The Resistance (Mining Minerals for Earth, Book 1) Read online

  The Resistance, Mining Minerals for Earth, Book 1

  Copyright © 2013 Kindle Publishing Timothy Cox

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book, all rights reserved.

  “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

  ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  (1)

  A mother’s tear: it’s worth a hundred worlds and it is said to be the very soul of Mother Nature.

  His hand hovered over the door as he kept this in mind, thinking of everything she had done for him. Being there for him when it got tough, and being there for him when he felt lonely. She was the one that protected him against all evil, the world’s corruption, shielded him from bad influences, and who was the one that nurtured his soul into the man he was today: a man who knew wrong from right. There was nothing harder than saying goodbye to a loved one. That and Traversing of course. But he believed the stories, because he’d seen how hard it can be first hand.

  He pushed the creaking door, and with it, came the strangest feeling of déjà vu…

  Fifteen years ago

  He sat on the bed playing with his favorite toy, the one father left him before he went. He can’t remember how long ago that was, but it sure feels like a very long time. He enjoyed playing with his toy, it had the coolest blue color, the coolest engine, and the coolest wings. His toy looked just like the real spaceships out there, he knew how they looked because he had seen one with his own two eyes.

  ‘Poof – poof.’ He threw the ship up into the air. ‘Sir we’ve enemies on our backs!’ He grabbed the toy and shook it. ‘We loosin’ control – we need backup. We need backup I said, peew poof.’

  His mother laughed and grabbed the toy from him. ‘Jack, behave now, we are saying–’

  He lunged for her arms. ‘Mom give it–’

  She held her hand against his chest. ‘I said, not now.’

  He knew this wasn’t going to work so he sat back down and crossed his arms. He pouted and stared at the closed door, hearing sounds behind it. He saw a monster breaking through that door any minute, its eyes big as wheels, a mouth that could swallow a house whole, and who was going to protect his mother? He looked at her and could see her eyes a little watery, she tried looking away acting like it was nothing but he knew, he knew she was crying. He shook his head and looked back at the door, he didn’t like it when people cried, especially his mom, he felt bad in the stomach. He blanked away the thoughts and thought about that monster behind the door, how it would come out any second and grab him by the legs.

  He noticed his stomach getting grumpy, it made sounds that meant he was hungry. But before he could ask his mother for food, he heard footsteps stop behind the door. Any moment, that monster was going to come through. He was ready for it.

  The creaking door opened. The monster has arrived.

  He cocked his head when his mother next him broke out crying. His mind was trying to put the puzzle pieces together: why was she crying so hard all of a sudden? Did he do something to upset her? Or maybe it was something to do with his brother standing at the door.

  ‘Y-you look just like your father.’ She said, wiping proud tears from her face. ‘I wish he was here to see this.’

  ‘I’m sure he’s there waiting for me on the other side.’ Steve said. He wasn’t a man for the mirror, but today was a very special occasion. To make sure he looked his best, he washed his uniform three times, ironed it four times and even got it fitted. All uniforms were the same, a desert brown jacket that had two rows of black buttons going down the middle, trousers with three pockets on each side, and sturdy boots the color of deep woodland.

  ‘Go stand next to your big brother, so I can take a nice photo.’

  Jack paused, not sure if he wanted to be in a photo. He liked his brother but hated photos. He looked at his mother’s facial expression and realized this was going to be another one of those do-it-and-just-get-it-done moments. He slid off the bed and walked over stroppy.

  Steve ran his fingers through his brother’s hair and smiled. ‘C’mon now, don’t be so grumpy.’

  ‘I’m not.’

  He squeezed his shoulder. ‘You’re going to be the man of the house now, so you better take care it.’

  ‘I already take care of it.’ Jack said.

  While looking for the camera, she glanced around and shook her head. ‘More like you take care of all the food.’

  ‘Can I go play with my ship?’

  ‘No wait, let me find the–’

  ‘It’s over there mother.’ Steve said pointing at the bookcase.

  Jack giggled inside, he knew the camera was there all along, he fooled everyone. These grownups were so easy to fool, just like the other day when he hid the milk under the cupboard. Thinking about stuff like this made him want to laugh.

  ‘That’s a nice smile.’ She told Jack. ‘Now keep smiling like that while I take a photo of you two.’

  Jack nodded. He didn’t like how hard his brother was squeezing his shoulder; it was distracting his focus from looking at that stupid camera. His brother also muttered something about someday he was going to join the Resistance and help earth mine minerals, and that he was going to be waiting for him when he gets there. All this sounded like junk talk, all he wanted to do was play with his spaceship. He heard his mother start to count from five. He knew what came after one–

  A bright white flash.

  ***

  He looked at her waiting for him. She sat on the edge of the bed with both hands on her lap. She kept a cool composed expression, a by-product of age and pain. But beneath this river of calm was a raging torrent that wanted to explode. Her lips quivered at the sight of him, and Jack knew why. This was going to be her third goodbye.

  He barely walked a few steps when she jumped up and ran forward, the cool composed demeanor she was planning on keeping went out the window. She ran inside his open arms and cried.

  ‘Hey don’t worry I’ll be–’ he stopped talking, her sobbing was louder than his words. He put his head against hers. A part of him felt a little surprised, maybe it was because she acted all fine with the coming inevitable. He knew this was going to be hard the minute he turned twenty-one. Each day her composure inside chipped away, like splinters of paint from a wall. He hugged her tight with his own tears welling up.

  ‘You take care o-k.’ She squeezed the air from his lungs. ‘And say hello to your brother and father.’

  He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know how to express how much he was going to miss her. ‘You take care of yourself mother. If anyone gives you trouble tell ‘em I’m not afraid to hop back on the ship and head home.’

  She laughed under his arms and pushed away. She wiped tears from her nose and chuckled. ‘Oh Jack, where you’re going…it’s so far away. I-I-they never come back–’ she crashed back into his arms and cried fresh tears.

  He touched her shoulder. ‘Maybe I’ll be able to come back.’

  She turned away. She began looking for something to wipe her eyes with. ‘You know that’s not possible, not in our life time.’ She sat on the bed with cloth in hand, and looked at him. ‘It feels like yesterday that your brother went. You look just as handsome.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he stretched his
jacket. ‘It does feel a little tight around the waist.’

  Her laughter was quick and sweet. ‘Don’t be such a girl.’

  ‘I’m serious–’ he tried lifting his leg. ‘Look how tight it is.’

  ‘You look handsome that’s all that matters.’

  He gave her a look that said: do-you-know-where-I’m-going? And took a deep breath.

  ‘You’ll be fine Jack, really.’

  He knew he was, he thought. He was more concerned about her, the fact that he was never going to see his mother again was something not only terrible, but heart wrenching. ‘How are you going to be?’

  Her chin lowered, only to jump back up with a smile. ‘I’ll be fine, don’t you worry about me. In fact, I’ve already signed up for the Community Program.’ She looked at the window. ‘The days of spending time with other women and children awaits – how exciting.’ She looked at him with a playful grin. ‘Do you have all your things packed?’

  He nodded.

  ‘What about this?’ She asked, and pulled out a toy from behind. ‘You used to play with this all the time, and made noises like–’

  He grabbed it from her. ‘I’m not taking this with me what will people think? They’ll think I’m a little boy that brings his toys with.’ He looked at the wooden spaceship; the blue paint scratched away, leaving white marks.

  ‘You can do whatever you want. You’re a man now Jack.’ She said with a more serious tone. She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Just promise me one thing.’

  He looked at her curious.

  ‘Promise me you will take care of yourself.’

  There was a moment of pause, he took time to think about her question. It dawned on him for the very first time that he was actually leaving, that all of this was real. It was as if her question unlocked fears in him that he didn’t know existed. He peered down at the floor and frowned, could it really be that bad? He remembers somebody saying that the survival rate for new recruits was something like fifteen percent. But he knew it was only a joke. He shook his head and smiled.

  ‘Mother, you have my word. I will take care of myself.’ He didn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth, but hoped with all his heart that she did. Her smile made him think that she did. ‘But you have to make a promise as well.’

  ‘And what’s that?’

  ‘That you will take care of yourself.’

  Dimples appeared on her chin. A tear forced its way down her cheek. She gave him the warmest smile she could. ‘I promise, my son. Now why don’t we take our last ever photo?’

  She held the camera up with one hand and planted her cheek against his cheek. He will never forget the warmth of his mother’s skin.

  He knew what came next–

  A bright white flash.

  (2)

  ‘Hey what’s that?’ She asked.

  He quickly slid the spaceship back into his pocket. ‘Oh what – that?’ He looked away, ‘that’s nothing.’

  ‘I know what I saw.’

  The truck bumped up and down and came to a halt. The driver shouted at the traffic in front; his voice brash and irritated. The engine switched off and a door opened. Jack wish he could see what was going on, but it was no use, everything around him was just a tube of green tent – with a lot of worried faces.

  She nudged his arm trying to get his attention. ‘So?’

  He looked at her. ‘So what?’

  A smile ran across lips. ‘Oh, ok, I get it.’ She raised her voice. ‘So you don’t want people to know that you’re bringing your toy–’

  ‘It’s not a–’ his eyes narrowed. He looked away and relaxed his shoulders. ‘It’s sentimental value.’

  ‘O.K. Whatever you say.’ She started playing with her hair, taking strands and twirling it around her fingers.

  Jack counted how many people there were around him, trying not to make it obvious. There were more than he thought, at least thirty others. The guy right in front of him had his chin touching his chest as if he was dead. A girl who sat far away from him and nearest to the exit, had a book and pen out, writing away. He didn’t know if she was writing in a diary, but she had a soft face that was confident enough to–

  ‘Hey how long do you think till we get there?’

  He looked at her woven hair; that acted like support cables. ‘I have no idea. Maybe an hour, maybe two.’

  ‘You excited?’

  He analyzed her blank facial expression, trying to figure out if she was serious. ‘It’s not really a holiday trip is it?’

  ‘Can be if you want it to be.’ Her clean expression broke into a smile. ‘Why you so serious?’

  Jack heard moaning.

  I don’t feel too good. Think I’m going to.

  Don’t do it near me man.

  I can’t help–

  What the hell move NO move aw–

  Laughter broke out with chuckles of disgust.

  ‘No.’ Jack said. ‘I don’t really see how all of this can be a good thing.’

  ‘Aw, I think someone is missing mommy already.’

  ‘Aren’t you?’ This seemed to break her demeanor into a more serious tone.

  ‘Nope.’ She crossed her arms. ‘I don’t really get along with my family. When my dad left, it was only me my mom and my grandma. And lemme tell you, worst years of my life.’ She stuck her finger down her throat. ‘I’ll rather be doing this all day.’

  ‘Interesting–’ the engine roared back on, startling him for a few seconds. ‘Well I’m going to miss my mother.’

  She grabbed her mouth trying to hold in what was coming out, but she couldn’t help it, laughter slipped. ‘I-I’m sorry, but I didn’t expect you to say that.’

  He frowned and glanced at the nervous laughter at the back. People were becoming increasingly nervous. Some acted like everything was fine, even welcoming the change. But the overall feeling in the truck was that of uncomfortable and worried.

  He thought of his mother, and wondered what she was doing now, probably worrying way too much. He touched his pocket, and felt the toy still there.

  (3)

  The back of the truck screamed as the metal hinges fell down. The driver looked inside with a comical smile, his body relaxed, hinting that this was an all too familiar sight.

  ‘Ok ladies and gentleman,’ he said. ‘It’s time for your induction.’

  Everyone looked at each other, a little confused. Jack woke up.

  ‘That’s cue for: get-the-fuck-off-my-truck.’ He waved at a building in the distance. ‘That’s where you need to go.’

  Everyone began jumping off, scurrying away like little rats. Jack wiped his eyes and felt a little dazed from the sudden day to night. He must have fell asleep. A hand touched his shoulder.

  ‘You slept for quite a long time.’

  ‘Yeah…I know. I thought it was only going to be a two hour trip?’

  ‘Took longer.’

  ‘Hey lovebirds.’ The driver yelled. ‘There’s no time for making love.’

  Jack turned but she grabbed his shoulder again. He looked at her and saw a nervous face. Maybe all that bravado from earlier was just an act, he shook his head thinking that of course it was, how can it not be. Who on earth felt excited where they were heading to? ‘Yeah what’s it?’

  ‘My name is Alissa by the way. We didn’t–’

  ‘I know, my name’s Jack.’

  He jumped off onto wet grass. He forgot all about the night air as he stepped forward – looking around him – truly awake for the first time.

  The truck he jumped from was nothing special, it was one of many, hundreds many. Headlights shone in every direction, flickering black and yellow as shadows walked past. Engines coughed and buzzed like massive bees. Some drove away, some neared. Soot and smoke rose up far enough to block a few stars. A truck parked near Jack and the metal hinges came loose. The driver opened the back, young people jumped out, some bewildered, some a little excited. He heard voices shout, telling people to move, tel
ling them to hurry up. He saw hands wave in the air, ushering people in the right direction.

  ‘You lost son?’

  Jack turned and saw the driver staring. ‘Uh-no. Just, taking everything in I think.’

  He laughed as if it was some funny joke. ‘This is nothing kid, you’re still on earth, just wait until you get there. Then, we’ll talk.’

  Jack didn’t know how to address the man, should he salute, wave his hands up in the air, or just mirror his casual body language. ‘Hey uh, I’ve got a question if you don’t mind answering.’

  He sighed and shook his head. ‘Let me guess, you want to know if you’ll survive up there? What the current status is? What is expected of you? What will happen when you set foot on a new planet?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘Yeah sorry, I’m sure you get asked that a lo–’

  ‘No I don’t as a matter of fact.’ He looked at everyone walk past, all the nervous faces. ‘I think these young minds just want to keep themselves in the dark. Most of them realize that it’s better to not know than to know – if you know what I mean.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘The only thing I will is this boy, I’ve lost family up there, and it still hurts.’

  Before Jack could ask what they were mining up there, the driver walked away. He saw a group of guys walk past shouting and clapping hands. He stared at their backs as they walked away and wondered if that was such a good idea, acting like this was some kind of holiday, because a holiday implies coming back.

  (4)

  The room was a massive shoe shaped hall which was eerily quiet for the amount of people in it. Chatter could be heard breaking out at certain spots. Voices that needed to be heard, that needed to be expressed. Some part of them told them to keep talking, otherwise they would remember what they’re leaving behind.