Homestead Read online

  “Let’s go find our new farm!” Yun said. He and Zara hurried off the shuttle.

  Belle waited for Melody, her only friend on this strange new world. Together, they stepped onto the soil of Olympia.

  Earth Date: March 14, 2335

  Mars Day 2, summer, evening

  This has been the longest day of my life. When I woke up two days ago, we were going to live in Utopia and my parents were going to work for BAMCorp. All the photos Dad showed me made it seem that life on Mars would be great. Even the company’s hotel was fantastic.

  But here we are in the middle of nowhere —Darwin, Olympia. Sure, the flight over was interesting. I’ve never seen such big volcanoes so close together. I admit, the landscape is amazing. One moment it looks like desert, the next, it looks like Earth.

  But Darwin is a poor and dusty version of Utopia. It’s so backward. There are no tall buildings or aircars like at home. It reminds me of an ancient western town in those old cowboy movies Dad likes to watch.

  Dad says it’s too late to go on to Sun City, where our new farm is. So he got us a motel room for the night. It’s nothing like the BAMCorp hotel from last night. The video-wall doesn’t even have Earth programming. I’m stuck watching some boring documentary about who came to Mars first. Who cares?

  Chapter 3

  HOMEWARD BOUND

  Morning in Darwin dawned bright and hot. The heat rose from the ground and beat down from above at the same time. Belle felt like she was part of a heat sandwich.

  She held on to Melody’s hard fingers as they followed Yun and Zara out of the motel and into the streets of Darwin. The noise of transport craft and shouting voices gave Belle a headache.

  Yun led the family to a large store. The sign outside read Guntar’s Emporium. Once inside, Belle felt better. It was cooler and quieter in here. She wandered through the aisles, looking at all the pretty things in the “luxury items” section. There were beautifully decorated plates and lacy fabric that she didn’t dare to touch. In another section she marveled at ancient books that were made out of actual paper. She pulled one gently off the shelf, slid to the floor, and began to read.

  “It is time to go,” Melody interrupted. Belle blinked up at her android. “You have been sitting here for two hours.”

  How had so much time passed without her realizing it? She reluctantly replaced the book on the shelf and followed Melody outside.

  There, in front of the store, were her parents, loading up an old, rusted wagon.

  “What’s this old thing?” Belle blurted.

  Yun wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “It’s all we could afford. At least it moves.”

  “It is a Mark II hover-wagon,” Melody said, lifting a large package into the back compartment. “I know several jokes about this model.”

  “It’s big enough for us all to camp in,” Zara said, ignoring Melody.

  “Sure, if it doesn’t break down on the way.” Belle stared at the clunky hover-wagon. With its landing gear lowered, and its side panels removed, it looked like a cross between an old camper in a junkyard, and an ancient wagon from her history texts. She didn’t want to know what jokes Melody could tell about it. “Will it get off the ground?”

  “With Loki’s help, it will,” Yun said.

  Belle walked around to the front of the wagon. There, harnessed to the wagon was the most enormous creature she’d ever seen.

  “It’s a horsel,” Zara said, smacking her hands on her pants. “A horse and camel hybrid. They can go for days without water and can outrun a dust storm, or so they say.”

  Belle stood back from the animal. Loki was twice the size of an Earth horse. He stared at her with his gentle, brown eyes. Belle took a step closer. She reached out her hand and stroked his nose. It was soft, warm, and fuzzy.

  “Hi there,” she said timidly. She hadn’t had much exposure to real animals. But from her virtual games, she knew they liked to be stroked and talked to.

  Loki lowered his head and huffed, flaring his nostrils. Belle jumped back.

  Yun laughed. “He’s just saying hello.”

  Belle decided she would get to know Loki later. She helped her parents load supplies into the wagon instead.

  When everything was packed, Belle sat in one of the seats in the rear of the wagon. Melody strapped her in, and then did the same for herself. Yun and Zara sat up front, on a bench seat that had the steering controls.

  While Zara programmed the guidance system, Yun charged up the engine and retracted the landing gear. The wagon rose several feet in the air. Then pointing Loki west, the Song family left the town of Darwin behind them.

  With Loki’s size and the gravity difference, they traveled at a surprising speed. Most of the time, if Loki kept his pace steady, the wagon moved smoothly. Unfortunately, Loki was not always steady. The old wagon often leaned left and right as the horsel avoided rocks or stumbled over potholes.

  From where Belle sat, her parents looked tiny, compared to the giant creature they were guiding. Even with shoulder straps holding them in their seats, they still gripped the bench with all their might. As Loki tried to find his stride, the Song family was bounced and jostled about. Belle hung on to Melody till her fingers were sore. Nobody spoke or moved as they left the outer limits of Darwin.

  As they traveled west toward Sun City, where their farm was, they passed open field after open field.

  “These are some of the earliest colonized farms,” Melody explained. “Many of them grow versions of Earth crops that require the least amount of water.”

  Once past the farms, the land around them alternated between yellow grasslands and dusty desertlike plains. After a while, Loki picked up speed, which stabilized the wagon. The wind began to blow stronger. It was a refreshing change from the stifling heat of the town.

  Melody turned up her volume so that Belle could hear her over the wind whistling past them. “Terraforming has made this land usable, but there are not enough farmers signing up for land. A lot of people prefer to work in asteroid mining.”

  Melody pointed out geological formations as they went along. Meanwhile, Belle fought the growling in her stomach. Soon she decided to unstrap herself and stood up. It was easier to balance now.

  “I’m hungry,” she said. “I’m going to get snacks.”

  “I should do that for you,” Melody said.

  “No, that’s okay. I need to move around.” Belle held onto the android’s shoulders as she squinted at the scene around them. Everything was a blur because of how fast Loki was going. Belle held her breath in amazement.

  “Please be careful,” warned Melody.

  Belle climbed over some packages stacked up in front of her. She found her pack and pulled out the snack bars she’d brought with her from Earth. She also grabbed a scarf for herself and one for Melody. The wind was getting chillier with each passing mile. Then she carefully climbed back over the packages, holding the scarves in one hand and her precious snacks in the other.

  But just as she reached the edge of her seat, Loki faltered and the wagon tilted. Belle was jolted off her feet for a second. Shoving the snack bars between her teeth, she reached for Melody’s outstretched hand. But then the wagon dipped suddenly, jolting Belle again. She yelped out loud, and her snack bars fell out of her mouth. Without thinking, she reached out to snatch them back. But the wagon jerked a third time, and Belle lost her balance.

  She fell through the opening in the side of the wagon and floated in the air for the longest second of her life. Then, THUMP! Her backside hit the ground and she went rolling — over and over. She didn’t notice any pain at first. She only wanted to stop rolling. She couldn’t even scream because air was forced out of her lungs with each bump.

  In the distance, she heard Melody’s voice calling for the wagon to stop. More yelling followed, then she heard the pounding of hooves and a de
ep grunting-neighing sound. She finally stopped rolling, but she couldn’t move. She inhaled dirt, which made her cough… causing her to inhale even more dirt. Her lungs ached, and her heart raced. Tears blinded her. She soon felt every pebble under her stabbing at her face and bare arms. Slowly, her scraped skin started to burn. Then her bones began to throb. She found her breath and let out a terrible scream.

  Mars Day 3, Summer, 2335, evening

  Somewhere on the plains outside of Darwin

  I fell out of the hover-wagon! Stars, did it hurt! Mom and Dad patched me up with the med-kit we just bought. Nothing broken, according to the handheld scanner. Could’ve fooled me. Ooh, the pain! Now my arms and legs are blue and green, and all scratched up. It’s hard to hold this pencil. Mom said it was a miracle I didn’t hit my head. Dad didn’t say a word the whole time. Mom put some weird cream on my wounds. She said it was Martian medicine. It smells strange — like flowers that have died in a vase. At least I don’t hurt so much now…

  Ugh… the smell of the cream just made me throw up. And now, even the air outside smells awful — like damp laundry. We got caught in a dust storm, so we’ve stopped for the night to rest. We parked our wagon in front of a small cave. Loki gets to sleep in there while we camp in our wagon. Outside, it sounds as if a million cows are on a stampede, but it’s only the wind and the sand. I hope we don’t get trapped in here like we used to back home during a snowstorm.

  This is NOT a great way to start a new life!

  Chapter 4

  THE SHACK

  The dust storm lasted all night, but when morning came, everything was very quiet. So quiet, that for a moment Belle thought she had lost her hearing. Looking out the wagon window, she saw that the land was a yellowish brown, as if some giant had laid its blanket on the ground. Everything as far as she could see was covered in sand-colored dust.

  Belle’s body ached and her skin itched. She tried to get out of her cot, but it hurt too much to move.

  “You’re going to stay put for the rest of the journey,” her mom insisted.

  Belle stared at the wagon ceiling while her family cleaned off the wagon and fed and harnessed Loki. She felt the wagon rise and then jerk forward as they began to move again. Yun had replaced the wagon’s side panels, and Belle wished she could see more than the small clouds passing by through the small windows. Instead, for the next few hours she listened to Melody tell the most awful jokes about horses and camels.

  The journey to their farm took them through the southernmost area of Olympia. It was cooler here than in Darwin, so Zara insisted that Belle wrap herself in several blankets.

  Melody showed Belle various holo-maps of the region. She told Belle how the seasons on Mars lasted much longer than on Earth. Right now they were in the middle of the summer season, which was why it was so hot. Later on, they played several games of 3D chess. Finally, Belle grew tired and drifted off to sleep.

  She was woken by Loki’s grunting. The wagon had stopped, and Belle was all alone inside. She couldn’t hear or see either of her parents. Even Melody was gone. Belle pushed herself up with her elbows and winced.

  “Mom! Dad!” she cried, but no one answered her. She took several deep breaths and called out again. “Melody!”

  “We’re here,” Zara said, poking her head in through the back door. “We’re at our farm.” She didn’t sound very excited.

  “What’s wrong?” Belle asked, trying to get onto her feet.

  “Wait for Melody to come help you,” Zara said. She bit her lower lip. “It’s not quite what we were expecting.”

  Belle felt a tinge of pleasure when she heard that. Maybe now we can finally go back home, she thought as Melody helped her out of the wagon.

  It was the middle of the night, and the air was cold. The only light came from the millions of stars above and one of Mars’ moons, Phobos. Melody’s wide-beamed headlamp lit up the ground immediately in front of them. Belle shivered and rubbed her arms. After the heat of the cities, she wasn’t used to how cool it was at night. The ground beneath her feet was covered in pebbles, and they crunched with each step. In the distance, Belle saw shapes — trees, perhaps. And there were two barnlike buildings, all dark gray and shadowy.

  Right in front of Belle was a smaller building. Melody shone her light in that direction. When the beam landed on their new home, Belle groaned. The house was a run-down shack. The roof was crooked and leaned to one side. Several window shutters were bent out of place, one hung unsteadily on a hinge. The place looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a hundred years.

  Yun had settled Loki in the smaller barn just beyond the house and was returning to unload the wagon. He flashed Belle a smile that looked like a grimace.

  “It’ll look better in the morning,” he said. He was trying so hard to make her believe they had made the right decision.

  “I’m sure it will,” she said. She didn’t say what she really felt — that her dad had made a big mistake by dragging them out here.

  “Maybe we should spend the night in the wagon,” Zara suggested. “We’ll unpack in the morning.”

  That night, it took Belle a long time to fall asleep. She wondered just how much worse things had to get before her parents finally gave up.

  When she woke up again, the sunlight was streaming through the open window beside her. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, surprised that her body didn’t hurt so much anymore. That horrid-smelling Martian medicine really worked after all.

  Belle got out her journal and began to write out her thoughts about their new home. As she wrote, she heard voices outside. But the voices didn’t belong to her parents.

  Peering out of the wagon’s window, she saw a woman and a boy talking to Yun and Zara. The woman was taller than her dad. Her long, copper colored hair was tied in a ponytail that fell to her thighs. She also had rough, purplish skin. The boy beside her had similar purple skin as well.

  Aliens!

  Mars Day 5, Summer, 2335, morning

  The sunlight is so bright it woke me up. All is quiet inside the wagon. Perfect for journal writing. I don’t ache so much anymore. It doesn’t even hurt to write. Not like last night. Ow! I never want to feel that kind of pain again.

  My parents and Melody must be moving things into our new home — which is awful! Our “homestead” (as Dad calls it) is old and run down. I don’t think anyone has lived here in years. Mom doesn’t like it either, but she won’t say anything to Dad. Still, I can tell she feels like I do. Dad, I’m not sure… I don’t think he’s as excited as he appears. I think they secretly wish their engineering jobs with BAMCorp had worked out.

  I don’t believe it — my parents are talking to two aliens!

  Chapter 5

  UNEXPECTED GUESTS

  Belle had never met an alien — they weren’t allowed to visit Earth. But she’d heard there were many aliens on the offworld colonies, like Lunar Colony, and here on Mars. And here were two aliens, talking to her parents!

  Belle’s mind was filled with questions as she walked toward the visitors. She wondered what planet they were from and how long their journey to Mars was. She wanted to know everything about them.

  But the questions stuck in her throat. She was an alien too, in a way. True, most Martians were human, but Belle was born and raised on Earth. That made her as much an alien here as the purple people now laughing with her parents like old friends. How would she feel if they shot question after question at her on their very first meeting? She decided the questions could wait.

  “I’m so sorry,” she heard the lady say. “We really had no idea this farm was taken. We often drop by for a rest when we’re out on our walks. But we’re so happy you’re here now. This farm has badly needed a korDar — a family.”

  “We’re just so thrilled to meet a neighbor,” Zara replied. She looked back at the shack. “Even though we’re not quite rea
dy to be good hosts.”

  Yun waved Belle over. “This is our daughter, Isabelle.”

  “It’s Belle!” she corrected. She hated it when her parents used her full name. It sounded so formal.

  The woman nudged the boy. He was about Belle’s age, and looked very much like a human. But when Belle looked closer, she saw that he had arm and neck ridges like his mother. His skin was a lighter color purple though. Belle tried not to stare.

  “I’m Lucas,” he mumbled, looking at his feet.

  What an odd boy!

  “And I’m Myra Walker,” his mother said. Her purple skin shone in the sunlight, highlighting flecks of gold on her ridges and the sides of her face. She shook Belle’s hand with such warmth, Belle liked her instantly.

  “You’re so shiny,” Belle blurted, wide-eyed and staring. Oh dear, did she just say that out loud?

  “Belle!” Both her parents gasped in unison.

  “That’s not very polite,” Zara chided. “Please apologize.”

  “I’m sorry.” Belle could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

  Lucas scowled at her, but Myra laughed. “It’s okay,” she said. “You’ve probably never met a Sulux before.”

  “Sulux?”

  “People from Suluxa,” Lucas said. He looked annoyed at having to explain. Belle felt like such an idiot.

  “My family has lived on Mars for a hundred cycles,” Myra said. “I’m actually half Sulux and half human. Lucas is one quarter Sulux. But my ancestors are from the planet Suluxa. It’s the fifth planet in a nearby binary system. That means it has two suns. They arrived here around the same time Terrans colonized Mars.”

  “It was Sulux technology that helped terraform Mars.” Lucas said.

  “What’s a cycle?” Belle asked.

  Lucas rolled his eyes. “You don’t know? A cycle is one revolution around the sun. Duh.”