His Redemption

before

I follow swiftly behind Claire, trying to put on a brave face so no one sees my dismay.

The younger girl holds my hand, guiding me through the crowds. She taking me down the trees towards the dirt, a place we don't go often unless we're in big groups. I slow my pace, pulling back from her grip.

"Are you sure?"

She nods.

"Come on, Aria is down here."

I agree, following until my feet hit dirt. I try to relish the feeling of being grounded. It's been too long since I've left the safety of the trees. There's not much time to dissect the feeling, I'm being yanked towards the mountains.

At this point, the sun is almost gone. Everything is colored pink by the last bits of sunlight cascading across the land. I have to squint to see as we leave the cover of the trees, entering the open valley.

I halt, staring at the perplexing sight sitting before me.

There's a giant.. ship. It looks like a sleek, metal ship. It doesn't look real. It might not be real. I rub my eyes, blinking and focusing on it once more. It's still there. I guess I'm not dreaming then.

"What is..?" I start, but I'm quickly cut off.

"It's a spaceship. Come on, they're waiting for us."

Them?

A few figures come into view as we get closer, and I can't hide my gasp. They're giants, huge, towering giants. Three of them. They tower over the women present, and I can't help but stare. My stomach drops. Not only are they enormous, but they're eyes almost... glow.

But I can't stop walking even if I wanted to as Claire pulls me so hard that I feel as though my shoulder is going to pop out of the socket.

We near the group way too quickly, and they all turn to watch us arrive in the circle. The towering men keep a safe distance, their backs facing the massive spaceship behind them. I wonder numbly if they arrived here in the odd aircraft. I didn't think that earth had ever had such modern technology, even cars don't work anymore now, how did they get this thing here? There's no fuel left to scavenge.

I notice a girl I've never seen before standing with these strange men. She's smiling at me shyly, hope shimmering on her features.

Nearing Aria, I flick my gaze to her for a moment. She has her gaze fixed on me intently. A few of her friends are flocked around her. I was never a big fan of Aria's other friends. Maybe because they seem like competition to me.

I've had a crush on Aria for as long as I've known her. Although I'm her second in command, she never seems to truly see me.

"Carmen, these are... well... they're..."

Aria starts the sentence, Mel finishes it.

"Aliens." She finishes, not looking at me as her focus remains locked on the strangers.

I don't say anything, feeling a glare fix itself on my face.

Aliens? Aliens aren't real, not to my knowledge.

But as I stare at these men, these monsterous giants with glowing gazes, I know deep down that this isn't a lie. It's not exactly something you can fake. I try to put a clamp on my mind as it tries to sift through all the new possibilities with this discovery.

"It's nice to meet you, Carmen, we've heard a lot about you." The girl that's obviously with the aliens says, taking a step towards me with an outstretched hand.

I look at her hand with little trust, carefully putting my hand in hers. Her grip is warm and string, her hands larger than mine, but slim and feminine.

"My name is Ellie, and this is my mate, Sandsin." She motions behind her to one of the giants, aliens, and he nods at me.

I gulp, taking an involuntary step backwards as his muscular arms bulge across his chest.

"Mate?"

He nods again, this time sharper as his jaw clenches.

"Like a husband, but more intense I would say. Rytarians are very serious about their mates."

"Rytarians?"

She nods, and I realize I'm being rude with the one word questions, but I can't seem to stop.

"Aliens?"

"Frashlee ten relinkas." One of the other men says, his voice raspy. All of us jump back, aside from the other girl, Ellie.

She giggles.

"Yeah, she is small. Humans come in all different sizes." She explains.

I finally let myself get closer to them, growing braver as this odd situation seems to sink in more and more.

"You can understand them?" I ask Ellie, glancing nervously at the men. They look back at me with amazement in their eyes. They're staring at all of us with amazement.

"Yes. I have a lot to explain, but I think you'll want to hear it." She hedges.

Aria crawls up to my side, putting a hand on my elbow and turning me towards her.

"I need your opinion, Car, you're the smartest person I know."

I'm flattered by the compliment, but I shrug. Inside I'm smiling and giddy. She waited on me to make this decision. That must count for something.

"We need them, and they need us."

"We don't need..."

"We're running out of rations, and you know it. We can't make it much longer."

I turn my head down. I do know it, but I was hoping we'd have the issue fixed soon. We send out scouts often, and we've been planting crops. Although I was hopeful all the while, I knew we were he4aded for an ugly place when the food supply ran dry.

I was hoping for a miracle, and maybe this chance is it.

"Let's just hear them out, okay?"

I narrow my eyes at her. Aria nervously tucks her short, blonde hair behind her ears.

"What do they want with us?"

"Just, just listen to what she has to say."

Ellie smiles at me, but I feel my gut sink. Whatever this is, whatever is happening here, I have a feeling that everything is about to change.