Secret of Mars

by Eric Johnson

  Winston nudged Tom to the side. “I can’t pull if you block my elbows.”

  “The ladder is too heavy.” Emmett sat in the corner.

  They were more work than help. “This is a dumb plan, remember?” Tom said angrily. “What’s wrong with you two? I’ve got it. Go sit down.”

  With the ladder up Tom collapsed on the floor. He flexed his fingers and rubbed his arms, noticing blood running from several cuts.

  Winston spoke first, he almost seemed thankful. “You took out that creature.”

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  “He’s actually saying thank you.” Emmett said. “You’re supposed to reply; You’re welcome.”

  “Are we safe up here?” Winston asked.

  Tom cracked a water bottle and drank. “How should I now? We have to rest. My dad will be home soon. Hide until he gets here.”

  “What about the Rocky Road?” Winston grabbed for the container.

  “He’s not coming,” Emmett said. “How could he get here? We barely made it.”

  Tom’s gaze burned a hole through Emmett, killing him three ways to Saturday. “You don’t know that.”

  “I do,” Emmett stood his ground.

  Tom threw his water bottle at Emmett, and tackled him. He grabbed Emmett by the throat. This was it, he was going to toss him right out of the tree. Before he could, Winston pulled him away. “He means that we were lucky to make it here, and it isn’t going to be easy for your dad to get home.”

  “He’s coming. I know he is.”

  Emmett rubbed his throat. “Squeeze a little harder next time, would ya?”

  Tom shook Winston’s hands off and stared out the window.

  “We have to try to get along.” Winston kicked Emmett in the leg.

  “We’ll die if we don’t,” Tom agreed. “We need to make a decision right here, right now.”

  Gunfire filled the air around his neighbor's house. Screaming came and went as they tried to flee. A sea of the creatures washed up and down the street.

  The trash cans clattered down the driveway and shuffling footsteps come toward the tree fort. “Get down,” Tom said.

  A creature appeared below as they peeked the floor. They hugged the tree trunk, keeping away from the gaps in the boards. Tom held his breath.

  Winston’s face twitched and he sneezed; snot squirted between his fingers and onto his chin. The creature turned its head up, and tentacles extended, feeling the bottom of the tree fort. Tom squeezed his eyes shut. His wish came true, and the creature growled as it moved away.

  Time crept. The low rumble of cars from the nearby freeway was gone; even the birds were silent. Only the sound of the rain remained. Tom lifted his head to look through the window. Smoke came from somewhere down the street, clouding his view.

  Winston appeared next to him. “What’d ya see out there?”

  “Keep down. The yard’s clear but I don’t know if they’re gone. We have to wait longer to be sure.”

  He got as comfortable as he could on the wet carpet. Rocky Road dripped through the floorboards. It was probably going to be the last that he would see for a while. He picked up the container and tipped it back, dripping the last of it onto his tongue.

  “Hey, that was ours,” Winston said.

  Tom shook the container, showing that it was empty. “We’re going to be here a while, you’d better get yourself comfortable too.”

  “We want to go home.” Emmett zipped up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “You promised.”

  “I know I promised, but don’t you think we have a bigger problem right now? It’s going to be dark soon. We need to get ready for the night. My dad keeps the camping gear in the garage. I’ll go down and get it, and you keep an eye out.”

  Tom slid the ladder down until its feet stuck into the muddy ground. He descended with his back to the rungs, feeling the way with his feet so he could keep an eye on the driveway. When he was a kid the garage had always scarred him, there were no creatures in there today. He turned the knob. “Crap.”

  “What’s wrong?” Winston called down.

  Tom picked up a rock and broke the window. He reached around the shards in the pane and flipped the latch. “No keys. I got it.”

  Bags of cans and stacks of bundled newspapers were piled everywhere. The camping gear was stored in the back corner covered in cobwebs. Tom pulled recyclables out of the way to get to it. Picking up the first of the storage containers, he tossed it out of the door toward the ladder and returned for another.

  The garage darkened suddenly and a discarded can crunched behind him. He didn’t want to turn. Why didn’t Emmett warn him? There was only one answer; the twins weren’t paying attention and one from the house must have sneaked past. He spun around and reeled backward, groping for something to defend himself. Spiderwebs clung to his head, and his back hit the far wall. His hand found the thick wooden handle of a shovel and he raised it like a spear. At the same time the creature lunged at him, he charged, thrusting and jabbing the shovel. He yelled in defiance, hitting his mark. The blade sank deep into the creature’s chest; gore oozed out and down the shovel, pooling on the floor.

  But that didn’t stop the creature. The force from the impact stopped him cold and he found himself pushed back across the cluttered garage. Hitting the back wall, the shovel acted as a wedge, holding his attacker at bay. Tom twisted the shovel, hoping to tear its guts out. He pushed harder. The creature’s tentacles shot out, getting hold of his shirt. It slid down the shaft, moving itself closer to him with the crack of snapping cartilage and bone.

  Tom gasped.

  The creature brushed his face with its fingertips. He braced his foot against its torso, pushing with all his strength, but his leg folded under its weight and the creature slid closer.

  He couldn’t fail. He had to live to find his dad. Fight! echoed in his head. Strength wasn’t the answer. He bobbed and weaved. The creature caught hold of his ear and pulled. His eyes widened, his ear was going to come off if he didn’t get free.

  He needed to be faster. Holding tightly onto the shovel he twisted his body, ducked underneath, sidestepped and pulled as hard as he could, using it like a leash.

  He led the creature around in a quick half circle. It lost its balance and crashed into the wall. The creature pushed out from the wall and marched Tom backwards. The only thing between them was the shovel and that was shortening quickly.

  Tom glanced over his shoulder at the door, wanting to run, but if he let go what would happen? Using the creature’s own force against it he spun it around again and let go of the shovel. The creature fell backwards into the broken window frame of the door. A shard of glass pierced the back of its skull and it collapsed to its knees, arms raised out and twitching. He couldn’t take his eyes off the it. Was it dead? What happened to his lookouts?

  Leaning over the edge Winston called down. “Tom?”

  Tom didn’t answer, they needed to sweat. He listened.

  “You didn’t watch.” Winston yelled.

  “I wanted to see what would happen.”

  “We’re screwed now, Emmett. We don’t even know how to get home from here.”

  “That’s not what we should be worrying about, we can figure it out. He was only going to get in our way.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “I don’t think so. His stupid plan included getting killed and turned into a creature.”

  “Tom?”

  Now he knew where he stood, Emmett was going to kill him to get home.

  He emerged from the garage. Blood ran from the torn ear, and his shirt was hanging by a thread. He signaled he was okay with his middle finger. “Didn’t you see that creature? Pull this box up now. You should have warned me sooner. By not keeping watch like I asked, you almost got me killed. Get down there and take the rest of the stuff up. I’ll keep watch.”

  Winston leaned out and offered a helping hand. “Sorry.”

  “If you followed directions you wo
uldn’t have to be.” Tom batted his hand away.

  “Emmett wanted to see what would happen.”

  Tom pulled a pair of binoculars, checking if the fight had attracted more of them. “We had a plan and you guys didn’t follow it. We can’t take any chances. When I say watch out for me, I mean it. If something happens to me, what will happen to you? There’s still more stuff down there that we can use, but it’s late and I don’t want to be caught in the dark.”

  “We needed to know how they behave,” Emmett said. “Then we can have a proper response if we have to fight up close again.”

  “And I’m your Guinea pig. Great, that’s just great. Can we agree on not killing me?”

  Night fell and a pale moon chased the rain away. Pain rippled through Tom’s arms and legs; all the bones in his neck and back were twisted from the strains of the day. He tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable in his sleeping bag, but the pain and flashbacks of the day's horrors conspired to keep him awake.

  After the day’s rain the mosquitoes came out; they were going to be covered with bites by the morning and it was too hot to hide in his sleeping bag. Winston and Emmett were snoring, he couldn’t believe that they were able to sleep.

  During the night jets raced over head, green lights flashed across the sky and in the distance, there was a deep boom that caused the tree to shake. He stared out into the darkness at the silhouettes of the trees against the night sky. Then he saw the stars, noticing how clear they were without the city lights. “Where are you, Dad?”

  Kick a Teddy Bear

  Birds announced the dawn as the stars faded. Tom stood up, and kicked his sleeping bag off. He couldn’t tell if he had slept at all. Rubbing his eyes, he stretched. He was hungrier than he ever remembered being. He took a food bar from the backpack and stuffed it into his mouth. It was stale and dry.

  Shut up birds. He spat out part of the energy bar and lay back down, putting the backpack under his head. Mattresses aren't appreciated enough. A crow with an eyeball in its beak landed on the branch next to Tom and cawed. Through half raised eyelids Tom burned Winston and Emmett with contempt. If he couldn’t sleep, neither would they. He kicked their feet to rouse them. “Get up now. We have a lot of things to do.”

  Winston batted at Tom’s foot away and Emmett pulled the sleeping bag over his head. “Hey!”

  He pulled their sleeping bags away. They sat up. “We want our parents.”

  “I want my dad too, but we have to be ready to take care of ourselves. Our best chance is to get the things we need to stay safe, and wait here. That’s our plan.”

  “We had a deal,” Emmett said. “It’s not going to work.”

  Winston and Emmett spoke at the same time. “Home.”

  “Do you know how creepy it is when you do that?”

  Emmett wiped the crust from his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s really simple. You said you would get us home. So, do it.”

  They were never going to give it a rest, and how he needed one. He had to stall them. “We made it through the night safely. That’s got to be a good sign.”

  “No, it’s not,” Emmett said. “It just means that we were lucky.”

  Winston cracked his knuckles. “I’m hungry. Where’s my breakfast? My mom always has breakfast ready for us.”

  What was Winston talking about? “Do I look like your mom?” Tom rolled his eyes and tossed a food bar at him. “Here. Breakfast.”

  Winston frowned.

  “Something else wrong, Winston?”

  “It’s not organic. I can’t eat it.”

  “Don’t be a dumb ass! The candy you ate at the U-Mart wasn’t organic. What’s the trouble?”

  “I thought I was going to die.”

  “And that makes a difference? There’s still time to die today.”

  “Do I need to tell you how to get us home?” Emmett said.

  “I don’t want to risk it. You guys can’t follow directions. You couldn’t even watch my back. Do I need to show you the ladder?”

  “You don’t want to fail again, like you did with the class. Are we your last chance to feel better about killing our class with your plan, is that it?” Emmett said.

  “I couldn’t leave you. It wasn’t the right thing to do, obviously.”

  “You want to keep us here, because you’re scared of being alone!”

  “Yeah, I’m scared, and so are you.”

  “Emmett,” Winston butted in, “you’re doing it again.”

  “Here we are.” Emmett ignored him. “And what are you doing? Nothing. You feel guilty. You’re afraid of failing. And it's stopping you from keeping your promise.”

  “Don’t be stupid, we are safe here. All you wanted to do yesterday was stay wherever you thought was safe.”

  “You said your dad was going to be here, but he isn’t. We made it to your house, where you promised to take us home from. It’s our turn now.”

  “Did you forget what it’s like out there? Those things move fast. What happens if we get cornered? You can’t fight. You can’t run. All the time you spent sitting at home playing video games has made you weak. When was the last time you went outside except to go to school?”

  “I see, you’re my mom now. Take us home.”

  “No, we can’t risk it until we know what we are dealing with better.”

  “No?” Winston said. “I don’t want to never see my mom again. Aren’t you worried about yours?

  “I don’t even know where my mom is, she disappeared when I was eight. I can hardly remember what she looks like.” They would never understand what it was like. They were greedy spoil-copter kids.

  “Then you understand,” Emmett said.

  “I don’t think you do.”

  Emmett sat and slumped against the wall. “We’re not going to help with anything.”

  “I’m not keeping you here, you’re keeping yourself. Get out.”

  Tom wound up, there was a storm of words coming, but Winston cut him off. “It doesn’t do us any good to fight.”

  Tom paced back and forth. He looked Emmett and Winston over. They were useless. They barely had a pulse. Then he noticed despite how messy their hair was it was well cut, tight edged, and their clothes were expensive. Their parents must dote over them. “I want to stay. You want to go. I don’t want to be stuck here by myself, and you can’t get home alone. What if we do both.”

  “Well that doesn’t make sense at all?” Emmett said.

  “Tell me where you live and I’ll take you. But I need your help first.”

  Winston stood surprised. “Really?”

  “We live on Morton in the middle of the block,” Emmett said.

  “That’s seven blocks away, you understand what we are up against? It’s the end of the world out there. This is going to take some thinking.”

  “Take your neighbor’s car. It’s right there, we could get the keys and you can drive us home.”

  “It would be faster, but there’s no way we’re doing that, not again. We would have to go in and find the keys. I don’t want to risk it. What if they are home and what if they are turned like everyone else? And what if we can’t find the keys? What then?”

  “You can fight them with your skateboard,” Winston said. “It worked before.

  “That was total luck.”

  “What about bikes?”

  “We have three choices to think about; bad, crazy and insane. Help me gather the last of the gear from the garage and the house. Emmett, you keep watch.”

  *

  Cutting through backyards and climbing over fences, they followed the secret pathways that only kids knew. Tom found it was way more work than he’d expected.

  “Where are all the people?” Winston asked. “Not everyone can be gone. We can’t be the only ones who made it. Can we?”

  Tom turned silencing him. “Quiet. We have to be careful, we don’t know what’s in these yards.”

  “I do.” Winston kept talking. “Big evil monster
s that want to eat us, or worse.”

  “We know they aren’t monsters,” Emmett slapped Winston in the back of the head. “Don’t be stupid.”

  Winston pushed Emmett. “Do you have to be a jerk all the time?”

  Apparently, cooperation was out the window, and Tom stopped. “Let me remind you idiots, it’s why we are checking each yard before we enter, first. My plan is to move quickly and quietly, but carefully.

  “We’re not moving quickly. That house is empty. See, the windows and the back door? Wide open. Let’s just go,” Emmett said.

  “If you two could climb fences better I wouldn’t worry about it so much, but you’re so slow that if we make a mistake, I don’t think we will survive. Maybe I can leave you to feed the creatures if something goes wrong, Emmett. He who runs fastest. Get it?”

  Winston climbed over the fence and got in Tom’s face. “Don’t talk to my brother that way.”

  Tom kicked a teddy bear, sending it tumbling across the yard. “I’m not talking. I’m telling. See all these suitcases and packs, what do they tell you?”

  “That the danger is gone. If there were any creatures here, wouldn’t they have attacked by now?”

  “Maybe we should call out to see if anyone is here,” Winston said.

  “That would be like painting yourself with neon green paint and running naked through the shopping mall yelling “Here I am. Look here. Look here.”

  Packaging crinkled and tore behind Tom. “Give me a doughnut, Emmett,” Winston argued.

  “No, butt head. Get your own.”

  “You have to share, remember. Don’t kick that.”

  A family sized jar of pickles scooted down the driveway past Tom and shattered against the house. The smell of pickles in the air tickled his nose and made his mouth water.

  “What the hell did you do that for?”

  Sugar glaze and crumbs stuck to Emmett’s face. “You kicked the teddy bear.”

  “Don’t.” Tom sighed. “Just keep it together long enough to get home. Then you’re on your own.”

  Crumbs fell from Emmett’s mouth as he smiled. “What do you say to the freaking out pickle?”

  Tom turned and walked away. “I’m not answering that.”