Short Stories I Wrote

Invaders

A bright flash of light was seen in the sky, and the martians all stopped what they were doing to gaze at this strange sight. A bright flame shooting across Mars. It came closer and closer, this fiery object, and they all ran for cover as it hurtled towards their dome shaped houses. They watched from behind the red rocks, as the object settled into the dust, sending rusty clouds into the sky.

The object was white, and the crimson dust stained the bottom. One of the age old martians, who had heard of these things before told them it was called a rocket. The rocket suddenly opened, like a horizontal door, and two figures in almost robotic suits stepped out.

The martians knew they must be cautious, as not all alien species were necessarily friendly. They stayed behind the rocks and waited for the intruders to leave. The figures seemed to be exploring their planet, and they knew they must stay hidden, for the invaders were foreign and entirely unpredictable.

The rocket and its crew remained on the planet for hours, and the martians began to get impatient. Surely, they would have left by now?  They said, in their own language. 

We could wait them out in the mountain, someone suggested. There didn't seem to be a better option, so they all crept over the rocks to the ancient hide out. Long ago, the martians had hollowed out this specific mountain in case of an invasion. They were a peaceful species and preferred to hide than to fight.

This mountain was extremely uncomfortable, with water dripping from the roof leading to cold, sleepless nights. Their lack of technology was a massive change for all of them, and they found that they had taken it all for granted only a few days ago.

Finally, after what seemed like years of waiting, a rumbling was heard throughout the planet. They all slowly crept out, and watched the rocket lift off the ground, and shoot into the sky, piercing the atmosphere with a bright flash.

The martians were also extremely curious, and they wanted to know more about these strange visitors. They collected samples of the footprints that were left behind and tested the sand for any foreign items. They soon discovered that the strangers came from Earth, a neighbouring planet in their system.

They were fascinated by Earth, and its people. They taught their children about it and observed it through telescopes. They saw the oceans, and the green continents, and saw how different it was to the red landscape of Mars. They fell in love with the Blue Planet, and some of them were even willing to visit it to find out more.

So, it was arranged that four brave martians would visit the Blue Planet and find out all they could. Everyone on Mars gathered around their disc shaped ship and watched them disappear with a flash.

Days later, a radio call came through. The Four had made it to Earth. They told them how beautiful this new planet was. They told them about the sky, which instead of being rusty red, was a brilliant blue, much like the colour of their skin, and little wisps of white clouds drifted along in it. They told them about the lush, green carpet like substance that was present on the ground everywhere they seemed to look. They said it was called grass. They also learned that the aliens called themselves humans, and they built rectangular structures to live in instead of making them dome shaped. They learned that there were other species living on Earth with the humans. There were things they called animals, and some of their plants grew much taller than any they had grown in the Gardens. They said these tall plants were called trees. They told them of the great oceans, which were vast bodies of dark blue water that seemed to go on forever. They told them of Earth's mountain ranges, with snow capped peaks, and rivers flowing down them. There was a variety of new colours they had never seen before, and they were all too willing to photograph, record and film all the sights and sounds they came across.

This was the biggest breakthrough in all of martian history. Never before had they had the desire to travel to other planets, for they never had any reason to. But the desire to learn more about their galaxy was overwhelming. Soon, many other martians lined up to explore the other planets, like Venus, and Mercury, and Jupiter. A small pod was sent out to explore these planets, but none of them held the beauty that Earth did. So they returned to Mars, and experienced Earth through the eyes of the Four.

For years the Four transmitted information back to Mars, and the entire planet loved them for it. But one day, there was no message. There were no pictures, no films, no recorded sounds. The radio was static. The people of Mars tried contacting them, but none of their calls were ever answered. The Four were never heard from again.

Life on Mars continued, and after many years, Earth was just a story told to children to teach them about the dangers of beauty, and the Fabled Four, as they called them, were just heroes in a fairy tale. Those who remembered the Four were very old, and were filled with grief for their friends, and curiosity of what happened to them. But they were not curious enough to ever return to the Blue Planet.

Normal lives were once again lived by the martians, and they soon forgot about the beautiful yet dangerous race they had encountered those many years before. But a bright flash from the sky snapped them out of their thoughts. They all looked up to the sky, and it flashed again. And again. They were confused as to what was happening. 

Those who remembered that day long ago looked to the sky with worry. The humans had returned. Bright fiery objects descended upon the red planet. The elders called for everyone to make for the mountain. Single file, they scrambled through the narrow entrance to the cold, dank, but none the less safe mountain. 

They waited days, for the sound of the rockets departing, but it never came. Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, and they were beginning to get impatient. 

Some of them believed they should make a stand, instead of hiding away all the time, and some believed that the humans would leave soon, that they could live normal lives once again. Both sides argued, until they came to an agreement that someone would go to see what the humans were doing. 

One of them eventually volunteered, and crept out of the mountain. The sight he saw was terrible. The humans had destroyed their homes, and had built their own. They had dug up the land, and huge craters remained where the Gardens used to be. He became angry, and ran back to the mountain.

He told the others about the terrible sight that lay outside the mountain. They could not stay, the humans had taken over. 

They gathered their ships, and prepared to leave. They knew of a galaxy far away, that they could travel safely to. The fleet of discs lifted off, sending plumes of red dust flying. 

The humans looked at the strange spectacle, and wondered what they were fleeing from. It suddenly occurred to them that they had invaded the martian's planet, and they were flying from them. Guilt crossed their faces as they watched the inhabitants depart. 

Bright flashes much like lightning illuminated the rusty sky as the ships pierced the atmosphere. The humans continued their lives with regret, but soon the martians were forgotten. 

They travelled for days, in search of the galaxy that had been spotted all those years ago. Eventually, they found a planet, not red and dusty like Mars, but a beautiful, lush green that reminded them of Earth. Here they settled, and here they remain, with no foreign species to disturb them. They explored this new galaxy, and not much is known of what they discovered. Either way, they lived in peace, the one thing they had searched for all along.