I'm stepping through the door

With any luck, these are my final few moments on Mars. Thank God.

Ed was more prepared than I thought. Never underestimate a janitor. He had already convinced a small group of engineers, navigators and even guardians to join in his plan of escape. I asked him why he didn't just try to convince some of the higher ups around here to organize a full fledged evacuation. He just laughed. "Boy, you have no idea what's going on. They get more stubborn the higher up you go here. The Virgle Corporation is here to stay and they don't want to hear any different." That was enough for me. Actually, seeing the Crawlers was enough for me. After seeing those creatures I needed little convincing. I was trapped here and he had a plan. End of story.

As part of his little group, Frank and I have been stashing away supplies here and there for the ride back home to Earth. During this time of being some kind of secret ops pack rat I worked overtime on Ed convincing him to include Bryn in our little band of escapees. He was a little hesitant at first but he finally caved. Actually I don't think he cared that much but he enjoys making me sweat. Once she found out I stuck my neck out for her, things have been much better between us. I'm no longer the annoying frat boy hitting on her. She might even dig me. But then, what do I know. Girls are a labyrinth.

Things moved fast and in the dark of night last night we all met in the Phobos cafe. In true janitor fashion, Ed produced a monster set of keys and led us down a series of empty corridors no one knew existed.

Before we knew it we were outside of a huge spaceship that was kept underground. The engineers and navigators got to work right away. Soon lights were flashing everywhere and a huge hatch above us opened up into the night sky.

We're all strapped in and holding tight waiting for launch. Frank and Bryn are sitting on either side of me, more excited and nervous than we've ever been in our lives. We have a skeleton crew for one of the most difficult space journeys known to man so we don't expect a smooth ride. This may in fact be the last trip I ever take. Who knows. But I'd much rather take my chances on this ship than back on Mars.

Wish me luck...

Mars is a dangerous place

Things have gone horribly wrong here. Since my last journal entry a lot has happened. All of it bad. I've always thought of myself as a cautious optimist but I'm coming up empty on silver linings. There's no two ways about it, Mars is a dangerous place.

A few weeks ago I snuck out of my dorm room late at night and hid in the Phobos Cafe near the viewing window. Those creepy clinking sounds coming from the roof of my room at night had been steadily increasing. I was starting to lose sleep so I had to find out what it was. I figured the viewing window in the cafe was my best bet.

I was lying on a bench seat in the booth by the window that night. The table above me provided good cover in case anyone walked in. Nothing happened for about an hour. My nervous excitement over hiding out and waiting for the unknown dwindled into boredom. I was about to doze off when a large shadow moved across my half closed eyes. I woke up real quick.

I shot up in my seat and looked out the window. The light was dusky but bright that night. I could see the mouth of the volcano tube and the vast, rocky plain outside. I didn't see what caused the shadow but I heard the same weird clinking on the roof of the cafe.

I had a strong desire to get out of there. Fast. Maybe not knowing whatever was making that sound was a better idea. Why is this my problem? I thought. Someone else should handle this. That's when I saw them. Dozens of huge, crab-like creatures pouring over the rim of the volcano tube. They had dark blue shells that glowed a ghostly white.

I was frozen in place watching them scuttle quickly toward the base. They had to have been around 15 feet high with mammoth claws that seemed suited for crushing cars. The creatures made their way along the sides of the tube, their spiny, spider-like legs carrying them forward. One by one they crawled onto the roof of the base, apparently unaware of my presence, and headed further down until the clanking of their legs on the roof faded away.

I noticed my teeth hurt as I had been clinching my jaw tight for the last few minutes. I relaxed a little, massaging my jaw muscles when a hand gripped my shoulder. I spun around, throwing my hands in front of my face like some chick in a horror film. The man in front of me stepped back. He put up his hand in a "sorry man" kind of gesture.

It was Ed the janitor. I'd seen him walking around the halls of the base since I arrived. He was one of those guys that set his own pace when he worked. Not lazy by any means, just methodical, unfazed by his surroundings. Whenever Frank and I played backgammon he would take a casual interest. He always seemed to know when the tide was turning in a game. It was the only time I ever saw him stop working. He would lean on his mop handle or stop to wipe his hands and watch in an amused sort of way. It was like he was waiting for one of us to realize the game was lost.

We hadn't spoke much up til that moment so I wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully, he spoke first.

Ed: Cafe doesn't open for another couple hours.

Me: Yea, sorry, I couldn't sleep.

Ed: Mm. Well, watching them crawlers won't help you much.

I wasn't ready for that. Obviously my discovery that night was old news.

Me: You've seen those things before?

Ed: Just about every night. A few more show up every time. Won't be long before they take over the place.

I let out some nervous laughter. He didn't smile. Apparently it wasn't a joke.

Ed: Yep, I expect we got about a month left.

Me: Say what?

Ed: Kind of makes you wish you'd just sat tight at home, don't it?

Me: Tell me you're messing with me?

Ed: 'fraid not. They've already broken through a supply room. Half the wall was smashed in. Reinforced titanium. Like a can of Pepsi to those claws.

Me: Don't they have any defenses around here? Electric fence? Anything?

Ed shrugged.

Me: Didn't they know about these things? They must have some kind of plan for the unknown.

Ed: Whatever they got, it's not enough. From what I've overheard, they weren't prepared for half the stuff out here.

I slumped down on the bench seat. I desperately wished I never left home. Ed took a cautious look around and sat next to me.

Ed: You know, a few months back I found something.

Me: Yea? What?

Ed: A stash of weapons. Only a handful, but dangerous looking suckers.

Me: Well can't they use them? Maybe the Guardians can sniper those things at night.

Ed: That'd hold 'em back for awhile. Maybe a month. Problem is, there's hundreds of crawlers out there, maybe thousands. Other things too. Worse. There's really only one option I can see.

Me: What?

Ed: Escape.

Me: Escape? There's no where to go. This is the only base.

Ed: To the ship. I'm getting off this rock.

Things will get better, eventually.

Life on Mars is not all it's cracked up to be. When I first heard the term "virgle pioneer" I had this cool vision of an adventurous space traveler discovering uncharted, grand Arizona rock-formation style vistas. I pictured myself driving a Skywalker-style landspeeder full throttle leaving a glorious spray of red dust in my wake. The reality however, is not so glamorous.

I've been stuck in a drab, grey-walled base camp building constructed in a huge Martian volcano tube. There's only one window in the whole place. A monster thick viewing window in the Phobos cafe. It's the hippest place to hang in Mars. Actually, it's the only place to hang. Basically, it's the cafe or my small dorm room or the counceling rooms where we have to go twice a week for a shrink pep talk.

The window offers a small taste of freedom, when it's open. The constant dust storms call for thick titanium shutters to seal it tight much of the time. Still, there's a semi-cool, albiet desolate, view of a vast Martian plain dotted with rocky pillars that stretches into the dusky orange distance.

Most of the other "pioneers" are ansy. Being cooped up in here when everyone was ready to stretch their spaceman legs has brought on a general feeling of "this is not what we expected" that hangs thick in the hallways. Our councelers keep assuring us that it's temporary until the seasonal rock winds die down. There favorite phrase seems to be, "things will get better, eventually."

I've met with "Dr. Ben" my assigned counceler several times now. I liked him at first because he was mellow and didn't seem like he was picking my brain too much. His latest sessions have proven a bit stranger though. He seems more edgy and keeps insisting that I call him Ben. He asks in a creepy, fake calm kind of way. It reminds me of a girl I used to date that asked me to call her "cuddle bear" on our second date. Despite that fact that it was a lame name I just thought it was being forced on me and way too soon at that. I told her that nicknames are supposed to happen naturally and that it wasn't something you assign yourself. I thought this was a really logical point of view. She however, hated it. She was silent for an hour. Worst date ever. We went out once more after that and it was over. No tears shed over that one. Although she was very hot so that kind of sucked. I'm sure some poor sap is calling her "cuddle bear" through gritted teeth right now. But I digress...

Anyways, like I was saying I'd been calling Dr. Ben "bones" in honor of Dr. Mcoy from Star Trek. He seemed okay with it at first but now he's getting all irritable. Next thing you know he'll be bombarding me with questions about my childhood.

Meanwhile, Frank and I have become professional level backgammon players in the down time. We're thinking of starting a Mars league. All in all, it beats hard labor. It's a bit boring here but I could be stuck in a cubicle all day so I'm trying to look on the bright side.

I do have one troubling phenomenon. My dorm room is located near the cafe and sometimes at night I hear weird clanking noises coming from the roof. It's almost like an army of guys on metal stilts are tap dancing up there. They tell me it's just Martian rock pelting against the building but I don't buy it. There's a strange rhythm to it that creeps me out. I've asked around but no one else seems to hear it or they're just not admitting it. One of these nights I'm going to sneak into the cafe and sit by the viewing window all night. If it's anything living, maybe I'll catch a glimpse of it.