The Oddities of Grand Marquis - Book 3: Elegant Armageddon 🪼✔️

Twenty-Ninth

MAX

I balled up against the wall, unsure of the fate of my best friend. He was dying and it looked like he most likely wasn't going to make it. I could do nothing for him... My best friend was gone... Was this how it felt when everyone thought that I was dead? No wonder it was so hard to understand when I returned. There's so much emotion that I can't express... I just... I can't do anything for him...

The door opened and Mr. Holt walked in. I swallowed hard, waiting for the harrowing news that I already knew. Mars was dead... Mars was gone...

"Do you know why Adah and I named our son Marsdon?" I shook my head no, wondering where he was going. "Adah loves space and the possibilities of it. She's always been a believer in aliens and my job made that something in my belief too I couldn't tell her that, of course, but my love of science and mythology matched her whimsy. Mars is the Red Planet, mysterious, angry, and yet very protective. When Adah was pregnant, she wanted to name him Jupiter. I didn't like the name, didn't suit him. She also thought of Pluto, but it reminded us of the dog and well, he was the god of the underworld...

"Titan was on the table for a long time... until one day, Mars was close in orbit, giving off that red, bloody glow. "What about Mars?" she had said. We thought that Mars by itself was just a little unsophisticated, so we made a name that sounded better: Marsden. Marsden Jupiter Holt..." Mr. Holt chuckled dryly. "Adah just had to get that Jupiter in there... They say the names you give your animals can sometimes determine how they develop in personality. The same can be said of children. Whoever knew that his name -the god of war and anger, protection, and rage- would define his whole being... And then there's you."

I gulped as he glared at me and then I glared at him, trying to figure out what this elaborate biography was getting to.

"Is Mars dead or not? What's with all the charades? If he's dead then just say it."

"He's not dead." I blinked. "*Yet. He's barely alive, but he's not dead." I sobbed into my knees in relief. Even though it was a long shot for his survival, I was so happy. "He won't be for long, though. That baby grew so fast that it moved his organs around, causing massive tears and ruptures. Fucking tough guy..." He crossed his arms. "I'm taking out the child."

"Don't."

"It's killing him!"

"Don't do anything. The aliens are on their way. Olympus can hear you and if you try to take him out you may cause more damage."

"Now it's a telepathic baby?"

"They're *that advanced. You don't know anything about them and since you don't, it would be best if you left it up to their own species to figure things out. I can guarantee that they are coming here soon; they need this planet."

"For what?"

"What does it look like they're here for? If you don't know what it is by now then I'm not going to inform you. You'll just have to wait."

"I can get it out of you if I wanted." Mr. Holt threatened.

I growled, standing up and facing him. "Fine, go ahead. You can do all you want to to me. I've been through worse, had done to me worse, and there's nothing you can do to me that could be any worse. So: do your worst."

Mr. Holt stared at me but finally turned away.

"If it starts causing anymore problems, I'm going to take that child out of my son."

"Leave Olympus alone."

"Who's Olympus?"

"The baby, of course."