Page 15 of To the Moon
SEBASTIAN
After a few tensedays on the space station, checking the shuttle for every possible weakness, we finally dropped out of orbit and used our last burst of fuel to enter the atmosphere. As soon as we did, we received transmissions from the cruise ship. I refused to answer the ship's call-sign for a full minute, so my dad grabbed someone's hot mic and shouted, "Sebastian, say something!"
Alone, I would have returned to face my father's consequences for our botched mission. Except I wasn't alone. Gunnar was a wolf like me, and he was my mate. He needed my protection.
I flipped the switch to turn off all shuttle communication. "May I borrow your cell phone?"
Gunnar rolled his eyes. "We're crash-landing a stolen shuttle, and you want to order a pizza?"
Gods, he was ridiculous. I couldn't help but laugh as I wriggled my fingers toward the pocket where I knew he kept his phone.
"Fine." He took it out and reached across the aisle but pulled his hand back at the last second. "Lock screen," he muttered. "Unless you planned on hacking it."
"That would be a breach of privacy." I was pretty sure he used his sister's birth month and date as his code, but I kept that information to myself for now. He was helping me for once, and I was grateful.
"So's kidnapping, but you don't seem too averse to that."
"I'm not kidnapping you," I said as I dialed the only number I knew by heart.
"Yes, you are," Gunnar said at the same time my best friend answered the call with, "Jay-sus Christ! Seb, is that you?"
"Shh," I waved a hand at Gunnar. He scowled at me as I turned my attention toward getting us somewhere safe.
"Hey, Lonnie. Yeah, it's me. Do you still have those backdoor coordinates to the space shuttle I gave you before we left?"
"Sure do! I've already got you pulled up. Your dad's been watching the skies since you returned to the space station. Why'd you do that, by the way?"
"Long story. I'm trying to head toward Hawaii, the big island. Were my coordinates even close?"
"You're off by an ocean."
"Shit, what?"
"You're going to land in the Indian Ocean, by my calculations."
I heaved a sigh of relief. The Indian Ocean was stillbetter than the Atlantic. My dad had no hope of intercepting us before we disappeared.
"How close to land?"
"You'll probably wait a few hours before they find you, but I can send you a ship."
"Shit." I glanced at Gunnar and whispered into the phone, "please tell me you're not sending a bunch of pirates to get us."
"I could say that, but you're landing off the coast of Somalia. I'm sending bloody pirates to get you. Would you rather I send the nearest aircraft carrier? It's days away, and the government will have questions for you and your dad." Voices crackled across what sounded like a CB radio on his end. "You are trying to avoid Ivan, aren't you?"
"Yes." I hissed through my teeth and risked another glance at Gunnar, who glared at me like he'd heard every word. He had wolf hearing and, now that we'd cleared reentry, the shuttle was too quiet.
"They're already on their way. Looks like that naval ship is on the move, too, but it'll take them a half-hour to turn in your direction, and by then we'll be halfway there. Do you need the shuttle?"
"No. Let him find it."
"Good. I don't know the shape of the ship these pirates run, but it's probably not a tugboat."
"We'll wait until they knock to open the door."
"We still haven't tested the door," Gunnar reminded me. "What if we can't open it?"
"Do they have a cutting torch?" I asked Lonnie.
