by Nolan Oreno
Autumn sat up with him, staying close. She was aware of his underlying thoughts, regretting her pessimistic comment before. “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you."
Hollis dropped his head in confirmation. “She might still be alive, wondering when I’m coming back."
“She might," Autumn softly replied, not sure if she believed her own words. She did not like the idea of lying to him. “She was a beautiful girl. She really was. I wish I knew her better," she sympathetically added, hoping to clean her tongue from the previous uncertainty.
“So do I."
They sat in silence, undisturbing the other’s thoughts, and remained together by touch as they drifted away to a different place. The air vents fluttered the leaves and grasses that encircled them, producing a calming and hypnotic hum in the foreground of sound. The early purple of the morning sky cast a dancing glow on their bodies, and the light warmed their otherwise cold and barren skin. Autumn let her eye’s fall into a comforting darkness, something she had not been able to do in all of her captivity in the Hub. She waited, with her eyes closed, and attempted to heighten the beautifully foreign sensations that surrounded her. She focused on his warm hand in hers, the rich and healthy smell of the vibrant life around them, and the soft beat of the second heart within her. She refused to commit herself to the fact that their peaceful moment will end, and another, one far less beautiful, was awaiting them. Everything was perfect as it was, with Hollis and their child together in the warm grasses of the garden. Their bodies close, and their hearts closer. Somehow, against all odds, she found the exact time and place where she was meant to be. In the unimaginable expansiveness of the universe, she had found the needle in the haystack. She had found paradise, her painting, just in time.
“Come on," Hollis whispered into her intoxicating dream. “I want to show you something."
Together they lifted themselves off the grass and delicately moved their bodies through it. Hollis took her hand in his and lead her into the denser region of the garden, inwards and away from its transparent edges that showed the surrounding desert. As they progressed further into the center, it was hard for Autumn not to consider a wrongness in the action of trampling over the grasses. She worryingly looked back at the vegetation she had flattened with her feet, but in an instant, she saw that whatever she had walked over erected itself back into a healthful pose. A shielding life force seemed to blanket over all the life in the garden, assuring nothing could be tainted, bent, or broken, and Autumn hoped that Hollis and herself were included in its protective reach. Would they live forever, if they stayed?
Hollis plucked two apples from the arms of a stocky tree that reached out before their path, and he handed Autumn the plumper and redder version of the pair. She looked to Hollis, seeking confirmation that she could enjoy this unforeseen delicacy. It something far beyond the flavor and texture of the nutrient-bricks she was accustomed to. He smiled to her and nodded assuringly, and with this allowance, she sunk her teeth into the crimson skin of the sweet fruit, digging deep into the rich flesh.
As she chewed the warm core of the watery apple, Autumn began to see the reasons for Hollis’ hesitation to return to the Hub. In the past weeks of his imprisonment, he had devised no plans of escape. She saw now it was not because he was afraid of the temptation or the consequences, but because he saw no reason to leave the garden in the first place. To him, there was nothing else beyond it. He had kept its holiness a secret from the colony, nurtured it back into health and beauty, and did so not to create a perfect world from his research, beyond the garden’s glass, but so he could stay in a perfect world that already existed. His vision for the desert, the trees and the air and the life, it was already existing there, in the garden, all this time. Even if his dream for the deserts transformation had fallen apart, as Saul had led her to believe, at least Hollis had a small piece of it in his garden, and she was thankful enough that she was able to share a small taste of the forest for however long they had.
Autumn finished the apple as they approached a large and tubular glass encasement that opened at the gardens center. She tossed the apple’s core among the brush and spoke.
“The Nursery?" she asked, gazing into the isolated room at the layers of compacted dried Martian soil.
Hollis took her to the glass and rested his body against it, looking down at the enclosed soil. “Look closely, what do you see?" he asked, smiling.
The soil was segmented by copper wiring, like an organic checkerboard. Each segment of soil was of a slightly different shade of brown and orange and appeared to have different sedimentary consistency. Of the fifteen or so blocks, Autumn found one to be especially different. In the center of one of the soil samples was a tiny white leaf, emerging from its dry and red loam. The leaf was nearly identical to Hollis’ suit identifier.
“Is that-" Autumn gasped.
“The tree," Hollis laughed. “I’ve broken the curse. I’ve been given a second chance. I grew it on Martian ground, within a Martian atmosphere. It’s a one-hundred percent match."
Autumn erupted with a joyous yell and threw herself onto Hollis. They laughed and kissed, unable to express their relief through any other action than love.
“Took you long enough!" she laughed, wiping away tears.
Hollis backed away from their embrace and took her smiling face in his hands.
“Do you know what this means? It means we can have our world. It means our baby
can grow up in a place just like we imagined, under acres and acres of trees and fresh air. We can have that place, and we can have it soon. This nightmare will be over, I promise you that, and it begins now."
“Hollis," she cried, looking back at the fragile white sprout that was the miracle they were waiting for. “You saved us."
“No, you did," he beamed. “This is the same genetically modified seedling batch that you helped me plant in the valley over a week ago. That means the trees have already begun sprouting. There are possibly dozens of them are in their early stages of growth! You were the one who did it, not me. The forest is already growing, as we speak! And I bet it’s beautiful."
Autumn’s face loosened from the tightened smile. She could see the hope that sparkled in his eyes when dreaming of the forest, a hope that will soon be demolished by the truth that she now knows. If she were to tell him what Saul had told her, that the valley was still barren and lifeless, then the very moment they were cherishing would be ruined. She decided to keep his hope alive as if she were cupping an open flame with her hands on a windy day, even if continuing to do it would soon burn her. The truth would not be told, not by her. Not now. Not here.
Again, they embraced and fell to the grasses. Again, they made passionate and repressed love. Hollis was careful not to press too much of his weight onto her bulging belly, and he proceeded to kiss the area tenderly, speaking softly sweet words to the second beating heart inside her.
“I won’t make the same mistakes with you," he whispered. “I promise.”
The day came, and the day ended, and the light retreated from the garden once again. Autumn was sleeping soundly beneath the apple tree which did well filling their stomachs for the day. Hollis, however, was restless, and he remained in a crouched position at the brush against the glass embankment that separated the two worlds. His eyes had fully adapted to the dark and were targeted out in the direction of the Hub. He was spreading his sight upon the desert plain, waiting for something to peak the horizon. His last handful of hours were spent dwindling down a strip of wood taken from a tree into staff-shaped object, and on its end he tied with twine a sharp steel trowel that would suffice as defensive weapon against the intruders. His spear would prove to be pointless against many of the possible variants of weapons that Saul had access to at the Hub, however, he had limited options in producing a worthy defense. The lack of weaponry in the garden made it difficult to protect, but if it came to it, Hollis would try just about anything to assure the safety of Autumn and their b
aby, even if it came to his own bare hands.
Hollis took extra copper wiring he had and tied it around the bases of trees near the entrance of the garden. Additionally, he shut down the overhead lighting in the area, giving him the advantage of the shadows. After this rudimentary defense was completed, Hollis turned to Autumn, whose naked body shined in the glow of the stars that encircled them. Her plump stomach rose and fell with her circadian breathing rhythms, and he hoped more than anything she was dreaming of the world that was waiting for them at the edge of the darkness.
She had told him everything that happened back at the Hub, beginning with Saul’s abuses and her entry into the secret surveillance room. Her finding of the video of Janya did not surprise Hollis and only affirmed Asnee’s sanity, thus affirming his own, but it did, however, detail the threat of Saul’s insanity. If Saul was the kind of man who would let others, in this case Maven, commit such an atrocity on one of their own for the sake of his own gain, then he was a man who could not be trusted raising a child. Hollis knew that upon Saul arrival to the garden, no matter what he intended to do, he must die. There was no more room to trust such a man in their future colony, brother as he once was. Saul could not be allowed to coexist with them. He was the last barrier between Hell and Hollis’ Heaven, and once he was dealt with, there would be nothing left standing in the way of the new world.
Twin lights flickered on the horizon of the plateau, bouncing closer by the second. It was him. Hollis quickly turned back to Autumn, regretting that he had to wake her back to their terrible reality.
“Autumn," he spoke gently, shaking her. “It’s time."
“No," Autumn moaned, keeping her eyes shielded from the approaching Crawler. “Please."
Hollis sat down next to her, stroking her strawberry hair gently. “I know you’re scared, so am I, but we need to do this. Everything will be okay, believe me. We’ll get through this and on the other side we’ll still be together. I won’t let him pulls us apart."
“I’m sorry," she whispered. “For everything. For hurting you and your family. For taking you away from your daughter. For leading you here, to this awful place. It’s all my fault. This is all my fault."
“No," Hollis shook his head and kissed hers. “I don’t regret anything that we’ve done. I loved my wife, I loved Elena, but I also I loved you, and if it was wrong, especially to Rosa, I can’t say that I wish it never happened. Because no matter what torture we endured by our choices, and they endured, everything that happened was for good. It was for love." Hollis looked back to the approaching lights. “And there's little love anymore. So no, don’t be sorry, because I’m not sorry. I can’t apologize for loving you."
“I love you too," she said, and she opened her eyes to the night.
Hollis helped lift her to her feet and stroked her cheek. “Now, get secured in your exosuit and hide in the gardens interior," he said with a kiss. "Everything will be alright," and with trust, she departed.
Hollis heaved a heavy breath then slipped through the grasses to pick up the large spear he crafted. He gripped it in both hands and pointed it to the door. He waited until the lights reached them from the dark and daunting desert. The brief lapse of silence gave him one last moment to collect his thoughts and steady his thumping heart. He focused on what really mattered, beyond his own flesh and his own life, and this transcendence of fear gave him the courage to confront the devil at his doorstep.
A series of knocks. Loud and even in separations.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Not knocks, but a lock-cracking mechanism at work in the outer passageway of the entrance of the dome. The door would not last, Hollis knew, but it was useful time that it bided. He was certain by now Autumn was safely inside her exosuit, protected by the inches of armor padding from whatever Saul had in store. Luckily, the flexibility of the fabric allowed for the comfortable cushioning of their child as well, who too was beneath the armor. Hollis, on the other hand, was covered with nothing more than his dirtied lab coat.
Pop.
The outer door had become unhinged, and the sound of changing air from the passageway could be heard. The rushing air equalized and was followed by another sound of grinding machines beyond the last doorway. In the darkness, Hollis approached the doorway and could see the shadows of the approaching men. There were two bodies, both bulking, moving down the shaft towards the central section of the garden that Hollis weakly guarded with his splintering spear. If he were in a better mood, Hollis would laugh at the whole scenario. Unfortunately, he could not afford any smile at the present moment.
The two figures approached the final door of separation. It was now clear they were also fitted with armored exosuits, which Hollis began to see as a great cost in not having one himself. Saul had made sure he was without one from the beginning, taking all spares in the garden as well as the remainder of the colony. He locked the exosuits away for his own personal allocation, claiming it was about order and not control. Hollis was not jaded like the others. It was a move that made him even more powerful. But the past was the past, and the present was happening, whether Hollis was prepared or not. There was no more time for rumination or second guessing. The last door was opening.
A hiss of air, signaling oxygen levels were equalizing. A voice came from behind one of the helmets.
“Honey, we’re home," boomed Saul into the trees.
Hollis remained in the shadows, hidden in his plants.
“Come on, come out. I don’t have time for games.”
Hollis stayed hidden as the two figures moved cautiously into the garden.
Saul chuckled when no response came. “Hollis, I hope you know I could burn this garden down in minutes with the firepower I brought with me. Yes, before you second guess me, I will do it with Autumn still inside. So, before you try to get heroic, know that I don’t care about playing fair.”
Saul looked to the other bulky and outfitted figure beside him and motioned for the other person to wait by the door. Saul walked forward, alone, to the edge of the wall of greenery.
“Come out now and we can solve this without bloodshed. We can solve this like civilized men.”
No response. No movement. Nothing.
“Okay," Saul behind him. “Burn it down-”
“Wait," Hollis said stepping out from the brush, spear in hand. “Just wait.”
“Nice stick you got there, caveman," Saul laughed eyeing him up and down. “Be careful, you might hurt yourself."
“Nobody has to get hurt, like you said," Hollis sternly returned to Saul’s mocking face who was blackened behind his tinted visor. “What is it you want, Saul?"
“What do I want?" Saul said raising his arms. “You know what I want. I want what's mine, not yours. Mine."
“Hollis, listen to him," the other suited man from the doorway, who Hollis recognized as being Maven by his Icelandic accent. “He just wants Autumn back to the Hub where it’s safe and we can deliver the baby in the medical bay. This isn’t a safe place to give birth, you know that, and she's due any day now. If you make her stay then she might not survive. The baby could die."
“I’m not making her stay," Hollis attacked. “I’m not the one who forced her to come here. She came here to get away from you two. You’re the rapists and murderers. Autumn told me what you’ve done, Maven. She saw the video. You thought you could drug Janya to get her pregnant against her own will. Is that the kind of acts were resorting to nowadays? If Janya didn’t want to have your baby then that was her choice, but you forced her to suicide when she got exactly that."
“What?" Maven exclaimed. “Got what?"
“You didn’t know?" Hollis asked. “You accomplished your task. You got her pregnant, and because of it, she killed herself the very next morning. She threw herself into the sandstorm and shredded her body. Your baby’s body. All because of your noble decision to save our species with your cock. But if your goal was to grow our population, then you’re not doing a very good job at it i
f all your pregnancies end in death."
“Stop talking," Saul boomed. “Stop whining about what happened that day. She was too weak and too narrow-minded to see the bigger picture. She shouldn’t have refused when I proposed the idea. I couldn’t let her stop Maven from doing his duty. So we had to resort to sedation. Yes, you think you’re all innocent in this, Hollis, but it was your drugs that made it possible. You should have locked them in a better place than your bedside table. You’re just as responsible as any of us."
“Of course, it all makes sense now," Hollis chuckled, shaking his head. “It was you who stole them for your sick game. What else did you use them for? The Commander?"
“Richard gave me no choice. He saw it all from his surveillance monitors, but he had his orders. He would say nothing, do nothing, because he knew there was no other choice for us to survive. He understood. But, unfortunately for him, after her suicide he couldn’t handle it anymore and began to crack. He was going to come clean, so I did what I had to do to keep us all alive, just the same for Novak. Just the same for Asnee."
“You did what you had to do? Don’t you see what you’re doing?" Hollis laughed under his breath. “You killed all of them, and you’ll keep killing all of them until you're the last man alive. That’s what you really want. You want all these women to yourself."
Saul stepped forward. “No! I want a real society! They should have accepted their duty. There was one reason why they were chosen to come here. It was their weakness that killed them, not my strength. They were the one’s who betrayed us. Maven was the only one to listen to me. To see the importance of a future. He was the only one to hold true to his purpose."
“She was pregnant?" Maven mutter to himself again, taking a step back towards the door. “It worked?”
“How can your sick mind see that as betrayal?" Hollis laughed mockingly. “It hadn’t been more than two weeks since Earth was lost when you started your abuse with Janya, and I’m sure she was just the first on your list. If you only waited, gave her time, maybe she would have considered it, but not with you, with Asnee, the man you killed in cold blood. They loved each other, and all they needed was time to find that love again."