The Last Martians

A Secret Society Part 3

After beating Evelyn, Linda slowly walked to a nearby spring. She scooped water with her hands and gulped it down to quench her thirst. Satisfied with herself, she washed her body with the ice-cold water. She looked up when she heard Rina's voice.

'Just stay calm. You will be all right.'

Evelyn was sitting up. She hurriedly looked all around her, confused about what happened to her. Linda slowly walked back to their fighting arena.

'Rina is right. You are safe.'

The brunette looked at her with a frown on her face.

'Why did you not kill me?'

'Us women should stand together. This is a man's war, fought to make rich men richer. Women should not be killing each other. We should fight together against the men. Mars was a peaceful and prosperous home, until men became greedy.'

'What are you talking about?'

'Do you know how many soldiers I have killed the last few days?'

'Twelve.'

'Yes. How many of them were women?'

'They were all men.'

'That is what I am talking about. I will not kill a single woman during this war. Neither should you. Men have ruled on Mars for too long. Like on earth, they are destroying our community. This war has no purpose, except to give men more power and more wealth. Rina and I belong to an organisation called Women for Women. It is a secret society. But we will soon rise to take control of Mars.'

'How will a few women take over the planet?' Although Linda's arguments resonated with Evelyn, her plans sounded impossible to implement.

'We are not only a few women. Most women in the south are members. We are confident the rest will follow when the time comes for action. We also have many members in Dome City. Our leaders there report a significant increase in new recruits. Women are tired of the way men are messing up this beautiful planet. The time to act is near. But we need women of the north to fight with us. We have a few women recruiting already, but we need more. We need you to convince women not to kill each other during this war. If we kill enough men, our revolution will be much easier. Fewer women will have to give their lives to win the freedom and power we deserve.'

'Why did you fight me? Why did you not tell me this before our fight?'

'You attacked me.'

'Yes, but we stopped fighting to move to the grass. You had more than enough time to tell me.'

'I needed to win your trust. I had the opportunity to kill you. That should convince you we are serious about not killing any women.'

'I could have killed you.'

'It was a chance I was willing to take. To reach our goal, some of us will die. But Mars will be a much better place for those women who survive our revolt.'

'How did Women for Women start?'

'Like most other good ideas. A few like-minded women discussed the state of Mars one day. They all knew what the problem was and still is, men. As a group, they decided to do something about it. Their initial plan was to support other women, to ensure they get opportunities and are treated fairly. But when war broke out, they decided to take control of this planet.'

'What do you expect from me?'

'Do you want to join us?'

'Yes.'

'There is an initiation ceremony.'

'What?'

'You have to fight me again.'