Destination Mars - Part 1

by Jack Webber

  Sometimes he dreamed about his foster home, and sometimes he even dreamed about his birth home, 5 years ago, and he could see the rooms, the furniture, and the faces of his birth parents, as though they were standing right in front of him, clear as day. He could feel his mother's hair, and smell his father's aftershave. He could taste the pancakes they made for breakfast. Just a store bought mix, but it never jumped into Mrs. Hanson's shopping cart. She preferred another brand. No better, no worse, just different, and that was the whole point - it was different. He was tired of different, tired of change.

  His world turned upside down one day when he came home from kindergarten to find a policeman sitting in his living room.

  "I'm afraid your parents were in a car accident. We're still investigating, but we think two magnetic sensors failed at once. This is very-very unusual you know." Somehow that was suppose to make him feel better. "The car slid off its guide way and into a guardrail. They were travelling at the standard freeway speed, 200mph. Well, um, people just don't, I mean, your parents, well, I'm sorry, but they died in that accident. I am truly sorry."

  Allergion had no other living relatives, and became a ward of the state. The foster home was ok, with two brothers and a sister thrust into his life. It was different, but he got use to it, and now that he was use to it, it was difficult to reclaim his former status as an only child.

  Allergion stumbled out of bed and located yesterday's pants in a heap on the floor.

  "Maybe I'll get a new brother or sister someday." he thought as he pulled on his pants. "Maybe soon."

  The Hansons wanted to adopt again, and had started to climb the mandated mountain of paperwork for a second time. They didn't talk about it much, but Allergion knew what they were doing.

  He continued to daydream as he pulled on his socks. "Maybe a brother-sister pair. Kinda like Frank and Susan in the last house. That would be good, as long as they're younger than me. Don't want any older kids coming into this house and bossing me around!"

  Allergion liked the Hansons, his new parents, his "forever" parents, if there was such a thing, but he wanted something more, which is why he agreed to join the Big Brothers program. He met Ellare and Maria in the middle of the long winter night and liked them instantly. Maria was a lot of fun, once you got use to her, and Ellare seemed to know all the great places to go in the city. Where would they go today? Maybe the stadium; there was a ballgame today. And Ellare would buy lots of hotdogs and soda for everyone.

  Allergion kicked yesterday's shirt under the bed and walked over to the closet to select a new one. "Light, short sleeve, blue." he concluded with satisfaction. "Going to be hot today, and I might want to walk."

  The Hansons had granted him outside access six months ago, after a long lecture about responsibility, and a couple of horror stories of kids who wandered too far away and died in the summer heat. He always wondered if those stories were true, or something grown-ups invented to make a point.

  No matter, he had access, while many 12 year olds did not! He could come and go as he pleased, and he did so often.

  He still had to ask permission of course, "Can I go over to see Ellare tomorrow?", but at least he didn't need an escort through the front door, and that was a significant milestone on the road to maturity.

  Today, like so many other days, he was prepared to exercise his freedom. He didn't have to wake his parents; he could simply walk right out the front door.

  Allergion buttoned up his favourite blue shirt and looked in the mirror. His hair was a dirty brown mess, and Mom would probably want him to wash it, but she wasn't up yet, so he just smoothed it into place.

  "Now where did I leave my out shoes?" he wondered, rummaging about under the bed. He pulled them out, slipped them on, took one last look in the mirror, and went downstairs. "Should I eat something?" he asked as he tiptoed through the kitchen. "Nah - I'll have breakfast with Maria. That's what we usually do anyways."

  Allergion stood at the front door and placed his hand on the panel. He was a short boy, only 4 foot 8, and he had to look up to read the status bar.

  "Outside temperature, 155 degrees - relative humidity, 26."

  Allergion began his mental gymnastics. "Dad said I should probably call a car if it's over 150. But I like walking in the outdoors, and we're only a couple degrees over, and it's just a little over a mile to Ellare's house. ... A couple degrees won't matter. ... It'll be all right."

  He picked up a silver-white shade and spoke in a voice that was quiet, yet confident, filled with the certainty of youth. "Exit." The door slid open and he stepped out into the hot sun. The fury of the bright orange star practically pushed him back into the house.

  The heat pressed against his arms and penetrated his thin cotton shirt, and the glare overloaded his eyes like two sensitive CCD cameras. He unfurled his shade, which resembled an old fashioned umbrella, only lighter, and silver white, designed to reflect the sun's heat. He held it out in front of him at an upward angle, pointing the shaft directly into the sun. The sky around the shade was a featureless dark blue, with a white half moon off to the right.

  Allergion had seen brilliant blue skies before, but only in old pictures and movies. The sun, now tilted towards the red end of the spectrum, provided only a modest amount of blue-violet light, just enough to tint the sky and hide the stars. Beneath the shade the path stretched ahead, a strip of ground cleared of rocks and debris.

  For two short months in the spring the path cut through fields of grass and tiny white flowers buzzing with insects, but this was summer, and the grass, withered and brown, lay flat against the earth, looking like just another layer of dirt.

  To the left and right there was nothing, but rocks of various sizes and wisps of desiccated vegetation. Farther to the right, the last four feet of lake water formed a perfect mirror; anyone could see the moon reflected in its surface. It almost looked like two moons, one just above the horizon and one below.

  Yes, the sky was beautiful, but Allergion was getting hot despite the protection of his shade. No time to dawdle. He set a steady pace that would not tax or overheat. As he moved away from the shelter of his home, Allergion felt a strong wind at his back. It blew the sweat from his hair and kept him cool.

  He held the shaft with both hands as the shade pulled him along like a sail. Walking was almost effortless, with the shade in front and the breeze behind.

  It had been about ten minutes, and Allergion was lost in thought as he walked the path like an automaton.

  The brown earth, the white-gray rocks, the dark blue sky and the pale half moon in the distance.

  Suddenly a sharp pain wrenched him from his trance.

  "Ouch!!" he shouted, slapping the back of his neck. "You pissing desert wasps will sting anybody, and for no bloody reason either." Allergion paused for a moment and realized spring was long gone.

  The sun had driven insect life underground for another 10 months. There were no wasps. As if in confirmation his hand struck nothing but skin, moistened by sweat. He moved the shade to the side and looked at his hand under the sun. No blood. What could it be?

  ELEVEN

  Finally Allergion did the obvious; he turned around, and couldn't believe what he saw.

  A blanket of heavy black clouds filled the sky, and erased all traces of blue.

  The storm was a living breathing monster, moving towards him with the speed of the wind. He felt another sting of pain on his stomach, and slapped it instinctively. His shirt was hot, as though it came out of the dryer; but it wasn't completely dry. A damp spot betrayed the location of the invisible wasp.

  Of course there was no wasp; he was attacked by a large scalding raindrop, and that was merely a harbinger of things to come. In the distance sheets of rain fell from the sky, as clouds of steam covered the land.

  His house was gone, hidden behind the curtain of falling water and steam. Another drop slammed into his chest, and another struck his arm. Allergion continued to stare, like a deer caught in the head
lights.

  Finally he realized his life was in danger, and his adrenaline kicked in. He turned around and ran from the storm like a hunted gazelle. He kept the shade behind him, allowing the sun to roast his face and arms.

  "Pat, plop, pat." The drops were spattering against the shade faster and faster. Some of them blew in under the shade and slammed into his legs. When he lowered the shade drops began to attack his head. They drilled through matted hair, anxious to burn the tender scalp beneath.

  Allergion raised his shade again and ran as fast as he could through the oppressive heat.

  Ellare's house was still a half mile away, and he literally couldn't breathe. His lungs gasped for air and found only steam. Deprived of oxygen, his muscles seized up and would not move. Allergion stood still on the path, his shade behind him, trying to catch his breath while the sun beat down on his face. He closed his eyes against the glare and tried to think of a way out.

  There were no other houses along the path, and he couldn't go back through the rain to his own house. No - there was only one option, forward march.

  Allergion opened his eyes again and looked below the sun. Ellare's house was clearly visible in the distance. If he set a steady pace he might make it. He would have second degree burns on his legs, but he'd make it.

  Allergion marched along, gritting his teeth against the pain in his lower legs, while the rain drummed against his shade. He had taken ten steps, maybe twenty, when a gust of wind ambushed him from the side and tore the shade from his hands. The rain beat against his unprotected body. It burrowed through his thin shirt and burned tiny red spots into his skin. He had to get the shade back, and fast, or those little spots would blend together into giant red blisters.

  He ran off the path and jumped over rocks and stones as the shade bumped along the ground just ahead of him. A mad lunge and his hand clutched the edge of the silver white fabric. He reeled it in like a fish, and held it once again between himself and the driving rain.

  He turned back towards the path, but it was gone. Everything was gone! Black clouds blocked the sun, and steam diffused the remaining traces of orange light. The storm had taken his sight, and would not be satisfied until it blew the life right out of him.

  Allergion thought of one last option, and it was a long shot. Perhaps the storm would blow over as fast as it came. He crouched down low to the ground and huddled beneath his shade.

  Hot water fell in torrents around him, but the shade provided ample protection. For the first time, Allergion was grateful for his diminutive stature, as he curled beneath his aegis like a turtle inside its shell. Yet that only solved half the problem. Steam rolled in from beneath the edges, attacked his skin like a corrosive acid, and condensed inside his lungs.

  Allergion put one hand over his mouth and breathed through his fingers like a filter. This helped a little, but he couldn't hold out much longer. The storm had to abate, and soon.

  The Hansons usually paid a little more for quality, which is why the shade was still intact. Light weight composite rods formed a stiff skeleton, and a high performance nylon fabric spread across the frame. The silver-white coating sent 90% of the sun’s rays bouncing back into space. "Durable, and light weight." proclaimed the box with pride. And indeed it was.

  However, a shade is built to repel sunlight, not a hammering rainstorm. Hot water beat against the fabric like a paper boat in a dishwasher. Weakened by the relentless assault, one of the seams, from center to circumference, split along its entire length in one catastrophic failure.

  Scalding water streamed in along Allergion's arm and chest, and for the first time, he let out a scream, which was swallowed up by the wind and the rain as soon as it left his mouth. More screams would follow, one after the other, until his heart reached 106 degrees and fell silent within his chest.

  Maria listened to the rain beating against the window. "I guess Allergion decided not to come, what with the rain and all."

  Ellare peered through the window, but the outside was almost black. Giant drops slammed into the glass and rolled down the pane, only to be replaced by more drops. Behinds them, only a veil of white steam appeared.

  Someone could position a sodium lamp ten feet from the window and he wouldn't see it. "Incredible." he marvelled. "There's nothing like a summer rain."

  Finally he processed Maria's question. "Oh I don't know. Allergion could take a car, with a driveway pickup at his house and ours. But maybe he figured there isn't much to do on a rainy day. I'll call just to make sure."

  Melissa Hanson woke with a start and looked out her bedroom window. She'd seen a few summer rains before, but none like this. "Garit, wake up! It's pouring outside." She poked her husband to make sure he was listening.

  "Huh?" mumbled Garit as he sat up in bed. "Pouring?" He heard the rain beating against the house and saw the steam on the other side of the window. "Wow. You don't see that every ..." The phone interrupted his sentence with a jangle that seemed more insistent than usual. Melissa cleared her throat and picked it up.

  "Oh hi Ellare, how are you?"

  Garit sat on the bed quietly, listening to Melissa's half of the conversation. "Oh no, we've been awake for a while." she lied.

  "Allergion?" It only took 20 seconds for her lie to become a tangled web. If she'd been awake for a while, didn't she know where Allergion was? She created an excuse on the fly. "Well we're still upstairs, and you know how quiet Allergion can be, so he's probably downstairs having breakfast."

  "No. No. I'm sure he wouldn't venture out on a morning like this." Her words belied the sick feeling that grew in the pit of her stomach.

  "Yes, he said he wanted to see you today, and we said ok, but he probably decided against it when he saw the rain, or maybe he called a car."

  "Yes of course, I'll check."

  "Yes I'll call you back right away."

  "Goodbye."

  Melissa ran downstairs and went to the front door. "Log." she blurted out, and the status bar showed recent activity. "Exit, Allergion Hanson, 07:18:43." Melissa suppressed a scream. Her mind thrashed about like a frightened animal trapped in a cage.

  "Ok, so he left the house. He saw the storm coming and came right back inside again."

  She looked at the log again. "No, that can't be. The status would show somebody entering after 07:18. So ok, he poked his head out and saw the clouds, and before the door closed he pulled back inside. Then he called a car."

  She ran to the carport and checked the log: Garit's trips to and from work, and her trip to the store; there was no activity this morning. Reality was closing in on all sides, and there was no escape. She ran through the house calling his name. "Allergion! Allergion! Allergion where are you?"

  Garit met her at the bottom of the stairs and grabbed her arm. "What's wrong?"

  "He's not at Ellares and he left the house, and no cars, and, ..."

  Her words were jumbled, but he knew exactly what she meant, and he condensed the awful truth into five short words. "Allergion's out in the rain." He ran to the phone and dialed 911, knowing it was utterly pointless. Now it was Melissa's turn to listen to half the conversation.

  "We're pretty sure my son is out in the summer rain."

  "No - no protection at all, except perhaps a shade."

  "Yes, that's my address."

  He glanced towards the window. "I don't know if he's in the yard; you can't see a thing through the steam and the rain! Look, we know where he went, he was walking from our house to Ellare's, and the storm..."

  "Ellare Bramark, 3249 Farris Lane, ..."

  "Yes, that's the one. There's a foot path from here to there, he's somewhere on that path, you need to find him!"

  "We can't wait till the storm is over! We need to find him now, before..."

  "I know you can't see through the steam, but you've got to do something!"

  "Can you at least have the helicopters overhead, on standby, so the moment the storm blows through you can..."

  "Ok, good. The minute th
e steam clears I want you..."

  "Yes, I suppose he could have found some shelter somewhere, I don't know." But he did know. The path was nothing but dirt and rocks. There were no caves, no structures, no places to hide. And he knew the thin little shade would never stand up to the pounding rain. Even if it did, the steam would kill you, it would just take a little longer. He knew his son was dead.

  He held Melissa in his arms and they watched the window together, waiting for the storm to clear.

  TWELVE

  Hans looked out the window at the landscape below. The steam was clearing under the bright morning sun, and patches of earth were becoming visible.

  He turned back to Nova, and thought she looked a bit incongruous sitting at the controls. She was a large burly woman, and Hans could almost picture her in a vintage helicopter, before fly-by-wire, even before hydraulics. He could see her adjusting the control surfaces of her air ship with the strength of her arms and legs. What a pilot she would have made, in those early days. Now, 6 thousand years later, her large hands manipulated thumb wheels and joysticks that were almost too small for her.

  "I think it's safe to take her down a little." Hans reported. "The steam is just about gone, and there's good visibility." Nova eased the joystick forward and the helicopter obeyed.

  "You might go back to the Hanson house and follow the path again." Hans suggested. Nova moved the stick to the right and the helicopter circled back around. Winds blew in unpredictable patterns, remnants of the storm, but she compensated perfectly, and the craft held a steady altitude of 150 feet. She ran the path again, between the two houses, but this time Hans could see the ground.

  "Wait a minute." shouted Hans. They were about halfway between the two houses. "Over there to the right. See it?"

  Nova guided her craft towards the glinting object. "Looks like a reflecting shade." she commented. "He's got to be nearby."

  "I see him." said Hans. "He's dead all right. About 100 feet from the shade. Go ahead and take her down."

  On any other day the whirling blades would have kicked up a blinding sand storm, but today the ground was damp and hard packed.