

The bird was jumping around from one place to another on the shuttle.

"He's going now."

"But..."

The toucan started to spread out his wings.

"See?"

"Let's see that leg," came the voice of the doctor.

"Argggghhh," Felix howled.

I turned around. The area all around Felix's knee was terribly swollen.

"I can't allow you to come with me to the Moon," the doctor sentenced him, pulling off his boot. You've fractured your tibia."

"I'll go with you no matter what," the wounded man objected.

"Felix, that's not possible. You'll lose your leg if you go into space! Your body won't be able to generate enough calcium to fuse the bone together!"

"Uncle!" Vanessa intervened suddenly. "You can't go to the Moon on your own! It's suicide!"

At that moment, I turned my gaze back to the monitors. The bird had gotten caught up in the wires.

"Doctor!" I shouted urgently. "A toucan..."

You could suddenly see an intense flash of light, which left the screen blank.

"The rocket took off!" I explained.

"Hell fire!" the doctor responded. "Damnation!"

Almost immediately, a brilliant shaft of light appeared in the hatch of the silo.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed in shock. "The hatch is going to open!"

"And the Bat's motors are going to activate!" Darwin shouted, going up to the monitors.

"I have to go!" the doctor exclaimed, starting to run towards his space suit.

Vanessa jumped up out of her chair.

"Uncle! You can't go alone!"

At that moment, Darwin looked me in the eye, and I knew exactly what he was trying to tell me with that look.

"Doctor!" I exclaimed.

"We'll go with you!" my friend finished.

It was obvious that the doctor would refuse. But in any case, our moral support would at least do something for him at such a critical moment.

"Excellent!" he answered.

"What?" we responded in unison.

"Fly carefully," Felix recommended, lying on the floor.