Log-Line

A man wakes up on the red planet and recalls the reason why we had to leave Earth and it wasn't because we destroyed it. It was because a celestial being wanted to inhabit it.

Short Story

Mars…I can tell you what the sun feels like on my skin on Mars. I lived on Mars with groups of people and alone for half my life. Everyone thought we had to leave Earth because we were destroying it. That is not true. We left Earth because someone wanted to destroy it, but I will get to that in a minute. Being on Mars was no different from being on Earth. There are no little green guys with big black eyes trying to probe us. There were however unique animals that would try to kill us. That could happen even on Earth. They said in 2025 people would travel to Mars, but that was false. When I got to Mars there were already cities built by people traveling there to do so from years ago. No skyscrapers or anything, but mall-like places that had supermarkets and giant rooms. Before I left Earth I remember when my friends would vacation there. This was before it was optional.

Living on Mars was the reverse of living on Earth. In the day we slept and at night we woke up. You got to know everyone in your group very well until they died, and you had to find another group. That was hard at first. Groups did not like letting new people in.

The reason we had to leave Earth is that there was a celestial being looking for life in each quadrant of the Universe. We know this because we were watching him. I worked for a very prestigious man who had developed this equipment. It is hard to explain. We always said this man was a time traveler and a celestial being himself. On this device, you can see every aspect of the universe. We noticed a tiny dot moving a lot faster than any other. The dot would move to a new solar system then moments later you would see a portion of it blow up. We knew the portion that was turned to dust had living beings on it.

Once we saw this, we knew he was coming to destroy Earth. Before this, I had never been to Mars, but I knew I would be heading there soon. Watching the little dot was terrifying. We were not allowed to let the public know this was happening. We had a count down and it was moving fast. The dot was going from one galaxy to another at the speed of light. He moved so fast between planets. I looked at the countdown and we had twenty seconds. I stepped away and called my dad. He answered. I tried to hold back the tears. I told him the call had to be short and that I loved him. I hung up as the countdown hit zero.

At first, nothing happens, but then you can feel the change in the atmosphere. This all felt like out of a Marvel movie. We all wanted to go into a panic but could not. What I was told is that this celestial being was inhabiting Earth to take in all the knowledge and resources and then destroy it. He wanted to be the ultimate celestial being of all celestials.

As we were getting into a rocket ship to head to Mars, I saw his giant red kite-shaped ship. And when the figure exited, he seemed around twelve feet tall. He was in an all-red metal armor with a pointed helmet. I did not see his face because we were forced into the rocket ship.

I remember waking up in the mall facility on Mars alone in the mall-like facility. I woke up during the day as the sun was setting. Everything does have a red tint. I walked towards the exit of the mall which was a long tunnel-like when entering an airplane with an opening at the end. I stood just next to the opening but did not go outside and watched the sun as it went down. I was surprised to know I did not need a special suit to breathe. I stuck my arm so I could feel the sun. I could feel the heat burning my skin. The heat was dry.

Over the next handful of years, I remained alone. Alone on a new planet. A planet that would never feel like home. A home I could never get used to. That was until I saw a group of people on the opposite side of the mall, which took several years to get to. And in the group was a familiar face. A face that reminds me of home. A face I used to see every day. In the back of the group was a face I remember kissing on our wedding day. Before I could move towards the group, I took a deep breath and locked my eyes with my wife.