"Ace what is going on, bro?!" I ask in complete confusion.
"I don-" He chokes up
He then starts to hyperventilate, and i already know what's on the horizon, before i even process what i should be doing, my body springs into action. I hightail it for the ship, almost stumbling as i go, it's harder to do basic activities out here believe it or not. The closer i get to the ship, the more fear begins to engulf me, not knowing the conditions of the internals of our ship i begin to think of my friends life on the line and barge my way past the billowing smoke, into the ship to grab his medicine.
Once inside i feel an aire of serenity, the ship on the inside is completely untouched, maybe a bit warmer than usual, but not a flame, or spark to be found anywhere. It seems that the explosion was contained to the thrusters and cargo area, which is still a huge problem in itself, but at least not all of our supplies have been sacrificed, and out living quarters untouched. Realizing I had been dazed, I snapped back into hero mode. I searched for his inhaler and seizure shot. I find them and dart back out the hatch. I trip because I am moving faster than the draw stairs can deploy. I fall flat on my face, with no time to process my injuries if any, I hop back up and limp to him. I get there and administer his medicines the way I've been taught to. He gasps back to and his embarrassment shows because his body has let go due to the seizure.
"Lifesaver you are, but you couldn't have gotten here to play doctor before I pissed myself?"
"You are so ungrateful at times. How about 'thanks for saving my life man'?"
He shrugs and picks himself up off the ground, starting to chuckle, as he points at me.
"So you took a nice face plant I see?"
" Yeah, I was moving faster than the stairs, and just-" I motion how I fell "- plopped right into this here moon dirt"
"What fun!"
"I know right, second time today, you'd think that since there's less gravity here, it would hurt less, but nope, nope not at all."
"Well I appreciate the sidekick nature to keep super man alive, but ya gotta not hurt yourself in the process"
I shove him, and fall over. While pushing myself back up I say "I'm no one's sidekick fool, if anything I was the hero in this."
"Exactly, no one said you weren't a heroic being, but your aren't the superhero, hence the term sidekick. You're hero-ish just not super, like me."
"Okay I shall remember that next time you're about to kick dust mister 'superhero'," we both chuckle and start back towards the ship.
"Did you put out the fire before reaching me?"
"No. Good ques-"
"Now maybe you would have been closer to being a superhero if you would have, nevertheless it's out now.
"Hmm."
"So what's all charred in this baby?" As he opens the hatch
"Surprisingly enough, nothing."
"Oh wow, that's astonishing considering how we were cowering out there, like life as we know it was over"
"Well don't count all of your chickens yet, it was a total loss of the cargo, so ALL that we have is what's in this cabin. Life out here is pretty much over"
"So just a two week supply? Four, if I starve you, and maybe, just maybe a four and a half week supply if I eat you, but you're always too salty, might raise my blood pressure."
"Thanks for that!"
"See."
"Anyways, do you think we call home and maybe get a home bound ride or something?"
"Possibly. I mean shit blowing the fuck up does seem like mission abort type stuff."
We walk over to the control booth of the ship and I start to try to initiate a transmission back to Earth. It starts up and we get so giddy.
"Dude you are so effen smart, I can't imagine being stuck up here with like two of me, not technologically smart or tech savvy at all. We'd die"
"Tech savvy means the same th- thanks man."
The computer begins making connection noises and then halts our chitchat with a message "NASA NOT ACCEPTING INCOMING TRANSMISSIONS AT THIS TIME."
"What the FUCK does that supposed to mean," I shout furiously.
"It means they're screening our calls my dude, leaving us to die!"
"Shut up."
"We gonna die out here man!"
"Shut up!"
"What if we were set up?! What if we're not supposed to return home? What are we gonna do," Ace says as he starts shaking me vigorously. "I guess we should have saw this coming, a two year supply of food and shit, for a one month trip! Ahhh we were so stupid. 'Just in case,' my ass!."
"That can't be," I say in a panic. "They were supposed to be sending up a second team around the last week as a trade off."
"What were we thinking coming up to the Moon! We should have known this was stupid from the door we were offered such a proposition," he rants as he starts to cry and falls to his knees in front of me, his arm knocks my phone to the ground and somehow Lost Boy by Ruth B. starts to play. The realization and the perfectly bismal atmosphere created by the song makes me slouch to the floor in front of Ace, I embrace him as we both sob in the dimly lit cabin.
He wipes his face after about 20 minutes of us crying to what seems to be the perfect mix for crying in my music. He stares at me for a moment, before walking into the kitchen to heat up some space food.
[End Transmission]
