"Moon Fall"
By Ayah Abdelhameed
Moon Fall
This was it. The moon would block out the sun. The first time in over a thousand years. We just so happened to be in the path of totality. The teachers have taught us about the eclipse for months now. It seemed like no one cared about it while we learned what it actually was, but now it’s all anyone could talk about.
“I’m so excited!”
“I hope we can, ya know, actually see it. It’d be a shame if the clouds blocked our view during totality.”
“When will it start?”
There was one dangerous thing about it though. Throughout the years, people have told us about the moon falling. They say that one day, during an eclipse, the moon will fall out of the sky. After the moon had fallen into the Earth, it would miraculously get back into it’s orbit. We wouldn’t be able to know when it would happen because we don’t have the technology to track it. Everyone knows the story. Of course, it’s just a myth. I think. I hope.
“OH MY GOSH. Parker, stop worrying about the moon. It’s just a story our parents made up to scare us.” My tall football friend, Barry, said. He could always tell what was wrong with me. Guess that ability comes with being a best friend.
“What? I’m not worried about the fact that the moon could fall out of the sky and kill everyone in the United States. Why would I be worried about that?” I sarcastically said.
He just rolled his eyes and walked with me out to the viewing area. We would be outside for most of the day watching the eclipse, hoping not to die. Not that that would happen. I hope.
Walking outside the school, I noticed that my bag with my food had a tear in it. I noticed too late, though, because as soon as I realized this, all my food spilled out and onto the ground.
At that exact moment, a herd of excited children came stomping out the doors. I hurriedly reached to grab my sandwich, applesauce, soda, and cookie to keep them from being trampled.
“Nice job, Parker.” Said a voice I recognized from behind.
It was one of my friends from the football team, Reyna. She was the only girl on the football team with us, with long red hair, green eyes, and light brown skin. We all respected her because everyone she was cool. Apparently, not cool enough to help me pick up my food.
“Hey, Reyna.” I replied.
“Aw, did someone rip your bag?” She asked me in a baby voice.
“Nope, I’m just an idiot.”
“Sounds about right.” Barry chimed in.
“We should get going to the viewing area.” Reyna said.
We jogged out onto the field. The subtle hills were covered in blankets and towels with kids on them. Barry chose a spot for us in the juniors’ section and laid out the blanket he brought.
“Students of Alpha High School, totality will begin in approximately 3 minutes. Please take your seats and put on the solar eclipse glasses.” A teacher announced to us.
Reyna and Barry unpacked their lunches, but I noticed something else.
“Does…the moon look…bigger?” I asked.
“Shut up, Parker.” Barry said.
“No, I’m being serious. Look at it.”
Reyna muttered, “Paranoid Parker.” Before they both looked up at the at the sky. The moon looked bigger than normal to me. I wasn’t
being paranoid. Was I?
“The moon is supposed to look bigger, idiot.” Reyna informed me.
I rolled my eyes. Maybe I was just being paranoid. The Earth has been around for billions of years. What’s the probability of the moon crashing into it now?
Trying to unwind, I picked up my cookie and sank my teeth into it. My body fell back onto the blanket. Maybe this would be fun. I had to admit, I was eager to see it. This could be the only eclipse we’d ever see.
The green grass was covered with students who chattered with excitement. Eating lunch, talking with friends, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was no way the moon would fall out of the sky. How would that even happen? Barry and Reyna were right, I was just being paranoid.
Then the sirens started blaring.
We all heard them. My body bolted up from the ground.
“What’s that noise?” A boy named Nick said from behind me.
None of us had ever heard this siren before. A wave of curiosity mixed with fear spread across the field. Everyone turned to their friends, wondering what this new noise was.
“I’ve never heard this siren before. Is this a city-wide drill or something?” I asked.
“WE ARE ASKING ALL STUDENTS TO REMAIN CALM. PLEASE, PROCEED INTO THE SCHOOL.” One teacher shouted over the chatter.
“I don’t know, but I think we should get inside.” Reyna advised us.
Reyna got up and helped Barry up, but I was already on my feet. Something was going on and it didn’t seem good.
Students flowed into the small doors that lead into the school. No one had the faintest idea what was going on. Everyone just walked into the school, clueless. I ran my hands through my fluffy, chocolate brown hair, a habit I had when I got nervous.
When we arrived into our previous classrooms, our teachers lead us into the big gym. I spotted Barry and made my way over to him.
“Please, take your seats. We need to start.” Our principal, Dr. Morrison told us.
“What on Earth is going on?” Barry asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and directed my attention to a tall, buff man who was walking to the mic they had set up at the front of the room.
“Students of Alpha High School, my name is Ajax Fotos. I work in the government and I need to quickly inform you all of what’s happening right now, so I’ll just say it. The moon is falling. I know most of you are probably thinking ‘That’s just a myth’, but the truth is, none of us knew about this. Now, we need to evacuate as far underground as possible. The moon will only crash into the US, and most likely not that far into the Earth, but we need to be careful.”
A million different emotions spread through the gym: fear, confusion, anxiety, concern, shock, anger. None of us could believe what we had heard. The moon was hurtling towards us at this moment. I was right! No one believed me, but all this time, I was right! Wait, that didn’t matter. We could all die.
“There’s a secret bunker under the school that you all need to evacuate into.” He continued. “Please, don’t worry about your families. The how city-scratch that-the how countryis being evacuated into a multitude of bunkers far beneath the surface of the Earth. We’re all following EEEP. Extraordinary Emergency Evacuation Protocol.”
That acronym would’ve been funny on any other day. All the different emotions in the room had all become one; fear.
“Quickly, we need to hurry. Down the hall to the right and directly on the left, in the janitor’s closet. A Mrs. Madera is outside the door and will help you down. Be careful exiting the gym, and don’t run down the stairs leading to the bunker.” Dr. Morrison informed us.
Barry and I were close to the door and got to leave first. On our way out the doors we ran into Reyna.
“There’s no way this is real. There’s no way.” She muttered.
Against what the teachers were shouting, students ran to the janitor’s closet in the right hall. The first people in would be the safest. I’m pretty sure no one here wanted to die.
When we reached the door, Mrs. Madera was there, as promised.
“You’ll have to walk in pairs of two. Be extremely careful, these stairs are old and one person falling down could be like a domino and make everyone else fall down.” She warned us.
Barry stepped forward, followed by me and Reyna, and behind us, two girls named Chelsea and Naomi. The narrow stairwell was dim and musty, with cobwebs on the ceiling. Faint lights flickered on and off above us, as if being used for the first time in decades. Carefully stepping down the stairs, we all looked around, wondering if this was real. Was this a dream-no, a nightmare? This couldn’t be happening.
We kept walking for what seemed like hours, but was probably 25 minutes.
I snapped back into reality when we reached the end of the stairs. A long, dark hall was lit by torches on the wall. Seriously? How old was this thing? The hall was made of what looked to be wet stone. If this thing was so old, who had lit the torches? The teachers hadn’t come down here yet.
“Parker. Move.” Reyna urged me on.
“Right.” I mumbled under my breath.
At the end of the hall, a large, metal door, with a large barricade on the front. It was rusted around the edges.
“Parker, Reyna. Help me lift this thing up.” Said Barry.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans before I walked up to the door and grabbed the cold metal. Barry and Reyna did the same. Together we heaved up the barricade, allowing us to get inside.
I turned around and found that a large audience of student had made their way down the stairwell. For some reason, my cheeks went hot. As to why that happened, I have no idea. I played football in front of huge crowds all the time. Maybe it was the chance of death getting to me.
I heaved the door open and looked inside. It led into a massive bunker, with creates marked “Food” and “Water”. The wall opposite us was out of sight, but then again, the lights still hadn’t managed to flicker on yet. It was bigger than a plane hangar, except with no door or windows. Not as tall, though. Shelves of games, card decks, books, papers, pencils, and markers lined the walls. Reyna stepped in with her jaw open.
“How does a school just hidethis?” She asked in amazement.
“I don’t know…but this is…cool.” I said, taking it all in.
Lots of questions ran through my mind, but they all came together as: how?How did they build this? How did we not know about it? How is it so big? And most importantly, how was all this happening?
Students slowly pushed their way in, jaws dropping the second they walked through the door. We walked further and further in to make room for the rest of the school. At the back of the bunker, there were dozens of couches, beanbag chairs, and other comfortable seating options. A TV was hung up on the back wall. They really thought all this through.
“PLEASE SIT DOWN SOMEWHERE AND DO SOMETHING TO RELAX. THERE IS NO CELL SERVICE HERE.” A teacher from somewhere near the entrance shouted.
I sat down on a recliner, but didn’t lay back. Barry and Reyna sat down on two hand-shaped chairs across from me. I hunched forward and rested my head in my hands.
“Don’t worry, Parker. We’ll be OK. I mean, we’re probably a mile underground.” Barry reassured me.
“I know.” I said, running my hands through my hair. “I know. It’s just that I’ve always been paranoid about thi-“ I couldn’t finish my sentence, though, because at that exact moment, the whole room gave a colossal shudder. It was similar to an earthquake.
Crates started rattling, students who hadn’t sat down yet were tumbling down onto the floor. The items on the shelves were shaking off and onto the floor, where they continued to shudder. Even the chairs we were sitting on began to rumble. Flakes of the ceiling were drifting down like snowflakes.
“PLEASE, REMAIN CALM. THE MOON HAD MADE CONTACT WITH THE EARTH. WE ARE SAFE. DO NOT WORRY.” Mr. Fotos shouted through what sounded like a megaphone. “WE’LL BE ABLE TO GO BACK UP ONCE IT HAS FINISHED. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER RUMBLE AS THE MOON PULLS ITSELF AWAY FROM THE EARTH.”
The rumbling gradually died down. Kids sluggishly got back up, holding wherever they had fallen on.
And then the whole place shook again, and the same kids fell down. The things that hadn’t fallen off the shelves yet did.
“H-hey. We’re not dead.” A kid in a blue shirt named Kiran said from the left of me.
I stood up and quickly walked to the entrance, with Barry by my side and Reyna following close behind.
“Now guys, I don’t want to say I told you so-” I began.
“Parker-“ Barry started.
“-but.”
“Don’t.” Reyna protested.
“I told you-“
They both groaned.
“-so.” I finally finished as a wide grin spread across my face, the first one today.
We finally reached the front of the room, where a swarm of kids had gathered. Barry pushed his way to the front.
“You three.” Mr. Fotos pointed at me, Barry, and a kid on the soccer team, Levi. “Come with me. You’re gonna help me open the door.”
The four of us walked back up the stairs again, this time more confident of where we were going.
Once we reached the top of the stairs, we saw the door.
Or where the door shouldhave been.
“Uhhhh, what happened?” Levi questioned.
“I think…I think the moon crushed the door…” Mr. Fotos replied.
“What? No, no, no, no. This can’t, no, it couldn’t have…” I tried to say.
“We…can’t get out?” Barry asked, more so to himself than to us.
“Someone will come for us. They come to see each one of us at EEEP to make sure we’re OK after it happens.” Mr. Fotos informed us.
I sighed with relief. Then he added:
“But they do have to check into every school in the US. Our headquarters is in Montana, so they won’t get to us folks down here in Alabama for…a few days? Maybe a week?”
I sighed again. Not out of relief.
“At least they’ll eventually come.” I said and began walking back down the stairs to deliver the news.
This was it. The moon would block out the sun. The first time in over a thousand years. We just so happened to be in the path of totality. The teachers have taught us about the eclipse for months now. It seemed like no one cared about it while we learned what it actually was, but now it’s all anyone could talk about.
“I’m so excited!”
“I hope we can, ya know, actually see it. It’d be a shame if the clouds blocked our view during totality.”
“When will it start?”
There was one dangerous thing about it though. Throughout the years, people have told us about the moon falling. They say that one day, during an eclipse, the moon will fall out of the sky. After the moon had fallen into the Earth, it would miraculously get back into it’s orbit. We wouldn’t be able to know when it would happen because we don’t have the technology to track it. Everyone knows the story. Of course, it’s just a myth. I think. I hope.
“OH MY GOSH. Parker, stop worrying about the moon. It’s just a story our parents made up to scare us.” My tall football friend, Barry, said. He could always tell what was wrong with me. Guess that ability comes with being a best friend.
“What? I’m not worried about the fact that the moon could fall out of the sky and kill everyone in the United States. Why would I be worried about that?” I sarcastically said.
He just rolled his eyes and walked with me out to the viewing area. We would be outside for most of the day watching the eclipse, hoping not to die. Not that that would happen. I hope.
Walking outside the school, I noticed that my bag with my food had a tear in it. I noticed too late, though, because as soon as I realized this, all my food spilled out and onto the ground.
At that exact moment, a herd of excited children came stomping out the doors. I hurriedly reached to grab my sandwich, applesauce, soda, and cookie to keep them from being trampled.
“Nice job, Parker.” Said a voice I recognized from behind.
It was one of my friends from the football team, Reyna. She was the only girl on the football team with us, with long red hair, green eyes, and light brown skin. We all respected her because everyone she was cool. Apparently, not cool enough to help me pick up my food.
“Hey, Reyna.” I replied.
“Aw, did someone rip your bag?” She asked me in a baby voice.
“Nope, I’m just an idiot.”
“Sounds about right.” Barry chimed in.
“We should get going to the viewing area.” Reyna said.
We jogged out onto the field. The subtle hills were covered in blankets and towels with kids on them. Barry chose a spot for us in the juniors’ section and laid out the blanket he brought.
“Students of Alpha High School, totality will begin in approximately 3 minutes. Please take your seats and put on the solar eclipse glasses.” A teacher announced to us.
Reyna and Barry unpacked their lunches, but I noticed something else.
“Does…the moon look…bigger?” I asked.
“Shut up, Parker.” Barry said.
“No, I’m being serious. Look at it.”
Reyna muttered, “Paranoid Parker.” Before they both looked up at the at the sky. The moon looked bigger than normal to me. I wasn’t
being paranoid. Was I?
“The moon is supposed to look bigger, idiot.” Reyna informed me.
I rolled my eyes. Maybe I was just being paranoid. The Earth has been around for billions of years. What’s the probability of the moon crashing into it now?
Trying to unwind, I picked up my cookie and sank my teeth into it. My body fell back onto the blanket. Maybe this would be fun. I had to admit, I was eager to see it. This could be the only eclipse we’d ever see.
The green grass was covered with students who chattered with excitement. Eating lunch, talking with friends, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was no way the moon would fall out of the sky. How would that even happen? Barry and Reyna were right, I was just being paranoid.
Then the sirens started blaring.
We all heard them. My body bolted up from the ground.
“What’s that noise?” A boy named Nick said from behind me.
None of us had ever heard this siren before. A wave of curiosity mixed with fear spread across the field. Everyone turned to their friends, wondering what this new noise was.
“I’ve never heard this siren before. Is this a city-wide drill or something?” I asked.
“WE ARE ASKING ALL STUDENTS TO REMAIN CALM. PLEASE, PROCEED INTO THE SCHOOL.” One teacher shouted over the chatter.
“I don’t know, but I think we should get inside.” Reyna advised us.
Reyna got up and helped Barry up, but I was already on my feet. Something was going on and it didn’t seem good.
Students flowed into the small doors that lead into the school. No one had the faintest idea what was going on. Everyone just walked into the school, clueless. I ran my hands through my fluffy, chocolate brown hair, a habit I had when I got nervous.
When we arrived into our previous classrooms, our teachers lead us into the big gym. I spotted Barry and made my way over to him.
“Please, take your seats. We need to start.” Our principal, Dr. Morrison told us.
“What on Earth is going on?” Barry asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and directed my attention to a tall, buff man who was walking to the mic they had set up at the front of the room.
“Students of Alpha High School, my name is Ajax Fotos. I work in the government and I need to quickly inform you all of what’s happening right now, so I’ll just say it. The moon is falling. I know most of you are probably thinking ‘That’s just a myth’, but the truth is, none of us knew about this. Now, we need to evacuate as far underground as possible. The moon will only crash into the US, and most likely not that far into the Earth, but we need to be careful.”
A million different emotions spread through the gym: fear, confusion, anxiety, concern, shock, anger. None of us could believe what we had heard. The moon was hurtling towards us at this moment. I was right! No one believed me, but all this time, I was right! Wait, that didn’t matter. We could all die.
“There’s a secret bunker under the school that you all need to evacuate into.” He continued. “Please, don’t worry about your families. The how city-scratch that-the how countryis being evacuated into a multitude of bunkers far beneath the surface of the Earth. We’re all following EEEP. Extraordinary Emergency Evacuation Protocol.”
That acronym would’ve been funny on any other day. All the different emotions in the room had all become one; fear.
“Quickly, we need to hurry. Down the hall to the right and directly on the left, in the janitor’s closet. A Mrs. Madera is outside the door and will help you down. Be careful exiting the gym, and don’t run down the stairs leading to the bunker.” Dr. Morrison informed us.
Barry and I were close to the door and got to leave first. On our way out the doors we ran into Reyna.
“There’s no way this is real. There’s no way.” She muttered.
Against what the teachers were shouting, students ran to the janitor’s closet in the right hall. The first people in would be the safest. I’m pretty sure no one here wanted to die.
When we reached the door, Mrs. Madera was there, as promised.
“You’ll have to walk in pairs of two. Be extremely careful, these stairs are old and one person falling down could be like a domino and make everyone else fall down.” She warned us.
Barry stepped forward, followed by me and Reyna, and behind us, two girls named Chelsea and Naomi. The narrow stairwell was dim and musty, with cobwebs on the ceiling. Faint lights flickered on and off above us, as if being used for the first time in decades. Carefully stepping down the stairs, we all looked around, wondering if this was real. Was this a dream-no, a nightmare? This couldn’t be happening.
We kept walking for what seemed like hours, but was probably 25 minutes.
I snapped back into reality when we reached the end of the stairs. A long, dark hall was lit by torches on the wall. Seriously? How old was this thing? The hall was made of what looked to be wet stone. If this thing was so old, who had lit the torches? The teachers hadn’t come down here yet.
“Parker. Move.” Reyna urged me on.
“Right.” I mumbled under my breath.
At the end of the hall, a large, metal door, with a large barricade on the front. It was rusted around the edges.
“Parker, Reyna. Help me lift this thing up.” Said Barry.
I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans before I walked up to the door and grabbed the cold metal. Barry and Reyna did the same. Together we heaved up the barricade, allowing us to get inside.
I turned around and found that a large audience of student had made their way down the stairwell. For some reason, my cheeks went hot. As to why that happened, I have no idea. I played football in front of huge crowds all the time. Maybe it was the chance of death getting to me.
I heaved the door open and looked inside. It led into a massive bunker, with creates marked “Food” and “Water”. The wall opposite us was out of sight, but then again, the lights still hadn’t managed to flicker on yet. It was bigger than a plane hangar, except with no door or windows. Not as tall, though. Shelves of games, card decks, books, papers, pencils, and markers lined the walls. Reyna stepped in with her jaw open.
“How does a school just hidethis?” She asked in amazement.
“I don’t know…but this is…cool.” I said, taking it all in.
Lots of questions ran through my mind, but they all came together as: how?How did they build this? How did we not know about it? How is it so big? And most importantly, how was all this happening?
Students slowly pushed their way in, jaws dropping the second they walked through the door. We walked further and further in to make room for the rest of the school. At the back of the bunker, there were dozens of couches, beanbag chairs, and other comfortable seating options. A TV was hung up on the back wall. They really thought all this through.
“PLEASE SIT DOWN SOMEWHERE AND DO SOMETHING TO RELAX. THERE IS NO CELL SERVICE HERE.” A teacher from somewhere near the entrance shouted.
I sat down on a recliner, but didn’t lay back. Barry and Reyna sat down on two hand-shaped chairs across from me. I hunched forward and rested my head in my hands.
“Don’t worry, Parker. We’ll be OK. I mean, we’re probably a mile underground.” Barry reassured me.
“I know.” I said, running my hands through my hair. “I know. It’s just that I’ve always been paranoid about thi-“ I couldn’t finish my sentence, though, because at that exact moment, the whole room gave a colossal shudder. It was similar to an earthquake.
Crates started rattling, students who hadn’t sat down yet were tumbling down onto the floor. The items on the shelves were shaking off and onto the floor, where they continued to shudder. Even the chairs we were sitting on began to rumble. Flakes of the ceiling were drifting down like snowflakes.
“PLEASE, REMAIN CALM. THE MOON HAD MADE CONTACT WITH THE EARTH. WE ARE SAFE. DO NOT WORRY.” Mr. Fotos shouted through what sounded like a megaphone. “WE’LL BE ABLE TO GO BACK UP ONCE IT HAS FINISHED. THERE WILL BE ANOTHER RUMBLE AS THE MOON PULLS ITSELF AWAY FROM THE EARTH.”
The rumbling gradually died down. Kids sluggishly got back up, holding wherever they had fallen on.
And then the whole place shook again, and the same kids fell down. The things that hadn’t fallen off the shelves yet did.
“H-hey. We’re not dead.” A kid in a blue shirt named Kiran said from the left of me.
I stood up and quickly walked to the entrance, with Barry by my side and Reyna following close behind.
“Now guys, I don’t want to say I told you so-” I began.
“Parker-“ Barry started.
“-but.”
“Don’t.” Reyna protested.
“I told you-“
They both groaned.
“-so.” I finally finished as a wide grin spread across my face, the first one today.
We finally reached the front of the room, where a swarm of kids had gathered. Barry pushed his way to the front.
“You three.” Mr. Fotos pointed at me, Barry, and a kid on the soccer team, Levi. “Come with me. You’re gonna help me open the door.”
The four of us walked back up the stairs again, this time more confident of where we were going.
Once we reached the top of the stairs, we saw the door.
Or where the door shouldhave been.
“Uhhhh, what happened?” Levi questioned.
“I think…I think the moon crushed the door…” Mr. Fotos replied.
“What? No, no, no, no. This can’t, no, it couldn’t have…” I tried to say.
“We…can’t get out?” Barry asked, more so to himself than to us.
“Someone will come for us. They come to see each one of us at EEEP to make sure we’re OK after it happens.” Mr. Fotos informed us.
I sighed with relief. Then he added:
“But they do have to check into every school in the US. Our headquarters is in Montana, so they won’t get to us folks down here in Alabama for…a few days? Maybe a week?”
I sighed again. Not out of relief.
“At least they’ll eventually come.” I said and began walking back down the stairs to deliver the news.