I Love You to Mars & Back

Pt I.

Alex's Perspective

"I really, really don't want you to go," I begged my fiance for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Relax, babe. It will be awesome! I'll bring you back some moon rocks," Jack joked light-heartedly

"I knew this was a bad idea! Jack, you don't even know where you are going! You are fighting a war on Mars!" I shouted. I knew I over reacted when Jack's face fell. "I'm sorry. I just really don't want to loose you," I whispered.

"Listen to me," Jack said cupping my face, "I'll be fine! You're probably going to enjoy having the apartment to yourself without having me to clean up after. I'll be back before you know it, and then we can get married just like we planned!"

"I'll miss you though," I sighed.

"Trust me, I'll be fine," Jack looked me in the eye and gave me a quick peck on the lips. I wanted more and gave him a confused look when he pulled away so quickly. "I have to go pick up the food. When I get back when can eat, put on a movie, and cuddle all night." I smiled at him and nodded. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

When Jack first decided to enlist in the Army I had a bad feeling. All he ever wanted to do was be just like his older brother, Joe. Joe served in the military for a little while, but after his term was served he left to be with his family. Now Jack is trying to follow in the same exact footsteps. When all the tension with Mars over the Mars Rover was revealed to the public and the U.S. government had decided to declare war, I selfishly hoped Jack wouldn't get approved. But, then again, there was no reason for Jack not to get approved.

The thing that worried me the most is Jack not being prepared enough to go to Mars. First of all, the troops aren't astronauts. There is no possible way they are going to be prepared enough to go into space. Currently, the U.S. Military is low on soldiers. Normal citizens do not want to go fight aliens on Mars. They know better. Then you have people like Jack, who think it's going to be the coolest thing ever. He doesn't realize that he is going into unknown territory. These aliens are much more advanced then us.

Anyway, since the Military is so low on troops to send, they are going to train the noobs on the way. Which brings me back to the fact that there is no way Jack is going to be prepared for this. According to NASA, it is going to take the troops 200-230 days to get to Mars. From my knowledge, troops are trained for at least two years before they are truly ready to go into war. Jack isn't even going to be trained a year. And on what, a rocket ship?

"Alex, baby?" Jack called when he returned to the apartment.

"Yeah?" I shouted from the kitchen.

"They were out of egg rolls," Jack said breathlessly.

"That's okay," I said shrugging it off. Egg rolls are my favorite type of Chinese food, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

"No, I know they are your favorite," Jack shook his head.

"Yeah they are my favorite, but it's fine. Let's just eat and-"

"So, I got you garlic knots instead," Jack smiled at me. Garlic knots are my all time favorite food, but they are only sold at one pizza parlor in the whole city, and that pizza parlor is so completely and unreasonably expensive. I was going to miss this boy so much.

"Aw, Jacky! Thank you!" I said as I went over to kiss him. He kissed back.

"Now come on, let's try to make this night the best it can be!" Jack smiled. His smile made my heart flip, but his words only made me remember that he was leaving tomorrow morning.

A whole carton of rice, a plate of sesame chicken, and four garlic knots later Jack and I were intertwined on the couch watching the ending credits to his favorite movie, Home Alone. "I'm going to miss you so much," I started to tear up. I was trying to be so strong tonight, and not cry, but I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Lex, don't cry," Jack said, turning to face me.

"I'm s-sorry," I stuttered.

"Just think of how great it will be when I get back. We are going to move into a house, apply to adopt children, and get married on the beach, like you've always wanted," Jack encouraged.

"I love you," I smiled sadly at him.

"I love you more," He whispered and kissed me passionately. We made love like we knew it was going to be the last time for a long time, because sadly it was. I fell asleep in his arms on the couch wishing it wasn't going to be the last night for a while.

Four a.m. at the airport is always harsh. But, four a.m. at the airport when you are loosing a loved one is way more than harsh. It's one of the worst feelings you could imagine. A mixture of dread and denial flowed throw me as we stood there, saying our last good byes.

"Just promise me one thing," Jack spoke as he held me tightly against his chest.

"Anything," I nodded.

"Don't forget about me when I'm gone," I could hear Jack's voice crack.

"I would never, could never, forget about you, Jack. I love you more than anything else in this world. I'm going to miss you with every fiber of my being. I can't wait til you get back already," I tried my best to force a smile.

Jack hugged me tighter,"Get everything ready for the wedding." I smiled at him and kissed him as hard as my body would allow me to.

"I love you," I said as I let go.

"And I love you," Jack chuckled. We smiled into each others eyes before his flight number was called. It was more of a bitter than sweet time. I was happy because I was so excited to plan our wedding, but could I really go that long without Jack?

Pt II

Jack's perspective

For most soldiers, three years of war takes a lot out of them. For the troops on Mars in the U.S. Army, it was literally a piece of cake. No one died, no one got hurt, basically we didn't do anything physical. The training we did on the way here was all just learning about the aliens. We needed to know all of their mind tricks. This war was based on all intelligence, and I so badly wish I could tell my fiance, Alex, at home that. We wrote as often as we could over the past three years, but it was not much and certainly not enough. I missed him so much. I brought a few of pictures of him but I haven't been able to hear his voice, smell his scent, or feel him against me in three years. Do you know what that does to a person? I feel like half of me is just missing... The only way we can communicate is through email and that goes through some government people things... I don't actually know, but I do know that we can't talk about the war and I hate it!

"Hey, Jack," one of my bunk mates, Danny greeted as he walked into the room. He was my closest friend here.

"What's up, Danny?" I sighed as I put a picture of Alex back into the box I kept them in.

"Miss him?" Danny questioned. Danny was the only one that knew I was engaged in our bunk, let alone engaged to a guy.

"More than anything," I nodded.

"I miss my family, too. We all do. But soon enough we will be on our way back. Stay strong, bud," Danny patted my back. I tried my best to muster up a smile.

"Kurily! Barakat! Get your asses in here quick!" Colonel Douglass shouted as he passed the room. We both sprung up and followed him into head quarters. The rest of our troop was there, all sharing the same look of panic on their faces.

"Well, tell us what happened, Koshnivitz!" Colonel Douglass yelled. Robert Koshnivitz was an expert on languages. He translated everything the Aliens wrote to us. Even though Koshnivitz was not originally from the U.S., telling by his accent.

"I... I believe they said they were going to try to attack Earth! We have 30 days to evacuate, or else," Koshnivitz stuttered over the words. The room broke out in worried murmurs.

"Alright, alright men. Calm your tits!" Colonel Douglass yelled. The room fell silent. "We aren't gonna take their shit! In fact, we are going to attack them. I'm sending half of you to Earth to protect the states, and the other half is staying here to fight. I'll have the bunk room numbers of the men returning to Earth posted on the main bulletin board in t-minus 1 hour! Get back to your rooms immediately!" I shot Danny a worried glance, he returned it. If these extraterrestrial beings attack Earth, the human race will be doomed.

Colonel Douglass ordered silence for us. I sat there the whole time staring at pictures of Alex, tears streaming down my face. I prayed for my bunk to be chosen to go back to Earth. I just wanted to call him, hear his voice. The pain in my chest from missing Alex so much hasn't died down even after three years. Once the hour was up we were ordered bunk by bunk to the bulletin board. My hands were shaking as I searched for my bunk room number. I almost screamed of happiness when I found it under the Departing list. I kept my composure, though.

"Now, men, if your bunk is departing we are leaving at 0400! Gather your things tonight and so help me God, don't make us wait!" Colonel Douglass stormed off in a huff. The fact that we are leaving at four a.m. gave me hope. It was like a sign that everything was going to be okay. That's when my first flight was. The last time that I saw Alex...

I barely got any sleep. Even though it would take months to get to Earth, I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I missed Alex so much and I was this excited to give him a phone call in a few months. Call me crazy, but that's how love works.

Once 3:30 a.m. hit I jumped out of bed and woke my bunk mates up. "Jeez, Jack, we know your excited to go back to Earth, but calm the fuck down!" One of my bunk mates, Jeff, said as he put a pillow over his head.

Thirty minutes later we were loaded onto the ship and were about to take off. But to say those months flew by would be a complete lie. It took us a hundred days to get to Earth, NASA was able to shed about a hundred days off of our original trip in the three years we were away. But during the one hundred days we still had of travel, we had to train... physically train. It was hard, but through all the pain I just thought of Alex, and how much he was going to love how jacked I got.

When one hundred days were up we arrived in NASA headquarters in D.C.. While the other men headed to get info and updates from Mars, I headed straight for the phone. My hands shook as I dialed the number I still knew by heart. I could hear my heart pumping in my ears as I put the phone to my ear. I gulped. Disappointment flowed through me as the call went straight to voice mail. I decided to just try again later. Alex wouldn't know to have his phone on. He didn't even know I was coming home... as far as he knew I hadn't emailed him in over three months, because I couldn't. Then again, he also was not aware that I couldn't.

When I approached Danny to ask him about the news from Mars he just looked bummed. As bummed as I have ever seen him. "What's up?" I asked him.

He looked up at me, eyes starting to well up in tears. Never did I think I would see Danny Kurily cry, "T-the aliens," Danny tried to keep his composure. "They some how got here before we did."

"What how?" I shouted.

"That's not even the worst part!" Danny whined, "They nuked seven of our most important cities!"

"W-what cities?" I asked suddenly going cold.

"New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Houstin, Pheonix, and Chicago. D.C. is next," Danny said. I felt a little bit relieved that he didn't say Baltimore, where Alex was.

"We have to go to Baltimore!" I shouted and ran out.

"Jack!" Danny called after me.

I just kept running, knowing that he was following me. I ran all the way to the parking lot. "Jack, we can't just leave! Do you know the amount of trouble we'll be in! What are you doing?" Danny shouted when he caught up to me. I was checking each of the cars to find an unlocked one.

"Bingo!" I said once I found one. I jumped in. "Get in!" I commanded Danny. He reluctantly got in. "Hot wire it!"

"Hot wire it? I don't even know how!" Danny panicked.

"Figure it out! You're the computer wiz!" I reminded him. He sighed and fidgeted with the car, when eventually it started. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know!" He replied.

"Are you sure it's safe to drive?" I asked suddenly cautious.

"What? Who even cares? Just go!" He commanded. I obeyed and sped off onto the highway, Baltimore bound.

About an hour later we arrived in Baltimore to find it completely unharmed, but loaded with troops. I drove straight to the apartment. I left the car running and ran inside, Danny right behind me. The apartment was pretty different from how I left it. Alex did some redecorating it seemed. Pictures of us filled the apartment, which warmed my heart. I looked in every room, but didn't find Alex. Where the fuck was he?

"Where is he?" Danny asked.

"No clue. I'm gonna use the house phone to try and call his cell phone. Maybe he went to the store or something," I said and headed to the house phone that we barely ever used. I dialed his number. Straight to voice mail again. I sighed in defeat. I felt like crying at this point. Where was my Alex? I've come so far for him to not even be here.

Hours passed and still no Alex. "Hey, Jack. Can I use your computer? I wanna video chat my girlfriend in Maine."

"Yeah, go ahead," I said blankly. I had no emotion. I was overloaded on sadness. Where is Alex?

"Uh... Jack?" Danny said softly.

"The password is notblink182," I said.

"It didn't have a password..." He replied.

"Oh, then you must be using Alex's," I sighed thinking about him.

"I figured. You might want to see this," Danny swallowed hard. I came over and looked at the screen. It was ticket conformation. Alex had bought tickets for Seattle about a week ago. He must have been visiting his parents who reside there...

"Shit, he's in Seattle!" I shouted in defeat. How was I gonna get there? There was no way I could get a flight there, besides that I doubt anyone is even allowed to fly.

"Jack... Seattle was bombed today," Danny whispered. I went cold. I couldn't feel my limbs anymore.

"No..." was all I could mutter.

"I'm so sorry," Danny said under his breath.

"FUCK!" I shouted as loud as I could. I bounded out of the apartment and outside screaming, "No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO!"

"Jack, please calm down!" I heard Danny say as he followed after me. I collapsed in the middle of the street, crying hysterically.

"I-I just l-love him soooo much! Now he's gone! I didn't even get to say good bye!" I cried into my hands.

"This may or may not make things worse, but I saw this on your counter. You might want to look at it," Danny explained putting a big binder in front of me.

I tried to blink the tears away so I could look at the big binder. It had a picture of Alex and I tucked into the clear folder on the front and was entitled Wedding Plans. I opened the book. There were a bunch of notes Alex scribbled and pictures. There was also a lot of pages. He spent a lot of time on this, I could tell. It made me feel terrible, yet comforted.

"Oh... shit," Danny said looking up. I looked at his face, seeing that it was illuminated by a bright light. I looked in the direction that he was looking at. I saw the smoke and explosion coming towards us at full speed. Then I heard the boom. The bomb was going to hit us any second now, but I wasn't afraid. The only thing I could think about was how I was going to get to see Alex in hea-