Are We On Mars?

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lionshine is piloting the ship while Pebblepounce plays Sorry against a half-asleep Shadepelt. Greenface is in the bathroom, and Alderwood is telling him jokes through the wall. 

"What disease do you get from too much Christmas decorating," Alderwood meowed, already giggling from the answer. Greenface let out a moan in response. "Tinselitus!" He burst out laughing.

Pebblepounce excitedly picked up the next card from the center of the Sorry board. "E kala mai i a'u, er, sorry!" he told Shadepelt, triumphantly grabbing her red-colored piece and setting it on her home space. 

The black she-cat blearily lifted her head. "What?" she asked sleepily as Pebblepounce practically vibrated from his enthrallment. "Oh. Right." She picked up a card and quickly moved her piece.

And Lionshine ignored them all, her paws focused on weaving through the rings of Saturn, avoiding the large ice chunks. Her eyes were set on the murky yellow in front of her. "We're going in!" she called over her shoulder. "There shouldn't be any storms... but hold on tight just in case."

As the ship delves into the thick atmosphere, all of the crew is watching out the front window. And suddenly the ship jolts, everything flying forward in one quick movement. 

A loud thump sounded from the bathroom. The Sorry gameboard landed on the floor. Alderwood ended up sitting in his sister's chair, and she was glaring at him from her position sprawled across the dashboard.

"What just happened?" Shadepelt asked dizzily, now fully awake.

"Can we say I won? I was closer to winning!" asked Pebblepounce.

"Are you okay, Greenface," Lionshine asked, rushing to the bathroom.

"I like sitting here," Alderwood laughed to himself. 

"What just happened?" repeated Shadepelt forcefully.

Lionshine is too busy unlocking the bathroom door and pulling out Greenface to answer. Pebblepounce, Sorry abandoned, goes to help her. Alderwood is talking to himself. 

"We hit something. I don't know what it was, but we hit something," Lionshine meowed as she pulled something from beneath a seat. It was a medical kit, and she undid the top of it, pulling out a few bandages. "Greenface, tell me what hurts."

"My stomach," he moaned, ears folded against his skull. "And my leg."

"That's what I thought," the golden she-cat muttered, glancing at his front left leg. It was bent at a strange angle, but it didn't seem too serious.

Pebblepounce backed away. "Sorry, I don't know anything about first aid. Jeg skal rydde opp i Sorry styret." 

"Wh—never mind," Shadepelt sighed, padding toward Alderwood. "Are you alright? You flew from all the way in the back." She gestured toward where Lionshine and Greenface were.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" he meowed brightly. "Can we go meet the strange cats out there?" He tipped his head to the side, pointing his tail at the small metal object approaching them.

Lionshine's ears peak up with curiosity, but she's too busy setting Greenface's leg to give much of an answer.

"You guys go meet it," she told them. "Get in our launch pod."

"Okay," Shadepelt mewed warily. She hit a button on the control panel, but not after noticing the radar image that was front of them.

On the green radar screen, it shows a tube-shaped structure with small things flying through it. The tube, according to the scale drawing, is about two feet tall.

Shaking her head slightly, Shadepelt headed downstairs with Alderwood and Pebblepounce behind her. The pod outside was drawing closer, and they didn't know whether this species would be dangerous.

By Rio ⛈⛈