FanStory.com - Turn Right at the Moonby papa55mike

By 2124, many people left the Earth to spread throughout the galaxy. Space travel became the norm seventy-five years ago when The Musk Foundation colonized the Moon and Mars. Then they began building the Cities in the Sky, giant space stations circling Mars and Venus—their finest achievement to date orbits along the rings of Saturn. New California symbolizes the depths of human imagination - a sparkling diamond in space that can hold up to a million people. Complete with every pleasure and vice imaginable. Those places are the sparkling jewels of space.

Gravity no longer held Humanity captive to the Earth.

One of the greatest innovations of space travel is the Titan Way. A literal highway through space, complete with streetlights, Highway signs, speed limits, parsec markers, exits, entryways, and the Titan Patrol without the concrete and rebar. The United Earth took twenty years to build it throughout the Milky Way. Now, a family of five can take a trip to Pluto and be back home in a month.

Along the Titan Way are many beautiful destinations: magnificent restaurants, spas of every delight, casinos with every game imaginable, zoos, museums, and countless other treasures. Their dazzling signs and marquees help guide everyone through the darkness of space.

But there are other stops along the way - ones that lack the glitz and glamour. But they have fuel, food, a bathroom, and the bare necessities of space travel with families. These places resemble Earth's old convenience stores and truck stops - filled with countless trinkets that nobody needs, but you can't leave behind.

Before you can get on Grand Titan 1, the main road to the galaxy's end, you have to turn left at the exit for Moonbase 14 to enter it. But if you turn to the right, you'll find the Outlaw Spaceport.

It's a giant marquee that says, "Turn Right to the Outlaw!" There's a massive glittering model of a big gun pointing the way. The owner has a huge love affair with old Westerns from the 1950s. Sometimes, he dresses and acts like John Wayne, and there's always a Western movie on the screens throughout.

Many places have kept the time and days of the Earth below, trying to keep things as normal as possible in space. It's midnight on a Sunday night - the dreaded death shift. It's usually when the crazies of the galaxy escape their lives to visit the living dead who work these shifts. They typically need the weirdest things like AAA batteries, diapers, a chocolate ice cream bar, and Ben-Gay.

Chase thinks, "I didn't know they still made AAA batteries. They should've disappeared with the DVD players seventy-five years ago." He watches the older man amble back toward his cruiser, which looks like it's been through a massive meteor storm. "People will fly anything into space."

He returns to his term paper in writing, which is due by the end of the week. Chase can only work on it for another hour, and then it's time to start his nightly chores. The paper has to be on the life of a twentieth-century writer, and he chose Stephen King. "What an author to pick for a lonely worker on the death shift." Chase suddenly thinks of a Cronenberg movie titled Scanners. "No! We're not going down that road tonight and ending up somewhere deep in the Twilight Zone."

Chase runs his thick fingers through his sandy blond hair, then wipes the sleep out of his green eyes. Though several young women are throwing themselves at him, he hasn't got time for a girlfriend.

He slowly climbs off the stool at the front counter, then heads to the beer cooler to stock it for the next day. They only have two beers, Budweiser and Miller. The next thing is the bathrooms, including the staff's restroom. He doesn't mind the posters of naked hunks splattered all over the walls - it's the used feminine napkins, hair, and toilet paper scattered on the floor. "The garbage can is right here, people. Women are the nastiest things!" Chase thinks back to his incredibly messy apartment back on Earth. "Well, maybe not."

After putting on the long, orange latex gloves to clean the toilet, sink, and floor, he exclaims, "Would it kill them to put some paper on the spool? Why doesn't somebody else suit up, grab a brush, and clean this nasty bathroom? Why am I hollering to myself? There's nobody within three parsecs to hear me."

Chase doesn't mind talking to no one, but the answering himself scares the crap out of him.

With all the chores finished, Chase arrives at the front counter, checking the clock. "Great, I've got four hours, thirty-two minutes before Glenda and Pat float in the door in a cloud of Channel No. 5 while reeking with the smell of pot." They must smoke a giant one on the way up from Earth. But when they get here, he can mop his butt out the door for five days.

He begins to reread his paper when the hairs on the back of his neck start to tingle. A blue cruiser slides through the force field into the gravity belt and pulls next to the far pump. He sees three blonde heads staring inside the store. "Well, they might steal some fuel unless the Mom enters the store. All bets are off if she does."

He watches The Mom turn back to the kids, scolding them, and then grabs her vast purse. She heads for the door with a perky smile and a gentle flip of her hair.

"I'll bet you she's got a big gun in that purse. Maybe she won't shoot me. It's time to put on the charm, Chase."

She pops in the door with a glowing smile, but there's an air of sadness and pain on her beautiful face. She asks, "Can I get a hundred on the far pump?"

"Why, yes, ma'am," Chase answers in his best Southern accent and handsome smile. "Can I get you anything else, sweetie?" She puts her purse on the counter, and Chase thinks, here comes the gun.

The Mom pulls out an old Colt 45 that will put a two-inch hole in his chest. She almost lays it on the counter and meekly says, "Give me all the money."

"No, sweetie, that's not good enough. You have to put the gun to my chest." She picks up the gun a little, and Chase guides it to his chest. "Now, I want to hear some anger in your voice."

She looks at the gun, studies Chase's face for a moment, and shouts, "Give me all your money!"

"That's great, but let's add something extra. I want you to dance on your toes like a psycho who just escaped the asylum." He starts dancing on his toes while she intently watches everything he does.

"Okay, I think I've got it." The Mom starts dancing on her toes like somebody with thirty cups of coffee in them and screams, "Give me all the money!"

"Ah, that's perfect, darling! But no."

"You don't understand; we need fuel, food, and some size six pull-ups, now!"

"That little bit of money won't get you anywhere but prison. Your kids will be split up and in foster homes while you serve the time. Did you have to leave in a hurry?" Chase can see the pain in her eyes now.

"He was going to kill us if we didn't get away. We waited until he left for work and then fled. I wanted to get as far away as possible before he started after us."

"That's what I needed to hear," Chase smiles. "We have some hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and fries in the deli. You can get some milk from the cooler. There are Pop-Tarts on aisle two, and grab some of those Nature Valley cereal bars for yourself. Always get the stuff from the back; they're the freshest. The only diapers we have are on aisle two."

The Mom looks like her software just crashed. The corners of her blue eyes filled with tears when she asked, "Why?"

"It looks like you can use a helping hand. Here are some bags. Go ahead and get what you need, and I'll make it right."

The Mom bites her bottom lip. She breaks from her momentary trance and starts down the aisles while Chase bags all the food left in the deli and grabs his iPhone. He puts the food on the counter and then dials a number. "Cindy, I have somebody you need to talk to; hold on."

The Mom returns to the counter with three full bags but can't look at Chase. "I can't thank you enough."

"Well, there's two more things," He reaches out his phone to The Mom. "This is my friend Cindy. She works for the Titan Patrol and has a safe place for you and your kids. Please talk to her."

"I can't! We've got to keep moving."

"It's time to stop running. Talk to Cindy."

The Mom sets down the food. With a trembling hand, she takes the phone and says, "Hello."

A few minutes later. "I promise. I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

Chase adds, "I've got that pump set up for 200. Get your kids safe."

The Mom utters, "I..."

"I know. Just help someone when you can."

The Mom gathers her bags and walks out the door. She pumps the fuel and climbs in.

Chase stands by the door when The Mom stops the cruiser, looks him in the eye, smiles, and then disappears into the darkness. He slowly heads back to the counter. "Well, if they fire me. Maybe I can get a job around actual people. Not on the edge of the galaxy." He chuckles and goes back to his paper.