SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

GOODBYE TO ROMANCE

"Uncle!" I heard over the deafening clatter.

I dropped my eyes. The doctor had straightened up. He was rushing after the swinging stepladder, whose end didn't touch the edge of the platform. Now it was swinging in empty space, moving away.

The doctor hurried.

"Doctor!" I yelled hard.

He boosted himself and jumped into the empty space. Oh God! He fell down. No. He made it: a moment later his arm appeared by the edge of the platform, clung to one of the rods on the ladder. Vanessa and I tried to catch up with him, but the wind blew harder and knocked us down. The gust of wind was dragging us relentlessly toward the edge. I was trying to lock my fingers onto something, but I could only manage to scratch the bulgy surface.

With my other hand I tried wildly to find Vanessa.

Suddenly, I felt her hand and I grabbed it, although it slipped at once: something pulled my leg and took me to the opposite side. I saw Vanessa bumping against a rock. Tensing my torso, I managed to turn around. I was left on my back and saw that my foot had gotten tangled up in the ladder's rod. In a moment of panic, I looked up and saw that the airplane was rocking from side to side. I shook my leg in desperation. The cables started to pull up. I felt the tension in my calf.

And I couldn't get free.

Suddenly, the tension extended to the leg. The nocturnal world spun around and all the blood pressure gathered up in my head. Hanging upside down, I waggled frantically like a worm on a hook—my leg was trapped and I couldn't get loose. The ground was moving away. I saw Vanessa. She was getting up. I stirred fiercely. She was running towards me, so I reached out to her. The wind knocked her down.

"Vanessa!"

At that moment, the reflector was turned off and I couldn't see anything else.

Next, the small ladder swung impetuously; the shove elevated me several feet. Now, the raindrops felt like pellets. I knew we were moving away at great speed. I felt like I would slip off at any moment. My legs were numb already.

And there was no way to straighten up.

Suddenly, the treetops were lit up. A second later, my eardrums were overwhelmed with an explosion. At the same time, the expansive wave lifted me violently. I extended my arms and managed to grab the cables. Finally, I straightened up. Right after that, the small ladder whipped downwards, like a gigantic trapeze out of control.

It wouldn't let go of me. I had clung to the cables as if clinging to life.

After a few seconds, a sharp clamor that left a whistling in my ear was heard. The noise had come from above. From the plane. I caught a whiff of smoke. Something blew up in the sky, in the distance...a propeller lit up in the ball of fire...

We had shot a missile to a helicopter!

I didn't see anymore; the small ladder was raised all of a sudden and my eyes were shut in one stroke—the rest of my body stiffened. My lungs were left without oxygen and my stomach was filled with a horrible tickling sensation.

Luckily, the giddy ascent ceased quickly.

At the same time I opened my eyes, I opened my mouth, puffing air outrageously. I began to cough. Almost right away, some hands took me under my arms and lifted me toward the inside of a cabin illuminated by a soft blue glare. The hands dragged me toward a seat, without giving me much time to get up, and a moment later, I felt the pressure of the seatbelts adjusting on my torso.

I had no idea what the hell was going on. Even worse, I had no way to find out. My head was spinning. I just heard voices and saw shadows move in the blue light.

Then, a terrible force buried me in my seat.

Damn. Less than an hour ago I had experienced such a shove in the rocket.

But now I was flying in an airplane!

I wasn't really sure...

When acceleration was stable, my vision became steady and a modern and spacious cabin appeared before my eyes. The pilot's seats were a few feet away. A star filled night sky was showing up in the huge front window.

Such a view did not distract me, I had already experienced it. I looked away and searched for my friends. In the penumbra, I observed some individuals located at both sides of the cabin. They were carrying big guns.

They were pointing at me.

I inhaled nervously. I reclined and looked to the right trying to dissemble. I saw a disheveled beard in the adjacent seat. Farther, a pair of worn out Nikes were visible. They were Darwin's.

I exhaled a breath of relief and slowly turned my head to the front.

"We've been abducted," I heard the doctor whisper.

The tip of the ship zoomed dramatically. The scene was shifting in the small windows; all the stars moved downward.

"Where are they taking us?" I asked confused.

"To the moon."