Doomed

Chapter 1

It has been two years since the Arckusnians took our planet captive. It was a war fiercer than anyone has ever seen. They came in thousands of their ships loaded with millions of tonnes of weapons and ammunitions. Although we still outnumbered them but we were weak resourcefully, technically, intellectually and physically. We lost. Millions of us and only a few thousands of them died. Those who lived were either made prisoners or were forced to live underground in hiding.

I am one of the survivors, living in a dungeon along with my mother and my brother Ravi. Our dungeon is situated in an old destroyed medical facility situated at the outskirts of the city. We are lucky to be alive but survival is an everyday struggle for us. I think we are the only survivors in our area. I have never seen any other survivor while searching for food in the jungle or while stealing it from the alien’s residence.

“Sonia, where were you? It’s so late. Mom have been so worried” asked Ravi in a worried tone as I entered the dungeon carrying today's kill for dinner.

“Oh there was a party at the Alien’s residence and I was invited in. It was so much fun that I lost track of time” I said rolling my eyes at Ravi.

“I am amazed to see you find irony in such a misery” said Ravi disappointingly.

I ignored his comment and moved inside to prepare for the dinner. I was glad I could catch a rabbit today. Our last meal was frog soup. The thought of it disgusted me and made me puke.

Although Ravi is three years elder to me but Mom always thought that I was the more responsible sibling of the two. I still remember when the war started and Dad left, being the Major in the Army, everybody but me cried. I wanted to hug him tight and cry hard but It would have made Mom weaker. I wanted to be strong for her. We never heard from him again. I miss him everyday. Ravi misses him too. I have seen him shedding tears looking at his photo at night. Mom never mentions him, but It bothers me even more when she tries to pretend that she is unaffected.

“Hmmmm a rabbit! I can hardly wait for the dinner to be ready”, suddenly I was startled out of my thoughts by Mom’s voice. She was smiling at me but I could still see the emptiness in her eyes.
“Oh Mom, I’ll cook the best rabbit stew you have ever eaten. Just wait a little longer”, I said snapping my fingers.
I hurried myself to finish up my cooking as Mom started cleaning the dinner area which was a small corner with a square cracked wooden ‘breakfast in bed’ table. Ravi was busy sharpening his pocket knife. It was his turn for the hunt tomorrow. We never used to go together as Mom always said that we’ll be spotted easily if we roam in group.

We had a nice dinner. We ate, drank coffee and then Mom stroked our hairs with her gentle hands until we both went to sleep.

Mom woke me up shaking me vigorously. “Sonia hushhh you are screaming so loudly” said mom. She was staring at me with a worried look. I pulled myself up from the bed. I was sweating badly.
“What happened honey? Are you Ok?”
“Yes Mom, I am fine. I was just having a bad dream. I saw…” I forced myself from speaking further that I saw Dad in my dream.
“Saw what?” Asked mom.
“The bloody Aliens!!” I said trying to avoid an eye contact with Mom otherwise she would have known that I was lying.
Mom hugged me and pecked on my forehead. “Don’t worry sweety it was just a dream. We are Ok. Now go and clean yourself. Ravi will be back any minute now.”
I nodded and went to the back side of the dungeon where we had made a small wash area. I removed the lid of the huge blue water bucket and peeked inside. There was only one fourth water left in there. I sat, sighed and looked around to see hundreds of empty mineral water cans piled up everywhere. I took as little of the water as I could from the bucket to wash and splashed it over my face.
Suddenly I heard a loud thud at the other end of the dungeon. I stood up immediately and moved towards the bedroom. It was Ravi. He looked panicked.
“Mom mmm mom … th.. th… they sssss saw me” he said stammering between each word.

“What? How? Ok ok calm down. Sit.” Mom said comforting Ravi holding his shoulders.
Ravi was shaking badly and I could see fear in his eyes.
I was still trying to figure out what had happened, when we heard a car roaring and tyres screeching at a distance. It was them. They must have seen Ravi entering the facility.

All of us came into action. We had feared this day every second in the last two years. Mom closed the door to the dungeon tightly. We had stuck a thick doormat at the door of the underground dungeon from outside to hide the entrance. I blew the candles and we moved further to the backside of the dungeon and pressed our lips tightly to avoid making any sound. Ravi was still shaking. Mom held his hand  and moved him closer to her.

We could hear their voices now. They were shouting at each other. Probably pissed off for losing a possible target at sight. They were throwing things too. We could hear screeching of cupboard door, opening and dropping sounds. They might have been searching for Ravi. Gradually the sound became louder and clearer, until it became so clear that we could hear their foot tapping as well. They were in the same room above the dungeon. My heart was pounding a thousand times in a minute and so loudly that I feared that they could hear my heartbeat.

They were talking among each other in their alien language. Their voices sounded like thunder to us.

‘What will they do to us if they find us? Will they kill us? Will they make us their slaves? Were we living like this for such a long time only to die like this? Is this the end? Our end?’ A thousand thoughts were hitting at a time in my mind. I was feeling light headed and dizzy. I wanted to open the door and slit their throats but of course that would have been a stupid thing to do in this situation. I hated them. They had destroyed our lives. Taken everything from us and left us to live like thieves on our own planet. I was engrossed in my thoughts when we heard them move out of the room. They were leaving. We heard their car starting and leave but we still kept still without saying a word for next one hour.

“I think we are safe now” I finally broke the silence.
“Yes, but now it’s not safe to live here. They have seen Ravi entering the facility. They might come again” said Mom.
“Yes Mom, I am not sure if they think that Ravi was just hiding here or they have guessed that he lives here, but in either case the place is no longer safe for us” I said picking up my necessary belongings to pack.

“I am not going outside. I am not going anywhere. They’ll kill us. Let’s just hide here only.” Ravi was still under shock. He was pale and sickly.

“Ravi, brother, we can’t stay here. We have to move if we must live” I said shacking him slightly trying to make him come back to his senses.

“But how do you know they are not out there, waiting for us to come out on our own?”

“I don’t know. But I know one thing that if we stay here we are dead for sure. Don’t worry brother I won’t let anything happen to you or Mom. I promise!” I said staring in his eyes.
He didn’t look convinced but nodded in affirmation.

We quickly packed our bags. Filled water bottles. Drank as much as we could and stood on the edge of the entrance ready to leave. We hugged and kissed each other. Then Mom opened the door quietly.

What do you think, will the aliens be waiting for them outside?

Will they make it alive and safe when they move out?

What does the future holds for them??

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