I could hear the argument in the engine room from all the way down the hallway. My boss, Captain Jared Liston, was going at it again with his son and my best friend, the twenty-year-old Aaron Liston. They were shouting so furiously at each other, I thought our ship was going to sink.

Their argument was the same that everyone had been hearing for almost a week now. Aaron’s repeated claim of “I’m in love with her Dad; she’s not like the others!” and Captain Liston’s repeated argument of “She’s a mutant, Aaron, she can’t love!” had been echoing throughout the ship at odd times during the past week.

America was in the middle of the Mutant War, and had been for nearly fifteen years, since the mutants were accidently created in the year 2348. Mutants were the results of a faulty lab experiment on a group of two hundred human subjects. The experiment had turned them into a cruel, unfeeling race that was only separated from regular humans in three ways: the gold-speckled eyes, the birthmark on the left wrist, and the unnatural cruel streak. The original two hundred mutants had multiplied, and almost outnumbered the human population in America. The few of us who had been lucky enough to avoid getting our throats ripped out, our bodies ripped limb from limb, or some other death that the mutants enjoyed, had banded together into an army. We still had bigger numbers than the mutants, but barely.

We had tried enlisting the help of our allies in this war, but they all cut off America, fearful that the mutants would spread to their own countries. At this point in June of 2363, the United States of America had been completely cut off from the rest of the world, forced to face the mutants on our own.

I was a member of the GWU, or the Ground and Water Unit. Captain Liston was in charge, and Aaron, his only child and only family, was his pride and joy. So when Aaron went missing three and a half months ago, Captain Liston was devastated. In March, Aaron was supposed to travel from the GWU base at Lake Powell to the WNU (Western Navy Unit) base in California to collect some extra supplies. He was only supposed to be gone four days, and was almost gone four months.

A week after Aaron went missing, Captain Liston tried to contact the WNU base, but all communication had been down since the day after Aaron left. With no other choice, Captain Liston took half of our unit (about thirty men and women) to the WNU base to investigate. When we arrived, we were informed that Aaron had never arrived, but the WNU Captain, Captain Adler, had told us that there had been lots of mutant activity on the night Aaron was supposed to arrive.

The fact that Aaron had been kidnapped had been our first assumption, but it was dismissed when we didn’t receive a ransom note. The son of a Captain would bring a great price for the mutant army, and after a month, Captain Liston had given up on that possibility.

We searched for Aaron until June 3rd, 2363. We were in Southern Oregon, and it was nearly nightfall when we heard laughter from the treetops. Everyone recognized the laugh as Aaron’s, and when we finally found him, he had with him the very last thing anyone expected; a mutant girl he claimed he loved.

Captain Liston had immediately separated the two of them. His first reaction had been to draw his pistol, but Aaron wouldn’t let his father kill the mutant.

Our immediate assumption had been that the mutant must have forced Aaron to tell us that he loved her to spare her own life. But after a day, everyone realized that Aaron’s love for her was real. What we all were confused on was why. Aaron’s mother had been brutally murdered by mutants when Aaron was young; surely he would have a personal hatred of all mutants.

Since Captain Liston couldn’t kill the mutant, he had to settle for separating Aaron and the mutant immediately. He locked her up in a cell on the top deck of the ship, and did his best to keep Aaron working in the engine room on the bottom deck. He kept them moving like a cycle; if Aaron moved, the mutant was to be moved as far from his as possible. They were not allowed to talk to each other, touch each other, or even see each other. Only when Aaron was out on inspection rounds on the lake with his father was the mutant allowed to move on her own.

Without warning, Aaron wrenched open the engine room door and then slammed it behind him. I was only just able to catch him as he reached the stairs.

“I just want to see her, Mark! Is that too much to ask?!” Aaron shouted at me as I grabbed his arm.

“I know, I know.” I told him while frantically typing a message to the mutant’s guards, telling them to move her before Aaron got there.

Aaron stopped on the stairs halfway to the top deck and sat on a step with his head in his hands. “Mark, I don’t expect you to understand, but do you know what it’s like to have half of you just ripped away? Because that’s how I feel right now.”

I sit down next to him. “No, I don’t understand.” Aaron looks like he’s about to explode, so I ask, “Do you want to talk?”

Aaron nods and almost without warning, starts telling me everything. That her name is Beth, short for Bethany, and how she helped him escape from the mutant prison, and they were on the run for three months. He told me all about how he taught her to swim, and how they slept under the stars every night, holding hands and telling each other everything about themselves.

When he told me about the first time he kissed her, I broke. I had never heard Aaron speak so gently, or recall something so fondly. And the way he talked about Beth, she sounded even nicer and more compassionate than the average human. Aaron said he couldn’t explain how, but she was almost the complete opposite of what you’d expect a mutant to be.

I received a message from Beth’s guards, informing me that she had been moved to the cafeteria. I looked at my tablet, then at Aaron.

“How badly do you want to see her?” I asked, knowing I’d regret this later.

Aaron shot off the ground. “More than anything!”

Reluctantly, I led him to the cafeteria. Through the window we could see Beth, looking tiny compared to her tall guards. This was my first time getting a good look at her. She had dark blue eyes with those mesermizing gold sparkles, blond hair that fell in waves down past her shoulders, and she was short. It would have been exaggerating to call her five-two.

Aaron moaned with longing when he saw her. Was it all he could do not to burst in there and grab her? That’s what it seemed like.

“Look right here.” Aaron breathed. “Let me see your eyes, Beth.”

I couldn’t believe how strong his love for her was. I had never seen anything stronger. Why was I fighting it?

“Aaron Jacob Liston!” Captain Liston grabbed his son and pulled him away from the cafeteria door. “What are you doing here?!”

Aaron looked shocked, reflecting how I felt. I was in so much trouble, so much trouble…

After having a good shout at the both of us, Captain Liston calmed down a little. “I’m going out on an inspection. Aaron, come with me.”

I cut in without thinking. “I think you and Aaron need a little break from each other. You need a little time to let the tension settle a little bit.” My goal was to convince Captain Liston to let Aaron stay so I could let him spend time with Beth, but Captain Liston wasn’t stupid.

“You’re right, Mark. Grab the mutant, I’ll take her with me.” He walked towards the door leading outside. “I’ll meet you on the blue boat in five.”

I nodded and looked at Aaron helplessly.

Aaron grabbed my arm. “Don’t let him hurt her, okay?” he begged. His face was white, and his hands shook.

I agreed to protect Beth, entered the cafeteria and told her and her guards that I was taking her on the inspection with Captain Liston.

She came with me without a word. She was so quiet and timid; I remember wondering how I ever could have thought she was vicious.

Aaron was waiting outside the cafeteria door, and Beth fell (most likely on purpose) when she saw him. With a smile, Aaron helped her up, whispered something in her ear, and brushed his lips against her forehead.

Even though that was the only interaction they’d had in a week, they both seemed satisfied afterward. Beth had a huge smile on her face as I led her onto the boat with Captain Liston.

Captain Liston instructed me to tie her hands together and sit next to her while he drove. He didn’t say a word to her, he only gave her some nasty looks.

Much to my surprise, Captain Liston’s obvious hatred for Beth didn’t faze her at all. She was still smiling and seemed almost happy. I didn’t get it.

We were only halfway done with our inspection when Beth and I noticed a group of mutants on the shore. Beth shuddered as I informed my captain. Her fear of her own race was so obvious I didn’t understand how Captain Liston hadn’t caught on yet.

Captain Liston turned the boat around immediately to get reinforcements, and I talked a little to him about some meaningless things about how we should deal with the mutants on the shore. Our backs were to the mutants.

Very suddenly, Beth screamed “Captain Liston!” over a gunshot and dove at him.

Captain Liston was on the floor of the boat, yelling furiously at Beth. Beth was on the floor as well, a pool of blood forming around her arm. Her eyes were closed and I was shocked. The bullet had only hit her arm; it couldn’t possibly have killed her!

I knelt next to her and (to my relief) found a pulse. Captain Liston sped the boat toward our ship and I shouted, “Sir, she saved your life!” over and over until he finally stopped the boat and looked at her unconscious figure.

There was a long silence while Captain Liston put the pieces together. Beth had tackled him to save him from a bullet, taking it herself.

As everything fit together to Captain Liston, his face paled. “Is she…dead?”

I shook my head. “But we need to get her to the medics. And sir…” I couldn’t believe the words that were about to leave my mouth, “I think you owe her an apology.”


The next day, Captain Liston allowed Aaron to visit Beth in the infirmary. The bullet had hit her artery and she had bled a lot before she had been brought to the medics. They had fixed her up quickly, but informed us that she needed to stay in bed for a few days to regain her strength.

Beth was sleeping when Aaron and I entered. He had been begging his father to see her since she had first been brought into the infirmary. Captain Liston had thought long and hard about the strange situation he had been thrown into, and finally listened to his son with an open mind. We were all waiting for his thoughts about Aaron being in love with her. He had told Aaron to visit her and they would talk more when he got back.

With teary eyes, Aaron sat next to Beth’s cot and took her uninjured hand into his. He pressed his lips to her hand, then her forehead, then her lips. He spoke softly to her, telling her not to worry; he was there. I had never seen anything so pure as his love for her.

Beth woke up after about ten minutes, and weakly told Aaron that she loved him. She couldn’t say anything else due to her exhaustion, but Aaron talked for her. He told her about how proud he was of her, and how Captain Liston had finally listened to him.

Just as I was leaving to give them some privacy, Captain Liston entered and thanked Beth for saving his life.

“I can tell you’re not a normal mutant.” He told her, his voice kinder than it had ever been to her. “And so long as you promise to keep it reasonable, I will allow you to spend time with my son.” Captain clapped Aaron on the shoulder. “I’ve thought hard about what you told me about her.” he took a deep breath as Aaron stood up. “Son, the woman I loved was taken away from me when I was not much older than you. Being separated from somebody you love does horrible things to a person, and I don’t want you to have to go through that.”

Aaron hugged his father tightly and thanked him over and over and over again. Captain Liston hugged him back and then talked with Beth for a few minutes.

Just as Captain Liston and I were leaving, Captain Liston turned around and looked at Beth. “I know this is somewhat backwards, but so help me, if you harm my son in any way, I will make you regret it.” Everyone in the room knew he meant those words.

Beth smiled weakly and gripped Aaron’s hand. “Sir, I would make myself if I hurt him.”

Seemingly satisfied, Captain Liston left, with me at his heels.

“You’ve made him very happy, sir.” I told him when we were a distance from the infirmary. “Are you ready for this?”

Captain Liston shrugged and smiled. “I’m not sure if I’m ready, but I think that something as strong as the love they had would have found a way eventually.”

I nod.

“In fact, I may have helped it along a little.” Captain Liston said thoughtfully. “You know what they say: ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’.”