Cooper looked up. He had to hold up his hand to shield his eyes against the sunlight, the late-afternoon brightness a stark contrast to the artificial lighting inside of the NASA complex. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and clicked the unlock button, the headlights flashing on a yellow Ford Mustang GT. He smiled, his head was still buzzing, he felt like he was in a daze, the world around him unreal. 

He was going to the moon. Him. Cooper Byrne. 

His team had been chosen for the first manned mission to the moon in over 50 years. For the past three years they had worked long hours, researching and doing physical training. Now he was just two days from the launch. He couldn't believe it. Sliding into the driver's seat and closing the door, he flicked on the radio. Humming happily, he pulled out onto the main road and put the windows down. It was a hot day and he welcomed the cool breeze that rushed in.

He flicked on his indicator and took a left onto the freeway. He drove for half an hour before his phone buzzed. He answered quickly and put the speaker on before turning his attention back to the road.

"What's up?" Cooper could barely keep the excitement out of his voice as he spoke.

His mum laughed through the tinny phone speaker, "Just checking in with my favourite astronaut."

"You can call me that when I get back from space." He said it jokingly but in his head he repeated the sentence over and over again. When he got back from space.

"Well, I'm making pasta for dinner. When do you think you'll be home?" Cooper stopped at a set of lights and looked at the street-signs overhead.

"Ah, in twenty minutes or so. Start without me if you're hungry." He knew that she would stay up and wait for him. A couple of times, he had got home, to find his mum asleep at the kitchen table with dinner sitting in the oven.

"No, it's fine. I'll wait."

"Okay." 

The light went green and Cooper started to pull out. He was already half way across the intersection when he heard the growl of an engine to his left. Turning his head, he looked around, a car raced down the road. 

It was coming towards him. 

In the split-second before the collision he tried to swerve away but he was too late. The impact rocked Cooper's head backwards and his vision was blurred with black dots. His body was thrown against the door, his seatbelt doing nothing to restrain him. He was vaguely aware of shouting and he could smell smoke. Blinking, he tried to stay awake, to resist the darkness that was pulling at the edges of his mind. His phone was still on and he could hear his mother calling his name. He moved his lips but no words came out. His head was pounding and he felt hands touching him, carrying him towards the sound of sirens. He gave in to the darkness.

* * *

A beeping sound penetrated through his half-asleep mind and he winced before opening his eyes. He was in a hospital bed. Sitting up, his body heavy, he noticed his mum in a chair next to him. She looked up and he could see the pity in her eyes.

"You were in a car accident, you're lucky that you weren't killed. Though, you probably won't be able to walk normally for a while..."

"But what about the launch?" He tried to get out of bed, she reached over and pushed him back down. At this point his mum had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You've been unconscious for almost two days, the launch starts in five minutes."

He sat there for a moment in shock, his breath caught in his throat. He wasn't going to the moon. He wasn't going to see the launch. He wasn't going into space. Tears streaked down his face and he didn't bother wiping them away. There was no point. There was a window in front of him. The stars shone through it, taunting him. Taking a deep breath, Cooper looked up.

Word Count: 700

A/N: This was just for an english assignment so I thought I would post it on here. Hope you enjoyed it, I thought it was kind of depressing at the end but oh well. I wish you all have a good day! :)