The Colony

by Rishi Sriram

  this.”

  Nathan nodded and went off to find the two children. They were hiding

  behind Nemiah, who was caught up answering to a reporter. Nathan smiled at

  him, reassuring him that he would watch over the children. Nathan led them

  back to his parents, and gestured awkwardly.

  His mom and dad smiled softly, as if to say, you poor things. Nathan

  explained the situation to the children, about how they were going to be taken

  somewhere where they could get things sorted out. The children didn’t seem

  fond but agreed—after all, what other choice did they have? It was their only

  option. However, that didn’t mean he was going to take them there right then,

  they had just gotten back from a hectic past week. The word “hectic” was an

  understatement.

  Nathan planned to let them stay at his place for the night, maybe longer,

  until the children settled in and were relaxed. They were just kids, it was

  horrible enough that they had been orphaned; they didn’t need any other

  sudden changes.

  In a rush, Emily brushed by and handed him a note, an eager look on her

  face. The note read, “My aunt should still be home, we don’t live too far

  away. I’ll contact you later when I get the chance.” That was understandable

  to him; he could relate that feeling of sorely wanting to return home.

  His heart thumped, he felt like he was forgetting something. Kara! He

  scurried through the crowd, searching in haste, soon finding her around

  where he had last seen her. He gazed at her, his eyes brimming with concern.

  The children weren’t the only ones who had lost someone from their family;

  she was just as heartbroken. It was safe to assume the worst; that her father

  had been…killed.

  He shuddered, not wanting to think about it. There was a loud holler

  behind him. The police and government security had arrived to deal with The

  Chancellor’s body. Nathan craned his head around; two officers carried the

  body out of the shuttle and placed it in a large body bag. Nathan expected an

  uproar, and an uproar he was given. Followers wept tears of sadness, and

  others celebrated like never before. The Chancellor’s former enemies were

  thriving in happiness, overflowing with joy now that their opposition had

  been defeated. He was gone, and that’s all they needed to hear.

  The police officers stood in the way of the obstacles, continuing to walk

  through the crowd. Nathan realized that Kara was missing; he was so

  absentminded, that he didn’t even notice the absence of her presence. Utterly

  worried, he rushed back to the landing area. The crowd had cleared and there

  were significantly fewer people, making it easier for him to find her. Her

  back was faced away, and she was clutching someone in her arms tightly.

  The man had black hair, a sharp nose, and—it was her father! He was there,

  but where did he come from? Nathan ran to her with mixed emotions, asking,

  “How?”

  She grinned back at him, tears forming in her eyes, “Once the crowd had

  left, the shuttle doors opened again, and he rushed out. He told me that he had

  headed to the shuttle once the announcement was made, and tried to search

  for me. He couldn’t find me, and, disappointed, he ended up returning to the

  shuttle, hiding inside.”

  Her father spoke, a little embarrassed. “There is a secret compartment

  hidden in the cockpit for emergency purposes—it’s stored with food and

  water reserves, which kept me alive.”

  “Of course there is.” Nathan chuckled. “Sorry, go on.”

  “And I managed to stay there for the most part, and planned on escaping

  once the shuttle returned to Minneapolis. However, it didn’t, and I had to

  wait there for the next week or so, until the shuttle started back home.

  Sometime throughout the journey, I escaped the secret compartment, and

  found myself a seat and strapped in. I didn’t want to alarm you on the shuttle,

  so I thought I’d give you a gentle surprise once we landed.” He chuckled

  nervously, as if he was hiding something, and then his expression was serious

  again.

  “I saw Kara seated on a nearby bench and decided to surprise her. Boy

  did that give her a shock; she looked like she had seen a ghost.”

  Kara gave her father a playful punch. “Who wouldn’t have been scared? I

  thought you were dead, but at least you’re here now.”

  Her father’s face was serious. “I can’t believe that The Chancellor, sorry

  —Isaiah Crane—did all of this. He and I went back, we were good friends.

  So much had changed since his son died, and I never did see him after that.

  That must have been around the time he became The Chancellor. Whatever

  the case, we need to sort things out, we can’t just get rid of the Mars

  expedition, and we must do something.”

  Nathan was wary; the story didn’t seem to quite click. It seemed like her

  father was keeping something from them.

  He wondered how it was possible that Mr. Schultz and The Chancellor

  didn’t interact somehow on Mars, but he didn’t pry.

  “I thought that we could still continue the whole thing,” Nathan said.

  “You know, first clean out the camps, and revamp the security with live

  monitoring. I could help with things, and we could slowly work towards

  creating more colonies. It’ll take us some time to get it up and started again,

  but we could do it.”

  Her father smiled. “I like the idea, it sounds like it could work, but first

  things first, go home and get some rest, we’ll handle this in the morning.”

  Nathan reunited with his parents and told him about everything. They were

  relieved. He told the children they were going home with him for the night

  and they were extremely excited. He took them home and they slept nice and

  sound, waiting for a busy day to follow.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE CONFERENCE

  Fact: Mars is a cold planet. The average temperature on Mars stays

  around minus-80 degrees Fahrenheit: below freezing.

  Nathan woke up as normal; he brushed his teeth and walked outside his

  room.

  Everyone was seated at the dining table, eating breakfast. Parker and Max

  fidgeted around a little, they didn’t want to leave. And Nathan wasn’t ready

  for them to leave either. There was a small part of him that wished for the

  two to stay with them, but he knew that wasn’t possible.

  There was a rhythmic knock on the door. In abrasive movements, he

  walked to the door and opened it. Behind the door, there was a man standing

  cordially in a suit, a creased envelope in his hands. His voice was hoarse like

  sandpaper: “This is for you, Nathan Shaw. It’s critical that you read it

  immediately.” The man gave him a moment, waiting for him to open it, and

  then walked away, back into a dark Bentley that slowly drove away from his

  house.

  Gently shutting the door, Nathan sat down at the table, setting the letter

  down hesitantly. He ran his finger along the crease, and opened the letter

  little by little. He wondered what could have been so important that a man in

  a tuxedo who drove in a half-million-dollar car had to deliver to him upfront.

&nbs
p; The letter was written in-old fashioned cursive, similar to the writing in

  historical documents. The letter was brief, and was more of a memo than the

  former.

  “Maximillian Henderson, Parker Morland, and the Shaw family are

  cordially requested to attend a conference in the capitol building, today at

  9:00 A.M. The conference will be followed by a celebration of utmost

  importance.” He tossed the letter aside. What did that mean? What

  celebration of utmost importance? He finished his breakfast and gulped down

  a glass of water. Out of the corner of his eye, he subtly glanced at the two

  children, who seemed entirely at home. They appeared comfortable and

  surely weren’t happy that they would be leaving.

  As his mother had once told him, parting was a sorrow, and it surely

  wouldn’t be easy this time, for any of them. Hands stretched out, he yawned,

  scratching the back of his head. He had almost forgotten what it was like to

  have a peaceful night’s sleep, and he felt refreshed. Walking over to his

  room, he changed his clothes, and glimpsed at his reflection in the mirror.

  Overnight, the color had returned to his face, though he was still

  underweight. It would take time for him to return to how he had been prior to

  the expedition. It was hard for him to believe that a few days ago he had been

  fighting for his life against enhanced humans on another planet. It felt great

  to be back home, he had a strange sense that nothing could go wrong, which

  he knew wasn’t true, but provided him some comfort.

  He turned to check the time; he didn’t want to be late for the conference,

  whatever it was. His eyes widened, the time was already eight twenty-seven,

  which only left him a little over thirty minutes to be at the capitol. Life was

  always a rush for him, never a dull moment. In haste, he hurriedly combed

  his hair and washed his face. However many people were going to be present

  in the conference, he didn’t want to look like a strange slob in front of them;

  he had to make a clean appearance. He cupped his hands around his mouth

  and yelled, “All of you get ready! We’re due at the capitol in half an hour and

  we need to hurry.”

  His parents were already awake, and were seated at the breakfast table.

  Once they heard his words, they rushed to their rooms quickly, doing

  whatever they could to appear neat and prepared. Nathan changed into a

  denim shirt and dark jean, strapped on his watch, and set his glasses on the

  bridge of his nose. He was ready, now there were two other people in his

  house he had to help, Max and Parker. Nearly slipping on the wooden floor,

  he hurried to his drawers, and searched for some of his older clothes. They

  were buried in the bottom drawer under a stack of ruffled and unkempt shirts.

  He handed Max a short-sleeved, red-pinstriped shirt and navy blue shorts,

  and gestured him to the bathroom to change. Throwing out the shirts on top,

  he found a pitch-black buttoned-down shirt, and light yellow-brown pants

  that were cuffed at the ends. He tossed them into Parker’s arms and pointed

  him toward another bathroom.

  In fifteen minutes, everyone was ready to leave, and they headed out to

  the car. Nathan’s father had chosen to wear semi-formal clothing, a clean

  white shirt topped with a dark blazer, and black pants underneath. His mother

  was wearing a flower-adorned dress, a golden-shaded bracelet, and her ruby

  high heels. Off the countertop, Nathan’s mother grabbed her car keys and

  unlocked the car. The doors slid over the top of the vehicle, allowing them to

  walk inside the upgraded van. His mother was all about updating to the

  modern technology.

  The passenger-seat area expanded, unraveling a ramp for Nathan’s father,

  Rafael, who then rolled up and parked himself in the hinges on the floor of

  the car, which latched onto his wheelchair. The back of his seat merged with

  a layer of plush behind it, protecting his body from all sides. The children

  were impressed; the looks in their eyes were evident of that enough, filled

  with awe. His mother started the car and it auto drove en route to the capitol

  building. They reached their destination at five minutes to nine. That meant

  they were on time, although they arrived to an unpredicted crowd. There were

  countless reporters, officials, TV stations, and celebrities lined up outside the

  building to fire away with questions. From seemingly nowhere, two large

  men in suits appeared out of the crowd, and led the five of them to their

  designated seats inside the capitol building. Only select other people were

  granted entrance, while others were halted thirty feet away from the door.

  His parents were told to sit in the second row of seats, accompanied by

  both Kara’s and Nemiah’s parents. Opposite of the seats was a slightly

  elevated floor, and above it, a long regal-looking table. He wasn’t surprised

  to see his friends, guessing as to what kind of conference was going to

  commence. One of the men gestured for Nathan and the two children to seat

  themselves next to their fellow friends. On an end, the children sat, and

  between them and Kara sat Nathan. Behind their seating arrangement, and at

  a higher elevation, was where the press was, shooting pictures of them,

  stretching their cameras beyond the wooden railing. There was a similar setup

  behind the long polished table, and there were important political media

  channels seated at an even higher elevation, directing their cameras straight at

  where Nathan and his friends sat.

  He ignored the setting of the capitol, and was focused on how the others

  had arrived so quickly if they had only been given the word thirty minutes

  prior. Nearly reading his mind, his friends found it hard to laugh. Kara spoke

  between chuckles: “Late. Again, if anyone can do it’s you.”

  He didn’t protest, laughing back. He looked at the empty seats next to

  Nemiah, there were two remaining, and he immediately understood who they

  were for. At that very moment; Emily, Jessica and their aunt rushed in, each

  step faster than the one before. They were all there, everyone involved with

  the first expedition, and that included the pilot of the shuttle, Kara’s father.

  From what he could tell, this seemed to be a press conference that involved

  the seven of them and their families exclusively. After all, they were the only

  surviving colonists in the room, as far as they could tell.

  There was a series of continuous flashes in their direction, cameras

  clicking and sputtering crazily. The entire media was attempting to take a

  perfect shot of the colonists sitting in the front row of seats. It would headline

  everything: “Survivors of the First Mars Expedition.” In a few seconds, the

  words “Heroes of The Mars Expedition,” flashed on every screen, and they

  were being streamed and recorded LIVE. He knew he had to act carefully,

  everything he said and his every movement was being tracked, recorded, and

  watched across the globe. It felt like when they had departed the shuttle,

  although it was much more dignified; the reporters kept their composure.

  A few reporters flashed him dirty looks as if to say, this is him, the main
r />   hero of the expedition? Above the noise of the crowd talking, the camera

  flashes, and the actual movement of the people, no one could properly hear

  anything. It grew even louder until a government representative arrived,

  entering from the entrance to the back of Nathan. The crowd became silent

  immediately under the commanding power of the official.

  It was a member of the government board, Sam Perry. He recognized the

  name from the headlines on numerous news channels; he commanded

  immense respect and was a dignified member of the International Peace

  Committee. Nathan remembered his name on the headlines of a news

  channel. Underneath the command of the powerful Chancellor was a board of

  directors who had the right to vote upon any decision or law The Chancellor

  wanted to make. The directors were from several different countries,

  representing different areas of the world. They were allotted the ability to

  either pass or up vote whatever The Chancellor said or decided. In a sense,

  that made them a group of the fifteen most powerful men in the entire world,

  as powerful as The Chancellor himself. The crowd made way for the

  important man, allowing him to seat himself among the fourteen other

  directors in the elevated seats, opposite to the colonists. In front of each

  director were a few holographic screens, two bottles of water, and a

  microphone. The conference was a big deal.

  Director Perry cleared his throat and tapped a button on a screen in front

  of him; a list of questions had been prepared. “I welcome the survivors of the

  first interplanetary expedition, and their surviving families.” There was a loud

  applause, and Parker winced, looking away at the last few words he had said.

  “The Board of Directors will commence the conference, and inquire these

  seven heroes for a thorough understanding of the events that occurred on

  Mars.” Nathan shook at how he pronounced the word “heroes,” as if they

  were that and nothing more. He didn’t like Director Perry too much.

  He continued speaking, “Before I continue, I would like to make it clear

  that the colonization expedition has been halted. Whether that is temporary or

  permanent will be decided sometime soon, though for now, no one is being

  sent to colonize Mars. NASA has already coordinated a rover toward the