Martian Plague Read online

  And the smile, of all things, was for him.

  “I miss you, Daddy. When can I see you?” She coughed.

  Ozzy winced.

  Venessa sat next to her. “It has been a while since you’ve seen your daddy.”

  Lily held up four fingers. “I saw you when I was four. Can you come over, please? Can you come to play with me?”

  Venessa let out a cry, her words shaky, the phone trembling in her hands. “She hasn’t stopped talking about you since you left three years ago. She misses you dearly, Ozzy. Can you just drop by? You can wave to her through the hospital’s glass partition?”

  “Are you even supposed to be in that room with her, Venessa?” asked Jozi.

  “I don’t care if I get it. My entire life is her.”

  A doctor came into view, wearing a mask and a hazmat uniform. He pushed the phone away. “Times up.”

  “No! Daddy!”

  The call turned off.

  “No.” Ozzy reached out toward the holodisplay then dropped his head, his chin hitting his chest. “No, no.” Ozzy gasped, but then cleared his throat and pushed away tears that were welling up and threatening to blur his vision. This wasn’t happening. There was no way. He was dreaming.

  “Ozzy. . .”

  Ozzy grunted and pressed the vehicle’s pedal. He twisted the wheel and drove forward, keeping his eyes on the red terrain. “No, this can’t be. Not my little girl.”

  “Ozzy.”

  He ignored her.

  “I’m sorry, Ozzy,” Jozi said.

  “Jozi, the best you can do right now is keep your damn mouth shut.”

  “Don’t—”

  He slashed his hand in the air. “Shut it.”

  Tagus Valles was a few minutes away. Roads connected it to several cities, and he was approaching one of the roads now. He cranked the wheel, hitting a bump, and bounced onto a black four-way, outside empty street.

  He wanted to see his daughter more than anything. But if Jozi were right about a cure being buried in a Martian capsule, then finding the cure was the only way to save his daughter’s life.

  They approached the Tagus Valles dome quickly. Ozzy slowed the rover, pulling into an entrance station. He bit his quivering lips and nodded at a man in a small tower connected to the domed city. The hazy shield slightly blurred the guy from view.

  A large door along with a small portion of the graviton shield rose. He cleared his throat and wiped away a tear. He drove the rover into a cleaning port, and the door into the city closed behind him.

  His stomach hurt, and his heart felt like it was boiling. Yet, he sat rigid in the car with his fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

  Of all things, he wanted to be with his little girl. He wanted it for years now. He never wanted to leave her in the first place.

  Damn Robert for keeping me from her.

  He had threatened Ozzy years ago. If Ozzy ever ratted on Robert, he’d kill his daughter. “In fact,” Robert had said, “you take one look at her, or if I learn that you’re just one city away from her at any given time, I’ll have her slowly tortured and then killed.” It was the best leverage Robert had on Ozzy. And all simply to keep Robert’s illegal activities out of the limelight.

  The guy was the bane of Ozzy’s existence.

  He cleared his throat again, holding in a cry. The world around him was disappearing, dissolving into his pained soul.

  He shook his head, trying to clear his feelings away, doing his best to think in the present moment. It always worked in the past whenever he imagined his daughter.

  It wasn’t working now.

  Scrubbers and hoses lowered from metal tubes connected to the ceiling. A vacuum turned on, sucking the carbon dioxide out, and then switched off and changed course, sending oxygen into the cleaning port room.

  The scrubbers turned on next, twirling like a tornado, and the hoses began spraying the rover, clearing perchlorate dust particles off the vehicle.

  Ozzy tapped the communication line, blinking away any sadness that might appear on his face. “Call Jonas Moon.”

  The holodisplay rang and a gruff-looking man, quite overweight and eating a grilled chicken wing, answered. A line of grease dripped down his chin. “What is it?” he asked.

  Ozzy’s voice cracked. “Jonas, you owe me a favor.”

  13

  Tagus Valles, Mars

  The water valves closed as the spinners stopped, and the perchlorates and sand cleared down the drains. Ozzy drove forward as the entryway into the city opened.

  Quiet filled the rover.

  There were rich cities on Mars and poor cities. Tagus Valles was on the higher end. Its skyscrapers were like that of Gale Crater City, which mimicked the skyscrapers of New York City on Earth before the Dunrakee took over and blew that city to hell and back.

  Terraforming lamps lined the streets, allowing the big maple trees to grow on the edge of the sidewalks. People in fancy, button-down dresses, jumpsuits, baggy pants, and other expensive clothing typical of Tagus Valles waited to cross the street up ahead.

  Ozzy stopped at a light signal that turned red and watched a herd of people walk by.

  Ozzy’s rover was one of the few wheeled vehicles on the road. The rest were hovering above or beside him, waiting for the people to cross as well.

  Ozzy glanced to his left. Dome houses made from red, perchlorate-free cement lined the street. The skyscrapers rose to the dome shield ceiling behind the homes and were spread out everywhere.

  He had a hard time focusing on much else but his melting heart. He bit the inside of his cheek, again trying to keep his chin from quivering.

  Ozzy took a left, driving down what would be considered a nice looking, middle-class suburb on Earth during the twenty-first century. These urban dwellings had been popping up as of late, put together with sidewalks, cul-de-sacs, and beautiful lawns coupled with terraform lamps hanging high above the grass via wires. Pine and small cedar trees filled the landscape around the houses, brightening up the neighborhoods.

  Children were playing in the streets, throwing balls and Frisbees, and running here and there. Their laughter wafted to Ozzy’s ears. He thought the sound might be similar to Lily’s, but honestly, he didn’t know.

  His gut tightened. He hadn’t been around her for what seemed like ages. Instead, he traveled from archaeological dig to archaeological dig, collecting as many auric credits as he could, and all for her so he could get her off this planet with him.

  He glanced at Lily’s beautiful face on the center console, doing his best to smile, but his lips wouldn’t move, his heart wouldn’t open like it usually did. She was in pain, so he was in pain. She was dying, and second by second, he was dying with her.

  “What’s the favor Jonas owes you, Ozzy?” Jozi said, her voice low and soft.

  Ozzy grunted, keeping his mouth shut, more or less telling her he wasn’t in the mood to talk.

  He didn’t know if he’d ever be.

  “I’m sorry about your daughter.”

  He turned down a road that headed toward a large, square building. It looked rundown and dilapidated.

  Jozi pressed her lips together, thinking. “I didn’t know that side of Robert. I really didn’t.”

  “Sure you didn’t.” Once a backstabber, always a backstabber. Even though Jozi had saved his ass when the Dunrakee attacked him in the storm shelter, trusting her was like trusting a rat.

  He pulled to a stop, letting a hovercar fly by, then eased forward into a parking lot. He parked next to the square building and opened the door. “Stay here.”

  “I’m coming with you,” she said, touching the door handle.

  Ozzy reached by his driver’s seat for his rifle. He tapped his seat’s headrest to get her attention, then aimed it at her head. “I said stay.”

  “You need to stop what you’re doing—whatever it is you’re doing—and talk this out, Ozzy. Your daughte—”

  “Don’t!” He tightened his lips into a strai
ght line. He didn’t like this woman, but she was needed to help retrieve the impossible—the plants under the Moonshinka Rock just outside the city of Dawes.

  If he could make it there and if the cure truly existed.

  His mission was now set in stone. No matter what, he’d make it to the Moonshinka Rock and retrieve what he could.

  However, if his daughter passed away before he made it, and he caught wind of it?

  His stomach cramped.

  He pushed away any thoughts of his daughter. To have a broken heart was one thing, but to have it slowly break, piece by piece with every thought of her, was another.

  He strapped his rifle around his shoulder and took a step onto a long, gravel path that led to a front door. Rocks crunched underneath his boots, and a small finch chirped and flew over his head—a species that made it on the trip to Mars with the humans a hundred years ago and now mated like they were going out of style.

  They practically overran the cities.

  He stopped in front of the door and knocked twice, then once, then three times.

  A peephole slid open, revealing watery brown eyes staring back at him. “Ozzy? Jonas said you were coming.”

  “Hey, Sunny.”

  The twists and turns, clanking, and the opening of a dozen locks pierced the air. The door clicked, then creaked, opening slowly.

  A sickly man greeted Ozzy, his teeth broken and his gums black. Ozzy doubted the dark gums were black because of genetics. Sunny always reeked of smoke, and today was no exception.

  Ozzy walked inside, and the door loudly whined as Sunny closed it behind him.

  Ozzy stood with his arms behind his back, remembering he was still wearing his EVA suit minus his helmet. Nothing like remnants of perchlorate dust still on his spacesuit to slowly kill everyone’s thyroid, including his own. He should have bought iodine kelp pills before coming here.

  What he really should have done was kill High Judge Robert Baldwin before coming here as well, but no one was perfect.

  A whiff of dirty smoke flew to Ozzy’s nostrils. “You know cigarettes will kill you.”

  “So will that rifle,” replied Sunny, motioning for Ozzy to place it on the ground.

  Ozzy did.

  “Thank you. Follow me,” said Sunny.

  They walked down a long, dark hall, the covered windows barely allowing any light in. Ozzy noticed Sunny’s tattered clothes hung off of him like he’d been homeless for far too many years, and he dragged one foot across the floor while using the other to pull himself along.

  It was painful to watch.

  They halted in front of a large, ornate door decorated with a carved Earth landscape: the sun, a mountain range, flowers, and animals.

  An artificial aroma of rose wafted off the door. If anyone loved the memory of Earth more than Jonas, Ozzy would be hard pressed to find the person.

  Sunny turned the knob, and the door squeaked open. “Go inside and wait.” Sunny put his hand on Ozzy’s back and attempted to guide him through.

  Ozzy gently pushed Sunny’s hand away. “Thanks, Sunny, but don’t touch me again, okay?” Sunny wasn’t the most fortunate of souls and whatever bad-luck juju he had, Ozzy didn’t want any more of that type of energy rubbing off on him. He had enough at this moment.

  Ozzy took several steps inside, his boots clacking on the cement floor. The door clicked shut behind him, echoing in the room.

  Jonas was at the back corner of a large auditorium-sized room, speaking quietly to a man in front of him. Perhaps a business associate.

  From Ozzy’s angle, he noticed the ‘business associate’ had on a robot-looking mask, his legs strapped with several alien guns, and a cape over his shoulders and back. He had his hands cupped in front of him, his chest out confidently, and was listening intently to everything Jonas had to say.

  Jonas kept his eyes on the alien visitor, waving for Ozzy to approach. Jonas’s face was reddening. Something wasn’t going well between these two.

  “Do as I say, Gragas. I don’t care what your bubble-headed race is trying to do.” He slapped his hands together. “Auric credits first, then we’ll deal with your grievance later. Okay?”

  “I fear you aren’t listening to me,” Gragas said, his composure calm, his robot masked-covered face not wavering from Jonas’s eyes. “You won’t have your treasure of auric credits if you are dead.”

  “Is that a threat, Gragas? Is our alliance dead, then? Are we not friends in this fight?” responded Jonas, his fat, wobbly belly jiggling in rhythm with his hand movements.

  “I don’t care for what my race is doing.” He dipped his head. “Once you send me the auric credits, then I’ll plant the explosives. The Dunrakee leader at Dawes…will die.” He swiftly turned around, his cape whipping against Jonas’s extended stomach. He walked athletically out a side door.

  Ozzy rubbed his chin. “You mind telling me who that was?”

  “The leader of the Galactic Knights.” He laughed. “Too long of a story to tell you, but they’re part of the Dunrakee resistance. The Ministry is scared shitless and isn’t doing a thing against the coming Dunrakee attacks.” He pointed to his chest. “I, on the other hand, am doing something about it.” He saluted Ozzy. “Anti-terrorism at its best.”

  “Was that Gragas character an actual Dunrakee?”

  Jonas nodded. “A rogue Dunrakee. He came from their system across the galaxy with a few of his friends. Let’s just say they aren’t in favor with what the Dunrakee did to us by stealing Earth and now trying their beginnings at taking Mars.” He shrugged. “Too bad Gragas’s thinking is in the minority for his race.”

  Ozzy glanced at the door. He didn’t realize the Dunrakee were so proficient in his language. He’d love to talk to Gragas. He could be a good asset, maybe help him on his quest to grab the cure. “About the favor you owe me. . .”

  Jonas’s brows narrowed. “Are you referring to being caught on Ketler Asteroid and not ratting me out? You know, I allegedly told you I might purchase a crystal skull from you. I’m not the one who accidentally, and quite stupidly I might add, brought on an agent. I’m still baffled why someone who has the policy to work alone would do that.”

  Ozzy held his breath. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one who asked me to bring her on.”

  Jonas walked over to a desk and sat in a chair, leaning back, resting his hands on his stomach. “Tit for tat.” He rubbed his hands together, ready for business. “What do you want from me?”

  “A ship to get to—”

  The door burst open. It was Sunny. His face was ashen, and his voice was shrill. “Jonas, we have a problem.”

  “What is it, man? Can’t you see I’m talking with my buddy here?”

  “Gragas was tracked. They’ve breached the city, and they’re coming this way.”

  Jonas’s mouth gaped open. He squeezed out of his chair and turned, heading toward a brick side wall. He pressed on a block, and the wall opened. He stepped inside. “I have to go, Ozzy. Meet me at Wally’s Pass. I’ll get you the ship you want after I clear this madness up.” He shook his finger. “The ship is going to cost you.”

  A faint, but constant scream came from outside. It grew louder and louder.

  “Well, gotta run,” yelled Jonas. “I suggest you do the same.” The brick wall closed, hiding Jonas from view.

  Shit.

  Ozzy knew that sound from anywhere. A screaming rocket.

  Ozzy couldn’t stay any longer. If he did, he was dead.

  He twisted around and ran toward the door. Sunny was retreating, limping as fast as he could.

  Krackboom!

  The building quaked, and a wall exploded. Fire puffed into the room like a small, raging mushroom cloud, sending sparks and scorched wood everywhere.

  Ozzy was thrown, his back arching in the air from the pounding gush of thunderous wind slamming into his back. He hit the ground and rolled, popping to his feet a moment later, and continued in his run.

  He raced out of the ro
om and down the hall. Another screaming rocket pounded against the building.

  Krackboom!

  Ozzy was picked up and tossed into a wall where more fire licked at him from across the way.

  He pushed himself to his knees, shaking his head and wiping red cement soot and wood fragments out of his hair.

  How many times was he at the wrong place at exactly the wrong time these last few days?

  He punched the wall and gathered himself. He stood and hurried to the front entryway, picking up his rifle, and hustled out of the building. He rushed down the gravel pathway and looked into the sky.

  He inhaled sharply and came to a sliding halt.

  “Those bubble-headed pricks.”

  Several Dunrakee long-winged ships were in the air, hovering and circling the outer city of Tagus Valles, including the office building from where he had just escaped.

  Ozzy glanced around. A small, but deadly hole was in the upper left portion of the domed graviton shields. It was an inside job, a purposeful malfunction, and the way the Dunrakee made it into Dawes and now Tagus Valles.

  Even worse, radiation from the sun’s rays was streaming into the city. The town’s head brass would have to get the shield fixed and pronto.

  He ran to his rover. Jozi was leaning against the vehicle’s hood, sending photon slugs at one of the ships circling the building.

  “Put that down,” Ozzy yelled, hastily sliding into the front seat and starting the rover, tossing his rifle onto the backseat.

  “They are killing people,” cried Jozi. “We have to call for the Martian Marines.”

  “We have to save our asses first. We have to stay alive to get the damn cure, woman.” He put his hands on the wheel. “Get in the rover.”

  Jozi took another shot, hitting a Dunrakee ship, doing very little damage, but clearly pissing the pilot off.

  The ship turned and faced their vehicle.

  “Get in, Jozi.”

  She slid around the hood, heading for the passenger side, and flung the door open.