Our Destined Red Planet

I could never get use to the damp coldness of the Underground, I was alone on this world and forgotten to the universe. I never wanted to come here, but I had no choice, none of us did. The raids began in small villages, towns, then they began to move up to big cities. We tried hiding for a while, those of us who had to anyway, we had no place to go, no home because our family’s out casted us as “freaks”, or “monsters”.

We were thrown out to the street to disappear from their minds, to rot.

We took refuge in any place we could, sewers, abandon buildings, places people didn’t even know of , was our home. There was a whole underground world composed of us, helping each other out, strangers became family to me. I was the least freakish of us all. I had pitch black eyes, my lips, nails, and my hair were all pitch black. I use to have long blonde hair, a golden gift that was all my own, and it just disappeared overnight, and so did I. My family thought I was a demon, they said I was possessed that I had given in to the devil. Bullshit. The minute they saw me I was alone in this world. When the raids began, I ran away, I knew my parents would send me away to the ships anyway so I thought I would just get a head start.

In my new family there was Mike, he was a complete sweetheart who looked like a monster, black shaggy hair, his skin was a bright red, his eyes were yellow and his parents called him a demon too, I liked mike, I got along with him. Marissa was tough; she was a leader type and took care of us all. If there was a problem, she knew what to do. Despite the fact that she had purple scales, green hair, and very useful gills, she was probably the most normal of us all. The way she looked never bothered her, I asked her one day about it and all she said was “sweetie, I’ve always loved all eyes on me”. I wish I had what Marissa had, confidence. Sid was the man of the group, he and Marissa were together. Sid could blend in with anything, like a chameleon. He was the clown of our raggedy family, but when he had to be tough, he’d take you down in a fraction of a second. And then there was Jaden. He was always pissed about something, always fired up, which makes sense since he could set anything he wanted on fire, by simply touching it. As ripped apart as my new family was, I loved them.

We had been hiding in the underground for a while, the raids hadn’t found us just yet but we knew they were close. They were collecting us, shipping off to Mars so we wouldn’t ruin their precious home, as if it weren’t our home at one point too. I heard they were testing on other mutants, looking for what caused up to change. They treated us like animals, worse, they treated us as if we had no soul, no conscious like their own, and obviously ours was more developed.

I had dreams about the raids coming when we were asleep, and waking in a room, strapped to a bed. Then they poke, prod and cut me open, and theres nothing I can do to stop it, then I wake up. Drenched in sweat like id just come back from swimming. My screaming always woke everyone up.

And then it happened. The raids invaded the Underground, we were woken up by screams. There were people everywhere, shooting us, catching us. I was in shock; I could only stare at the stilled bodies lying on the floor. They had finally found us and my taped together world was falling apart once again. Sid must have taken out 20 men with guns, nets.. Mike stayed by my side, his goal was to make sure I was safe, and mine was the same to him. Jaden, of course, wouldn’t pass up this opportunity of destruction. I’d always stayed out of Jadens way, I always thought that on some level he was just mentally unstable but I was glad he was there that night. We all needed him. Marissa and Sid led the way, and we made it out to some back sewer pipes. It was time to find a new home again, rebuild it all from scratch. All I could tell myself was ‘al least I had my family, we were safe’.

The sewers were pitch black, but I could see, my eyes were like built in night vision. It was the only thing I loved about this mutation, I wasn’t afraid of what was in the dark anymore, because I’d see it first. I was in the lead, but mike was right behind me, ready to protect me from anything coming our way whether he could see it or not. That’s what I loved about Mike, he would throw himself in dangers way for me. As far as cute mutants go, I would think Mike was one of them, I admired the red, and I cold stare at his eyes forever.

We came to a cross, four ways and no one knew where to go. We could still hear the screams and mayhem behind us. I didn’t care which way we went I just wanted it to stop. Why couldn’t they just leave us be, let us live in the underground, we were out of their way and their world.

We heard splashes of someone heading towards us, a couple of someones. I could see that it was the Raiders, they found us, followed us, and they had their guns. They were going to tear my family apart. We all just began to run, and I didn’t notice it till it was too late but we all went different ways. Mike and I one way, Marissa, Sid and Jaden the other way. I couldn’t breathe, I wanted to run back and find them but Mike was dragging me forward.

My family was split.

I could hear the Raiders behind us, closer and closer. I looked forward and I could see a wall. Just a wall, a big cement slab of road block straight in front of us. There was going to be no where to go after that, I didn’t have the heart to tell Mike that it was all over. This was the end. We reached the wall, and above us was an opening with bars on it. Mike tried to bend them, but it was no use, they wouldn’t budge. The moon was shining down on us through the jail like bars keeping us from freedom, Mike turned to me and held me, he told me he would always be there for me. All I could do was stare into his big yellow eyes, all I could think of was how much I knew I loved Mike, and I never told him.


Then it all went black.

I had thought the Raiders were carrying guns, and they were, but they had darts to knock you out in them, not bullets.

I woke up on a ship, I was in a seat next to the window. I looked out that window and all I could see was the vast loneliness of space, and a big red rock that were were heading to, sentenced to death, torture maybe? I wasn’t sure just yet. I looked over to my right and there was Mike, looking at me with his big loving yellow eyes. My forever.

“ im sorry I couldn’t protect you Aria..” is all he said to me. I looked at him, I grabbed him, and I kissed him, I had always wanted to. And all I said back to him was “ I love you Mike”.. “ I love you too Aria”.

I leaned in his arms, waiting for what was coming. Whatever it was I was going to take it head on, I wasn’t going to give up hope. Home is where you make it, and for me, that was with Mike. I was going to go down kicking and screaming if I had to.


©HeyJude