Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Anna
Anna stood behind Nora, Tilly, and Simon at the threshold of the ship. After one long month of spaceflight, they’d landed on Mars. Her feet toed the same opening she’d walked through prior to leaving Earth’s dusty desert.
She grabbed at Nora’s sleeve. “We are finally here.”
Nora’s arms were busy, crossed over Tilly’s chest to keep her still. “How much longer until they open the doors?”
“They’re depressurizing now,” Simon answered, eyes focused ahead. “Another minute.”
A loud beep sounded and the doors began to creak. Cool, moist air rushed in as the cargo bay doors opened. Oh. Anna pushed the long sleeves on her jumpsuit up to let the air caress her arms. This feels like when we had monsoons, maybe? Humid?
The air clung to her skin and coated her lungs as she breathed deep. It smells different though.
Behind them in the cargo bay stood the rest of the androids, all in a line. Watching. Their curious eyes were trained on Anna and the others.
“They’re letting us go first.” Simon stepped forward, pulling Nora’s arm. “Let’s walk out.”
The moment the doors opened, Tilly ran ahead on two strong legs, her limp nonexistent. Nora was already halfway down the ramp, with Simon a step behind. “Wait up! Not so fast, Tilly!”
“Woah! It smells good here!” The little girl turned around, waving her arms wide as she leapt unnaturally high in the air. “Look how high I can jump!”
Holding Simon’s hand, Nora hustled down the steps to stand beside Tilly. Her leg was now fully healed. The gunshot wound from Paul had only left two small scars on her thigh, which were covered by her pants.
But Anna didn’t move from the threshold. Everything in her felt light, bright, matching the sunshine outside. Her foot hesitated as her eyes adjusted. She whispered, “It doesn’t look real.”
Ahead of her lay greenery with flowers everywhere—lush, large ones that swayed in the breeze. It was nothing like anything she had ever seen before. The humid air pressed in on her, sunlight warm on her skin. It doesn’t feel real either. The air smelled like flowers and nature that shouldn’t exist.
She could have stood there, mesmerized, all day. But she focused on her feet, which were enclosed in the same silicone boots the androids wore. The boots were weighted in an attempt to help her balance in the lower gravity. I need to move now. I need to take a step out.
Instead she looked back, finding Atlas’s eyes. “It’s so green; there are more plants than even you have!”
“Yes, there are.” He took a step forward, chuckling, and stiffly held out his hand. “Do you need assistance?”
“Maybe.” She turned back to the new world. “Everything feels unsteady.” Then lower, she added, “It’s almost like I’m drunk.”
A hand steadied her, firmly, on her upper sleeve. It felt solid, and immediately pulled her to lean closer. Oh. Her cheeks reddened. With surprise, she looked up into Atlas’s eyes.
“We can’t have that.” He led her forward. “In addition to the gravity being different, your center of balance is off as well.”
“Thanks.” She gripped Atlas tighter. “I feel frozen.”
“That’s your nervous system getting overwhelmed.”
Overwhelmed? That made her laugh. “I sure am.”
Anna shuffled forward with her eyes on the ground.
The first few steps she took were shaky.
She carefully climbed down the stairs and stepped on the soil.
The dirt still looks the same. But everything else about the Mars surface was foreign as she took those first few steps. “It’s hard walking here.”
“That’s the gravity. You’ll get used to it. Try to jump.”
She did, then stumbled. “Oh. You're right. I almost fell!”
Atlas steadied her. “Maybe not that high.”
Nora, out in front, had Simon holding her roughly the same. Only both his arms were around her, rather than the clinical touch Atlas offered.
Tilly ran ahead, like living here was already natural. She jumped high. And fell. Again. And again. The grass around her quickly flattened from the attempts.
All around them, nature exploded in color.
Anna’s lips parted, and her mouth ran dry.
This is Mars. Everything is so green. I don’t even know what to say.
Out in front of her were trees with birds chirping overhead.
And when her eyes traveled farther, she saw clouds in a serene blue sky.
No dust clouds. The sky was also blue instead of the decaying yellow of Earth.
Beautiful flowers were everywhere. They lined the dirt path outside of the spaceship, all brightly colored.
Behind them, she heard the other androids unloading, but Anna only looked ahead.
“Atlas!” She tugged his arm. “What’s that plant?”
“Roses. There are lots of different kinds here.”
“Roses?” The white flowers were just beginning to unfurl, several on the stem. The petals were soft as she touched them. “We had some flowers, but nothing beautiful like this.”
Atlas pulled one off. “Roses once grew everywhere on Earth. Well, all of this did.” He held the rose out to her. “The flower part is bigger here, and the vines are as well. But the smell is the same. It’s lovely. One of my favorites. Here, smell.”
Anna did as told, putting her nose in. The rush of a clean, floral scent made her inhale deeper. She grinned up at Atlas. “I can see why! Why didn’t you have any of these on the ship?”
There was a focusing look in his eyes, and he took a second to respond. “They don’t do well in pots, or I would have.”
“Nory!” She waved the rose in Nora’s direction. “Come smell this.”
But Nora was too far ahead with Tilly to hear. Across from the roses was a meadow. Tilly ran ahead, her limbs flailing as she jumped. And then Nora ran after her, with Simon laughing behind them.
“Your hair is tangled.” Atlas’s fingers moved a strand of her hair behind her ear.
The touch made her jolt. Her cheeks reddened. “Thanks.”
Then she looked closer. Atlas. He appeared different in the light of the Martian sun.
Outside and away from the fluorescent lighting of the med room, his hair had a copper tinge to it, and his eyes appeared warmer than before, now in the sunlight.
Her cheeks heated. He’s handsome. Damn, he’s really handsome.
Anna looked away. He’s an android. Not human.
The difference startled her. Maybe it was him touching her hair. Or that he still held on to her arm. But he was near her and making her stomach do all sorts of flips, and making her heartbeat race, which he could probably hear. Right. She needed to get control of herself.
She forced herself to focus on the scenery. Her heart could pound enough just from that. This was how Earth used to look, before the war that destroyed the planet’s atmosphere.
She hugged her stomach as her baby kicked inside. “It’s beautiful, baby girl.”
The rose was pushed back at her nose. Each one smelled a little different. Anna absorbed everything. The sun on her skin, the fresh smell in the air. Atlas steady at her side as Tilly danced circles around Simon and Nora. Perfect. The air was clean. No dust storms like on Earth. No decay. No Paul.
“It really is a paradise,” she whispered. For a moment, her thoughts stopped spinning. For a moment, she just existed.
Anna breathed deep, turning her face upward to the sun. She stretched her arms out, reaching toward the sky like the flowers surrounding her.
Alive. For the first time in a long, long time, she felt truly alive.