Adventures On Mars-Part 9

“Wake up…wake up…hey, girl, wake up,” was the first thing I heard when I came to.

“Woah…where– where am I? What happened?” I asked, sitting up to face whoever had awakened me.

“You fell asleep on the way here. I don’t blame you actually.” I heard him stand up. “It’s a long way from the Marshian Crater Prison. I nearly nodded off myself. Fortunately Bessy here kept me awake.”

In the dark that surrounded me, I could barely see the outline of the man speaking to me. “Bessy?”

“Ah, I see you fell asleep earlier than I thought. You talk in your sleep you know? Thought you were awake for a while till you stopped.” He laughed.

I paused, contemplating what he had said. Then I remembered last night. “What’s your name?” I repeated.

“Never you mind right now,” was his short reply. “But what’s your name?”

At this, I was caught off guard and for a moment I went blank.

“Are you still awake?”

“Uh, yes. My name is Tabitha. Please tell me your name– and who’s Bessy? Tell me everything!”

He sighed, and a candle was lit, revealing his face (well, part of it – he was wearing a mask) and the slim, lime-green face of a girl, who was, without questioning, the strangest creature I’d ever seen!