Journey to the Moon

by Cathy Hapka

  “We found it!” I cried, leaping forward. I grabbed Astro Cat and hugged him. He didn’t try to wiggle away for once. I guessed he was as glad to see me as I was to see him.

  I was kind of glad to see Wallace, too. “I was afraid you might be lost on the moon forever,” I told him.

  “Why would you think that?” Wallace said. “I’m the one who figured out how to get to the crater in the first place.”

  “You’re right,” I said. “It’s cool that you know how to navigate with the stars.”

  “I was a little worried when the radio cut out,” Wallace admitted. “But it was almost like I could still hear you saying ‘think like a scientist.’ That reminded me that I knew how to find my way back. I even remembered to adjust for being on the moon, like you told me.”

  “That’s so funny,” I said. “The same thing happened to me! I remembered you talking about your gramps, and that made me think about how sailors used to navigate, and that reminded me of something called a sextant. You know, we really do make a pretty good team.”

  Wallace smiled. “Are you tired?” he asked. “I could take the Baby for a while if you want.”

  “Sure, thanks.” I unstrapped the Baby and handed him over. Wallace stuck Zixtar in the pocket of his space suit, then strapped the Baby onto his back.

  “So, what’s a sextant? That sounds familiar,” Wallace asked.

  “Your gramps probably knows how to use one,” I said. “Here, I’ll show you how I made it.”

  I pulled out The Universe and opened to the right page. Wallace leaned closer.

  Just then the Baby gurgled. “Hey, stop pinching me,” Wallace told him with a laugh.

  We looked at the book together, and I showed him the sextant I’d built. I explained that a sextant measures the angle between two objects. By adding some math, you can figure out which direction to go, whether you’re sailing a ship on the sea or you’re walking on the moon.

  “Cool!” Wallace said when I finished explaining all that. “A sextant sounds like something Zixtar could use to navigate.”

  “That’s a good idea,” I agreed. “Then he could still find his way even if there’s no power.”

  Wallace nodded. “I bet I could build it onto the end of a tentacle. Maybe the one next to the one with the lightning rod . . .”

  “Wait, which tentacle is that?” I asked.

  “I’ll show you.” He reached into his pocket and felt around. Then he frowned. “Didn’t I put him in here?”

  He checked all his other pockets.

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “Oh no!” Wallace cried. “Zixtar is gone!”

  Chapter 9

  GOING HOME

  Wallace spun around, staring in all directions.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find Zixtar,” I said. But I wasn’t sure that was true. The moon was huge!

  “We have to retrace our steps,” Wallace cried. “I must have dropped him on the way back from the crater.”

  Then I thought of something. “No, you didn’t,” I said. “I saw you put him in your pocket just now. He has to be nearby.”

  I thought that would make him feel better. But Wallace’s eyes were still wide and anxious. “We have to find him!” he insisted. “I’m not leaving without Zixtar!”

  I was a little surprised. He sounded really upset.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “He’s just an action figure.”

  “Just an action figure!” Wallace shouted. “He’s more than that to me! I spent tons of time making him and figuring out all his powers and—”

  “No, wait!” I broke in. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant he can’t walk off on his own. If we stay calm and think logically, we’ll find him.”

  Wallace still looked worried, but he nodded. “I guess you’re right,” he said. “You look that way, and I’ll check this way.”

  We started searching. It should have been easy to spot Zixtar, since he was so colorful. But there was no sign of him.

  “I don’t see him anywhere,” Wallace moaned. “Oh, Zixtar, where could you be? I need to get you back so we can add that sextant to your tentacle!”

  Just then the Baby gurgled and flapped his arms. He had something in one hand.

  “Zixtar!” I exclaimed. “Look, Wallace, the Baby must have grabbed him out of your pocket.”

  “Zixtar!” Wallace pried the action figure out of the Baby’s hand. “Whew, I’m so glad to see you!”

  I was afraid the Baby might cry when Wallace took Zixtar away. He did that sometimes when I made him stop drooling on my telescope. But he just yawned instead.

  “Looks like it’s almost naptime,” I said. “We should get the Baby home before he needs his diaper changed.”

  Wallace nodded. “Visiting the moon has been wild,” he said. “But I’m getting hungry. Let’s go home.”

  Zixtar in hand, he led the way toward Eagle. Then he paused, staring at something on the ladder. “Hey, what’s that?” he said.

  I looked where he was pointing. “Oh, I almost forgot about that,” I said. “It’s a plaque the Apollo 11 astronauts left here.”

  “Cool,” Wallace said. “Let’s sign our names, too.”

  We scratched our names on the ground beneath the plaque. I signed for the Baby, and Wallace helped Zixtar make a big Z. Astro Cat left his paw print.

  “Okay, let’s go,” I said. “Earth, here we come!”

  We climbed into Eagle and strapped in. I grabbed the controls.

  “Prepare for liftoff!” I cried.

  Eagle rose into orbit around the moon. A few minutes later we spotted Columbia and the service module. The computer took over steering and joined all three modules together again.

  “Everyone, get back to Columbia,” I said. “Next stop, Earth!”

  Once we were all in Columbia, I released Eagle from the other two modules. Then I started up the rocket engine, and we headed toward home. It was a smooth ride until after we released the service module and entered Earth’s atmosphere.

  “Fire up the thrusters, Astro Cat,” I said. “We need to make sure the module is in the right position. Gravity will do the rest. But hold on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

  “You aren’t kidding about that!” Wallace yelled, holding on for dear life as Columbia rattled and shook. “Whoa, I think gravity just came back!”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I feel like I weigh more than Daddy!”

  “I weigh more than an elephant!” Wallace exclaimed.

  I laughed. “I weigh more than the Empire State Building!”

  I looked out the window. We were almost there. I knew what to do.

  “Release the drogue parachutes, Command Module Pilot!” I said.

  Wallace looked confused. “What are those?”

  I did it myself. “They’re the special parachutes that slow us down for splashdown,” I explained. “Brace yourselves—we’re almost there!”

  I looked out the window one more time. The ocean looked like it was speeding toward us. I closed my eyes and prepared for impact.

  Chapter 10

  DOWN TO EARTH

  I opened my eyes. We were all back in the gazebo. Astro Cat was clinging to me with all his claws. I peeled him off.

  “We made it,” I exclaimed, flinging off my space helmet.

  Mom looked up from her plants. “Everything okay over there, kids?” she called.

  “Better than okay!” I replied. “We just got back from the moon!”

  “It was really cool,” Wallace added. “Zixtar loved it!”

  “Who’s Zixtar?” Mom asked.

  “Wallace invented him,” I told her. “He’s this really cool alien pirate.”

  Mom chuckled. “I’m surprised you all came back so soon.”

  I carried the Baby over to her. �
�We came back because he needs his diaper changed,” I said.

  Mom headed into the house with the Baby. When I got back to the gazebo, Wallace was scribbling in his notebook.

  “I have lots of ideas for our script,” he said. “Maybe Zixtar gets lost in a black hole and has to use his tentacle sextant to escape.”

  “I don’t think a sextant would work in a black hole,” I corrected him.

  Wallace scowled. Then he smiled. “Okay, then what if he gets lost in the asteroid belt instead?”

  I thought about that. “Sure, that could work.”

  “Cool!” Wallace wrote it down.

  Just then we heard someone calling his name. An older man peered over the hedge and waved. “There you are, Wallace,” he said. “It’s time for lunch.”

  “Coming, Gramps,” Wallace said. He looked at me. “Can we have another writers’ meeting after lunch?”

  “Sure,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

  Notes for script:

  1. Low gravity on the moon means Zixtar can do a backflip during a fight scene!

  2. Have bad guys scramble the stars so Zixtar can’t navigate—but he can still use his sextant tentacle!

  3. Use Thunder Rocks to destroy the star-scrambling ray!

  Notes from cowriter/chief science adviser: There’s no way someone could scramble the stars. And THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS THUNDER ROCKS!!!!!!!!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

  Cathy Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and young adults. She lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Ellen Vandenberg is the author of numerous books for young readers. She lives in New York City.

  Gillian Reid is a British illustrator, character designer, and teacher. She lives in Ontario, Canada.

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