Chapter 69 The Only Child

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star,

lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of the universe,

in which there are far more galaxies than people.

 

-Dr. Carl Sagan

 

Sophie

 

Sometimes I wish I had a magic ring. One that could teleport me out of here to a different, magical world. Like the Pevensie children in the Narnia books. I wish there was a magic land into the upstairs wardrobe.

Instead, I have aliens on my doorstep.

It’s not fair. My life should revolve around dating and school prom and clothes. About getting my drivers’ license and where to go for the weekend.

But I wont have that. What I have is an underground cave and a lot of people crammed up in a small space.

The only escape I have now is through books. And I don’t even have a lot of those. Every piece of music, art or story has been destroyed by the aliens when they conquered this planet. It’s too violent according to their standards. It’s ridiculous. They tell everyone how peace-loving they are, but we humans have never overthrown a planet.

No?

A voice in the back of my mind ponders, ‘how about the Moon? Mars? We sent shuts there.’

We did. But only to explore. It’s different, isn’t it?

Is it?

What if we had found alien life there?

I shake off the thought and concentrate on the story again. I flip the page. It’s Peter and Susan’s first glimpse of Narnia and I sigh. Yah sure, it’s all magical now, but pretty soon they’ll start running.

I close the book and roll on my back. Suddenly  the story hits too close to home.

I turn my head to the side and let my eyes slide over the books that are lined up on the floor. A collection of fairytales, Romeo and Juliet, The Hobbit and of course the book I am currently reading. They were all given to me by my father when I was still a child. All classics. He always believed in the importance of reading.

I love my father deeply, even though I didn’t see much of him as a child. My mom never talked about him  but I knew he had problems with the law. He came to visit us every now and then and he always brought me a present.

He never stayed long.

When I was twelve, he was arrested and sent to jail I’m not sure what crime he committed, my mother wouldn’t tell me and I’ve never asked. Even now, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem important anymore. He came for me. And I know he would never do anything to hurt me.

He said he realized something was wrong when criminals started to turn themselves in. People willingly went to jail and were even happy about it. Then there was the silver behind their eyes. That was when he decided to break out. He came to our house right away to pick up my mom and me.

But it was already too late. Mom was already one of them. I never even knew. Perhaps I should have realized when she started smiling more. She seemed so happy when my dad walked in. She thought he had already been taken over, that he had come home for us.

But soon enough she realized that wasn’t the case.

I saw the fear in her eyes at that moment and that’s when I noticed the silver. A second later she fell to the ground and the silver died out.

I remember screaming, my father’s arms holding me close, turning my face away from her body. The creature had cut through her brain.

That image still haunts my dreams.

We packed two bags and drove out into the desert. My dad had read a lot in prison. That’s where he got the idea about the Last Chance Mine.

It took some time to get things organized. We had to find lights and glass for the greenery and some soil too. The generator was the biggest problem.

Finally we found our way here. We found Philip and James along the way. Kelsey followed not long after and Anna-May was camping in the desert. We were the first ones here.

We’ve come a long way since then.

I  thought we were going to make it. And now there’s one of them living under the same roof.

How can that girl be so comfortable around him? And my dad? He has seen what those creatures are capable of. And Blake is only after Emma.

I have no one left. I’m the youngest one here. All my friends are gone.

There’s Rachel of course, but aside from an alien invasion, we don’t’ have a lot in common.

I just want someone to talk to.

I roll on my side. I wish I could get away from here, have my life back. But it’s not possible.

“Honey? Can I come in?”

I turn back to look at my father. He’s standing there with a sad smile on his face.

“Sure,” I mutter, but I don’t sit up. I’m not ready to forgive him.

He sighs and sits down in the passage. “Give him a chance sweetheart? I promise you he is alright.”

“Yeah, yeah, saved your life. That doesn’t mean I trust him. You know how good they are at deceiving.”

“He didn’t just save me, Sophie. He saved the girl too.”

I cross my arms stubbornly. “Who says he meant to rescue her? Maybe he was planning to betray her. He just ran into you first.”

“He could have left me there, call his alien friends, kill me. But he didn’t. He came to the cave, where I was hiding, on his own. Only after he saw I was human he went out to get the girl. He’s different from the rest of them, Sophie.”

I shake my head and look at him. My eyes are blurry.

No.

I don’t want to cry.

I‘ve cried enough.

“Have you forgotten?” I whisper, “they killed mom. Our friends. Everyone.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” my father says, “but people change, darling. Perhaps these creature can change too. Don’t they deserve a second chance?” He sighs. “We’re in their world now, sweetheart. We might as well learn more about it. You won’t find the answers in those books of yours.” He nods towards my collection.

I sigh, but grit my teeth, not ready to give in.

“I’m not asking you to trust him, honey, but can you trust me?”

Now I do look at him. What a thing to ask. He’s risked everything for me. “I trust you,” I whisper.

He smiles and pats my leg. “Good,” he says, “that’s a start.”