Leaving On A Jetplane

Hannah Wilson ran as fast as her legs could take her. Her mother pulled her along altogether to quickly for Hannah to keep up with, so she stumbled, dropping her teddy-bear on the floor behind her. Hannah called out,

"Mummy, I dropped George." Her Mother didn't stop

"Hannah just keep running." She shouted back her voice quivering. Hannah saw tears streaked on her Mother's face. They ran amongst a crowd of people down the narrow tunnel to the transport ship.

"That Bastard O' Donavan, why did it have to come to this?!" Hannah heard someone in the crowd say, his voice angry. Hannah looked out the long window running alongside the tunnel, people were everywhere. A few had climbed the fence separating the runway from the city. Hannah and her mother reached the ship. They went up a flight of stairs and sat down on the first seats they could find. Hannah's mother wiped the tears from her face. Other people crowded the cabin, some shouting, most crying.

"Where are we going Mummy?" Hannah asked. Her Mother looked at her, she had stopped crying but her face was red and full of sorrow.

"We're going to Appoleia, on the Moon honey. You've always wanted to go there." She forced a smile that didn't hold. Three armed guards ran past them.

"They're trying to get on board" One said

"We can't take off with them its too heavy." Another replied. Hannah looked out the window on the ship. About fifty people were trying to push their way past a barrier of guards blocking the entrance to the ship. Everyone of them shouted angrily at the guards. One man had climbed up the side of the ship, Hannah heard  a loud bang. The man fell from the ship, a guards gun was left smoking. The crowd edged back slightly but kept shouting, pleading. A few waved money at the guards. Hannah turned back to her mother.

"What’s Appoliea like?"

"Its great, they have everything we need, just like home."

"Will daddy meet us there?" She asked. Her Mother said nothing, tears formed in her eyes again. Hannah looked outside again. The cargo bay door closed, the crowd swarmed in and banged against it.

"One minute to lift-off" A voice said over the intercom. A man nearby looked at his watch and said:

"We've got two minutes till it hits." He leant forward in his seat and put his face in his hands. A large grumble rocked the ship and the engines started to whine into life.

"Mummy, I'll miss all my friends"

"I know honey, but you'll make new ones" The ship slowly juddered off the ground.

"Why is Daddy not meeting us there?" Hannah asked. Her Mother put her hand over her eyes and sobbed.

"He's away on a business trip. He can't see us anymore." Hannah was saddened that her father wouldn't be meeting them on Appoliea. She looked out the window again. The city was growing small beneath them. They reached the clouds and continued upwards. A shrill voice filled the cabin

"Why did this have to happen?! We could have negotiated. O’Donovan should have negotiated." The woman who was shouting was taken into the arms of a man next to her. She sobbed loudly.

"When are we going back?" Hannah asked as she watched the last glimpse of the city vanish. The clouds covered the view.

"We...we can't go back." Her mother pulled her over to her and she sat on her knee, her head resting on her Mothers chest. Hannah felt her mother's heart beating. Her breathing interspersed with shallow cries.

"Why?" As Hannah asked the question a blinding light filled the cabin. It bathed everything in a cold, piercing white. A tremendous force rocked the ship Hannah held on to her Mother. The ship made a deafening roar as it tried to keep control. The ship reached space. The rocking stopped. The only sound the gentle whine of the engine. Hannah looked down on the glassy, blue earth that filled the window.

Hundreds of lights blazed all over the surface.