Moondust - Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The room beyond the safe seemed to be a storage area. It looked like the kind of room you would find at the back of a store. There were rows of shelves stacked with snacks, sodas, and other food products. At the other end of the room was another door.
“What is this place?” Iris didn’t know if she was more amazed at the fact that there was another room beyond the back wall of the cabin or that it was a storage space for what looked like a convenience store.
“The storage room.” the alien replied in a flat, obvious tone. “I’m Jam by the way.” He held out an un-gloved gray hand with long fingers. Iris shook.
“I’m Iris.”
“Pretty name.” He replied as he walked. She followed. If the storage room caught her off guard, Iris was even more shocked by what lay beyond. She was behind the counter at the bar of what looked like a roadside stop. It could have been any number of truck-stop diners she had seen on family road trips. There were neon signs hung from the walls that illuminated various memorabilia from old license plates to deer antlers. The only odd thing was the lack of windows.
There was only one person sitting at a table with their back to her.
Jam sat back and watched her reaction with a slight smile. He took off the hoodie and was now wearing a well-worn graphic tee and jeans. Now that he wasn’t trying to run her off, he dropped the sharp tongue. He was enjoying her confusion.
“Do you know where you are?” He asked, his grin widening.
“No idea at all.” Iris shrugged. She wondered if she had mis-interpreted how big the cabin was, or if the safe was actually some sort of elevator, lowering her into a jazzed-up basement below the cabin. That would account for no windows.
“The moon.” Jam replied. “Technically a crater on the far side of the moon. The safe is a just a façade for the short portal.”
Iris shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think so, just take a step outside.” Jam pointed to the main entrance. Iris cautiously made her way through the tables to the thick wooden double doors. When she pushed them open, the environment changed completely. She was in a sterile hallway with solid white plastic-looking walls, bright white lights, and tall curving windows that wrapped halfway up the ceiling making the hallway look like a long see-though tube. Iris looked out in shock. It was very dark outside, but she could see platforms with lights. The surface was a dark gray and there were no trees, plants, or anything but dust and rocks. There were various platforms and giant machines sat on each one. She corrected herself as she looked closely, they weren’t machines, they were spaceships.
“What is this place?” She whispered. Jam came and stood next to her.
“A truck stop.” He replied. “For folks making their way through this part of the galaxy.”
“So you mean a ship-stop?”
“Well, that’s not very Earth-like, is it?” Jam countered. “The whole point of the Moondust is to showcase Earthling culture.”
“Earthling!”
“It’s not as degrading as it sounds. It’s cute.” Jam offered.
“It’s called the Moondust? Isn’t that a little…”
“What?” Jam demanded.
“Cheesy?”
Jam looked personally offended, but it seemed like an act. “It’s like I said, that’s the point. This is your culture, after all.” He gestured back at the American-style diner.
“My family is from Chile.” Iris protested.
“Stop thinking so small. You’re from Earth, that’s it. I could have just as easily made this into a Buddhist temple, but I happen to like all-night truck stops.”
An extremely beautiful woman walked up to them. She looked human except Iris could see that her skin looked almost golden, and she had what looked like an inner light about her. Iris thought she must be in her early twenties, if she aged the same way humans do. She had softly curled red and gold hair that she kept pulled up and out of the way. She was wearing a short skirt and apron that said “Moondust” across the front.
“Oh, you brought back a little Earthling.” She cooed. Her voice was as attractive as her features. Iris was mesmerized.
“She’s helping us with our play time.” Jam replied.
“Ah, well, in that case, my name’s Phina.” She held out a perfectly manicured hand and Iris shook it.
“I’m Iris.”
“Oh, you’re so cute.” Phina squealed.
“Phina, take Iris to the storage room and fill her in.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I need a smoke.”
Phina rolled her eyes in disagreement.
Iris followed Phina back into the storage room. She closed the door before speaking.
“So, I guess Jam told you, we’re looking into abductions on the surface. We don’t talk about it in public.”
“Is that why you called it “play time?””
“Exactly.” Phina held up a finger. Her nails were perfectly manicured.
“I told him there was one last night.”
“In Sparks I assume.”
“Yeah. How come you can teleport to my home?”
“It’s a short jump point the Raiari set up when they built the lab. A while back, there was a permanent biology lab here on your moon. When it was abandoned, Jam decided to use it to set up shop. The jump point was dismantled, but Jam fixed it. He uses it to jump or “warp” to the cabin to stock the shelves with all of Earth’s finest.”
Iris looked to her side. “You mean potato chips?”
“True Earthling goodness.” She teased. “So, tell me everything you heard about the abduction.”
Iris recounted what she heard on the news and found on the internet. By the time she finished Jam had joined them. He smelled like a cigarette and Iris coughed.
“Told you that stuff is bad. You should quit.” Phina called at him.
“Yeah, yeah.” Jam brushed her off.
“So do you think they’re doing weird experiments and stuff to the people they take?”
Phina laughed out loud, and Jam snorted. Iris was completely lost at their reaction.
“That doesn’t happen anymore.” Jam explained. “Besides, humans who were taken for biological research were all returned.”
“Except one.” Phina’s tone was teasing and Iris couldn’t tell if she was being truthful or not. She had a secretive smile on her lips and Iris decided to leave it alone.
“So none of the cases you’ve been following…”
“No one has been returned.” Jam finished for her. “My guess is that they’re selling them.”
“Selling!” Iris said, horrified.
“Humans make adorable pets. They’re so naïve and short-sighted.” Phina replied as if it were something everyone in the galaxy knew.
“Earth is off-limits according to the Trust, so humans know very little about the galaxy at large. That makes them a rare and valuable pet.”
“Some being could make a lot of money selling humans as pets.”
Iris suddenly felt very small. She never imagined that her species would be so far behind in the universe that they were thought of as little more than pets.
“Don’t worry, the Trust was formed for worlds like yours. It’s a fairly new organization. There are those who recognize that humans have the intelligence to become a great civilization someday. For now, the Trust has banned all interaction with Earth. That’s part of the reason I opened the Moondust. I used to work on Earth. I like the place.” Jam explained.
“But there are people going missing even with the Trust’s oversight?” Iris asked.
“We don’t know what’s going on yet. Whoever they are, they’re being very sneaky.” Phina stated.
“Well, it’s time for you to get going.” Jam turned to Iris and walked to the back door. It was the safe door from the cabin.
“Already?”
“Don’t want to raise suspicions.” Jam opened the door. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small device. He tossed it to Iris.
“What’s this?”
“Think of it as a free cell phone.” Jam replied. “Kind of a welcoming gift.”
“It looks like a smart watch.”
“Yeah, it operates like one too, except with a few extras. My contact’s info’s in there if you find anything. Phina’s is, too.”
“Okay. I’ll be back tomorrow anyway.”
“No. Not tomorrow. You can’t just come here all the time. I don’t want anyone finding out about the portal. I want you on Earth gathering information from local sources.”
Iris deflated. She’d just found out there was a secret portal in the woods near her house that transported her to the moon, and she wasn’t allowed to use it?
“It’s okay, sweetie.” Phina soothed. “When you do come back, we can talk more about the galaxy and I’ll answer anything you want to know.”
“Really?” Iris’s frown disappeared in an instant. Phina patted her back. Iris stepped back into the cabin and rode home.
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