Come Around, Go Around Cora couldn’t believe her bad luck. Ten minutes ago she had fallen asleep at the airport, waiting for her flight number to be called. And now she was here, with some unknown teenage boy, hiding behind a ticket counter. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, the boy didn’t give her information. All she knew was that the airport had closed down, the doors were locked, and she didn’t have any way out. And according to the boy, she should have been glad about that. All I wanted to do was go back to Earth. She thought miserably. Even though she was an Earthling, Cora had been living on Mars for the last fifteen years. Her parents had sent her to live with a Martian family when she was still a baby. Apparently, they couldn’t take care of her. It had something to do with legal rights but Cora didn’t know what. It wasn’t that she had no contact with them. They visited her every now and then and called to see if she was okay. But she never got the visit them at Earth. Until now. She received a letter and flight ticket from her parents, asking her to come home for a year. At first, Cora didn’t want to go but then decided she would. Mars was debating on whether or not to go to war. So far, it looked like a war would start. She wanted to be out of Mars as soon as possible. That didn’t happen however. She fell asleep on the chairs because her flight wasn’t for another four hours. During that time, she dreamed about Earth and what to expect there. She wondered if it would be anything like Mars, full of life and beauty. From a distance, it looked beautiful as a green, blue, and white sphere. She had come to a part in her dream where she stepped onto Earth for the first time, taking in the air and activity. Then she was violently woken up by someone. “You have to get out of here!” Was the first thing he told her. And without giving her a chance to speak up, he pulled Cora up to her feet and started running. “Hey!” Cora exclaimed, trying to slow down. The boy wouldn’t stop. While they were running, she got a good look at him. He had chestnut brown hair, which was covered by a blue Mars titans baseball cap. Like her, he was dressed as a normal Earthling wearing a light blue oxford shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She wanted to ask him some questions but he wasn’t slowing down. Finally, they came downstairs to where a ticket counter was. He pushed her behind it and got down next to her. “Stay there.” He commanded. She finally got a look at his eyes, which were dark red like a Martian‘s. It didn‘t scare her. “Keep low. They won’t find you here.” “Who won’t?” Cora asked. “What’s going on? I have a flight back to Earth…” “Quiet!” The boy warned. “Do you want them to come and find you?!” “I don’t even know who they are!” Cora exploded. “And I don’t even know who you are! Why am I supposed to trust everything you say?” “Number one, my name is Kai. And number two, I’m here because no one else is here to save you.” The boy replied. “You probably don’t know it but this airport was under attack while you were sleeping. They arrested everyone including passengers like yourself. I don’t know where they plan on taking everyone. I was one of the few who escaped and I thought I was the only one. But here you are.” Kai put his hands in his pockets. “Satisfied with the answer?” “Most of it, yes. Just one more thing. Who is after us?” Kai’s eyes widened. “You haven’t heard of the Martian Genocide? They are also known as the Martian Nazis. Same as the ones that were on Earth but they’re after all half-Martian, half-earthling creatures or anyone affiliated with them. The airport was full of them, which is why they came.” Cora nodded. “I see. But I‘m not half-Martian, half-Earthling. I‘m a full Earthling. I only live on Mars because I go to school here. I‘m supposed to go back to Earth.” “Well, I know that but they don’t. They’ll take in any Earthling living on Mars, mistaking them for half-breeds. It’s like the Holocaust that happened on Earth several years ago.” Cora tried her best to remember the Holocaust, which she had learned about in her history class. A group called the Nazis, led by a man named Adolf Hitler, went around arresting Jewish people and other minority groups. They would take their prisoners over to death camps where they were either killed immediately or sent into labor. She had seen pictures of starved prisoners dressed in their striped garbs and staring out of the gate. Some of them looked no different from skeletons. So many people died in the death camps, including several children. And the few that survived would never forget their time as prisoners. Cora felt sorry for them and never expected something like that to happen on Mars. “But Pollard told us last week that he wasn’t going to discriminate against anyone.” She pointed out, mentioning the name of Mars’ leader. Pollard had always been a strange fellow to her but he didn’t seem dangerous. “Well, he’s a liar.” Kai snarled. “He’s more than willing to start a Holocaust here on Mars. And I guarantee you it will be far worse.” Ten minutes later, she and Kai were both hiding behind the ticket counter. Things had been quiet until the clock struck twelve and the chime rang all through the airport. Suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Kai motioned her to be quiet and they stood their behind the ticket counter. Cora obeyed him and ducked down. She could hear the Martian officers yelling in their native language. All the while she prayed that she wouldn’t be found. Her prayers were soon dashed. A light shined behind the ticket counter and she gasped. Turning around, she saw the barrel of a ray gun looking at her. “Come out of there at once!” Someone yelled at her. Raising her hands, Cora started to stand up. “Hurry up!” But one thing was on her mind. “Kai? Where’s Kai?” “Right here.” Kai punched her in the stomach, causing her to fall to the ground. He began to kick her and she screamed. Finally, he gave her a kick in the head before he stopped. Cora was now battered and bruised. She didn’t know why he would do something like this to her. “Kai?” Cora looked up to find herself face to face with one of the Martian Nazis. He grinned at her and it made her sick. “Foolish woman.” He mocked. “You honestly thought I was here to save you. You fell right into a trap. I never thought you would believe me.” He…lied…to me? Cora wondered with disbelief. She didn’t think it was true but he was one of them. All this time he had used her. He only lured her straight to the enemy. Then he kicked her again. “Worthless Earthling.” He spat out. “Stupid, naïve Earthling. Creatures like you don’t belong here on Mars.” He lied to me. Slowly, Cora’s blood began to boil. To her side, she saw a ray gun. If only she could get to it in time… “You were wrong to think I would save you.” Kai went on. He bent down and whispered in her ear. “You’re just like all of them.” “No…” Cora said through gritted teeth. In a flash, she grabbed the ray gun, pushed Kai away from her, and pointed the gun at all the Martian Nazis. “I’m nothing like the other Earthlings. I can take all of you out in a second.” “Drop the gun!” The officers yelled. They pointed their weapons at her but she wasn’t intimidated. This is my last chance for revenge. Cora thought pointing the ray gun at several of the officers. Even though there were more of them than her, she still posed a threat. They could tell from the look in her eyes. “If you shoot us, we’ll be forced to kill you!” One of the officers warned. “Drop your weapon!” Cora chuckled. “Who said anything about me shooting you?” And before anyone else could react, Cora shot at Kai. The ray of light struck him on the forehead. His eyes bulged out for a second and he fell to the ground, dead from the shock of the laser. Cora dropped the gun at last and held out her hands for the officers to bind them. She smiled with satisfaction as they began to take her away. They read her the rights as they walked outside but Cora refused to stay silent. “You were wrong to think I would let a traitor like you survive.” She whispered to Kai’s body. As they loaded her onto the spaceship, she stared out the window. She was pleased with this outcome. “You were wrong.”
Copyright © 2004 Carter Z Tachikawa |