by Matt Snee
When the second moon rose in the sky, the buzzing quieted a little. It was still there, faint, but now it relaxed. Captain and Jennifer had come out of the shadow of the mountain, and now found a long fissure across the desert, leading to impossible depths of the planet. They walked cautiously. Thousands of feet below them, the Braconids buzzed and scurried, eating away at what was left of the planet. They were huge, at least the size of a man, sometimes bigger.
“Well, at least we're not down there,” Captain told Jennifer.
“Yeah, but that's where we're going,” she said, glum. “Once we find a way down.”
This was the most danger they had faced so far, for few survived a visit to Mars. Only the bravest, or craziest, would come to such a place. Only the desperate would find themselves on such dry shores. The scenery would be beautiful if it wasn't so terrifying, as everything was far larger here than on Earth. The mountains in front of them stood until their tops hit space. The sky seemed bigger too, as though some extra part of it, once folded, now extended open above them.
Their bodies shivered in the cold of the planet, and they could smell the methane in the air, the ancient breath of a dead planet.
They avoided the great crack and treaded softly across the sand. Jennifer seemed to know where she was going. The fate of everything rested on her judgment.
Night fell.
The buzzing stopped completely. This made it more dangerous, as the trespassers' sounds carried across the empty planet when the buzzing did not hide them. If they disturbed the Braconids, all was lost. So as frightening as the buzzing was, it was more frightening without it. Their only comfort was the sea of stars above them, which reminded both Captain and Jennifer that other realities existed beyond this hell, even if they were currently unreachable.
Thus the night revolved around them. There was an immense sadness about the place. It felt like something had been lost here.
* * *
At dawn the buzzing started again. They were both tired and hungry. They drank water and that was all. Jennifer tried her best not to give in to doubt. Captain carried hope that death wasn't the only escape from their current situation.
I am gracious among howling storm gods, Jennifer thought, remembering the Gita.
Then they came to the staircase.
It was carved out of rock, ancient, leading down into the fissure. Both of them looked at it in horror. It was the only way.
They took one step at a time, hoping the buzzing covered their sound. But they hadn't made it down a dozen stairs when the buzzing subsided and their actions echoed in the silence.
“Shhh,” Jennifer told Captain as they carefully made their way down. The staircase pivoted into a great cave where at the bottom the Braconids ate, feasting on the minerals and ice left in the interior of the planet. They could see for miles down. Across the air below them the occasional Braconid zipped, flying on its violent wings. They had not been noticed—yet.
But then the buzzing stopped.
The staircase came to a passageway before continuing down. “Let's hide here for now,” Jennifer whispered.
He nodded and they crept into the corridor, sinking to the floor and leaning their backs to the wall, exhausted.
Jennifer thought for a moment and then said to hell with it, pulling a cigarette out of her bag and lighting it. She exhaled blue smoke and relief washed over her. Simple pleasures, she thought.
* * *
Captain nibbled at some of the dried meat they had left, closing his eyes and chewing as silently as he could. He could still hear the occasional stirring of the Braconids below, but he told himself to forget about it. Maybe he could sleep for a moment, he thought. That would be nice. A heavy motion carried across his mind, and he could feel himself drifting to sleep.
A sound startled him before he could completely succumb. It was toward the farther end of their corridor, deep in a darkness they couldn't fathom.
Both Captain and Jennifer watched, unable to move. A tiny creature that was somewhat of a mixture between a plant and a rat came bounding out of the shadows toward them. They jumped to their feet. It wasn't a Braconid, but they were shocked nonetheless.
The Martian animal sped past them and down the staircase.
“Phew,” Captain whispered.
Jennifer nodded.
Suddenly, a new noise reached through the passageway, similar to the buzzing that was silent below, but singular—and near.
Jennifer pulled her laser gun out, and Captain gripped his knife. It was the Braconids. There were two of them. Their waspish forms pierced the shadows and raced down the corridor toward Captain and Jennifer. They looked like wasps, mostly, hence their name, which some explorer had given them long ago. Their wings shook the air like terrible engines. They were a dark brown color, with huge antennae and villainous limbs.
“No!” Jennifer cried, aiming quickly and pulling the trigger of her laser gun. One of the Braconids fried into mush and collapsed onto the ground, but the other soon reached them.
It grabbed Jennifer and spat a green goo onto her face before Captain could react. Jennifer screamed. Without thinking, Captain plunged his knife deep into the Braconid's back, right between its wings. A thick but clear liquid shot out of the wound, and the Braconid gasped then fell over onto the floor.
Captain dropped the knife and rushed to Jennifer's side. She collapsed to her knees. The goo covered nearly all of her face and was in her eyes, nose, and mouth. “Oh God,” she murmured.
Captain wiped away the goo with his hands, but it was sticky.
“It's … it's a venom,” Jennifer whispered.
“What?”
“A poison. I can feel it.”
“What do I do?” Captain asked her.
“I don't know!” she wept.
She lay on the ground and rolled back and forth, her knees pulled up to her chest. She seemed to have lost control of her body. “I can feel it,” she said again.
Captain needed water. He opened Jennifer's bag and grabbed her canteen then gently poured some on her face. He took off his outer shirt and used it to clean her skin.
“I don't want to die,” Jennifer pleaded.
“You won't die. I promise,” Captain told her.
She continued to weep, her eyes clenched. Tears squeezed out from under her eyelids and ran down her cheeks, which were still a faint green. Captain took her hands in his. They were pale and cold.
“I'm here,” he said. He helped her drink some water. “I'm going to take care of you.”
“Thank you, Lewis. I'm so scared.”
His hands tightened around hers. “It's okay. It's going to be okay,” he told her.
He wondered what he would do now.
* * *
Is there a plan?
Fear gripped Jennifer from head to toe. If Captain knew how she felt, he would have been panicking even more. A kind of metal had filled her veins, pushing her down into the ground. She could not open her eyes. They hurt. A lot. Behind her eyes she saw strange shapes: snakes, lizards, and other reptiles, and then spiders, and carrion. Her head burst with pain. I'm dying, she thought. I knew I wouldn't make it. They made me do this, come here, find him. They couldn't do it themselves, so they sent me. And they knew I was going to die like this. Why did they send me just to die on Mars? Why don't they talk?
Dad? Can you hear me? Mom? Help me, please.
* * *
Captain laid his hand on her forehead. She was running a fever now. What would he do if she died? He had to believe that she would be okay.
The buzzing returned, this time louder than before. It was the end.
Captain was hungry and thirsty. There was no food left. There was a little water, but he saved it for Jennifer.
A sort of rotten time passed. After awhile, the buzzing quieted again.
“Lewis?” Jennifer whispered.
“Yes!” Captain replied, glad she was awake.
“We can't stay here,” she told him.
“I know.”
“I don't know what to do,” Jennifer spoke quietly, beginning to cry again.
“It's okay, Jennifer. We'll figure it out.” He tried to sound confident. “How much further do we need to go?”
“I don't know…I don't think I can walk. I don't think I can open my eyes.”
“Maybe if we wait you will get better,” Captain suggested.
“I don't know,” she said. “I feel like I'm getting worse.”
“What do you think we should do?” Captain had been impressed by her bravery so far along this journey. He believed her capable of solving any problem.
“You can make it out of here if you're careful,” she told him.
“No,” he said. “I'm not leaving you.”
“You can still escape! If you stay, you will be captured by the Braconids.”
“I'm not leaving without you and that's final. You're not going to die. We're going to make it.”
“I can't do it,” she said. “I'm going to die.”
“No, you're not!”
She said nothing.
He was quiet too.
* * *
Is there a plan? Red flashes of light billowed behind her eyelids. It's red inside and out, she thought. A conversation fluttered in her heart:
If I die what will I achieve?
Heaven.
If I live, what will I gain?
Earth.
She thought of the clone-warp now, the last warning. She could feel the wish jewel wrapped tight around her neck.
Is there a plan?
No. Yes.
Is there a purpose?
Stop the No-Shape.
Was that all? What about her dreams of a normal life, of perhaps holding her own child in her arms, of long years on Earth where the sun would shine and the days would drip? Had it all been for nothing? Was all that just… a wish?
Jennifer felt both disoriented and absolutely lucid at the same time. Pain can do that, and she was in great pain. Am I at the end? she wondered.
In the beginning there was the One.
Her thoughts spread from here to eternity. She was delirious. She wondered how she had gotten here, from the cold halls of the Devasthanam to the infernal determination of the rocket ship voyage to Earth, to the strange days in Kalansket, to the Cosmic Garden, to Venus, to the Laser Caves, and now here: Mars and death.
Why can't it just happen and be done? she thought, thinking of her own death. Why do I have to think about it?
“You know what I want right now?”
It was Captain. He was still here. She couldn't believe he would stay …for her.
“What?” she asked.
“Ice cream.”
“Ice cream?” she repeated.
“A strawberry cone, with sprinkles.”
She couldn't believe he could be so flippant. “I think there's a couple other things I would wish for right now.”
“Yeah, but ice cream …I mean, ice cream makes it all worth it. As far as I'm concerned, ice cream is the supreme achievement of civilization.”
She laughed, aching. “You have to be kidding.”
“Nope,” he said. “I'm not.”
She sighed. “I've never had ice cream.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” she told him. “Never had it.”
“That's ridiculous! You've never, ever had ice cream?”
“No,” she said.
“Well,” he said. “I'll make you a promise then, but you have to promise back. If we get out of this, if we defeat the No-Shape and all that …we'll get some ice cream, okay?”
“On Earth?” she asked. It was such a faraway thing.
“On Earth,” he told her. “Any flavor you like.”
She smiled, thick in pain. “Okay, Lewis,” she said. “I promise.”
“I promise too,” Captain said.
13. Escape from Mars
While we flee our past, the Mmrowwr flee their future.
Martin Pichon, “Le Nuage d'Oort”
And then the Braconids came for them. There were four of them, too many to fight, and by the time Captain and Jennifer heard them, it was too late. The Braconids appeared quickly and seized them then soared up into the air.
“Jennifer!” Captain cried out.
“Lewis!” she screamed.
It was the most insane rollercoaster you could imagine. The Braconids dipped through the air, floating like leaves. They descended into the depths. Vertigo struck both Captain and Jennifer, tight in the Braconids' grip.
The creatures flew, or more accurately fell, plummeting into the planet. And then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over as the Braconids dropped them unceremoniously into rudimentary, roofless cells, one for each of them in a line of many others, and then departed.
“Jennifer!” Captain shouted over the wall. “Are you okay?”
She groaned. “I'm here,” she said. And that's all she was. Here.
Captain was dizzy from the flight. He sank to the ground and slammed his fists into the dirt. Looking around the cell, he found no exit except for the hole at the roof, which was too high to reach.
The buzzing continued. It was too loud to talk to Jennifer. All Captain could do was worry.
No answers came. We're going to die here, he thought.
“No, we won't,” a foreign voice argued loudly in his own head.
“What?” Captain asked with his own voice.
“You hear me then?” The voice was thick, made of words and images—words that Captain didn't understand at first and images of a strange, white planet, people who looked like cats, and what appeared to be a giant, metal grasshopper.
“Yes, I hear you,” Captain said. He could barely hear his own voice. But he projected his thoughts outward. Words seemed so futile here. Yet he still spoke. Otherwise he would have thought himself crazy. “Who are you?”
A black-furred cat-face filled his mind. “I am Plerrxxvizzinommm. You can call me Plerrxx. I am a Mmrowwr. We speak with our minds. I am in the cell adjacent to yours.”
“I'm Lewis,” Captain said.
“Good to meet you, Lewis. Now I believe we need to escape from here. Is your friend okay?”
“She isn't,” Captain replied. “She really isn't. She's poisoned. By the Braconids.”
“Poisoned? I see.” The voice sounded like it was agreeing with itself.
“How can we escape?” Captain asked.
“I have a plan. But first we must wait until night falls. That is when the insect demons are least aware of their surroundings.”
Plerrxx had a calming effect on his mind. Captain began to feel grounded and focused. “Okay, but what do we do?”
“I'm sorry, Lewis, but we will have to wait. To do anything would risk our lives right now. I can sense your friend; she is all right for the moment. But I can, and will, help her. We just have to wait.”
Captain did not know if he and Jennifer could.
* * *
Sleep came to Jennifer, and with it nightmares. She dreamt of the Braconids. They carried her across vast green skies and dined on her along the banks of dry riverbeds, under the eyes of the Martian mountains. Then she found herself a child again, lost among the halls of the Devasthanam, her mother's voice calling her, the cold stone beneath her feet. There had always been a wind in the Devasthanam, but in the dream there was none. Then clouds of black smoke enveloped everything. The ground beneath her turned to water. Things slithered around her.
She woke up. The buzzing had stopped. Captain was softly calling to her. “Jennifer? Jennifer?”
“Yes,” she said, weak, stunned to be awake and back in the real world. “I'm here.” She still couldn't get up. Her skin burned with fever. “I'm okay,” she said.
“We have a plan to get out of here,” Captain said.
“Who's we?”
“There's someone else here, a cat-man by the name of Plerrxx. He communicates telepathically.”
“A M
mrowwr?”
“Yes. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Yeah.”
Then she heard Plerrxx's voice in her mind.
“Hello, Jennifer.” The voice seemed human, but Jennifer knew it was just an illusion. The Mmrowwr were a legendary race and rarely ventured out of their home, hidden far beyond Neptune. She had read about them; her father had known Mmrowwr, though he had never been to their home. No human had ever been there. To find one here, on Mars, was a shock to her. She did not know what it meant.
“Hello,” Jennifer said quietly, still clenched in pain. Her eyesight was blurred; she could barely see the cell around her. But in her head she could see the figure of a Mmrowwr: black-furred with yellow eyes. He was dressed in a long, blue robe that was ragged and dirty.
“I am Plerrxx. I know a way out of here, but it depends on you.”
“How?” Jennifer asked.
“Your laser gun. It can cut through the walls.”
She reached down and found her bag still attached to her. Her hand reached into it and pulled out the sure metal of the laser gun.
“I can barely keep my eyes open,” Jennifer told Plerrxx. “I'm dying.”
“You won't die. I can help you. But you must cut a hole through the walls.”
She sat up. The world twisted around and flipped. She grasped the ground to no avail. She shut her eyes, willing it to stop. It stopped. She opened her eyes again. This time she could see a little better. The world stopped moving … mostly. But which wall?
“To the sound of my voice,” Captain said. Jennifer turned and knew which wall to shoot.
“Get back,” she commanded.
Captain backed away from the wall. Jennifer aimed the laser gun and pulled the trigger. The laser hissed loudly as it shot out and burned a huge hole in the wall. Smoke rose up into the air. The wall continued to crackle.
Captain jumped through the hole and rushed to Jennifer's side. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Just one more wall now.” Plerrxx's voice was insistent.