They say it takes guts to leave Mars. I think it only takes common sense.

My parents weren't descendants of the first settlers here. Actually, they were descended from the most recent crew. Flight Omega 12. It was made up of peasants who could afford to scrape the money together to leave. Mars hasn't communicated with earth for the past two centuries.

By then, the classes were pretty well settled. My family have always been yam farmers here on mars. My parents were yam farmers on Mars. Lucia and I would have been yam farmers if Mama and Papa didn't die. Most people won't die from the flu, but poor people do.

Lucia was only ten, and I was seventeen. I did what was best--I sold the farm to some rich folk who would rent it out to some better-off farmer. We couldn't run the farm. I found a place to rent and found some work in the city, hoping I could find some opportunity to get ahead. I needed it.

Lucia needed it.

They just announced yesterday that they finished the portal back to earth. Lucia runs into our rented flat this morning, out of breath and a huge smile breaking on her face. She has the biggest smile I've ever seen on anyone, and she's always smiling. I guess she brings balance to our duo. I'm the serious one by nature and by necessity.

"Toni! Toni guess what?!" This was the typical beginning to most of our conversations.

"We're being adopted by a rich couple?"

"Nope, guess again!"

"You found another boyfriend I'll have to beat up in a week?"

"Toni, for real this time! This is huge!" She giggles despite her demand against my hazing.

"Fine, Yammie. Tell me." I'm always tired, but I always love when my sister is excited.

"They just finished the portal back to earth!" Her big brown eyes double in size. Her smile too, if that's even possible.

The lead scientists on the Mars settlement have been developing portal technology for the past 50 years. I don't understand how it works, but I understand why they're working on it. Ever since the Omega 12 landed, Mars lost all contact with earth. Satellites confirmed what a lot of Mars already knew. Nuclear fallout happened. That also means that all ports for ships have been destroyed. Mars has been the last stand for all of humanity for two hundred years. And supplies are low.

The cities around us are deteriorating. We all want out. Mars is dying. And humanity is dying with it. But I don't get my hopes up.

"They'll never take peasants on this trip, Lucia. We'll be last to go, if we get to go at all." I rub the back of my neck, head down. I hate disappointing her.

"That wasn't the big news though!" She literally starts bouncing in place. For a young adult, she sure does act like a little girl.

"Fine. I'll bite. Tell me the big news." I cock my head to the side and raise my brows.

"The first jump happens tomorrow..." She waits for suspense. "And they're only allowing peasants to jump!" She jumps to me and wraps her arms around me, fully expecting me to hold her weight without hesitation.

I bear her weight. I know what this is. The portal must be unstable. Or may not go to earth. Or earth might not be ready for people to live on it again. She pulls back from her great hug and gives her gigantic grin. I can't bear her disappointment.

Dying elsewhere beats living on this rock anyways.

We don't usually have breakfast--just a little bit of water each in the morning. Our only meal is at night when Lucia gets home. It isn't that we can't afford more. Selling the farm left us with a small nest egg most peasants could never save for. There just isn't any food available. Shortages of food, clothing, water, pretty much everything but space, plagues the Twin Cities. Work is long; Lucia only works about 10 hours a day, I work at least twelve. Muggings and riots happen all the time in the streets, especially at night. It isn't uncommon to leave the flat to see a member of the sanitation guild mopping blood off the sidewalk in front of the complex. Life is miserable.

Risking death would probably be worth it.

I hold Lucia's face between my hands, like I always do when I need to speak to her as her father instead of her brother. "How much are the tickets?" I ask with my most assertive voice. She often runs into a situation with enthusiasm, despite the desperate circumstances. I'm usually stuck cleaning up the emotional mess.

Her smile diminishes for the first time since she's been home. "It's... It's not as much as you'd think..."

"Lucia. How much." I say it more than ask it.

She crosses her arms and glances down. "*50,000. For each ticket."

I try my best not to flinch at the number. " We only have about *95,000 left from the farm, Yammie."

"*96,452 actually... I checked this morning." She was shrinking fast, and so was her smile.

I put my face in my hands and mocked rinsing it. I couldn't disappoint her. "You go to work. You're supposed to get paid tomorrow. Tell them you'll take half pay if you get it tonight." I walk to the door and grab my ragged jacket. "I'll call in some favors around town.

She screams and jumps to hug me again before I can even get my jacket on. I really hope this portal goes to earth. Please... please go to earth...

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Tonight, I called every favor and borrowed every rivell I could. Lucia returns home, half her paycheck in hand. We have just enough to buy two tickets and a breakfast for tomorrow. Tonight, we sit eating our cold potato soup. I slosh the soup around the bowl. Despite not having eaten today, I'm not hungry. I'm too busy thinking. Worrying.

"Mano?" I look up from my soup to see Lucia's smile replaced by a furrowed brow. "You ok? You haven't said anything all night."

"Ya, I'm fine, Yammie." I shrug a shoulder and lift my head, trying to fake my best smile.

"You're doing that thing with your shoulder. I know you're not fine."

"What thing?" I immediately regret shrugging. She discerns people and their feelings so well. "I'm just fine."

She leans forward and smiles gently. "I'm worried about where the portal goes too."

My eyes widen. Not because she read my mind. That's normal. But because, for once in her life, she's looking to the future. And she's not completely optimistic. She can feel something besides happiness.

She twists Mama's ring on her finger, still leaning forward. "I know the whole thing seems crazy. But we don't have a life here. I'd rather be free or die trying than to be stuck here any longer. And I know you would too, Toni." She looks up to me with her big brown eyes. Waiting. Expecting my approval for the jump.

"When did you stop being little?" I rub the back of my neck and laugh nervously. "You're right. We're making the jump tomorrow."

She smiles and stares down into her soup. "Love you, Mano."

"Lova you, Yammie."

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I worry as we prepare for the trip. It doesn't take long to eat our breakfast and pack all of our belongings in the morning. Everything fits into a sack for each of us. I look back into the flat for the last time. Even if the portal fails, we're never coming back. This has been home.

I turn off the lights.

It isn't home anymore.

We arrive at the Department of Technology and Advancement an hour early. Good thing, too. A line quickly gathers behind us, and only so many are allowed to make the jump today. I pay for both tickets with almost every rivell we have: first the bigger bills, then smaller, then start counting the change from the spare sock I store it in. Finally, our tickets are bought. I hand the rest of our money to the gangly old man behind us. We won't be needing it anymore.

"Mano?"

"Yeah, Yammie?"

"I'm scared."

I take her hand and squeeze. "Me too."

She squeezes my hand back.

We make our way to the docks. A strange man in a dusty white coat briefs us on how the portal works.

"First, you ascend the stairs. Wait behind the yellow line at the top. When the portal at the base of the cliff changes color from red to purple, you jump into the portal. Understood?" He rattles the instructions off quickly, as if this is common procedure.

"Did you say cliff?" Lucia's breath quickens.

The weird, spectacled white-coat doesn't even acknowledge her as he walks to the next passenger.

"Lucia, it's ok--"

"Toni, I can't do it! I'm afraid of heights, I know I can't, I--"

I grasp her wrists and reel her in to look at me. "Lucia, Lucia LISTEN to me! Breathe, breathe, calm down. Listen to me, ok? Just take my hand," I let go of her left wrist, "when we get to the top of the steps, just close your eyes. Just listen to my voice, Yammie. You can do this."

I talk to her without stopping as we climb the steps. When we reach the top, I speak in an even gentler tone. "Now close your eyes. Trust me, Yammie. Trust me."

But I'm having trouble trusting my own judgement at this point. The great buzzing in front of us clouds my thoughts. Red flashes glare from below the platform, as if fires blaze into existence and then extinguish in the same breath. Lucia trails just behind me, eyes closed, as I pace my way to the edge. About six stories below, a swirling pool of reds and yellows whirl into an endless center. The low buzz turns into a strong hum, and my heart beats harder against my ribs.

I try to bolster myself. Think of the life I'm leaving. Think of leaving the lack of food. Leaving poverty. Leaving a life without my parents. Think of never seeing my boss again. Think of getting myself off of this rock. I wince and my heart beats faster as a gust of wind shoots up from the great portal below. I can't do it.

I look to Lucia. She's squeezing my hand--and smiling. She's at peace. Because I'm here. I am her rock. I think of Lucia.

I can do this.

I loosen my grip and wait for the purple color to come into focus. "Lucia?" I have to raise my voice above the hum.

"Yes, Mano?"

"I love you."

Her smile grows. She trusts me. "I love you too, Mano."

The scarlet streaks fade into a slow whirpool of purple.

I grab my sister’s hand and pull her towards the edge of the cliff with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump.