Beyond Earth

Remember who you are

When I stepped outside, my entire body froze.

A colossal spherical spacecraft hovered in the middle of the street, its smooth metallic surface reflecting the afternoon sun.

I looked farther.

My heart nearly stopped.

It wasn't alone.

Dozens. Hundreds. As far as my eyes could see, identical spheres filled the sky, stretching beyond the city until they vanished over the horizon.

A deep mechanical hum echoed overhead. One by one, the spheres descended, landing with impossible precision, shaking the ground beneath our feet. Cars rattled, windows trembled, the entire city fell silent.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then circular openings appeared beneath the ships, brilliant white light pouring onto the streets.

Humanoid figures stepped out. They stood over seven feet tall, smooth gray skin, black skin-tight suits clinging to their bodies like a second skin. Their faces were emotionless, dominated by enormous white eyes, gentle yet completely devoid of mercy.

Each carried a sleek black weapon, glowing white lines running along its frame. A bright ring floated at the muzzle, humming softly with terrifying power.

Nobody moved. People simply stared. Some even pulled out their phones, convinced they were witnessing first contact.

A young man near the front laughed nervously while recording. "Dude... this is going viral."

One alien slowly turned toward him, raised its weapon. A brilliant white beam flashed across the street. The man's head instantly dissolved into glowing particles, his body collapsing onto the pavement.

Silence.

Then chaos erupted. People screamed, scattering in every direction, the aliens opening fire without hesitation. White beams ripped through the crowds, cutting people down with terrifying precision. Families were torn apart within seconds, cars crashed into one another, desperate cries filling the streets as the city descended into complete carnage.

I couldn't move. My body refused to obey me. All I could do was stand there, watching.

A woman suddenly accelerated her car toward one of the aliens. The vehicle slammed into it with tremendous force, crumpling around its body. The alien never moved. Without reacting, it calmly raised its weapon, fired through the shattered windshield. The woman's scream ended instantly, her body slumping over the steering wheel.

Then the alien looked at me. Its enormous white eyes locked onto mine, slowly walking closer.

I tried to move. I couldn't.

It stopped only a few feet away, stared at me for several seconds, tilting its head, as though it recognized something. Instead of attacking, it reached to a smaller weapon holstered on its left knee, removed it, held it out to me.

Confused, I slowly accepted it.

The alien continued staring at me. Then, to my complete disbelief, it smiled. It gave me a small nod, turned away, calmly rejoining the massacre, leaving me standing there with its weapon in my trembling hands. Moments later, another brilliant white beam flashed from the alien's weapon, resuming its slaughter of everyone in its path.

I stared at the strange weapon in my trembling hands, unable to understand why I had been spared. Questions raced through my mind, survival taking over.

I dropped the weapon onto the pavement. Then I ran.

Every scream behind me drove me faster. My lungs burned, I didn't stop until I reached my apartment building.

Then my heart sank. The building was engulfed in flames. Residents poured through the entrance carrying children and injured loved ones, only to be cut down by waiting Xaryth. White beams flashed through the air, bodies collapsing onto the pavement one after another.

I turned slowly, taking in the destruction around me. Cars burned in the streets. Buildings crumbled beneath explosions. Thick smoke swallowed the New York skyline.

Then my father's words echoed in my mind. "They're coming back. The Xaryth will return to reclaim what was stolen from them."

He hadn't been insane. He'd been right.

Tears blurred my vision as I watched humanity being wiped out. What terrified me even more was that the aliens ignored me completely. They slaughtered everyone around me without even looking in my direction.

Why? Why won't they kill me?

A loud crash pulled me from my thoughts. An old sedan had slammed into a traffic light. The driver stumbled out clutching his bleeding chest, took a few desperate steps, then collapsed lifelessly onto the road.

I rushed over, climbed into his still-running car, drove away.

The city no longer looked like New York. Buildings burned uncontrollably, fighter jets roared overhead, helicopters fell from the sky in flames, smoke covered everything.

There was nowhere safe.

Eventually, I escaped the city, merged onto the highway. To my surprise, it was completely deserted. The silence felt almost unnatural after the chaos I'd left behind.

As I drove, one question kept repeating in my head. Where am I supposed to go? I had no friends, my foster parents wanted nothing to do with me.

Then, in the distance, I spotted four people taking cover behind an overturned vehicle, desperately firing at three advancing Xaryth.

Without thinking, I slammed my foot on the accelerator. The car screeched to a halt beside them, I charged the nearest alien. The impact knocked the towering creature onto the highway. Rage consumed me, I climbed on top of it, rained punches down with everything I had.

Each blow struck like a sledgehammer. The asphalt cracked beneath us, blue blood burst from the creature's mouth. I didn't stop until it finally went limp.

Breathing heavily, I stood, faced the remaining two Xaryth. They weren't angry. They looked confused. As if they couldn't understand what they were seeing.

I let out a furious scream. The two aliens instinctively stepped back, stared at me for a moment, then turned, disappeared into the darkness.

I turned toward the four survivors. Judging by their uniforms, tactical vests, rifles, they were soldiers.

The only woman among them cautiously lowered her weapon, stepped forward. She studied me for a moment before asking, "Are you... human?"

The question caught me off guard.

Before I could answer, one of the men shook his head. "Of course he's human, Kara. He just saved our lives."

She didn't look convinced. "Then explain what I just saw. I've fought these things all day, I've never seen anyone beat one nearly to death with their bare hands."

I sighed, rubbed the back of my neck. "Honestly... I don't know what I am anymore."

They exchanged uneasy glances.

"My father once told me I was half alien," I admitted. "I thought he'd lost his mind, but after everything I've seen today..." I looked toward where the Xaryth had disappeared. "...I think he was telling the truth. Maybe they still see me as one of their own."

An uneasy silence settled over us.

I forced a smile, stepped back. "It's okay. I'll get out of your hair."

I turned toward the abandoned car.

"Wait," one of the soldiers called.

I looked back.

The tallest among them smiled. "We've got an underground bunker nearby. It's hidden and safe. If you've got somewhere else to go, we won't stop you..."

Kara finished his sentence. "...but if you don't, you're welcome to come with us."

I lowered my gaze. "I don't have anyone left."

Kara smiled gently. "Then you do now."

Those words hit harder than I expected.

I nodded, followed them to their military truck. Kara drove while the rest of us climbed into the back.

After a few minutes, the broad-shouldered soldier beside me offered his hand. "I'm Blake."

"Albert."

The older man nodded. "William."

The youngest smiled awkwardly. "Sheldon."

Kara glanced at me through the mirror. "And I'm Kara."

"It's nice to meet all of you," I said.

Blake leaned back. "So... how exactly does someone beat an alien to death with his bare hands?"

The others chuckled, genuinely curious.

I sighed. "My father was a scientist. Before he died, he told me humans aren't native to Earth. He said the aliens are called the Xaryth... and that my real father was one of them."

Silence filled the truck.

"So you're half alien?" William asked.

"I think so."

"And your powers?" Sheldon asked.

"I don't know. After my father's funeral, I opened a metal box he left me. Inside was a strange black organism. The moment I touched it, it entered my body. I woke up a week later stronger, faster... and the aliens suddenly stopped trying to kill me."

I told them everything, including the alien that had handed me a weapon instead of attacking me.

When I finished, Blake let out a nervous laugh. "Well... that's the craziest thing I've ever heard."

"It explains why they ran from you," Sheldon said.

"I'm not sure it explains anything," Kara muttered, keeping her eyes on the road.

The truck eventually left the highway, entered a dense forest, stopping in a small clearing.

"We're here," Kara said.

I looked around in confusion. "There isn't anything here."

"Exactly," Sheldon replied with a smile.

He removed the silver key hanging from his necklace, brushed leaves aside, revealed a circular steel hatch hidden beneath the forest floor. After unlocking it, the hatch slowly lifted, exposing a staircase leading underground.

"Welcome home," Blake said with a grin.

We climbed down, Sheldon sealed the hatch above us.

The bunker was small but comfortable, bunk beds, shelves of canned food and medical supplies, a rack of weapons, a tiny kitchen.

Blake flipped a switch, warm yellow lights filling the room. He spread his arms dramatically. "And let there be light."

We all laughed. For the first time since the invasion began, I felt safe.

Kara walked to the stove, began heating soup. "I hope everyone's hungry."

"It's soup or starvation," Blake joked.

"I'll take the soup," Sheldon replied.

Soon we were gathered around a small table, eating together as if the world outside hadn't fallen apart.

I looked at them. "So... what were you all doing out here?"

William sighed. "We're part of a CIA special operations unit. Before the invasion, we were sent to rescue an informant who had infiltrated a terrorist group in the Middle East."

"We got there too late," Kara said quietly. "The terrorists were dead, our informant was dead, every city we passed looked like New York."

Blake managed a tired smile. "So our mission now is simple."

"Stay alive."

The conversation gradually drifted away from aliens and war. We talked about our childhoods, favorite foods, dream vacations, all the ridiculous things we'd do if the world ever returned to normal. For the first time in years, I laughed without forcing it.

When we finished eating, Blake tossed me a folded blanket. "Get some sleep. You've earned it."

I thanked him, spread the blanket over an empty bunk, lay down. As I listened to their quiet conversations, a strange warmth settled in my chest. My whole life I'd searched for a place where I belonged, somehow, at the end of the world, I'd finally found one.

Before closing my eyes, I made myself a silent promise. No matter what happened, I would protect them.

The promise lasted only a few hours.

The sound of gunfire ripped through the bunker. My eyes flew open, explosions echoing through the room. Kara was crouched behind an overturned table, firing desperately toward the entrance while white flashes illuminated the bunker.

Then I looked around. William lay slumped against the wall. Blake's body was sprawled beside the radio. Near the staircase, Sheldon lay motionless, his silver key necklace still hanging around his neck.

"No..." I whispered.

Kara looked back at me, panic filling her eyes. "Albert! Help me!"

Before I could take a step, a brilliant white beam flashed across the bunker. "Kara!"

She collapsed behind the table, her rifle slipping from her hands.

Silence followed.

I stood frozen, staring at the four people who had accepted me without question less than a day ago. Now they were all dead.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the bunker. The tallest alien stepped forward, lowering his head beneath the ceiling. His large white eyes studied me before he spoke. "Why do you fight your brothers?"

I clenched my fists. "You aren't my brothers."

His fist slammed into my face, sending me crashing into the wall. I hit the floor, blood running from my mouth. He slowly approached. "Fool. I should kill you where you stand. Humans stole our world, slaughtered our ancestors, claimed this planet as their own. Yet you fight beside them. You should stand with your own kind."

He spoke a word in his language, another alien handed him a sleek black weapon. He stretched it toward me. "Take it."

I remained still. He smiled. "Don't you want to know why you're different? Why you're stronger than humans? I knew your father. I can tell you who he was, what flows through your veins, why you were born."

The weapon remained outstretched. "Join us."

For several long moments, I stared at it. Then I slowly took it.

A satisfied smile spread across his face. But as I looked down at the weapon, memories of Blake, William, Sheldon, Kara flooded my mind. People who had treated me like family.

Without another word, I opened my hand. The weapon hit the floor with a loud metallic clang.

The smile disappeared from the alien's face.

"I'll never be part of your genocide," I said quietly. "Maybe humans have done terrible things in the past... but slaughtering innocent people won't make any of it right."

The alien's expression twisted with rage. "So... you choose them."

Slowly, he reached toward the sheath strapped to his left knee, drew a long black blade whose edge shimmered with an eerie blue light. Before I could react, he drove it deep into my chest.

Agony exploded through my body. I gasped, warm blood filling my mouth. The alien leaned close until his forehead almost touched mine. His voice was barely above a whisper. "Then die with your precious humans... traitor."

He pulled the blade free. I coughed violently, blood splattering across the concrete floor, my legs finally giving out beneath me. I collapsed beside Sheldon's lifeless body, my trembling hand coming to rest only inches from his.

One by one, the aliens turned, walked away. None of them looked back. Their footsteps gradually faded until only silence remained.

I lay there on the cold bunker floor, blood pooling beneath me, the warmth slowly leaving my body. My vision blurred. Every breath became weaker than the last. I stared at the ceiling, waiting for death to finally claim me.