They Came from the Sky

I dive into an aqueduct as the sirens start to blare. It’s old, the metal barricade is covered in rust with only a trickle of water going through. My hands are pressed over my mouth to silence my sobs. The panic around the city is palpable as I listen to the screams and cries above me, silently begging that nobody finds my hiding spot. The ground around me vibrates as the explosions begin. More screams. More panic. More hell.

My hands move away from my mouth to my ears to drown out the chaos. I can’t do this, I can’t do this, plays on repeat in my head. I start to shake. Why did I ever think that I could become a solder?

A bomb lands on top of the aqueduct. Stones blow out above my head like a meteor shower. I scramble to my feet, the world trembling. The aqueduct is going to collapse. It’s going to crush me.

I dive out of the cubby as the structure crumbles in on itself. But I’m still not safe. I roll around, trying to stand up, but the debris keeps falling. A stone lands on my hand, breaking it. I scream. Another one rips through my side.

I barely get to my feet and stumble out of the way into the dust cloud. I hold my broken hand tucked against my chest and shove my shirt over my face to protect my lungs.

The dust starts to settle, but that doesn’t make me safe. In fact, I’m probably worse off now than I was under the collapsing aqueduct. Five of Them. Pointing their weapons at me.

I run. The sounds of explosions echo around me. I can feel Their projectiles fly passed me, barely missing me. I make it to the bridge and leap over it. I need to put distance between me and Them. They’re useless at long distances.

They landed on our world fifty years ago. They brought weapons that could wipe out entire towns. Fire reigned down from the skies. Our water supplies were poisoned. Our food sources were murdered. And our people were enslaved, tortured, and experimented on. For fifty years, we’ve lived under constant threat. Recently, They have decided to halt dissent by massacring communities. This town is the fifth in line to be razed.

Very few of us have the capability to fight back. Those of us with strength and abilities beyond normal have organized into a secret society, known to even each other only by the heart shaped locket we wear around our wrist. They are small and match the color of our skin in a way that They can’t discern the difference between the two.

This was supposed to be my first battle. I came with a small unit to stop the massacre. My commander was counting on me. He made a big deal about how I could turn the tides in a battle. He said whatever I achieved on this battlefield would give hope to our people. And I broke my hand before I even came face to face with Them. My strength is in my hand, it is the only weapon I have. Without it, I’m useless.

I need to find Clatic. The thought runs through my mind on repeat. He can set the bones in my hand so I can fight. I just have to find him.

I turn the corner around the remains of what looks like the mayor’s house and come to a screeching halt. More of Them. And they have spotted me.

I try to turn back in the direction I came, but there are even more aliens with their violent hairy creatures that probably haven’t been fed in days. The blood on my side is still wet. No doubt they can smell it.

If I run, the creatures will chase me down and rip me to shreds. I saw it happen in my own village. They ate my mother alive.

The creatures are being lifted into the air by the chain around their necks while they growl at me, so desperate are they to feast on my insides. Their faces are covered by masks that help them breathe in our world, but I know they’re laughing at me. They take joy in our suffering. They always have. Tears fall down my face. This is it. This is how I die. I just joined the resistance. This is my first battle. I’m going to be eaten alive.

They release the chains.

Without thinking, I whip my broken hand up above me and slash it through the air as I shout in pain. The air explodes before me and throws the furry creatures into their masters. All four of them are knocked to the ground. I let out a sigh of relief. My attack isn’t as strong as it usually is, but I’m not completely helpless either.

I turn around to face the rest and slash my arm through the air again. The force of the attack feels like another stone wall punching my hand, but my enemies are knocked off their feet at least. It won’t kill them, but it will give me a chance to get away.

I dart around them and keep running towards the center of town, where I know Clatic will be. It doesn’t take long before I hear the bark of their creatures behind me. Their shouts are getting louder. They are catching up.

The pain in my hand is even worse than before. I can see the damage through my skin. Some of my bones appear to be missing pieces. What’s left are crooked and mangled.

Tears are streaming down my face. Why did I ever think I could do this? I’m not a soldier! My village was a small, out of the way place completely hidden. We were farmers. I wasn’t cut out to be a fighter. My failure here is only further proof. I should have died with the rest of my people.

The path before me is blocked by a crumbled building. It’s my only means of escape. I’ll have to climb it. But if I do, the creatures will catch up to me. I have no other choice. I have to get to Clatic.

The stones are unsteady beneath my feet, making it difficult to climb. The creatures’ snarls are deafening in my ears. One clamps down on my foot, it’s teeth sinking into my skin. I cry out in pain as it drags me back down the very stones I just climbed up.

I use my good arm to hold the beast back. It’s eyes are black, covered in a thick tan and black fur. It’s long snout chomps at the air, trying to take a bite out of my face.

More of them are approaching. I can barely hold this one back, I’ll be dead in seconds when the rest reach us. No, that’s not right. I won’t be dead. I’ll be eaten, but it will take a while for them to kill me. My mother suffered for hours.

The creature is ripped off me. My head swivels around trying to see what happened. Xeria. She rescued me. Her golden wings fill the night sky as she circles above me, the creature’s collar in her grasp. The beast is choking and whimpering. She spins around in circles, lifting the animal higher and higher above me before she somersaults around and whips the beast into it’s allies. One of the aliens shouts for his dog.

Xeria lands in front of me, her wings spread out and arched forward in hostility. Her bright red skin glistens against the flames burning the town.

She stands before the humans. Just one against an army. I crawl on my backside towards the wall on my right, tucking myself into a crevice. Xeria stands tall as They raise their weapons and point them at her. But before They have the chance to fire, a handful fall to the ground.

My head jerks around. Iku stands on top of the debris, his right arm pointed forward, his talons missing. Iku’s claws have the ability to be shot right out of his finger beds, much like Their projectile weapons, except silently.

Chaos erupts around me as I see my unit pop out of hiding and start attacking Them. This is an ambush.

Is this… did they expect me to lead Them here? The thought comes like a strike to the face. Perhaps Clatic tried to build up my confidence to make me think I was special. When in reality, I’m just bait. My first mission is a colossal failure, made only more obvious as I sit and hide like the coward that I am. I’m no soldier. I never could be. All I can do is whip my hand really fast.

Iku leaps down in front of me, landing on bare feet. His back talons dig into the ground to help him keep his balance. He fires off a single claw into one of the aliens. “Clatic will be here soon,” he says. “Just hang tight a little while, ok?”

“Bu-but… but I…” I stammer.

Above, Xeria picks up another one of the beasts and throws it into the fire. Iku turns to me, eyes ablaze with gold swirls. “Stay down! We got this.”

I’m so scared, I’ve never been so scared in my life. Not even when they burned my village to the ground.

Behind us, one of the creatures is barreling towards us.

I grab Iku and flip him over until he’s behind me. The creature latches onto my shoulder instead. I cry out in pain. Iku launches one of his claws into the creature’s eye. It releases it’s jaws and slumps to the ground, dead.

There are too many of Them. I don’t know how long it will take Clatic to get here, or how long we can hold out.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I rip my shirt to shreds and wrap it as tightly as I can around my broken hand for stability. Then I close my eyes and take deep breaths until I drown out the sounds of the battle, and focus on the sounds of my breathing. The crackle of the fires. The howl of the wind.

I can do this.

I climb to my feet, ignoring the pain from my wounds. I open my eyes and face the enemy. I raise my injured hand above me. Focus my energy, my strength, and my will to live into my hand. And I swing it down as hard as I can.

I scream in agony, but nobody can hear it. The sound of the blast deafening. The very air is an explosive that engulfs the entire countryside. The force of the wind is blinding.

When everything is settled, no alien or creature is left alive. At full strength, they would have been ripped to pieces, but this will have to do.

I did it. I actually did it.

I turn back towards my comrades. I pause in shock. Clatic stands above the rubble, smiling proudly. “I knew you would be great.”

I smile back, relieved that it’s finally over. Clatic slithers down the rocks towards me, completely silent. Slowly, he unwraps my hand to see the mangled remains. It barely looks like a hand anymore. He gently grips my hand in his as tiny tentacles begin stitching my bones back together.

By the time he’s done, I can’t even tell that my hand had been completely mangled only a moment ago. I twist it, make a fist, even crack my knuckles. Nothing aches. “There,” Clatic says warmly. “That wasn’t so bad, wasn’t?”

I can’t help but laugh, though it sounds a bit hysterical. “It was nothing.”