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" Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell. „
Rocket man - Elton John
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«HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR MY VOICE?» The radio crackled. Maxine jumped from her chair, speeding to the device, coming right up behind Amy. All eyes were glued in the radio's direction as Amy struggled to make contact with the unknown man.
"Hello, anyone out there? Will be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85."
Maxine listened attentively as Shane took the lead. The man on the radio couldn't hear them, she realized, a heavy pit forming in her stomach. No matter how much much her father talked, or how much he fiddled with the buttons, the man on the other end couldn't hear.
"He's gone," Shane sighed, not looking as defeated as he sounded.
"There are others. It's not just us." Lori said.
"We knew there would be, right?"
Maxine kicked the ground with her right foot, tuning out of the rest of the conversation. Lori was right. Someone else had also survived, they weren't alone. It had been a long time since she last saw or heard someone outside of their own little group, so the discovery was about as great as the moon-landing.
Maxine was well versed in the happening, having her own little obsession of it. July 20, 1969, the first men stepped foot on the moon, she remembered the books say. A giant round globe of whites, finally conquered by mere humans.
Maxine always loved thinking about space. The possibilities that something - or someone - else was out there, was just too great, too interesting, for her not to like it. It was a terrifying concept, but nowadays there were greater things to worry about. Like flesh-eating dead people walking.
"You alright, kiddo?" Shane bent down, brushing the back of his hand softly across her cheek. Maxine clutched her space-dog close to her chest and nodded.
"Do you...do you think he'll be alright?" She asked hesitantly. Her father hadn't looked very optimistic about it.
"'Course he'll be." He patted her shoulder once, giving her an encouraging smile as he pushed her towards Carl. "Now take Laika with you and hang out with Carl, yeah? I gotta go talk to Lori."
She skipped over to the boy quickly. Carl was her best friend, she had known him since forever. Maxine thought it was funny, that the best-friends' kids were also best-friends.
"Hey, Carl, wanna go down to the Quarry and pretend we're on the moon?" She suggested, struggling to stay in place. She needed to get rid of some excess energy, and what better way was there to do so?
"But mom said-"
"C'mon, please, Carl," Maxine begged, sending a glace towards the tents. "We'll be back before they find out, no worries."
The young boy still looked reluctant, scrunching his nose and twiddling his fingers, but eventually he agreed. Together the pair raced down to the quarry, careful not to be seen by any of the adults. They weren't supposed to be on their own.
"I don't get it," Maxine said once she had placed Laika on a stone. She balanced on a bigger one, trying to raise one leg into the air. "They always complain about us having to stay in their sights." She pouted.
Carl eyed her warily, his heart beating against his chest when Maxine almost fell off the stone. "They just worry."
Maxine scoffed, jumping from the big stone to another just nearby. "Gosh, you sound just like dad. 'Max, I'm just worried about you'" She mimicked Shane, making funny movements with her hands.
Carl laughed, his eyes wrinkling at the edges. "You really should stop getting us in trouble."
"Shh, no one will know." She leveled him with a glare, "just don't go around snitching again."
"C'mon, I already apologized for that!"
"If you play Edwin Aldrin, maybe I'll consider forgiving you." Maxine smirked, knowing Carl hated when he couldn't be Neil Armstrong. Just like expected, Carl huffed and threw a stone into the water.
"You promise you'll forgive me?" He asked hesitantly.
"I said I'd consider it."
"Maxine!"
"Fine, fine, I promise." She rolled her eyes, grabbing Laika so she could also join the journey. "There, that's the moon!" She pointed to a rather large boulder, with steep round edges and a whitewashed surface.
They both ran for it, wanting to be the first to conquer the planet. That proved to be a more difficult task than imagined, because of the smooth surface. Maxine clawed at the stone, but it was impossible. She needed to be smart about this.
Spotting a stone nearby, she ran for it. Climbing the smaller stone was far easier, and from there she could climb a few more. She stopped in her tracks.
There was a good meter jump from the stone she was standing on if she wanted to reach the moon. That was a long jump for a nine-year-old, Maxine thought. But I'm not a pussy, I'm strong.
With new conviction, Maxine took the jump. She heard Carl gasp somewhere beneath her, shouting out to her. Luckily, her feet landed safely on top of the moon. She was elated.
"Yes! I made it, Carl!" She cheered, jumping up and down. Carl was horrified. "i conquered the moon!" Maxine giggled, and in her frenzy, she didn't notice she had stepped too close to the edge.
Suddenly, the ground beneath her fell away into nothingness, and she felt her body flying. Biting back a scream, she clutched onto Laika so the dog wouldn't get hurt because of her.
The landing was far more painful than she imagined it would be. She crashed into a bed of tiny rocks that cut into her skin. Her knees were burning. "ow, ow, ow." She whimpered, watching a red liquid seep out of the wounds.
"Oh my god," Tears were brewing in Carl's eyes. He turned on his feet and ran back to the camp, shouting "Mom! Mom, Maxine is hurt!"
Maxine was left alone in her misery, not being able to withhold the sobs that were racking her. It hurt! It hurt really bad! There was so much blood! Am I dying?! I don't want to die!
"Max!" The shout made her look up behind tear-filled eyelashes. Her dad was coming, he was running down the hill towards her. She would be okay. Her dad would save her.
"Dad!" She shouted back, stretching her arms once he got close. She wrapped them around his neck and sobbed louder. "It hurts! It hurts!"
"Shh, shh, you're okay, you're okay." Shane removed her from his arms to inspect the wounds. "You're a soldier, Max, you're strong. You gotta be strong."
She nodded. The tears weren't coming as fast anymore. I am a soldier. I am strong. But it hurt so bad!
"Look, it's just some scrapes. We'll fix it up in no time." He reassured her, but the look on his face told her he was lying. Maxine could always tell when her dad was lying, she thought. He carried her from the bottom of the quarry all the way to the RV, because Shane was a soldier. He was strong, like Maxine.
All around her, the people from camp looked on curiously, their eyes also filled with worry. Carl was holding onto Lori, pressing his face into her stomach while crying. His eyes never averted from Maxine, though.
Shane sat her down on a chair next to the RV, being careful of her wounds. Dale was by her immediately, a kit in his hands.
"Dale, it hurts." Maxine whined, sniffing.
"I know, sweetheart, but give me a second and you'll feel good as new." He smiled. Dale's smile was the best in the whole camp; it was so warm and welcoming, a stark contrast to the smile of Merle. Maxine hated Merle. Dad never liked him, at least, so she wouldn't either.
"Why don't you tell me a little bit about your space-dog?" Dale asked sweetly, pulling out cotton swabs and a bottle of something. Maxine immediately lightened up at the proposal. She never got to talk about Laika! And Dale wanted to know!
"Her name is Laika," Maxine smiled, looking down at the stuffed toy. "She used to be a real dog who went into space! But scientists were really mean, and sacrificed her just so they could go themselves. I hate scientists. Laika was a good dog, so now I'm taking care of her, like they were supposed to." Her eyes got teary thinking of the poor dog who died for selfish humans.
"Oh, no, that is horrible indeed." Dale nodded, his eyebrows drawn together.
"I hope they've all been eaten by Geeks."
Dale's soft expression soon turned horrified. "Maxine! You can't say that, sweetheart. No one deserves to die."
"But it's true! They did something bad, so they deserve to die."
"Shane!" Dale raised his voice, glaring at the man who was leaning on the RV. "What have you been teaching this girl?"
"I mean, she ain't exactly wrong." Shane shrugged. "How ya feelin', Max?"
"Okay." She replied, looking down with wide eyes. Wow! Dale had fixed her up and she was so distracted she hadn't even noticed. Before Dale could blow up on Shane again, Maxine wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Dale."
Dale sighed, deciding to let the matter go. "You're welcome sweetheart. As long as you don't pick on the scabs later, there won't be a single scar left on you."
---
"What? Lil' girl got her knees bruised and ya'll actin' like she died or sum." Merle scoffed, walking past the scene. He had squirrels hanging from his hips, their bodies bloodied and stiff.
Maxine glared at the redneck. She was a strong girl, she didn't need doting. And those wounds were bigger than some bruises, she knew that! It could scar!
"Merle, walk away. We don't need you here right now." Dale warned.
"Right, ya'll be spendin' yer entire day licking this kid's imaginary wounds while the rest a' us be workin' our asses off." Merle shook his head, a snarl evident on his face.
"Hey, they do more for us than your drunk ass, so stop it!" Maxine couldn't help but shout. She could stand the disrespect, but disrespecting her dad and Dale like that was not okay!
Merle's face grew red, his hands bunched into knuckles. "I'll tell ya what-"
"You better get the fuck out of here before I make you." Shane threatened, quickly getting into Merle's face. But Merle, ever the redneck, didn't look intimidated at all. He just got even more angry.
Maxine noticed it all, the way his body stiffened and relaxed like being ready to attack. She felt her heart race a little faster, like it did when she realized the moon wasn't beneath her feet anymore.
"Hey, Merle, come here fer a sec!" A savior shouted. It was Daryl, Maxine realized. Merle's brother. He was...she didn't know how to describe him yet. He was a wild card. One moment he seemed kind, then the next he would say the meanest things. When Merle was away, he was usually more calm. Maxine didn't dislike him as much then.
It took longer than they'd like before Merle stomped away, muttering strings of curses. Only then did Maxine realize she had held her breath.
"Merle is scary," she admitted.
Dale fixed her with a glance full of sympathy. "You got that right. But no matter, don't mind him. He won't do anything."
Whatever you say, Maxine bit her tongue.
"I think we've had enough action for today."
Maxine agreed. She was really tired, and really sore. All she wanted was to sleep. With a smile on her face, she jumped from the chair and went to walk away.
That was, until she was held back by the arm by none other than Shane. "Wait a second there, missy, don't think your actions won't have consequences."
Maxine groaned out loud. What happened to forgive and forget?