Up In The Moon

Jack’s biggest dream was to ride in a hot-air balloon. Life on the farm was exhausting, and he wanted a break from the constant chores — even if he was only eleven. But when his dream finally came true, the moon revealed its dark side: cunning, evil, and alive.

Kidnapped by a mysterious force, Jack was taken to the moon, a secret prison filled with workers from all across the universe. With the help of Beth, a curious ten-year-old, and his long-lost parents, Jack must find a way to escape, end the Moon’s control, and return everyone home.

Dreams don’t always go as planned… but sometimes, they lead to adventure.

Chapter 1 — The Hot-Air Balloon Ride

“Are you sure you want to do this, Jack?” asked Mr. Melever, the pilot.

Most people would have changed their minds at the last second — but not me.

“I’m always ready!” I replied, excitement filling my chest.

Being an orphan and a servant on a small farm wasn’t easy, but today — my eleventh birthday — I finally had enough money to chase my dream: to fly in a hot-air balloon. A small part of me also hoped I might discover something about my parents.

“Well then, hop in, young man,” the pilot said.

I stepped into the basket. A thrill shot through me, and Mr. Melever handed me a packed lunch.

“Hang on now. The beginning can be rough,” he warned. “You brought everything you need, right?”

I was so excited I almost didn’t hear him.

“Oh — yes! I packed everything, including sick bags!” I said proudly.

As the balloon rose, the tension — and excitement — rose inside me.

“So, are you enjoying the ride?” the pilot asked.

The view was breathtaking. The trees below looked like tiny green broccoli, and the houses looked like pieces from a Monopoly board.

Cars crawled along the roads like insects, then slowly became dots.

“Yes — it’s incredible. Majestic, even,” I finally said.

Mr. Melever pressed a few buttons, his movements stiff and strange. 

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

The wind was strange; almost eerie like. Covering the sky like a blanket, the warm, blue skys turned their back; they becam dull. 

“Yep. All good,” he said, but his smile didn’t match his words.

Something felt wrong.

He began dropping sandbags one by one. I looked down again. The world wasn’t a landscape anymore — it was just faint blobs of green and brown.

Chapter 2 — Mr. Moon

Suddenly, a white, rocky, colossal arm grabbed me by the waist, and a gust of wind swept the balloon away, with the pilot still inside it. I struggled, but the grip was too strong.

The arm dropped me onto a white, rocky surface — just like its hand.

“Greetings, Jack,” a deep voice bellowed.

I was shocked it knew my name. No one ever called me Jack! Most people didn’t even know it.

“H-how do you know my n-name?” I stuttered, shaking from head to toe. I tried not to cry.

“I know everything. I am the Moon. If you don’t believe me, look above you.”

I strained my neck. The Moon was there, smiling and waving, but its grin was eerie — cunning.

“Call me Mr. Moon, and take this,” the hand passed me a black bracelet-like object.

“Slap it on,” it instructed. I obeyed. It felt tight on my wrist, heavy. Then it hit me: this place wasn’t normal.

This was a jail.

“Mua ha ha ha!” Mr. Moon cackled. “You are under my control now.” He held up a silver chain connected to the bracelet.

I felt silly.

“Your job will be making cheese, which I will sell to the richest people across the universe. As for your parents…” He paused, frowning. “You’ll work at the blue cheese factory.”

I winced. I hated the smell of blue cheese.

Chapter 3 — Luca and Melissa Grinace

“Moon Cow!” Mr. Moon bellowed.

A yellow cow appeared and looked at me. “Take him to the Blue Cheese Factory.”

The cow picked me up and carried me off. On the way, I saw cheese rivers and trees. Swiss cheese benches, mozzarella fountains — the moon was made of cheese! I hadn’t realized until now.

Factories stretched as far as I could see: Swiss, Cheddar, even Camembert. Secretly, I feared they would save the worst factory for last.

“Ouch!” I shouted, pinching myself. The cow stared. I wasn’t dreaming.

“You must work here. But don’t try to escape — you don’t want to end up like Luca and Melissa Grinace,” he warned.

The name hit me like a bullet. It sounded like my last name!

I wanted to know who Luca and Melissa were. Could they be my parents?

“They were locked in a prison cell. They haven’t been right ever since. Some say they’re heroes, but we think they’ve lost their minds.” The cow shook his head.

“Did they have any children?” I asked.

“Well, nosy,” the guard muttered. “They had one child and sent him off in a hot-air balloon to a farm. We tried to bring him here, but the farm owners said he was needed as a servant.”

The cow looked suspicious for a moment. “Wait… why am I telling you this?”

I shrugged, excited. Maybe I’d just found my parents.

Chapter 4 — The Blue Cheese Factory

After more traveling, the moon cow released me and handed me a small badge: “Jack — Blue Cheese Factory.”

It left to join other moon cows, and I entered the factory. The smell of cheese hit me like a slap. My job was to sort the good cheese from the rotten, mostly by smell. I kept my back straight and moved to my station, taking in the chaos of workers around me.

A short girl with straight brown hair worked nearby.

“You’re new, right? I know you — Jack Grinace! Your parents are Luca and Melissa, right?”

I nodded.

“They’re huge role models. Oops!” she slapped her forehead.

“I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Bethany Silva, but you can call me Beth.” She stuck out her hand, and I shook it.

“Do we get break times?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “The next one is in ten minutes, for forty minutes. We can go wherever we like.”

I realized that might be enough time to visit the jail cells and find my parents.

“Hey Beth,” I started. “Do you think we could quickly go to the jail cells at break?”

She looked confused, but agreed.

“Why?” she asked.

“I want to see my parents and find a way to free everyone from this prison world,” I said.

Beth nodded, and we returned to work, hearts full of hope.

Chapter 5 — The Jail Cells

“Break time!” one of the moon cows shouted.

I looked at Beth, and she nodded. We snuck away and headed toward the jail cells. The air was foul, worse than any barn back on the farm.

“Well,” Beth muttered, scrunching her nose, “this stinks to high heaven!”

I couldn’t argue. The smell was unbearable. I wondered how anyone could live here. Most of the prisoners hadn’t done anything wrong, and it made me feel sorry for them.

“Let’s get moving,” Beth said, swatting at a fly-like creature. I followed her quietly.

Finally, we reached the jail cells. Beth called out, “Mr. and Mrs. Grinace?”

Two figures emerged from the shadows at the end of the corridor. My heart leapt.

I stepped closer. One had blonde hair like my mother’s, and the man had the same birthmark near his left eye as me. These people had to be my parents.

“Jack?” the man called.

I nodded. We hugged through the bars, and Beth stood back respectfully.

“Mum! Dad!” I shouted, barely able to contain my excitement.

“How did you get here?” Dad asked, worried.

“From a hot-air balloon,” I replied.

“Thought so,” he said. “Everyone here arrived that way, and Mr. Moon enslaved them. Only a few dare to escape… but no one has.” His voice softened with sadness.

“Who’s your friend?” Mum asked, gesturing to Beth.

“Bethany Silva,” she said. “But you can call me Beth.”

I explained our plan: to free everyone and defeat Mr. Moon.

Dad nodded. “There’s an orb, shaped like a full moon.

Break it at the center of the moon, and everyone — you, Beth, us, even the moon cows — will return home.”

“Got it!” I said, full of hope.

“Now go back,” Mum warned. “We’ll talk more later.”

“See you later!” I called, as Beth and I hurried back to the factory.

Chapter 6 — Jailbreak

Beth and I planned to see my parents again at first break. Second break would be for rest — since there was no night or day here.

The full moon was approaching. Beth and I gathered all the information we’d need.

“The orb is in the Main Security Room,” Mum had told us. “On the highest shelf in the third closet.”

On the day of the full moon, we sneaked out on second break, heading to the jail cells.

We reached the bars, but panic hit — they were locked!

“How do we get them out?” I whispered.

“Always come prepared,” Beth said, pulling a bobby pin from her hair. She twisted it in the lock, and just like that, Mum and Dad were free.

“Genius,” I whispered, high-fiving Beth.

We hugged quickly, then Dad pointed at the angry cluster of moon cows and security guards.

“We better skedaddle!” he warned, and we ran toward the Main Security Room.

Chapter 7 — The Big Escape

“Hey! Get back!” shouted the mob, chasing us.

We dodged Swiss cheese trees, nacho puddles from a failed experiment, and camembert camels. We passed mozzarella fountains and rivers of cheese, even the blue cheese factory where the smell made me gag.

Finally, we reached the Main Security Room. Beth picked at the lock with bobby pins while the crowd surged closer.

“We’ll hold them back! You two find the orb and break it!” shouted Mum and Dad.

I remembered Mum’s instructions: highest shelf, third closet. I pointed to it.

“Beth, that shelf! Quick!”

She nodded but was too short to reach. I jumped and snatched the orb from the shelf, passing it to Beth.

“Go from the back door!” Dad shouted.

We sprinted to the center of the moon — where I had first met Mr. Moon — orb in hand, ready to end his control once and for all.

Chapter 8 — Mr. Moon’s Deal

“Hello, Bethany,” Mr. Moon waved, his grin cunning as ever. “Long time no see!”

My stomach dropped.

“I’ll make a deal: give me the orb, or I’ll turn your friend Jack into cheese with the Cheesinator.”

Beth’s eyes lit up — that lightbulb look I knew so well.

“Okay, you can have the orb,” she said coolly.

“No, Beth!” I shouted, but she winked at me and faced Mr. Moon.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said with a mischievous grin. “But… you have to catch it!”

Before he could react, Beth dropped the orb. Mr. Moon lunged, but it slipped from his grasp.

“No!” he roared.

Beth returned to me and my parents, smiling. We were free. No more prison, no more cheese enslavement — freedom at last.

Chapter 9 — Heading Back Home

“In a few minutes, we’ll all go home,” Mum said, and I grinned.

“We’ll float down to our houses, even the moon cows will return to their paddocks!”

“Beth, where do you live?” I asked.

“New York,” she replied.

“That’s far from here,” Dad said.

Beth looked a little sad. I grabbed some cheese-paper and a cheese-pen, and Mum wrote our address. We passed it to Beth.

“Write to us all the time!” Mum exclaimed.

Beth nodded, tears of happiness in her eyes. I hugged her one last time.

“Don’t forget me!” I shouted as we floated apart.

“I won’t, Jack!” she replied.

Chapter 10 — Five Years Later

Five years later, I still remembered Beth, Mr. Moon, and the chaos we had survived.

We had kept in touch through letters, and Beth had finally saved enough money to visit London. Mum and Dad had signed the digital papers — soon, she would be here.

The doorbell rang. I opened it, and there she was — my friend from the blue cheese factory.

“Beth!” Mum ran from the kitchen, hugging her tightly. Dad was in the living room, setting up a “Welcome to London” meal.

Beth’s mischievous smile returned, the same one she had when she dropped the orb. I felt the world tilt, as if the past were colliding with the present.

But then she whispered something I couldn’t believe. Something about Mr. Moon. Something that made my stomach drop.

And just like that, everything we thought we’d left behind wasn’t done with us yet.