Redemption

Not a single wind blew here anymore. The land was barren, and it had been this way for thousands of years. Even the slightest traces of life were banished from its surface. All that remained were the marks of the previous inhabitants’ failure: buildings decaying to the elements, bodies strewn around in the streets, crazed messages hastily scribbled, and mass graves. 

The cause was unknown, as no one intended on actually examining the bodies, despite their curiosity. As a result, they forced me to do it. All I had to do was gather one sample, which I’d assumed was no big deal. I’d almost made it back to our ship before spotting him. He was curled up in a fetal position, barely breathing, but I saw him.

Rushing over, I knelt next to him. “A-are you okay?” I queried, wishing I could do anything. He coughed loudly before weakly pointing to my canteen. Understanding immediately, I opened it and poured it down his throat in a steady stream. Once he received enough, nearly my entire bottle, he beckoned for me to follow him. Glancing at my ship, I told him of my duties.

He shrugged and continued walking as if asking me to choose. That moment, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life; I walked the other way, to my ship, away from the man I’d just saved. The moment I stepped in, I regretted my decision. I’d just stepped in, and the sample was pried from my hands, the excitement of everyone else trumping my own. Why did anyone care about a distant planet’s apocalypse? 

That night, I snuck out, bringing my few possessions with me, a somber, yet sober, air about me. It was all so clear: I had to leave my life as an intern. Ordinarily, it took three years to become a worker, but this was my seventh. I wasn’t incompetent- I was far from it. The hiring staff just seemed to despise me. Every time they declined my status to be raised, they said, “We just can’t allow a Kruger to hold this job right now,” once again drawing upon my father’s betrayal. 

For what seemed like hours, I treaded the arid plains of this planet, searching endlessly for the man I’d saved. After nearly a week of hunting, I’d grown frail and delirious; the mirages frequented my peripheral vision. I’d seen the man thousands of times; water, millions; food, hundreds, and my old coworkers once or twice. The sun had set again, and I fell asleep quickly, weary from my trek across the lonesome globe. It wasn’t long before I woke up again. Insomnia always got worse when the victim was in trouble. 

When I woke up, though, it wasn’t where I’d fallen asleep. Lights surrounded me like a halo, tubes attached to my limbs. “I’m an octopus!” was my first conclusion, for I’d been heavily drugged, not to mention my delirious nature. A few minutes later, my vision cleared up, allowing me to see my old mentor standing in front of me, arms folded. 

“Well, well… Look what the cat dragged in. Why did you leave us, Oxana? Your absence halted our mission progress,” he leered, not a single ounce of compassion for my feeble body and mind. Clearing my throat, I replied, my voice gravelly, “Because I hate this place. Not the planet, the environment we have here. Despite my aptitude for the topic, I can’t move up in the ranks because of your stupid, biased judgment. That’s why I left.”

Most mentors, even mine, had he received a different intern, would’ve let their student get out their anger and helped them. But, true to form, he slapped me, though I barely registered it. “How dare you bad-mouth our nation? You should be happy that we permitted you to be an intern after what your father did!” 

This was a fight I’d fought for years, and no matter who I talked to, I never won, not even the people who were supposedly my friends. They all hated me- it was obvious. Whenever I failed, it was “like father, like daughter,” and my successes were always credited to my superiors. Unwilling to continue the hopeless fight, I nodded meekly and apologized. 

As soon as he left the room, I tried to sit up, but the head rush that came with it forced me back down. Okay, maybe a little slower, I thought, inching from my near-horizontal position to a vertical one. I inspected the tubes attached to me; a clear fluid, which was most likely an IV; a beige color, some form of food; a few others dedicated to monitoring my state; and one more, a hazy green substance. I knew what it was, Exphorbium, better known as Exphobius’s Poison.

The moment I recognized it, I began laughing hysterically, as my father was the chief inventor of the toxic liquid. Only 5 mL were required to kill someone, and they were pumping my body full of it. I had minutes to live, and I didn’t regret a single thing- or did I? My mind sharper than a knife, I removed the tubes, freeing my arms. The antidote was the Corbius Serum, so cleverly named after my father’s enemy and the former leader of us.

It was typically a reddish-pink color, though any color could be added to it. Slipping into an alchemist’s uniform, I strutted into the laboratory, hunting for the elusive bottle. Cavoris, Celipsus, Corbius, Corona- Corbius! I lunged forward and grabbed the bottle, sneaking into a back room to drink its contents. Just like any antidote, it tasted of metal and herbs, but it made me feel better.

Revived and poison-free, I returned to my room with a bottle of green water, replacing it with the poison. I reinserted all the tubes and waited until nighttime. It came sooner than I expected, but soon enough, I was with my bags full of provisions once again. Glancing back only once, I ran into the void of the night, gleeful to be free once more.

This time, however, I stumbled into an old building and found a tunnel. Fumbling in the dark, I strapped on my night goggles, enabling me to see my surroundings. It was filthy, no, putrid, the stench causing me to gag. Water and slime coated every surface, garbage everywhere. I trodded on, pinching my nose shut and barely breathing. After walking for what seemed like miles, I began to hear chanting. It was faint at first, but it grew louder and louder as I kept walking.

Realizing my discovery, I ran as fast as my body would allow me to. Once I reached an opening, I gasped. At the end of the tunnel, there was a huge building that’d fallen on top of a park, though it was balanced across it by the neighboring buildings, providing a roof for the people below. And the people, oh, the people! They sang, danced, and chanted with spirit, as if their planet was still arable and pure, not the smoky mess it was.

Here, the air felt warm and friendly, the polar opposite of the environment I’d learned to tolerate. As soon as someone spotted my supply-ridden body and weary face, the crowd stopped moving, irritations and suspicion radiating over their faces. The person responsible for the music paused the song and stepped forward, his voice booming, “Who are you, and what is your purpose in being here?”

Intimidated, I backed away slowly, pressing myself against the wall. Gulping, I managed to say, “I’m Oxana Kruger and- and I came here for shelter.” He stepped forward, only stopping when we were a meter apart. “From where?” he said, curious. I told him of my origins, omitting my dad’s rebellion. Afraid that I’d said too much, I shifted towards the tunnel where I’d entered. 

However, I was too slow; he leaped forward and grabbed my wrist, preventing me from leaving. I must’ve looked like a cornered rabbit because he loosened his grip. “You may stay here if you complete The Test. I do not care whether you pass or fail, just that you attempt it. If you wish to leave, do so now.” Like the coward I was, I turned towards the exit for a moment, but paused, considering my choices: leave and scavenge forever; return to my people, and be miserable, or stay and be happier than I could ever be. 

“I’ll stay.” They were the best two words I’d ever said. And the first action that I didn’t end up regretting. He smiled, his weathered face crinkling with joy. “Leave your bags here- I’ll get you to the Testing Circle,” he said, still serious, though with hints of happiness. The Testing Circle was a raised stone circle about three meters across covered in etched symbols. It looked almost as if it contained magic.

Wary of the power the stone possessed, I stepped onto it, shocked to find that it was warm. The man watched me walk onto the central circle, which was barely wide enough for both of my feet. He emptied a bag of red powder into one dip, yellow another, green a third, blue a fourth, and purple the last one. Each dip was positioned in the outermost circle, connected by a curved groove. Five other people stepped up, each with a bucket of water in their hands. 

Upon his signal, each dumped the contents of their buckets into the dip in front of them, the colors blending in the grooves. Eyes wide, I watched the colors swirl, not noticing their steady approach to the inner circle. Once every color had reached the center, a strange euphoria came over me and my eyes fluttered shut. 

I woke to a setting sun, still in the circle. Had they left me here because I failed, or were they just too lazy? No one was around, not even a single body. Glancing around warily, I got up and walked around. Where was everyone? I tilted my face up and, to my surprise, everyone was high above me, floating in the sky. “Join us!” they called, and so I jumped, soaring above the rest, though laughing all the while. The gravity was nonexistent here, permitting us to float in peace as the sunset ensued.

But then, something odd happened; everyone, even the children, looked me in the eyes and said, “Pass.” The moment they did, I plummeted like a stone, screaming as I descended towards the ground at break-neck speeds. Just as I hit the ground, I sprung into consciousness.

Gasping awake, I looked up frantically, only to find the massive skyscraper above. The man looked at me with concern, mentally noting my reaction. “What happened?” he asked. I told him what occurred, and his eyes lit up. “They said… Pass?” I nodded meekly, afraid of what it meant. He smiled and took my hand, raising it skyward. “And so, we have our Empress!” he boomed.

“E- Empress?” I queried, nervous about what laid ahead of me. He nodded, evidently proud of my results. Over the next few months, I rose to a position of near-unlimited power, ruling my people with care and authority. My people were well cared for and unified under my just, yet compassionate rule. Everything was smooth sailing until they found us.

The attack didn’t come until just after midnight, but when it did, I barely escaped. I’d been sitting on a decaying bench when I heard a faint whistling from above. Remembering my time on the ship, I panicked and screamed, “GET OUT! GET OUT! THEY’RE BOMBING US!” as loud as my tiny lungs could, prying all the doors open to let my citizens out. Then it hit.

First, it ruptured the building above, raining glass and fire below. The explosion itself was unlike any other I’ve seen, the colors blossoming out of the epicenter like a deadly flower, desperate to engulf its surroundings with its flames. It roared, the boom emanating from the impact bursting any eardrums that dared to be nearby, including mine. The silence that followed stung as blood flowed from my ears in a steady trickle. I just wanted to sleep, to give in to the darkness that was already here.

Around me were a few others, though there were far more corpses draped on the ground and in their beds. My eyes filling with tears, I ran from the only home I’d come to love into the void that was the rest of this desolate planet. Eventually, I found myself, and the others, near the place where I’d rescued the man oh so long ago. Laughing, I sat down, urging the others to do so with me. 

We must’ve sat there for half an hour until my hawk-like vision picked up movement in the distance. Tensing, I signaled my comrades to hide while I scoped it out. The lack of wind helped in hiding my figure, though the glaring sun raised the temperature uncomfortably. Upon reaching the spot where I’d spotted a disturbance, I crouched low, noting the footstep next to me. Cautiously, I peeped my head up above the cracked pavement.

The moment I did, I locked eyes with my former mentor. How ironic was it that I’d come all this way just to return here? He smiled, arrogant as always. I frowned, drawing both my knife and upon my newly formed courage. Thankful, for the training that’d been passed onto me, I sprung out of the trench, landing on my feet.

“It’s been some time, has it not?” I asked, my voice loud and clear. He laughed, oblivious to my intentions, “Yes, it has been. Where have you been, Oxana?” Then it was my turn to laugh, though I suppose I may have overdone it; his face morphed to one of concern. I then replied coldly, “I think you already know.” I was finally ready to make my fight, and this time, win it. They’d stolen my home, my childhood, my happiness, my rights. It was time for redemption. 

Turning around to face my mentor, I laughed once more and threw my knife, slicing a perfect cut through his throat. “Ooh… I think I might’ve hurt you,” I crooned, sarcastic down to my last bone. I waved my comrades over, saying only to them to follow and trust me. Glancing up at the scorching sun, then back down to my late mentor, I removed the knife, though not before messily decapitating him. Dissolved in my moment of madness, I lifted his head to the sky, as if telling this dead planet I was its queen. 

We walked to the ship, me at the helm of our team and my comrades in tow. I kicked the doors open, not bothering to use the scan. No emotion was in my stature that day. “I have come to avenge my father. Surrender this ship, or you’ll be as dead as Ester here!” My former shipmates’ gaped at the head and me as if they couldn’t believe that I was the one responsible for his murder.

Our current leader, Meriphora, walked into the room and gasped. “Wh- what happened to Ester? And who are these people?” Evidently, she’d already forgotten me. I wasn’t hurt, but rather amused. Everyone must’ve been so perplexed once I started laughing hysterically. “I’d say that I’m sorry, but I’m not. My name, which you have so cleverly omitted from your memory, is Oxana Kruger, or as you preferred to know me as, Exphorbius’ daughter.” Soon, everyone on the ship, excepting my comrades and me, had a look of confusion plastered onto their faces.

For some reason, my insane mind found this hilarious. They couldn’t even fight me! It was a moment of pure bliss. “Good to see you, Meriphora. However, I’m afraid that this is not a trip for pleasure, but one of business. You see, I’m here to take over this ship because my father- he failed. It’s about time a Kruger got a chance to win for once.” What I didn’t know was that she had never wanted to be a leader, so I was surprised when she said, “Here, you lead these people. Good luck, Oxana- you’ll need it.”

The ironic thing? I didn’t. My subordinates loved and supported me, even when I extended our stay on this dead planet. We learned so much, especially these last few years. Finally, a decision I never came to regret! Yesterday, an exploration team brought a local in for an interview about the planet. The moment we locked eyes, I knew it was him, the man I’d rescued years ago. One question stood out in the string of curiosities my people had.

I’d decided to sit down across from him, next to the interviewer. Coincidently, it was the last question, though I suppose it made sense- the best questions were always saved for last. The air had a tone of finality about it, almost telling its consumers, “This is the end.” Clearing her throat, the interviewer asked the question carefully written onto the notecard, “What was the name of this planet while it was still hospitable?”

His reply was a single word, said with no tone whatsoever.

“Earth.”