Earth Mars Love (The Marsikons)

Chapter 29

Marcus was lost in thoughts while they were driving the short way to the White House. The Marsikons were sitting in one car with two guards, and the Morgan family was in another with Boss and another guard. Arthur and Clare insisted they go with them but promised to stay out of the way if—when—the battle began.

Marcus felt guilty for bringing the Martians to Earth. Because Boss was right, it was his fault. And that meant taking care of them was his responsibility.

For decades his father and previous Kings tried to make a peace with Martians. And at one point his great grandfather almost reached an agreement with their previous leader, Wisel's father. But just a couple of days before the peaceful act was signed, he died for unknown reasons, and Wisel took the reins of ruling over Martians. He was young and ruthless then, he'd sent his troops on Marsikon base almost every other day. And he ruled still, while Marsikon' Kings changed.

Wisel never answered on pleas of truce. Like he didn't understand, that it would do good for everyone. His own people would stop dying on the battlefield. If only they reached an agreement before, they would've restored Mars' atmosphere without even contacting Earth, for they had necessary supplies. But instead of working together, Wisel chose the war.

Marcus felt sorry for Martians, that they had such a leader. Without him, they could make the lives of Martians much better.

But he mustn't forget about his daughter. Onyx. What would she do if Wisel was eliminated? Would she take the reins and be as ruthless as him? Or maybe after she'd spent how many years in the Marsikon domain, she'll rule differently? But the main question remained. How was it possible for her to even be on Marsikon base for so long, and how they didn't realize she was a Martian? Marcus couldn't even remember now how Kos had met her. It was like she was always with Kos until she wasn't.

Marcus glanced at Kos, who was sitting beside him, looking out of the window at various buildings on either side of the road.

He wanted to tell him something encouraging when they turned on another street, and the sight of it stole his breath. Marcus couldn't believe what he saw in the sky over the clearing beside the White House. The behemoth of a ship, that was buried under sands of Mars near Martian's domain. It was the last big one, to send remaining survivors to Earth if Mars was going to die completely. When they prepared the expedition, they didn't even think about flying on this giant, because it would need a lot of fuel, which they didn't have.

It seemed the Martians had made a lot of fuel to make this trip. Now Marcus realized why they were so quiet during previous months. Bastards.

The driver and the other guard were swearing and gaping at the view, at the same time gaining speed, going faster after the car with Regina and others.

***

Regina was driving in the first SUV with her family and Boss. The driver was one of the agents she didn't know, but she'd already impressed Regina, masterfully navigating them through crowded streets.

During the short drive, she and Boss discussed the impending confrontation. Boss got the info, that the spaceship was going right at the White House, and at Regina's offer to bomb it in the air she got a negative response. It was too close now to the city and would end up with massive collateral damage. She gave Regina a gun and she tucked in the waistband of her slacks. Hers was left in her car because she couldn't go with it to the Capitol.

Regina was riding the shotgun with the Boss sitting behind the driver. When the car turned and jerked in a sudden stop, she turned around to look ahead of the car. She couldn't believe her eyes. The spaceship was moving closer and became larger with every second. It was like watching Independence Day in real life. The cars were left behind and people were either running away, to find a shelter. Or they were mesmerized, standing in a stupor, pointing fingers at the massive object.