The King of Mars

Jess brought us to the sporting goods shop in her quiet hometown. There was nothing on the streets other than a car or two parked underneath a flickering street lamp. Breaking in was easy as I knew it would be. I snuck around the side and motioned for my companion to come closer.

“You see that window?” I whispered as I pointed towards a grimy window above our heads. She nodded. “I’m gonna boost you up. Look around and see if there’s a better way for me to get in.”

“Whatever you say,” she whispered and gestured towards the window. “Let’s hurry this up.”

“Yes ma’am,” I smirked and kneeled against the wall, cupping my hands over my knee. Placing her foot in my palms, she scaled the wall with very little help and slid the window open. As if she’s done this a hundred times before, Jess wormed her way into the opening. No turning back now, we were officially breaking and entering.

A few terribly long minutes went by and I heard nothing from Jess. No longer comfortable with pacing around in the alleyway, I called out. There was no response so I waited a little longer and called out again.

“Shhhh, do you want someone to hear you?” The building tension in my chest relaxed when I heard the answer. “Come around the front. I unlocked the door.”

Pleasantly surprised, I returned to the front of the store where Jess was waiting for me behind an all glass door. She opened it upon seeing me and I hurriedly stepped inside. The street was still clear but I didn’t want to take any chances. “How did you do that?” I asked; noting the heavy looking, key only locks.

Smiling the same mischievous smile from the bus station, she shook a pair of thin metal objects in front of my face. “It took me a little longer than I’d like to admit, but you are in the presence of a lock picking master.”

I chuckled and said, almost reflexively, “You keep getting prettier and prettier.”

“Are we here to flirt or what?” She playfully scolded me. I could feel myself starting to blush, but I nodded and looked around the store. She was right, time was of the essence and I did not want to be caught red handed. Did I feel bad, thinking about a little old couple who owned the store sleeping in a hypothetical apartment above while I crept around inside of their building and stole their things? Sure I did, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Now, Jess and I were hurrying out of the slumbering town, each donning new backpacks laden with our new gear. I found a nice pair of hiking boots that I can't wait to strap on, even a pretty nice bow that I can't wait to shoot with. The town must be full of hunters and I’m sure word travels around quickly, having come from a small town myself. Staying in the woods overnight would probably not be a good idea if someone came looking for the thieves. Not good, since Jess was already starting to complain just as we were leaving the last houses behind.

"It's been such a long day. When are we going to stop?" She whined.

"We have to get further away from the town before we think of sleep. We easily stole about two grand worth of stuff." I said, shrugging the pack on my back which was filled with top notch hunting and camping gear. "The police here probably won’t like that much, they'll probably be looking as soon as the theft is reported."

"There are like three cops in the whole town." Jess scoffed. "How far do you even plan on walking?"

"I don't know. A few hours maybe?"

"A FEW HOURS??" Jess stopped in her tracks. "I can't do that!" She exclaimed.

I turned my head to the side, not quite looking at her, and said out of the corner of my mouth, "Hey, you wanted to come."

Jess grumbled as I kept walking. "Hey!" She called out after me. "We can go to my secret spot!"

Now I stopped. "Secret spot?"

"Yeah, a place I used to go to when I lived here, when things got bad between my mom and dad. It's not too far and no one will find it. Pleaseeeee, Chris?" Jess whined, bobbing up and down. I gave in with a sigh.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just get there. I'm tired as hell too." I groaned. Jess giggled.

"Alright, follow me!" She took off ahead, passing me with renewed vigor.

Jess led us down the abandoned road for a little while more, humming the whole way. I followed behind her silently until suddenly, she stepped over the guard rail and hurried into the dark woods. "Don't go too far ahead, I don't wanna lose you!" I called out to the oblivious girl.

We trekked into the woods. I felt embarrassed when I stumbled over roots and stones while Jess seemed to have no problem keeping her bearings. I was almost about to tell her to just stop, that we'll take the risk and just camp here, when she stopped.

"I hear it." She said excitedly.

"Hear what?" I asked, then I heard it too. There was a river nearby, roaring constantly and gently in the night. I felt uneasy. "Do you think this is a good idea?" I asked, thinking about stumbling one last time over a tree branch and hurtling into dark, icy water.

"Yes." She said, matter-of-factly, and continued walking. Shortly, we were standing at the top of a waterfall, the moonlight turning the whitewater blue. "It's just as pretty as I remember." Jess breathed.

"And we're just gonna sleep right here?" I asked, unimpressed by her plan.

"Be careful," Jess warned.

"Why?" My brows furrowed with confusion. That's when she jumped.

"Woah, what the fuck?? JESS??" I shouted, dropping my stuff and running to the ledge, leaning my head over with the waterfall which roaring in my ears. There she was, safe and sound on another ledge just beneath this one, grinning up at me.

"DON'T FUCKING DO THAT!" I cursed. Not really angry, just glad I didn't have to dive into the water after her. I collected the things I threw on the forest floor and jumped down carefully next to Jess.

We were at the mouth of a shallow cave, the roof of which was the land we were just standing on. It was stony and dry and would definitely suit our purpose for the night. I smiled, "This is actually pretty good. How'd you know about this place?"

Jess walked in, laid her book back out gently on the stones, and pulled off the sleeping bag that strapped onto the top. "Actually, it was an accident. My brother and I were playing in the woods here when I fell off and into the water right there." She pointed down into the pool at the bottom of the falls. "My brother jumped in after me and pulled me out. I woke up in here afterward with a huge headache. I hit a rock when I landed in the water. I was lucky to be alive, lucky he was with me or I would have been unconscious and drowned without even knowing it."

"Yeah, lucky. I hope you learned your lesson." I said, following her lead and taking out my sleeping bag. "Well, goodnight. We have a long day tomorrow too."

"Yeah... goodnight." She said, watching the falls as I squirmed into the sleeping bag. I was gone in a minute, but it was a long time before Jess could tear her eyes away from the water and wriggle into her own bag, the vigilant waterfall keeping a look out over us as we slept.