The Secrets of Mars

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

I’ll take their word for it. Whoever “they” are. I have no interest in finding that out today. I’m just here to do the minimum, get the extra credit, and go home.

Red brownish dirt. And rocks. Lots of rocks. That’s what’s on Mars.

And me. A thirteen year old boy who would rather be anywhere else. Choosing to read comics over doing my science homework has landed me here.

I guess at least it’s only a partial day field trip. Our interplanetary buses can get to Mars in just an hour. Hopefully, someday they’ll get the kinks worked out and actually be able to travel somewhere much cooler just as fast – like maybe Pluto. That’s a field trip I might be interested in.

“All right everyone, one last look around the intriguing surface of Mars or a quick stop in the shop for treats before we head out. You’ve got fifteen minutes!” called Mrs. Benton. She’s in her sixties, but the sparkle in her eyes made you think she was at least ten years younger. No one has ever seen a gray hair on her head either – just massive amounts of red, messy curls. Some say it has to do with the gravity of Mars – that’s why she likes to take every class here.

I don’t think Mars is that special.

“Dylan, you gonna grab some snacks for the trip back?”

I turned away from Mrs. Benton as I heard my friend, Jake’s, voice. He was the complete opposite of me in every way – blonde, blue eyes, made friends easy, smart, athletic, and wore all the trendiest clothes. I, on the other hand, had dark brown hair, green eyes, tanned easily, wore slightly too big hand-me-downs, and preferred the world of my comics and books to reality. Life was just more interesting between the pages.

“Earth to Dylan – you coming?”

“Ah, yup. I promised Emily I would bring her back some fruit snacks from Mars.” I rolled my eyes. They were made on Earth which I told her, but she begged and begged.

“You’re a good big brother,” said Jake as he gave me a slap on the back before heading toward the only building on Mars – a huge 7 Eleven. The bright green and orange neon sign could be seen from like ten miles off planet.

It’s bizarre, but if what we learned in history class is true, this 7 Eleven kept the fourth world war at bay. To avoid everyone nuking everyone else, it was decided that Mars couldn’t be owned or colonized, but that educational tours would be allowed for any persons on planet Earth. A 7 Eleven was built to provide food and impulse buys for visitors while also housing a top secret area for scientific experiments for scientists of any country. There’s also a luxury area for rich people and wannabe celebrities to brag about being on Mars. Profits from such things go toward the experiments, supposedly. No one can spend the night though because of the no colonizing rule. Pretty soon all the shuttles will be heading back to Earth.

The bell rang as I followed Jake through the glass door into the absolute best part of Mars so far. I stopped and stared up in awe – aisles of floor to ceiling snacks, flavors from all around the world! Stuff I had only heard of, but never dreamed of actually getting to taste. Why had I spent so much time sulking outside when I could have been in here. I only have ten universal credits, must spend them wisely.

First things first, the fruit snacks. I walk down an aisle that looks to hold all things gummy related, trying to focus on the task at hand. Hundreds of colorful packages. So easy to get distracted. Sour apple gummies with real crickets in them. Don’t think Emily would go for those. Aha. I grab a bag of watermelon vanilla, her favorite.

Now, what do I get with the rest of my credits…

There’s a scream.

My eyes follow the noise. Brad Cranwell is on the ceiling. He hit his head on one of the metal beams running across the store.

He struggles to adjust the settings on his gravity boots.

“I told you to STOP pinching me!” That sounds like Melody Filtcher.

I run to the end of the aisle and yes, it’s Melody screaming up at Brad as she stands with fists clenched, clearly upset. And rightfully so. Brad is one of those people who just love to push buttons and sometimes he pushed too far. He’s lucky she only tweaked his boots and not his oxygen suit. You mess with the captain of the eighth grade field hockey team and there will be consequences.

“Code G, “ crackles through the store’s loud speaker.

Two 7 Eleven workers rush from behind the front desk toward the commotion. The men have a blanket held tight between them right under Brad. Considering how quickly they got there, this must be a common occurrence here.

A horn blasts from outside the building. That would be our shuttle bus driver. Time to go.

All my classmates start heading out. Melody gives Brad one more glare before getting pulled out by her friends.

I head for the self check out. Darn it. No time for any more browsing. Next to the check out station is a wide selection of gum. I grab a couple of the colorful packs.

I hear a whoosh and cries of relief. I turn slightly to see Brad laying, safely in the blanket as the workers slowly lower him to the ground.

I shake my head. I can’t wait to get home. I’m over Mars.

I insert my card and watch as the credits tick off. I throw my things in a bag and run for the door. I do NOT want to miss that bus.

My classmates are lined up, preparing to board as Mrs. Benton looks on. I see Jake and start jogging. Maybe he’ll let me cut in line. I don’t want to end up sitting next to Brad on the way back.

What? What was that? I stop in my tracks. Looking over to the right, near an outcrop of brownish red boulders. I swear I saw something furry moving. Did someone bring a dog to Mars? That’s strictly forbidden – no animals allowed.

I look up at the dark blue sky, bluer than the average Earth day. I take a deep breath. Oxygen levels seem normal, I don’t think I’m hallucinating.

I need to get off this planet.

I get my legs moving again and join the line.

Notepad in hand, Mrs. Benson walks by. She makes a scratching off motion with her pencil. I assume marking me as here. Yes, I’m here and ready to go.

“Only missing… Brad Cranwell. Has anyone seen him?” Mrs. Benson asks so innocently, but I’m fairly certain she already knows what happened. She always has a way of knowing things.

Mrs. Benton looks down at me. She gives me a knowing smile. Can she read my mind? That’s a scary thought.

”Here!” Brad comes running up to the line, out of breath, clothes all askew.

With grand flourish, Mrs. Benton scratches his name from her notepad.

“Lovely. Everyone on the bus, let’s go!” Mrs. Benson walks toward the bus entrance.

The shuttle kind of looks like a sleek metal butter dish with wings. I don’t know why they designed it like that. The ships in my books were way more elaborate and different colors. For some reason, Earth engineers preferred cold, grayish looking designs. All ships were like this. Maybe I could design ships someday? I would make them look much cooler.

I took a few steps in line, but stopped as my eye noticed some movement over to the right again. I turned to face the boulders. Right on top was a red furry looking thing.

It moved! I swear it moved. Suddenly, it seemingly jumped behind the boulders. It was gone.

“There’s a dog… or something,” I managed to squeak out.

“What? I don’t see a dog.” Brad looked around, before stepping in front of me when I didn’t move up in the line.

Maybe I can grab it really quick. I love dogs and usually they love me.

“Uh, I’ll be right back. Don’t leave without me,” I said to Brad as I took off toward the boulders.

The ground of Mars feels hard as my feet hit the red tinted dirt. It could just be the gravity boots though. Without them, I bet I could get so high… and then maybe float away. That would be bad. Very bad.

At this moment, I reach the boulders. I think if I hadn’t of made it this far, I would have just turned around, but here I am. I take a deep breath and start climbing up the boulders. The rough rock scrapes up against the invisible force field of my oxygen suit. Thank goodness these things are so durable.

I reach the top and look down. There’s the furball! It’s scampering away. I have to move fast.

I manage to hop down, trusting my gravity boots to take the brunt of the jump impact.

I run after the furball. The dog. It’s got to be a dog.

I’m gaining on it a bit which is surprising, considering my average athletic abilities.

Out of nowhere it jumps. It jumps into the arms of a girl.

I immediately stop.

I would think the girl could be in my class if it wasn’t for the fact her skin and hair were completely red, the only other color being her piercing blue eyes.

I drop the bag of fruit snacks I somehow had managed to keep a hold of until this moment.

The furball turns in the girl’s arms. I can’t see its eyes, but I swear it’s looking at me. It then grins, showing me dozens of razor sharp teeth.

The world goes blurry. I try to back up, but my feet feel like they’re glued down.

Before I know it, I’m sinking to the ground. I try to scream. I think I’m screaming, but I can’t hear a sound.

The world goes black.