Marius and the Lost Dynasty

A small circular window to my right shimmered, distorted by the heat of the desert. A thin layer of white dust settled on my clothes, but I didn't care. I ignored the flies buzzing around my face, and stared out into the horizon.

"It's beautiful." I whispered.

The orange sun was setting over a vast field of red rock and sand. A nearby dune blocked her from view, but I knew that she would be there as soon as I turned around. She always was.

"Evening, Marius." My grandmother said, gently taking me by the arm and guiding me further into the house, "Come on now, it's time for supper."

I let her lead me along. The shack was old and worn from the elements. It had been built by my great-great-grandfather when he first arrived on Mars after fleeing his home planet of Earth before it had been destroyed in a war. It was poorly lit and sparsely furnished, but it meant everything to me.

We entered through the kitchen. The table was already set with two plates, some cheese and quiche that Grandmother had made earlier that day, with two glasses of water to wash down our food. I took a seat and waited patiently while Grandmother got our meal ready then sat down with me to eat.

After we were finished eating, something stirred outside in the distance. The house shook slightly as something impacted against it with a loud *thump*.

"Mother's milk!" Grandmother cried out angrily as she jumped up from her seat, "Now what is that blasted thing doing?"

She stormed out into the main room where we had eaten dinner and ran out onto the porch just in time to see an enormous roach slide off of the roof of our shack into the sand below.

"Darnit all!" She said to herself as she grabbed a broom from behind one of the chairs and chased after it furiously, "Get back here you big bug! This isn't about you!"

Grandmother eventually caught up with it just outside of town and began whacking at it with her broom wildly until she finally pinned it into submission beneath her foot and snatched up its body before carrying it back home in triumph while continuing to shout at it every step of the way.

After putting away her broom so that nothing else could get inside while we were gone tomorrow morning she returned to our kitchen table where she found me sitting patiently waiting for her return. She smiled at me warmly before sitting down across from me once more then looking towards our window which now allowed us a clear view of Mars' enormous red sun setting beyond our small town of Cactusville just outside of Las Vegas.

"It's almost time for bed." She said softly, "You're gonna need your rest if you're going to be making your journey tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am." I replied obediently before getting up from my chair and walking over to her side where she took me by the hand and led me back into my bedroom where she helped me change out of my dirty clothes before putting on a fresh pair for me that she had laid out earlier that day along with my travel pack then tucking me in before kissing me goodnight on my forehead and leaving quietly so that I could rest well tonight while we prepared for our journey tomorrow morning when we would leave this house behind forever as we started our new lives in California once more where we would both be free once again...