Welcome to Gaia! ::

It’s been three years since the fatal day. Somehow a blinding light bathed the northern hemisphere of Earth. Apparently it was the flashlight for an alien race; we still don’t know why they came. It was instant war. All countries immediately united to defend our home but came to bitter end. Earth is now riddled with rural landscapes and a pattern of craters.
I was staring at drops of water falling to a puddle in an abandoned shed on the outskirts of town. It was messy here. Broken glass was spread all over the ground, scraps of metal poked out from the ground and wall, pieces of light stuck in from time to time.
“I found food”, said a women named Bonquisha. She laid them out in front of me and pointed out to which one I wanted.
“I’m not hungry”, I said looking away. She gave a worried face but said nothing. There was nothing to say.
“How’s your arm?” she said while staring. A few days ago, we, and two other people, who are gone now, encountered some aliens in a spacious city. We ran away as they followed and shot out what it seems to be plasma rays. It has the ability to melt away anything that it touches. I saved Bonquisha from those rays, though I lost my arm throughout the way. She feels indebted to me and I felt guilt for her constant care.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to worry so much” I said wincing and holding my injured arm.
“No, you saved me. I have to return the favor.” She responded with determination. I couldn’t sway her.
We heard an unfamiliar voice and unusual dialect. Bonquisha quickly leaped to my side and held my good arm tight. The voices spread around and slowly became louder. Frantically, I looked for an escape route. Through the desperate search I found a tear sliding down Bonquisha’s face; her face was frozen in fear. I then nudged her and smile and gave a “Don’t worry.”
I told her to get out and creep to the other side of the shed. The voices continued to grow louder and more scattered as we reached the other side. I then looked again and faintly saw water dripping from the wall behind us. Pieces of wood chipped off and fell to the ground, scraps of metal soon liquefied. Instantly, a face clustered with craters and black ooze seeping out quarter-sized pores stabbed through the wall.
“Run!” I screamed. We scurried to our right and reached a worn-out door. We tried opening it but our efforts were getting tedious. The wall the alien touched continued to disintegrate away. I looked back and witnessed his expression. He displayed a nightmare’s grin. His cracked lips reached both sides of his face with the eyes of a soulless predator. As if he was imagining the unspoken terrors he could inflict on us. Bonquisha shook me and yelled “Hurry” as I was recollecting the situation.
I picked up a metal pipe and stabbed through the door. The alien stuck his foot through the wall and struggled to get in. Finally, the door fell and we ran out in response. A calamity fell upon us, the shed was surrounded.
Small mobile ships filled with captured people were overseen by the aliens. They noticed our presence and pointed their plasma guns at us. I looked down in sorrow, waiting for the end to cease our suffering. But I was still breathing. An alien approached us slowly and stared at us; it lifted up a finger, as If it was asking for one of us to board their ship. Bonquisha and I looked at each other, thinking the question that struck our minds: which one of us should go? I couldn’t deal with the constant fear, the running, the sleepless nights, the pain of my arm, the strain on my mind. I wouldn’t mind offering my life for Bonquisha’s safety, but she spoke.
“I’ll go.”
I felt my jaw hanging below my neck as she stepped forward to be bound by chains.
“N-no! Bonquisha, you don’t have to do this. I’ll go” I said with a stutter.
“No. This is me repaying you for all the work you’ve done for our survival”, she responded, “Thank you John.”
She gave a smile that was covered with tears. The Alien dragged her away and threw her in with the other people. They eventually started up their ships and hovered, soon floating away to the horizon. I fell to my knees and watched in disbelief. The pain in my arm couldn’t compete with the pain in my chest.
“You’re welcome”, I said holding back tears.