"With Wings of Damnation"

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 2: The Soul of Mars

Dust and grains of rough terrain blew through Kara’s red hair. She walked, alone, across a desolate, rocky world, dressed in black. She had been walking for almost an hour now, crying the entire way. Kara had always been concerned about her looks, as she was a delicate woman: elegant and beautiful, yet more beautiful still in her concern for others. Now, however, the filth that now covered her clothing, and the dirt that had clung to her tears, was not a concern. She had not taken the news of her husband’s death well.

Both she and her husband were born on Mars, far away from the beautiful landscapes of Earth, far away from the corrupt world government that controlled both it and their own world. Ties between the colonies on Mars and Venus had been unstable in the past few months; this was especially true after the Emperor of the Empire, Solomon Petresun, had declared the Fortress Earth Proclamation. This new law dictated that nearly all of the resources of the colonies would be directed to Earth, in order to prepare for a possible war with the Enemy. Kara and her husband had never been too concerned with the political affairs of either Earth or Mars, given their background. They had both come from dysfunctional families, torn apart by financial problems, the alcohol abuse of their parents, and mental and physical abuse that came as a result. It was only now that Kara realized that her husband was the only real person she had in the world. They had been married for only a year, and had no children.

After their marriage, they had moved to a newly established settlement on the fringe of a recently constructed mining facility. It seemed as though that was all Martians, or “dusters,” as the Imperials would call them, were good for. Mars had very few opportunities for employment aside from mining, although many would sometimes come into wealth as the result of underhanded dealings with the “Imps.” Imperial Police would put down rebellious workers with great frequency these days, apparently to try to quell a possible uprising. Rumors of a coming rebellion had begun to take shape, although that’s all they were – rumors. If indeed there was a true rebellion, someone would have already sold the renegades out to the highest bidder.

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It was only yesterday that Kara had kissed her husband goodbye for the last time. He had gone to work as any other day - only this time, there had been a violent outbreak at the facility. Apparently, many of the workers had attacked an Imperial officer after he had threatened to falsify reports, if they did not increase their productivity. A riot ensued; riots always seemed to end with violence here on Mars. Kara’s husband was undistinguishable from the true rioters, although it was doubtful that the Imperials would have cared either way.

Farax Joelle had brought her the news. He had been a friend of the family, of sorts. Kara had often seen him with her husband, but had never pried too much into their relationship. She assumed that he was one of the workers at the mine. He, in fact, was her husband’s supervisor, although the position had no real meaning – Imperial watchdogs were the only ones who did any real supervision, although all of them abused their privileges.

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She fell to the earth, cushioned slightly by the low gravity of her home world. Most Martians were tall and thin by nature, as the result of their habitat. Kara, on the other hand, was very small for a Martian, standing almost at the same height as a Terran woman. She had never been very strong, even in terms of mentality; she had learned to rely too much on her husband over the years, before their marriage.

“Kara!” someone cried. “Oh God, Kara! What happened!?”

She looked up to see Farax running towards her. She had not heard the cargo transit vehicle stop nearby. She collapsed once again, not out of weariness, but out of despondency. She did not want to get up, to face a world where she was totally alone.

“Kara, what are you doing out here?” Farax picked her up, and began to carry her back to his vehicle.

“The funeral,” she muttered. “I… broke down halfway.”

“We wondered what had happened,” Farax said. “We thought you might have stayed home, because you didn’t want to… you know.”

Farax handed Kara a canteen of water, setting her in the back of his vehicle. “Do you want to go… still?” Kara nodded after a moment of thought, wiping away the dirt from her face. It was only now that she noticed how powerful the winds outside were – their howls were quite vivid, even through the now closed doors. Small rocks and grains of sand beat against the strong, meta-plas windows of the vehicle, layering it with a red film.

“I can’t believe you walked all that way,” Farax said, turning the cargo hauler around to face the direction Kara had been walking in. “You don’t need medical attention, do you? We can stop and then-”

“No,” Kara interrupted, seemingly frightened at the thought of missing this opportunity. She had been driving to attend the funeral of her late husband, before her means of transportation had experience some type of dire mechanical failure. She had begun to walk as a result, mostly out of her desire to be with her husband, one last time, but somewhat out of pity for herself. Somehow, she felt obliged to subject herself to the torturous environment of the unmanageable Martian wastelands; scientists had begun to terraform Mars years ago, but it only barely supported human life.

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The two did not speak until they had arrived at the gravesite, in Kara’s hometown. She had not been here since her marriage, although there was little to come back to: all of her family was dead, and the few friends she had made had either died in mining “accidents” or had moved away to try to find a better life.

The child of a degenerate father, and an alcoholic mother, Kara was unprepared for the rigors of everyday life. As a result, her confidence remained as shattered as it had been in her childhood; guilt crept over her daily. Taking the blame had become a pastime for Kara, especially in these dark days. The idea that what she had not done, what she could have done, was the factor that brought about most of the tragedies in her life. She felt this way even now, as though she was responsible for her husband’s death. Feeling useless, insignificant and empty, suicide drifted into her mind. Emotion seized control of her mind; she could barely distinguish thought from pain.

Farax helped Kara out of the hauler, taking her by the hand to a large, rust-colored field of soot, rocks and worn graves. All of the markers here were barely recognizable, although none had been here for long. This was partly due to the extreme winds, although most of the blame rested on the Imperial workers that were in charge of the site. A graveyard was little investment for the Imps, although most of its denizens ended up there as a direct result of police brutality.

“David,” Kara spoke, looking directly at a new grave, untouched by the harsh weather conditions. She covered her mouth and sank to her knees, beginning to cry again. Farax sat down beside her, looking at the engraved words on the headstone. The ‘Lice had made the stone, like the others – only David’s name was inscribed.

“Bastards,” Farax muttered, clenching his teeth. “How long do they think we’ll tolerate this?”

Kara calmed down, and placed her head between her knees. “I don’t have anything anymore,” she muttered. “He’s gone now.”

“Kara,” Farax began, “you still have your own life to live. Dave wouldn’t want you to throw that away. I promise I’ll be there to help you.” Kara began to rock slowly on the sandy earth, breathing slowly. She was confused; she wished that David were here, so that he could take care of everything for her, as had always been the case. Fear was her greatest enemy at this point; indeed, the pain of losing the only person she loved in the world was terribly great, but now her own life was in jeopardy – for the first time in her life, she had nowhere to turn.

“Dave,” she began, sighing to herself, “where are you now?”