“Red Rain”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “On Mars, the rain is red.” — suggested by Mary

A high-pitched scream echoes in my earpiece. Wincing, I shake my head.

“What is it, Varna?” I ask, looking around for her white suit amidst the red dust.

My question is met by another scream, then some panting.

“Varna?” Now I’m starting to get worried. Did she fall down a crack in the ground? Or maybe she finally found some Martian life that turned out not to be as friendly as we’d hoped.

“Commander!” comes the garbled reply over my earpiece. I let out a sigh of relief; she’s safe enough to form full words. “Commander, there’s something falling from the sky!”

Immediately, I’m on high alert. Something falling from the sky? That can’t be good.

“I’m on my way,” I say, pushing myself up from the pile of rocks I’d been examining. “Meet me back at the cave entrance.”

“No!” Varna shouts. I wince again as her voice echoes around in my ear. “Sorry for shouting, commander, but don’t come out here. Stay in the cave!”

That only makes me pack up my equipment faster. “If you’re in danger, get to the cave as fast as you can.”

“Copy that, commander.”

After a scrambled cleanup of my equipment, I race back to the cave entrance.

“Stupid Mars gravity,” I mutter under my breath.

Even though this isn’t my first trip to Mars, the difference in gravity always throws me off whenever I return after going home for a holiday.

A white blob lets me know that I’m approaching Varna. She waves at me frantically. As I approach, I notice streaks of red on her suit.

“Commander!” she exclaims. “There’s something weird going on outside.”

I look out at the surface of the planet. Instantly, I relax.

“Calm down, Varna,” I say, trying to keep my tone steady and soothing. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“But… but it’s raining blood!”

“No, it’s not,” I say with a chuckle. “Did no one tell you? The rain is red here on Mars!”

Final Comments: I realized near the end that any astronaut travelling to Mars after it had been explored already would probably already have been told if the rain was red…

Overall Rating: 😅