To the Left

Chapter 8

"Oh my God. Oh my God." I'm pacing back and forth in the room. Can this be real? "There's no way- it can't be-"

"Ruby."

A single word from Eli jolts me back to reality. He's pointing up at the sky. We all walk closer and see what's bothering him: a massive black structure descending from the sky. It's strangely unharmed by the storm, as I thought. 

"What's it- what- is it doing? What is it going to do?" My boss is panicking now, too, as he sees the proof in my theory. There are aliens, they caused the storm, and they are now descending over the city. "I don't know", says Eli, "Guess we'll find out."

That's just what we do. There's nothing we can do except watch with horror in our eyes as the ship keeps coming down. The lightning simply moves around the ship, and I watch a bolt bend around the edge to avoid hitting it. "It's definitely controlling the storm." I speak aloud, and people nod in agreement.

My boss slams his fist against a nearby desk. "This is nonsense! We can't just stand back and watch as this-this thing terrorizes our city! These are our borders, and they can't be here!" His voices raises as he goes on, and to my horror, he starts moving for the door. "Wait!" But it's too late. I try to run to stop him, but he's already out the door and moving outside. We run to the window and watch as he stops directly underneath the large ship. "GO-AWAY-NOW!" He yells, and picks up a rock from the ground. He throws it directly at the ship, but of course he misses. Suddenly, a bolt of energy comes out of the ship and hits my boss. He's gone in an instant.

I hear a scream somewhere. I would look to see where it was coming from, but I can't look anywhere but the scorch mark where my boss once stood. "Ruby. RUBY!" Eli's shaking my shoulders, and I realize it was me who was screaming. "He's gone." I mutter dazedly. "He's gone."

Outside, a few people step outside. They heard someone yelling, but they only step outside to be hit by the lasers from the ship, too. Before I know it, soldiers are dropping down from the ship, but they're wearing armor unlike anything I've ever seen before. They start shooting people and lighting things on fire. "The doors!" Eli shouts, and he runs to block the doors so the soldiers can't get in. We crouch so they can't see us, but still peer out the windows. Their weapons are alight with blasts, one after another. Their aim is ridiculously accurate, each bolt hitting people with inhuman accuracy. Then, they turn to our building. They must have seen my boss come from in here and infer that more people must be in here. "We have to hide." The technicians, Eli, and I run towards corridors filled with tech. If we can remain unseen, we could live this out. I find myself separated from the group with only Eli, and I motion towards another room full of computers. "In here." We run in and lock the door, and we can distantly see the silhouettes of the others crouching behind racks of technology. I flinch when the door leading outside is thrown open, and we watch as two soldiers run into the building. They fire up their guns and seem to immediately know where the others are. I watch in mute horror as the bolts of light fly across the room, instantly finding their targets. The soldiers step over their bodies and check the readouts on their guns. One soldier points to the door to our room and holds up one finger. I look at Eli, and whispers that we should split up, because it is hard to hide two people together. We creep apart and wait for the inevitable; the bolt of energy finding us.

The door crashes open. The soldiers walk in, but to my surprise, they only walk towards Eli. Do they not notice me? I grab a heavy monitor from the cart beside them and sneak up behind them. They train their guns on Eli, still not noticing me, and I quickly hit them both over the head with the monitor. They both crash to the ground. Eli looks up at me. "Thanks for the help. They won't stay unconscious long, so we should get going. I hold up a finger to stop him. "Wait. Their guns."

The readout on their guns registers Eli, noting his heat signature and placement in the room. However, when I walk in front of it, I am nowhere on the readout. I move back and forth, trying to be noticed by the screen. "Why don't I show up on this? It can find you and the other technicians, but not me? Why not?"

Slowly, I realize what is happening, and look up at Eli to confirm that he knows it too.

"It can't find you because their scanners can only find the Rights.

You don't show up because you're a Left."