By Iniobong Umoh
Olaks teleported us and dropped us in a vast arena. Do you know the size of the biggest stadium on earth? The Maracana in Brazil? This arena was as big as the Maracana. We were seated in a big stadium, thousands of Martians with their skeletal bodies and singular eyes were seated on structures that were similar to that of stadium seats. They all held long sharp blades in their metallic arms. These blades were knives and appeared to be automated, moving to whatever direction the holder wanted.
We stared at the blackish surface that served as the field. Five Martians on either side were engaged in a fight with the blades. Sparks of electricity flew across as the blades struck each other ferociously. The Martians in the stands were cheering each side to victory. The noise was unruly and deafening.
The fighters were hacking each other to death!
“What the heck is this?” Stella asked Olaks.
“Martian Entertainment, we call this The Strogia game. It is a very exciting sport”
“What? You people engage in knife duels as a sport?”
“Yes, this is the semi-final of the monthly competition and it is being watched live by all Martians. Stand up! Both of you should take part in the amateur competition. Here is a sharp blade for you, come and…..”
“Please take us out of here!” Stella and I voiced out.
Olaks shook his head, “You earthlings are weak minded, your entertainment centers mainly on food and hedonistic experiences. We Martians have no time for such nonsense”
“Do you people do love and romance?” I asked.
The noise from the cheering supporters engulfed my voice and drew our attention back to the field. Splinters of metallic objects were scattered all over the field. One team had eliminated the other.
“Your time on Mars is up. I wish the commander had given us more time. I have not shown you half of what I should have shown you. We have not visited the valley of fear, the research center, the palace of victory etc”
“Please can we just have a glimpse of the research center, please?” I appealed.
“I can only show you the exterior part. You can’t get inside. Any earthling that gets inside the research center is doomed forever and will be used as a live specimen for complex experiments by our scientists.”
Olagga hetali rihariha resoto Vivendi!
Words fail me to describe the gigantic structure that served as the Martian research center. We couldn’t get inside the building as Olaks said but we stood from a distance admiring the structure. As I stood there I felt a premonition that there was something of inexplicable value around us.
Stella was engrossed in a chat with Olaks, who was telling her the meaning of some Martian phrases.
I slowly back away from them and moved closer to the gate. My curiosity got the better of me and I peered into the place through a vent on the gate. I expected to see scores of Martian soldiers guarding the outfit but there was no alien there. The whole place looked deserted.
My roving eyes settled on an object lying on the base of the gate.
It was a small black box with some inscriptions on the body.
A singular thought flashed through my mind.
Edward Mcguile’s time machine!
The astronomer had mentioned in his book that he possesses a time machine that takes him to any period of time that he wants to go to in his life or in human history, he can relive the past and see into the future.
The Martians had captured him and the box but why did they chose to keep the box in such an open place?
If I took possession of the box, the benefits will be endless. It would bring riches to me. I would be able to see in to the future and know what to do at every point in time. I may even become a fortune teller. I had to seize the opportunity and steal the box.
So I tiptoed, took up the box and started walking away. There was absolutely no resistance or security at the gate.
“Where have you been?” a worried Stella accosted me.
“Stella, quickly look at the numbers on this box, please cram them. You are an accountant. Crunch these numbers as fast as you can!”
A series of numbers were written on tiny white coloured letters on the box.
345 678 657
678 766 807
156 788 234
787 656 776
“What is this box for? What are these numbers for?”
“This box is a time machine and the numbers are a passcode.” I hastily explained the usefulness of it to her and she agreed that we should take it away….
“Hey, man where did you run off to? And what’s that in your hand?” Martian Olaks interrogated me, his Martian face wasn’t smiling.
“Its…nothing, just a small souvenir” I desperately hoped that he didn’t know the value of the box in my hands
“What? You entered the research center? Wait! Isn’t that the time machine? You want to steal it? Drop it now!” Olaks ordered.
I quickly walked away from him and broke into a sprint. Stella followed closely behind me.
*********
Are we in a forest or a desert? I thought to myself as we raced on. The whole scenario was confusing. I couldn’t make head or tail of our whereabouts.
I heard what sounded like gunshots sounding around us but the aliens were not chasing after us. They seemed quite comfortable with us escaping.
Scrooom! Scroom!
A shot missed me by the whiskers and it blew up the pathway in front of us. Everywhere was up in flames.
We turned back towards the opposite direction and I saw certain objects pointed at us from all directions; laser guns.
Crammmmm!
The whole area suddenly transformed into a sloppy icecap with icy mountains.
Mars suddenly turning to an ice land?
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
Stella screamed as she slipped on the ice glacier and rolled down the slope.
I ran down and held out my right palm to her. She gripped it and I pulled her up, the cold was chilling and temperatures were dropping at every second. Our fate seemed doomed. We were going to freeze to death.
“Say the code to return back to earth now! Stella shouted.
I racked my brains….to no avail. I shook my head sorrowfully.
I had forgotten the Mcguile’s code for the journey to earth.
“i..i, I can’t remember it…”
“What? You promised to take me back to earth!”
“I think the Martians erased the code from my memory that’s why they didn’t chase after us…”
“So you brought me here to die? You can’t forget the code. We are gonna starve to death here. Throw the damn box to them and let’s beg for a truce, maybe they will spare our lives!”
“Propale est domi imago earth century vendi vendi solar cium esti cuum 234 6765 8778!
Propale est domi imago earth century vendi vendi solar cium esti cuum 234 6765 8778!”
Nothing happened.
I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth and racked my brains…
“The Martians are coming!” Stella screamed.
I opened my eyes and saw five flying disc shaped objects moving towards us, I instantly knew these were the soldiers coming to capture us.
Oh my God!
“Propale est domi imago earth century vendi vendi solar cium esti cuum 234 6765 8778!”
A bright spark flashed across my head.
The earth return code was simply a reversal of the letters and numbers of the mars code.
Elaporp tst imod ogami earth yrutnec idnev idnev ralos muic itse muuc 432 5676 7788!
Whoooooom!
Pegasus was running towards us!
We screamed with joy, shouted and ran up to the stallion. We jumped on its back.
Boom Boom Boom!
The flying objects began firing intensely at us. The explosions were instantaneous. The icy landscape was melting and reddish orange surface of Mars was appearing once again but we were already airborne with Pegasus who had exuded a protective shield that covered us from the Martian firepower.
All of a sudden, I saw a long object that resembled a rocket gun dangling in front of us. I reached out and pulled it to myself.
“What’s that?” Stella asked fearfully.
“It’s a rocket gun and I am going to use it!” I replied as i cocked the gun. I turned backwards facing our assailants. I lifted the nozzle up and pressed the trigger.
Booooooooooooooooom! Booooooooooooooooooom!
The Martians and their flying machines blew up right in front of us.
“Goodbye Martians!” Stella said at the top of her voice as we soared away.
********
Bar beach Victoria Island was bustling with activity. The time had approached 4 pm. Pegasus had dropped us on the same spot we had taken off and disappeared. It was as if nothing had happened. Nobody on the beach paid any attention to us. The remarkable adventure we’ve just had was only known to the two of us.
The time machine lay on the sandy beach, the coded numbers on its body had disappeared.
I had expected this hence why I had asked Stella to cram the number. According to the legend, the code disappears if the box got into the hands of someone else other than the American astronomer.
345 678 657
678 766 807
156 788 234
787 656 776
Stella called out the numbers and I wrote them with my fingers on the sand.
“Okay, I wanna go back in time to my 6th birthday party. Aunty Juliana visited from Abuja and brought so many presents for me. I so much enjoyed the party!” Stella said.
“I wanna go back in time to Alexandria Egypt when Queen Cleopatra seduced Julius Caesar” I said.
‘You are crazy Leroi”
“I read that she rolled herself up in a carpet and emerged as a nude goddess from it. I wanna be inside the palace and see the reaction on Caesar’s face”
“Alright, so who goes first?”
“You found the box so you make your wish” Stella said, shifting the box to closer to me.
I placed my two palms on the box and called out the numbers. Then I closed my eyes and made the wish.
“Alexandria, Egypt, the seduction of Julius ceaser by Cleopatra”
Wham!
A long black hand shot out from the box and slapped me vigorously on the left cheek.
I sat stunned at the slap and the appearance of the hand.
Stella and I watched as the box shook and rolled away into the water. It then vanished from sight.
“What the hell!” We both exclaimed.
“I think I made the wrong wish”
“So there goes the only link between us and Mars, now I can’t relive my pleasant old memories.” Stella grumbled.
I moved close to her and cupped her face in my hands.
“I am sorry about the box. We’ve just had a remarkable adventure today. We can relive the old memories together, we can have this adventure once more. All you have to do is to marry me…Just say yes and I will make things right, we will never run out of adventures to experience”
“I…don’t know what to say…this is all of a sudden”
“Just say Yes and everything will be alright” I said as I inched closer.
She got up to her feet and I followed suit.
“Leroi, not now…give me some time to think about it”
“Love brooks no delay…”
“Sorry, I can’t reply now. Today has been a hell of a day for me. I need to rest, goodbye”
Stella bent down and carried her back pack from the ground and slowly walked away.
I sat down on the sand with a sorrowful heart and watched the retreating figure of Stella as she walked out of sight.
THE END
© Leroi.
The post A TRIP TO MARS [PART 3] appeared first on Storried.