The Hand in the Moon by Noah Knox Marshall

Author:Noah Knox Marshall [Marshall, Noah Knox]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781790589951
Publisher: Imagination Bay Press
Published: 2018-12-03T22:00:00+00:00

Messy Kisses

K ai squirmed out of his grandfather’s arms, slipped out of his restraints and ran to the bow, coming to Shaw’s side. He was leaning over Dax, who on impact had been thrown into a cubbyhole in the forward section and was now groaning, clutching his bloody knee.

“Is he okay?” Grampa called, just now untangling his restraint from Kai’s empty one.

“Yeah, he’ll live to kill us another day,” Shaw answered, reaching down to examine the knee injury. Dax swatted his hand away.

“Oww! Leave it!”

But Shaw persisted, delicately feeling around the joint and the two small cuts.

“His knee’s bleeding!” Kai shouted, very close to Shaw’s ear.

“Kai! Please . . . get us the first aid kit, okay?”

And he bounced off to the back of the boat.

“I’m sorry, Shaw,” Dax said ruefully, catching his big brother’s grim demeanor.

“It’s not my pride and joy you drove into the rocks.”

Dax winced; that hurt a lot more than his knee. Just behind Shaw, Grampa’s face lurched into view. He wore a blank expression, betraying neither judgment nor relief, and then he was gone again. There was the sound of the engine dying – apparently Grampa had just switched it off – but the scent of burning oil remained pungent. Motors had long since turned to cleaner fuel systems, running on super batteries, hydrogen plasma or other compounds, but oil and silicon-based additives were still common lubricants. In a situation such as this, the superheated odor was a likely sign that some lines had been perforated.

His face hot with shame, Dax looked back at Grampa, who was at the stern, gazing down, looking for any damage. The whole boat was listing, though they had no way of yet knowing if that was because they were taking on water or were simply perched on some rocks. Kai handed the first aid kit to Shaw and ran to the starboard side of the boat, looking over the edge.

“What did you do, Dax?!”

Dax winced, trying to sit up.

“Hold still!” Shaw snapped, applying a protective gel patch over the wound. As soon as it was on, Dax moved to Kai’s side to get a look. Grampa and Shaw joined them, staring down into the water. Even above the sloshing current, there were deep scratches visible in the previously pristine hull. Alongside and all around, they were surrounded by shallow reefs.

“You okay, boy?” Grampa asked. Dax nodded sheepishly.

“You said you were checking the grid,” Shaw scolded.

“Grampa, I didn’t mean to—”

But the grave look in his grandfather’s eyes stilled him. Overwhelmed with guilt, Dax looked around and without warning, flipped himself over the rail, into the water.

“Hey!” his grandfather shouted, but the boy was already submerged, small bubbles trailing up from his darting form.

“He’s gonna cut his feet on those rocks . . .” Grampa muttered anxiously.

From above, they saw his form hover in one spot for a moment, then move a few meters down the hull, until he finally surfaced. Water was drizzling down the golden locks clinging to his face, but that didn’t camouflage the redness in his eyes.

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