life on Mars/ part 8

life on Mars/part 8

fiction
Edward w Pritchard


More by author Pritchard about early settlers on Mars. Here a macabre incident involving lab rats.



In our off duty hours Phillip Matson and I were picking up a few extra Euros back in 2028 delivering water and bootleg alcohol to the early settlers up on Mars.

Mic Kruson was a Russian who had lost his wife to a meteor during the first trimester of their duty in the East sector and having no working helicop had been out in the bush for four months with no visual inspection from authority. Kruson had a reputation as a heavy drinker and Matson and I made the long trek to the far side of east sector with visions of a large sale of our expensive hooch.

I had a bad feeling when we landed at Kruson's helipad that he didn't come down to meet us when we embarked. The area was a mess and the signs and slogans from his wife's funeral which I had attended last year were still plastered about the settlement and things were eerie and silent even for Mars.

Kruson was sick in bed and his room was dank and lifeless when Kruson and I began to attend to the old bat. Kruson obviously hadn't changed his life suit for several weeks and the metallic smell hung about the cabin.

Mattson had some medical training as a cadet and using an old rotating saw we carried on our transport he cut Kruson's Russian issue standard blue survival uniform in a complete circle across Kruson's chest while I held him down for Kruson was obviously in a lot of pain.

Five or six white lab rats were imbedded in old Kruson's body causing infection and starving the former Captain. Mattson cut a small incision into Kruson's right triceps and seven small white lab rats
scurried about the cabin after tentatively exiting Kruson's body.

Mattson did a professional job of sewing up the old Russian at least that what the Doc back at American sector told him; Me I caught Hell for blasting the white rats with a taser, apparently it's a violation of code to kill lab rats, white or otherwise. I still haven't paid the fine.

After we got old Kruson back to American hospital I stopped by to see the old guy and gave him a free bottle of our Agave hooch and two old "Playboys" I carried in the Helicop. I didn't charge him a thing which is obviously why my credits are usually negative and the Bank has thugs looking for me all the time up here on Mars. The one magazine I gave Captain Kruson  was the college coed 2017 Spring issue, which these days is probably worth a fortune at least it's worth a lot here on Mars and the Mescali we gave Captain was some of our best stuff. Both Mattson and I always liked that old Russian and we wanted him to know we appreciated the original settlers and the hardships they faced trying to civilize Mars.

As for my partner Mattson he didn't even get a warning for practicing Medicine without license; he always comes up clean, just lucky really but I don't mind I can use a little luck even if it mostly benefits one of my drinking buddies rather than myself.

signing out
ewp, still stranded on Mars