Living Proof
copyright 2005 Johnny Vanderlip
Chapter I (page 1)
Althea was dying. And there was nothing Joseph could do about it. The only sounds he heard were his wife's labored breathing and the occasional strong gust of the harsh Martian winds.
"Did you get them Joseph?" Althea whispered.
"Yes love, both of them," Joseph held two glass vials up for his wife to see. Althea's deep amber eyes gazed slowly at the small container, then back to her husband, a faint smile fading from her lips. Joseph placed the two vials into a shock-resistant case beside him on the floor.
The once beautiful ebony sheen of her skin was even now fading to a dull, ashen charcoal. Joseph was losing his fight to hold back the tears. "I'll guard them with my life."
"If the embryos survive," Althea whispered, "you've got to find a woman who'll —"
"Shhh, don't try to talk." "No, listen!" she insisted, struggling to go on. "You've got to find a woman to have the children." she coughed and winced from the pain.
"Althea, please…don't —"
"You know it's true. They're the only living proof."
Kneeling beside her, Joseph stroked her head softly. "I know, I know. Don't try to talk. I promise you Althea, our children will be born and the people of Earth will know the truth."
Suddenly, a look of fear in her eyes, Althea called out. "Joseph?"
"I'm right here love," he answered, gently brushing her cheek."
Joseph hold me." Reaching down, he cradled her in his arms, knowing the end was near. "I love you, Joseph," her right hand gripping his wrist.
"I love you Althea," his face close enough to feel her faint breath. "I'll always love you." Then, suddenly, she released her grip with a last sigh.
* * *Joseph carried Althea's body through the tunnel to the dome atop the knoll overlooking the ruins of Cydonia. Here, the very spot where Joseph had proposed to Althea only eight months before, would become her final resting place. After burying her, Joseph knelt by Althea's graveside and sobbed. It seemed like hours before the tears began to subside. Now, amidst his agony, his devastation and loss, Joseph remembered his promise to Althea and knew what he must do. He placed the case with the two embryos in his backpack, along with the digital photos and several dozen holograms Althea had given him. These were the only items Joseph would carry back to Earth. He put his helmet on, checked his life support-suit, or LSS as it was called, then began the fifty minute hike back to the ship.
Althea's death, like the others, was no accident, and somehow he had to convince the rest of his crew of that fact- but how…? Of the twelve expedition members to arrive here two years earlier, only four were still alive. And the question remained: Who among them was responsible for the murders and, in fact, the annihilation of the last descendants of the Martian/Sirian race? He had his suspicions, but part of him just didn't want to believe it. go to page 2
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