Red City

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. There was time when the inhabitants of Red City tried to scream and warn the neighboring planets of their impeding demise, but no one came to help them. Granted, the mayor did pose a great question then: What would one do when they got here? Put out the sun?

And thus, the people stopped screaming. It proved futile and was beginning to hurt their throats.

Instead, they went on with their average lives; they baked breads and took their children to parks and read books and went to work. They made it a habit to rarely, if ever, look up, but aside from that, they lead simple, pleasant lives. Mr. Brown walked his dog every morning like he normally did, the schoolhouses were just as full as they always were, and Caleb, the grocery story owner, was as jolly as ever. They had town meetings on Wednesdays where they consistently neglected to talk about it, and it never came up as a topic of conversation amongst the housewives in their knitting circles or with the men by the water cooler at work. They made it a point to pretend it wasn’t happening until it did. And when it did, they would deal with it then, but not before.

But not talking about it did not make it less likely to happen. It did not make it go away. And while screaming wasn’t helping, ignoring was almost as bad. They could still feel the scorching heat on their skin each day. Night didn’t exist anymore; it was always morning and always hot, thus, they changed “night” to “latter morning”. Several of their lakes had dried up and the remaining few had only puddles left. They didn’t notice it at first, but when winter season came and went without even a gust of cold air, they summoned their chief scientist, who spent days in his lab analyzing this and that, looking for a solution. When he finally emerged, he had a long white beard, which was unlike him, but the stress had caused angry white facial hairs to sprout from his ruddy chin and vengefully grow down to his navel. That day, he gripped his clipboard so hard his fingers turned pale. He was normally a very confident and pointed man, but that day he stammered when he spoke, his words and his large frame trembling.

“We’re all going to die soon,” were the first words that escaped him. Panic rightfully ensued amongst the people. When they’d settled about thirty minutes later, he went on to explain why he thought they were all going to die. Essentially, something had caused the sun to move from its original spot and a lot closer to their small red planet. He didn’t know what, or why, he just knew that it had and it was going to kill them; a logical conclusion to a large ball of fire slow hurling towards them.

“We’ve got about 30 days from now before it touches the surface and sets it all ablaze,” he explained.

They took that bit of information in slightly slower, most imagining what they could do in 30 days. Mrs. Rain could remodel her whole kitchen in 30 days. The car John had been working on would be finished in 30 days. Hannah’s baby was due in 30 days.

“Can we stop it?” someone asked, though they weren’t sure who.

The scientist shrugged. He didn’t know much about this anomaly. It was odd, to say the least, but he was willing to try to find a way to help. He’d locked himself in his laboratory, that day, vowing not to reemerge until he had a solution.

The others however, did something different. When reality set in, and they all wordlessly concurred that there was nothing they could do, they sent out a sound. No one was sure who began it, but one sound proceeded and was followed by another, then another, until the whole planet was making the sound in unison. Their heads were tilted back towards the sky and from their bellies came a scream or a wail that would have pierced ear drums if they had any. It was a melodic sound in a beautiful, undiscovered note that rang throughout the galaxy and bounced onto neighboring planets, 11 and 13, but their people ignored the cry. Having seen the danger months ago, those inhabitants buried themselves under their surfaces, knowing they could be next. The Red City screamed for the rest of that day, in that spot, for their children, for their men and their women, for the homes and lives they’d built and for themselves and the things they’d never do or the places they’d never go. They screamed until Mayor Dud, who was the first to stop wailing, reminded them that no one was coming, no one had ever come there, and they should all go back home. There was nothing they could do and no one could hear them.

But someone could hear them.

That sound danced through the galaxy, swayed through the solar system, and plopped into a much larger planet called Earth. It was picked up by a farmer’s satellite, and burst all the windows in his house. He, of course, contacted the appropriate authorities, and while no one has heard from the farmer since, three people were promptly dispatched in a large ship to Planet 12.

Though the galactic calvary was en route, the Red City occupants were already resuming with their average daily activities. No one verbally said they would ignore the problem until an obvious solution presented itself, that’s just what they did. And for days it worked. No one complained about the heat and the children did not whine when they could not swim in the pools because it was now just a crater. They all complied and pretended everything was fine.

But on the tenth day of the sun’s slow walk towards Planet 12, they arrived. Their ship landed right in the middle of town square, sending red dirt flying this way and that. They came in big, heavy, mylar suits that reminded the people of baked potatoes. They didn’t have helmets like the people would have expected, had they been expecting them. They had small oxygen masks, like the kind doctors used, and large backpacks to hold their air in. They were pale, much paler than the Red City people, and short, much shorter than them too. The tallest among the three stood at about 5’7, where the average man on the planet was about 6’3. And they were meatier too; they’d read stories about human dietary habits, but it was strange to see in person, when the Red City natives were all so lean.

Granted, the people were not what the humans were expecting either. For starters, they looked just like them. They wore clothes like them, though they dressed modestly and in a 50’s and 60’s like fashion, and they didn’t even slightly resemble the aliens from movies. They had two eyes, one nose, one mouth and two ears all on one head. Some had hair, some didn’t. They had two arms with one hand attached to each arm and a total of ten digits between the two of them— five on each hand. The same for the legs: two legs, two feet, five toes on each foot. The only visually differentiating thing between those from Planet 12 and those from Planet Earth was that those from Planet 12 were red colored. Some were a deep wet rust red while others were a pale brick red. But they were all a shade of red. They matched their city perfectly, as the explorers learned. They had red buildings, red automobiles, red toys for the children. Their pets, mostly cats and dogs with a few birds and gerbils here and there, were red too. The vast terrain that covered Red City and housed the various exotic flora in its iron rich soil was all red as well, which made their un-red foods stand out all the more.

They were welcomed into the city with a chorus of murmurings. The citizens slowly gathered around, abandoning their homes and places of work and schools to examine the new addition to the city. They encircled around the ship and its owners, whispering loudly. The oldest one spoke up first, his Southern American drawl bellowing through their city. He had a short white beard and wrinkly pale beige skin. He was only about 50, but the years he’d spent studying space travel, propelling earth sciences decades in to the future, had impacted his entire body in unimaginable ways. Had this been 40 or 50 years prior, he’d have been bound to his couch, forced to retire early. Recent technological advances, however, allowed him to not only walk, talk and act like a man half his age, but also captain several intergalactic voyages, including this one; if only earth could do something about those wrinkles.

“Who’s in charge here?” the man demanded, his hands firmly on his hips. The crowd hushed and stared blankly at him, pretending not to know, until Mayor Dud silently stepped through the dense crowd. His footsteps were light, but intentional as the mayor met the alien face to face.

“I am,” Mayor Dud said firmly. He bowed to the stranger, as was their custom in Red City. The crowd gasped in horror when the captain didn’t bow back and some of the soldiers secured their hands around their weapons as a precautionary measure, but Mayor Dud held up his hand signaling for peace. He’d read about the ways of the humans in novels published by explorers from other planets, and while he respected them as another life form, their typically uncivilized manner and uncouth demeanor towards foreign customs came as no surprise. Mayor Dud was not interested in receiving honor from the aliens, he simply wanted to know why they were there.

“Captain Cersei,” the captain said extending his hand. Mayor Dud took it and shook, mimicking the Earth custom, but the captain quickly snatched his hand back and looked at it.

“How’s your skin so cold?” The captain demanded. It was like shaking hands with dry ice and the contact, even through the suit, sent chills up to his scapula. It was an odd phenomenon for the earthling considering the present condition. His suit was created to keep the heat out, but he, himself was profusely sweating. The mayor shrugged.

“It just is, I suppose. How can we help you all?” Mayor Dud politely asked.

“Actually, we’re here to help you,” Captain Cersei corrected.

Mayor Dud looked at his people. Their eyes were shifting to one another in confusion. Mayor Dud straightened his posture. He, too, was confused at the unwelcome guest’s assertion, but he was willing to hear him out at least. Besides, unwelcome or not, they were his guests and it was improper for him to show any sort of negative emotion.

“Help us? How?” He finally said with a smile.

“This here’s my team,” Captain Cersei introduced, “That over there’s Lieutenant Pavella Graski,”

The woman he gestured to nodded her head quickly without blinking or moving her face at all.



“And that’s Andy, our newest recruit,” Captain Cersei finished. In response to his introduction, Andy bowed low to the ground and raised back up, in like fashion to the planetary culture. It was a wobbly bow and his footing was a bit odd, but, his intentions were honorable. For that, Mayor Dud gave a smile and a quick bow back. Captain Cersei rolled his eyes at Andy.

“Dust yer suit off, boy!” He barked. Andy quickly dusted off his knees and stood up straight.

‘“We noticed,” Captian Cersei continued to Mayor Dud,” the sun has gotten quite close to yall’s planet. How ya holdin’ up?”

“We’re doing quite well, thank you,” the Mayor pleasantly stated.

“Really?” Lieutenant Graski shot walking closer to the mayor, “Have you asked them how they are doing?”

“I know my people, we’re fine, but thank you,” the Mayor said calmly.

“Ask them,” Lieutenant Graski said, now face to chin with the mayor. Her hot, Russian breath surrounded him like smoke, fueling his already boiling irritation. A cool hand touched the mayor’s arm, instantly calming him. He didn’t need to look to know who it was, he’d know his brother anywhere.

“Captain, Lieutenant, Andy, this is my Chief General, Yoab.” He said exhaling smoothly.

Yoab stood with his right hand on his sheathed weapon, locking eyes with Lieutenant Graski. He bowed to the others, never letting his eyes leave hers. Captain Cersei gently nudged Graski backwards. She obediently took a few steps away from the mayor and nodded to Yoab. He released his weapon then bowed to her as well.

“Mayor, if I may speak?” Andy requested. His soft western voice was a welcome change from Graski’s harsh tone. Mayor Dud nodded with permission.

“We aren’t looking to cause any trouble here,” Andy said, “but you guys are in some serious danger. We wanna help you guys by evacuating the planet.”

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves again. This time, the sound was not in unison. Some whispered with gratitude and delight while others had distain and fear in their voices. Mayor Dud once again held up his hand to silence them all, and they slowly obeyed.

“We’re not interested in evacuating our planet,” Mayor Dud said sweetly to Andy, “But we do appreciate you all coming out this far to help us. You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner. We can put you each with a family and—“

The mayor was interrupted by the annoyed groaning from Graski.

“Are men all the same on every planet?” She said irritated, “Look at your people! They are exhausted and they are scared!”

Mayor Dud examined the people closer. They weren’t sweating, they couldn’t, but they did look tired. With the sun never going down, several of them hadn’t been able to sleep in days. The profuse heat stole much of their energy and while they did proceed with their daily activities ungrudgingly, there was a clear lack of enthusiasm present; enthusiasm that once fueled the great city.

“We aren’t interested, thank you,” The mayor said beginning to turn away, “We have our own people working on the matter. We’ll solve the problem our own way,”

“Have you asked them what they think? How they feel?” Graski barked.

“We discuss all matters in proper forum, Lieutenant,” the mayor said firmly, only glancing at her from his peripheral vision.

“So you will consider their opinions, then, right?” Andy said softly.

The dirt bore skid marks where the mayor’s foot had abruptly stopped and for a brief moment, the planet was completely still. No one breathed in or out, birds did not chirp, babies did not cry; you could almost hear the wind from Planet 11 blowing. For the first time in weeks, a chill wafted through the city, but an eerie, unsettling one. It wasn’t that their opinions weren’t considered, they’d just never had one; they never needed one. The planet was in agreement on everything and they were happy about every decision that was made on their behalf. They never thought to challenge anything the mayor said or offer contrasting opinions to conversations. The concept was entirely new and provoking.

“We’ll discuss this in proper forum,” the mayor said beginning to walk again. The answer was unsatisfying to Graski who reached her hand out and grabbed Mayor Dud by the shirt collar, jerking his head backwards and tearing the shirt. In response and in one swift motion, Yoab produced his weapon and sliced through the air at Graski, cutting her badge off her suit. She gasped in shock and fell backwards into the red dirt to avoid his blade. He stood over her with one clenched fist and his sword still drawn. The unarmed Earth dwellers watched on in horror, expecting the worst; the people of Red City covered their children’s eyes and bit their knuckles in angst, even Mayor Dud had turned back around, prepared to reprimand Yoab, had he done what he, secretly, wanted him to do. But Yoab instead kneeled towards Graski and opened his clenched fist. He offered her the badge that he’d sliced from her suit as he secured his weapon once more. Graski returned to her stone-faced composure but took the badge back with trembling hands.

“I never miss. Please, remember that Lieutenant,” Yoab whispered to her before standing up and taking his position behind Mayor Dud. The mayor was never one to encourage violence, but his wife had made him that shirt, and Yoab was simply performing the duties typical to him. Though his behavior was quite rude to their guests, Lieutenant Graski had started it, and since nobody was hurt, he found it necessary to not show favor to either party. Instead, the mayor turned and said,

“There’s a small vacant cabin about a mile from here. You’re welcome to stay there for the day and make your departure first thing tomorrow morning,” He gestured to a large man, a soldier, with a sword in his hand who, knowingly, put away his weapon and prepared to lead the aliens to their temporary dwelling. To the rest of them, the inhabitants of Red City, he ordered them to go to their homes until latter morning had ended. All typical evening activities would cease until the following day, in preparation for the town hall meetings. They all separated, whispering amongst themselves.

That particular latter morning was an unordinary latter morning for the people of Red City. Not just because the mayor had temporarily suspended the latter morning activities, which only really referred to latter morning jobs and late morning walks, but because a seed had been planted. Husbands and wives who typically would have been fighting to sleep under the blazing sun were wide awake, whispering in their beds to one another. Did their opinions matter? Did they even know where they stood on the issue? Were they really willing to abandon their homes for a place they were uncertain of? They’d read horror stories about experiments on people like them. Was that a risk they were really willing to take? The restlessness spread to Mayor Dud. He, too, feared that Graski was right. What if staying wasn’t the best course of action? But how could someone from a completely different planet know what’s good for them? He wasn’t running a democracy, but had he considered the way the people felt at all? Red City was wide awake on the tenth day when the aliens from Earth came. All of them were obedient and remained inside their homes, murmuring about the impending town hall meeting-- all but one.

The following day, the 11th day, a scream rang throughout the city. It was not a pleasant wail, like the ones the people could send out. This scream was very unpleasant, almost a screech, that bothered their ears and broke the glass on their car windows. The inhabitants were startled out of their beds and followed it right back to town square where the spaceship was. It didn’t take them long to locate the source of the scream or why she was screaming.

Someone, while they should have all been in their homes, had set the ship on fire.

It was in a glorious blue and orange blaze and beyond salvaging. Graski sat on her knees weeping in front of it while Cersei paced angrily and Andy tried to calm her down. The image would have been quite poetic, imbedded with a deep message about frivolous American society, had it not been the earthlings' reality. The bulk of the damage had been done in the time that would have been night, when no one was around to see it. There were no suspects, no clues, no evidence, but when Graski locked eyes with Yoab, she instantly rose up, charging him. He drew his sword in anticipation, but Captain Cersei had grabbed her by her suit before she could get too far.

She was hysterical, writhing and screaming in his arm while pointing at Yoab.

“He did it!” She cried, “He did this to us!”

Yoab looked, horrified, towards Mayor Dud who looked just as shocked back at him.

“Yer man behind this, Mayor?” Captain Cersei barked.

“No!” Yoab yelped out of turn.

Mayor Dud raised his hand for peace, which only partially silenced the already murmuring crowd.

“He did it!” Graski continued to screech.

“This is how you repay us for trying to help you? By burning our ship?” Captain Cersei said bitterly.

“This must be a result of the sun,” Mayor Dud stated factly, “None of my people could ever do something so violent unprovoked,”

“I think not wanting to leave is more than enough provocation, Mayor,” Captain Cersei said accusingly, “I also think, that your man nearly stabbed my Lieutenant to death yesterday over a ripped shirt!”

“You would have reacted the same Captain!” The mayor said, a tinge of worry in his voice.

“And now,” Cersei continued, “We’re stuck here to die with you all! Because your general’s got a hot temper?”

“Please, just calm down, Captain,” the Mayor begged.

“You want me calm? Fine. I want him put in prison until we can figure out a way off this forsaken planet!” Cersei said pointing to Yoab.

The mayor paused, staring at Yoab sorrowfully, his breath caught in his throat. If he imprisoned his friend, he’d feel abandoned and let down, but if he didn’t, things could escalate and turn ugly for the whole city. He’d read about humans and their crafty ways. He couldn’t have them all harmed, not while they were on the potential brink of discovering a solution. He swallowed the ball forming in his throat and reached out for Yoab’s hand. Yoab hesitantly took it.

“Just for a little while, brother,” Mayor Dud choked out.

Yoab snatched back his hand, the stench of betrayal forcing him to gasp in the smoke filled air. He held his weapon tightly as other guards slowly surrounded him.

“Dud, I didn’t do this! You know me!” He yelled out.

“I know you didn’t! Please, try to understand,” the mayor said fighting back tears.

Yoab looked at the mayor for a long time, then sighed, dropping his weapon. As the other soldiers grabbed his arms and prepared to take Yoab away, a voice, small at first, but then gradually louder, broke out from the crowd.

“No, no, no, no! No!” The voice was repeating. The entire planet hushed, to make room for the unidentified voice. It came from a small girl, 16 or 17 maybe, who had gently pushed her way through the crowd and in front of the mayor.

“No,” she said more calm, “Yoab is loyal to Red City. He wouldn’t do something like this. Why are you listening to the aliens, Mayor Dud?”

Mayor Dud stood with his mouth slightly agape. He had an answer, a good one too, but he’d never once had to explain himself to any of the citizens. Why now? As he struggled to regain composure another voice, Mr. Brown’s, echoed from the sea of people.

“Young lady get back to your parents, now!” He said sternly.

“Don’t speak to my daughter like that! She can share her mind!” The girl’s mother argued.

“June this isn’t the time or place!” Her husband snapped at her.

“This is why we should have left here when we had the chance! This heat is making us crazy!” Another voice said.

“Of course you’d say that Henry! Nothing here is ever good enough for you!” Yet another voice fired.

Soon, the whole crowd was arguing. Mayor Dud raised his hand for peace but no one noticed, their voices growing louder trying to speak over one another.

“Look what they’ve done!” Yoab yelled at Mayor Dud, “Look at what you’re letting them do!”

Mayor Dud continued to raise his hand and looked around in confusion. His planet was in shambles. Yoab was in cuffs arguing with Cersei, the citizens were inches away from killing one another, Graski was still screaming while Andy tried to soothe her all while the spaceship continued to burn. In the midst of the noise no one noticed Yoab loosening his chains. He’d managed to wriggle out just as Captain Cersei produced his gun and aimed it at him. Yoab snatched the shield from the guard nearest to him and blocked the three shots Cersei fired. The first bullet landed in a crater that had once been a pool. The second skimmed the arm of Mayor Dud and barely missed his wife, of whom he was standing next to. It landed somewhere inside the empty recreation center. The final bullet, however, ricocheted from the shield, and down into the dirt, but not before passing through Andy’s oxygen backpack, creating a gaping hole that was now sucking his entire air supply into the galactic vacuum. The city slipped into a panicked hush as Andy hit the ground, gasping for air, covering himself in red dirt while turning bright blue.

“Medic!” Mayor Dud cried, but before they could reach him, a familiar bearded face emerged with a similar oxygen device. He quickly cupped it over Andy’s face silencing the gasping and subduing the blue tint. In moments, Andy, who was still trembling violently, was at least breathing normally.

“You’ll need to get him some water and a bed,” the scientist said to the medic, “He’s not safe just yet."

“I thought you weren’t coming back out until you had a solution,” Mayor Dud said in the silence.

“I found one,” he whispered to the mayor, “But you won’t like it.”