It was dark when I opened my eyes. Or it would have been. If not for the blue orbs shining just ten meters above me, seemingly floating in thin air.
I guess that ´orb´ wasn't the right word to describe them anymore.
They were large. Maybe 4 meters tall and 3 meters across. Some looked larger but could be misinterpreted due to the distance. They were very thin and in upright position, with a large and very slow whirlpool of blue light turning towards its center. The edges was solid now, round, and thick like a large pipe. A thin stripe of blue light could be seen down the center of the whirlpools edge.
While I lay on my back in the grass, looking directly up into the night sky, with these alien things so close, made it all too real, and my body shivered. Everything was going to change.
"You're awake?" It was Chioma, coming nearer.
"Yeah, how long did I sleep?"
She sat down beside me, handing me a bottle of water. I pulled myself up to join her and drank heavily.
"Only a few hours. We have set up temporary shelter under the house over there." She pointed to a house two numbers down from the care center. "The ceiling was mostly intact, though the entire front wall is gone."
I stood up. Thinking I needed more answers about the situation. The blue light was starting to creep me out for real.
"That's good. Did you hear from the government? Did they broadcast anything?"
She was just silent for a while before she stood up.
"I treated your back while you slept. Smeared some numbing cream and wrapped it up with first aid bandages."
I didn't even notice it before. I guess the cream was working. I couldn't feel a thing.
"Thank you Chioma, I really appreciate that. But did you hear anything from the gov…"
She cut me off.
"No! Thank You, Frey. You saved my life in there. All of us. If you hadn't warned us in time, we would all have been crushed in the collapse!"
She looked away, "no one has ever done anything like that for me before."
Her reaction surprised me. "Don't think too much of it. I just reacted. But I'm happy you are all safe."
She looked back at me, and before she could say anything I continued; "I really need to know what's going on Chioma. Have you heard anything?"
I was starting to get restless. I had only slept a few hours, but my pain was gone, and I felt completely refreshed.
My thoughts going out to Aya. Was she alive? I knew the path she had stood on. And I knew the direction she was thrown towards. It was a muddy area, leading to a small river. Chances are she had survived the shockwave.
But everything that had happened so far, and the appearance of the blue light, hovering just above me. Made me keenly aware of the serious nature of the situation.
Chioma grabbed a bag from the grass and swung it over her right shoulder.
"All right. Here is what I know."
Apparently, they had sent the only durable man they had, the caretaker of the care center, to the hospital for assistance. It was only two kilometers away.
He had returned an hour before I woke up, bearing grim news.
All the government infrastructure had collapsed. People were going crazy all over the place. Shouting about aliens and the wrath of God. Everyone was in panic after the shockwave. The police had all scattered, seeking home and family.
The entire electrical grid was fried like after an EMP. Nothing worked. Cars, tools, and gadgets had stopped functioning all together.
He had shortly talked to a police officer at the hospital, where some nurses and doctors had stayed to try and help the sick and wounded.
The officer had tried to fire his hand weapon at a gang that went to raid the hospital. It didn't work. So, he had even pulled his shotgun from the trunk of his car, but that didn't work either. It was strange. Since everything seemed to be in perfect condition.
She told me that the caretaker had left after delivering the news. That he looked scared and wanted to find his wife and son.
It took me a minute to digest the information.
"That's a lot to take in. But it explains why there are no ambulances to assist us or any light shining from the streetlight."
She nodded. Looking as worried as I felt.
"Where will you go now?" She asked. Looking strangely resolute.
I was thinking.
If the world truly is an Alian apocalypse, then… It still felt strange to even think that. I had silently hoped for a zombie virus some years back. Watching The Walking Dead in tv. Imagining running around with a homemade spear from the local fix-it-all store.
But this. Nothing can ever prepare anyone for such a reality. The sensation of it all when it finally downs on you. The life you knew. It's all gone.
My body had a small tremble. I Clenched my fists. Even if it's all gone, and the world have turned free-for-all. One thing hadn't changed.
Aya. I needed to get to Aya. I had promised her after all. The last conversation, before she was ripped from my sight and reach. I had made that promise.
For sure I'll get to her, no matter what.
"My girlfriend is in the Philippines. I'm going to find her."
I began to walk down the road. Away from the house with the people I had just saved.
"Wait! How will you even get there? Isn't that literally on the other side of the planet?"
She grabbed my arm, stopping my movement.
"It is. But I have nowhere else to go. If this is the end. And even if it's not. My place is with her."
She walked Infront of me. Looking directly at me with a firm expression.
"There are no cars. No airplanes. It's all fried. Even if you wanted to walk there, it's not possible." Releasing her grip she continued. "But I agree. We must try."
I didn't understand, "we? What do you mean?"
She just shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm like you. I have no reason to stay here any longer. My parents and cousins are in Nigeria. I already decided to leave, just waiting for you to wake up. Anette is staying, in charge of the elderly."
She looked up. And I didn't say anything, feeling she had more to share.
"These things. The light. They look pretty enough. But I feel something scary from them as well."
She looked back at me, "it's not safe to travel alone. Not now. If we both are going to try and reach our loved ones. It's better to go together. I was thinking about Venice. They should have boats there, old boats of timber and sail, capable of crossing the sea to Africa. Maybe you can find one as well."
She was right. If the world truly had gone mad. It's better to not be alone. In fact, the more people around you, you could trust, the better.
I had no reason to refuse her.
"It's settled then. We will walk to Venice. Or at least until things start working. Maybe we can even find a horse."
I tried to laugh, but it just sounded pathetic in the situation. And I didn't know how to ride anyway.
She ignored it.
"We need to gather supplies. Fire. Cloths. Water and food. It's a long way, and it's still early in the year. It will be cold at night."
Why hadn't I thought about that. Obviously, I couldn't just start walking. But I knew just what to do now. I quickly reprimanded myself, for having forgotten him.
"My uncle lives not far from here. His apartment is on the 4th floor. Most likely it's collapsed."
I gulped. Just now realizing he might truly be dead.
"But if he is alive, he will know exactly what to do. And where to gather supplies."
Chioma fastened her bag on both arms, with a rim and buckle across her stomach.
'Click'
"Lead the way then."