While Cleetus spoke to Detective LaLouf, I made a mad dash towards my house. I bet it looked pretty suspicious, but looking innocent wasn't my concern. Cleetus had just said he was going to murder me once his interview was over- let him try and convince the detective I wasn't worth her time while I made my getaway.

I truthfully had no idea what to expect from Cleetus. He had been assigned to be my bodyguard for the past fifteen years but he had never ACTUALLY had to protect me from anything. Perhaps he was terrible at killing. However, my thoughts returned to the rage that had been in his eyes- no, terrible or not, he was going to make an honest effort to do me in. As before, my survival instincts kicked in- I did not intend to be easy prey.

Before I could attempt to flee Cleetus, I knew I needed to grab the letter from the government. It had been given to me just as I boarded the rocket ship as justification for my then future responsibilities. Sure, it used technical language but it essentially said I was just acting on the orders of the United States (a few other world leaders too). Nowhere in the letter did it explicitly say when I was supposed to have detonated Earth- that I had done so earlier than planned could be argued as carrying out my duties when instructed.

I had never shown anyone the letter since that would mean admitting my involvement in the deed. I was certain it wouldn't be enough to sway Cleetus's bloodlust but I'd like to have it on me as a last ditch effort, should a situation where it be useful ever occur.

I knew exactly where the letter was, or at least where I had last seen it-- it was in an envelope in my bedroom. So, I raced as fast as I could to my shambles of a home. Now, I ain't claiming to be an athlete, but my legs certainly found strength that night to move. Something about wanting to survive, ya know?

I raced inside my house, to my bedroom, and tore into the dresser, tossing my clothes and what have you every which way. My heart was racing- it had been awhile since I last had really checked in on that letter, what if something had happened to it? Thankfully, I finally spied the envelope at the bottom of the drawer as I expected. I gave a quick check inside- the letter was still there. I was good to go.

Then, from behind me, came a soft mew.

It was Boom-Boom, the last remaining cat.

When I had arrived to Mars years earlier, the government had kept their end of the deal. Not only did I have a healthy cow, but also five little kittens to call my own. I'd named them Dynamo, TNT, Bang, Coutdown, and Boom-Boom; sadly, in that order, they had one by one disappeared as the years went on. At first I thought it was because the cow died and I no longer had fresh milk to offer them. But milk or not, they had seemed happy, contented cats. Their disapoearances didn't make sense. I didn't want to consider the thought of anything tragic happening to them, so I then reasoned they must have found homes with other settlers.

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Only Boom-Boom, who had always been a scaredy-cat and homebody, now remained.

"Meow?" She said again. I hadn't intended to cross her path for a reason- I knew if I saw her I wouldn't want to leave her behind. I struggled hard in that moment.

"Boom-Boom," I whispered, looking out my nearby window for a sign of Cleetus approaching, "I gotta go, kitty-kitty."

Boom-Boom was highly intelligent for a cat. I had a sense she understood what I told her.

"I'm sorry," I continued, "but you probably won't even see me again."

Boom-Boom approached my feet and plopped herself on top of them. I no longer had the sense she knew what I was saying.

"Boom-Boom, I'm leaving. I gotta get going, and I mean now." I shook her off my feet and rushed towards the door.

But once again...she let a soft mew. It was so sweet and innocent. I froze.

"Goddammit, Boom-Boom," I muttered under my breath. I couldn't leave that cat behind. I quickly turned around, scooped the feline up into my arms, and started off again.

For her part, Boom-Boom didn't struggle. She seemed perfectly satified to be in my hold.

I took off through the back door and though the long overgrown grass and weeds. I hadn't bothered tending to it in all my time on Mars out of laziness; now, it was providing adequate cover to make my getaway unseen. Of course, in the back of my mind I knew Cleetus was a trained military professional, so how far could I really get? Plus, thanks to my butterfingers, humanity was mostly gone and limited to a few populated settlements on an otherwise barren world. Where exactly was I going to go?

I looked out past my property to the red, cold desert that was still most of the planet. In our terraforming, humanity had warmed Mars a bit so the night temperatures out in the open were not quite as bad as they once had been, but it would still be cold. Cleetus would soon be on the other side of the property, though- if nothing else, I'd still need to cross a portion of the desert to avoid him. Sucked but wasn't much else I COULD do.

I looked down at Boom-Boom. "You ready for this?" I asked.

"Meow," said Boom-Boom.

I took off running into the expanse.